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Is the Linux editor still actively being worked on?

Discussion in 'Linux' started by LukaKotar, Jun 18, 2016.

  1. LukaKotar

    LukaKotar

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    The updates are getting very far apart, and with very few fixes, or none at all. My assumption is that it is being developed by a very small team of people, who have other responsibilities in the company which take priority and can therefore only work on it in their free time. Can someone from the Linux editor team comment on this subject, and maybe offer some info on what kind of support to expect in the future?
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2016
  2. NathanWarden

    NathanWarden

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    I've found the updates to be very close, almost within a few days of the Windows release. However, the very few fixes part I completely agree with. I think it's mostly Levi (Tak) and Na'Tosha Bard who are working on the Linux port of the editor, so if that's right then manpower is very low.
     
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  3. Mogpolgludh

    Mogpolgludh

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    This is important to me also. What is the future for a Linux version? How much effort is being put in to it? How long before we have a fully functional Linux version?
    I work in windows 7 and have no plans to downgrade to windows 10. If Unity does not release a fully functioning Linux version, when my Pro license expires, I will not get a paid subscription. I will be forced to develop in another game engine, which I do not want to do since I have a real lot of money invested here. Please take Linux very seriously because increasingly, people do not like what windows 10 has brought against us, and many are abandoning windows entirely. Linux is the future, please take this seriously here in Unity.
     
  4. MrAdventure

    MrAdventure

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    Agree 100%. I just built a new high end PC, and Windows 10 crashes it multiple times a day, one day after installation.

    I had stayed with Windows for years just die to games, as I'm sure many of us have. Well, I just found out that there is a Steam Linux distro, and that XCOM 2 works on it, and Civ 6 will.

    That pretty much means I can make the jump as long as Unity Linux development is a reality.
     
  5. biscuitseed

    biscuitseed

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    It's great that they're working hard to get Linux builds out. Hopefully they can get some more workers on their team and have a more stable schedule.
     
  6. Eric5h5

    Eric5h5

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  7. kiriri

    kiriri

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    I have to agree with the others in that Linux support will make or break Unity for me too. I won't update to Windows 10 either, but I can't easily port my game to the Linux Editor atm, because it's missing the whole Compute Shader pipeline. It feels like you're so close, but the last push isn't coming.
     
  8. Tak

    Tak

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    We are still actively working on the Unity editor for Linux.
    We are a small team, and each of us has additional responsibilities (e.g. I'm responsible for the runtime on Linux as well).

    Updates being farther apart: My goal is to ship an update for every final release (e.g. 5.3.5f1) and every few betas (since those are weekly).

    Frequency of fixes: Most of the work right now is going toward integrating the changes necessary for Unity on Linux into our development mainline. The builds we're shipping are from vastly diverged, and this makes it much more difficult for us to identify, track, and fix problems. Once this work is done (it's almost done), we'll be able to devote significantly more time to addressing existing issues. Additionally, there have been a lot of vacations and other interruptions in the last few months.

    Future: It's still unclear whether this will become an official, supported platform that ships along with our others. It has been a significant investment on our end to go from "hobby project" to "shipping unsupported builds", and would be much more to go from "shipping unsupported builds" to "officially supported platform." I'm personally in favor of continuing to make these investments, but there are a lot of factors, and I don't make the final decision.

    Hope this helps,
    Levi
     
  9. LukaKotar

    LukaKotar

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    This adresses most of my concerns. Thank you for clarifying!
     
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  10. ma1onso

    ma1onso

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  11. mischa2k

    mischa2k

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    Great insights.

    I actually switched back to OSX because I assumed that the Linux support was pretty much stuck, seeing how the release notes contain only 5 bugfixes since february. So it's really great to hear that it's still being worked on.

    If it's not too much to ask, then you would make all of us very happy by adding just one little sentence to each of the release notes, like "we are integrating changes into the main repo and are almost done, fixes come afterwards" or "on vacation, didn't have much time this month" etc.

