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Latest Comments by Mambo
Steam Deck sales drop hard following the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement (updated: Valve fixed it)
23 Jan 2025 at 12:23 pm UTC Likes: 2

Could this not be an artifact? Graphs showing incorrect info for the latest time period is not unusual, it could mean some of the data wasn't completely collected.

itch.io store now requires AI generated content disclosures for assets
21 Nov 2024 at 4:26 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: Guest
Quoting: EhvisBecause the code that you use was written by the company that you licensed the engine from. With AI it is usually unclear what it's from and who is the rightful owner to the source material. Stores are simply attempting to cover their responsibility.
That covers the stores, not people pointing their fingers on this but not that.
The stores depend on artists, there's the angle of labour rights, wealth concentration, the question of promoting creativity vs slop… Cory Doctorow [External Link] has written a ton about those questions. itch.io in particular has to be sensitive to the mood of indies lest they get pushed out.

itch.io store now requires AI generated content disclosures for assets
21 Nov 2024 at 3:31 pm UTC Likes: 4

Quoting: GuestThe engine takes care of the programming to a certain extent, you add the graphics and audio, and everyone is happy.

Now, the extensive use of AI for image generation seems to be perceived differently, but the principle remains the same: you handle the programming and audio while paying relatively little attention to the graphical aspect, yet... not everyone is happy.
Engines can be reused depending on their license, or the developer's goodwill in the case of mods. People pay attention to the engine licensing terms because they expect they will have to obey them, hence the reaction to the Unity runtime fee.

The current GenAI trend is driven by datasets of every picture ever made, ingested without the artists consent.
The proponents of the bubble do not expect to obey artists' rights such as copyright. So I am glad itch is requiring disclosures, it's a good first step against both slop and copyright laundering.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/ai-spits-out-exact-copies-of-training-images-real-people-logos-researchers-find/ [External Link]
https://www.salon.com/2024/01/09/impossible-openai-admits-chatgpt-cant-exist-without-pinching-copyrighted-work/ [External Link]

Half-Life 2 free to keep until November 18th, Episodes One & Two now included with a huge update
18 Nov 2024 at 12:18 pm UTC

Quoting: wvstolzingI've had a very difficult time, because of this, finishing HL2 proper, and didn't play the 2 episodes at all. If they've fixed the problem in the meantime, I actually would like to play the episodes.

Portal uses the same engine, AFAIK; and I don't get motion sickness in Portal at all. Maybe it's because Portal mostly takes place 'indoors', in smaller environments? It's really strange
The changelog mentions increased render distance, might that help?

Watched the documentary and started a play through with commentary, while I had a feeling for the narrative style from just playing, it really took an incredible amount of care and iteration with play testers to make this game work.

Palworld dev details the patents Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are suing for
8 Nov 2024 at 9:41 pm UTC Likes: 6

Quoting: PhiladelphusJust to point out, 5 million yen is…not actually that much. Different places give slightly different conversion, but it's on the order of 32,700 USD/ 30,500 euros. Which given that Palworld sells for $30 and has sold 25 million units, could probably be found under the couch cushions at Pocketpair headquarters, and is basically a rounding error for Nintendo. It's probably already cost Nintendo more in lawyer fees to file this case, so maybe they're aware of what thin ice they're skating on and are hoping Pocketpair will settle rather than fight, while making a big show of things to their faithful fanbase?
Oh, it's the patent troll playbook! Threaten with generic patents and try for a shake down, not too costly so hopefully you aren't fought in court, but negotiate out of court, put out a press release, and go on to the next target with a long list of licensees (actually just people who showed you the door and may or may not have paid to be rid of you).

In which case, the target is not quite Palword, but indie developers thinking of following the trend, who won't have the resources Pocketpair now has.

Palworld dev details the patents Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are suing for
8 Nov 2024 at 2:04 pm UTC Likes: 6

Fuck any lawyer involved in filing this sort of patent.

I hope the patents get invalidated for being unoriginal and obvious and Nintendo goes back to making their own games without sucking air from the entire industry.

Oxenfree is being completely removed from itch.io in October
9 Sep 2024 at 5:25 pm UTC Likes: 5

Thank you for the heads up, I had missed the message from itch.

OxenFree was included [External Link] in the bundle for racial justice and equality back in 2020.

Valve gives developers some big reasons to add a demo on Steam
26 Jul 2024 at 1:42 pm UTC Likes: 1

Good, because now that Steam's catalogue is very lightly moderated, a lot of demos were being uploaded as separate games already. Here is a search for prologue [External Link], it finds 800 free games.

Racing game BlazeRush ending support for Linux, macOS and SteamVR
23 May 2024 at 2:36 pm UTC Likes: 6

Quoting: Guest
Quoting: StoneColdSpider
Quoting: GuestSo, let me understand.

I've this game on native Linux on steam and after the update i will not have the possibility to download it anymore?

Does this feel right to anyone?
Welcome to the state of gaming in 2024........ Over priced DLC........ Microtransactions out the warzoo..... Out of control in game gambling........ Gaming as a service....... Changing account requirements after purchase........ And now...... Changing OS support after purchase....... What a time to be a live......

Quoting: jams3223I am blacklisting this studio, and I'll never buy a game from them.
Targem Games has made...... The list...... I will do doing the same.......
This is Valve enforcing game updates vis Steam.
Blaze Rush is a lightweight title that works on an old netbook which is unable to run Vulkan, unable to run Proton via dxvk, I don't want even imagine what would happen via wined3d.

They are reducing my possibility to play it, and I've paid for it.

Instead, people pirating games are FREE from all of that, really, this time shame on you, Valve.
Steam supports beta branches, which are often used to keep around old versions before disruptive changes. That publisher should still take the responsibility and face demands for refunds though.