Latest Comments by Purple Library Guy
A multi-vendor extension for transform feedback in Vulkan is being worked on to help DXVK and others
9 Sep 2018 at 10:48 pm UTC
In general, Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot repeatedly; their fundamental preinstall advantage is so great that their mistakes have so far cost them little.
9 Sep 2018 at 10:48 pm UTC
Quoting: elmapulProbably not in that particular way. I mean, they want to so bad they can taste it, they'd love to make themselves believe they could get away with it, but basically they know the reason they get to keep selling licenses is that for the end-user Windows seems to be "free" (as in no $$$). They know people wouldn't sit still for subscription-only.Quoting: garpuSo, granted, there is support with DXVK coming from Valve. But if we regular users want to show the devs some appreciation, what's the best way to do it? Do they have a patreon? FOSS projects can flounder and die, when there isn't enough support (financial that is...computers and electricity cost, not to mention programmers need to eat and pay rent.)i guess what we can do is, keep buying games and playing then on linux.
I know WINE can be a touchy subject, but if Windows 10 does go subscription only, having an alternative for gaming that's easy, works, and runs with people's favorite games will attract a lot of people to Linux.
as for MS shooting then selves in the foot, not gona happen.
In general, Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot repeatedly; their fundamental preinstall advantage is so great that their mistakes have so far cost them little.
Steam Play's Proton beta has been updated with a performance improvement and fixes
8 Sep 2018 at 2:45 pm UTC
Anyway, most of the time you'd be doing this with something you already owned and had already played, or attempted to play, on Linux when you first got it, so it would have already counted as a Linux sale before you start with Proton shenanigans.
8 Sep 2018 at 2:45 pm UTC
Quoting: NeverthelessWell, running a Windows game on Proton normally counts as running on Linux. I don't see why that would change just because an actual Linux version exists.Quoting: lucifertdarkChecking over at Reddit I found a link to something that could be very useful in the short term, for those times when the Linux port is less than playable compared to the original Windows version we now have Native2Proton [External Link].I just ask myself, does it count as run on Linux, or is it like using Wine?
edit: Actually I found the mention on Github not Reddit, so many places to look for Proton info now. :D
Anyway, most of the time you'd be doing this with something you already owned and had already played, or attempted to play, on Linux when you first got it, so it would have already counted as a Linux sale before you start with Proton shenanigans.
The Stellaris 2.2 update is going to rework planets, plus free content added into some DLCs
7 Sep 2018 at 9:14 pm UTC
7 Sep 2018 at 9:14 pm UTC
Quoting: GuestI enjoyed Stellaris initially but got bored with it pretty quickly, especially the end game.IMO the end game can still get a bit stodgy, but some of the DLCs do pep things up significantly.
I don't think I'll go back to it for a while. I did play it without any of the DLC's.
The Stellaris 2.2 update is going to rework planets, plus free content added into some DLCs
7 Sep 2018 at 4:47 pm UTC Likes: 8
7 Sep 2018 at 4:47 pm UTC Likes: 8
I never minded the tile system that much but I also was never enthralled by it. This looks like it could be pretty good.
And really, I think it's a bit much for the conversation to be focussing on Paradox's DLCs when this is a major free update--happening how long after the game's release? Yeah, how many of your no-DLC games get that level of support? Frankly, Paradox games are just bigger than most other games. So they end up costing more; this is made more workable by splitting the cost into chunks. But your price per hour of play, your cost per amount of entertainment, on a Paradox game tends to be very competitive.
If you prefer little games that you play through once or twice in a few hours, nothing wrong with that. But that isn't a reason to diss the existence of big games that repay dozens of hours of play on the basis that they cost more than little ones; of course they do.
And really, I think it's a bit much for the conversation to be focussing on Paradox's DLCs when this is a major free update--happening how long after the game's release? Yeah, how many of your no-DLC games get that level of support? Frankly, Paradox games are just bigger than most other games. So they end up costing more; this is made more workable by splitting the cost into chunks. But your price per hour of play, your cost per amount of entertainment, on a Paradox game tends to be very competitive.
If you prefer little games that you play through once or twice in a few hours, nothing wrong with that. But that isn't a reason to diss the existence of big games that repay dozens of hours of play on the basis that they cost more than little ones; of course they do.
Oxygen Not Included will now allow you to fly your little people into space
7 Sep 2018 at 4:07 pm UTC
7 Sep 2018 at 4:07 pm UTC
So you're going to be able to send those little dweebs into space now? Oh, I'm sure that'll work out well.
A writer for Forbes has been talking about the positives of switching to Linux
7 Sep 2018 at 5:55 am UTC Likes: 1
Stallman considers code to be rather like recipes in its ability to be shared and improved. So if you publish a recipe book, he would say your pie recipe should be shareable and maybe someone else would change it to have a bit less sugar or a dab of ginger or something. But he wouldn't say the picture in the recipe book of you making the pie, should be shareable. Game art assets and such are like that.
7 Sep 2018 at 5:55 am UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: HamishIf I remember right, Stallman also considers the art, story, dialogue, voice acting and so forth in games to be somewhat different from the code itself in its copyright & freedom implications, and that because of the importance of that kind of thing to games they need to be considered a bit differently from most software. So while I'm sure he would support opening the code of games, and absolutely would consider that game engines ought all to be Free software, he would not necessarily oppose relatively normal copyright restrictions on the creative assets in games.Quoting: SalvatosAm I a poser for not going full Stallman? If so I don't give a damn, these are my opinions, choices and preferences and I'm not trying to conform to anyone's model of who deserves free software.Even Stallman does not conform to the "full Stallman" strawman:
Quoting: Richard StallmanHowever, if you're going to use these games, you're better off using them on GNU/Linux rather than on Microsoft Windows. At least you avoid the harm to your freedom that Windows would do. Thus, in direct practical terms, this development can do both harm and good. It might encourage GNU/Linux users to install these games, and it might encourage users of the games to replace Windows with GNU/Linux. My guess is that the direct good effect will be bigger than the direct harm.https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/nonfree-games.en.html [External Link]
Stallman considers code to be rather like recipes in its ability to be shared and improved. So if you publish a recipe book, he would say your pie recipe should be shareable and maybe someone else would change it to have a bit less sugar or a dab of ginger or something. But he wouldn't say the picture in the recipe book of you making the pie, should be shareable. Game art assets and such are like that.
