Finally they released it! Awesome! And only in the past week did I start playing it through Wine! Serves me right for being impatient!

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: liamdaweI may run this website, and speak to a lot of developers, but I know jack about things like the command line to the point of disliking it.

I used to hate it too, until I realized that when anything or even everything breaks, the command line saves the day. I don't even have to restart my computer. It's also how a lot of things actually run, hiding the terminal so you can't see it like in Window$. If you can run a game and change the in-game settings, you can run a command in a command line.

*Game: Click "fun-game.x86_64", go to options and set resolution to 1024x768, click "Save settings"
*Command Line: fun-game.x86_64 --resolution=1024x768

The idea is, all the programs are written by humans so that other humans can read and understand them. Of course, you can always absolutely safely use "program-name --help" or "man program-name" or even look up the program options online if truly necessary. You don't have to keep more than a handful of them in your memory (or a text file until you get used to them). All of these things are there to help.

It is true that the number 1 issue I've found on Linux is library management. But actually, most of it is on the developer's end, because they tend to have little idea how to deal with dependencies (including or not, compiling or not) and where to look for libraries. The programs always look in the wrong places, especially with 32-bit compatibility libraries and binaries installed, and (nearly always) no options are provided to change where the program looks. This is especially important when compiling, where there have been so many times I had to manually and carefully change /lib to /lib64 in a configure or Makefile because it wouldn't accept any options to the contrary. Some programs don't even accept LD_LIBRARY_PATH, much less the LD_PRELOAD which rarely works.

Another thing about libraries, some distros include extra libraries by default when compiling. The rest of the distros have to change the actual "include" statements in files for it to work, or maybe with some extra linker flags.

I would say a lot of the hostility is directed at this "non-standardization". On Window$ and Mac, there are few places that the libraries go and that's it. On Linux, you have:
/lib (can include 64-bit libraries, 32-bit libraries, or both depending on your set-up and where your programs want to install)
/lib32 (usually not there and never checked by any program, but clearer than just /lib )
/lib64
And the /usr counterparts of the above, which have the same problem. I still use it, I like it, but some parts still need some organization (and some degree of standardization of locations and programming environment) and better development. I can't wait until 128-bit shows up on Linux to cause even more of these issues (Note: Dreamcast is already 128-bit, but is going the way of Betamax mostly).

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Yeah, the Unity 3D Web Plug-in for Linux is definitely never gonna happen. It's been requested on their feature requests list for many years with the same answer along the lines of "There are currently no plans to make one for Linux." WebGL is a strong alternative, although it's not that great right now. "Red Crucible: Firestorm" is a game project that chose to NOT move to the WebGL form because it doesn't have the performance needed for the game, so they stuck to the Unity 3D Web Plugin and binaries (including Linux).

But the fact of the matter is, there's really not that much great about having a Web player for anything, because you're still downloading the game even with flash. It's still the same game engine with a consistent collection of libraries. The difference is that the web players can't usually be extended with extra libraries, while the binaries can include whatever extra custom libraries you want. It's still a download either way, although maybe a small size difference (smaller difference with many 3D games).

It's VERY good news about the editor. I would expect a flood of great Linux games once it's up and running well! I think many struggling older games are just gonna switch to Unity 3D instead as well.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: tuubi

Quoting: GoCorinthiansHasta la vista. STEAM FTW!

A monopoly never benefits you as a consumer. You want Steam to have competition, believe it or not.

If he's said such a thing, I think he needs an explanation because he obviously has no idea what's going on.

To put it in simple terms, now that some games have become rarer, what if Steam suddenly decides to jack up prices (according to "supply and demand" of economics), or maybe just all their prices since a competitor has disappeared. Competition is driven by who sells cheaper, when it comes to the exact same product. Without price competition, there is no reason, apart from absolutely no one wanting it for too high a price, that they can't jack up all their prices really high. Of course, there is also the possibility of secret price-fixing even with competition, meaning all the "competitors" agree to keep their prices above a certain (excessive) amount, maybe even having one company have a product that's cheaper, and another company having a different product that's cheaper.

P.S. I told you this business with Desura was getting suspicious. Pop firings don't happen every day, and make everything even more suspicious. I wouldn't be surprised if some people involved suddenly disappear. What a monstrosity Desura has become! (pun intended) "It is cursed!"

View this comment - View article - View full comments

That is a great way for con artists (often working as groups) to gain public favor: Broad and unclear descriptions of a problem, and most importantly, garnering sympathy due to a "health problem".

However, it could just be my paranoia, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, to a degree. Medical problem aside, the problems should be made much clearer, especially since these are game developers they're talking to, meaning they will likely understand. "I hope that our devs will work with us on the solutions" does NOT inspire confidence. You don't "hope" your devs will work with you; your devs work with you (or for you) whether they like it or not, and they should be keeping everyone apprised of what's going on while they work on the problem.

I would keep my on them, as it sounds too suspicious.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Not that I'm trying to be negative, although I usually am, but isn't voting for the Linux version to be developed first, at this point, counter-intuitive?

In the first place, if the other versions are so buggy and they work mostly on the Linux version instead, won't the game itself lose a large part of its user-base (according to the numbers listed on GOL), Windows-users? Bad ratings, even early on, can kill a game. If the game goes, the Linux version goes.

In the second place, if the game is so buggy, how does it help to develop the Linux version? Let the numerous Windows users deal with all the (sometimes potentially devastating) bugs, and when they polish it up, the Linux version will get a much more polished and stable version, with fewer bugs to fix. I would vote for Windows on the written agreement that they will make a Linux version, and a good one at that. Windows users are usually the impatient ones, while Linux users are usually pretty patient, or so I hope...

