PCI SgtRock

Hi, all; A search of the forums shows that this question has occasionally come up in the past 3+ years. Generally speaking, the answer has been that due to choices made early on, a port to Linux would be very difficult. Also, the marketplace 4 years ago for a Linux game was tiny, far less than 1% of the available desktops. IMO, at that time the decision not to bother with a Linux port was the correct choice. The marketplace today is a very different place. IDC estimates that Linux will overtake the Mac for number of deployed desktops some time early this year. Their estimate last year was that various flavors of Mac OS held 2.8% of the desktop market, while Linux held 2.7%. However, last year MacOS's position was fairly static, while Linux's installed base had grown by about 45%. This is growth that has been sustained for the last 3 years (2001, 2002, and 2003). The MacOS market used to be fragmented into MacOS 9 and 10.X. The move to a BSD core for MacOS 10 drastically changed how programs had to be written. I think at this point in time, most OS 9 installations that will be upgraded have already been taken care of. The rest will probably run until their HDs seize up. This means that we essentially have a combined Unix like market share for Linux and MacOS that is currently hovering somewhere between 5% and 6% today, with the potential for double digits in a few years (yay). Again, today the growth is pretty much all Linux. Linux game development is no longer considered a risky thing to do. Many influential games have come out with Linux servers. Some of the more foward thinking have also released Linux clients. In some cases, these clients came out on the same media as the Windows clients. For others, a download of the Linux executable was necessary after purchasing a Windows copy of the game. Examples include: Doom Doom ][ Quake Quake2 Doom III (forthcoming) Call of Duty Unreal Tournament 2003 Unreal Tournament 2004 (forthcoming) America's Army Neverwinter Nights Sim City 2000 At this point in time, I would like to suggest that the Combat Mission development team should seriously consider following these pioneers and create a Linux client in addition to the MacOS 10 and Windows clients for their next game. Cross platform games have shown themselves to be a successful alternative. The reasons for this are due at least in part to the influence the early adopters have. There's another reason, I think. Starting from the premise that they want to create a cross platform app forces a development team to spend time thinking about what can be abstracted, and what must be platform specific. The good news is that a MacOS 10 to Linux port is a lot less painful than that from Windows to either one. The heavy lifting to get a Linux port of the next game may already be done. Thank you for your attention, =JpS=SgtRock (formerly =PCI= and [EoF] SgtRock)

No, not really. The Japanese did some great work defending Manila, for example, using satchel charges against M10s and such. Height advantage meant everything then. Besides, if the game mechanics properly represent what happens when using a rooftop, shouldn't we be able to do so? (both height advantage AND lack of cover)

OK, as long as we've got some serious topic drift here, let me point out that having 6 fingers on my right hand has never caused any problems with sighting an M1. On the other hand, that damn sword still doesn't fit me right. And don't get me started on Montoya! I tossed off the sniper comment as one example. I'm far more interested in just being able to place mortars, anti-tank weapons like PIATs and bazookas, etc. on rooftops. Mortars and guns for the addtional reach, anti-tank weapons for the top armor attack. It's part of what can make street fighting so deadly. And so much fun for us grognards.

One thing that has bothered me a bit with many tactical wargames is the lack of ability to use rooftops. For example, I would like to be able to place a 60mm mortar on top of a 2/4 story building with a flat roof, or place a sniper in the belltower of a church. I've heard of historical cases where even small anti-tank guns were placed on rooftops when the defense had a long enough time to prepare. I can't confirm these, though. In any case, such capabilities would provide some interesting choices, tactically. Rooftop mortars, guns, and machineguns would have a much longer reach, but would sacrifice overhead cover. Thoughts?