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Latest Comments by Purple Library Guy
The developer of Streets of Rogue recently commented about supporting Linux
15 Jul 2019 at 5:10 pm UTC Likes: 1

I'm with Liam on this: Clearly Linux sales of games are very low, so it's a bloody good thing game engines like Unity support us and make the barrier to making a Linux version pretty much equally low.
And I definitely think that the developer's assessment was forthright, but fair enough. Interesting note about Linux users tending to have more unusual hardware configurations. Makes sense, really.

Epic Games' Tim Sweeney talks Linux and gaming some more, says Linux is "great"
15 Jul 2019 at 5:05 pm UTC Likes: 2

You know, I didn't even read the article. This guy doesn't say the same thing two days running and most of it is meaningless. If there's nothing at stake no doubt he'll say faintly praise Linux. If for some reason he ends up thinking he can make a big bundle with Linux, maybe he'll support it--but only for that specific money-making case and in as closed a way as he can. For the rest, there'll be lip service if we're lucky, and with luck no big bad-publicity moves like actually yanking Unreal support. But (whatever he might have been once) he's basically an untrustworthy corporate stuffed shirt with an instinct for closed and predatory.

So I don't give a damn what he has to say.

The Linux version of "Space Rabbits in Space" now appears to be live
15 Jul 2019 at 4:55 pm UTC

The title looks redundant but it actually isn't. I can envision sequels like "Space Rabbits at Sea" or "Space Rabbits: European Vacation".

What have you been playing and what are your thoughts?
14 Jul 2019 at 7:55 pm UTC

Been playing mostly Helium Rain. Just expanding my little empire of space stations, one supplying the next; I like the sort of interlocking scheme of how stations producing one thing use the output of stations producing another thing. And there's something meditative about watching the auto-docker smoothly move your ship through asteroid fields with a ringed planet majestic in the near distance.
I kind of like the fact that combat can happen either with or without you, since a few experiments with the skirmish mode have demonstrated to me that I am hopeless at it, so I'm just gonna let my powerful fleet speak for itself hopefully.

When I get a bit bored with Helium Rain I've been switching to a bit of Stellaris and Civ: Beyond Earth. Both happen much faster on my new not-ancient computer, so that's a treat.

Top-down hard sci-fi space game "Rings of Saturn" to launch in Early Access next month
13 Jul 2019 at 5:08 pm UTC

Something about the initial views of the spacecraft in the trailer made me flash on Sunless Skies. I guess the boxy shape was a lot like Sunless Skies' little locomotive thingie.

A guide to Steam Play Proton, Valve's tech for playing Windows games on Linux / Steam Deck
12 Jul 2019 at 4:28 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: Brisse
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: scaineGreat guide though. Thanks for this - the gifs tell the story better than words ever can. It's nice to have a guide on a Linux technology that doesn't need you to open a bash shell!
I always use shell commands when I want to help somebody, as it's the most reproducible way and the easiest to tell. It's great to have it visible though for cases where you know how it will look like - as in the Steam client.
While I agree that the shell is a phenomenal way to get things done, we still have to keep in mind that even the more savvy Windows user initially find it very off-putting. It's also not good practice to copy/paste random commands into a terminal before knowing what the commands actually do.
Define "good practice". There is a risk in doing so, yes, but it's usually OK. And if you're looking at relative costs, those costs mainly come down to costs of time. It would take me far less time to restore my system from scratch after something I copy/pasted borked it up, than to learn what all the stuff means. And I'd only have to restore my system from scratch if the thing I copy/pasted actually borked up my system, which it generally doesn't, whereas I'd have to learn what all the stuff means every time I copy/pasted something (as long as it was about a different sort of problem each time, which is likely).
So blind copy/pasting of stuff from reasonably reputable forums is almost certainly less costly on average than learning what the stuff means first every time.

Ubuntu LTS releases (and so derivatives too) to get updated NVIDIA drivers without PPAs
12 Jul 2019 at 4:10 pm UTC Likes: 4

Quoting: NanobangCall me cynical, and paint me jade, but coming so close on the heels of their recent 32 bit lib faux pas, this feels a lot like a bone being tossed to gamers---a welcome, meaty bone, yes, but a bone nonetheless.
You're cynical. And probably jaded. (You asked me to call you that, I do try to oblige)
Neither of those things necessarily makes you wrong, however.

Ubuntu LTS releases (and so derivatives too) to get updated NVIDIA drivers without PPAs
12 Jul 2019 at 4:06 pm UTC Likes: 2

One implication of this is particularly happy for me: Presumably, Mint will piggyback on this so there may be newer drivers on Mint too.
Oh, except I just got a new computer and decided to go AMD, and my laptop has Intel. So, I guess it doesn't actually matter to me at all. But in general, not just Ubuntu but also Ubuntu derivatives may well be improved by this, so that's a Good Thing.

Valve has launched "Steam Labs", a place where Valve will show off new experiments
11 Jul 2019 at 9:36 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: BrisseA problem with the recommendations presented by the ML feature "Interactive Recommender" is that some of my best gaming experiences have been from short and focused interactive experiences which didn't take as much time to go through as some of my top games by hours played. Seems these games are not treated fairly by this algorithm. The recommendations makes sense in comparison to my most played games, but most hours played does not always mean most compelling game, and some of those most played games I'm actually done with and I'm burned out on those genres.

I think a partial solution could be to look at the average playtime for the entire user-base for a game, and then see how my time compares to that of the average user. If I spent more time than average, then I probably found it compelling. Some games are intentionally short, others can be huge time sinks. By looking at a ratio compared to an average instead of absolute playtime we can ensure the former category isn't treated as unfairly as it currently seems to be.
Hmmmm . . . but what if everyone, or even just most people, who ever bought a game thought it kind of sucked and didn't put much time into it? I see the problem you're trying to deal with but I'm not sure your solution does the trick either, because it would give a boost to low-quality games.
Not sure there's a simple rule that would handle the issue. But isn't it supposed to be a learny thing? So if so it shouldn't be working by a simple rule, it should be refining as it gets used.

Surprise - Supraland for Linux is now available on GOG
11 Jul 2019 at 9:28 pm UTC Likes: 4

Quoting: callcifer
Quoting: Purple Library GuyHuh. Well I gotta say, if I'd been setting fire to bridges as hard as that guy was, I would have had a really hard time getting myself to build them again, so kudos there. Interesting fellow.
Fire to bridges? It was more like a small spark on a twig in the middle of nowhere given it's a niche store on a niche OS with an even more niche group of complainers (Linux gamers who think DRM-free on Steam isn't DRM-free). Good for him for uploading to GOG, but if it was my game I wouldn't even reply and avoid this drama all together.
Doesn't really matter how numerous or significant a group is, being rude to them is still being rude. Heck, being rude to just one person is still being rude. And as I say, once you've done that it can be very difficult to walk it back; you tend to get committed to your obnoxious stance because you don't want to admit to yourself that you're being a jerk. Like me, I'm sure you would find such a climb-down very hard.