Humble Store has Hard West (Steam key) at 70% discount.

Oh, and I'm currently debating whether I should get Downward early access game on Steam, currently 30% discount.

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or via Humble Bundle Monthly Subscription: June 2017 for true bargain hunters ;)

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There are two statistics of merit here:

1) The person who paid money for the game is running Linux.

2) The platform being used for playing the game.

The developer can gain both bits of information from Steam statistics generated by buying or playing the game.

On which note, I have a massive backlog of games, so the person buying is running Linux - and then there's no stats of anyone playing them (yet).

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Quoting: Eike

Quoting: FutureSutureThis basically means that I can no longer gift games to friends who use Windows.

To be honest, it's one way less for us to cheat the system. :)

It's not cheating the system. It is a Linux gamer who paid out the cash for the game.

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Somewhat off topic, but answering this: If a friend has not made any purchases on Steam, then they cannot Add You as a friend. But you are still able to Add Them as a friend, and they need to validate. That makes you Friends on Steam. Until your friend reaches the $5 limit and then they can make friend requests for themselves.

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As someone who (a) sniffs out bargains and (b) is primarily a Linux gamer, the Humble Monthly Subscriptions are generally very tempting. I get them if I like the early unlock, and I only buy one month at a time. If I like the early unlock AND it is out on Linux, then I'm very likely to get the Month's Subscription. Much of the time, I've been happy with the Surprise content, but not blown away by it.

My first Monthly was May 2016, where I got Mad Max ahead of the rumours of it coming to Linux, and then it came to Linux. (Yes, I took a bit of a risk, but I would have played the game on Windows if it didn't come to Linux.)

June 2016 - Rocket League ( + The Forest, Planetary Annihilation Titans, Steredenn, Wasted, ... )

December 2016 - Dragon's Dogma NOT Linux :( ( + The Escapists, Flame in the Flood, Mordheim, Hacknet) - not a good month for Linux. (I really wanted DD, and plan to play on WINE or Windows.)

Feb 2017 - X-COM 2 ( + Steamworld Heist, Okhlos, Ryse son of rome, Husk, ABZU, ... )

March 2017 - Total War: Warhammer ( + RIVE, Flat Heroes, Space Run Galaxy, Poly Bridge, ... )

May 2017 - Dirt Rally + Inside ( + Metrico+, The Turing Test, Undertale, This is the Police, ... )

June 2017 - Stellaris ( + ... don't know yet ... )

The unlisted months were not appealing enough to me, generally because the Early Unlock wasn't Linux or it wasn't a game I'd like.

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Well, my preference would be for it to be DOOM (2016) which does have chain-guns in game. A little video example:

View video on youtube.com

However, general opinion is that it is going to be DoW 3, and my bet is on that being the actual release.

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Something that comes to mind, on reading this:

Assume you have a load of 4-pack game gifts (for instance) lying in your inventory because you haven't gifted them 'yet'. Then under this scheme you gift them to someone, and that person declines the gift. So the rejected gifted game gets put back into your Steam account as Wallet Credit.

1) Is it definitely going to work that way? (Or am I missing something.)

2) If I buy a 4-pack game for £10. The single game is £4 (say). I then 'gift' and get the 3 gifted games rejected by the persons I gifted them to. Then that would mean I get £7.50 of Wallet Credit back in my account instead? Is "that" how it would work? Sounds like a system which is open to "abuse".

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Although this is quite an old article, adding some of my recent experiences (April/May 2017) with 7 Days To Die. I'm playing Alpha 15.2 version.

I have been quite blown-away by the game. In about 3 weeks, I have been excessively playing it (totalling 100+ hours). It is a shame that development has been plodding along fairly slowly for the past 3 years, and it is still considered as Early Access, but despite that the game plays with practically zero crashes (for me).

Quite impressed that the couple of times the game did crash, going back into it took me to the same point in my travels.

So, you might ask, WHY do I think so highly of it?

It is currently a bit of an unpolished diamond. Yes, there are graphical glitches and various minor things could be improved to make it into a more professional product. BUT, its core game play is very good indeed. The game is incredibly immersive and you really feel like you're in this post-apocalyptic setting, doing what you need to do to survive.

You feel like you have lots of choice and freedom to decide how you're going to take things forward.

