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Latest Comments by Mountain Man
Superhero strategy game Capes confirmed for release on May 29th
17 Apr 2024 at 10:24 pm UTC

So it's basically XCOM with superheroes.

Steam FPS Fest 2024 is live with tons of great discounts
16 Apr 2024 at 2:19 pm UTC

Fallout 4 for $5 is awfully tempting.

Stop Killing Games is a new campaign to stop developers making games unplayable
4 Apr 2024 at 8:34 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: Theodis
Quoting: Mountain ManThe solution is simple: if a game is sold as a service, or as a code in box, and you don't want to support it with your money, then don't. There's no need for the government to get involved and make things worse, as governments notoriously do.
Quoting: Mountain ManAs is usual in these kinds of debates, idealism is often in direct conflict with reality.
Yeah totally crazy how some people put 100% faith in the free market magically resolving all issues on its own...
The best way to get a company's attention is to hit them where it hurts: their profit margin. The problem here is that I don't think there are enough people who really care about this. When a game goes offline, the majority of folks will just shrug their shoulders and move on to the next one, so companies have no incentive to change. It's why "free to play" continues to be so popular -- and profitable -- despite the games themselves being objectively terrible. Another case where idealism runs face first into reality.

Since the only thing you have any real control over is your own behavior, then the best solution is to not support companies that employ business practices you happen to disagree with.

Stop Killing Games is a new campaign to stop developers making games unplayable
4 Apr 2024 at 1:12 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: finaldest100% behind this.

I want to see legislation put in place to make it illegal to take away access from a game after purchase and also bring in legislation to allow re sale of digital games.

I would also like to see physical releases with a download code banned. If I buy a physical copy then I want a fully offline playable game on the disk.

If the online multiplayer servers of a game is shut down then the games online portion should be open sourced to allow preservation.

If publishers abandon a game by not releasing a game for active purchase on any platform then that game should be considered abandonware and thus be put into public domain.

We need to fight back.
The solution is simple: if a game is sold as a service, or as a code in box, and you don't want to support it with your money, then don't. There's no need for the government to get involved and make things worse, as governments notoriously do.

What's not so simple is asking a company to release code that they may not have the legal right to release as open source. In the case of "abandonware", the game may include licensed art and music that the respective owners haven't abandoned and can not be put into public domain.

As is usual in these kinds of debates, idealism is often in direct conflict with reality.

Stop Killing Games is a new campaign to stop developers making games unplayable
3 Apr 2024 at 11:01 pm UTC Likes: 1

This is not going to be a popular response, but if it's made clear to the customer up front that a game is being offered as a service with no guarantee of continued support, and the customer buys it with this knowledge, then a company has no moral or legal obligation to make that game playable in the event the servers are taken offline, and I don't believe they should be legally forced to any more than a streaming video service should be forced to make all of their content available in perpetuity.

The correct solution is to try and convince consumers to stop buying those kinds of products (good luck), and market forces will naturally take care of the rest.

XZ tools and libraries compromised with a critical issue
29 Mar 2024 at 10:55 pm UTC Likes: 2

Manjaro just pushed out an update.

Steam Families announced with parental controls, no more library locking
20 Mar 2024 at 3:02 am UTC

I suspect disabling family sharing will quickly become the default for most studios.

Steam Families announced with parental controls, no more library locking
18 Mar 2024 at 10:47 pm UTC

I guess the "one person is banned, you're all banned" rule is meant to safeguard against a dozen people all sharing the same game library, but I can't imagine developers and publishers are going to be too thrilled about the possibility of this feature cutting into their sales.

More details on the Manjaro Orange Pi Neo gaming handheld
17 Feb 2024 at 1:14 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: CyborgZetaI haven't heard good things about Manjaro, but this is the most promising Deck alternative I've heard of yet.
Haven't heard good things about Manjaro? I've been using it for a few years and have nothing but good things to say about it.

More details on the Manjaro Orange Pi Neo gaming handheld
16 Feb 2024 at 11:05 pm UTC Likes: 2

Valve is leading the way. Looks like a company finally figured out that all they have to do is follow. And with this coming from the Manjaro team, there's no risk of Microsoft suddenly swooping in and forcing them to install Windows instead.