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PayPalAnother week has passed already? There's simply not enough time in the week! Since we slow right down during the weekend to get a little downtime ready to be fresh for another week, here's some interesting bits for Sunday reading.
Missing pieces not covered during the week:
First up, Kickstarter is coming under fire as the CEO has gone hard on their anti-union stance with some details about the situation up on Current Affairs. This kind of behaviour is likely going to put a lot of people off pledging their money towards new games appearing on Kickstarter. Perhaps now it's time for more creators to use IndieGoGo again or maybe take a look at Fig.
Canonical have released the Ubuntu 19.10 beta versions, ready for more users to jump in and test to help make it a solid release. I enjoyed reading the blog post announcement Ubuntu MATE 19.10, written by Martin Wimpress that goes over all the little details they've been putting into making it a spectacular release.
More and more developers have been kicking up a fuss about changes to MacOS, with a lot across our Twitter feed mentioning they will no longer support it with their games in future. Here's an interesting post going over some of the reasons why and another here. Not Linux news, but since MacOS is a smaller platform like Linux, it's a reminder to be a great advocate for a niche gaming platform and when you report bugs be as useful as possible.
I was a guest again on the Linux For Everyone podcast for Episode 10, with a little bit about a fun Linux game.
Something we also didn't cover during the week was Richard Stallman announced his intentions to continue heading the GNU Project. Phoronix reported a short time later that a notice was put up on Stallman.org saying he was actually stepping down, which appears to have vanished. Checking an archive, it did indeed seem to have a statement from Stallman that read "I hereby step down as head of the GNU Project, effective immediately.".
Since I never pass up an opportunity to mention my favourite game; Rocket League now has some special Twitch Prime Content! If you link your Twitch account that has Prime with Rocket League and Steam, you can get some free stuff—nice!
This bit isn't Linux related but it does highlight an issue with developer/publisher relations in the gaming industry. Frogwares, developer of the Sherlock Holmes games and The Sinking City, have gone public calling out Focus Home Interactive due to the publisher removing their games for sale. According to Frogwares, the publisher has refused to transfer the "title IDs" (control of the store page) after the Publishing and Distribution Agreement expired. There's a lot of publishers out there with some really poor contracts, hopefully this won't keep happening to others.
Ending the little news roundup with something slightly amusing. Valve recently fixed a bug that affected Half-Life 2 (and the episodes) as well as Half-Life: Source, where NPCs would no longer blink. An issue that had been around for almost five years. Imagine not being able to blink for five years—the horror. It also fixes a few other little issues like missing sounds and a hitch when saving.
Some awesome games got updates recently:
- Factorio, the complex yet inviting game about building massive production chains had a HUGE update recently. I honestly can't tear myself away from the brilliance of it.
- Catch monsters, build up a fun team and go on an adventure in Monster Sanctuary with the recent update adding in more creatures, a female character option and more.
- Fort Triumph continues expanding the fantasy XCOM-like combat with fun dynamic maps.
We had some good software releases in the last week:
Weekend deals reminder:
- Total War weekend on Steam
- Devolver weekend sale on GOG
- Humble Builder Bundle
- Humble Monthly added BATTLETECH expansions
September is coming to an end and we have tons planned for October! Plenty of interesting looking games are going to be releasing so it's going to be another extremely busy month. If you enjoy what we do here you can support us through many places like Patreon, Paypal, Liberapay, Flattr and Twitch.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I remember as a younger person buying used games at a store. PS2 games, computer games, etc. I'd imagine if someone came in with an old computer game and activation code, the store would likely accept it.
With steam/online activation, is the whole concept of second hand games no longer valid? That seems sad, especially for lower income kids. I had a certain joy going through the used games bin with my friends looking for hidden treasures.
Quoting: denyasisPerhaps I'm showing my age here, but how is the store commiting fraud? Is it because the game license is owned by steam or it's a requirement?It's because the user who originally owned the key has obviously used it so anyone picking it up second hand can't actually use the key, so basically they purchased a copy someone else still has = shouldn't happen, the store is 100% at fault.
I remember as a younger person buying used games at a store. PS2 games, computer games, etc. I'd imagine if someone came in with an old computer game and activation code, the store would likely accept it.
With steam/online activation, is the whole concept of second hand games no longer valid? That seems sad, especially for lower income kids. I had a certain joy going through the used games bin with my friends looking for hidden treasures.
Quoting: rustybroomhandle... GOL has a block feature. I have found it has improved my general experience a lot.
Thanks, but I've never seen anything on GoL that I'd ever want to block. One of the things I like so much about Liam's site is its general spirit of community and bonhomie. :)
Quoting: rustybroomhandleAnyhoo, GOL has a block feature. I have found it has improved my general experience a lot.On that note, I just made that feature a bit better.
Happy Sunday.
appetrosyan Sep 29, 2019
Quoting: rustybroomhandleQuoting: NanobangGlad to hear Stallman is staying on since he neither did nor said anything wrong. In a saner world he'd win a defamation or slander lawsuit against Vice.
He said a lot wrong. And no, he would lose a defamation case against anyone who just printed literally what he said.
Anyhoo, GOL has a block feature. I have found it has improved my general experience a lot.
Thankfully we won’t have the chance to put the argument to the test. I don’t agree with what Stallman said, but I believe that the media reaction wasn’t proportional to what he said in that instance. It”s more akin to the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Last edited by appetrosyan on 29 September 2019 at 4:59 pm UTC
Quoting: CyrilSorry but for me it's obvious that this game was using Steam, all boxed versions need it. I hope you know perfectly well that Steam have the monopoly now on all boxed PC games. There was no way this used copy have worked. Of course the code was already going to be used.