View this comment - View article - View full comments

I completely forgot. With the line-up of companies, and no mention of open anything, this is gonna be proprietary, and you will never see any source code. How can that replace Open-Source OpenGL? It shouldn't.

Do you ppl even play most of the EA games? I stopped at BF2142, which I only recently got running on Wine, and even online with cracked exe's made by clans, no thanks to EA saying "go screw yourselves" to those that lost online game support after the GameSpy shutdown. Why is every new thing that happens in Linux considered good news? Tell me one single reason EA would want anything to do with Linux, when even Unity wants nothing more to do with Linux because it's "not a viable market." And don't give me any optimistic bs, I'm talking business-wise. What do these companies stand to gain? (The most important question in anything "Who stands to gain?") Especially considering their view of Linux. Microsoft has been aiming to tear down or profit from Linux since its beginning:
http://techrights.org/comes-iowa-trial-exhibits/ [External Link]
http://techrights.org/category/novell/ [External Link]
EA has been involved with Microsoft plenty, as have some of the other companies.

Personally, I think I'm very lax and nowhere near paranoid enough. I don't even come close to those that know the full extend of what's going on behind the scenes. Even I fall for many of the propaganda headlines, just out of hope that somehow things will work out, even though few people are even aware of the hidden agendas of these companies. Who stands to gain? Business is all about gain, after all. Don't tell me you think businesses are about being helpful, friendly, cooperative, etc., unless you're talking about price-fixing and such among many companies.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

"Valve, Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Frostbite Engine Team, Unity Technologies and Oxide Games"

*Valve = OK, although not exactly experts on Linux (that wonderful bash script that wipes out your user data, among other things).
*Epic Games = Unreal Engine Rocks! And Linux is at least supported in UT2k4, and the upcoming F2P "Unreal Tournament" (although most of the rest of their games are non-Linux, there is hope).
*EA = Hated even by Windose users. Only care about high profits with minimal effort, resulting in buggy games with plenty of design flaws. With their abandonment of ever so many of their customers after GameSpy shutdown, the hatred grows, but the money just keeps filling their pockets.
*Frostbite Engine Team = Battlefield series, also with EA. That's the series where much of the hatred for EA comes from.
*Unity = Have NO intention whatsoever of supporting Linux in any way more than they do now: Windows users can make Linux binaries for their games, and that's it. Look at their FAQ if you don't believe me.
*Oxide Games = Who? I can't even name a game they've made, and I see only Microsoft, AMD, DirectX, and performance and technical issues with all of those: http://www.oxidegames.com/2014/01/31/star-swarm-faq/ [External Link]

So, if it were just Valve and Epic Games, I would have said "Yeah, sounds good!" BUT, with this motley crew of sadists and mostly idiots, I'd say it's VERY BAD NEWS! No way in hell it's gonna be able to replace anything Linux or high-performance! If anything, they're scheming to force this OpenGL replacement onto everyone, deliberately making it as crappy as possible so people will stop using Linux, otherwise known as sabotage. With Microsoft's and EA's records, it perfectly reasonable to assume this.

EDIT: I completely forgot. With the line-up of companies, and no mention of open anything, this is gonna be proprietary, and you will never see any source code.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Why are people even playing Minecraft anymore? There are so many open-source clones that improve on it a thousand fold. Minecraft is a scam anyway: You're paying for the basic game, which gets really boring really quick. They have hardly even developed ANY part of the game in all these years, milking all the money they can (Infiniminer devs must really be kicking themselves in the ass.). The only reason Minecraft is worthwhile is the mods, and none of the modders get the money paid for the game. At most, donations, although certainly less than what Mojang (and now MS) gets.

F*** Minecraft, as even many Windose users are saying. Support OSS devs with all their BETTER versions of the game concept, and all the tons of mods they already have:

Terasology (Free, Open-Source, Java, 10000x visual quality)
Minetest (Free, Open-Source, C++)
Freeminer (Minetest derivative, boosted efficiency and gameplay)
Voxelands (Minetest derivative, boosted efficiency and gameplay)
Manic Digger (Mono, C#, C++, C, Free, Open-Source since release of .NET source-code by MS)

And plenty of others.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

I don't particularly like GamingOnLinux.com, especially since it almost exclusively features Steam Pay-To-Play games (might as well be advertising), and OpenGL and Linux performance bashing (which I very much think there's an ulterior motive behind on their end [devs], even if it's not too apparent right now). It's rare to find any free or open-source article, even if it is a game on Steam. And buying good reviews, praise and flattery with game keys is crude and corruptive. If you're going to offer a free game key, at least make it a competition, be it fan art for a game, extensive honest game reviews for other games or by the same author (which can easily become a main article), fan videos, edited video previews (music, scene transitions, good review commentary), simple comic strips, critic-type comics/art, animated GIFs, etc. to improve and expand the interaction, abilities, and knowledge of the user-base, hopefully in an open and honest way.

On the other hand, on occasion, these articles do provide useful insight on some of the Pay-To-Play games, into the bad and good points of a game (although a nice small summary checklist would be nice at the end). If you haven't guessed already, I prefer honesty to flattery, in the hope of change and betterment. There are sadly only a few other sites that actively and reliably report on Linux Games, and I check as many as there are, as some games are missed or late on some sites. The number, state and quality of games has been faltering, and even more so in Linux games (especially open-source free games that work solely on charity and code contributions). I can only hope to stumble upon a game that's worthwhile. If you'll be more impartial, I'll be less contentious.

View this comment - View article - View full comments