First I want to say I'm biased, I'm working with Windows 40+ hours a week and it sucks... I hate it!
At home I'm using Steam under Linux Mint and I just bought the game to show some support because I really liked OPF*1. If you see Humble Bundle statistics you will find that Linux or Mac users spend more money. With Windows becoming more closed it will deffently be a good step to at least plan for it so it could be implemented at a later time. If you add a wrapper layer at this time you may be able to switch later very easily.
*1 I started looking at games again because I pledged for a Oculus Rift, I didn't play much for the last 10 years... just think about it, there are many older people like me that stopped playing because of all the trash that came out in the last 10 years; you will be able to tap into this generation (and at this point we have much more money).

best window manages the hearts of multitasking processor. In addition the game is scheduled for multitasking. -100000 VOTE

I use Linux for years now and so my post is biased. But just let me say that the only reason I'm using Windows for the last 2 months is the ArmA 3 Alpha.
As much as I'd prefer a native Linux client, I accept that a port is a big financial risk for the devs (not only developing but also maintaining it). The chance it might pay out in the future is, besides the hype around Steam4Linux, Humble Bundle and alikes, very little to nothing.

I upvote, but have little hopes.

@Generalpopo
I don't understand you. The Linux kernel has built-in multitasking and multiprocessor features since years. Even before the consumer Windows versions had it.

Edit: Maybe it'll be better for everyone, if BIS helps out to make the game playable under WINE, as a compromise. So BIS only needs to take care of one OS. I'd be willing to test the game with WINE and report bugs if I'd knew that BIS accepts bugs from WINE users and thus also may be contributing to the WINE development if necessary.

In the light of Windows 8, I have to agree. I would like a Linux version as well. I am moving away from Windows, having used it from 1995 for like 12 hours a day, Windows 8 was a complete total insult to me.

Actually, there are only 2 games keeping me on Windows, Alien Swarm... and of course, ARMA! :D

Due to Windows 8 I'm switching to Linux. I still use Windows for Steam, but it won't be on my next PC.

You got my vote!

I switched from XP to 7, but the last years i never had so much problems like the last weeks. If there where a chance i would switch back to XP. There is a reason why they say wait and overjump a version. I understand the request for a platform free version, but this can be problematic and moreover a long journey of rewriting.

I agree with a standalone server that runs under unix systems for better performance.

Only thing keeping me from completely moving to linux is it's current lack of high-end games(which I hope changes), it would be great to see arma 3 on linux if possible /upvoted

Yeah, same that Raco.

If Arma 3 would come to linux, it would be one of very few AAA-games available. That would add popularity to both game and OS. But I think probability of this is low, as developers just got used to DirectX.

citle, Valve showed us that porting a DX game to Linux is not so difficult.

goroskob, the question is not porting game itself, it's learning OpenGL instead of DirectX / hiring people with OpenGL skills. Some games are already on OpenGL on Windows, porting them is much easier.

As reported on the other duplicate bugs...

As of latest SITREP http://dev.arma3.com/sitrep-00028

"We're also working on a Linux Dedicated Server, but we expect it may take the longest of these three releases."

I think the best hope for many games, is porting the required version of DirectX to Wine. Wine still only has support for older DirectX versions.

The required version of DirectX is also not available for use within VirtualBox as well due to the video card driver interface.

I used to love playing EA Battlefield 1942 within Wine under Linux, and experienced much better performance than Windows due to a multitude of reasons. Numerous reasons why to support Linux. One of the primary reasons, Linux boasts more multithreaded code or code using multiple CPU's than Windows' programs mostly coded for one CPU program. Even though ARMA is single threaded, the Linux operating system is much more balanced, providing better performance.

Since 1997, I've only used Windows for games.

