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Latest Comments by scaine
Open-world single-player 2D space game Starsector has a big story expansion
31 March 2021 at 12:37 pm UTC

Quoting: Craggles086Will it be on Steam / will I get a Steam key later if I buy it now?

Putting the game on Steam is something I want to look at when the game is more or less “done”. It’s a complicated decision for various reasons – there are upsides and downsides, and it’s not something you can easily try and then back out of.

If the game ends up on Steam, and if Valve still allows developers to generate keys for this purpose, then I’d like to get keys to existing players. However, that’s too many ifs to make a promise, so I would recommend assuming “no Steam key” for any purchasing decision made now.

http://fractalsoftworks.com/faq/

Yep, it was this very (vague) wording on their FAQ that led me to post my question. Upsides? Downsides? Really odd, in this day and age, to sell your game directly rather than through a platform that boasts 100's of millions of active players every month. Can't really imagine what the downsides would be, other than risking a poor overall review rating, which would seem unlikely given how passionate people are about this one.

Open-world single-player 2D space game Starsector has a big story expansion
30 March 2021 at 11:44 am UTC Likes: 1

This looks absolutely superb. Why on earth don't they sell through Steam, I wonder? I'd never heard of it until this article!

Looks like Narita Boy from Studio Koba will now not be supported on Linux
30 March 2021 at 11:34 am UTC Likes: 5

Quoting: TermyDouchebag moves like this drove people like me away from crowdfunding - so good job in making future indie titles less likely to succeed!

Exactly my sentiment. I contributed to the Funding Crowd articles on here for years and was very bought into the idea of both Kickstarter and IndieGogo. I saw them as a way to promote Linux gaming at a grassroot level. But while (as Liam notes) it worked for a majority of titles, more and more I saw fraudsters emerging, announcing multi-platform support during the campaign, then immediately caveating it on successful completion, or removing it entirely.

Honestly, if Kickstarter had any integrity, they would be following on this fraud legally. But they have their money, so it's left to the punter to lose out. So yeah, tough time for the more honest indies these days.

I expected better in this case - Team 17 have had patchy Linux support over the years, but they've never been outright hostile to launching on our platform. So I suspect it really is just gross incompetence by the developer. I'll wish them well regardless, but they'll never get my money unless they support my platform.

Space station building sim Starmancer gets a Beta on March 31, pre-orders to stop
29 March 2021 at 1:51 pm UTC

Like an isometric Oxygen Not Included. Without the vomit (hopefully). I'm not a huge fan of these games, but ONI was excellent and I'm getting a nice vibe from this one. Another one for my watchlist!

Metro Exodus arrives for Linux on April 14
27 March 2021 at 10:56 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: slaapliedje
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: FrawoOh no, Web Browsers default to Windows? I didn't know that and now my pile of shame mostly consists of Web Browser purchases. Damn...

I remember this differently as well...

Just to make sure, I install every new game and start it up.
(That's also useful to make sure it actually runs.)
So I wonder what it counts as if you buy it in the Android App?

Pretty sure that's already covered - Windows.

Quoting: Liam DaweTo clear it up we have the info on the Steam Tracker:
QuoteWhen buying games from Steam, how is the desktop platform counted? From what Valve told us (February 2020), they first take the desktop Steam client platform used to buy it, then whatever has the most playtime in two weeks. However, Android and Web Browser purchases default to Windows and then what has the most playtime in two weeks. If you want to ensure developers see a Linux sale: play it only on Linux in the first two weeks, don't buy it and leave it.

Yep, as above, emphasis mine.

Metro Exodus arrives for Linux on April 14
26 March 2021 at 1:24 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: finaldest
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: finaldestI got the game back in 2020 during a steam promotion but have yet to install the game as I am waiting for the Linux version to release before playing. This was after the Linux announcement so should count as a Linux sale.

The system is determined in the weeks after the sale, so you're counted as a Windows player.



