Aren’t executable jars also simple double-click affairs, with the added advantage that you don’t need a Windows box and an OS X box to test them? Speaking as someone who develops on Linux the only methods I consider realistic for distribution are applet or self-executable jar. Maybe in a couple of years Webstart will be reliable enough to add to that list.
The other realistic way to distribute stuff is platform specific installers. It doesn’t hurt and it’s not complete rocket science, although I confess that I’ve got no idea how to make something that installs on Linux reliably. If I did, I would be embedding a hacked VM in it which might make life easier.
Cas 
Does the game have to be cross platform to make it into this glorious list of over achievers?
Kev
Also, with the quality being such much higher, the games in the showcase would probably appeal to those low lifes that don’t frequent a Java games development forum. What we could do with is a web site on which the showcase could be shown to the unenlightened without them having to trawl through a devs forum.
Kev
Personally when I choose to move games to showcase, I do think the game should run on at least Windows, Mac and Linux. However if its something special and not your average game clone then Windows only is fine by me. Other moderators may differ in their criteria but thats how I’d choose.
What about J2ME/Android/iPhone games? Can they make it into the showcase?
And is so, do they need to be playable on OSX, Windows, Linux through emulators aswell?
Kev
i don’t think the rules are clear enough yet regarding if mobile games should be allowed in the showcase or not.
Personally i think a sub section in the showcase would be fine for mobile games.
I’d also think it depends on how much interest and content there is, maybe we can see how the Android section does first.
But again this is all open for discussion and debate.
My point is that it does hurt - to the tune of a few hundred euros. I should probably have qualified what I said as being in the context of amateur / low budget development.
For installation of software in general on Linux the zip file (well, actually .tgz) is the standard way to go, although some people will also make packages for a couple of popular distros - e.g. a Ubuntu .deb and a Redhat .rpm. What you then hope is that your program becomes popular enough for someone at each of the main distros to volunteer to package it (working from your .tgz) and maintain the package with your upstream changes.
i thought the whole reason for java was to be platform independant, if your going to use a platform specific installer why not write the game in a different language in the first place and forget java.
if a player doesnt want to use my webstart or applet then i dont want them as a player they can go and play other types of games i dont care, i think java was a great language for me to learn not because it could run almost on any machine blah de blah etc etc , it was because it was the easiest to understand and the people that program it are kind enough to help newbies by sharing thier code sample. LONG LIVE JAVA and flash can go burn in the fires of hell ;D
Because distribution is <1% of your code but if done wrong can loose you >90% of your potential players? If you follow some basic rules it’s really not hard to have webstart/applet/exe versions of your game all running from the same identical code, so there’s very little excuse IMHO. Webstart is good for easy deployment for java-savy developers like around here, but for your average windows user it blows hard.
Simply double-clicking the jar file in Linux can do the job. Otherwise, a SH file is just like a BAT file in Windows. Most of the time, right-clicking the item to run and accessing its Properties will have a tab at the top that says “Permissions.” An item there should say something to the effect of “Allow executing as a program.” If checked, then all should be good to go for double-clicking.
Is that because so much clicking is required just to run a Web Start software? I noticed a few issues with the executable. For multi-clicking, I figure a statement to participants might suffice.
Woo! Soulja Boy Tell 'Em! ;D
Your suggestion had been used to improve the mouse input in the first version that still works like a charm. Sorry for the off topic.
The reason I use Java is because it’s easy to code in, not because it’s easy to deploy. Historically it’s always been a massive PITA to deploy. Like Orangy says, it’s a tiny bit of effort - it costs nothing btw to make an installer in Windows or Mac and of course Webstart should always be an option - and you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Cas