Affinity products for Linux

[1stn00b]

Unless that virtual machine is set-up with GPU passtrough, it's just a waste of resources compared to running the windows only software thru Bottles/Wine. Also you get lower performances adding a layer of virtualization in between.

Also Wine doesn't emulate anything - it translate Windows API calls to Linux API calls

[AdamStanislav]

7 hours ago, 1stn00b said:

Wine doesn't emulate anything - it translate Windows API calls to Linux API calls

What Linux API calls? Years ago I looked into X trying to convert my Windows software to it, and was only frustrated because there was no official API. There is a zillion of third party systems that are so complicated that trying to figure them out would be a waste of my time, so nowadays I just write libraries of video effects (but no one seems to know they even exist) but without any GUI except for Windows.

[1stn00b]

Quote

Wine (originally an acronym for "Wine Is Not an Emulator") is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant operating systems, such as Linux, macOS, & BSD. Instead of simulating internal Windows logic like a virtual machine or emulator, Wine translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly, eliminating the performance and memory penalties of other methods and allowing you to cleanly integrate Windows applications into your desktop.

https://www.winehq.org/

[geenat]

Just to echo 1stn00b, the Bottles route is the future for native GPU support, a lot less heavier too.

Things will be dandy once the flickering issues are sorted, then we can all move on from keeping Windows for only 1 freakin app, lol.

 

[jaizon]

16 minutes ago, geenat said:

Just to echo 1stn00b, the Bottles route is the future for native GPU support, a lot less heavier too.

Things will be dandy once the flickering issues are sorted, then we can all move on from keeping Windows for only 1 freakin app, lol.

 

God bless your words my friend

Right now the only piece of software work focused missing on Linux is a graphic suit. We do have Inkscape that's in a good shape for vector but if I have to be honest, our raster editing is a mess.

Also, Scribus is not that good of a option for Publisher either.

[geenat]

Yeah layer previews and more intuitive vector tools are what keep me spending money on Affinity. It's just a better workflow in 2022. Affinity needs to keep innovating to stay ahead, though.

[Snapseed]

On 8/11/2022 at 9:30 AM, 1stn00b said:

Unless that virtual machine is set-up with GPU passtrough, it's just a waste of resources compared to running the windows only software thru Bottles/Wine. Also you get lower performances adding a layer of virtualization in between.

Also Wine doesn't emulate anything - it translate Windows API calls to Linux API calls

Tbh, any form of virtualisation is going to be a relative resource hog which is why other methods are preferable if we can get them working. Also, I like your description of Wine because it is effectively a live translation layer that can work very well.

For me, the ideal situation would be to end up where Affinity Photo ran on Linux as well as PhotoLine that gets a Platinum rating for working so well with Wine.

[Kenzor]

https://vfxplatform.com/linux/

so vfx companies mostly use Linux according to a survey done by VES (the visual effects society. ) there’s a pdf with recommendations on Linux builds (commissioned because CentOS is end of life ) 

while I understand that making affinity cross platform in Linux as well would be a massive pain for the developers, it is a shame  because there few options for high end paint work under Linux

[geenat]

Quote

while I understand that making affinity cross platform in Linux as well would be a massive pain for the developers

🙄 Stop yourself. These are poorly informed assumptions in 2022.

As a developer who has worked with Mono on Linux on multiple occasions, I find it difficult to buy this excuse in 2022 because:

* In Affinity's case, Mono is particularly well supported on Linux, but we even have straight up .NET now. This has been the case for some time now. (Unity 3D, OpenRA, etc.) The Mac version probably already uses the same backend. 🙄

* For distribution, AppImage format works, is used by both Krita and Inkscape highly successfully.

I'm more inclined to believe there just aren't any Linux-inclined developers on staff, or resources are tight enough that its difficult for Affinity executive(s) to justify the Linux build. Once the initial legwork is done, continually pushing out a Linux build would be simple.

 

The very least Affinity can do is what they are doing now, attempting to guide people who are having this work in Bottles on Linux.

[1stn00b]

Their public filing history : https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02117968/filing-history doesn't show their about to go bankrupt, or struggling so i find it funny they can't afford better developers if the one they have are unfit to develop on other platforms like Android or Linux : > They have exactly 3 products that generate their income so their growth will come from increasing platform diversity, launching new products and off course a payed upgrade to version 2.0.

[Patrick Connor]

3 hours ago, 1stn00b said:

 so i find it funny they can't afford better developers if the one they have are unfit to develop on other platforms like Android or Linux : > 

Stop these insults, or leave the forums

[Alfred]

3 hours ago, 1stn00b said:

They have exactly 3 products that generate their income

There are currently eight products, not three, and there will be nine when Affinity Publisher on iPad is released.

[melina]

19 hours ago, geenat said:

I'm more inclined to believe there just aren't any Linux-inclined developers on staff, or resources are tight enough that its difficult for Affinity executive(s) to justify the Linux build.

Agreed. Affinity has made their position clear on this forum and Twitter, at least, that they are happy with the way things are. Quite frankly, it is their company which they formed to do what they wanted to do. As a business owner of more than 20 years, comments and suggestions are always welcome and occasionally, gratefully, implemented. However, nothing is more irritating than when someone waltzes into your company demanding that they rearrange the universe on their behalf. Whereas I am disappointed that there isn't an Affinity Suite for Linux, since native apps always work best, I respect their choices. And kudos to them for trying to help out people attempting alternate installations!😎

[D’T4ils]

4 hours ago, 1stn00b said:

i find it funny they can't afford better developers if the one they have are unfit to develop on other platforms like Android or Linux

Come on, mate! You’ve been of great help so far, this kind of comments is completely unnecessary. You’re spitting on the face of the people who’s giving us a hand with all this WINE stuff

[Renzatic]

Man. I was downloading Photo for a quick experiment, and I saw that I bought it in 2016. That was 6 years ago!

