Please consider proper support for Linux. It's because of the lack of Linux support I did not buy RPG Maker MZ when it released. It is inexcusable to give Linux users no proper support. Many of the FOSS game engine's give proper support for Linux.
I'll preface this by stressing that I'm not arguing against RPG Maker MZ being given proper Linux support. However, I do want to address the part of your statement that I quoted:
RPG Maker isn't a FOSS game engine, so it's not appropriate to base your expectations for it on what FOSS game engines are doing. RPG Maker is a commercial product, made by a business entity, so whether or not it gets proper Linux support is inevitably going to be a matter of profits and losses.
According to Steam surveys, only about 1% of people are playing games on Linux. While it's not exactly the same thing, I don't think that that figure is entirely unrelated when trying to estimate how many people are likely wanting to develop games on Linux. To put it bluntly, the number of people who would be willing to pay for a Linux version of RPG Maker MZ is probably extremely small, comparatively speaking.
The developers of RPG Maker MZ would certainly have even more relevant data on this matter, considering that they did release a Linux version of MV. They should know exactly how much it costed to support Linux, and also how much they gained in return. I would assume that they made the decision to not support Linux based on that data.
Truthfully, considering the frameworks that were used to develop MZ, it would likely be a fairly trivial matter for them to compile a version of the software that can natively run on Linux. I think that the difficult part would actually be providing support for that software after the fact.
To put it nicely... Linux doesn't provide a particularly consistent experience for all people. A person's experience tends to vary widely, depending on what distro they're using, what kernel version, what desktop environment, what hardware, what drivers, etc. Trying to provide support (at a professional capacity) for a software product in that type of environment seems like a nightmare to me.
And if every time they want to add a new feature or bugfix to MZ, they had to clear that change against 200 different Linux configurations, I think that new features would come very slowly (if at all), and the 99% of us that aren't using Linux would suffer for it. Perhaps Linux support will be added after GGG has decided that MZ is essentially in a final state.
@Arthran Do you actually use Linux? Steam does not represent all of gaming nor does it represent all of Linux gaming. This type of anti-Linux mentality from the community is not going to make me support RPG Maker or buy it's product.
For as large and established RPGM is, that's a pretty weak argument since many smaller game engines have proper Linux support. Even RPG Paper Maker has Linux support and is free
You are not even part of the Staff for RPG Maker, you sure as hell should not be speaking for them like this. It's just going to alienate potential users from wanting to use RPG Maker.
Nothing Arthran said indicates "an anti-Linux mentality" - also, this is a fan/volunteer forum. It's no one's job here to "make you" support or buy RPG Maker.
This also likely ventures into a wider debate around Linux as a consumer operating system itself.
Not totally relevant, but I mean, who's surprised when one of the most gate-keepery communities winds up causing outside folks of that community to suddenly establish an anti-that-community mentality? Sorry for generalizing.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Linux as an operating system, but honestly at a general consumer level, it's a nightmare to use. Windows: can do basic operation without tutorial. Mac: can do basic operations without tutorial. Linux: Needs a tutorial just to pick the right version of the operating system. Need a tutorial just to install the operating system. Likely need a tutorial to download software. Likely need a tutorial to get the software to work. Likely need a tutorial for the drivers.
I used Linux for a bit over a year, and I appreciate it's smooth operation and stable performance, and once things are set up, yeah, it's nice, but for the layman, it's rough.
The reason that is relevant is that it's the layman that drives the big bucks. As long as the software can only be utilized by a niche group, I don't think it's going to be adopted by the layman.
And comparing a free, open-source software to a commercial software is not a good comparison. You have a ton of free brain-power going in to developing an app by people who want to see specific features added - cost is not really an issue here, it's mostly just a matter of people's time and commitment.
A commercial software needs to spend money paying employees, taxes, rent, and bills, plus enough to earn a profit to make their next iteration surpass their previous software version. Suddenly, once money is involved, not everything is possible unless the company has bottomless pockets, and Google GochaGocha is not.
Not to mention this sort of becomes a chicken or the egg situation. Few people (especially large software companies) are going to support a niche operating system because there aren't enough users, but there aren't enough users because the operating system doesn't support the software they need or want. It's been this way with Linux for years, and while the Steam Deck may help Linux see wider adoption in the future, as it is now and as it has been for well over a decade, this barrier has yet to be broken down.