    We are all really excited to get rid of Windows, so any progress info is always welcome to keep our hopes up for Linux!
     
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  12. YucelBrendel

    YucelBrendel

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    Well im very happy with this phase for now, i can remember where no linux version was available and i had to switch back to windows to do my work,today i can do it from linux.
    of curse its not that stable how it should be and it would need a`lot more work time but how tak said for now they only can handle it as hobby project.
    so we should show unity that we are enough people working with unity under linux that it`s worth to do more development.
    and the Petition on change org sound´s nice as one of our steps to show Linux is great Unity is great lets make love ;)

    and thats why i love unity with this great community and developer big Praise to all of you.
    Greets Yücel
     
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  13. Tomza

    Tomza

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    One question: Shouldn't be the Linux build made in Snap/Flatpak format? Not deb? Wouldn't be easier to for you and users who use various distros?
     
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  14. YucelBrendel

    YucelBrendel

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  15. turbanov

    turbanov

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    Seems like it's actually actively worked on. Great job, guys! Looking forward new exciting versions on my Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Would also be cool if you set up an PPA repository for your debs.
     
  16. LukaKotar

    LukaKotar

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    I believe they're supporting Ubuntu 12.04+ (and use 12.04 for testing). I think snap packages were only introduced in 15.10, which means they would have to either stop supporting older versions, or provide yet another download specifically for 15.10+.

    I personally wouldn't mind such support being dropped (and there is always the sh installer for older versions, I guess), but I guess some people might. It makes sense to keep using .deb packages, at least as long as 14.04 is being updated.
     
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  17. Tomza

    Tomza

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    Thank you! I don't use Ubuntu, so I didn't know. Hopefully there will be one format for all Linux distros some day. Many programs for Linux support snap/flatpak now.
     
  18. Tomza

    Tomza

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  19. ma1onso

    ma1onso

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    Thanks and hurra for Linux Unity 3D developers
     
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  20. DavidAllyn68

    DavidAllyn68

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    +1 for full support on Linux! (I'm on Ubuntu 16.04)
     
  21. Keplyx

    Keplyx

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    I'm using Unity 5.4 Beta on Kubuntu 16.04 since a few months, and I can say, for a Beta of an experimental build, it's very good! But more support for linux would be awesome, as I'm still seeing some annoying bugs, like the mouse freaking out in playmode, and I think it's one of the reasons some people stay on windows.
     
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  22. Opde

    Opde

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    I am using Unity3D with Windows 7 and Ubuntu 16.04 at the moment. When the security support of Windows 7 runs out I will not change to Windows 10 or any other windows (for various reasons). If the support for Linux will be dropped in the future then I will change to something else (of course not instantly but over the course of some hurting grace period). Anyway, keep up the good work with the Linux editor, works better than expected so far.

    EDIT: Having only paid versions of Unity for Linux is a compromise I am willing to accept.
     
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  23. Tomza

    Tomza

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    Hopefully, we see Unity on Linux without these annoying bugs. Unfortunately, 3D on Linux still sucks. However, graphics drivers for Linux are better and better so I don't the reason why Linux can't be a reliable platform for 3D developing.
     
  24. LukaKotar

    LukaKotar

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    Can you explain what you mean by that? I did have a few graphics glitches in Unity on Linux in the past, but I had no issues with other 3D applications (and games) that I use on a daily basis, at least none so far, and the performance is good too. I'm using an Nvidia GPU with proprietary Nvidia drivers from the Ubuntu's graphics drivers PPA (ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa). I don't have an AMD card though, so I can't speak on that part.
     
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  25. Tomza

    Tomza

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    I meant 3D in general, not just Unity3D. Don't tell me that 3D stuff on Linux works on the same level like Windows' one. There's huge progress, but there are still issues. If 3D developing on Linux was so good like on Windows was, more people would use Linux, not Windows or Mac. Not saying about the glitches, is all working for you in Unity?
     