The Value of a Linux Native Client is quite large. Another thing to take into mind is that the Linux community tends to have the biggest community support for any platform out there. One thing BIS could do if they released a Linux Native Client is to make the client OpenSource so that the community could assist with support. Linux devs release patches and fixes on a daily(sometimes hourly) basis unlike Winblows Patch Tuesday method where patches are not released until the next Tuesday. As far as hiring people who understand OGL, put the word out in the Linux Dev community that you are looking for OGL coders for making a Native Linux client. I have a feeling you would gain a lot of people looking to help. Plus, if you make a Linux Native Client, you could add in Multi-threaded and Multi-cored support in the Linux Client easily with the help of the Linux community. That alone would improve the lure of switching to Linux for gaming a great deal. Since the Windows client would be coded for Single threading and the Linux client would be multi-threaded. It is much easier to code multi-threading in Linux than it is in Windows. Plus, if you made it so that if you purchased ArmA 3 for windows, the key would still work for Linux, people would be more willing to start using it since they would not have to buy another copy. The Steam OS certainly seems to be getting off to a good start and they are using Debian for the base platform.......an excellent choice. Release ArmA 3 Native client through STEAM (Valve would most likely help you in porting it) for Linux platform and you would see more people buying the game and playing it since it would be one of the few AAA Linux games on Steam.

Personally, I think Windows only programmers should just stick to coding, and not trying to package source code or binaries. (What a mess, but atypical for Windows' packages. ;-)

To all developers its time please to give back to the Linux community.

Priority 1

Wish ARMA 3 had DirectX 9 support for Wine support.

I would then be able to fix some of the consumer's server maps and game scenarios much much easier under Linux. Working under Windows is extremely cumbersome for my excellent programming skills!

I agree to Raco and LinuxMaster9.

Linus is the platform of the future, but most developers don't know Linux or can not or will not use it because Windows is better known and more widely.

/upvoted

Translated with Google Translate. I am not responsible for spelling mistakes or grammatical errors

Windows is for people who cannot type. Hence, click and play people.

Therefore games sold only on Windows typically are targeted for a click and play audience, and not expected to debug or provide any useful feedback.

On the flip, I can barely use Windows myself, because I almost explicitly utilize the keyboard! (Debugging is such a pain in Windows! Thank God for Cygwin!)

With the recent tweet about Arma 3 getting DirectX12 a case of "not if but when", implementing another API would be a lot easier, the hurdle with be with moving to 2 API's. Adding an OpenGL API would be great, or even, when the time comes, Khronos Group's Vulcan API (New OpenGL). PhysX is already on linux (GPU and CPU, CPU being open sourced recently) so that would not be a hurdle. Arma 3 is my only game that is stopping me from going fully Windows free. Steam is pushing for a Linux gaming backend, and jumping on that would be great. Would love to see a native Arma 3 build. Also, following a linux like methodology, keeping everyone informed on any progress or issues preventing an arma 3 build would be nice, as people would definitely help get it going. Just to be clear i'm not saying to open source the Linux client, just be open about the issues facing the dev team.

helpful links:
DirectX 12 Tweet: https://twitter.com/maruksp/status/580026066183544832
Phyx Open sourced: https://developer.nvidia.com/physx-source-github
Vulkan API steam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUNMrU8uU5M&feature=youtu.be

Ditto.

For those using VI/VIM, here's a VIM syntax file for SQF (and it's associated cpp suffixed) files:

vim-sqf-syntax
http://github.com/sqwishy/vim-sqf-syntax

Whoop yahoooo! we could be on the way to a Linux and Mac port. My work here is done, over and out.

Good News! SITEREP # 00104 mentions within the OPERATIONS section documents ongoing Linux porting! If your follow previous interviews mentioned within one of my comments, I believe they're trying to port to lower versions of DirectX which will likely then be executable under Wine. I used to successfully play Battlefield 1942 under Linux/Wine, and believe it or not, the game ran and performed much better under Linux/Wine!

