A Linux-developed game that is looking reasonably modern with honest 3D graphics (not a derivative of some open-sourced ancient engine like "ID Tech 2") and not a pixel-styled one? Color me impressed!

A pity, it does not have an itch.io page (yet); nothing to bookmark. :(

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Quoting: legluondunetIf it works nice with Steamplay, why the dev should bother develop another port for the same result?

Good question. But incorrect, IMHO.
The real question is not about whether a game "works nice with Steamplay" or not, but about Linux users' will to pay for said Windows game.
If the majority of the "Linux gamers" finds that paying for a Windows game (with all applied downsides: showstopper-updates, sudden additions of not-working DRM, inability to request technical support or leave a review etc.) is totally acceptable, then the developers are 100% correct in their decision. Otherwise, they kinda have to release the native port in order to show good will towards Linux gaming community.

Ultimately, it all depends on the gamers, not developers.

Quoting: F.UltraYeah I'm almost 100% sure that the game developers are looking very intensively at how we 1% perform our purchases when determining their future road maps for which technology or platform to use.

And Mac's 3% sure make a big difference in their "thought train". :)
Honestly, I think it is more about perception. "MacOS" (or "OSX" or "MacOS X" or whatever) and Macs' in general are well-established products, known since the notorious "Mac vs. PC" ads and often viewed as THE "PC" (misused as the euphemism for Windows) alternative. Mac users often even refuse to call their Macs "PCs". Meanwhile Linux is not perceived as something serious in the personal computer market.

Quoting: liamdaweAnother point of Steam Play I don't think I talked much about, is that it spreads our purchases even thinner with our smaller market share. Not something I've seen others talk about either, just something to think on.

Actually, Josh 'Cheeseness' Bush was among the first to [talk about all of the Proton™ positive and negative consequences](http://cheesetalks.net/proton-linux-gaming-history.php#potential-pitfalls). Truly, a comprehensive article, IMO.

Quoting: GuestIn other words, if anything, you don't want developers seeing the fact you've paid for the Windows game and are playing it on Linux because that disincentivizes Linux support. If ALL Linux gamers were happy with zero support and with funding and paying for the Windows version, developers would have ZERO incentive for releasing Linux support.

Exactly! Of course, ideally one should never even pay for a Windows game in the first place (no, I am not propagating "piracy", there are many legal ways to get a Windows game without paying; some of the greatest even are freeware!).

But accidents happen (failed Kickstarter projects, backlog from the old Windows-days, blind purchases or games from bundles and so on). WINE should be used to ease the pain of switching to Linux for newcomers, not to spread out limited money and time for already established Linux gamers.

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Quoting: liamdaweI did email them to see what's going on as it was supposed to support Linux - no reply.

I believe, the "We're looking into it currently. Stay tuned." [External Link] is their most recent reply on these.

I am pessimistic, though. The company is in a bind: they were financially forced to release what effectively is a one third of the game "as is" in order to stay afloat and not shut down entirely. Basically, the very future of the game depends on the initial sales… Alas, I do not see the game making enough noise on the launch. :( And from the impressions I managed to gather from GOG forums, people are doubtful: they fear the rest of the game will be sold as separate DLC's and are not ready to buy "unfinished" product. Sadly, the developers are staying silent on the matter. At least, the reviews from the owners are positive.

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Quoting: liamdawe

Quoting: Alm888I am ashamed to admit, but it is "Pathologic 2" for me this weekend.

It is not available for Linux (albeit working on WINE 4.9 vanilla), currently features only one of the three planned(?) storylines and buggy as hell (memory leaks and freezes. Yes, on Windows it is the same; I've checked against some walkthroughs on YouTube. Disabling shadows help a lot), but playable (in 1024x768 virtual desktop) even on my humble GPU.

It is a shame this game is not available on Linux (and, as usual, I am not persuading anyone into spending money on a Windows game), because the atmosphere is there and the writing has improved a lot since the original.