  26. LukaKotar

    LukaKotar

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    Like I said, I have no issues in 3D applications, aside from a few here and there in Unity. Things like Blender, MeshLab, MakeHuman and 3D-Coat (I installed the trial version a while back) (and also games) work really well, I'd say as good as they did on Windows. I guess your experience was different, but for me, everything works as well as expected.

    Anyway, I'm not trying to defend the 3D support on Linux here, I was just curious to know what some of the issues you were referring to are.
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2016
  27. Provi

    Provi

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    I would be very happy to see a stable build for GNU/Linux too :)

    Keep on working on it!!
     
  28. tswalk

    tswalk

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    unfortunate... your business management team lacks commitment beyond pushing everyone to subscriptions.
     
  29. arcooke

    arcooke

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    Thanks for the info. Can you clarify one thing? If Unity decides not to officially support the linux editor, will work still continue on the "unsupported builds" .. or would continued development cease all together?

    I've been reeeeeeally betting on/hoping for future integration with Intellj's Project Rider
     
  30. bfloch

    bfloch

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    I am not sure what you are referring to. I work in an industry that was and is on Linux from day one (at least after the switch from SGI/Unix): The movie and animation industry. We don't have any issues worth mentioning and judging by the results (pretty much everything in theaters) we are doing good. That probably is the top 10k professional users world wide on Linux.

    It is true that most of our rendering is done in software on the CPU still, but all the applications, environments and internal 3d tools are in Linux within OpenGL (mostly on NVIDIA hardware with proprietary drivers).

    Linux is doing better than mac on many levels, but ultimately specs do not necessarily drive markets. At least I'm glad our industry is slowly moving away from the ashtrays ... However it is worth mentioning that our interest is different than one of a regular customer wanting to run game clients. Linux does have a very strong development environment also for 3D IMHO. Driver are ok (if you do not run on Laptops that is).
     
  31. Tomza

    Tomza

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    http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/questions-about-the-linux-experience.415013/

    I'm in the process of moving my production from Windows to Linux. Alas, I use laptops. And I use not only Unity, but UE4.
     
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  32. Cygon4

    Cygon4

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    Migrated to Linux in summer 2015.

    I haven't encountered any 3D issues in Linux either. Blender, Daz3D, Unity and Unreal Engine 4 work fine. I'm slacking off in the evenings with some games, just finished Alien: Isolation and Bioshock Infinite. No graphics issues of any kind. Bought NVidia's 1080 GPU one month after release and drivers are top notch, too.

    The problems I see for mainstream use are the ones of old: user-friendliness. Like, of course I need to launch Steam with "LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/usr/lib32/opengl/nvidia/lib:/usr/lib64/opengl/nvidia/lib" /opt/Steam/steam", 'cause Gentoo's standard library paths follow different conventions then Debian/Ubuntu's expected by Valve. Or that I need to run nvidia-xconfig to create a /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d or KDE5 will forget my monitor setup :D

    But for professional use, I wouldn't want to return to Windows. It has always, across many, many systems, BSOD'ed sporadically (Creative Labs drivers, flawed ALC889 chip, overheating Marvell RAID controller, NVidia drivers). In contrast, none of my Linux systems on the same hardware ever crashed or destroyed any of my work.

    It's very nice to have that Linux port of Unity. I'll be leaving soon due to the subscription model and UT's shift to mobile/F2P/ads/telemetry/cloud business, but at least I will have gotten 2 solid years of Linux development out of my license, so thanks for that :)
     
  33. Tomza

    Tomza

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    Does Daz3D work on Linux?
     
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  34. knobby67

    knobby67

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    I certainly can't get it to work so if Cygon4 has it working I'd be most grateful if he can tell us
     
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  35. Cygon4

    Cygon4

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    Don't want to derail the thread, but it's been working fine for me in Wine for some time now, without even using PlayOnLinux or WineTricks.
    • Running Gentoo Linux kernel 4.4.6
    • KDE5 Plasma 5.21
    • Wine 1.8.2
    • Daz3D 4.9 Pro via Install manager
     
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  36. Tomza

    Tomza

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    Good to know. Thank you. I'll try it out some day.
     