Europa Universalis IV: Dharma is now available, some thoughts
6 Sep 2018 at 9:41 pm UTC
6 Sep 2018 at 9:41 pm UTC
I fear Crusader Kings II. I own it, and I have this feeling that if I ever really start playing it, I will never get another constructive thing done with my life.
A writer for Forbes has been talking about the positives of switching to Linux
6 Sep 2018 at 6:33 pm UTC Likes: 1
But, well, life is what it is, eh? Maybe after the revolution comes. :D
6 Sep 2018 at 6:33 pm UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: SalvatosWell, it would certainly be a good thing if everyone who used a computer was a firm believer in Free Software, and Open Source ruled the computing universe. :DQuoting: ArthurBut it's become clear to me that a lot of the Linux community is not very consistent. Free and Open Source only matters to some, while a good bunch are just posers.Is it a bad thing that not everyone in the Linux community is a hardcore activist, that some are just looking for a more respectful system than Windows and Mac OS or simply can't afford proprietary software and rely on FLOSS to have access to computing?
But, well, life is what it is, eh? Maybe after the revolution comes. :D
An update on the Linux version of We Happy Few
6 Sep 2018 at 3:21 am UTC
6 Sep 2018 at 3:21 am UTC
This is one of those times when the reasons for mixed reviews are important. If it's because of bugs and instability, it could be a great game underneath that, which will show its worth once they get things fixed up. If it's because it's lame, that's harder to fix. I hope it's the former because this really feels like something I'd like.
A writer for Forbes has been talking about the positives of switching to Linux
6 Sep 2018 at 3:14 am UTC Likes: 2
Although I will say one thing: Troubleshooting is much better via command line. It's so much more stable and so much easier to convey. If you have problem X on Windows, a fix for Windows 7 will involve quite different fiddling around with submenus and weird little GUI tools compared to Windows 8 or Windows 10--and the instructions will be extremely complex and easy to get wrong. But with Linux, typically suggestions will be like, "Paste this into the command line" to either get some diagnosis or fix the problem. Many of these things to paste will work across most distros and versions, and intuitive though GUIs might be it's way easier to follow the instructions "Copy&paste this text" than "Go to this menu and do this and then pick that tab on the thing and do the other thing and then uncheck the dealie that should be here on that popup and . . ." Plus, it is much more likely that the GUI tools simply won't have anything that solves the particular problem; the command line is much more complete and powerful in what it can do. I just don't normally need to do the things it's good at, is all.
6 Sep 2018 at 3:14 am UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: HamishI myself as a rule prefer to avoid the command line for that exact sort of reason, even though I know that many GUI tools to get things done are basically wrappers for fairly simple command line, um, commands.Quoting: EikeWhile there's different reasons people don't want to do that, there's at least (!) one very good one: People should refrain from doing stuff in the command line they don't understand. And no, most people don't know, don't care and shouldn't need to care about 'compiling'.This actually feeds into a wider point I was thinking on while reading Jason's articles. The reason why people feel that using a GUI is easier than the command line is that in order to use the terminal effectively you do by and large have to have a more intimate knowledge of the system you a managing.
GUIs by their very nature obscure things to the point that they are easier to fudge, and for most users that is more than good enough. Experienced users don't just gravitate to the console because they are masochists, but because once you have that knowledge it is often the simplest way to do things. And simple is a synonym for easy.
Although I will say one thing: Troubleshooting is much better via command line. It's so much more stable and so much easier to convey. If you have problem X on Windows, a fix for Windows 7 will involve quite different fiddling around with submenus and weird little GUI tools compared to Windows 8 or Windows 10--and the instructions will be extremely complex and easy to get wrong. But with Linux, typically suggestions will be like, "Paste this into the command line" to either get some diagnosis or fix the problem. Many of these things to paste will work across most distros and versions, and intuitive though GUIs might be it's way easier to follow the instructions "Copy&paste this text" than "Go to this menu and do this and then pick that tab on the thing and do the other thing and then uncheck the dealie that should be here on that popup and . . ." Plus, it is much more likely that the GUI tools simply won't have anything that solves the particular problem; the command line is much more complete and powerful in what it can do. I just don't normally need to do the things it's good at, is all.
- Here's the most played games on Steam Deck for January 2026
- GOG are giving away Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy to celebrate their Preservation Program
- Steam Survey for January 2026 shows a small drop for Linux and macOS
- Valheim gets a big birthday update with optimizations, Steam Deck upgrades and new content
- AMD say the Steam Machine is "on track" for an early 2026 release
- > See more over 30 days here
- Is it possible to have 2 Steam instances (different accounts) at …
- mr-victory - I need help making SWTOR work on Linux without the default Steam …
- WheatMcGrass - Browsers
- Jarmer - New Desktop Screenshot Thread
- Hamish - Will you buy the new Steam Machine?
- DoctorJunglist - See more posts
How to setup OpenMW for modern Morrowind on Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck
How to install Hollow Knight: Silksong mods on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck