Add release on flathub.org (flatpak)

[Darin755]

The issues
On Linux, the current install method is precarious at best as it involves downloading a random binary off of the internet. This is bad practice at best and at worst is asking for serious issues. What would be better is if there was a well supported way of installing on Linux.

What is Flatpak?
Flatpak is a universal packaging format on Linux that implements a sandbox that each app runs in. This improves compatibility as well as isolates software in case of bad activity caused by malice or unusual bugs. Flatpak is becoming more and more popular and flathub is the main repo where most of the apps live.

How would one package this on Flathub?
The general guide is here:
https://docs.flathub.org/docs/for-app-authors/submission/

Essentially the game would need to be built in a way that is reproducible and the permissions would need to be figured out. I am very much not a Flatpak expert so apologies if this isn't enough information.

[Zentro]

Hello,

I just so happen to also have been working with flatpaks for an unrelated project. I can look into this further, but don't expect a lot from me. @AnotherFoxGuy will have better insight into this than I.

For reference, we have 4 other ways to reliably install RoR:

1. https://rigs-of-rods.itch.io/rigs-of-rods - Standalone zip
2. https://snapcraft.io/rigs-of-rods - A snap package maintained by the ogre devs
3. https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/rigsofrods - The AUR arch repo maintained by AFG
4. itchio://install/351397 - Through the itch.io app, which may not be ideal for everyone

The website doesn't explicitly mention some of these options, I'll look into revising a part of this.

[ohlidalp]

@AnotherFoxGuy had some insights into this on Discord, I myself never came to contact with flat packs but the topic did come up several times.

[AnotherFoxGuy]

I believe the last time I tried to package for flatpak I ran into issues with the sandboxing that flatpak does
I will try it again and see if I can get it running now

[ghost]

Why not appimage? It's simpler. Latest RoR doesn't work on Arch Linux. Dependency issues... Appimage doesn't have these issues as it contains everything inside it.

[Darin755]

Most Linux users do not use Appimage. App images have a few problems most of them being updates and security. It would be better to use something that can do actual sandboxing and that has proper updates. It would be better to have a Debian repo if anything. I can setup a Debian container to run it in with minimal effort.

[ghost]

RoR doesn't get updates very often so updating isn't a problem at all. Flatpak is only option for security but damn I just want something simple that works for everyone. Appimage just works at every Linux distro. Not everyone uses Debian as it simply feels like Windows XP.

[AnotherFoxGuy]

Why not appimage? It's simpler.

The Linux build on itch.io is just a appimage, the only difference is that is not in a self-extracting zip

[ghost]

I tried both stable and nightly/unstable versions of RoR. I downloaded these from itch.io and both of them gave me dependency errors. Appimage should contain all the required dependencies inside it.