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  37. KCAR

    KCAR

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    @Tak
    Thank you for continuing to work on the Linux project. I look forward to being able to switch over to Linux.
    Right now, Unity is one of the last things that keeps me using Windows. The advertising push, lack of privacy, and general insecurity of Windows are all great reasons to switch.

    Questions
    1) How stable is the Linux distro?
    2) Is the linux distro 1:1 compatible with add on's purchased in the Asset Store
    3) Right now, Microsoft Visual Studio is paired with Unity. How does that change with Linux?

    Thoughts
    1) If the linux distro (even listed as beta) were put on the main download page, I think you would get a lot more traffic. Seriously, this is hard to find.

    Great work.
    I am looking forward to ditching Windows and moving on with my OS.
     
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  38. Tak

    Tak

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    Stability and compatibility are our primary foci right now. However, the Linux editor builds don't yet go through the same level of automated and manual testing as our official builds, so the only real answer I can give is "Try it out and see if it's stable enough for you."

    Everything should be compatible, with a few obvious caveats:
    • Native plugins
    • Asset formats (e.g. 3DS Max, SketchUp)
    • Assumptions in script code

    We ship MonoDevelop on OSX, and we do the same with Linux. That being said, you're free to use any script editor you want, from MD to Visual Studio Code to Jetbrains Rider to Sublime to vim.
     
  39. cgprojects

    cgprojects

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    Hello Levi,

    I am having a weird issue with installing specific versions. I posted a thread titled about it with two images of the software center. Maybe someone has a idea of whats wrong.

    Vivienne

     
  40. syscrusher

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    This thread is very interesting to me, as I have been a full-time Linux professional for 17 years. I currently run on Mac because it has a bash shell (since 75% of my work is command line) and because I generally like Mac OS, but I'm seriously considering moving my workstation to Linux this fall when I upgrade. The availability and maturity of Unity on Linux will be a significant deciding factor. Allegorithmic just this week announced that Substance Designer is now natively supported on Linux (!!!!!), and Painter came out on Linux earlier this year. Since Blender, Audacity, and GIMP, my other three critical gamedev tools, were Linux native from day one, Unity is the last domino to fall.

    One of the driving factors pushing me to consider a full-on Linux migration is that Apple has decided to push Metal as their new graphics API and abandon OpenGL. I don't mind them pushing Metal, but I'm very upset that they are not offering a modern OpenGL alongside Metal. Also, the Apple hardware has not kept pace in GPU innovation with open-market hardware. Metal is no more proprietary than DX11 or DX12, but IMO we really don't need yet another proprietary graphics API, at least not if it displaces an existing open standard.

    The comment I quoted above, "specs do not necessarily drive markets", is spot-on. The main reason more people use Windows and Mac OS than Linux has nothing to do with graphics performance. It has to do with two nontechnical factors: (1) Windows and Mac OS come preloaded on popular mainstream hardware, and (2) Microsoft Office is available for Windows and Mac.
     
  41. syscrusher

    syscrusher

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    +1.

    You need more Linux users to (1) work out the bugs and (2) help the Unity Linux team gain political momentum within UT.
     
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  42. mutant_nz

    mutant_nz

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    It seems to me that Unity (as an organisation) hasn't fully committed to the Linux version. Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising, I know it's difficult to know where to invest, and what market is going to make money. But I think they're just putting limited resources into the Linux editor just to get an idea of how much it'll cost, and how big the market might be.

