I saw the first few comments and knew this was going to turn into a massive debate...
Lo and behold, i check back in a few days and it's still going strong.
mind you you don't have to be a genius to know that a Linux vs Windows topic is going to end up being a massive s**t throwing game.
How long till it turns into something like this?:
"My s**t is better than yours"
"Don't be stupid, my s**t has more buttons"
"My s**t's buttons are of a better quality"
"No they aren't"
"Yes they are"
"No they aren't"
"Yes they are"
etc....
PureBlackSin
Windows vs. Ubuntu
If the game is to be MMORPG (assuming of course that you are doing a project to become familiar with the 'massive' part and not somehow hoping to do 'it all' yourself...) then you probably need to get familiar with both Windows (most target players STILL will probably use that for the client side ) and Linux
for the server side (so you dont have to pay Billy Gates his blood money for the many server cluster machines you would need for a real scaled up system).
Im facing the same thing on my long term project which because of the heavy AI requires cluster servers even if there is only one 'player'. I originally did it all in C++ on Windows (Client + Server) but now face the scalibility issue/requirement.
The graphics are all on the Client side so that part is taken care of (wont change), but the service/networking/threading aspect of the servers has now to be reworked for the Linux platform. The main processing code wont be much different as its mostly data crunching, which is largely directly convertable.
I'm currently developing a game that's working on both (SDL/OpenGL as primary API). Works fine targetting both OSes.
There's nothing inherently better with Linux except you get a lot of stuff for free. Usually, you have a somewhat greater degree of control too, but that comes at the expense of many "WTF does this script mean"-situations needing to be googled that Windows would never expose me to.
But I'd suggest you to use/develop whatever you're comfortable with.
There's nothing inherently better with Linux except you get a lot of stuff for free. Usually, you have a somewhat greater degree of control too, but that comes at the expense of many "WTF does this script mean"-situations needing to be googled that Windows would never expose me to.
But I'd suggest you to use/develop whatever you're comfortable with.
Just going to step in and provide my point of view.
I used both Windows and Linux, although since Linux is on my laptop and I don't want to bring my desktop to college for security and size reasons, I end up using Linux a bit more.
Anyways, to my actual point, what operating system you write a bunch of words on doesn't matter. You can also cross-compile from either, so I would worry more about what text editor, IDE, compiler, etc. you will use.
If you want advice, I would say try Linux while starting your game on Windows. Later, if you're comfortable with Linux, you can decide if you want to switch.
I used both Windows and Linux, although since Linux is on my laptop and I don't want to bring my desktop to college for security and size reasons, I end up using Linux a bit more.
Anyways, to my actual point, what operating system you write a bunch of words on doesn't matter. You can also cross-compile from either, so I would worry more about what text editor, IDE, compiler, etc. you will use.
If you want advice, I would say try Linux while starting your game on Windows. Later, if you're comfortable with Linux, you can decide if you want to switch.
Linux will never be supported by driver manufacturers or software companies until it becomes popular by the end-user. It's sort of a circular dependency and the only way to break it is if Linux-using companies strike some deals which will probably involve monetary transactions to give Linux better support.
A few points for Linux nobody has mentioned:
For Linux:
For Windows:
I personally use Linux exclusively. It works the way I want and has all of the tools I need. I also never have *needed* to use the command line to configure my system. Linux has great GUI administration tools and works well with all my hardware. Though I know some users have different experiences.
For Linux:
- Package management is pure awesome. When I want to install some dev tool under Linux, it is one command away (I can also search in the GUI package manager if I prefer). Seriously, after running "yum install scons SDL*-devel subversion eclipse-cdt" to get all my favorite development tools and libraries, doing the equivalent on windows is a serious pain.
- I find workspaces greatly improve my workflow. Being able to have a few projects open at once and keep all my windows organized is great. It's like dual monitors: you may not see the need for it, but once you're used to it, it's very painful to do without.
- Some people touched on this, but Linux works great in networked environments. I can open up a file browser window and interact with files across ssh, ftp etc. as if they were stored locally. I can also launch GUI applications running on a remote machine without a full remote desktop. These things may exist on Windows, but are built in for Linux.
For Windows:
- There are more and better choices for art programs on Windows including Photoshop, Milkshape, 3DS Max etc. Of course these cost money, and I wouldn't personally pay for them anyway.
- The MSVC debugger really is better than gdb.
I personally use Linux exclusively. It works the way I want and has all of the tools I need. I also never have *needed* to use the command line to configure my system. Linux has great GUI administration tools and works well with all my hardware. Though I know some users have different experiences.
Quote:Original post by swiftcoderQuote:Original post by ranakorGah. Why does pretty much everyone who advocates the windows command line tools then follow with "but I never use them"? That is kind of the the point - Windows insulates you from the command line, and unless you rely on command line tools day-in, day-out, you won't see the problems with them.
And to swiftcoder who named the horrible command line in windows , totally agree with Darragh , check out PowerShell , changes everything. That aside , i've never hard to use the command line tool
Aside from the tools themselves, their integration with the user interface truly sucks. There is no support for dragging files into the shell (which would insert the file's path on a Linux terminal). Windows has tried to merge the functionality of the Command and Control keys, leaving horrible confusion between shell escapes and keyboard-commands. Powershell doesn't support searching through command history. The list goes on...
Because powershell is a powerfull command line , i use it , but not for development , but i definately don't need it , the only reason i use it is because i'm teaching our production service to use it and there there's a real need for it. And here windows handle draging files into the command line and inserting their path just fine curiously...
Me not using the command line is relevant , i don't need it because at any instant i could need it , there already is a button right in my face doing what those 2 lines would do , vs is good at providing you good commands contextually so most often what you would do manually is not only already done for you , but right in your face. Why would i do it thought the error prone not yet launched command line? I'm happy having it all at the same place
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