Quoting: kneekooBut I don't see any of these games as cash grabs.

Granted. That was more of an aside to some of the general negative feelings expressed about Ion Maiden, rather than what you wrote in particular.

Quoting: kneekooRebuilding an old game on a new engine takes a lot more effort than the other way around. You need great textures and great visual effects to begin with, because that's the first thing people see. But then there's the need for accuracy in terms of maps and gameplay, which are essential for remakes and "reloaded" stuff. If it doesn't have the proper identity, it's a failure. So a new game on any engine seems a lot easier by comparison.

Sure, it does takes effort, but so does creating an entire new concept from the ground up, and Ion Maiden by virtue of trading on nostalgia had to jump many of the same hurdles in terms of presenting itself as authentic with the added burden of having to create something new. The art burden is certainly no less, and may even be even more difficult as the Ion Maiden developers insisted on using old fashioned techniques for creating the artwork.

I am reminded of how in the newer series of Red Dwarf where they have switched back to physical models rather than just using CGI they have really struggled to find people still capable of shooting physical models effectively, as so much of the industry has switched over to CGI entirely. There are hundreds of developers that could create a new Duke Nukem game on a modern Unreal Engine today, but only a handful that could still create a Build engine game effectively in 2018.

I am not sure if anybody wins in an argument over which is more difficult, but I highly doubt the creation of Ion Maiden is as easy in comparison to a modern remake as you have made out.

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Quoting: kneekooI feel guilty to point this out here, especially with Duke in another camp, but what I really want is Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded.

To be honest I have never really gotten the appeal of Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded. Rebuilding an old game on a new engine sounds like much more of a "cash grab" to me than building a new game on an old one.

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I just opened IonMaiden_Preview-1.0.exe with File Roller and extracted all of the files inside to a directory. You need p7zip installed to make this work I believe though.

Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoAnyone of You managed to find all the secret locations?

I have gotten it down to just five secrets left in the first level so far, including finding the Portal reference room posted here earlier.

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Quoting: Guest

Quoting: HamishHere is my question though; GOG.com insists that Galaxy is completely optional, so how do Crackshell handle the Windows version of the game on GOG.com? Surely they must have a Windows version on GOG.com that does not have multiplayer available in order to have a non-Galaxy standalone installer?

This indeed is a point that alienates me. How do they handle games like this one, or Vikings? Can you really run them without Galaxy? It's not listed as a requirement either....

Case in point, Shadow Warrior Classic Redux is on GOG.com for Linux, and that has Galaxy support on Windows. Since they seem to need to provide a version without the Galaxy features enabled anyway, what is preventing the Linux release?

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Quoting: jensHave you seen lately how many threads here on GOL about Valve/Steam/Feral got hijacked and turned into a bashing Steam session?

And this is far from the first thread to turn into a "GOG.com bashing session", as you would put it. It seems to be the GOL equivalent to the standard Linux distribution or text editor holy wars.

Here is my question though; GOG.com insists that Galaxy is completely optional, so how do Crackshell handle the Windows version of the game on GOG.com? Surely they must have a Windows version on GOG.com that does not have multiplayer available in order to have a non-Galaxy standalone installer?

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Quoting: KimyrielleFor no other reason than because they decided not to refuse doing business with those publishers that insist on putting DRM in their games.

Which happens to include Valve themselves with Steamworks, a DRM platform they developed and encourage game developers to actively use in their games. My issue with Valve is not so much that they tolerate DRM on Steam, but that they themselves actively create and promote it through Steamworks.

Quoting: jensPlease come down from your elitism. Linux GOG only users are a small minority of a small minority. Doing lots of extra effort for this very small number of potential customers would be nothing but a courtesy.

The same is true for the entire Linux gaming market. Shall we all just close up shop then?

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Quoting: NarvarthThese people just forget that DRM-free games on GOG are also DRM-free on Steam...

I don't forget that there are DRM Free games on Steam, that just happens to be irrelevant to me. As I said before, I refuse to get a Steam account because it is tied to a client that actively promotes a DRM service.

Quoting: NarvarthValve is now a big contributor to the Linux ecosystem and free/open source projects, but people are still criticizing Valve

Yes, because criticizing their DRM practices does not negate any gratitude we may have for their good faith contributions towards the Linux ecosystem. Just like with Microsoft.

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Quoting: Doc AngeloThere are so many companies that still have their name, but not much otherwise. What are the companies names worth after being officially bought by EA. What changes when the investors behind a name change Just slapping a name on it and state "It's good!" isn't cutting it for me. The good old "We are working closely with (insert gaming veteran)!" is also more often than not just marketing.

Considering that the likes of Scott Miller and Joe Siegler are still around, and that the developers at Voldpoint are people with a deep history in the Duke Nukem 3D modding community, I kind of have to ask what more could you possibly expect from a company such as Apogee/3D Realms that was founded more than thirty years ago?

Sure, they are owned and financed by an investment company now rather than being independent, but that is not the same thing as being controlled by EA. Or ZeniMax. id Software is far more of a corporate marionette puppet than this version of 3D Realms.

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Quoting: CyrilI would say that Linux builds profits to Linux gamers and DRM-Free builds profits to everybody.

Exactly, which is why I care far more about keeping my games DRM Free than "disrupting Microsoft's practices", whatever that means. In fifty years Linux could be dead and buried but I still want to be able to play my games without worrying about whether some archaic DRM service is still up and supporting them.

Quoting: scaineAt least they still offer downloads for a lot of their bundles, but you have to do your research on their store to make sure you're buying a downloadable, DRM-Free game, or a DRM-Free game via Steam. There really shouldn't be a distinction, but for some people, there is.

In terms of the actual binaries, no there is no distinction. But I still refuse to get a Steam account because it is tied to a client that actively promotes a DRM service. I must admit, what I find the most troubling about this story is that the Galaxy client is becoming so central to some developers they are not willing to support Linux on GOG.com without it, even though GOG.com still require developers to make their games work independent of it.

Quoting: KimreillyBut make no mistake, GOG is NOT a Linux friendly company, and they really don't deserve that fanboyism displayed by some here. When I doubt, I give my money to companies that actually support us...

Again, I will just repeat what I said in another thread: As long as I am able to buy Linux games on GOG.com then by definition the company is "supportive of Linux" because it is supporting it as an available platform. It may not be as enthusiastic about it as some would like, but that is not the same thing as offering Linux no support. It does a disservice to everyone involved with the Linux side of things at GOG.com to claim as such.

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Quoting: ElectricPrismFantastic example of extrapolating a "formula" for other games success and "applying the formula".

If anyone is entitled to rip off 3D Realms, it is 3D Realms. ;)

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