I don't think any of the big package systems support local installation. Would you just put the updater into the repo? That could get pretty unpleaseant for the patch server.

Perhaps an installer that could fetch the current package and do a local install. If it was done right then it would be a one shot deal. I think Loki had something like it for their titles but i dont know if they released the code into the wild....

Hi,

Loki installer does not affect package manager. It is unrelated. As VO is now.

One possible solution is to have a generic installer script, just like Loki did. But package manager remains unaware of VO.
PRO: Do not require root/admin
CON: Pkg manager unaware.

Other possible solution is to run a repository for major distros. Repository creation is easy while its maintenance can be automated. While package creation is hard on 1st time, then you save its command line as alias/script, then next update you run this script and all packages are created.
PRO: Integrated with Pkg Mng, updates via OS
CON: Requires root, more complex.

Since VO auto-update itself and is quite easy to install, I consider that best option is improve an installer script, maybe adding optional graphics installer. Even dialog/Xdialog can be used.

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Back on main topic, maybe an ad on Linux magazines, with a promotional code, could have good effect on linux community. And some "bring a new player and win a prize" involving community is allways a powerfull and cheap option.

I am a new player, it was just hard too find this game. seems fun so im signing up. I will be tell some of my friends as well.

Cya in game

Welcome!

It seems like a few new people have found us this week.

Hey all,

I actually just started playing yesterday, I had heard about the game but never installed it or tried it. I converted to Debian about a year ago with no windows installs anymore so I have been trying to find native Linux games to play and it lead me here. Definitely was having fun and first thing I did this morning after I woke up was a mission lol.

A couple Linux game sites listed Vendetta Online which is how I found it, so its out there. A lot of the people looking for games will probably be Ubuntu users as Ubuntu targets windows converts who may not be all that technical. Sorry to hear Ubuntu was not interested in listing the game. I suppose the best thing we can all do (Linux users) is watch whatever our favorite forums are for "I need a game" posts and link to Vendetta.

Dell sells Ubuntu also, maybe they would be interesting in selling the game with it(or the demo)? I have seen windows machines where they give a pop up for software to buy.

Welcome aboard, glad to hear you're enjoying the game :).

We are trying to pursue some bundling options with OEMs (on Linux), but there are some barriers making things interesting. Intel, for instance, has a whole new program for people making applications for Atom based netbooks, which I think they're trying to push on Dell and Acer and moblin OEMs and the like. But Intel is requiring validation of every single version and won't accept self-updating apps. So.. that's.. problematic..

I could set you up with a UK OEM install deal John (Windows and Linux, not a huge company, but you have to start somewhere) my only requirement is that people can sign up via the Client, and I'm sure many other OEM and other Distributors require this. I know it's something that is planned, but that's way more of an issue that Intel's self-updating policy.

Welcome to the game wookmaster, I look forward to shooting you :)

Ha cant wait, I think I need quite a bit more practice before I PVP though and probably a better ship.

Welcome. Make sure you have enough credits to replace your gear a few times over before you PvP. It's more fun if you don't have to worry about being destitute.

What about implementing something like a gift code? I do this a lot with Flickr, Librarything etc.
This way, you can gift someone a month of VO which helps convincing a lot.

Referral program is a good idea, I was just thinking it would be nice if I could give my friends X amount of play time or something beyond the 8 hours to convince them further to try the game out. I imagine its harder to quit a game once you have a developed character and made friends VS just playing the start-up stuff for 8 hours.

I imagine its harder to quit a game once you have a developed character and made friends

Gee, I wonder what that might mean in terms of viable gradated pricing if it were, in fact, true . . .

We've been working on a referral program for the last couple of weeks. It may actually debut tonight, we'll see.

Yoda: Thanks. That's cool. Actually, most OEMs don't require in-client signup, that I have spoken to. It's something I would like to add for convenience of new users, but it opens up a whole other can of worms when you get to people subscribing through the client.

As i already proposed a long ago:

-Do a contest, the guild/individual who achives more new subscription receive an in-game prize, as a station or "pet capship" during 3 months. Another great prize is being able to name a station (within limits!)

---//---

And about the OEM distribution, daring proposals:
-Create a free account category, with very limited possibilities, as (max license 3, jump limitations, max credits 999,999, limited respawns), and permit it to be created from the client, with a valid email confirmation process just like now!

So one can see VO in their package list, can install it from a package, integrated with distro. Updates can be provided to distros' repositories as deb/rpm and kept auto-update system using automated scripts.

