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Latest Comments by CatKiller
Steam gets new a Downloads page, new Steam Library manager and Linux improvements
30 Jul 2021 at 3:40 pm UTC Likes: 6

Quoting: CybolicOh, that new library management is excellent news! It even supports moving a game to a different library directly from the listing!
I don't know if you've seen what they're intending for the Steam Deck.

Half-Life 2: Remastered Collection coming from the team behind Half-Life 2: Update
30 Jul 2021 at 2:44 pm UTC Likes: 4

Quoting: AnzaIt's bit of a shame that it might make people quit the game as the coolest things are introduced after that. Pace literally gets faster in the chapter after Route Kanal.
I was going to say that I might give it a third try, maybe using this update, after I'd played some more of the games that I've never played before...

...but then I thought of using the Deck to play games on the toilet (multitasking!) as "clearing your backlog" and now I can't unthink it.

Steam gets new a Downloads page, new Steam Library manager and Linux improvements
30 Jul 2021 at 10:10 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: hardpenguinAlong with their Steam mobile app updates I wonder if they are FINALLY doing unified webdev and are just gonna re-use same or similar components on all type of screens: desktop, mobile, and big picture.
They said in one of the IGN videos that the new Steam Deck UI is using the same bits as the Steam desktop client, rather than being a separate product like BPM was.

Half-Life 2: Remastered Collection coming from the team behind Half-Life 2: Update
30 Jul 2021 at 8:42 am UTC Likes: 9

For people who are still somehow yet to play through Half-Life 2 and the episodes, perhaps this Half-Life 2: Remastered Collection might end up being the best way.
I haven't. I loved the first one to bits, but I never got very far in the second one. I gave it a shot a couple of times, but I just couldn't get into a groove with it.

Frozenbyte are now telling Linux users to use Proton, even for their older games
29 Jul 2021 at 10:17 am UTC Likes: 3

Quoting: BeamboomI see so many talk about Stadia this and Stadia that, like running on the Stadia servers requires a Linux build.


It does. Stadia instances are running Debian with AMD graphics. They aren't running Windows.

Where did that idea originate from? The way I see it it's exceptionally logical, to he borders of being guaranteed, that Stadia are running the games using a transitional layer, very likely Proton or a derivative therefrom? I mean, with "unlimited" processing powers of a data center there's next to no argument to NOT do do...?
Approximately 3 included DXVK with their Stadia build. Stadia have recently relaxed their stance on translation layers to allow more than that, and have started including tooling of their own for that purpose.

Frozenbyte are now telling Linux users to use Proton, even for their older games
28 Jul 2021 at 8:46 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: MohandevirNice one! Should be considering the "online game" criteria. I wouldn't pay a dime for an online game that works accidentally through Proton. Those games are way to prone to breakage after an update, which are way too frequent. The developers must at least officially support Proton, in those cases.
Well, that's the dilemma, isn't it? Can you squeeze £6 worth of value out of a £60 game before they break it? On the bright side, by the time a game gets to 90% off they've often stopped making breaking changes.

Frozenbyte are now telling Linux users to use Proton, even for their older games
28 Jul 2021 at 8:01 pm UTC Likes: 8

Quoting: GuestI don't understand why you guys are bashing frozenbyte for not bothering to "support" proton. That's exactly the same situation of every other game on the steamdeck, no support at all from developers and publishers.
And those games simply aren't worth very much.

Let's have some axioms that even the most cash-strapped developer will agree are true.

Axiom 1:
Spoiler, click me
A game that doesn't work at all is worth absolutely nothing. It's not worth possessing, even if they give it away for free.

This sets a floor. If your game doesn't even work in Proton, it's worth exactly £0.00.

Axiom 2:
Spoiler, click me
IF someone reports the bug to Valve, and IF Valve go through the effort of determining the cause, and IF they can persuade the developers to fix their game... eventually they might provide a fix

compared to

Before release a dev sees that an update doesn't work on one of their test targets and fixes it

One of these things is much more valuable than the other.

This starts to show a scale of value for the developer keeping their game working. If a developer makes sure that it will continue to work, that is more valuable than if they don't, and the price should reflect that.

Axiom 3:
Spoiler, click me
The game has some kind of problem, and you contact the developer about it.

The developer tells you to go stick your head in a pig.

or

The developer doesn't tell you to go stick your head in a pig.

One of these things is much more valuable than the other.

Here we see the value of having recourse. A game where the developer announces on the Store page that my platform is supported, and the requirements of that support, gives me recourse should the developer fail to deliver: I have something that I can point to when getting the refund that shows that they have specifically broken their commitment. That has value.

And, good news for developers: it's really easy to get money from me. All you have to do is

  • Make a game I want to play for the platform I play games on

  • Use your whole arse

Do those and I'll pay you with a smile on my face. So that establishes a ceiling: a fully-supported game is worth 100%. For others, their circumstances mean that their ceiling will be lower, but the hierarchy of value is the same.

And, hey, more good news: testing your game on as many different platforms as you can; different environments, different compilers, different schedulers and memory managers, all of that - lets you find bugs easier, faster, and more cheaply, for all of your platforms, even if you never make a single Linux sale.

For me, the tiers work out as
Doesn't work at all: 0%
Accidentally works in Proton: 10%
Deliberately works in Proton: 50%
Deliberately works on Linux: 100%

Others may be more generous, or less so.

There we have a sliding scale that gives more value to the game developer in exchange for the greater value they provide to the customer. More Tux, more bucks.

Now, just me applying the sliding scale to my purchases probably isn't going to make that much difference to a developer. Even if every Linux gamer applied the same scale, it might not make that much difference. A lot of developers are perfectly content to be at the blunt end of "no Tux, no bucks." If everyone that bought a Deck applied the scale, though, maybe that would demonstrate the correct market signals for them.

Frozenbyte are now telling Linux users to use Proton, even for their older games
28 Jul 2021 at 8:00 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: GuestOf course, 3k open issues on proton github say otherwise...
You know there's a compatibility report for every single game that someone's tested in Proton, right? A new issue, every one.

Frozenbyte are now telling Linux users to use Proton, even for their older games
28 Jul 2021 at 2:32 pm UTC Likes: 15

Quoting: Zlopez
Quoting: CatKillerThey haven't said that they'll bother testing it in Proton themselves, nor fix their game if it doesn't work in Proton, so that's still the 10% tier of the sliding scale - assuming it ever works at all.
I would say that if this isn't issue in Proton and it's reported against Proton it will be passed by Valve to developer. Which means it will have a much bigger weight than just complains from few users on Linux. Especially with Steam Deck being a thing.
IF someone reports the bug to Valve, and IF Valve go through the effort of determining the cause, and IF they can persuade the developers to fix their game... eventually they might provide a fix

compared to

Before release a dev sees that an update doesn't work on one of their test targets and fixes it

One of these things is much more valuable than the other.

Frozenbyte are now telling Linux users to use Proton, even for their older games
28 Jul 2021 at 2:14 pm UTC Likes: 6

They haven't said that they'll bother testing it in Proton themselves, nor fix their game if it doesn't work in Proton, so that's still the 10% tier of the sliding scale - assuming it ever works at all.