My general rule is to not touch any used PC game that obviously requires Steam, in this particular case it wasn't as obvious as it usually is for me as all Steam reliant DVD games I bought prior had a Steam logo somewhere on the case, this one did not. I also tend to skim over system requirements on older PC games for perhaps obvious reasons, though I guess I oughta keep an eye on that now. I bought other 2K published games such as Bioshock and Borderlands 1 recently and those relied on SecuROM rather than Steam for DRM, so I wrongly assumed Borderlands 2 would be the same.
I think the store is ultimately at fault here, they did not inform me of the no return policy on PC games and refused to take the game back for store credit. The cashier I was talking to when trying to return the game was also the manager so... well, I'll have to take my complaints elsewhere. Though I'm not certain how much of a fuss I'm willing to stir over $8.
On the plus side on the same visit I also bought a copy of Witcher 2, and while the DRM servers for that were down I was able to redeem the CD key over at GOG. I was thinking of throwing out the now useless DVD to prevent it from re-entering the second hand market and then maybe filling it the case with a burnt copy of the GOG release.
Re: MacOS: Anything that puts a nail in Apple’s coffin is good news to me. On the other hand, if it gets any end users to free themselves from Apple, they’re just as likely to move (back) to Windows, so it makes little difference beyond cheaper computers for them. I suppose one can hope that the Mac gaming market shrinking might lead to better odds of support for Linux as the only viable PC OS for game devs to support besides Windows, but it seems just as likely that they will simply focus on Windows and consoles.
Last edited by Salvatos on 29 September 2019 at 8:26 pm UTC
Quoting: CyrilQuoting: BotonoskiSome irrelevant local news: I recently purchased a used DVD copy of Borderlands 2 for $8, the only place it mentioned needing Steam was in tiny font in the system requirements, as such it was a dud since the cd key had already been used, and the cherry on top: the place I bought it from has a no return policy on PC games. Now I sit here contemplating whether or not pirating the game is morally justified at this point or if this is all really my fault for expecting anything different.
Sorry but for me it's obvious that this game was using Steam, all boxed versions need it. I hope you know perfectly well that Steam have the monopoly now on all boxed PC games. There was no way this used copy have worked. Of course the code was already going to be used.
Quoting: Admiral AckbarIt's trap!
What might be obvious to you or not is completely irrelevant here: The store sold Botonoski a faulty product, there is really nothing more to it.
And while we are at Borderlands 2 and macOS it's still sad that Aspyr ported the last DLC:s and coop for only macOs.
Quoting: BotonoskiMy general rule is to not touch any used PC game that obviously requires Steam, in this particular case it wasn't as obvious as it usually is for me as all Steam reliant DVD games I bought prior had a Steam logo somewhere on the case, this one did not. I also tend to skim over system requirements on older PC games for perhaps obvious reasons, though I guess I oughta keep an eye on that now. I bought other 2K published games such as Bioshock and Borderlands 1 recently and those relied on SecuROM rather than Steam for DRM, so I wrongly assumed Borderlands 2 would be the same.
I think the store is ultimately at fault here, they did not inform me of the no return policy on PC games and refused to take the game back for store credit. The cashier I was talking to when trying to return the game was also the manager so... well, I'll have to take my complaints elsewhere. Though I'm not certain how much of a fuss I'm willing to stir over $8.
On the plus side on the same visit I also bought a copy of Witcher 2, and while the DRM servers for that were down I was able to redeem the CD key over at GOG. I was thinking of throwing out the now useless DVD to prevent it from re-entering the second hand market and then maybe filling it the case with a burnt copy of the GOG release.
You played the Russian roulette but with a full loaded gun.
Even if you don't see a Steam logo, there is none Borderlands 2 boxed edition without Steam, it doesn't exist.
You can check for example on pcgamingwiki.com for that stuff.
There are exceptions, but "98%" of PC games need Steam since many years, unfortunately.
And yes I have the Bioshock 1/2 DVD and The Witcher 2 DVD too, and some other games but that's not a lot, really.
But of course I'm not defending the store, it's either fraud or profound ignorance.
Quoting: rustybroomhandleOver the years, no doubt. On this occasion, such as?Quoting: NanobangGlad to hear Stallman is staying on since he neither did nor said anything wrong. In a saner world he'd win a defamation or slander lawsuit against Vice.
He said a lot wrong.
QuoteAnd no, he would lose a defamation case against anyone who just printed literally what he said.I can't recall all the text of the article; I don't believe that's quite what they did. But they're responsible for the headline, not just the article. The headline was certainly both inaccurate and defamatory--and headlines get read by a hell of a lot more people than the articles under them. (The article's author probably wasn't responsible for the headline, but Vice sure as hell was)
On the thread about this, I didn't see a single person getting upset at Stallman over what he actually said. To the contrary, pretty much everyone who was upset was basing their anger on what they assumed he must have said given the Vice headline and perhaps the tenor of the article. Nobody who went and read the emails seemed to be all that mad. This suggests to me that the Vice article was quite successfully defamatory.
(Some people may have been upset at what he actually said--I didn't see that, though; nobody was saying "He said this, which was a bad thing to say." rather it was all general and mistaken, along the lines of "He defended Epstein" (which he did not), or references to things he is rumoured to have said in the past, or explicitly based on the Vice headline)
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