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Latest Comments by furaxhornyx
Reminder: Update your PC info for the next round of statistics updates
27 Jul 2021 at 4:18 am UTC

Do you dual-boot with a different operating system? No
I was wondering though, how would you consider Virtual Machines ?

A new Valve game for the Steam Deck? It's not out of the realm of possibility
23 Jul 2021 at 5:14 am UTC

Quoting: Teodosio
Quoting: Liam Dawe
Quoting: TeodosioI would like to see a new game from Valve, released on GNU/Linux only.
Exclusives are bad.
That would not be an exclusive, because anybody can download a GNU distribution and install it, free of charge, spyware and other restrictions. It would not be "excluding" anyone.
*: anybody with a computer (and the knowledge to setup a dual-boot, which is not a given for a lot of people)

But I see what you mean :wink:

Ryan Gordon and Ethan Lee on Proton and the Steam Deck
22 Jul 2021 at 3:55 pm UTC Likes: 5

Quoting: Purple Library GuyAfter musing a bit longer, I think Ethan Lee has a point, but it's a limited one. That is, I think he may be right that it's going to be hard to get work porting games to Linux, which is hard on him and I'm sorry for it, and yet I think going forward a successful Steam Deck will still lead to more native Linux games.
Let me lay out a couple of distinctions. So, up to now, most games have run on Proton as it were by co-incidence. The makers of those games have no interest in Linux, may have barely heard of Linux, and the fact that the games run is all down to the hard work and talents of the Wine and Proton and DXVK developers. There seem to be a few exceptions to this, we've lately seen game developers say things about trying to ensure their game runs well on Proton, but it seems fairly rare. So, we have a big population of games and developers that don't give a hoot about Linux, and many of the games run on Proton despite this.

So then there are the somewhat smaller group of developers who do care about Linux somewhat. What impact has Proton had, up to now, on that smaller group? Well, it doesn't seem to have really stopped people from developing games in cross-platform ways that include Linux, as far as I can tell. There's still a strong stream of new games supporting Linux from the beginning. Maybe it's tailed off a bit since the heady days when people thought the Steam Machines might be a thing, but that's been a long gradual thing and I haven't noticed it getting worse since Proton. One might have expected that to happen, but I don't think it did.

But it does seem like the existence of Proton has already reduced the viability of the porting business as such; note the way Feral has basically moved on from doing that and nobody has really replaced them. Why spend all that money and effort porting an existing game when it probably works fine on Proton already, or can be made to do so pretty easily?

If the Steam Deck succeeds, it seems like it will greatly increase the number of developers giving Linux a thought at all. Steam's increased emphasis on Proton, both in terms of telling developers about it and improving the technology itself, does make it even less likely that developers thinking about Linux will bother porting existing games. And even though there will be a lot more of them, Ethan Lee might be quite right that the chance they'll bother doing a port will drop so low that there will still be a lot fewer ports happening. Anyone who just started thinking about Linux because of the Steam Deck will, when looking at their back catalogue, surely conclude that as long as the games run on Proton that should be fine--any improvement wouldn't be worth the cost and effort of making a port. Ryan Gordon may indeed be disappointed if he tries to persuade more people to port their existing games.

But new games, and the decision to target Linux or not from the beginning, is a different question. Going forward, there will be two factors--on one hand, Linux has far more visibility and users than before; on the other, that target can at least somewhat be satisfied by paying attention to having it work in Proton. Which factor will dominate? Based on what we've seen to date, with that side being less impacted by Proton, I think it's likely the first factor will dominate and overall, while some developers may not build for Linux because Proton is good enough, the gain from it being a bigger platform will be greater.

So if I had to make a guess I'd expect, if the Steam Deck is a big success, in the end we'll see fewer ports but more games built Linux native from the start. Which suggests that Mr. Lee and Mr. Gordon's best bet might be to shift to consulting on how to properly do cross-platform Linux friendly development on new games, rather than porting old ones. Although I'd certainly be happy enough to see Valve hire Ethan Lee, as he suggests, to work on infrastructure.
I wanted also to point out that, while Valve is pushing for Proton, all sales that we be made from (unmodified) Steam Deck will count as Linux sales, which could help when deciding wether or not doing a native port/version. :smile:

Scalpers are already trying to make some quick cash with the Steam Deck
20 Jul 2021 at 4:14 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: picture£1000...
£900...
£1000...
£700...
Those scams are easily spotted: looking closer, all prices are nicely rounded values, but we all know retail prices always end by a 9 to make them more attractive to the consumer... Don't fall for it ! :tongue:

An interview with the developer of TRBot for running your own Twitch Plays like event
20 Jul 2021 at 4:06 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: Purple Library GuySo this lets people . . . play platformers and such . . . by typing in text.
Why?!
"Because it is there"
Well, technically, every time you play a game on a keyboard, you're typing text :tongue:

Stadia gets more generous revenue models plus a porting toolkit for DirectX to Vulkan
16 Jul 2021 at 9:37 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: elmapul
Quoting: furaxhornyx
Quoting: elmapul[...]
i mean, if we didnt got more marketshare, what will be the result of that then? simple, the ultimate drm, and as soon as they start making more cloud exclusive games , we can kiss goodby to preservation, say hello to region locking and regional censorship will be impossible to avoid.
"...but that's without our <insert well-known brand> VPN solution !" :grin:
W.R.O.N.G.

we cant rely on VPN forever because cloud gaming has an magic thing called "input lag", the light speed has an limit, you cant send an signal for an server in the other side of the world and receive the result in less than 1/7 second, even in an straight line without any processing involved.
now add the detour to the vpn servers, and other detour from an straight line+the time to process, encode and decode the image and we quickly see the limits of this tech.
its not an big deal if you live close to the servers, but as i said, what if the game is exclusive to another country and to the cloud?

and what if they decide to stop distributing/selling the game because the rights to an character expired or something like that?
I know, but most VPN sellers will market you otherwise :wink: (I think I have even seen the argument of "going through our servers will in fact reduce your lag")

I was just replying in a sarcastic way to the argument of region locking / unavailable content.

Stadia gets more generous revenue models plus a porting toolkit for DirectX to Vulkan
15 Jul 2021 at 10:50 am UTC

Quoting: elmapul[...]
i mean, if we didnt got more marketshare, what will be the result of that then? simple, the ultimate drm, and as soon as they start making more cloud exclusive games , we can kiss goodby to preservation, say hello to region locking and regional censorship will be impossible to avoid.
"...but that's without our <insert well-known brand> VPN solution !" :grin:

Dark mysterious metroidvania Crowsworn is live on Kickstarter and flew past the goal
14 Jul 2021 at 9:23 am UTC

The game does have a strong "Hollow Knight" feel indeed, and you know what ? Silksong does, too, yet nobody will call it a "cheap copy" :tongue:

I mean, from the trailer, the game does not look like a "cheap copy": it does have a nice vibe to it, the gameplay looks smooth, and there seems to be quite advanced tactics for the most expert players. If you liked Hollow Knight, you can play this one, or wait for Silksong.

Or, you may enjoy both as well :wink:

The TUXEDO Stellaris 15 laptop launches with Intel and AMD options
29 Jun 2021 at 4:01 am UTC

Quoting: PlintslîchoI still wish they'd release a laptop similar to their Pulse model, with at least 100% sRGB coverage and high contrast (> 1000)[...]
I first read that as "I want RGB backlighting all over the place, like it's a Christmas tree" :grin:

Then, I noticed it is sRGB...

Talking point: what have you been playing recently?
28 Jun 2021 at 4:01 am UTC

I have been solely playing Magic: Legends on Heroic game launcher. Pretty much addictive !