I started the game not really understanding the controls, not knowing how to begin crafting. I haven't played Rust, Minecraft or similar game. I suppose Dying Light is the closest game I've played to this - But Dying Light doesn't have the base building or resource mining, and there is a lot less strategy, resource, and time management aspects to Dying Light. (However, Dying Light does excel on the other content - fighting mechanics, parkour, 3d graphic models, quests)

You start off with a pretty weak character, and when zombies come shambling over your best bet is to run off. The zombies are the classic shamblers during daytime. So when you're aware of their presence it is easy enough to keep out of their range. But if you aren't watching around yourself, listening for noises, you could miss one and be attacked from behind or even surrounded by a bunch of them. This ties in very well with the scavenging and resource gathering. While you're concentrating on digging for clay (which you need for bricks), and failing to keep an eye around you, then the zombies sneak up and strike (and bam - you're dead). It is one of those immersive aspects of the game.

Similar to the Dying Light game, your character gains ability in particular skills by using those skills. So, running around a lot improves your athletic ability and your stamina and you are able to run around for longer without getting tired. Digging for resources improves your skill in that area, which in turn allows you to mine for resources faster. Your character levels up every so often, and you have a load of possible skills to improve with level-up points. e.g. Improve your archery, your scavenging, your treasure finding ability, your pistol shooting, your crafting speed, your bartering with NPCs. It's a nice progression, and it means that your character gets customised to your play style. Let's say you want to create a cowboy character, then you can aim to develop skills in those directions - i.e. Gun smithing, and pistol and magnum (6-shooter) shooting.

The base building side really comes into play in the evenings in the game world. During evening, the zombies turn from shambling hulks to rather-more-agile awkward runners. They are also a bit better at sensing / smelling you in the evening, which makes it a very deadly time to be out in the woods on your own. So, you aim to build a base during daytime, and hide away in it during the night. While in the base, sorting through your inventory (e.g. putting all your food into this box), crafting items (e.g. making arrows), eating your meagre provisions, planning how you're going to spend the next day (e.g. looking at the map, deciding which way you're going to explore). Also you could be on the battlements of your base, sniping the zombies. All this activity does keep the game very engaging and interesting. Also, the fact that the zombies will sniff you out, and attack the base and break through walls - makes it a very tense and captivating experience.

My very first base was built on the top of a small hill, so I could survey the land around me. It had a locked door in and out, a ladder on the inside leading to the roof. And I could walk around on the roof, with my bow and arrows, out of reach of zombies and somewhere to escape (jump off and keep running!) if they broke the door down. Well, I found out a number of things. The base wasn't up to spec. They broke in. They could climb the ladder and get to the roof. They don't tire, so while you and they run at approx the same speed (at night), they can keep on going where your stamina runs out and you slow down to a crawl.

And that's where the beauty of "7 Days To Die" lies. Once you've been beat, you haven't built a great base, you need to plan how you're going to build a better one. Where are you going to put it. How you're going to fortify it. And doing all this while thinking about all the resources you need to collect, e.g. wood for building, food for nutrition, clean water for safe drinking.

Very immersive. You really feel like you're in the zombie-ridden world, trying to survive, thinking what you're going to do to avoid being killed. Freedom of choice to do things the way you see fit. A big realistic environment - Plains, snow-covered mountains, forests, towns, farms, hot deserts, rivers, lakes. The environment - e.g. Wetness, Cold, Heat - All affect you, so you need to counter those conditions.

Even though it is Early Access, I'm really enjoying it as it is running now. I'm actually surprised at how great this game is. Really addicted by it. Want to play more and more of it.

BUT, one little thing I've noticed now that I've put quite a bit into the game. It gets harder and harder over time, and I'm starting to get frustrated that the threat is too great for me to cope with any more. There are some ways to cheat the game, but I'm not keen to resort to such things. Also, the game is modification rich and there are lots of config settings, so I could probably turn down the threat a bit if I wanted.

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Picked up the full Humble Very Positive Bundle for myself. I was particularly interested in "The Curious Expedition" but the rest were appealing. "Stephen's Sausage Roll" is lauded as a great game.

Also, this deal is still on:

Duke Grabowski, Mighty Swashbuckler at 72% discount, and includes Steam key and DRM-free download. (It is similar to old-skool Lucas Arts point and click adventures.) I bought it myself a couple of days ago (with the Humble Subscription discount, so even cheaper.)

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