A Mac port is apparently available on steam: no way to see that on GOG, too? Any input from the staff?

Triumph isn't interested. Thread on General, Triumph email posted and General thread back on topic.

+1 for a Linux version. I've been switching my Windows systems over to Linux. Fairly soon I will only have one Windows system left, which will be dual-booting Windows and Linux Mint. Unless Microsoft corrects their path, Windows 7 will be the last Windows I ever use. Between the recent bad updates Microsoft is trying to push to Windows 7 and 8, and Windows 7 support going EOL January 2020, I will eventually have to block Windows 7 from ever accessing the internet.

-1 for the multiplayer DRM. I don't mind having a key for game installation. It's a simple way to show you have your own legit copy of a game. I do mind requiring an account for multiplayer, and that is DRM. Have a multiplayer service that requires an account is fine by me as long as you provide a means for LAN and direct IP multiplayer that do not require an account. The unique installation key is enough to prevent friends from sharing one purchase of the game with each other.

I plan to buy this eventually, but certain conditions will have to happen. Linux is a plus. Providing a truly DRM free multiplayer option is a bigger plus. Otherwise I will get this for the DRM free single player once the price has gotten even lower than this 75% discount in the fall sale. Current sale price is $8.79. I would have paid more earlier if it weren't for the multiplayer issue.

The multiplayer can have both a DRM free and DRM option. Diablo 2 did it 15 years ago.

The odd thing is that there IS a linux port... ELSEWHERE. :(

Why this issue perpetually comes up is certainly a mystery. A "Mac" is in every respect a "PC" except for one--it doesn't ship with a copy of Windows (or Linux.) Apple has gone to considerable expense and effort to make installing and running Windows easy-peasy for Mac owners with Bootcamp, an OS X application that has come standard in every version of OS X for the last several years. Apple even supports Windows 10 in Bootcamp, and the Mac device drivers for Windows 10 (just like the device drivers in OS X) come from Apple, too.

Bottom line is that if you like your Mac but you also have more than a casual interest in gaming, you'll want to pick up a copy of Windows 8.1/10 (I highly recommend 10 over 8.1) and install it using Bootcamp. That way you don't have to wait (sometimes years) on a D3d-to-OpenGL OS X port of a game that has a good chance of not showing up for the Mac at all. Ever. Basically, if you're a Mac owner who won't use Bootcamp and pony up for a copy of Windows, I'd class you as a casual, take-games-or-leave-them gamer. You could also try some of the OS X Windows emulators--they work with some games that don't require that much in the way of 3d hardware acceleration and D3d11/12 support, etc. (But the best solution is Bootcamp/Windows, imo, because that way a Mac boots Windows as "natively" as it boot OS X--no emulation at all.)

Pretty much, games go with OS X/Linux systems like oil & water, imo. If your OS is more important to you than whether you game or not, you're definitely in the casual gamer category. Believe me, going to Bootcamp is far more effective for running games on your Mac than asking for Mac ports in game forums will ever be...;)

I see nothing wrong with running OS X or Linux as your OS of choice, of course (depending on the Linux distro you want to use) --nothing negative at all--that's not why I am posting. Except for gaming support. If gaming is something you enjoy, then Windows is by far the better place to be. Generally, Linux users tend to be an order of magnitude or so more technically competent that most OS X users (because they have to be to do much of anything with a Linux distro...;)) And so Linux users can easily dual-boot to Windows, too, without the aid of Bootcamp-like helper software. (And Windows is extremely low-maintenance compared to a Linux distro.) Really, the only reason to complain about a dearth of games for OS X & Linux is to pretend that dual-booting with Windows is some sort of faerie tale or myth...!...;) What you do all depends on how much you love to game, doesn't it? I think that's the bottom line.

Agreed, on both points. I've played and enjoyed the AoW games for years, ever since I found the first one and bought it on impulse. The online account requirement kept me from buying this (and expansions) at full price. Whether you call it DRM or not, I didn't need an account to play AoW in multiplayer (or Call of Duty, or pretty much every non-MMO online game I've ever played). I'm not buying a game that requires one now.

I've also switched to Linux as my only OS (and no, that doesn't make me a casual gamer, despite the Microsoft shills here saying otherwise). While that's generally not an issue (I've yet to find a game that hasn't worked under Wine, and have enough of a backlog that I may manage to get through it by the time I retire, assuming I retire at 90 years old and never buy a new game again), I will buy a game with a proper Linux version in a heartbeat. I keep some guy's heart in a jar on my desk just for such matters after all, and I'd hate for it to go wasted.

A Linux version will get me to buy AoW3 on sale, one with proper MP and I might even buy it full price, along with the expansions. Otherwise, I'll just play the older ones.

Waiting for the linux versions. Please gog.

Its not up to GOG to port the games. If the developer doesn't do it (or just don't puts it on GOG), then they have no choice.
The linux "ports" GOG did where mostly based on DosBox.

oh! Ok thanks for the info. Hope the devs from age of wonders read that forum.

They already have and responded that the number of linux users is very low, combined with the number of sales on GOG are low and they can't easily rely on stuff that Steam provides in terms of linux ports (libraries, etc), they won't put out a linux (or mac, for that regard) port onto GOG. They don't think the extra investment will result in enough sales for them to not lose money. Understandable, but still not a great decision.

