Support us on Patreon
PayPalLatest Comments by Shaolu
The Dark Mod, the free standalone inspired by Thief has a new release out
5 Feb 2019 at 9:30 pm UTC Likes: 1
5 Feb 2019 at 9:30 pm UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: cprnSame story with SuperTuxKart.Quoting: rapakivthis game deserves to be on steamWell, yes. It got greenlit [External Link] back in 2017 (in record time) and developers were working on releasing it for some time. Idk if that work stopped but it seems so. It might have something to do with Greenlight getting retired before they released, maybe they need to pay the Steam Direct fee now? The common feeling is it's not coming.
Feral Interactive are teasing something for Linux next week
27 Sep 2018 at 10:16 am UTC Likes: 4
27 Sep 2018 at 10:16 am UTC Likes: 4
Quoting: GuestThis is so stupid... Just reveal it already. Or don't talk about it at all until the games are released and we can buy them. What is the point of polluting our social media with vague stuff with no solid info?"Vague stuff with no solid info" is extremely effective. Here in the US we literally had a successful presidential campaign based on "Make America great again."
The Living Dungeon developers looking to see if there's interest for a Linux version
24 Jul 2016 at 6:50 pm UTC
I do think Valve could push to support SteamOS more, and even make some sacrifices along the way, but it really comes down to cost-to-benefit. The great thing about capitalism is that "greed" as you put it motivates companies to generate value for society in order to exchange it for value in return. (As opposed to government which satisfies its insatiable lust for resources simply by force.) So, they could figure that if they made some deals now and took some cuts in the short term, it could pay off in the future with their own entrenched platform and whatever profit opportunities that presents.
The problem is I think SteamOS has always been a bit of a contingency plan. It's a fallback should Microsoft ever try to place some limits on Valve by forcing developers to use the Windows store or other like shenanigans that MS might pull with their OS that cuts into Valve's potential profits. At this point, I think Valve has essentially called MS's bluff and MS in turn has backed off. Accordingly, they can keep SteamOS in stasis as long as they like, ready to drag it back into the light should MS start making any moves again that Valve doesn't like.
In a way, it's a bit of a nuclear option. The biggest thing Valve could do to support SteamOS is to release some kind of exclusives (timed or otherwise) for SteamOS and/or subsidize their console like Microsoft and Sony does, selling the system at or below cost on a gamble to drive adoption. Their talk of exclusives violating the "spirit" of things or whatever is a load of BS. Developing for one platform over another has costs--as plenty of devs will tell you when you ask about a Linux version. Accordingly, if Valve encouraged/paid a developer to make a game for their platform in a very standard limited-time non-compete agreement for a few months or at the very least released a game or two themselves as some kind of exclusive, there's nothing more immoral about that than the DRM restrictions they facilitate all the time with Steam itself. Likewise, actually producing Steam machines directly rather than offering immaterial support to third-party vendors--leaving them to sell their systems at a premium on par with any other prebuilt PC in order to turn a profit--likewise demonstrates Valve's lack of commitment to really turning the industry around to support their own platform.
And it all makes sense when we consider that Valve isn't really trying to shake things up this way. It would irritate some existing "PC" gamers to think that they have to wait for, say, Half-Life 3 to come to "PC" or go out and purchase a Steam machine. But the outcry would be minimal, and plenty of gamers would begrudgingly purchase yet another console like they have in the past should they really be unwilling to wait, and the outcry from the community and all of its empty threats and other assorted drama would pale in comparison to the bigger concern: Microsoft's response. Should Valve make the first move and truly give people incentive to abandon Microsoft's flagship OS--especially in a time when MS is failing in other markets, such as mobile--then you can bet Microsoft would definitely tighten the reins and enforce some policy that would push Valve off their OS entirely.
Neither company is short-sighted enough to violate their own interests, and so there remains a stalemate. At some point--maybe if more than 50% of Steam's library was available on SteamOS (random guess really)--perhaps Valve might consider parting ways with MS and actively pushing for folks to adopt their platform. But whatever the case is that precipitates such a departure, make no mistake: it would be a departure. Valve is only really going to push SteamOS with any kind of real weight once they're comfortable with any kind of retaliation from Microsoft.
24 Jul 2016 at 6:50 pm UTC
Quoting: HalifaxI just wish Valve gave incentives to game devs who make a Linux port. Like instead of taking a 30% cut of every sale, they take a 10% cut of every Linux sale. Hypothetical, I have no idea what the real percentages are. Valve could make it a time limited thing, and keep advertising it to devs and re-upping at their discretion: "Extended for six more months: 75% off our cut per sale of any fully ported Linux Steam game! Time is limited, so act now!"I think it's a little more complicated than that. Companies offer discounts all the time--like the numerous sales on Steam itself. Valve could be offering such an incentive right now and I wouldn't know. You admitted you don't know what the real percentages are either, so I imagine you're in the same boat. Even assuming they're not, the reason they're not could simply boil down to something they've never really considered.