    At some stage, they'll have to make a decision on whether it is worth pursuing, and then there will be more resources thrown at it, and it'll become more stable. Hopefully we get to that point soon :)

    But feel free to correct me if I'm way off :)
     
  43. syscrusher

    syscrusher

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    I think you're right. My concern is that if people don't realize a Linux version is even a possibility, the lack of awareness may falsely skew the perceived size of the market. If a web site prominently features A and B options, and C is hidden away somewhere, then even if there were three equal-sized markets on would expect A and B to far outperform C in popularity. :)

    There may be (justifiably) a concern by UT that if they put Linux downloads on the same page, people might not understand that this is still somewhat experimental. I think if it's clearly marked as an alpha or beta, most Linux users are techie enough to understand what that means. The advantage of the new environment being Linux is that this particular community is already self-selected toward a more technically-oriented bias.
     
  44. UltraParadigm

    UltraParadigm

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    I just want to say thanks for providing what they have so far for Linux.

    I am self learning Unity3D and C# on Linux and plan to release games from this platform. I'm not a professional (yet) and haven't worked on any projects or other platforms so I have no need to convert projects. If a feature doesn't work in Linux my games just wont have that feature, no biggie for me. I hope Unity3D on Linux succeeds because it is amazing.

    I cut away from Windows years ago, so much so that I don't even have Wine installed anymore. I've gone completely native! If it's not natively supported I don't use it. And guess what, I've been able to do everything I want to do in Linux! I've bought games through Steam, developed content for Second Life, and act as my own "cloud" and multimedia server, etc. All without hogging my resources with anti-malware tools, or being spied on.

    My wife, kids, extended family and friends are all able to use my PC intuitively and with ease, vs getting lost in Window's maze of menus or whatever that was on Windows 8 (What the heck was that?). For years my self built computer has been the most powerful and stable in the family, and people know they can use it when their Windows is on the fritz (while I fix it for them). My sister needs me to fix her Windows 10 nearly every time after my niece uses it. In contrast I can rest knowing that the regular user and guest logins I provide for people on my computer are secure and pose no threat to my system. I couldn't be happier with any other operating system. I can tell you definitively that Windows 10 does not "do more", and I'll never go back to windows, no matter what.

    I will be making games independently for the Android marketplace just for extra income for now unless I'm very successful. Which means that I am under no career pressure to change development platforms. I will only use what's available on Linux. My desired skill set is Unity3d and LibGDX along with all the other creative tools already available to Linux like Blender, Inkscape, Krita, Gimp, MakeHuman, etc. etc. However I can just as easily get proficient in Unreal Engine and LibGDX, or even LibGDX and JMonkeyEngine, etc.... etc.. etc... But I will continue to learn and work in Unity3D as long as I am able.

    I think you guys developing for Linux are true heroes. You are liberators, and you have my gratitude.

    Good luck with further Linux development!
     
  45. syscrusher

    syscrusher

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    An interesting tool option, if you don't philosophically mind commercial software, is that Allegorithmic has just released both Substance Designer and Substance Painter in native Linux versions. I've been running Designer on Mac and loving it, but the fact that it's now available for Linux is a factor in my consideration of moving my entire Unity toolchain to Linux when I upgrade hardware later this year.
     
  46. Eric5h5

    Eric5h5

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    I think you'd have to assume that anyone here is not philosophically opposed to commercial software, given that they're using Unity.

    --Eric
     
  47. UltraParadigm

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    That is inspiring and amazing! I'm just a novice right now, but I hope be able to take advantage of all these wonderful tools. As soon as I start making money I'll be happy to spend it in order to do even better work. I'm so happy those are available for Linux. I've added that to my wishlist.
     
  48. syscrusher

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    Good point. :)
     
  49. Deleted User

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    Guest

    Hi everyone,

    I plan on installing Ubuntu on my pc in order to avoid using W10. I'd like to know if the linux version of the Unity editor is running on any distribution of Ubuntu described on this page: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu-flavours

    Also, is the Linux Unity editor working and officially supported if installed on Linux Mint?

    Thank you! :)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 6, 2016
  50. ma1onso

    ma1onso

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    Confirmed by me: Kubuntu and Ubuntu Gnome.
     
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