I'd like to add my voice with the other Linux users here.

It would be great, if I could play AoW 3 without the need to restart to Windows.

I would also like to see the native version on gog (and I know it's never going to happen due to lack of developer motivation). However, in the mean time, it does work perfectly on my machine in wine. The first time I installed it I was using wine-1.7.54+staging. The only thing I had to do was install d3dcompiler_43 via winetricks. The only part that doesn't work is the editor; that hangs when loading/creating (some sort of deadlock). I suppose I should update the rating on appdb to gold, but I'm too lazy.

It is available for linux on steam, or is it not?

store.steampowered.com/app/226840/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1

Does this mean the linux version is exclusive for steam?

I would like to see the Mac port (and Linux for that matter) make it to GOG also. There are plenty of serious gamers on both alternative (to Windows) operating systems who want and do buy quality games as they become available and they are available for both platforms on an ever increasing basis (see Steam offerings for example).

Although I don't know how GOG can really effect this situation much I do see it as a matter of concern for them since it represents lost potential revenue. Plenty of users of OS X and Linux will just take a pass if something is not available natively on their platform at this point because there is now enough to choose from that they easily can. They will also go to Steam and buy it there if they have it for OS X or Linux but GOG does not.

When people using OS X or Linux post here expressing their desire to buy a DRM-free version of a game on GOG rather than give their money to Valve they do not need any pronouncements, advice, etc. about what to do or how to live from Windows users who's concern this issue is not. We don't need your input. It isn't helpful.

I realize that creating yet another version, in this case DRM-Free that has to in some cases be modified to deal with not using certain features of the Steam platform is an added expense although I'd argue that developers who plan ahead could minimize this substantially by coding for this possibility to begin with. Even if not, the lion's share of the work is already done when ports to Mac and Linux already exist for the Steam platform.

On the other hand, I have to concede that for any game where multiplayer is of great importance to players in numbers perhaps the costs to refashion that really are too high if not enough market for the game exists among the GOG customer base unfortunately. This is something I see being of the Mac persuasion when certain high profile titles do get Mac ports and are sold on the Mac App Store but those versions lack multiplayer (other than LAN sometimes) completely as well as sometimes mod support (no Steam Workshop) and that's that. Despite having to create special versions for the App store which also requires sandboxing and a pain in the rear approval process a fair number of high profile games make it there just the same and must be selling well enough overall or that would not be happening.

My point in bringing up that Mac specific scenario above is that ultimately a lot of people don't actually care about multiplayer, don't enjoy competitive online play, don't want to deal with various online "communities," etc. and are fine with versions lacking multiplayer or even mod support depending on the game. What is more, a lot of times customers of the Mac App Store pay a premium price for games on top of it all. They still sell! The same publishers keep rolling out titles there for one reason only: they sell well. They would not keep doing it if they didn't.

So, I think the DRM-Free crowd here who prefers choice when it comes to client or no, etc. really would in sufficient numbers buy a title like this one for example and I think they'd do it even if multiplayer was cut out. Don't get me wrong. I am certainly not wishing for nor asking for that to happen if it was to come to GOG. I'm just saying that if that made the difference between no possibility of it ever being here at all or Mac and Linux versions being offered here but lacking that, it would still sell well despite bitter complaints from those missing multiplayer which I could empathize with even though I'll now add lastly that I could not care less about multiplayer personally. In fact, any game with bots, AI, skirmish play, etc. that gives me that sort of fun without having to deal with the likes of random folks on the Internet is a big plus to me where applicable but not a requirement if a game has an excellent single player component. I know from years and years of reading posts on Steam and elsewhere asking for bots and skirmish and stuff in games that I must not be alone in thinking this way.

That's just my take for what it's worth.

As for the pronouncements by people using Windows, honestly these are just entirely irrelevant to discussions started by both Mac and Linux users requesting ports. We are not stupid. We know how to use Windows on our systems. We do not need help or guidance. We really are "real gamers" too. We know a lot more than you do about the options on our platforms and it would be really awesome if people could just learn to dummy up when threads simply don't apply to them personally. It really would.

I have Windows via bootcamp already. That doesn't mean I don't want to minimize the number of times I need to use it whenever possible. I felt like this years ago when I lived in Linux full time also. I had dual boot and Wine then too. That doesn't make those options ideal. That will never make them the preferred way to go. If anything, I'm planning to migrate to a combination of Mac/Console around here but I won't be dropping into people's threads asking for something to explain to them why they need to be like me, do what I do, do what I think they should do or else they are filthy casuals.

Maybe I should do the Mac zealot thing in Windows threads all over. I can just imagine how popular and loved and stuff I would be. It wouldn't be easy trying to convert the unwashed masses but I'd be doing it for them, trying to show them the way to computing nirvana. I wonder if they would see it that way though?

It is on steam, and so is the Mac version.

But I've seen people comment about reliability issues with both so GOG doesn't want it until it's fixed.

I sure hope they add them here, maybe if we thumbs up them in the wish list they'll get enough votes to move things along.