Likely less talk and more doing, as porting to Linux will greatly expand users and customizations amongst more experienced coders! ;-) You'll also likely experience better organization of the related ARMA packages. I would presume we're at >= 1% probability!

More good news! Below is a clipping of SITEREP # 00120 OPERATIONS section.

SITEREP # 00120
http://dev.arma3.com/post/sitrep-00120

OPERATIONS: We can finally share news about the experimental client ports to Linux and Mac. They are being prepared for public beta release very soon (shortly after update 1.50). ... It should be pointed out that there are some significant limitations, which we'll detail along with the start of the beta. There is also a possibility that these ports will never graduate from beta, but we will be evaluating their popularity and usability for some time.

Steam install on Gentoo Linux: layman -a steam-overlay && eix-update && emerge -uq games-util/steam-meta. (I'm waiting patiently and checking the Steam interface every few minutes.)

ARMA 3 client 1.50 Version for Linux was released on Steam August 31, 2015.

On your Linux client, first install Steam via your distribution's documentation. Search for the game within the Steam client and select install. Download may require 9-12 hours using DSL.

Game is crashing here on Gentoo, likely due to inadequate 32 bit dependencies or general (OpenGL 4.1?) dependencies. But if the application works on a binary packaged distribution such as Ubuntu, the application/game should work and install even easier on Gentoo! (See Linux System Requirements at http://dev.arma3.com/ports)

PROS: Linux users have experienced better frame rates compared to Windows users. Also from my experience, user device input maybe extremely more robust compared to Windows users. (ie. No lagging mouse input)

CONS: See http://dev.arma3.com/ports for a listing of the game's port lacking features. (ie. No BattlEye!, No Advanced Flight Model!, No future version updates preventing connecting to updated servers!, ...) No BattlEye, means you have absolutely no multiplayer servers to join!

Connecting to legacy servers can be worked around, but having no BattlEye or no advanced flight model is going to be a huge neglect of features.

At first I want to say thank you very much for the port! I already bought some DLC's to support the porting.
I tested the game on Ubuntu 14.04 and 15.10 with NVIDIA 355 drivers (to see if it would help in recognizing joysticks, steering wheels and joypads but only my 15 bucks Thrustmaster joypad works:( ) and both work better than on windows. Maybe because there's no Battleye, advanced flight model etc. but it remains the fact that it works better.
My problem is that windows os (virus system) won't enter in my house anymore, so please continue mantaining the porting. Thank you.

Just a correction; joystick and TrackIR detection, BattlEye, (Helicopter) Advanced Flight Model are all features and should have no negative effect on performance.

An increase on mouse or input performance on Linux is a given as it's probably due to scaling performance. There's other 3D improvements in performance, but I'll keep my mouth shut on the likely reasons for those and just rather conclude it's because Linux is better. ;-)

As for me; I can suffice without eye candy, but the three features mentioned (BattlEye, Joystick/TrackIR, Helicopter Advanced Flight Model) are all features I find as a requirement for using on Linux. BattlEye feature being a top priority.

I used to play Battlefield 1942 on Linux, and enjoyed having an edge over others players using Windows. (ie. operating system stability, frame rates, input stability, ...) Since Battlefield 1942 and Wolfenstein, there's been really no enjoyable games since!

They also desperately need to get audio (ie. microphone) working for the ARMA client within Linux! Steam even pickups the microphone audio just fine using something like the following:

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib32/apulse steam

If I'm not mistaken, the steam client can also use the media-sound/apulse package as well! However, ARMA's Linux microphone support is broken. A lot of other people evidently have this problem since they're not using their microphones either.

I was using the ARMA client today for 3-4 hours. Aside for a bug that finally crashed my client after 3-4 hours, the darn server disabled 3D view and I now have a splitting nauseating headache from the dummy's setting and having to squint all the time instead of using 3D view... and using TrackIR would have been more relaxing. They also need to get BattlEye and synced-up to the Windows ARMA client version!