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GOL Survey Results: December

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The new year is upon us and so is the latest survey. There were 787 respondents to the survey this time, 400 less than the record set last month, but still a healthy number nonetheless. Thanks to everyone who took the time to do it and please carry on filling it out.

You can find the new survey here .

The survey will have no changes made to it for the first time in preparation for the month-by-month comparisons which should begin next month. GOL reader Fedso is working on a program that takes the csv files from Google Forms and automatically creates graphs comparing previous results. Once this is done, we will be able to observe trends for the first time and things should get a lot more interesting!

Otherwise, despite being a new year, it’s going to be another fairly boring set of results, leaving analysis for next month when we have a clearer picture of how things have evolved since the survey started.

Do you currently use Linux as your primary PC gaming platform?

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Did you use Wine to play games last month?

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Did you use a Windows partition for gaming last month?

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Did you delete your Windows partition or stop using it completely for gaming last month?

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What distribution do you use on your primary Linux gaming PC?

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What Desktop Environment do you use on your primary Linux gaming PC?

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Did you change your primary Linux gaming distribution last month?

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What graphics card do you use on your primary Linux gaming PC?

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Which drivers do you use for that graphics card?

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What CPU do you use on your primary Linux gaming PC?

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Did you exclusively buy Linux-supported games last month?

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How many Linux games did you buy last month?

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Which of these retailers did you use to buy your Linux games last month?

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Unique Question - Do you use a gamepad/controller?

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On to the unique question and I got a bit of flak for its question, with a perceived anti-gamepad “master race” bias. I just want to clarify that this was intended as a joke. The results showed that more than half of Linux gamers use gamepads, with less than 40% not using gamepads at all.

I use an unofficial Xbox 360 which works out of the box for everything with controller support, with one or two exceptions where I have had to unload xpad and use a series of cumbersome commands with the xboxdrv driver, then remap the whole thing on jstest which never saves the configuration. What are your gamepad experiences?

Conclusions

Normally there would have been a lot more analysis, but as a few people rightfully pointed out, if you comment month after month on incremental changes then you run out of things to say pretty quickly. The changes this month were all within 1-2% so this still applies and there is not much to say. However, next month expect to see a lot of analysis as we see all the results next to each other for the first time.

Please remember to fill out the new survey . Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
After many years of floating through space on the back of a missile, following a successful career in beating people up for not playing Sega Saturn, the missile returned to earth. Upon returning, I discovered to my dismay that the once great console had been discontinued and Sega had abandoned the fight to dominate the world through 32-bit graphical capabilities.

After spending some years breaking breeze blocks with my head for money and being mocked by strangers, I have found a new purpose: to beat up people for not playing on Linux.
See more from me
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37 comments
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Segata Sanshiro Jan 4, 2015
Quoting: liamdaweHow many responses so far?

550 - can't remember if that's good or not after 2 days, I think it is.
Xeekei Jan 5, 2015
Quoting: Beamboom"What are your gamepad experiences?" -> I got a Logitech F710 and it works perfectly out of the box, rumble included. And it's wireless.

It's got two mode settings, "X"(-box) or "O" (whatever O stands for) and I use it on Xbox setting.

I think you mean it says "D". I have an F510. "D" stands for DirectInput; the API used before Microsoft released XInput for XBox 360.
Liam Dawe Jan 5, 2015
Quoting: Segata Sanshiro
Quoting: liamdaweHow many responses so far?

550 - can't remember if that's good or not after 2 days, I think it is.
After 2 days I would say that's a really good start.
Beamboom Jan 6, 2015
Regarding the unique question this time: I'm kinda stuck between the second and third alternative: I think there will be a significant increase in the amount of Linux versions, but I don't think we will get a lot of new Linux users this year unless some very favourable Steamboxes are starting to roll out.

Quoting: XeekeiI think you mean it says "D". I have an F510. "D" stands for DirectInput; the API used before Microsoft released XInput for XBox 360.

Ah - that sounds extremely plausible. Thanks! :)
Cyba.Cowboy Jan 6, 2015
Quoting: Beamboom"What are your gamepad experiences?" -> I got a Logitech F710 and it works perfectly out of the box, rumble included. And it's wireless.

It's got two mode settings, "X"(-box) or "O" (whatever O stands for) and I use it on Xbox setting.