But, Valve wouldn't want to take that kind of hit to their pocketbook just to push Linux adoption forward. Greed is what greed is.
You know what the problem with having a million dollars is? You want another million dollars.
You know what the problem with having a 100 million dollars is? You want another 100 million dollars.
You know what the problem with having a billion dollars is? You want another billion dollars.
You know what the problem with having a 100 billion dollars is? You want another 100 billion dollars.
etc. :-)
I do think Valve could push to support SteamOS more, and even make some sacrifices along the way, but it really comes down to cost-to-benefit. The great thing about capitalism is that "greed" as you put it motivates companies to generate value for society in order to exchange it for value in return. (As opposed to government which satisfies its insatiable lust for resources simply by force.) So, they could figure that if they made some deals now and took some cuts in the short term, it could pay off in the future with their own entrenched platform and whatever profit opportunities that presents.
The problem is I think SteamOS has always been a bit of a contingency plan. It's a fallback should Microsoft ever try to place some limits on Valve by forcing developers to use the Windows store or other like shenanigans that MS might pull with their OS that cuts into Valve's potential profits. At this point, I think Valve has essentially called MS's bluff and MS in turn has backed off. Accordingly, they can keep SteamOS in stasis as long as they like, ready to drag it back into the light should MS start making any moves again that Valve doesn't like.
In a way, it's a bit of a nuclear option. The biggest thing Valve could do to support SteamOS is to release some kind of exclusives (timed or otherwise) for SteamOS and/or subsidize their console like Microsoft and Sony does, selling the system at or below cost on a gamble to drive adoption. Their talk of exclusives violating the "spirit" of things or whatever is a load of BS. Developing for one platform over another has costs--as plenty of devs will tell you when you ask about a Linux version. Accordingly, if Valve encouraged/paid a developer to make a game for their platform in a very standard limited-time non-compete agreement for a few months or at the very least released a game or two themselves as some kind of exclusive, there's nothing more immoral about that than the DRM restrictions they facilitate all the time with Steam itself. Likewise, actually producing Steam machines directly rather than offering immaterial support to third-party vendors--leaving them to sell their systems at a premium on par with any other prebuilt PC in order to turn a profit--likewise demonstrates Valve's lack of commitment to really turning the industry around to support their own platform.
And it all makes sense when we consider that Valve isn't really trying to shake things up this way. It would irritate some existing "PC" gamers to think that they have to wait for, say, Half-Life 3 to come to "PC" or go out and purchase a Steam machine. But the outcry would be minimal, and plenty of gamers would begrudgingly purchase yet another console like they have in the past should they really be unwilling to wait, and the outcry from the community and all of its empty threats and other assorted drama would pale in comparison to the bigger concern: Microsoft's response. Should Valve make the first move and truly give people incentive to abandon Microsoft's flagship OS--especially in a time when MS is failing in other markets, such as mobile--then you can bet Microsoft would definitely tighten the reins and enforce some policy that would push Valve off their OS entirely.
Neither company is short-sighted enough to violate their own interests, and so there remains a stalemate. At some point--maybe if more than 50% of Steam's library was available on SteamOS (random guess really)--perhaps Valve might consider parting ways with MS and actively pushing for folks to adopt their platform. But whatever the case is that precipitates such a departure, make no mistake: it would be a departure. Valve is only really going to push SteamOS with any kind of real weight once they're comfortable with any kind of retaliation from Microsoft.
Black Mesa developer shoots down anti-Linux troll, confirms Linux version is in progress
8 Jul 2016 at 10:30 pm UTC
8 Jul 2016 at 10:30 pm UTC
Apparently someone in this thread thinks this site is some kind of corporate PR outlet. "Professional?" WTF? LOL
Open source racer SuperTuxKart 0.9.2 officially released with a new website
4 Jul 2016 at 9:15 am UTC Likes: 1
From the article:
"As mentioned in the previous post, networked multiplayer is unfortunately not available yet as there is more work needed to make it work well. We have done some serious work, and a lot of improvements to show, but feel that it is not yet good enough for a special LAN-only mode. More work is needed to make LAN mode work good enough for an enjoyable game experience, and we decided to spent more time and have a good release instead of one that would potentially suffer from stuttering. But stay tuned for more news on networking, it is our top priority."
4 Jul 2016 at 9:15 am UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: SnevWhat's the status of the multiplayer? I just don't like playing it by myself against AI, regardless of updated GFX, new tracks and a new website.They're getting closer to that. In this release you can race against ghost replays, which as I recall was noted previously as a precursor to multiplayer. While the dev team had planned on releasing LAN multiplayer in 0.9.2 they found it still needed to be polished so they held it back.
From the article:
"As mentioned in the previous post, networked multiplayer is unfortunately not available yet as there is more work needed to make it work well. We have done some serious work, and a lot of improvements to show, but feel that it is not yet good enough for a special LAN-only mode. More work is needed to make LAN mode work good enough for an enjoyable game experience, and we decided to spent more time and have a good release instead of one that would potentially suffer from stuttering. But stay tuned for more news on networking, it is our top priority."