It was my understanding that if a game is purchased on Steam through the Linux client then it automatically qualifies as a Linux sale ????

or

Within 2 weeks of Sale the total playtime will determine which platform the game was purchased on. Eg. Linux 20 hours, Windows 2 hours so would be a Linux Sale.

Yeah, I think that's how it works? Basically, it goes by playtime in 2 weeks, but if there's no playtime, it goes by platform of sale. I think. Although someone noted that Android counts as Windows?

I have heard it said that if there's no playtime then it just defaults to Windows, but that might only be if you installed it?? Honestly, it's all pretty convoluted, tbh.

It would be great to have some real clarity on it all.

Sub Rosa, an experimental online multiplayer FPS finally enters Early Access
26 March 2021 at 12:05 pm UTC

I can't remember how I heard about this game, but it sounded like fun, although I never got around to actually trying it out. It sounded like a GTA-style open world, but low-poly. And spies. Intriguing stuff.

Mesa 21.0.0 open source graphics drivers out now
26 March 2021 at 11:51 am UTC

Quoting: KuJo
Quoting: whizse"Mesa 21.0.0 is a new development release. People who are concerned with stability and reliability should stick with a previous release or wait for Mesa 21.0.1."

14 hours ago kisak ppa with support for 21.0.1 released:
-> https://launchpad.net/~kisak/+archive/ubuntu/kisak-mesa

Well, I did an upgrade and nothing happened. This led me to analyse the packages in Synaptic, only to realise that while my system was using the Kisak libDRM components, I was still on Pop_OS for mesa overall!! What the hell??

Turns out, Pop pin their graphics stack with a really high priority, so even if you add a PPA with higher version numbers, Pop will ignore it. No idea why they do this, but it's a pain to realise that adding a PPA to get a certain version of software might not actually give you that version of software. So regardless of the reasoning for this - I hate it.

Anyway, to fix, I need to create a new file called /etc/apt/preferences.d/kisak-pin-2000 with the following contents:
Package: *
Pin: release o=LP-PPA-kisak-kisak-mesa
Pin-Priority: 2000


Big shout to this reddit thread for that information.

One dist-upgrade later and I have mesa 21. Phew!

Metro Exodus arrives for Linux on April 14
25 March 2021 at 6:02 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: slaapliedje
Quoting: scaine
Quoting: slaapliedje
Quoting: KohlyKohlI will buy this as soon as I can find a 30 series card. So, I guess I'll be getting this in 2022.
Ha, seriously. The 'perfect storm' of bullshit has hit us computer nerds, where all the new cards are being bought up by mining farms, or they're bought by people who think they can just double/triple the MSRP. Even the 20 series are marked ultra high...

It's a perfect storm, but it's more than just miners and scalpers. Some interesting insight from Linux Tech Tips on this subject from two days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A4yk-P5ukY

Back on topic - this is an immediate insta-buy for me, even at full price. I loved the first two games, although they have their (minor) flaws. Can't wait to play this!
Yeah, watched that yesterday. Linus... I mistype it as Linux too ha! Yeah with chip shortages too. It's freaking nuts.

I've been looking forward to this game as well, though I still need to win the first one!

I constantly call that channel Linux Tech Tips. I know it's Linus. My fingers don't.

Metro Exodus arrives for Linux on April 14
25 March 2021 at 5:48 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: slaapliedje
Quoting: KohlyKohlI will buy this as soon as I can find a 30 series card. So, I guess I'll be getting this in 2022.
Ha, seriously. The 'perfect storm' of bullshit has hit us computer nerds, where all the new cards are being bought up by mining farms, or they're bought by people who think they can just double/triple the MSRP. Even the 20 series are marked ultra high...

It's a perfect storm, but it's more than just miners and scalpers. Some interesting insight from Linux Tech Tips on this subject from two days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A4yk-P5ukY

Back on topic - this is an immediate insta-buy for me, even at full price. I loved the first two games, although they have their (minor) flaws. Can't wait to play this!