I used to use this, but got sick of fighting to get it working under Ubuntu or Microsoft Windows (which I still used at the time)... The range (from the USB receiver) was garbage, and this controller went through batteries like it was going out of fashion.

Not long after the Sony PlayStation 4 came out, I googled this controller and it quickly became evident that the issues I was experiencing were quite common, between both operating systems (Ubuntu and Windows)... The situation might be better now, but my experience with the Sony DUALSHOCK 4 (see below) has been flawless from start to finish, so I'll never go back.

--

As I said above, I use the DUALSHOCK 4 now, which is of course, the default controller for the PlayStation 4.

All one needs to do is "pair" the controller just like any other bluetooth device...

Hold the "PlayStation" and "Share" buttons to put the controller into "pairing" mode, then pair the controller with the computer using the bluetooth menu (bluetooth icon-->Set Up New Device...)!
Much to my surprise, Steam even recognizes it as a DUALSHOCK 4 controller in its settings, and assigns the "standard" functionality as per what you would expect on a PlayStation 4 (e.g. "X" for action, "O" for back, etc...)!

Steam appears to have pretty good support for the DUALSHOCK 4, as does most of the games on GOG.com and even many of the games in the Ubuntu Software Center, however a few notes about what I've noticed so far...

* This appears to work in Ubuntu 14.10 or higher, though my understanding is that this is because of the Linux kernel itself, which added native support for the DUALSHOCK 4 a while back (not sure which specific version it was).
* Some newer games appear to support force-feedback (vibration), though this varies and you may need to enable this functionality within the game itself.
* You will need to manually turn the controller off when you're finished with it, by holding the "PlayStation" button until it switches off (you should see the LED go out) - if you are using Steam, you will probably need to do this twice (by default, the "PlayStation" button changes to "Big Picture" mode).
* Not all games support controller input or input from this particular controller (though most should)... You'll need to experiment yourself and find out, or change some of the settings in the game/Steam/whatever to get it working.
Some or all of the "fancy" functionality - customizing the LED color, recording/sharing gameplay, motion controls, etc - may not work in part or at all.
Beamboom Jan 7, 2015
Quoting: CybaCowboyI used to use this, but got sick of fighting to get it working under Ubuntu or Microsoft Windows (which I still used at the time)... The range (from the USB receiver) was garbage, and this controller went through batteries like it was going out of fashion.

Really? Seriously, I've changed batteries in it *once* since I purchased it, years ago. Dead serious. I've been astonished about the low battery consumption. Granted, there's been periods where I've not used the controller at all, but still. One battery replacement in 3 years or so.

The range I know nothing about, I use that usb extension cable it came with so the receiver usb dongle is right beneath the screen, straight visual line to the controller. At least under those circumstances there's no issues whatsoever, within the few meters I've used it.

I can't get it to work in Windows though. I find no driver download anywhere, and Windows just don't recognize it. But that's irrelevant now, since I no longer use Windows.
Cyba.Cowboy Jan 7, 2015
Quoting: BeamboomReally? Seriously, I've changed batteries in it *once* since I purchased it, years ago. Dead serious. I've been astonished about the low battery consumption. Granted, there's been periods where I've not used the controller at all, but still. One battery replacement in 3 years or so.

Yeah, mine went through batteries like crazy!


Quoting: BeamboomThe range I know nothing about, I use that usb extension cable it came with so the receiver usb dongle is right beneath the screen, straight visual line to the controller. At least under those circumstances there's no issues whatsoever, within the few meters I've used it.

Mine never came with a cable (and yes, I bought it new), but I tried that and it made no noticeable difference.

Around the time of Windows 8's release, I had a look on Logitech's forums and there was page after page of users complaining about both the power usage and the range issues I was experiencing; it's a while ago now, but if I remember correctly, I also found a post or two on the Ubuntu forums.


Quoting: BeamboomI can't get it to work in Windows though. I find no driver download anywhere, and Windows just don't recognize it. But that's irrelevant now, since I no longer use Windows.

For anyone that needs it (Microsoft Windows user - boo, hiss!), the respective download can be found here:
http://support.logitech.com/en_us/product/wireless-gamepad-f710#download

The driver itself is built-in to most recent versions of Windows - this is the Logitech management software, that lets users program macros, setup different (game) profiles and tweak various settings (I think it includes a driver for older versions of Windows, though).
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