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Latest Comments by appetrosyan
The developer of Gloomhaven wants to see what kind of demand there is for Linux support
5 Aug 2019 at 4:56 pm UTC

I would say - No. Don't port it. Judging by their attitude it's highly likely that they will drop the Linux support. Judging by the fact that they're even asking the question, they don't know how many Linux buyers they need to maintain the port. And finally, judging by the fact that they couldn't be bothered to fire up a VM to check if they can actually do it → they'd botch the port anyway.

So why bother. I have SteamPlay, I don't care if the translation was done at compile time or Run time.

A three-way look at Rocket League on Linux, with D9VK versus Linux Native
3 Aug 2019 at 12:19 pm UTC

Quoting: Eike
Quoting: appetrosyanIs there a Linux native game that uses Vulkan? I wonder if all the wins are due to OpenGL being bad, or because of something else...
Crotean is using Vulkan.
Serious Sam?

A three-way look at Rocket League on Linux, with D9VK versus Linux Native
3 Aug 2019 at 12:18 pm UTC

Quoting: mylka
Quoting: liamdawe
Quoting: mylkaam i the only one looking at the background?
D9VK shows absolutely nothing..... of course it is faster

just look at the 1 second..... its just dark... nothing to render
That is actually how it is supposed to look. The D9VK version looks almost the same as it does on Windows. The Linux version is way too bright and has no fog apparently.

Edit: Added a second video to also compare, on a different map, along with some slight adjustments to the wording in places to accommodate it.
but it still explains why native is slower
and imho... i think native looks much better
Missing compiler optimisations, spaghetti code in the older UE, things that are lightweight on Windows, and not on Linux! Or... Vulkan is more optimised than OpenGL.

A three-way look at Rocket League on Linux, with D9VK versus Linux Native
3 Aug 2019 at 11:29 am UTC

Is there a Linux native game that uses Vulkan? I wonder if all the wins are due to OpenGL being bad, or because of something else...

CoreCtrl, a new FOSS Linux tool to help you control your PC with application profiles
17 Jul 2019 at 8:05 am UTC

Quoting: GuestThe app just launched so give it time to add a flatpak or snap versions :)

and btw, is it a GTK application ? or does it have its own UI ?
It's QML. Not the Kirigami kind that integrates with the DE, just the vanilla with Material Design.

Surprise - Supraland for Linux is now available on GOG
11 Jul 2019 at 6:47 pm UTC Likes: 1

:D I like how we get into the polemics over some tweets, and it all turns out nicely.

Seems that the Linux version of Supraland will not be heading to GOG (updated)
10 Jul 2019 at 8:37 pm UTC

Quoting: wazz4657
Quoting: appetrosyanJust because YOU haven't put DRM in your game, by publishing on Steam you're restricting my ability to share it. For example, I can lend a GOG game to a friend. He can play the game at the same time as I am playing something else. I can't do that on Steam.
Not really judging or trying to engage, as I'm almost 40 and I've done a fair amount of this in the past myself (not anymore).....but this is textbook piracy. This probably ain't the best argument to make.
I made a longer post replying to someone else, but I would argue that this isn't piracy.

Legally speaking, piracy is violation of the exclusivity of the licensed granted by the copyright owner. I don't violate the exclusivity, but exercise transferrability: I can transfer for any reason the license towards the Intellectual property licensed to me under the DMCA. In other words, as long as the two of us don't play the same game, we should be fine. The EULA can further restrict my rights, but these aren't technically enforced by the DMCA. Technically, when Steam revokes my right to make use of two licenses at the same time, it breaches some of my rights, but I waive those when I sign the Steam EULA, so I can't sue Valve. That being said, this is only protected by the EULA, nobody can sue me for family sharing my Steam library and playing other games on e.g. GOG.

But you are right, this is dangerously close to piracy, thereby not making it a good argument.

