Mac and Linux conciderations

Blitz3D Forums/Blitz3D Programming/Mac and Linux conciderations

Strider Centaur (Posted 2004) [#1]

Well since most of us PC users can't bring this up in General or BMax, Im posting it here. I was just thinking about the real issues involved in porting a game to MAC or Linux. A big, and so far tottaly overlooked issue, at least in the forums I can see, has been the aftermarket support of these distrobutions. Yes BMAX will allow us to easily compile from WIN to MAC to LINUX. But thats never really been a major stopping block. Heck C++ can almost as easily be ported, provided you wrap the OS specific classes so they can be easily changed. Even before BMAX there have been several languages that easily supported cross platform compilations. So while BMAX may make development easier, its not unique in the role of cross platform. So why have so many game companies avoided releasing for MAC and Linux in the past? I put forth its all about the aftermarket support. That's the real on going cost to any software release, and can easily reach the development costs over time. Im fairly sure that support for EQ for instance is now way over the cost of developing that game. What makes support so expensive is the knowledge base. For windows and the PC this can be fairly cheap when compared to Linux or MAC. On average, just from a administrative stand point, UNIX/Linux admins make more per hour than their windows counterparts, its simply supply and demand. Like wise Windows Telephone TechSupport Reps are fairly cheap, many places paying less than $15USD an hour, compared to the $18 to $22 an hour for their teir 2 guys who handle Linux/Mac issues. So there is some scale here to be dealt with. If it cost 10% more to support a product on platform Y then it needs to make 10% more money than it did on platform X. Now if that is the rule we can then see why no one is racing to support the MAC and Linux. They simply wont make that extra percentage needed, even if they sell to every MAC and Linux( well depending on whos numbers, some Linux Enthusiests clame that Linux is the number one most used OS, and who knows, maybe they are right) user that would still fall short of selling to just 50% of the Windows user base. Regardless of how easy it is to compile for all 3 platforms, I think its well worth concidering if you want to release to those markets. Can you handle the support issues? Even Guarage Games, arguably one of the best Shareware Distributors out there, does not seem to require that a game be able to run on Linux, but I do think they require MAC and Windows. I admit I would love to know who handles the support issues.

Sledge (Posted 2004) [#2]

What support issues? Seriously, out of all the PC games I've bought, the most support I've ever needed is a web page with the inevitable patch on it. The only two (computery) companies I've ever had to ring for support in a decade have been Microsoft and IBM. I don't see the cost of a technical helpline being a problem for most shareware developers on ANY platform - it's totally unnecessary. Have I missed your point or something?

jhocking (Posted 2004) [#3]

Note that you are a knowlegdable user. Most tech support contacts are for questions that you could probably figure out yourself but that the person calling needs help with.

Sledge (Posted 2004) [#4]

I hear what you're saying, yet I don't know that many people who are savvy enough to buy a game online but would then struggle to install it, or would rather phone (perhaps another country) for help than fire off a quick email. A technical helpline for the average piece of shareware is insane and the absence of such a thing non-prohibitive to development.

Dreamora (Posted 2004) [#5]

Strange that Blizzard created hybrid games since Diablo 1 and had great success with it :) And more and more companies jump on the train. not all are as kind as blizzard that give you hybrid disks for free, others sell a win version and a seperate mac version. ok creating for linux is of quite no use as gamers don't go that often for linux ... or people that buy apps which is a reason to go for an opensource OS

Banshee (Posted 2004) [#6]

I get some support issues on my software and indeed aftermarket support is something I have to consider when looking at a new platform. It's the reason I moved to Blitz from DBP in the first place, to get less support problems. Whilst aftersales support is important it is not necessary to know a system intimately in order to support your own software, provided you have a good grounding in general computer use and know your own software well enough - it isn't actually very hard to fix most problems. Utility software is another issue, but that's not something I personally bother with. It is for this reason that i've decided that I will, in time, support the Apple Mac - as I do alredy know the Apple platform quite well. I will not be making use of the BMax Linux option in the short to mid term though. I do wonder though, if this AmigaOS takes off next year as planned will we see an AmigaOS version of BMax?