Quoting: Crazy PenguinNice article, but may be you should extend it by games which GOG hasn't released this week. There we have NOT on GOG but on Steam:
- Cities in Motion Collection
- Metro 2033: Redux
- Metro Last Light Redux

Yep, this has been a really bittersweet week with regard to Linux releases on GOG. However I think Metro: Last Light Redux was released some time ago and only the 2033 Redux has come out this week.

But you missed KoTOR2 in your list, so that evens it out I guess. :P

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Quoting: mulletdeathAnd then there's Cross Reverie: The Trial of Nightmare [External Link], an indie jrpg by another Canadian indie dev Sinxsoft. Looks legit cool. We definitely don't have enough decent jrpgs on Linux (if any?) and maybe games like this succeeding will start to convince Japanese devs over time that we exist. (A man can dream.)

Yeah, thanks for bringing this game up. It was one of the (many) runner-ups that didn't make it into the final article, and by the time we publish the next one its campaign will probably have already ended...

It's probably true that JRPGs are vastly underrepresented on Linux (I'm not really a fan of them, though), but this is expected to change soon-ish with the advent of several Kickstarted examples of the genre: Soul Saga [External Link], Project Phoenix [External Link], Edge of Eternity [External Link], or the recently funded Regalia [External Link].

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Quoting: Samsai

Quoting: IvancilloLike it.

But I wait until GoG or Humble Store releases it DRM-Free.

IndieGameStand has it DRM-Free

The Humble widget in the game's website also provides DRM-free builds, actually.

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Quoting: fleskDoes that mean everything ends up in the same directory, with file path and separators prefixed to the file names?

Exactly, these are the zipfile contents, all in the same directory:

Parcel_Data\level0
Parcel_Data\level1
Parcel_Data\level2
Parcel_Data\level3
Parcel_Data\mainData
Parcel_Data\Managed\ArabicSupport.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\Assembly-CSharp.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\Assembly-CSharp-firstpass.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\Assembly-UnityScript-firstpass.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\Boo.Lang.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\Mono.Security.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\mscorlib.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\System.Core.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\System.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\System.Xml.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.dll.mdb
Parcel_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.UI.dll
Parcel_Data\Managed\UnityScript.Lang.dll
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\1.0\DefaultWsdlHelpGenerator.aspx
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\1.0\machine.config
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\2.0\Browsers\Compat.browser
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\2.0\DefaultWsdlHelpGenerator.aspx
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\2.0\machine.config
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\2.0\settings.map
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\2.0\web.config
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\browscap.ini
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\config
Parcel_Data\Mono\etc\mono\mconfig\config.xml
Parcel_Data\Mono\x86_64\libmono.so
Parcel_Data\Mono\x86\libmono.so
Parcel_Data\Plugins\x86_64\ScreenSelector.so
Parcel_Data\Plugins\x86\ScreenSelector.so
Parcel_Data\resources.assets
Parcel_Data\Resources\unity_builtin_extra
Parcel_Data\Resources\unity default resources
Parcel_Data\Resources\UnityPlayer.png
Parcel_Data\sharedassets0.assets
Parcel_Data\sharedassets1.assets
Parcel_Data\sharedassets2.assets
Parcel_Data\sharedassets3.assets
Parcel_Data\sharedassets4.assets
Parcel_Data\StreamingAssets\version.txt
Parcel.x86
Parcel.x86_64

Out of curiosity I've also downloaded the Windows and MacOS builds, and the same happens in both of them.

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I'm sure only those subscribed to this article's comments will ever read this, but I just wanted to let you know that DRM-free builds were added to the Humble Store some time ago, and the game is now 50% off:
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/parcel_storefront [External Link]

There's a big downside, though: the contents of the zipfile use the Windows-style filesystem names, i.e. with directories separated by backslashes "\" rather than regular slashes "/", so the game complains there's no Parcel_Data directory. I had to manually create all the directory structure, rename all the files, and put them in the correct place before I could play it. :(

I'm going to contact the devs to alert them of this problem.

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Quoting: BeamboomIt tells it exactly how it is.

