this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2024
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Ok, I really don't get Epic hate. Sure, they're using shitty practices to attempt to compete with the megolith Valve is, and it sucks. However, how are they sabotaging it working on Linux. They made Easy Anti-cheat work on Linux, which is huge, and also UE5 seems to run better on Linux than Windows by most accounts I've heard, including my own experience.
Make reasonable complaints all day, but sabotaging Linux compatability is not something they're doing.
For example they discontinued support for Rocket League on Linux (and Mac) after buying Psyonix.
It's got a platinum rating on ProtonDB. It looks like the native versions aren't being supported anymore, but they still work. I don't blame them. The game has gotten a lot smaller over the years and I'm certain there's very few Linux players on it. Regardless, the Windows application seems to work perfectly fine for Linux users. Yeah, native is ideal but it costs extra money to maintain two (or three) versions.
Anyway, you can't say they're sabotaging Linux support when they also purchased EAC and had them add Linux support. They may not be perfect with Linux, but they aren't sabotaging it.
Edit: Why is this being downvoted? If you want to downvote you should be able to articulate why. What is the expectation for them to do? The game has clearly been on the decline for a while, and I'm sure they've got the numbers for their player counts by system. They have limited money and need to support the game still. Why would they waste it on supporting a native Linux version if it isn't being played and the windows version works perfectly on Linux? If they didn't want Linux to exist, why would they make EAC work on Linux? Explain how you think they're actively trying to harm Linux (sabotage) instead of merely maybe hurting it as a side effect passively.
https://imgflip.com/i/8id8kp
Silly you, you should know that it is not allowed to say anything that could be construed as remotely positive about Epic (or anything negative about Valve/Steam, for that matter) on this site.
Meanwhile GOG attempts to compete by offering features that other platforms don't offer, like DRM-free installers and a multi-platform game launcher.
If Epic got to #1 place, what guarantees there are that they would stop using exclusivity deals to hinder their own competitors? It might just be that we end up with a more anti-competititve market leader, and then what would be the benefit of having overtaken Steam?
I like GoG. They don't hold any control over the market though. I wish they did, but they aren't competing.
I can agree that GoG doesn't have a large share of the market, but I'm still unconvinced of the benefit of this call for competition for competition's sake when it's introducing anti-competitive practices. Usually we want competition to push back against anti-competitive practices.
Epic takes less revenue than Steam.
They both have anti-competitive practices. They're just different practices. Epic tends to favor helping developers and Valve tends to favor appealing to users. Valve doesn't need to force exclusivity because games have to take a loss to not use them, because they're already the market leader. There's no knowing what Valve would be doing if they were the underdog, but people need to stop assuming Valve is good. No company is ever good.
No company is good but that doesn't mean they are all equally, identically bad.
We have seen what Valve did when it was not the market leader because it didn't spawn in such a place. What they did is lock their own games to their own platform, which is something most other PC storefronts do or did at some point.
We did not yet see what Epic would do if it would got to the top. Is it even guaranteed that they would continue to take less revenue?
And really, if all companies are bad, what's the point of rooting for Epic to overtake Steam?
I'm not rooting for epic to overtake steam. I'm just against the people who hate Epic just for the sake of hating Epic. It's cool to hate them I guess, but it doesn't usually make sense. The biggest real issue is their store client sucks, but Steam wasn't always as good as it is now either.
They don't owe Epic any respect or reasons to dislike them either. For all this "all companies are bad", you are being a bit picky over when they can or can't be judged.
I gave you my reasons why I don't like them. They are not jumping into the game client market in the early 2000s, they are did it 2018. They have had the blueprint ready, with many examples, but they didn't care to match the other alternatives in the market. Which in itself wouldn't be such an issue, but it does leave a bad taste when they make themselves the only option where to buy certain games. I don't hate them because it's cool, I hate them because they inconvenience me.
Tim Sweeney is pretty openly against any Linux support for some reason so I think that soured Linux gamers against them.
I have been gaming on Linux for 15 years and it is so much better these days, but we are still not a 1st party target. I get why, but it sucks to be ignored and told to just deal with it forever. I spend as much or more on hardware and software than windows gamers (except for a Windows license I suppose) and I guess I have to vote with my wallet.
Epic (the game engine and middleware developer) and Epic Store (the one that sells games) seems to have different priorities. Customers of Epic game engines and middlewares want linux supports, so they provide it. Meanwhile, Epic Store don't want the burden of maintaining linux ports for their games, so they remove supports for linux in games they acquired.