Latest Comments by Doc Angelo
The Linux Civilization VI patch with cross-platform multiplayer hit a bug, going back to approvals this week
28 Aug 2018 at 5:50 pm UTC
28 Aug 2018 at 5:50 pm UTC
Games are a case where "Linux support" is more fitting. You can have GNU software on multiple operating systems (BSD, Windows, whatever), but games that were made and compiled for Linux don't run on them.
I'm all for giving GNU credit, but calling Linux binaries having "GNU support" can be misleading.
I'm all for giving GNU credit, but calling Linux binaries having "GNU support" can be misleading.
The Linux Civilization VI patch with cross-platform multiplayer hit a bug, going back to approvals this week
28 Aug 2018 at 11:05 am UTC
28 Aug 2018 at 11:05 am UTC
Quoting: TheSHEEEPOnce you recognize you have this problem, the solutions really aren't too hard to pull off. So... yeah, I somewhat doubt this is the (only or even main) problem here.Is it really that easy to translate the game logic from floating point to fixed without changing the behavior of the AI and other things? Even the slightest change that only occurs in extremely rare cases would render it non-compatible.
The Linux Civilization VI patch with cross-platform multiplayer hit a bug, going back to approvals this week
28 Aug 2018 at 10:00 am UTC Likes: 1
As far as I remember, floating point operations don't always get 100% exactly the same results on each platform/compiler/processor. Sometimes, they are just a teeny tiny little bit off, which may or may not throw your game logic up. If you have deterministic game logic and never check if the results are the same on each platform, you have a hard time fixing that afterwards when the game is finished.
As far as I understand, Civ 6 is deterministic. In multiplayer rounds, only the player input is synced, and every system calculates the game state for itself. If one system comes to different results, the round is out of sync. That's why there was no cross platform MP until now.
28 Aug 2018 at 10:00 am UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: PatolaIs there any programming literature on this problem or is it always case-by-case?Of that particular thing? Not that I know of. But I'm sure that there are plenty of books on development where this is mentioned. Buddies of mine are devs (only partly in game industry) and from what I've heard, it is a well known thing. I've read about it myself rather often, also.
As far as I remember, floating point operations don't always get 100% exactly the same results on each platform/compiler/processor. Sometimes, they are just a teeny tiny little bit off, which may or may not throw your game logic up. If you have deterministic game logic and never check if the results are the same on each platform, you have a hard time fixing that afterwards when the game is finished.
As far as I understand, Civ 6 is deterministic. In multiplayer rounds, only the player input is synced, and every system calculates the game state for itself. If one system comes to different results, the round is out of sync. That's why there was no cross platform MP until now.
The Linux Civilization VI patch with cross-platform multiplayer hit a bug, going back to approvals this week
28 Aug 2018 at 8:23 am UTC Likes: 1
28 Aug 2018 at 8:23 am UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: PatolaThis seems to be an enormous development hurdle with likely lots of traps and unexpected behavior due to the small differences involved in calculations of different libraries. I just hope the knowledge that these people have accumulated due to this task is not lost being confined to the proprietary source code of this game. It would be nice if they published a document or book with 'lessons learned' from this programming experience.It's not a new thing. It's well known. Apparently, some people at Firaxis just didn't give a shit or actually didn't know about it. If they wanted Civ 6 to be multiplatform from the start and used a mathematical library in a way that doesn't work the same everywhere, they (Firaxis) simply fucked up.
GOG have gone on the offensive with their new 'FCK DRM' initiative
24 Aug 2018 at 1:00 pm UTC Likes: 2
The latest bundle is about weird non-game software that has the appeal of pre-installed crap. I canceled my news subscription right then and there. They are really getting obnoxious.
24 Aug 2018 at 1:00 pm UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: GuestHumble once was the multiplatform and DRM-free motor. I don't see them actively pushing in either of that directions anymore :(That's true. They drastically changed after being bought up by IGN.
The latest bundle is about weird non-game software that has the appeal of pre-installed crap. I canceled my news subscription right then and there. They are really getting obnoxious.
GOG have gone on the offensive with their new 'FCK DRM' initiative
23 Aug 2018 at 11:11 pm UTC Likes: 2
23 Aug 2018 at 11:11 pm UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: GuestThat's not really a good answer for this question.Quoting: Mountain ManToo bad they also seem to have a "FCK LINUX" initiative. When is the Linux version of GoG Galaxy supposed to be released again?You don't need GOG galaxy to install or play games from GOG.
GOG have gone on the offensive with their new 'FCK DRM' initiative
22 Aug 2018 at 7:11 pm UTC Likes: 2
22 Aug 2018 at 7:11 pm UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: PikoloThe official version is that the Witcher 3 CD release had DRM which got cracked while the online(aka. through GOG) release didn't. And I think both happened simultaneouslyI took a quick look at this and it seems like the Witcher 3 disc version was sold before the game was officially released. You had to download a small patch to make the game work. If this server ceases to exist, the discs are becoming useless on their own. Though, you can backup the patch and put it along with the original discs. It's suboptimal, but I think it's kinda OK. They wanted to sell physical pre-orders, and this was their way of doing it.
GOG have gone on the offensive with their new 'FCK DRM' initiative
22 Aug 2018 at 6:17 pm UTC
22 Aug 2018 at 6:17 pm UTC
Quoting: qptain NemoThere is this list. I don't know how accurate it is. https://www.gog.com/mix/games_with_multiplayer_drm [External Link]Thanks for that. I just took a quick look, and at least BATTLETECH [External Link] is missing from that list. It would be interesting to know what their stance on MP-DRM is.
GOG have gone on the offensive with their new 'FCK DRM' initiative
22 Aug 2018 at 4:36 pm UTC Likes: 1
22 Aug 2018 at 4:36 pm UTC Likes: 1
Question: Are there games on GOG with a multiplayer component that either relies on a third party account or a proprietary master server? If not, that would be really cool and in line with the aspect of "digital preservation".
GOG have gone on the offensive with their new 'FCK DRM' initiative
22 Aug 2018 at 4:24 pm UTC Likes: 2
22 Aug 2018 at 4:24 pm UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoOnly 100% DRMFREE download stores are valid for to be listed on FCKDRM... Humble Bundle is just an Steam key reseller with some DRMFREE games.Just a tiny correction: You can download all DRM-free games via the Humble Bundle web page. You get an additional Steam key, but you don't need to use it. Of course, that doesn't mean that every single game on HumbleBundle is DRM free.
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