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Latest Comments by qptain Nemo
The Steam Linux market share for June was 0.52% as Steam is still growing rather rapidly
7 Jul 2018 at 3:34 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: Sudo_halttrash calendar support (dont even get me started)
Well now I'm curious.

Iratus: Lord of the Dead, a dark challenging turn-based RPG is coming to Linux
4 Jul 2018 at 11:39 am UTC Likes: 1

I really hope it brings its own take on the DD-style design and balance. And gosh, I sure hope it throws thankless grinding out of the formula completely.

The Steam Linux market share for June was 0.52% as Steam is still growing rather rapidly
4 Jul 2018 at 11:10 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: Guest
Quoting: qptain Nemo
Quoting: GuestWhen Mojang states it will reduce support for 7th Gen. consoles because they don't add up to 5% of those active in its 144,000,000 user base, that tells one a lot about how these elephants move in rooms.

https://minecraft.net/en-us/article/update-aquatic-coming-legacy-console-editions [External Link]

Linux needs its own network-effect augmented category killer, much like DOOM (1993) was for DOS. Lord GabeN was wise to hinge Windows 95 on gaming compatibility and Gates was wise to listen, as Windows compared to Apple and Commodore back in 1993 makes today's Linux look like a flawless blue diamond.

However, just as the highly-coveted and super-sexy Apple II merely became "the thing" that ran the smash-hit business app VisiCalc, and DOS was just "the thing" for the exploding PC office and gaming market, so Linux must become "the thing" in its own network-advantaged right. What that is, ultimately, is anyone's guess.

Right now, "the thing" is just about any workable Win64 platform that can launch PUBG or Fortnite.

“Computers aren’t the thing. They’re the thing that gets us to the thing.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQLbi4VXYcA [External Link]
I think you're right.

Do you think it's possible to achieve that without exclusivity? Must the network-effect augmented category killer be platform exclusive?
Good question! It's hard to argue with the logic of Nintendo and Sony welding their exclusives to the hardware. But with the network effect, you need enough glowing hot coals to keep those fires burning. There is nothing intrinsically better there. It's just (feet-to-the-fire) lock-in. PS Vita and Wii U proved how tenuous and fleeting brand loyalties can be.

On the other hand, MS breaking Xbox games out of their hardware jail was an interesting move. Clearly, MS is ready to dispense its gaming goods for its gaming services. (PS NOW and GeForce NOW seem to want the same; still exclusive, but less perennial flower pot and more walled-in garden.) Aside from 4K backward-compatible game titles and certain HDR video advantages on the XBone, I can't see how PC Gaming and Xbox don't eventually merge under the same banner within the big box/web stores. Again, it's an interesting gambit, especially considering how far Dell bent over to make the Steam Machine a reality in those venues. MS might be able to claim victory from the jaws of defeat there. :-/

I realized when writing that post, when it comes to pwning the competition, Linux wrote the book! The fact that WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) Ubuntu terminal console even exists is a testament to that. Unfortunately, due again to the network effect, tools and workflow, game production still favors the installed-base platforms. As I've stated elsewhere, I'd like to see how the meta "game within a game" Dreams fares on the PS4. If that takes off, stand-alone hardware platforms seem pretty much over to me.

Obviously, a closed-hardware platform is only good for a limited life-cycle, only to be reborn in DOS Boxes, ROMS and Wine. In the long run, the real question would seem to be loyalty. Take the home arcade-machine enthusiasts for example. Is it more important that the guts are running a Windows or CentOS box or that the Tempest knob and ROM are authentic? [ibid. VisiCalc and software as a driver of hardware sales.] I would say the latter. In that respect, Valve is waaaaaaaaay ahead of the curve. (Just think, the product code from a set of Half-Life 3-1/2" floppies for Windows PC from twenty years ago can still be used today to download and play that licensed copy in front of a television in 4K, with a controller, on Linux. <---Now THAT'S loyalty! Try that with Halo.)