Kinda amazed you're willing to admit this after your rants at me for covering a game played with Steam Play...

The only reason I play this is because I am a backer and received my GOG copy from Kickstarter. It is a shame that the project is basically a flop and we will not receive the game promised.

P.S. Please, note that I never was against WINE per se and using it to play pre-owned Windows games (and in case of this Kickstarter, the damage has already been done, so no point to restrict myself from salvaging at least something out of that mess). I am only against promoting Proton™ as a legitimate way of spending money without any, even the most flimsy, evidence a game will come to Linux or its developers care at all.

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I am ashamed to admit, but it is "Pathologic 2" for me this weekend.

It is not available for Linux (albeit working on WINE 4.9 vanilla), currently features only one of the three planned(?) storylines and buggy as hell (memory leaks and freezes. Yes, on Windows it is the same; I've checked against some walkthroughs on YouTube. Disabling shadows help a lot), but playable (in 1024x768 virtual desktop) even on my humble GPU.

It is a shame this game is not available on Linux (and, as usual, I am not persuading anyone into spending money on a Windows game), because the atmosphere is there and the writing has improved a lot sinse the original.

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Quoting: DerpFoxI had two different answers from @GOGcom and @GOGcomFR. The French twitter account for GoG say "GOG GALAXY sera disponible à la béta sur Windows et Mac ! =)" (GOG GALAXY 2.0 will be available on Windows and Mac for the beta) where as the english one answer "GOG GALAXY 2.0 will be available on Windows and Mac.". Wich is not quite the same thing.

You are probably putting too much thought into this French response. The Russian answer [External Link] basically mimics the English one.
I think, after recent layoffs due to some stray comments on Twitter/forum all GOG stuff are instructed to give only approved information. If you look closely, no GOG employee ever used the "Linux" word anywhere. It is almost as if the name have become "The Not To Be Spoken Name". :(

Quoting: Mountain ManGoG doesn't support Linux, so I don't support GoG. See how that works?

Excuse me, but I don't see how this works. Like it or not, but GOG is the prominent player on the DRM-free market, and the only one with regional pricing. Sadly, the "itch.io" is nowhere near and Humble basically went defunct, turning into Steam key re-seller. You can dislike GOG, but the game developers are not to be blamed for it.

Quoting: TheBardWhy saying "comming(sic) soon" and then "in progress" for 5 years???

A distraction, most probably. If you read the comments on the Whishlist, I'll see some new customers are genuinely expecting "Galaxy for Linux" to be released soon (in the direct sense).

Quoting: einherjarI really don't know, why a Linuxgamer should buy games on GOG.

Mmm… DRM-free? It is a valid aspect, isn't it?

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Quoting: liamdaweDo us all a favour and add Steam Play to your list of blocked tags…

I refuse.

Quoting: liamdaweI'm tired of answering this rubbish.

I did not insult anyone by using the "rubbish" word. But if you insist, then fine, this whole "news" is trash, IMO.

Quoting: liamdaweSteam Play is here, it's a thing.

Does not serve as an excuse for the advertisement of the Windows-exclusive game.

Quoting: liamdaweGamingOnLinux will get left in the dust if it doesn't cover it…

This "news" doesn't cover "Steam Play"™. It is a shameless Windows-exclusive game advertisement.

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And what it has to do with gaming on Linux, again?

Is launching any random Windows game through WINE worthy of a news article?

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What a twist! :woot:

And some time ago have I considered getting Overgrowth from Humble Store!

Nice to see icth.io grow. Maybe, it can become something Humble Store failed to (namely, an indipendent DRM-free store, not a steam-key reseller).

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Quoting: Mountain ManYour response reminds me of the saying "Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face."

I'm sorry , but my English is not good enough to understand the (apparently) proverb. Moreover, this seems like direct insult to me, and when one side resorts to insults, than it is a clear indicator it has ran out of arguments.

In any case, your comment does not contribute to the conversation in any meaningful way, so I am assuming our discussion is over.

