Latest Comments by const
A lot of people were clearly waiting on the official Steam Deck Docking Station
12 Oct 2022 at 3:05 pm UTC Likes: 1
12 Oct 2022 at 3:05 pm UTC Likes: 1
I Just printed out a nice stand with wood-filamen and attachted a nice hub with lots of connectivity to it. Couldn't be happier.
KDE Plasma 5.26 is out now
12 Oct 2022 at 9:55 am UTC
We might be frustrated about it, but that hardly stops anyone from using the services.
12 Oct 2022 at 9:55 am UTC
Quoting: Purple Library GuyYet how is money supposed to be at stake? Even most of us here don't really care. Nearly everyone has a supported device to fall back to. Heck, most TVs and projectors come with these apps these days.Quoting: constAnd that's why they won't write a general Linux App, even if our numbers exploded.Ehhhh, if there was enough money at stake, they'd find a way. Arrangements would be made.
We might be frustrated about it, but that hardly stops anyone from using the services.
KDE Plasma 5.26 is out now
11 Oct 2022 at 9:30 pm UTC Likes: 2
Yes, there are browser plugins to force 1080p, but these are still no official support in any way. You can consider them a bug in the implementation.
The real crazy thing is that with whatever devices netflix/prime/disney+/etc. officially supports, like major consoles, set-top boxes, etc. the signal is probably going through hdmi at some point and from there the gates are just open. You can get hardware to record that signal very very cheap with the added benefit of hardware encoding. So even if widevine wouldn't exist, professional pirates would probably stick to their approach...
So, from a technical point of view, it makes no sense we need higher widevine levels for anything, still the services are bound to their contracts and probably some not-so-technical decision makers. And that's why they won't write a general Linux App, even if our numbers exploded.
11 Oct 2022 at 9:30 pm UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: KohlyKohlNetflix, Prime, etc. will restrict you to 720p if the app or widevine detect root, andbox or anything else funny, even on Android. Don't want to give widevine too much credit, but on paper it probably kind of made sense when it was planned.Quoting: scaineSure, I know it's DRM. But I'm curious why I can play Netflix at 720p, but not 1080p or 4K. And DRM is usually optional - like, install this codec/software and now we trust you, you can play. But we don't get that option on the Linux desktop. We get 720p if we're lucky, like Netflix, Prime, Disney+, and nothing if we're not (NowTV). It's weird.In the case of Netflix, it is 720p even on Windows with Chrome. The 720p restriction is only because of support and one can easily enable 1080p for Netflix if they want.
On Netflix, you can check the technical specs of a given stream by hitting CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-D, which confirms 720p for me.
EDIT: I guess Mr-Victory answered that one. I didn't realise there were "levels" in the WideVine DRM. I didn't even realise that the WideVine firefox plug-in was what was giving me that ability to play at 720p.
https://github.com/truedread/netflix-1080p [External Link]
As for Android, it doesn't make any sense why it is allowed there since one can just build their own version of Android.
I can see why it would be fine with Roku or similar devices since one cannot modify the kernel in those devices.
Yes, there are browser plugins to force 1080p, but these are still no official support in any way. You can consider them a bug in the implementation.
The real crazy thing is that with whatever devices netflix/prime/disney+/etc. officially supports, like major consoles, set-top boxes, etc. the signal is probably going through hdmi at some point and from there the gates are just open. You can get hardware to record that signal very very cheap with the added benefit of hardware encoding. So even if widevine wouldn't exist, professional pirates would probably stick to their approach...
So, from a technical point of view, it makes no sense we need higher widevine levels for anything, still the services are bound to their contracts and probably some not-so-technical decision makers. And that's why they won't write a general Linux App, even if our numbers exploded.
KDE Plasma 5.26 is out now
11 Oct 2022 at 3:43 pm UTC Likes: 4
I guess the only way around that would be having GPUs that can receive, decode and display the stream in firmware without any further OS controlled IO.