So basically here's Linux's problems in a nutshell that must be overcome:
1) It's too obtuse to install and use for the general consumer.
2) The software support that general consumers may be looking for is limited.
3) The user base is limited, so software companies don't spend the development and support money on the operating system.
4) The core-user base that introduces the operating system to the layman is often seen as abrasive and toxic.
But basically, I could sum all of this up as this: Your post comes off as aggressive, and if you want anything done (especially when @Arthran gave a very level-headed response to you) I would advise having a healthy debate around the topic, not jumping the gun straight to aggression - or, at least, using language in your post that reads as aggression (far be it from me to assume your intent)
Yes, I have used several versions of Linux for various purposes throughout the years. Nobody who has studied Computer Science or worked as a software developer hasn't...
No, I don't currently use Linux very much in my daily life, because I have no good reason to, and I have several good reasons not to. I occasionally still boot up a Linux virtual machine for various reasons, but it's not so common anymore.
I didn't claim that it does. However, Steam does provide a very large sample size from which to obtain accurate and objective data regarding PC gaming.
For the most part, it probably actually does. If we set aside things like Solitaire and Minesweeper clones, then it's probably safe to say that the overwhelming majority of the extreme minority who play "real" PC games on Linux are probably doing so through Proton on Steam.
Huh? Please take off your tinfoil hat for a second and show me where I displayed "anti-Linux" mentality. Also, you've already made it clear that you don't intend to buy the product, so please spare me the "blame game" drama.
It might be a good idea for you to ask yourself whether or not this belligerent and unreasonable demeanor is likely to inspire a "pro-Linux" mentality in the community.
For as large and established RPGM is, that's a pretty weak argument since many smaller game engines have proper Linux support. Even RPG Paper Maker has Linux support and is free
This shows that you were too busy trying to find things to be outraged about to actually pay attention to what I was saying. The fact that RPGM is "large and established" is exactly the point. You keep trying to compare a legitimate commercial product to small, open-source, community-driven projects. That's not a valid thing to do, because the motivations behind the two types of products are completely different, and the obligations born by the developers are completely different.
When you download free software, if it's buggy, or quirky, or requires you to tweak and tinker with your system to get it working, or if it doesn't work at all... you generally just shrug it off and accept that that's the nature of free software. You got no less than you paid for, and the volunteers who created the software don't owe you anything.
But that's not the case with a commercial product. If you're a legitimate business, and you charge money for a software product, then you do have obligations to your customers. Your customers aren't just going to shrug it off if the software is buggy or quirky, and they aren't going to accept having to jump through hoops to get it working. If you release a commercial Linux product, you can't just settle for it working for *some* people, on *some* distros, with *some* hardware configurations. A real business has to spend the effort, money, manpower, and time to truly support their software.
And as I stated earlier, at the end of the day, a business needs/wants their products to be profitable. Spending a lot of resources in order to please a relatively small number of potential customers is not necessarily a profitable venture, especially if doing so means diverting resources away from things that would please a much larger pool of potential customers. It's not a matter of whether the devs are "anti-Linux" or "pro-Linux". Such feelings have no place in business... It's simply a matter of profits and losses.
You're not part of the staff of RPG Maker either, so it's not your place to tell me what I should or should not be speaking about.
I never claimed to be part of the staff, or even remotely tried to pass myself off as one. I was simply giving you my objective view on the matter, as someone with both a background in business and a background in software development. I never claimed that my words were gospel, and I was careful to use disclaimers such as "I think" and "I would assume".
If you were hoping to get a response from RPG Maker staff, I've got some bad news for you, superstar: You're at the wrong website. RPG Maker is both developed and published by Gotcha Gotcha Games, so you need to go to their website and fill out a contact form.
While I do feel that that's a very silly and overdramatic thing to say... For what it's worth, I apologize if my attempt at explaining reality made you feel aliented from wanting to use RPG Maker.
I'm what we call a beverage goblin. On my work desk I have regular water, a cherry seltzer water, and a cold brewed coffee all on a rotating sip schedule.
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