Quoting: g000h

Spoiler, click me

Yes, Steam does (to some degree) place the need to use their mandatory client in order to be able to access (i.e. download) and it is needed to play some of the games. BUT, as you've mentioned already in passing, it is possible to use alternative downloaders to perform the download and then you're able to play the DRM-Free game files without Steam client. That is, you are not tied down to the Steam client for all games, and in fact it is the game developer who is deciding if they want their game to be DRM-Free or not (and Steam client is just assisting them one way or the other).

So, assuming the game developer releases their game on Steam DRM-Free and then you have that game title downloaded via alternative downloader or via the official Steam client. Then you have a DRM-Free copy of the game files to backup and store however you desire, they are not tied to the Steam client and you don't need to use the Steam client to access them. Again, it is only the game developers who want to push DRM onto their games where Steam client facilitates this.

You mentioned that Steam client is "always-online", but this is not really true. Apart from when you are forced (by the game, e.g. playing a multi-player game across the internet) you can play your game via the Steam client, entirely offline. Steam client actually has an Offline Mode switch to allow you to select Steam to be offline, and still gain access to your titles for playing when not on the internet.

First of all, thank you for the rehearsal of the current situation regarding Steam DRM. As much as I despise Gabe Newell, I must admit he is not a stupid man. And that man once said that "Piracy is not the matter of Price, it is a matter of convenience" (inexact quote). And that's damn right!
And what you just described is a horrible nightmare! Not only you have to go through all theses circles of Hell in order to get your game, but you are not shielded against right-holders whims. You know, recently SquareEnix has "updated" their Final Fantasy Whatever <sorry, can't remember whether it was X or XI or something, but it was an old game, like 5 to 6 years old>. The only thing that had been "updated" was the inclusion of "Denuvo Anti Tamper".
I am not paying for this level of "support". Sorry, but in a compliance with Gabe Newell, torrent editions are preferable. But more importantly, my time is more valuable than all that Windows-exclusive BS. After all, I have only so much of it and I'd better spent it on Linux-native DRM-free games.

Quoting: g000hThe point you made about supporting Windows-exclusive Game Developers by buying their games, and then playing those games by Proton. It isn't supporting Linux Game Developers, doing this, but it is making Windows-exclusive Game Developers a bit more aware of the Linux market-share. It also makes Valve aware, and as they release statistics then the rest of the world is aware.

Yeah, it make them aware they can ignore Linux and still get the (minuscule) amount of money "Linux users" possess. I prefer to rise Linux awareness among game developers by giving my money to Linux-friendly devs and then watch their reports about how disproportionately big Linux sales were compared to "Steam statistics". :whistle:

Quoting: g000hMy own feeling is: If I am so keen on a Windows-exclusive game that I am willing to buy it, at least my purchase is counting towards helping the Linux platform, both in demonstrating Linux market-share and presence. Though, like you, I fiercely support Linux Game Developers and the vast majority of my purchases are direct from Linux-supporting Game Developers. What I mean is that a lot of my Game Purchase Decisions are based on whether the game is on Linux, and if it isn't on Linux then I am very unlikely to buy it (i.e. Only in exceptional cases).

I admit, I am not inerrant either and sometimes purchase Windows-exclusive games (granted, they are twelve years old and heavily discounted, but still!). But, please, see my comment about my time. Currently, I am stocked on (Linux-native) games already and will have something to play even if I lose Internet connection for five years or so. Don't see a point in getting Windows-exclusive games (I am not a man of hype and do not feel the urge to play every popular Windows game around).

Quoting: g000hWho is the better Linux supporter? The Linux Gamer who buys 99 Linux-supporting Game Titles and 1 Windows-exclusive title (which supports Linux market-share statistics because they play the game on Proton) *OR* The (hard-line) Linux Gamer who buys 50 Linux-supporting Game Titles.

Well, that's easy! :D The better supporter is who buys 200 Linux games and 0 Windows games, hands down!

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