Linux client status r29

I noticed the patches have stopped over the past few days. I was just curious if plans to fix the Linux related bugs are being pushed till next release.

I have the client installed on my Mac book but my main machine is Linux only.

Really only good things to say about r29. Feels like the real thing now. I am a fan of the new targeting and mouse look system. Plan on posting a full r29 feedback, but just curious about the Linux love if anyone is privy.

 

I don't have a Mac or a Windows machine. I pumped as much money as I did into this game because they had a Linux client. If they didn't then it would've been zero.

It's unfortunate but I bet they don't fix the Linux issues until the next release at the earliest.

 

Oh no no no....the pain! *weeps uncontrollably* *uses a glyph* *freezes to place* *gets caught by multiple attackers* *drops down dead* *starts falling through the world eternally* *dreams about next release*

Okay it's not that bad...maybe...ok it's pretty bad actually...I'm confused...

I suspect the current major Linux issues are somehow related to Unity3d. So the fix is not entirely in Port's hands. But yes, this would also mean that it's quite possibly being pushed to the next release. *muffled sobs*

Those who have multiple platforms (pure Linux household in here), could you please clarify if the stuck-after-glyph thing is Linux specific bug, or do other platforms enjoy something equivalent/similar?

 

My best bet is next release.

I'm seriously TERRORIZED by the idea of some Unity screwup at R32.

I'm not playing because, frankly, it's a pain right now.

 

Linux user reporting in. While there are many annoying bugs, it might not be as bad as some Windows users. I was playing with my brother yesterday and he was quite literally crashing to desktop every third or fourth mob.

Now that I've levelled up enough that dying is far less frequent I hardly ever crash these days. The constant walking (and consequently the loss of any ability which requires standing still) is annoying, but I think I've now put more hours into this release than any other.

 

I heard from @DarkStarr that the Linux issues (which are actually Unity issues) probably won't be fixed by R30 on Thursday. However, he said that they are working with the Unity people to get this resolved ASAP.

 

yah as he said ^ (just sniped me hehe) its likely a framework issue, and less something Port can fix / has control over.

the Linux bugs are so bad I had to stop playing on it (being a mage was like playing in some kind of legendary difficult mode or something). my roomate plays on a windows 7 machine, so ive been playing on that all of R29. the game client is way nicer for windows too, now that ive been using it for about 10 days or so i am noticing a lot of differences. the graphics are an order of magnitude nicer. the game engine just feels more responsive and all around faster (and this generic windows box i am playing on far underperforms my linux hot rod in all ways). i understand that this is mainly due to diffs in OpenGL libraries, drivers, and the ecosystems theyre each a part of, but dang, it feels so much worse playing SoTA on linux now that ive seen the windows version.

its not my main computer tho, so its only tolerable knowing its temporary. I wouldnt really be involved with SoTA if there wasnt a strong intention for it to be playable on Linux.

As for "windows bugs" there are none that seemed OS specific to me - the CTDs are almost always due to the greater ongoing memory leak issue. every 3rd or 4th mob sounds extreme, but depending on how often one changes scenes, the kind of scenes being changed to, avil memory pool, and number of other applications running, you will have this crash more often than not. on my machine with 16GB RAM which has minimal / no other applications running, it takes a while to crash. on my "alt machine" with a fair number of other programs running, with only 8G RAM, it crashes a lot more often. im sure other variances like video cars, processors, driver, driver versions, etc, are involved as well, but if you run fewer programs, and keep an eye on your system's memory, you can avoid the crashes more often.

 

I think it's mainly down to Unity 3D being stuck on an old version of OpenGL due to MacOS's terrible support for such things. This bit from the Q2 2016 schedule (in R30) is where that should change for the better:

OpenGLCore will let the Linux client run with OpenGL 4.5 if your drivers allow it (i.e. you have Nvidia, situation for AMD and Intel is more complicated), an OpenGL version which has feature parity with DX11 (Mac will still be stuck on 4.1). Of course, it could also go horribly wrong at that point

We both have 32GB of RAM It's possible there are some other issues with his machine. I have a laptop running Ubuntu with only 8GB of RAM, 1GB used by graphics card, and that's actually been doing fine for the past few weeks to let me SotA on my lunchbreak

 

I'm running on Ubuntu 16.04. I think if they get the RAM issue under control many of the other issues will cease to exist. Memory management is crucial. I've never seen a game eat RAM like this.

I will add that with the Linux death penalty I do everything I possibly can to avoid dying at ANY cost. Having to reload the game and go back to the world map just to be able to play is extremely annoying! Doesn't begin to compare to CTD on zone exit.

 

...Actually, this is a nice test about "harsher death penalties" everyone blabbers about - but unless he/she is a linux user, has no real idea what it implies!

 

Linux user here too. I'm also on Ubuntu 16.04lts with the AMDGPU Pro Beta 2 driver running my Radeon r9 380X. I have not been playing much lately because I am waiting for the Linux issues to be sorted, which I hope will happen with R30. I have tried the latest build R29 briefly, but I couldn't stop running in place and I couldn't interact with NPCs', so I basically got annoyed after a while of running around doing nothing and shut it off. The cornucopia of bugs aside, I must say the performance was really nice on this new hybrid driver stack from AMD. It ran really smooth while I was running around the map and in towns. SOTA performance for me in Linux used to be poop-shoes, now it's near Windows parity. So that's good.

 

Very interesting to hear that the work AMD has been doing is starting to pay off.

A little off-topic, but I googled "AMDGPU Pro Beta 2" for some news and came up with some rather interesting results - apparently also the fully open source amdgpu driver stack is coming along very nicely.

 

Yah me too, I honestly think that playing on Linux this release has made me a better player.
Combat now has a constant thread running, "will I die and how I do to prevent that from happening"

It also makes it nearly impossible to corpse run through zones, e.g. Low level miner can die at the entrance to Ecter Crag foothills and ghost run to the Ecter Crag Mines entrance to rezz. However on linux that's a great way to go to outerspace but it won't get you any closer to the mines.

 

If it helps, what helped me was turning off footstep sounds. (you may be walking in place but at least you don't have to hear it).
In game options disable "NPC conversation Closeups". now they only bring up the extra chat tab, and walk to you instead of the other way around.

Also, the linux issues won't be fixed at the release of R30, see the instructions post, but they are working on it.

 

Probably won't be able to resist making bug reports about some of the fixes, once they're eventually in, because the bugged state has become the "new normal".
At least "Dying is way overpowered" and "Character standing still when standing still".

 

yah it's like our characters are Kat Williams, even when they are standing still they aren't standing still. They busy "husilin husilin"

 

As long as you're pressing a direction key at the moment when you die you will not go flying off into space. It can be any one of WASD, but obviously W is easiest from a navigation standpoint. When you release the key, that's when you'll fly into space. I've ghost run through the Etceter mines several times this release

 

I've done this and when I run through the ankh, I keep pressing but still spin off into outer space and suddenly find myself reloading on the overworld map with all the penalties of death - at least I didn't have to reload the game 6 times from steam to get back in.

 

Right, well the second part of the trick is that you can't just float through the Ankh (most of the time), you have to stay over the Ankh until the resurrection bar fills up. This basically means either kiting backwards and forwards through the Ankh or trying to float in tight circle around it. The bar retains progress so you don't have to be over the Ankh the whole time, but it is awkward nonetheless.

The only times this has happened to me is when I've accidentally gone through the scene exit when trying to kite around the Ankh as above. I don't discount the possibility that you're experiencing a different bug to me, but if you leave the scene when dead (either by crashing or going through the exit) then you get the death penalty.