Quoting: x_wingUnpopular opinion here, but I think that for this online only type of games the best solution will end up being that they create a cloud solution that doesn't require any local client. That way they can reduce the number of cheaters plus make it independent of the user OS (and not to mention how much they will reduce QA cost).

There is no need to go online-only, just validate things on the server.

Imagine editing the account balance in your browser is enough for your bank to actually change it. And imagine your bank's solution is to enforce a "secure browser" that won't let you edit the pages. That is the level most game devs seem to be at...

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Have you picked up a copy? Or are you skipping it for whatever reason? Let me know in the comments.

Moderately interested, but I live in switzerland and swiss prices on steam are ridiculous. Might give it a go if it becomes available through other stores, by then they'll have fixed some stuff too.

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Quoting: Eike

Quoting: hell0[I've never replayed an old game and as such they do not really have value to me.

I'm on a similar boat, but got two problems with it: I just want to be able to revisit all my games even if I most probably never do it. And, lately, I started revisiting games with my little ones.

I still have the 4(!) original Baldur's Gate II CDs somewhere. Even so, I'd probably just "rent" the game on steam if I wanted to play again. It would probably be a hundred times easier than trying to get the game running from multiple old windows CDs (starting with the fact I don't even own a CD reader any more).

I agree that archiving old games is important, but I think that it's not mutually exclusive with a fair and well thought out subscription model.

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Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: ssj17vegetaGoogle taking bolder and bolder steps against ad blocking

Going slightly off topic . . . So, can someone answer me this question:
Why can't there be ad blocking that the websites can't even tell is happening?

It's essentially a game of cat and mouse. A website cannot know exactly what happens on your computer, but it can guess some of it. Let's assume you want to watch a video and there is a video advert that should play before it.

• Your ad blocker simply drops the request to the advert, your video plays.


• Now the provider decides to check whether the advert video has been requested and block main video otherwise.


• Ad blocker now send a request but close the connection immediately, faking the advert view.


• Provider adds a check to ensure 100% of the advert was downloaded.


• Ad blocker now downloads the whole advert and drops it.


• Provider adds a mechanism to delay the play button by the duration of the advert video.


• Ad blocker now signals to the player the advert is done playing even though it hasn't played, restoring the button.


• ... and so on

In short, the answer is that it's not possible because you could always invent a new way to circumvent or detect whatever the ad blocker does to block the ads. The good news is that in the opposite is true and ad blockers are free to evolve in order to bypass the new checks.

Back on topic, I personally do not mind subscription models or not owning my games. I've never replayed an old game and as such they do not really have value to me. The same would be true for movies or books, I have no issue reading a book from the library and never seeing it again or ever owning it.

That said, I do not use any subscription service because I have yet to find one that is not just a thinly veiled attempt to extract more money. Unless you count steam, which I use because it offers good value to me. Also, access the the entire steam catalogue for a reasonable amount per month would definitely be something I'd sign up for.

Another consideration is that I care about video games as part of the human culture and history, I would like to see them archived and available long after their original publisher is gone. So any subscription service which aims to block this would be an immediate no (such as purely streaming-based services).

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Labor of Love: Red Dead Redemption 2

Love for money, maybe? A sad joke given that Deep Rock was also a finalist and actually deserving of the award.

Better With Friends: Lethal Company

Only in that it is slightly less terrible with friends than without. However I guess it fits the description of the award and the other finalists weren't much better.

Most Innovative Gameplay: Starfield

Hahaha, no.

Overall, except for BG3's well deserved top spot, there really wasn't much worth in the finalists and even less in the winners.

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Tried the demo, it is pretty barebone (lot of placeholders and some wonkiness) but fairly charming. Though it feels more like a puzzle with a space city theme than a base builder.

Runs mostly ok on Linux (fedora 39):
- had to frame limit it or it would max the gpu (1500fps in the menu, yay)
- sound did not work until I started easy effects or switched output (not the first unity game to do that)

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Whilst consolidation is concerning from a freedom and diversity standpoint, keep in mind that financially it is a lot more nuanced.

Independent studios with reasonably successful games also quit. [External Link]

It is not unlikely Volition would have closed shop shortly after the disaster that was the Saints Row reboot, if not for the backing of Embracer.

In the same vein, I'd wager that after the resounding Darktide's launch, Fatshark can only afford to keep their 180-ish employees thanks in part to Tencent's money.

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Quoting: Installisnt this bad news for linux? from what i understand that engine supports linux.

Unity's linux support is really hit-or-miss see Heart of the Machine dropping Native Linux for example.

Also, most public game engines do support linux nowadays. What tends to be the problem are third party libraries/plugins (like the kind used to play videos or make hairs look hairy). Or the devs lack of competence with the OS.

Overall since Unity's closest competitor is arguably Godot and since Godot has better linux support, I'd say this is a slightly positive news from a strictly linux point of view.

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Assuming a game that sold 3mio copies, 3 installations per copy and a unity enterprise subscription, the additional cost would be approximately $115000. Not chump change, but not sure it even compares to the added accounting costs incurred by factoring this crappy fee model in.

Also does unity aggregate the number of install themselves, then bill the devs based on it? Sounds convenient, can I also bill my company based on my 25h/day -self determined- work schedule?

Quoting: slembcke

Quoting: Smoke39What is the relevance of number of installs?

If I was to guess, it's because they are squarely targeting the mobile free-to-play market where installs are high. You gotta remember Riccitello (the CEO) insulted developers as "f*cking idiots" if they don't monetize right. From the context... he meant microtransactions. This was just last year, and that's where he thinks the money is. (https://www.pocketgamer.biz/interview/79190/unity-ironsource-john-riccitiello-marc-whitten-merger/ [External Link])

As pointed by slembcke, the only context in which this business model has a sliver of sense is mobile F2P games. But even then, it is probably about the worst and most convoluted solution anybody could think of.

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Quoting: GeamanduraThe name is just so idiotic. Imagine if Blender was called Open 3D Editor. Or Audacity was called Open Audio Player. No imagination, no energy to live, this comes straight from the desk of Toby from The Office. [...]

Counterpoint: I use openstack, every component has its own cool name unrelated to whatever it does: neutron, nova, cinder, glance, octavia, heat, magnum, designate, gnocchi, horizon and so on. Heck, even versions have names instead of numbers. Know what? It's effing annoying and serves no purpose whatsoever aside from confusing newcomers and making my life miserable.

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