Are you considering shipping your own distribution (for instance a modified Ubuntu or Fedora or whatever) and guaranteeing compatibility for that, or do you plan only to issue guides for other distributions?
Yes, we would very much like to rely on the great distros that are already out there for now, working with them as needed to ensure compatibility (which we have already done with a handful).
If at all, a script to automatically download/compile deps will be more than adequate (not necessary).