It made me feel old.

[Mark Ingram]

On 8/14/2022 at 12:49 PM, 1stn00b said:

i find it funny they can't afford better developers if the one they have are unfit to develop on other platforms like Android or Linux

I'm one of those engineers that you're insulting, and I'm also the only engineer to reply to the posts on this thread, trying to help out the community. My time is valuable, and I don't want to waste it reading comments like that.

[ShadeOn]

48 minutes ago, Mark Ingram said:

I'm one of those engineers that you're insulting, and I'm also the only engineer to reply to the posts on this thread, trying to help out the community. My time is valuable, and I don't want to waste it reading comments like that.

Agree here. Not one of us is the same (except some look alike the same, but are not that same/copy of previous soul that inhabited it)

On 8/4/2022 at 7:02 PM, 1stn00b said:

Running with terminal shows they use MoveFileTransactedW that Microsoft say will be deprecated and advises to not be used :

 

Then I am sure like others who didn't reply that you saw noob's finding about this function that you guys use and might affect on further Win 10/11 major updates (those "creative" updates that are each year but in reality it's a half-dusty format of refreshing the internal windows code, and previous versions won't be the same with new ones under the hood) and it already affects on this side too (wine/bottles), besides flickering (I think Wine devs should have some time to check this).

 

 

[Snapseed]

1 hour ago, Mark Ingram said:

I'm one of those engineers that you're insulting, and I'm also the only engineer to reply to the posts on this thread, trying to help out the community. My time is valuable, and I don't want to waste it reading comments like that.

Please be assured that your valuable input has been much appreciated by many of us who have read, or who have contributed to, this particular topic. Thank you.

[1stn00b]

I fail to understand how my "if then" comment insulted anybody, but so be it, i can get lost as i was instructed and get my relevant Affinity Linux/Android news from here : https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/careers/

[ShadeOn]

It is kind of a bad habit mix of words to be used in a phrase per se.

And I think now it's more crucial to find "soon be deprecated" core stuff that can affect future client versions on Windows and Mac (that can affect us too in Wine/Bottles) , then comes new features, and then (and only then) other stuff like Android, SailfishOS, etc.

Better be doing this while waters are calm now than when it's a stormy one and will lead to rash decisions

[Frozen Death Knight]

1 hour ago, 1stn00b said:

I fail to understand how my "if then" comment insulted anybody, but so be it, i can get lost as i was instructed and get my relevant Affinity Linux/Android news from here : https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/careers/

Well, you basically called the developers incompetent and the company they work for too poor to afford "good" developers, which is another slight towards the employees. It's not that hard to grasp.

[1stn00b]

On 8/13/2022 at 11:44 PM, geenat said:

I'm more inclined to believe there just aren't any Linux-inclined developers on staff, or resources are tight enough that its difficult for Affinity executive(s) to justify the Linux build.

My so called "insult" was a direct response to the comment above it.

[D’T4ils]

1 hour ago, 1stn00b said:

My so called "insult" was a direct response to the comment above it.

For the sake of this thread and what we’re all doing here, I need to ask you to stop “explaining” yourself. You were rude, so let’s just apologize and continue with the matter at hand

[HobbesHK]

Hi everyone, just stumbled onto this topic after doing a web search for "how to run Affinity Designer on Linux". The help provided here on how to get the bottle going on Linux has been invaluable - thank you everyone involved. Yes, it's flickering & I can't use a "save as" on a new file, but.... woooo, sooooo close! (Running Manjaro Linux 5.19 with an AMD RX 5700 XT)

I've got a Macbook right next to my PC, but would prefer to just run everything through Linux, so this topic has been very valuable - thank you!!

[Medical Officer Bones]

On 5/29/2022 at 10:35 AM, Kamei Kojirou said:

For my use case at least, I think Krita is the best photo editor on Linux. Which is hilarious because they don't claim to be one, but they are a fork of GIMP, so their is at least an older GIMP instance under the hood without the majority UI/UX issues of GIMP with better UI/UX, CYMK, non-destructive work, effect layers etc.  I think Krita is comparable to Affinity Photo, with a better painting experience, but the photo editing tools aren't well advertised and almost as good, the UI/UX is slightly worse because photo editing isn't the forefront, and their font tool has a weird popup interface to place text.

Krita is NOT a fork of GIMP. Quite the opposite, actually: back in 1998 Matthias Ettrich demonstrated how easy it was to hack a Qt GUI around an existing application, which happened to be GIMP. His patch was never published, and caused friction with the GIMP community at the time.

So because the GIMP community was unable to work together towards a better image editor, people in the KDE project decided to start their own image editor, called KImage. That was the start of Krita. and initially named "KImageShop", meant to be a GUI shell around ImageMagick. The name was then changed to "Krayon" due to existing trademark issues related to "KImageShop", and finally renamed to Krita in 2002.

All of which brings me to mention here that Krita 5.1 was just released.

Krita is wonderful to work with for drawing and painting, in my opinion.