Author Topic: Manually Updating in Ubuntu  (Read 2349 times)

Offline VGK_Dabs

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Manually Updating in Ubuntu
« on: October 27, 2019, 02:39:18 pm »
Hello,

So I have Linux Ubuntu 18.04 as my OS. I purchased AI War 2 (or as I like to call it Super Space Robot Murderfest Sexiness 2) from GOG.com. Naturally the Galaxy software does not work on my machine and I've been unable to locate a spot on the Arcen website to help me update from their website. Anybody know what I need to do to get this game updated?

Thanks,

Dabs.

Offline doctorfrog

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 591
Re: Manually Updating in Ubuntu
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2019, 07:59:37 pm »
I'm on Windows as a GOG user, and I'd also be interested in manual updates, if it turns out GOG is going to lag behind Steam in that regard.

Offline x4000

  • Chris McElligott Park, Arcen Founder and Lead Dev
  • Arcen Staff
  • Zenith Council Member Mark III
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,651
Re: Manually Updating in Ubuntu
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2019, 12:24:48 pm »
Hi there,

So, with the DRM-free builds (which is kind of a misnomer because none of our builds have any DRM, but still), there's not any form of in-game updater.  That would require some binary diffing/patching capabilities that I just don't have right now, as well as costing hundreds of dollars a month in hosting charges if past games are anything to go by.

With both Steam and the GOG Galaxy client, they are tools that have inherent binary diffing as part of themselves, and they shoulder the costs of that rather than me having to pay for infrastructure on that myself.  The GOG Galaxy client version and the Steam version  are always updated at the exact same time, so there's no lag there.

For the "standalone" build that GOG creates for people to install, they have a semi-automated process for creating those, and they do them periodically after I've updated the game.  I don't control when or how frequently they do that, and it involves a full download of the game and install of it.  Really not something tenable for when there are multiple updates in a week in my opinion.

Both the Steam and GOG Galaxy clients are essentially "delivery mechanisms" for binary diffs for games.  To avoid using them for a game of this scale (6GB or so) would require a lot of infrastructure as well as me to reinvent what they already invented.  There's definitely nothing tying the game to either platform in terms of once you have the game downloaded it is on your machine for good and not something that can be removed or caused to not function due to lack of a network connection or what have you.

The unfortunate thing about the GOG Galaxy client on linux is that... it doesn't support linux yet. I'm not really sure what their timeframe is on this, but they sure have a lot of people asking for it and you can also add your own voices to that if you want: https://www.gog.com/wishlist/galaxy/release_the_gog_galaxy_client_for_linux

Hope that makes sense; the full installers should be up to date within a few days after the Steam and GOG Galaxy client updates go live, at worst, at any rate.

Best,
Chris
Have ideas or bug reports for one of our games?  Mantis for Suggestions and Bug Reports. Thanks for helping to make our games better!

Offline doctorfrog

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 591
Re: Manually Updating in Ubuntu
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2019, 02:19:02 pm »
Thanks for the explanation, Chris. Since I know that you are pushing those updates to GOG, I can bug them for updates after about a day or two. I also don't usually use their forums, but I'll do a daily sweep there to help handle some of the gripes or questions that show up, and point them to the Mantis or to this forum.

I ducked your years-long AI War 2 alpha for personal life reasons and I'm thrilled as heck that AIW 2 has seen release. I'll probably pick up a Steam copy eventually, if only to be more current on the beta drops, as I plan to start making some pesky interface feature requests soon.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2019, 02:24:25 pm by doctorfrog »