Thanks for the review!
How does gaining XP work? Do you gain XP for killing enemies, or for completing a quest? I quite liked that in Pillars and in the Shadowrun games you get XP based on completed tasks or quests, rather than each enemy you kill. So if you can talk your way out of a situation, you gain as much experience as if you killed everyone.

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Is there anywhere a compilation of benchmark comparisons between Linux and Windows? I know I've seen some videos on youtube, but are the charts anywhere online? It would just be nice to compare, since from what I remember Shadow of Mordor has one of the largest discrepancies, while Witcher 2 has maybe 10% lower framerates on average (going by memory again).

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Quoting: KimyrielleI guess the point made was, that since they expressed their plan to develop a platform independent game from the get-go it's a fairly silly decision to go ahead and develop it using technology that doesn't run anywhere but on Windows. Porting a finished product is a lot more troublesome than developing the software with cross-platform deployment in mind. If you want a Windows-only game, use DX. If you want a multi-platform game, use OpenGL, because it runs on all platforms.

I do understand the point, and I agree in principle. Multiplatform games should be multiplatform right from the start. But I also (try to) understand the developers' situation. They only got enough funding to develop a Windows game. They had to finish and sells this game before their money ran out. Porting now costs them more money and time total, but developing multiplatform from the start would have likely delayed the Windows release, which is where most of their money comes from. Too much delay, and there might not have been a game at all.

This is an unfortunate situation, but I hope in the future as more engines get Linux support and more developers have experience with Linux, and hopefully Vulkan helping with multiplatform support as well, the additional initial investment for going multiplatform from the start will be minimal and situations like this will become less common *knock on wood*.
In the meantime, I think being honest and talking to the community is one of the better solutions that developers have chosen in situations like this.

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Quoting: MaelraneSorry, but if I was about planning a port, why would I start an engine with DX9?

As I see it: There was a kickstarter campaign and one certain goal was to deliver a Linux port. That goal was not met. Fine. So no Linux port. But it seems like they thought that somewhere down the line they would still like to do one.

Now, did they write the engine from scratch during/after the kickstarter? Because if so, this is just stupidity³.

I don't get this negative response at all. They didn't get enough money to do everything they wanted, so they did what they could with the tools they knew best.
They didn't promise a Linux port, but still want to make one. I really appreciate the dedication, and I really appreciate them being honest and asking the community. I just wished I had the time and expertise to help, I hope they find people who do.

EDIT: Just checked the KS page, they did promised the Linux version "If not, we will port it anyway to these platforms but at a later date." My comment still stands though, due to limited funds they started with what was easiest and fastest for them to do. And at least they are willing to accept help.

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Quoting: Ilya[SOLVED]-ish The biggest problem I have is that some games don't seem to realize I'm using a controller. Grow Home and Don't Be Patchman are the only two so far.
EDIT: I found the problem! I'm using a roccat tyon mouse and the game thinks that's the controller and doesn't recognize the "second" controller (the steam controller).
SOLUTION: unplug your mouse :-/

I had a similar issue with Geometry Wars 3. Not the mouse, but I still had my Logitech gamepad connected, and the game completely ignored the Steam controller. Disconnecting the Logitech dongle solved the problem.

Another game that I still have problems with is Mark of the Ninja, the button mapping is just completely wrong and has nothing to do with the button mapping in the controller configuration. It's actually the same with a Dualshock 4, but works fine with the Logitech. slaapliedje mentioned in the forums that it works for them with the steam controller, so I have no idea what's going on. If anyone could test that game, I'd appreciate it.

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Quoting: Mountain ManWhen this happens, you need to exit Steam completely and then restart it. To avoid triggering the issue, see my previous post.

Thanks, will try!

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Instead of the thumb-stick being precise in clicking through items in Steam Big Picture mode it will suddenly act like it’s slipping on ice and skip over items really quickly. It will start doing double button presses on a single press, and just generally act weirdly. It has never happened during actual gameplay, only when interacting with Steam Big Picture mode. Once it starts acting up though, it won’t use the configs set for games, and then it becomes a bigger issue. It’s not a signal issue either, as it happens when wired. It’s like it suddenly forgets all the configs set for it, or something like that.

I've had this happen, mostly starting a week ago or so (at least, I don't remember the double button presses prior to the latest firmware update). I thought I was just being incredibly clumsy with the stick and the button presses, so I'm kind of glad you have the issue too and it's a bug and not me. Have you found a reliable way to reset it to working condition?

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Quoting: KeyrockI don't think they are included in vanilla Reunion (it's been a long time since I played that game) but they're easy to install. With that said, a lot of the stuff in the X-Tended Mod for Reunion found its way into vanilla Terran Conflict and Albion Prelude (both those games have their own X-Tended Mods too).

I only got the Terran War pack, so Terran Conflict and Albion Prelude, because a friend recommended Terran Conflict some time ago. There's no overarching plotline between the games, is there? Does it matter which game I start with? Should I still get the mods for those games, or are they good as they are?

EDIT: just noticed your post above where you already answered those questions! Sorry, and thanks for the info!

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Quoting: GuestBuilding an empire takes a lot of time but it's satisfaying, and the Extended Mods make the X series even better.

Noob question: are those Extended Mods already part of the game as released on GOG, or do I need to add something? If they are separate, do they work on Linux? When playing for the first time, should I play without the mods first to get the original experience, or would you recommend playing with the mods right from the start?

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Quoting: wleoncioI'm starting to think about setting up a Live USB just to boot up once a month, install and log into Steam. Since we know the survey is biased, we should do something to lessen it.

I don't think it's biased. If my theory is correct, it works exactly the same way on Windows in that it checks for changes or new systems.

This is what I think happens: Steam has a list of active hardware+OS configuration for each user. When the user logs in from something different, the survey will come up (not every time, I think they only send surveys at certain times every month probably to avoid annoying people who constantly tinker). Steam will then add the configuration from that survey to your list. If you don't use a setup/PC for some time, Steam will assume you don't have or use it anymore and drops it from your list. Next time you log in from that dropped computer, Steam will notice it as a new setup, give the survey, and add it back.
This way, the Steam survey is representative of pretty much all users, rather than a random sample. It also avoids annoying people if they randomly get the survey several times in a row.
I don't know how in the analysis they handle users with several setups, but I'd guess the easiest way would be simply to split between the configurations. So I'd now count as half a user with an older Fedora laptop, and half a user with a mid-high end Ubuntu PC. If this is the case, then a Linux user who boots into Windows and gets the survey, will for the next couple of months (however long Steam keeps configurations on file) count as half a Linux user and half a Windows user. They may have better methods like actually weighing by how much time you spend on each; I somewhat doubt that though, people may spend a lot of time offline which could skew the result.

I also think the survey results seem reasonable at about 1% Linux. Whenever we do get platform-specific sales data, Linux is usually around 1-5%, occasionally higher, but mostly this is what I remember seeing. If on average Linux users buy the same number of games as Windows users, but we have about 1/4 the games, it makes sense that we have sales numbers of ~4%. I doubt Linux users on average do buy the same number of games though, simply because the games they want may not be available, and they may get them on Windows or console or skip (fewer games to impulse-buy during sales!). But a few % Linux sales makes perfect sense for a 1% user base and about 25% of available games.

Sorry this got so long, I'm just getting a bit tired of this whole 'the survey is rigged' thing every time Linux sales and stats come up. Instead of complaining that the survey comes up every time you (not you personally wleoncio, general you) boot into Windows, just don't boot into Windows and don't buy games that don't have Linux support. That's the best way to improve the numbers and ensure you count as Linux and Linux-only.

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