Assuming the "Movies Anywhere"/"TV Everywhere"/Brand-X NOW/Brand-Y NOW/Brand-Z NOW phenomenon continues, if Linux can—somehow—become the de facto standard for games development in the cloud (be it Dota 2 Reborn, Valve's VR Destinations, or Twitch and Lumberyard from Amazon), I would be hard-pressed to envision how it doesn't dominate once the brain-trust and mindshare move to Linux's home-field advantage.
It seems to me that the bottom line is that for the kind of growth we're talking about ultimately you need an advantage and an advantage can't exist if it's not unique to a specific thing, otherwise how can it be an advantage? If something is shared between operating systems then the network effect is also shared, and self-saturation might be in full effect, making so the network effect benefits things that are more popular proportionally more. Like I'd argue that WSL as damning of an admission of inferiority as it may be, is still a victory for Windows as it provides more reasons to use Windows, not Linux. This makes any methods that don't rely on exclusivity rare and precious and I wish I knew more of them. I suppose being able to direct the momentum of the network effect, that is, putting a particular option in a favorable light, could be effective.

The Steam Linux market share for June was 0.52% as Steam is still growing rather rapidly
3 Jul 2018 at 12:14 pm UTC

Quoting: GuestWhen Mojang states it will reduce support for 7th Gen. consoles because they don't add up to 5% of those active in its 144,000,000 user base, that tells one a lot about how these elephants move in rooms.

https://minecraft.net/en-us/article/update-aquatic-coming-legacy-console-editions [External Link]

Linux needs its own network-effect augmented category killer, much like DOOM (1993) was for DOS. Lord GabeN was wise to hinge Windows 95 on gaming compatibility and Gates was wise to listen, as Windows compared to Apple and Commodore back in 1993 makes today's Linux look like a flawless blue diamond.

However, just as the highly-coveted and super-sexy Apple II merely became "the thing" that ran the smash-hit business app VisiCalc, and DOS was just "the thing" for the exploding PC office and gaming market, so Linux must become "the thing" in its own network-advantaged right. What that is, ultimately, is anyone's guess.

Right now, "the thing" is just about any workable Win64 platform that can launch PUBG or Fortnite.

“Computers aren’t the thing. They’re the thing that gets us to the thing.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQLbi4VXYcA [External Link]
I think you're right.

Do you think it's possible to achieve that without exclusivity? Must the network-effect augmented category killer be platform exclusive?

Adventure and strategy mix 'This Is the Police 2' to release August 2nd with Linux support
3 Jul 2018 at 11:22 am UTC Likes: 1

It looks to me like it will involve combat but I'd also expect the tactical situations to be about more than combat. After all you're supposed to conduct police business not just murderize everything in sight.

GamingOnLinux is officially 9 years old this week
3 Jul 2018 at 11:08 am UTC Likes: 3

Quoting: HamishI just took a look at some of the account profile numbers similar to mine. Profile number 1 is Liam of course, profile number 2 no longer exists, then you have MaximB who directed me to GOL in the first place back in 2009 from his own Linux gaming blog, followed by two people who have not logged on since around the time they first joined, before you finally get me clocking in at number 6. Next active poster is at number 12.

I am officially claiming my right to be called a Great Old One and demanding a holiday home be built for me in R'lyeh.
(in a cartoon henchman voice) You got it, boss!

GamingOnLinux is officially 9 years old this week
2 Jul 2018 at 9:21 am UTC Likes: 3

So GOL is still not old enough to drink... :'( Still, Happy birthday, GOL! Live long and prosper!

DXVK for Vulkan-based D3D11 in Wine version 0.61 is out with improved performance
29 Jun 2018 at 3:46 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: GuestCool thanks everyone!

Now if I could find a game that worked properly with a DXVK+wine combination, that'd be nice, lol...
Vampyr works pretty decently from what I can tell.