Linux Game Publishing
Limited company | |
Industry | Video games |
---|---|
Founded | 5 September 2001[1] |
Defunct | 3 May 2011[1] |
Headquarters | Nottingham, UK |
Key people | Clive Crous, CEO (2012 - Present) Michael Simms, Founder and LGP Business Adviser (CEO: 2001 - 2012) Frank C. Earl, Senior Developer |
Website | www |
Linux Game Publishing (sometimes also referred to as LGP) was a software company based in
History
2001-2012
The company was founded on 5 September 2001 by Michael Simms when the similarly oriented
David Hedbor, founder and main programmer of Eon Games—an independent game development company specializing in creating games for desktop computers and handheld devices,[11] ported NingPo MahJong and Hyperspace Delivery Boy! to Linux, which later were published by LGP.[12] (the first version of NingPo Mah Jong for Linux, however, was released in 2003 by Pyrogon only as a digital download).[13]
Eon Games stopped development and porting of games for Linux and other platforms in 2005 (and later closed in 2010).
In 2005, LGP announced the opening of their beta test for Linux version of X2: The Threat.[22]
On 13 March 2008 Finnish game company
In December 2008, LGP released
In December 2008, LGP launched PenguinPlay, a new website for Linux gamers, allowing matchmaking for
In June 2009 they began offering downloadable games and game rentals.[26]
In August 2009 they grudgingly dropped support for all PowerPC games, stating that "demand for PPC versions of LGP games has been almost non existent".[27]
On 10 August 2009 Michael Simms confirmed that LGP is working on an original simple game based on Sudoku.[28]
In September 2009
In late September 2010 the Linux Game Publishing server suffered a massive hard drive failure which took down all of their online infrastructure, including related websites such as Tux Games and
2012–2020
On 31 January 2012, after over a decade with the company, Michael Simms announced in a blog post, that he was stepping down as CEO, saying "you can't continue on a high energy rampage for 10 years without something breaking", and handing over control to
Games published
Supported
Title | Genre | Date of Release | Available Languages | Developer | Porter | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Creatures: Internet Edition
|
Simulation | 21 December 2001 | Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish | Creature Labs
|
Creature Labs
|
Linux Game Publishing |
MindRover: The Europa Project | Strategy | 13 December 2002 | English | CogniToy | Loki Software /Linux Game Publishing
|
Linux Game Publishing |
Candy Cruncher | Puzzle | 6 February 2003 | English | Pyrogon | Ryan C. Gordon | Linux Game Publishing |
Majesty: Gold Edition | Real-time strategy | 15 April 2003 | English | Cyberlore Studios
|
Tribsoft/Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
NingPo MahJong | Puzzle | 21 January 2004 | English | Pyrogon | Eon Games | Linux Game Publishing |
Hyperspace Delivery Boy! | Puzzle/Action
|
10 May 2004 | English | Monkeystone Games | Eon Games | Linux Game Publishing |
Software Tycoon | Simulation | 10 January 2005 | English, German | destraX Entertainment Software GbR | RuneSoft | Linux Game Publishing |
Postal²: Share The Pain
|
First-person shooter | 4 February 2005 | English | Running with Scissors | Ryan C. Gordon | Linux Game Publishing |
Soul Ride | Sports
|
24 June 2005 | English | Slingshot | Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Gorky 17 | Tactical RPG
|
15 June 2006 | English, German, Spanish, French (Text Only) | Metropolis Software | Hyperion Entertainment | Linux Game Publishing |
Cold War
|
Stealth | 4 August 2006 | English, German, French, Russian, Spanish (text only), Italian (text only), Polish (text only), Czech (text only) | Mindware Studios | Mindware Studios | Linux Game Publishing |
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom | Real-time strategy | 13 March 2007 | English, German, Spanish, French | Joymania Entertainment | RuneSoft/Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Ballistics
|
Racing | 7 June 2007 | English | Grin
|
Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Jets'n'Guns | Shoot 'em up | 29 January 2009 | English | RakeInGrass | RakeInGrass/Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Sacred: Gold Edition | Action role-playing | 9 April 2009 | English | Ascaron Entertainment | Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Shadowgrounds | Shooter | 16 September 2009 | English, Finnish | Frozenbyte | IGIOS/Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Shadowgrounds Survivor
|
Shooter | 18 September 2009 | English, Finnish | Frozenbyte | IGIOS/Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Unsupported
Title | Genre | Date of Release | Available Languages | Developer | Porter | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
X2: The Threat | Space simulation
|
30 May 2006 | English, German, French, Italian | Egosoft | Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
X3: Reunion | Space simulation
|
5 December 2008 | English, German, French, Italian (text only) | Egosoft | Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
X3: Reunion - Special Edition | Space simulation
|
5 December 2008 | English, German, French, Italian (text only) | Egosoft | Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Upcoming
Title | Genre | Date of Release | Available Languages | Developer | Porter | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown Title (Original LGP game)[28] | Puzzle | in development since 2009 | ? | Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Bandits: Phoenix Rising | Racing | in development since 2003 | English | Grin
|
Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Disciples II: Dark Prophecy | Turn-based strategy | in development since 2002 | English | Strategy First | Linux Game Publishing | Linux Game Publishing |
Technology
Grapple
Grapple was a free software package created in 2006 by Michael Simms for adding multiplayer support to computer games and applications. It used Internet protocols, supporting both TCP/IP and UDP/IP. It was intended to be simple enough that multiplayer features can be added to a game "as little as a dozen lines of code".[43]
Grapple took care of creating, monitoring and closing connections to a server, and allowed support for multiple servers. It was message-oriented, where clients and servers each maintained a message queue, but also permitted relaying messages from client to client. There was also support for a game lobby system.[44] The package was released under the GNU LGPL.
Games using Grapple
- Ballistics(Linux Version) by Linux Game Publishing
- Candy Cruncher (Linux Version) by Linux Game Publishing
- Jets'n'Guns (Linux Version) by Linux Game Publishing
- Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom (Linux Version) by Linux Game Publishing
- Majesty: Gold Edition (Linux Version) by Linux Game Publishing
- Sacred: Gold (Linux Version) by Linux Game Publishing
Applications using Grapple
- PenguinPlay, Multiplayer matchmaker for games.
Copy protection
Linux Game Publishing employs a simple form of digital rights management similar to that employed by Games for Windows – Live. Upon the first run of the game, the user is prompted for a license key, alongside their LGP user name and password.[45]
Some features include:[46]
- LGP copy protection does not require internet connection to install or play the game.
- This system does not require user to keep the disc inside the CD drive while playing games.
This system enables users to install the game on multiple systems (as there is not a limited number of activations), while also discouraging sharing by noting that any user who has access to the owner's LGP account credentials could potentially lock the owner out of their own game.
Games published
Currently, LGP has published nine games that contain their DRM technology:
Title | Box version | Digital version |
---|---|---|
Ballistics | No | None |
Ballistics (r2) | None | Yes |
Jets'n'Guns | Yes | Yes |
Majesty Gold | No | None |
Majesty Gold (r2) | Yes | Yes |
Sacred: Gold Edition | Yes | Yes |
Shadowgrounds | Yes | Yes |
Shadowgrounds Survivor | Yes | Yes |
