Quoting: win8linuxThere are only two distros that meet that criterion: SteamOS and Ubuntu.

officially would mean SteamOS only.
IMO it would be awesome if they could target SteamOS, but also check Steam under Flatpak. That would ensure the widest reach for those who don't want to tweak things and figure out how to make it playable on the distro of their choice.

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Quoting: NeverthelessExcept for the ones who'd try to implant their native libraries into the Flatpak version... :D

not sure I understand this comment.
If you mean end user tweaking libraries - it is possible (but not recommended :D), just navigate to folder of a given flatpak and have a go :D.
If you mean devs providing custom libraries with their app then it is even easier - bundle those with a flatpak or make them a separate runtime pack. Which is one of the reasons I think Flatpak are the best choice atm I know of for distribution of proprietary apps - it gives the devs an easy option to separate closed and open source parts required to run the application (and thus avoid licensing issues).

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Sad news - as an Xcom fan I've been looking forward to this one.

Quoting: ScooptaI think the real solution to this problem is making steam behave more like flatpak.

+1 . Atm I'm using Steam through Flatpak and all the issues I've had because of Steam runtime / different libraries etc are gone. Smoothest Steam experience I've had. IMO if Steam would back it up officially and embraced this form of packaging we would be in far better shape (not only in terms of gaming).

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Quoting: ExidanI don't like how they handle libraries and dependencies. isn't the whole point of the linux ecosystem to avoid redundancy?

Well those new package formats are IMO not meant to replace old ones, only to work alongside them.
While the old ones work great for open source apps as it is easy to grab new code and recompile it with the libraries you have it is really not doable in situations like proprietary apps - games for example.
With variety of distros, each with its own libraries, configs etc there was no way for any sane publisher to cater for all of those... And thus we hadn't access to many proprietary apps or they were limited to specific distros when it came to support (usually RHEL when it came to pro apps - look Modo, Maya, Substance, Mari...).
New packaging options that bundle libraries etc can be a means to solving this issue.
Heck, they are also awesome in other cases as well. For example - recently I've updated my workstation to OpenSUSE Leap 15. I've added Steam shortly after so I could have some game fun in the free time. It has turned out that initial Steam package for Leap 15 was awful - while the app itself launched and worked, huge chunk of the games didn't because of the way libraries have been linked. In the past I'd have been screwed - or forced to try to untangle this mess. But nowadays - I've just installed it through Flatpak and that's it. ATM I'm not even considering switching it - works like a charm. All games so far start without issues. THe only extremely minor nitpick is that tray icon does not work - I get this "missing" icon space there. (side note - really hope Steam switches to Flatpaks as their official way of handling their packages - and damn, please make them not create their own).
I really do hope more commercial software for Linux get distributed like that and save me time trying to make things work.

That's why I'm a bit annoyed we have 3 universal formats not one. Again it forces the publishers to investigate and make a choice. And they may simply consider it a waste of time or a bit too risky.
It would be awesome if major foundations behind open source and Linux could agree on one and actively promote it. In this very area I think "I know better" attitude should stop.

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got to admit I have mixed feelings when I read news like this.
On the one hand it is awesome to hear about new ways of getting your software without hassle of hunting dependencies, configs etc and appreciate diversity in Linux.
But on the other hand - damn it, can't we agree on a single universal package format, not 3? It has this deb vs rpm stench all over it. Certainly I'd be happier if all the effort would went into making a single working, universally recognized format before adding new ones. Possibly Flatpak, even though personally I enjoy AppImages the most (due to its simplicity) - as it seems the most widely accepted across distros and does not bear the usual Canonical controversy mark...

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Quoting: slaapliedjeWasn't Autocad at one point supposed to be in the works? Pretty sure they own Maya now..

Autodesk does not seem to be interested in supporting Linux outside DCC apps. And I suspect the only reason they provide minimal dcc support (thus we have Maya) is because of the pressure from the big studios who use Linux extensively in their pipelines.
As written when it comes to CAD apps it sucks... And mind I'm not talking about draft apps like Autocad (much fewer people use those nowadays). I mean industrial design grade apps like Solidworks, Fusion360, Inventor or even more surface modeling oriented ones like Rhino. You simply don't have those on Linux.

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Quoting: LinasGraphical design, 3D modeling, and video editing tools is a bigger problem for game development on Linux. At least if you are developing a game from scratch, and not making a port.

Got to partially disagree with you on that one. Most of 3D modelling for games is really not an issue on Linux. You have most of the popular tools natively - Maya, Modo, Blender, Houdini for content creation , Substance , Mari , 3D Coat for texturing.
And as said - all those are native versions. Heck, some of them even run better on Linux than on other platforms.
Zbrush is a bit of a sore spot, but while it has not the same "feel" 3D Coat may be enough for many.

2D graphics and video editing is a bit more tricky but not hopeless. Thx to Krita we finally have a good open source drawing app (also pretty capable when it comes to image manipulation). Also with the release of DaVinci Resolve we got great, and widely recognized video editor.
Coupled with compositing apps (Fusion - which is currently built in into Resove, or Nuke if you can afford it) it becomes pretty good.

Music is a sore spot. Setting a linux workstation for low latency audio editing is not a small feat and I really can't blame majority of pro musicians for using Apple's hardware where it just works (mind - most of musicians are not IT specialists). So the problem is not the lack of apps itself but sadly the state of Linux sound system.

So surprisingly all in all the situation for game makers is not that gloom and doom when it comes to Linux. Huge chunk of game content creation folks could use Linux easily. There are other sectors that would have much bigger trouble (for example CAD guys - on Linux CAD landscape is almost completely barren), but when it comes to 3D - you'd be surprised how far we've progressed in recent years.

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given that basically all 3D Apps currently use OpenGL this really seems like an awkward move (not that Macs impressed in any way when it comes to 3D content creation in recent years).
Interestingly it hurts video editing apps as well - heck, probably even more as they often rely on OpenCL.
Wonder whether Apple is going to try releasing their own 3D app (they hired a couple of 3d devs in the recent months) or whether they're simply going to piss on this segment of pro market.

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Quoting: pete910Gaming PC and a work station PC.

sure... if you promise to pay for it :P ...

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yeah, Pete, but as I've stated - it is not so easy if you use your box for work too, not only for gaming.
This really restricts your choices, especially when you add few options (or no options) with professional software outside dev / server side.
If I'd only done gaming on my PC - sure AMD could be taken into consideration. But I need to do actual work as well... Thus no "ideology" talk can make me switch (I'd like to) - I need to be pragmatic with my hardware choices.

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