Allow me to disagree. In my opinion, none of the author's alleged "problems with Linux as a gaming platform" are true:

Quoting: f25025105The overarching problem is that Linux-based operating systems are not designed to facilitate running closed-source binary blobs, let alone blobs that depend on so many system components at once. Graphics drivers are the most visible part, but problems with window, audio and input systems can also be severe, if games are to be held to the strictest standards of competitive PC gaming, particularly for e-sports.

Part of the problem is what we call “Linux” is vague - there are several related, yet different OS sharing that name. Even within a single OS there is sometimes a multitude of choices, sometimes subtle, that can make a problem reproducible only on that user’s machine. There are numerous micro-decisions to be done while writing the software, and sometimes there’s no other specification than the de-facto behavior of the developer’s system. If a user’s system behaves differently, we have a problem.

I'm not particularly tech-savvy, but isn't this just the "fragmentation" fallacy all over again? Aren't the vast majority of these problems solved by shipping the game along with the needed libraries?

Quoting: f25025105Another problem is the cultural clash. Game developers make money from selling their proprietary software (even if sometimes indirectly), and as such are inherently incompatible with FOSS goals. The effect of this is two-fold: not only the likelihood of the developers’ prior experience with Linux is smaller than what would be expected from an average user, but this operating system is built on the principles that are contrary to and sometimes outright incompatible with their modus operandi, which presents them with unique challenges not encountered on other (proprietary) gaming platforms.

To add insult to the injury, Linux gaming community abounds in radically minded folks, who often are not willing to bridge that cultural gap - in spite of Linux gamers themselves being an eclectic minority within the larger, and even more radical, Linux community. It is curious how people could hold seemingly incompatible beliefs at once, both despising the closed source software and demanding its authors to support it on more FOSS platforms (yes, there are people who attempt to run Steam on gNewSense).

If anything, I find this vision of the Linux gaming crowd as highly stereotyped and narrow-minded. Of course Linux gamers are OK with purchasing and running closed-sourced software, like most comercial games are. If everybody was a FOSS zealot as it's suggested here, almost nobody would be playing games and there wouldn't be any digital distribution platform supporting Linux.

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Happy Barry [External Link] to GoL!!! :P

Proud to be a part ot this community.

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Also available on the Humble Store. I bought the Enchanted edition long ago and yesterday I was finally able to download it. Cannot wait to test it and beat it once and for all!

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/trine_storefront [External Link]

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Quoting: Segata SanshiroBOUT2 steals the show on this list in my humble opinion, easily the best point-and-click of the last few years (though closely tied with a few of its German counterparts). I knew that one was Kickstarted though :)

Among the ones that I own and I've played more than 5 minutes to see if they work, I'd put The Fall, Ascendant and Hot Tin Roof on the podium, in no particular order. Although I assume The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 will oust one of them as soon as I get it and play it. :)

Quoting: ShmerlStill waiting for Dex to be released on GOG.

True, they said they'd try to release on GOG [External Link] but they haven't followed up on that since launch day. However, if a DRM-free version is what you're after, you can get it at the Humble Store. But then again, you surely already knew that. :P

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Quoting: scaine

Quoting: Keizgon

Quoting: leillo1975What's your opinion about this?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3 [External Link]

Windows and PS4, Mac and Linux not decided. The are using Unreal Engine 4

As for the opinion on it, well it's kickstarter. We've had failures and successes. This one doesn't outright exclude Linux, but we know it will because the fine print will obviously mislead some people's hopes. Again, it reeks of a Sony advertisement more than anything.

They might not be "decided" but they're clearly focussing purely on Windows and PS4 :

Currently we are planning development only for PC (Windows) and PS4. Other platforms have not been decided yet.

I've learned to stay the hell away from projects that take that approach...

I'm not bringing anything new, but nonetheless this is the answer I've got from the devs:

Quoting: Ys NetPC version will support Windows. Everything else is currently under consideration. Any further news on this will be announced on the Updates page!

So anyone interested, keep visiting the updates page for any news regarding a Linux version. I wouldn't be very optimistic though.

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