X2: The Threat | No | None |
X2: The Threat (r2) | None | Yes |
X3: Reunion | Yes | Yes |
X3: Reunion - Special Edition | Yes | None |
Owners of a game license can transfer the license to someone else, download a replacement disc image and allow people to see that the license is valid if they buy your game. Owners can retrieve lost keys and forgotten passwords. Buyers can check to see if they are buying a game with a valid license.[47]
Open source projects
Besides Grapple, above, LGP released and contributed to several open-source projects. They created several patches for
Canceled projects
LGP canceled Angry-Pixel project, which was sponsor the creation of a new company for the development of games for Linux.[52]
The game Tzar: The Burden of the Crown was considered by Linux Game Publishing to be ported to Linux, but it was rejected due to concerns within the company about its gameplay and after hearing negative comments about the game from the Linux gaming community.[53]
On 6 February 2003 LGP released Candy Cruncher to Linux running on computers with
On 24 June 2005 LGP released Soul Ride to Linux running on computers with Alpha and Sparc processors.[51]
On 30 August 2005 Linux Game Publishing cancelled a contract to publish the Linux version of Northland which is the third game in the Cultures real-time strategy series, because technical issues with the game that Runesoft, who were doing the development work on the port, could not resolve to their satisfaction. However, on 25 January 2006 Runesoft released Northland for Linux, but the multiplayer mode is still not supported.[55]
LGP grudgingly dropped support for five PowerPC games.:[56]
- Candy Cruncher (PowerPC)
- Gorky 17 (PowerPC)
- Majesty Gold (PowerPC)
- NingPo MahJong (PowerPC)
- Soul Ride (PowerPC)
PenguinPlay was a website for Linux gamers, allowing matchmaking for
- Ballistics
- Candy Cruncher
- Jets'n'Guns
- Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom
- Majesty Gold
- Sacred: Gold Edition
In October 2012 they informed their customers that the license agreement with Egosoft for X2 and X3 (including Special Edition) had expired and were no longer able to offer these titles to new customers.[58]
Unreleased projects
A Linux client of World of Warcraft was developed, and negotiations with Linux Game Publishing were under way until Blizzard Entertainment cancelled the project without warning or explanation, even though it was functionally complete and ready to go.[59][51]
Since 2004 Frank C. Earl (also known as svartalf) worked on PowerPC and Athlon64 versions of Ballistics and Soul Ride, but these versions of the games were never released.[60] However, he prepared demo version of Soul Ride for Linux x86_64 for GDC 2003, but this demo is not publicly available.[61] Svartalf was also the lead developer of Disciples II: Dark Prophecy and he worked on PowerPC and x86-64 versions of Disciples II, but work on the game still ended and LGP stopped working on games for PowerPC.[62] However, LGP is still working on IA-32 version of Disciples II.[63]
LGP still did not release the demo version of Sacred: Gold and patch 1.08 for Linux version of MindRover: The Europa Project.
Tux Games
Tux Games was one of the earliest online
Tux Games, being one of the oldest retailers, was one of the few places still selling
In addition to its services as a games seller, Tux Games has attempted to branch out into other areas, such as selling gaming oriented computer systems,
Tux Games received many requests for sales statistics,
Towards the end of its run, Tux Games gained some competition from other similarly focused retailers, such as Fun4Tux, Wupra, ixsoft and LinuxPusher.[76] All retailers based in continental Europe, most also served as re-sellers for LGP.[41] It was also competing with the online digital distribution services Gameolith and Desura.[77] It was also occasionally criticized for poor order handling.[78]
On 31 January 2012 after over a decade with the company, Michael Simms announced he was stepping down as CEO and handing over control to Clive Crous.[79] The store went down in 2014.
