Quoting: ramcq

Quoting: eldakingWhile those things are, in principle, all positive I still worry a bit that this move might end up going in a less than ideal direction.

Flathub is already pretty great now. And most app stores are complete garbage, filled with proprietary shovelware full of malicious functionality (spying, ads, lock-in...). Making flathub into an app store could easily mean a huge downgrade.
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Thanks for the thoughts! I'm obviously very concerned about this not happening, which is part of why we're moving so slowly and making sure our governance is solid so that when we move, we do so with community support and trust. But I think if we're cautious about the incentives we put together and how we set up our goals, we can bring convenient payment/sponsorship/etc options alongside convenient app availability without just setting up this pure-profit race to the bottom.

The unique thing about Flathub compared to other app stores is that at its heart we exist to promote and serve the interests of the FLOSS community, and we'll ensure that through the governance we set up through GNOME and KDE, and any future steps we make with advisory boards etc. We will prioritise FLOSS applications over proprietary applications - for instance the fees will be higher for proprietary apps than free ones. None of this means we need to change the licensing properties, trust, transparency, etc - we will indicate when things are not open source or have not been built in transparent/trusted places, we'll scan for up to date dependencies and known malware, and we're going to reject and call out bad behaviour.

My personal hypothesis is that sponsorship (paying for the work of the creator, on the next update/version) is a better match for the model of how FOSS is developed compared to paying up front for something, or getting it for free and then trying to "monetize" (:sick:) later with ads/spyware/etc. It's up to each developer how they set their apps up, but I expect - sponsorship, donations, and supporter content / paid upgrades (note: this doesn't mean open core - you can charge to distribute something which is still open source) - to be the most common approaches. We want to be led by the developers which is why the focus groups at LAS and online surveys are the next step on this payments journey.

Obviously it's inevitable that "junk" will appear - but I don't think it will be very popular and we won't work to promote it. I think the majority of the proprietary apps on the platform will be the things we already have - ie free of charge as they are actually clients to existing services/networks where payments are handled elsewhere - so proprietary apps being purchased for a fee will be a minority of the volume on the platform. There is a small cluster of extremely niche software which is available for Linux - things like a certain audio workflow or software for fitting carpets or something - maybe we'll get some of them if we can help bring those developers and users together?

This clarification does make me feel somewhat less uneasy.

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Quoting: Liam Dawe

Quoting: Guestoooo i hope Life by you gets a Linux release.

I don't expect any Native Linux releases from Paradox outside of PDS stuff using their strategy game engine. Not that it's really a big issue with Proton as good as it is right now.

I dunno. Most of Paradox stuff in the past has been native. Harebrained Schemes' past stuff has been native too, even before they were associated with Paradox. So there might be some.

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I think I can say pretty definitely I'm gonna earmark some cash for Lamplighters' League (and, really, anything else Harebrained Schemes come up with).

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Quoting: tuubi

Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: BalkanSpyThis game looks awesome (in a grotesque, messed up way). Really a shame that it's a KS game, I really hope they reach their goal and actually deliver it according to plan. However when I look at their goal it doesn't seem like something that will keep them financially afloat until the planned release period (late 2025.)

I think the biggest problem with their KS is that they have no demo and a lack of footage with more action in it.

It is a worry. People having impressive artistic sensibilities does not always mean they have impressive coding abilities, or even that they're good at figuring out a . . . I dunno what you call it in games--plot? Flow? How to have the game move along and get to a conclusion in a satisfying way. Looking cool and creepy is not all it takes to make a game, is what I'm saying, so these people could run into problems later on.

That would be more of a concern if they'd never released a game before. Wormwood Studios made Primordia and Strangeland, a couple of decently popular point-and-click adventures published by Wadjet Eye.

Ah, well then.

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Quoting: BalkanSpyThis game looks awesome (in a grotesque, messed up way). Really a shame that it's a KS game, I really hope they reach their goal and actually deliver it according to plan. However when I look at their goal it doesn't seem like something that will keep them financially afloat until the planned release period (late 2025.)

I think the biggest problem with their KS is that they have no demo and a lack of footage with more action in it.

It is a worry. People having impressive artistic sensibilities does not always mean they have impressive coding abilities, or even that they're good at figuring out a . . . I dunno what you call it in games--plot? Flow? How to have the game move along and get to a conclusion in a satisfying way. Looking cool and creepy is not all it takes to make a game, is what I'm saying, so these people could run into problems later on.

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Looks interesting.

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Quoting: officerniceKinda miss their old designs with more green to it. It had a more distinctive character. Now it's just black and bland.

You have a point, although that stuff never matters much to me--I always swap the wallpaper pretty quick, usually to some pleasant pic from a vacation--something with greenery and maybe a castle or something.

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Quoting: hardpenguin

new games from Harebrained Schemes (Shadowrun / BATTLETECH)

👀

Yeah, I'm very much up for anything Harebrained Schemes come up with.

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Quoting: thelimeydragonCities Skylines 2000

How retro.

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Quoting: SolarwingNow devs! Put the God mode on and make the world a great place with this!!!:smile:

. . . no pressure.

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