Terathon Software no linger provides Linux support

Jan 13, 2015 12:45 GMT  ·  By

Developers of the C4 Engine, a proprietary game engine used in numerous titles, have decided to drop the Linux support because they say the open platform is a nightmare to work with.

Not many people heard about the C4 Engine, although it's been in the works for the past ten years. Before the latest update was made available, the engine had support for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, and Playstation 4. Some of the games built with it included World of Subways, City Bus Simulator 2010, Utility Vehicle Simulator 2012, Bridge! The Construction Game, The Visible Dark, GreySoul, and more.

As you can see, these are not exactly high-profile games and it's no shame that you haven't heard about them, but now it's too late for users to pay closer attention to the gaming engine because the Linux support has been removed.

The Linux support was too expensive

The makers of the C4 Engine explained that, among other issues, it was becoming too hard to provide Linux support for their software. The amount of work they needed to put in didn't reflect in their gains. They also had some technical issues, so it was easier to just ditch the entire platform entirely.

"Linux support has been removed from the C4 Engine, effective in version 4.2. This decision was made based on the disproportionate cost, both in terms of time and money, that we incur to support Linux relative to a very small return on our investment. This decision was also made to preserve my own sanity since my personal experiences with Linux have been extremely negative and have resulted in huge wastes of time that could have been better spent on more productive tasks," wrote developer Eric Lengyel.

He also said that both Windows and Mac OS X are far superior in design and scope, which makes them much better platforms for this kind of software. The developer also called it the Frankenstein OS, because it's made of parts that are barely put together. In Terathon Software's opinion, Linux has no future.