Open source racer SuperTuxKart 0.9.2 officially released with a new website
4 Jul 2016 at 9:09 am UTC
You can also easily install STK on a Steam Machine.
4 Jul 2016 at 9:09 am UTC
Quoting: leillo1975I think that this game is perfect to play with my kids. It's a pity that there are not a decent Android version to play in tablets.Here's one option --> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zpwebsites.linuxonandroid&hl=en [External Link]
You can also easily install STK on a Steam Machine.
Developer breaks silence about 'The Silent Age', a point-and-click adventure for which a Linux port was promised
30 Jun 2016 at 8:37 pm UTC
When you're looking to develop and distribute a game commercially, targeting one platform in particular can make good business sense. It's not as though releasing a game exclusively for one title means you're holding back from hitting some switch to magically port it to other platforms. There are technical challenges involved to supporting other systems.
Accordingly, if SteamOS ever got popular enough that a game studio could make a healthy profit supporting it exclusively and then worry about porting it to other platforms later, I don't see how that's a bad thing. As you said yourself, it's not *forcing* anyone to use GNU/Linux. It's just giving incentive to those people who will try a whole new system just to play one game. This in turn means a greater install base for SteamOS and accordingly more incentive for developers to support GNU/Linux commercially.
Obviously what would be better is if you could write once, run anywhere, for everything. But that's effectively just creating a single platform anyways. If there really was no effort involved at all in supporting multiple platforms, then you're not truly supporting multiple platforms but rather a single monolithic cross-platform platform--and considering how those kinds of efforts have gone in the past (e.g. Java) that approach potentially has its own drawbacks.
In short: Exclusives aren't necessarily a bad thing. They're just a fact of life.
30 Jun 2016 at 8:37 pm UTC
Quoting: tuubiIt takes extra development effort to make a piece of software available on another platform. I would love to see Gambas ported to MS Windows, but it's exclusive to GNU/Linux right now. The same goes with a lot of GNOME and KDE apps like gThumb and K3b. What if I want to use Nautilus or Konqueror instead of Windows Explorer? No can do.Quoting: GuestSo really, it would force people out of their comfort zone (really, windows is about as comfortable as shirt made out of tree bark) to try something new.I don't get this. How do exclusives force anyone to do anything at all? If a game isn't available on my OS, I shrug and move on. I certainly do not feel compelled to install Windows or buy a Console just so I can play them. Exclusives are bad, full stop. Besides, if you love Linux for the freedom it affords you, why do you feel the need to force it down someone's throat?
When you're looking to develop and distribute a game commercially, targeting one platform in particular can make good business sense. It's not as though releasing a game exclusively for one title means you're holding back from hitting some switch to magically port it to other platforms. There are technical challenges involved to supporting other systems.
Accordingly, if SteamOS ever got popular enough that a game studio could make a healthy profit supporting it exclusively and then worry about porting it to other platforms later, I don't see how that's a bad thing. As you said yourself, it's not *forcing* anyone to use GNU/Linux. It's just giving incentive to those people who will try a whole new system just to play one game. This in turn means a greater install base for SteamOS and accordingly more incentive for developers to support GNU/Linux commercially.
Obviously what would be better is if you could write once, run anywhere, for everything. But that's effectively just creating a single platform anyways. If there really was no effort involved at all in supporting multiple platforms, then you're not truly supporting multiple platforms but rather a single monolithic cross-platform platform--and considering how those kinds of efforts have gone in the past (e.g. Java) that approach potentially has its own drawbacks.
In short: Exclusives aren't necessarily a bad thing. They're just a fact of life.
What game would you most like to see on Linux this year?
29 Feb 2016 at 5:34 pm UTC
29 Feb 2016 at 5:34 pm UTC
Obduction --> http://obduction.com/ [External Link]
Escape from Tarkov, the new Russian Survival MMO FPS looks like it's heading to Linux
25 Jan 2016 at 5:16 am UTC
25 Jan 2016 at 5:16 am UTC
Kind of interesting to see they don't use a native word for certain terms like "Linux"--as opposed to, say, "Линакс."
Feral Interactive are teasing a new Linux port on their radar
19 Jan 2016 at 11:11 pm UTC Likes: 1
Half-Life 3 confirmed as SteamOS exclusive!
19 Jan 2016 at 11:11 pm UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: LinasOk, so pearls are made under water. Bioshock takes place under water. One is for the first Bioshock. Pearls are shiny, means it is a remastered version. Guys, remastered Bioshock 1 is comming to Linux!1 ^ 3 = 1...
Half-Life 3 confirmed as SteamOS exclusive!
- CachyOS founder explains why they didn't join the new Open Gaming Collective (OGC)
- The original FINAL FANTASY VII is getting a new refreshed edition
- GPD release their own statement on the confusion with Bazzite Linux support [updated]
- Proton Experimental updated to fix the EA app again on SteamOS / Linux
- Stop Destroying Videogames initiative to get a public hearing organised by the European Parliament
- > See more over 30 days here
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