Windows vs. Linux
Author
I'm new to these forums, so hello all. I also thought this would be the perfect place to get a question answered for me. Me and a few buddies are gonna make an fps using c++ and opengl. The debate we're having right now, is wether to use linux, or windows for gameplay. I haven't really seen any good titles out for linux, i could be mistaken though. If any1 could point me in the right direction or give me the pros and cons of building a game on these 2 operating systems, that would be great.
Thanks,
Ryan
Building on Linux, you may have an easier time programming as you wouldn't have to learn about Windows programming, which can be difficult at times. Making the game for Windows, though, increases your possible user base, as Windows is used more widely than Linux. Basically, do you want to make the game for you and your buds, or for everyone else as well?
Do you understand you just resurected an huge flame wars about window and linux, as soon as the diehard linux and windows fanboys read this you will get to see real blood.
I dual boot linux and window on my system but I haven't looked into linux programming and I don't find programming for windows difficult at all.
I dual boot linux and window on my system but I haven't looked into linux programming and I don't find programming for windows difficult at all.
If you use cross platform tools such as SDL www.libsdl.org and OpenGL then you can use both Windows and Linux.
Theoretically you could make it for both without -too- much messing around -- i.e., cross platform. That said, windows has squillions of libraries already available to help you out -- linux not so many. Example of Commercial game that works on Linux: well, Doom 3 for one -- I can also play Half Life 2 at 90% of windows speed through a little program called 'wine' -- enables people to use win32 apps on linux with little or no performance penalty.
Either way, good luck with your project and let us know what you decide on!
~Shiny.
Either way, good luck with your project and let us know what you decide on!
~Shiny.
Quote:Original post by Tjaalie
Do you understand you just resurected an huge flame wars about window and linux, as soon as the diehard linux and windows fanboys read this you will get to see real blood.
I dual boot linux and window on my system but I haven't looked into linux programming and I don't find programming for windows difficult at all.
Note: my careful wording that Windows programming "can" be difficult. :)
Quote:Original post by Shiny
That said, windows has squillions of libraries already available to help you out -- linux not so many.
A good point. I suppose if you use the right libraries and know how to jumble them altogether without making things too messy, then yeah, Windows isn't too bad.
Hm, on the point of 'how difficult is it to program in linux', I'll state for the record that I find creating windows etc in Linux (er, X windows I should say) somewhat more painful than the ole win32 way. That said, once you get that code out, it's not like you write it over and over...done is done and the rest of linux coding is pretty decent -- although it'd be cool if there was a nice IDE for linux (I use eclipse with CDT but there's possibly better alternatives).
~Shiny.
Oh, and I put in my request for an OS X version too -- much better to code for than windows :P
~Shiny.
Oh, and I put in my request for an OS X version too -- much better to code for than windows :P
i recommend sdl as well, my game uses it and runs without changes ( apart from a couple high performance timer things which are only used for testing purposes ) both under win + linux (+ prolly also mac os though ive never tested it)
Having used both (and using both at work), I can say that in my opinion, the Visual Studio debugger is significantly better, and much faster to work with, than GDB (no matter what layer you put on top of GDB).
Both platforms have library and API idiosynchracies. Part of being a programmer is learning them and working with them. Clearly, it's possible to build good software on both platforms, although generally, Windows centric software tends to have better UI than Linux centric software (compare, say, Photoshop to The Gimp). There's no big difference for a game, though, as you'll be working full-screen.
The available market on Windows is a lot larger, but then, there are also more titles out for Windows. On the third hand, Linux users aren't used to pay for software, so if you're trying to make a buck, you have to consider that, as well.
Both platforms have library and API idiosynchracies. Part of being a programmer is learning them and working with them. Clearly, it's possible to build good software on both platforms, although generally, Windows centric software tends to have better UI than Linux centric software (compare, say, Photoshop to The Gimp). There's no big difference for a game, though, as you'll be working full-screen.
The available market on Windows is a lot larger, but then, there are also more titles out for Windows. On the third hand, Linux users aren't used to pay for software, so if you're trying to make a buck, you have to consider that, as well.
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