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Iron Sky Invasion now has a Linux beta on Steam, uses Wine

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Topware Interactive are again continuing their Wine porting of older titles, this time it's Iron Sky Invasion [Steam, Official Site].

Again, it's really nice to see Topware bring older titles to Linux using Wine. As long as it works and it works well I couldn't care less. It means it counts as a Linux sale (the most important thing) and it's less hassle to not have to setup anything yourself.

Anyway, if you're interested here's their instructions from the announcement:
Quote1)Right Mouse Buttom (RMB) on Iron Sky Invasion in Your game library.
2)At the bottom - Properties.
3)At the top of the new window - BETAS
4)Enter this code - "isilinuxbetatest" and click "Check Code"
5)Select the beta "Linux Beta Test".
6)Close window and it should update Your game.


About the game (Official)
Set during the main conflict of the movie, “Iron Sky: Invasion” puts players in the cockpit of an advanced new starfighter, to test his or her might, flight and dog-fighting skills against the forthcoming Blitzkrieg-on-high. The main objectives are to defend Earth and its space installations from enemy attacks, blast as many Nazi ships into oblivion as humanly possible, collect and skillfully manage necessary resources, and make it alive to the final confrontation… where the ultimate secret weapon of the Fourth Reich awaits those foolishly brave enough to take up the hammer and chisel of heroism and attempt to carve their names onto the tablets of history.

Thanks for messaging me about it BdMdesigN! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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21 comments
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Snowdrake Dec 15, 2016
Ah nice! The movie is funny, bought the game a while back (works in wine, but crashes a lot).
I'll try the Linux beta right away!
Linas Dec 15, 2016
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Ahem... Does it really qualify as an older title by being released in 2012? I have nothing against using Wine for old games that are not economically viable to port via any other method. But being released on the same year as Dirt Showdown and Spec Ops: The Line does not qualify it as an old game in my book.
Liam Dawe Dec 15, 2016
Quoting: LinasAhem... Does it really qualify as an older title by being released in 2012? I have nothing against using Wine for old games that are not economically viable to port via any other method. But being released on the same year as Dirt Showdown and Spec Ops: The Line does not qualify it as an old game in my book.
I would argue that four years is quite a while and it was before Steam was officially released on Linux.

Dirt and Spec Ops aren't as niche as this game, so they are a different story.
Linas Dec 15, 2016
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Quoting: liamdaweI would argue that four years is quite a while and it was before Steam was officially released on Linux.

Dirt and Spec Ops aren't as niche as this game, so they are a different story.
I don't necessarily disagree with you on that. I also have great respect for the Wine project.

What I am concerned about is that these Wine ports tend to be minimal-effort products. As in I haven't seen a single example of a Wine port where the game did not run in Wine in advance (or were not complete disasters like Limbo and Eador). And as we come closer to the current year releases, we begin scraping the line between where games just work in Wine and where they begin having subtle annoying bugs like input and sound problems, rendering glitches, broken controller support etc., while in a way they still do "work". If the game actually needs to be hacked to work in Wine or Wine needs to be hacked to make the game work, I think the effort is better spent making an actual native port instead.

End rant. :P
Liam Dawe Dec 15, 2016
Quoting: Linas
Quoting: liamdaweI would argue that four years is quite a while and it was before Steam was officially released on Linux.

Dirt and Spec Ops aren't as niche as this game, so they are a different story.
I don't necessarily disagree with you on that. I also have great respect for the Wine project.

What I am concerned about is that these Wine ports tend to be minimal-effort products. As in I haven't seen a single example of a Wine port where the game did not run in Wine in advance (or were not complete disasters like Limbo and Eador). And as we come closer to the current year releases, we begin scraping the line between where games just work in Wine and where they begin having subtle annoying bugs like input and sound problems, rendering glitches, broken controller support etc., while in a way they still do "work". If the game actually needs to be hacked to work in Wine or Wine needs to be hacked to make the game work, I think the effort is better spent making an actual native port instead.

End rant. :P
If a game being on Linux can be done with minimal effort using Wine when it works really damn well, what's the downside exactly? I always prefer native ports (obviously), but when it's quicker for the developer to use something that's already available and works well, there's only really upsides for us. They can also go back and simply upgrade the version of Wine used in future, with ease, to give even better support in future. It's actually quite a good solution for older games.

You have to also remember that older games won't generate much income, which is why native ports for brand new, or much newer games is more worthwhile.
dubigrasu Dec 15, 2016
Tested the game and worked very well on my config in desktop or BPM, you can hardly tell is using Wine (there's only the small Wine popup at the initial setup). Controls are working fine (with M&K or Steam Controller which has already a profile for it)...well, I didn't found any issues.
If there's an issue is not a Wine one, but the acting and dialog in game. They are pretty much awful (IMO) and I really have a very high tolerance for things like that but...
I've heard people complaining about Two Worlds voice-over and I had zero problems with that, but in this one I could'n stomach it (although the over-the-top Nazis were pretty funny). While I enjoyed the game for some degree I eventually gave up because of this.
The best thing would be to cut the sound and put some music while playing.

But I digress, the game works very well.


Last edited by dubigrasu on 15 December 2016 at 3:00 pm UTC
dubigrasu Dec 15, 2016
Quoting: Guest"the most important thing" GNU/Linux need developers who know more than how to indenture themselves to Microsoft. Supposed everyone decides wine is the best path to profit. Why would they bother to learn to make native games?

I don't think (personal opinion) that this will be an issue.
After a certain point due to the improvements and advances within the popular engines, it will be easier to build native Linux games than screwing around with Wine "ports".

Man, I hate editing my posts because of some stupid misplaced letter.


Last edited by dubigrasu on 15 December 2016 at 3:07 pm UTC
Linas Dec 15, 2016
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Quoting: liamdaweIf a game being on Linux can be done with minimal effort using Wine when it works really damn well, what's the downside exactly?
That's a big if. And if that is the case, it's fine with me. Unfortunately experience has taught me to be cautious of Wine ports. Limbo, Eador, Dear Esther attempted Wine ports and failed miserably. :(

Although I have to admit that Topware Interactive seem to know what they are doing, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
dubigrasu Dec 15, 2016
Quoting: LinasAlthough I have to admit that Topware Interactive seem to know what they are doing, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
They do seem to perfected their scripts. They will still probably have issues with certain configurations (well, Wine), but overall they do work. The dev is also very patient and dedicated while willing to put up various fixes until the bug reports stops, and only then is releasing the Linux version.
Ilya Dec 15, 2016
I loved the movie and I've had it from a bundle for a few years now. Glad I'll finally get to play it!

EDIT: One thing that annoys me is that the trailer is just from the movie. I have no idea what the game looks like, not even what genre it is xD


Last edited by Ilya on 15 December 2016 at 7:08 pm UTC
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