See also
- Hyperion Entertainment
- Loki Software
- Runesoft
- Ryan C. Gordon
- Steam Powered
References
- ^ a b c "LINUX GAME PUBLISHING LTD. Overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
- ^ Founder, Creditors Differ as to Loki's Future Course Archived 24 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine Linux Today, 17 August 2001 (Article by Dennis E. Powell)
- ^ LGP History pt 1: How LGP came to be Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine Linux Game Publishing Blog, 15 May 2009 (Article by Michael Simms)
- LinuxGames, 3 January 2002
- ^ LGP History pt 2: The Early Days Archived 2011-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Linux Game Publishing Blog, 23 June 2009 (Article by Michael Simms)
- LinuxGames, 13 February 2002
- LinuxGames, 10 September 2002
- ^ Interview with Ryan Gordon: Postal2, Unreal & Mac Gaming Macologist, 10 November. 2004
- icculus.org, 14 February 2005
- ^ Hyperion and Metropolis announce AmigaOS 4 version of Gorky 17 Hyperion Entertainment, 25 December 2003
- ^ About Eon Games
- LinuxGames, 6 September 2002
- LinuxGames, 18 April 2003
- ^ Eon Games 7 January 2010
- LinuxGames, 7 November 2003
- LinuxGames, 10 January 2005
- LinuxGames, 8 June 2005
- ^ Cold War Linux Demo Released 11 March 2005
- ^ LGP History pt 3: The long haul Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine Linux Game Publishing Blog, 25 August 2009 (Article by Michael Simms)
- Michael Larabel)
- Michael Larabel)
- ^ LGP Opens Beta Test for X2 Slashdot, 2 October 2005
- LinuxGames, 14 March 2008
- Michael Larabel)
- LinuxGames, 2 January 2009
- Michael Larabel)
- ^ PPC support officially being discontinued for all LGP titles Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine Linux Game Publishing Blog, 5 August 2009 (Article by Michael Simms)
- ^ a b Bringing Windows games to Linux TechRadar, 10 August 2009 (Interview by Graham Morrison)
- Michael Larabel)
- ^ Shadowgrounds and Shadowgrounds Survivor for Mac OS X Frozenbyte Forum, 6 May 2011
- Michael Larabel)
- Michael Larabel)
- Michael Larabel)
- Michael Larabel)
- GamingOnLinux, 4 May 2011 (Article by Liam Dawe)
- GamingOnLinux, 31 January 2012 (Article by Liam Dawe)
- ^ Linux Game Publishing Adds 'Sacred Gold' RPG to Ubuntu Software Center Ubuntu Vibes, 31 August 2012
- CanonicalBlog, 27 April 2010
- Phoronix24 February 2013
- Michael Larabel)
- ^ Phoronix. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- Phoronix. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ Grapple Archived 2008-10-19 at the Wayback Machine home page at linuxgamepublishing.com
- ^ README.lobby Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine at grapple.linuxgamepublishing.com
- Michael Larabel)
- ^ Linux Game Copy Protection Archived 2010-03-11 at the Wayback Machine Linux Game Publishing
- ^ Linux Game Publishing Key Server website Archived 2012-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ballistics Advogato Svartalf Blog, 28 September 2003
- ^ Open source projects Archived 2010-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Linux Game Publishing
- LinuxGames, 5 January 2003
- ^ a b c Linux Game Publishing: Interview with Michael Simms Linux Gazette, 6 March 2005
- The Linux Game Tome
- LinuxGames
- ^ Candy Cruncher Linux Sparc Linux Game Publishing Products, 9 September 2005
- LinuxGames, 30 August 2005
- ^ PPC support officially being discontinued for all LGP titles Linux Game Publishing Blog, 5 August 2009 (Article by Michael Simms)
- LinuxGames, 2 January 2009
- ^ X2 & X3 Archived 2012-11-11 at the Wayback Machine Linux Game Publishing Blog, 6 October 2012 (Article by Clive Crous)
- Michael Larabel)
- ^ Frank C. Earl resume Earl Consulting Services
- ^ [1] Paradox Interactive Forums, 9 December 2009
- ^ Peddling the Penguin: Linux Gaming A Presentation for GDC 2004 (Presentation by Frank Earl)
- ^ Greetings Fellow Linux Gamers Linux Game Publishing Blog, 4 February 2012 (Article by Clive Crous) Archived 9 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Linux Game Publishing Blog, LGP History pt 1: How LGP came to be Archived 13 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- LinuxGames, 28 January 2002
- LinuxGames, 18 March 2003
- LinuxGames, 21 January 2002
- LinuxGames, 31 August 2002
- LinuxGames, 19 December 2006
- LinuxGames, 19 July 2001
- LinuxGames25 September 2007
- Michael Larabel)
- LinuxGames14 December 2002
- LinuxGames, 23 April 2003
- ^ Overall Best Sellers TuxGames, Retrieved on 16 March 2011
- ^ Dawe, Liam (11 April 2011). "Moar games sales!". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Dawe, Liam (21 August 2011). "Interview with Jonathan Prior of Gameolith.com". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- LinuxGames, 22 July 2004
- GamingOnLinux, 31 January 2012 (Article by TheBoss)