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Latest Comments by ElectricPrism
Steam Deck gets a Stable Client update with Offline Mode fixes
17 Aug 2022 at 8:13 am UTC

We're continuing to look at making the user experience of playing games without an Internet connection a better, more intuitive experience.
Music to my ears. The fact that Valve is attuned to feedback within the community is one of the many things I love so much about Valve. :heart:

Valve dev understandably not happy about glibc breaking Easy Anti-Cheat on Linux
17 Aug 2022 at 8:05 am UTC Likes: 5

Quoting: JpxeIsn't Flatpak the solution to this? Then you can just target the runtime environment and it will always stay the same as I understand it.
Somewhat, containerization in my opinion is suited for user applications where security is not paramount. In a sense referenced in the article above -- win32 and wine fit that bill.

Quoting: JpxeAlso isn't this the the same on iOS, Android and macOS. Aren't they always changing things and "breaking" backwards compatibility?
Similar I guess, I'm not in the thick of it, but I imagine their breakage aims to "fail gracefully", thus depreciation messages, from reading the link it sounded like the valve dev was suggesting a "version handshake" -- I totally agree if you are going to change things you should have API versions that make it clear which functions are available and for them to behave a in a predictable way thus announcing behavior changes in handshake.

Quoting: JpxeThey still seem to be a very viable target for third-party developers.
For sure, though when you are a dev and you wake up and go get your morning coffee -- the last thing you want to see is a bomb go off that fucks up your workflow, progress schedule and day, the last thing you want is to put in overtime to catchup with already rigorous deadlines.

Technically I thought Steam Linux Runtime was supposed to take care of these kinds of cases, but I guess this was something they caught?

I was once told that every system has its drawbacks or flaws and no system is perfect (in this case I apply it to the Linux Platform) -- I think realizing that is important and a step toward practicality -- and I think this post highlights some room for improvement fortifying the stack.

Also I just cut everyone a bill of slack considering the times we're living in, only natural some of us are going to get a little bit burnt & crispy, techthings can be very trying at times, props to everyone doing their best to mitigate these hiccups as we go foreward.

Steam Deck hits 4,500 games officially Verified or Playable
8 Aug 2022 at 8:09 pm UTC Likes: 9



Boy oh boy we sure have come a long way. 4,500 verified doesn't include the thousands that work that are unverified.

Besides that meme I can't help but also think of "I think I'll eat it now" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKlADi-HkN4 [External Link] )

Edit: Bonus Memes:







Also that game FTA looks pretty fun and 93% rating is pretty good ( https://store.steampowered.com/app/1919460/Seraphs_Last_Stand/?curator_clanid=4218320 [External Link] )

You can now get Halo Infinite online to work on the Steam Deck
22 Jul 2022 at 10:48 pm UTC

The day has finally come. Does anyone know the install size? I'm assuming 100G which is steep but to try H:I I wouldn't be opposed.

Edit: I laugh at the coolness of being able to have Halo Deck Party

Ex-Zodiac is a fast-paced 3D rail shooter inspired by the likes of Star Fox out now
22 Jul 2022 at 5:02 am UTC Likes: 1

I'm torn because I did really like SNES Fox and this obviously visually emulates that -- so it's setting my expectation.

Freedom Planet did that to me too as a "Sonic", but I honestly was really disappointed.

Trailer Criticism: The game-play looks pretty decent, definitely alluring me to buy.

The character & talking avatars make me cringe a bit.

Also I couldn't tell from the trailer if there were "Audio Cues" -- SFX specifically to communicate events like picking up power-ups, taking damage, locking on, etc...

I'm really torn on this because I know how amazing this could be if it's executed correctly and there's no way to know without playing it.

43 of the Top 50 most highly-reviewed Steam games are Steam Deck Playable
12 Jul 2022 at 8:10 pm UTC

This talk of VR makes me curious. It would make a great Linux video to learn if someone using a dGPU over USB could theoretically run VR.

Obviously the software stack is fine for it.

It's silly and a ridiculous use-case that would never be practical in its current iteration but I do wonder.

In summary, as the list points out, there's certainly no shortage of things to play, I already have hundreds of games ready to play and they've all performed above my expectations. The resolution is perfect, I probably wouldn't notice much if it got boosted. The ergonomics of the SteamDeck are great, I hold it in one hand sideways just fine without fear of it slipping out of my hand. Controls and buttons are adequately large for adult hands. It literally has a Desktop (which will be great if this world-electric-shortage issue continues [which it will]).

All in all SD is a dream, not flawless, but still a dream. The only problem I had was last night the Internet had connectivity issues -- and I couldn't start the Steam Deck without internet as it got stuck in a "Checking for updates" screen.

I think Steam Deck & all content should be ready to play offline in the event there is no internet (which typically I think is the case, except I think it had just finished applying the update).

I also forsee potential times when internet outages may be happening, and hope the community can get together one of those "Offline Steam DLL" patches or whatever that allow existing content to be played offline.

We payed good money for our libraries, and if there is intermittent internet that's no good reason to not be able to play our purchases.

ARK: Survival Evolved switches away from Linux Native to use Proton
12 Jul 2022 at 1:58 am UTC Likes: 3

Ark is the definition of Technical Debt.

Poor engineering decisions stacked on top of poor engineering decisions dictated by management. I actually feel bad for anyone involved in programming it as it was moving scope and a mess of a fork of the Unreal 4 Engine in the early days.

I'm not surprised they wanted to cut off the Linux port, the git differences were probably worlds apart and anyone who owns a copy and has played the Linux versions has seen how the graphics are absolutely butchered.

You can have a $10,000 computer with a $2,000 Graphics Card on Linux and the graphics were still absolute shit.

This move is not better, but it's not worse either. It's a side-grade.

Considering I have no problem with containerizing apps with Flatpak I have no problem with Valve containerizing games with Wine/Proton.

Games are not in the same software-class as Server Utilities, Professional Desktop Tools, Desktop Applications, etc... and it's totally acceptable to me if someone figure out a "1-click" way to make things work.

That said, a game that ships a Linux "Native" (They're technically both "native") version will go to the top of my list as it's advertised to work for my Platform.

I exchange money for support. In other words -- money in exchange for expecting my product to work.

itch.io are hosting a big Indie Bundle for Abortion Funds
5 Jul 2022 at 5:43 am UTC

The main topic aside, the best argument I never hear is we don't want The State to have MORE broad powers over our bodies & individual rights.

I wish it was easier to filter and sift through the games on Itch, last time they had a bundle it took me nearly a day to download all the games and check them out.

792 items for $10

Most people probably have time to look into like 20 tops before being distracted and moving on to something else.

Starship Troopers: Terran Command on Steam Deck and Linux — a quick guide
16 Jun 2022 at 8:28 pm UTC

It was kind of hard to find the link to the Steam Store in the article as it's above the last video to check it out.

Here it is again for visibility:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1202130/Starship_Troopers_Terran_Command/ [External Link]

Release Date: Jun 16, 2022
The music is such Nacho Cheesey -- it's a good sign that the makers didn't take the convent too seriously -- it has StarCraft 1 and Fallout 1 vibes. The gameplay looks great.

I was not expecting to wake up to a RTS Strategy CityBuilder.

Turbo Golf Racing could be the next multiplayer hit
14 Jun 2022 at 11:09 pm UTC Likes: 2

I love how this illustrates that when a product leaves a gap in a market how another competitor can come in and snap up that market.

I just wish Epic would go disconnect from civilization and go up into the mountains or something and spare us of their idiocy & hostile walled garden monopolistic practices.