I just signed up. As a mac gamer, there's not so many choices, but I saw this game on the Apple game demo page.

So far, it's pretty awesome.

I haven't been able to play for awhile, but I'm happy to be back and can't wait to see the progress Vendetta has made! I try to make topics on many gaming and hardware forums to convince others to give Vendetta a try. I can count thousands of times that I've heard "I really loved X-Wing and Tie Fighter. Why aren't there any games like them coming out today? Know what would be really cool? What if there could be a MMO like Xwing or TieFighter?!" and each time I try to point them to Vendetta. I actually have several communities that I think would love Vendetta, but I'm hesitant on breaching the subject as some of the individuals involved aren't the most mature, and I wouldn't want to be responsible for ruining Vendetta's community with hundreds of players who have an affinity for TOS-breaking names and rowdy behavior. Do you think that the the additional subscriptions are worth the possibility of additional policing?

Thanks again for your continued Linux (ESPECIALLY 64-bit!) support, and keeping the subscription prices low. I read in another thread that you're considering DX11 support? That's cool, but please keep updating OpenGL mode so Vendetta looks just as good in Linux and Mac systems as it does on Windows. Likewise, using other open APIs is awesome - I really applaud what ATI has been doing recently with respect to open technologies as well as improving their drivers, so I'm happy they sent you back from GCD with new cards. Nvidia has been frustrating lately in as they seem to be resting on their laurels and making some bad moves, including closed interpretations of CUDA and the use of proprietary PhysX and refusing to support the Optimus notebook graphics system on Linux.

I see the new buddy key system is going into effect and that's great. I would suggest that once it is up and running, it would be great if it could be appended by what is called in World of Warcraft, the "Scroll of Resurrection" function. That is to say, it will allow people who have been out of their subscription for more than 30 or 60 days to return to their original account and characters for awhile to see the changes that have come.

Hello,

I'm a new player and I've researched the game quite a bit before downloading, but the one thing that really delayed me from doing so is the initial "face" of the game. That is, the website design and look. The first thing that came to my mind when I found the site and looked at the banner was "is this game still active?"

I don't mean to offend anyone, but it seems to me these days the face of your game is your website and the smoother or "slicker" the site and forums are the better the first impression is. This goes double for games that don't have a brick and mortar store presence because you don't have people selling your game and you depend on that first impression even more. I've pointed a few friends to the game as well today to get their opinion, and they all said the same thing about the look.

Suggestions:
The color scheme looks unique, but also looks very 1990 and reminds me of windows 3.11. The forums link is buried too far down on the page, and needs to be higher up at eye level. The dates on the screenshot page need to be updated; it's 3 years old which can be distracting (what, no new graphics or screenshots in 3 years?) The space station on the banner is nice, but it does draw the full attention of the eyes when you first come to the page (probable because its big and blocky), you might think if rendering a different station with higher res graphics for the banner or making it more subtle and let the site stand on the body instead. Put something on the front page (top 5 hotest topics?) with dates to show the game is alive and constantly changing.

Just a few ideas from a developer's standpoint. Being unemployed I figure I might as well try and use the skills I have for a good cause :P Please keep this game alive, I'm tired of the elves and fairies games :(

Yeah, the site needs a facelift, and I've been looking at doing that, but there's a lot of work involved. It was made in an era that was pretty early for CSS (more old-style, with a lot of custom images and tables for alignment), so it really requires tearing apart and putting back together in a more up-to-date fashion (something more css zen garden style, with fully separated style/html). It's all generated from Lua, which is pretty cool for maintenance, but it really needs to be brought up to an XHTML 1.0 Strict type spec. The graphics side of the facelift is pretty easy (for me), but all the gutwork of web BS is time consuming, and we don't have a lot of time lately. The messageboard and other legacy dynamic-content areas would have to be updated at the same time, of course.

I've actually had some people volunteer to re-write the site to a newer standard, but they always get terrified when they hear it's auto-generated from lua code. It's really not bad at all, just embedded html, but, whatever.

I got as far as redoing our company site a few months ago, as a precursor to redoing the game site, and to re-familiarize and bring myself up to date with the nightmare that is web development. It's a pretty simplistic design (and still lacking in content), but at least modern in its architecture; just something I could put together in a couple of days.

I am actually in the process of shooting new screenshots, to go up on our site and out to all the other major gaming sites. They should be ready this week.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback, it is on our list. Hopefully I can do something soon to at least spruce up the front page. Links to recent News posts or something.

And this time dont forget the hot Itani chick....