11 Oct 2022 at 3:43 pm UTC Likes: 4
Quoting: minkiuWith the Big Screen feature, the Deck could easily replace any Android TV set box... now if only Netflix et al. could be bothered to package their apps for linux... :DThey won't because they can't deliver high resolution video on linux, anyway. Their license agreements with publishers demand them to check for full encryption pipelines, even though everyone knows the last chain, hdcp, can be broken by most cheap hdmi splitters from bargain bins. It's really stupid, but that's how things are. There's no way for them to talk all big publishers into delivering the content without these checks and Linux will not get official support for high-resolution streaming for years, if ever.
I guess the only way around that would be having GPUs that can receive, decode and display the stream in firmware without any further OS controlled IO.
The new Steam Mobile App is getting close to release
11 Oct 2022 at 7:40 am UTC Likes: 1
Even Amazon failed with its Appstore, even though they got instant market penetration with their devices. It's incredible hard to counter google with their quadruple of intersecting monopolys and control over the platforms. Yes, Android isn't a completely closed platforms, but the little hurdles they integrate, especially for open source apps, are working.
Yet I agree that a specialized game store might find its niche. I always thought itch.io should really invest in theirs. With more comfortable handling and a review system, I bet they would have profited. A number of players itch could count as success would be a failure for Valve, though. And their investment would need to be much much bigger.
What I really want, though, is a Steam Phone with real SteamOS, on ARM, Wayland and Vulkan, only running on hardware with upstreamed drivers. Valve would need to tackle andbox, which might be a bigger project then Proton, but it's at least a path in the future. Android is a failed platform gone berserk. The sheer amount of users having critical apps on devices that were not updated for years because the vendor doesn't care is just so messed up. Valve could be able to break the duopoly, but not from inside Android.
11 Oct 2022 at 7:40 am UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: EikeWhich would be a major no-no for 99% of all Android users. I did place F-Droid on several devices of family and friends. One of them actually manages to use it and update packages, the others are scared of any update notification and just don't do it.Quoting: BotonoskiOf course it'll never happen, Google Play doesn't allow appstores to be distributed on their appstore.They could do it as apk, just as F-Droid does.
Even Amazon failed with its Appstore, even though they got instant market penetration with their devices. It's incredible hard to counter google with their quadruple of intersecting monopolys and control over the platforms. Yes, Android isn't a completely closed platforms, but the little hurdles they integrate, especially for open source apps, are working.
Yet I agree that a specialized game store might find its niche. I always thought itch.io should really invest in theirs. With more comfortable handling and a review system, I bet they would have profited. A number of players itch could count as success would be a failure for Valve, though. And their investment would need to be much much bigger.
What I really want, though, is a Steam Phone with real SteamOS, on ARM, Wayland and Vulkan, only running on hardware with upstreamed drivers. Valve would need to tackle andbox, which might be a bigger project then Proton, but it's at least a path in the future. Android is a failed platform gone berserk. The sheer amount of users having critical apps on devices that were not updated for years because the vendor doesn't care is just so messed up. Valve could be able to break the duopoly, but not from inside Android.
Facepunch put out a fresh statement on Rust for Steam Deck / Linux
8 Oct 2022 at 6:07 pm UTC
8 Oct 2022 at 6:07 pm UTC
Quoting: FurbyOnSteroidBut they are fine that the EAC-Team splits resources for Mac? Which afaik, after googling, got support the same day as linux/steam deck? Which seems to even have full native support still (I guess mac doesn't have something as effective as Proton, so it's not that easy to ditch support for it)?I'm not sure if EAC on Mac is userspace only, but as I pretexted: "If you eat their arguments". In my opinion, Garry has long been and continues to be anti-linux, but that's just an opinion.
I'm really struggling to buy that. I really don't want to be a conspiracy guy that always sees the evil in people/companies but I'm genuinely struggling in this case.
Facepunch put out a fresh statement on Rust for Steam Deck / Linux
8 Oct 2022 at 9:22 am UTC
EAC on Linux/Proton only does userspace anticheat, on Windows it can hook into the signed kernel. It might be possible for EAC to write an open source kernel module, upsteam it and then whitelist certain signed kernels, but that would be a consistent source of work, as this would take a lot of validation and signature handling. Also, I wouldn't take bets if it would actually be considered a feature by the kernel developers, so it might never get upstreamed.
