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New user statistics refresh, come check out the new data from Linux gamers

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Our user statistics page has been updated again, and it should now happen at the end of every month automatically.

Here we can see that Ubuntu, is clearly the most popular Linux distribution amongst our Linux gaming visitors, with Arch coming in second place again (out of 1645 users):
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This time, as requested, I added in a gamepad selector along with the graph to go with it, which clearly shows right now the "Steam Controller" being the most popular. I imagine that will change with more people inputting their preference, as we only had 271 people answer it so far:
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What I am most surprised about, is out of 924 users, KDE Plasma is the most popular desktop environment. I never seem to be able to personally get along with it, but it's cool to see how popular it is:
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For those, and more visit the statistics page.

As always, if you have suggestions on how to make it all more interesting, fire away in the comments. I want to make the page useful, and it has grown quite a bit since the initial release of it.

What I would like feedback on, is how often to remind users to make sure their details are up to date, and what the preferred method would be? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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ElectricPrism Nov 1, 2016
I just went through lots of research & testing & arrived at the conclusion that Xbox 360 is the best for us.

PlayStation 4 thumbtacks crater rings were annoying & the dual stick circles were too small to use in First Person Shooters. The touchpad was difficult to get working (I didn't). And running ds4drv to map it to X360 was a pain because on Bluetooth disconnect it would just add another Xbox Controller # and forget the last. Bluetooth range was terrible @ 4ft but maybe my controller was the cause. Input lag was behind X360 -- critical to FPS games.

Design wise PS4 is symmetrical, ergonomic, and very attractive but for some reason the plastic sweats in the hands.

XBone Bumpers are a joke and break off. The colored letters on black buttons is a downgrade. The bottom of the controller wings are linear instead of dynamic making it feel worse in your hand. The joysticks suck and lack resistance. Flush mount battery is nice & Bluetooth with model S is a step in the right direction.

Steam Controller is a Headcrab grafted upon a X360 host. Except instead of being one controller it's two controllers mashed together. You have to choose to completely ignore the top half or the bottom half to hold it where it feels meant to be.

Having one left joystick is a huge disappointment for FPS gaming. It fails as a FPS console controller to provide equal utility to my 15 years of playing FPS skill. The bumpers are awesome. The indentation on the left track pad sucks. It should have been raised or left out to feel like a DPad at all.

The right & left pads should have been unscrewable to replace with joysticks. The shell should come in more colors. Sticker Skins is retardedly ugly.

X360 admittedly is dated but supported in the most games. The kernel supports it has the free. The wings on the bottom are ergonomic. The triggers quality enough. The joysticks last 10 years and the button colors are really nice. The Wireless receiver is a pain and mess but can be mounted inside the case at least. It's limited to 4 controllers I imagine. The range is great and input lag minimal. The joysticks are wide enough to allow for more FPS precision. The joysticks are a ugly grey & bottom plastic too. The battery compartment is ackward but at least out of the way if you hards are small or mid size.

On and the steam controller batteries -- how the fuck are you supposed to pry those out of the wings without a knife & slashing your hand. Fuck those batteries hold super tight & never come out.

So in the end ice completed my quest & personally declared X360 the least expensive & best for FPS, ease of installation, design & real gaming use. Sometimes R1 and L1 don't work but overall its the best experience for me + 3 to play local split screen with.
chrisq Nov 1, 2016
Quoting: ElectricPrismHaving one left joystick is a huge disappointment for FPS gaming. It fails as a FPS console controller to provide equal utility to my 15 years of playing FPS skill. The bumpers are awesome. The indentation on the left track pad sucks. It should have been raised or left out to feel like a DPad at all.

We're all allowed our opinions, and when it comes to controllers it almost entirely ubjective, but you prefering joysticks to trackpads is just amazing to me.

In my opinion ftp with trackpads is the steam controllers greatest feature over legacy controllers besides the fact that you can actually possible to play mouse games.
Oktoras Nov 1, 2016
Quoting: ElectricPrismSteam Controller is a Headcrab grafted upon a X360 host. Except instead of being one controller it's two controllers mashed together. You have to choose to completely ignore the top half or the bottom half to hold it where it feels meant to be.

Having one left joystick is a huge disappointment for FPS gaming. It fails as a FPS console controller to provide equal utility to my 15 years of playing FPS skill. The bumpers are awesome. The indentation on the left track pad sucks. It should have been raised or left out to feel like a DPad at all.

It is interesting how different feeling I have for steam controller. I think it is best controller especially for FPS games by far. I really hate Xbox/PS controllers in any FPS style games because they are so inaccurate and need lots of aiming help to ease up aiming. With Steam controller, I can play FPS games pretty well.

Quoting: ElectricPrismOn and the steam controller batteries -- how the fuck are you supposed to pry those out of the wings without a knife & slashing your hand. Fuck those batteries hold super tight & never come out.

It is super easy to take out batteries - just press the little hinges to up, and batteries will pop out automatically?
tuubi Nov 1, 2016
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Quoting: Comandante oardoWhen You gonna add a Game Tracking feature?
Why would we want that?
dubigrasu Nov 1, 2016
Quoting: ElectricPrismThe right & left pads should have been unscrewable to replace with joysticks.
Look, replacing the pads will results in ending up with something similar with a PS3/4/XBox/etc controller, and we already have that.
Why would I buy a Steam Controller in the first place only to transform it in a Xbox controller?
cRaZy-bisCuiT Nov 1, 2016
Maybe not as many people as expected use a Xbox controller because it's ugly as hell?

<<< Dual Shock 4.
Grimfist Nov 1, 2016
Personally I never got warm with KDE. It is too Windows-esque for my taste. I really like Unity, because it gave me the best out of the box experience so far. And then there is Unity tweak tool, to make Unity even more tasteful, with little effort. But the great thing about the Linux ecosystem is that there are multiple DE's with all their pros and cons, which gives everyone a choice.
[email protected] Nov 1, 2016
GNOME 3 in 3.22 is pretty clean and useable. Use it daily. It's customizability is decent but for users who prefer a more traditional approach to desktop computing, KDE might be better. Or Cinnamon/Mate.

Xbox 360 controller is by far the best out of box experience. Only game that didn't support it initially was Jotun but the developer got it working after I reported it. Kudos to them.

When steam adds DS4 support, some devs may choose to use it but if you use GOG for gaming extensively, might be better to stick to Xbox 360 controller.


Last edited by [email protected] on 1 November 2016 at 8:49 am UTC
Eike Nov 1, 2016
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Quoting: Oktoras
Quoting: ElectricPrismOn and the steam controller batteries -- how the fuck are you supposed to pry those out of the wings without a knife & slashing your hand. Fuck those batteries hold super tight & never come out.

It is super easy to take out batteries - just press the little hinges to up, and batteries will pop out automatically?

Yes, there's basically a button.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaVJmHmtuAE
Julius Nov 1, 2016
My take on the Steamcontroller thing is that when it is well supported (either by the developer directly, such as the case for example "Neuro Voider" or by an awesome community config), than it beats all other controllers easily and sometimes even a mouse+keyboard combo. However many games are not well supported, and unless I want to spend a lot of time creating my own config (which I honestly didn't bother so far), I end up switching back to either my Xbox360 controller or the mouse+keyboard combo.

So overall I can see why people voted it as their favorite controller, but if you are on the edge and don't want to buy two controllers, nor are especially interested is playing games originally not meant for controller input at all, then I would rather go for a cheaper USB cable Xbox360 controller which works great under Linux.


Last edited by Julius on 1 November 2016 at 10:05 am UTC
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