Even if they did all that, Rust Developers would probably not use it since they used a crazy argument that they don't want to put support work on EAC for Linux. That's the real point, they don't want us as customers.
8 Oct 2022 at 9:22 am UTC
Quoting: GeeksOnHugsSo why is it more difficult on Rust then other games? Is there anything Valve can do to make anti-cheat easier for developers on SteamOS? Maybe Valve could build their own into the OS and offer it to devs free of charge? I dunno if that's a good idea or not, just wondering.If you eat their arguments, it's not about how easy it is, but how intrusive and proven it is.
Damn cheaters. I don't understand the motivation, wouldn't you get no satisfaction from winning if you cheat? What's the point exactly?
EAC on Linux/Proton only does userspace anticheat, on Windows it can hook into the signed kernel. It might be possible for EAC to write an open source kernel module, upsteam it and then whitelist certain signed kernels, but that would be a consistent source of work, as this would take a lot of validation and signature handling. Also, I wouldn't take bets if it would actually be considered a feature by the kernel developers, so it might never get upstreamed.
Even if they did all that, Rust Developers would probably not use it since they used a crazy argument that they don't want to put support work on EAC for Linux. That's the real point, they don't want us as customers.
Facepunch put out a fresh statement on Rust for Steam Deck / Linux
7 Oct 2022 at 1:17 pm UTC Likes: 4
The SteamDeck and Proton have changed up the situation, a lot of former windows gamers now own a Linux gaming machine, yet we won't know how many people would play Rust unless they open it up.
I still own a copy of this game since I got it from a humble bundle and wasn't able to refund it that way. I'll never consider buying a game from them ever again.
7 Oct 2022 at 1:17 pm UTC Likes: 4
Quoting: mr-victoryIMO the problem with Rust is that Linux playerbase is tiny. I remember that they shared user stats where Windows was 200K, Mac was 1-2K and Linux was a shy 200. The ratio (%0.1) doesn't correlate with Steam stats (%1) so the playerbase is really tiny. Also they expect cheat makers to switch to Linux which makes everything worse.The Linux userbase was tiny at that time because the native port was really really bad and wine didn't work well, either. It's only natural Linux gamers would rather not play it. The 0.1% ratio just reflected how bad the port was handled. They even acknowledged that when they shut down the Linux port.
Apparently they are still considering it, enough to switch to EOS EAC but still have doubts. Maybe a few more hundred thousand Steam Decks could resolve their doubts.Quoting: Stevencheating is as bad as everIf cheating is bad as ever, I don't think Linux would make it worse:grin:
The SteamDeck and Proton have changed up the situation, a lot of former windows gamers now own a Linux gaming machine, yet we won't know how many people would play Rust unless they open it up.
I still own a copy of this game since I got it from a humble bundle and wasn't able to refund it that way. I'll never consider buying a game from them ever again.
Trombone Champ is my new favourite rhythm game
7 Oct 2022 at 1:00 pm UTC
7 Oct 2022 at 1:00 pm UTC
Quoting: Purple Library GuyI remember a family trip to a tavern in the black forest where someone very very old played the zither, like super epic.Quoting: PhiladelphusApparently in organology (something I had never heard of before five minutes ago) lyres are part of the zither family.Quoting: Purple Library GuyWait, you're telling me trombones aren't just modern lyres?!? :shock:Quoting: Philadelphusit would probably sound cacophonic. :grin:As I recall, he played a lyre, not a trombone. :grin:
Ahh, I just wanted to say "zither". Zither, zither, zither . . .
Facepunch put out a fresh statement on Rust for Steam Deck / Linux
7 Oct 2022 at 12:57 pm UTC Likes: 8
7 Oct 2022 at 12:57 pm UTC Likes: 8
Never played this game, but the fact that you can put weeks of work in a session that can be destroyed by a cheater indicates your work can be destroyed in other ways, too. Like senior players or bad luck. That's a very bad pitch, if you ask me.
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