Seems that the Linux version of Supraland will not be heading to GOG (updated)
10 Jul 2019 at 8:30 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: Solitary
Quoting: appetrosyan... For example, if you and the person you shared with decide to play the same game - one of you's kicked out. Fair but it doesn't happen on GOG.
You do realize that's not legal though, right? Just because you bought DRM-free game doesn't mean you can just copy it to your buddy and play it together. So I am not sure what is your point here,... that GOG let´s you break the law? At that point just let your friend torrent it, it will save you the whole dilemma. What Steam does might be nuisance, but also the correct way. In true sense of the term, yes... kicking you off is DRM. Family Share manages the rights to your license and won't let you use one license by two people. I am just not so sure that it harms your rights, because you have no right to use the license by multiple people at once to begin with.
It's legal, but close to something that isn't.

The Big distinction is... Let's say I have a library of two games, Deus Ex and System Shock. My wife, in the same house wants to play System shock, while I at the same time want to play Deus Ex. Without breach of license, I can (according to Steam) temporarily transfer the license given to me, for my wife to play System Shock. I didn't however transfer or duplicate the license on Deus Ex. So as a result in theory, I should be allowed to play one game, while she plays the other, the platfrom being irrelevant to our discussion. However Steam interjects and states that I can only share the whole library.

On that note, the license to play by law, is exclusive (i.e. only one person at a time can do it, even then with concessions for things like split-screen multiplayer) but also transferrable (which is why what Steam allows you to do with family sharing, and what used game salesmen are doing routinely). Thus my example is in fact legal, and what I've described is not, in fact, piracy, but me exercising the transferrability of the license. The distribution platform can implement ways of enforcing the terms of the license agreement, by means of digital rights management software, which can revoke or otherwise impede the infringement of the copyright holders' rights.

Now important info: Circumventing DRM is a crime, and should in theory be punished without regard to whether the copyright holder presses charges. Breaching the EULA, is not, however. The worst you might reasonably be punished with, is revocation of all licenses provided by that copyright holder (i.e. you will lose all games licensed by one publisher, not all your games on Steam, since you didn't breach the agreements with those publishers. This slight distinction is why you can be jailed for hosting cracked games, or cracking them, but not for ledning your friend a copy of a physical secuROM protected disk + the activation key. The latter is not a criminal offence without tangible loss for the copyright holder. (you can't have a law preventing people from giving each other gifts or sharing physical commodities).

In this instance I do not pirate the game! I temporarily transfer the game to the library of my spouse, and then back.

Sure, technically you could argue that it's not in the interests of the copyright holder... Neither is letting me replay the game, or take more/less time playing through it. Restricting my right to do so, without providing me a full refund, is in fact a violation of MY rights.

So. While copying the game to my friend's computer while playing that same game at the same time, is in fact a violation of the exclusivity clause of both the EULA and the DMCA = Piracy. Bad.

Sharing the game, while I play something else, in fact, isn't. GOG.com doesn't restrict me from doing either. So, I don't say that I prefer GOG.com because it allows me to pirate the games (it doesn't, it simply doesn't infringe on my other rights to prevent me from doing so), but because it errs on the side of my rights. DRM free on Steam is, save for the negligible performance impact, functionally the same as non-DRM-free on Steam.

Seems that the Linux version of Supraland will not be heading to GOG (updated)
10 Jul 2019 at 7:52 pm UTC

Quoting: x_wing
Quoting: appetrosyanAlso, I'd like to see how you're going to "just copy" across different platforms.
Pretty much the same way you do on GOG: download the native version of each platform and proceed to "just copy" where ever you want.
Ok. There's a heck of a lot of registry hacking involved, not to mention that the thing is either incomplete, or a fingerprinted backup, neither of which would work the same way.

That being said, it was brought to my attention that even though there aren't any preventative measures in GOG, that practice is not very... ahem... legal. At least not in all cases, but only some of them, when the game specfically is a FOSS game that specifically doesn't prohibit people from sharing the source code (not the game art).

Seems that the Linux version of Supraland will not be heading to GOG (updated)
10 Jul 2019 at 4:26 pm UTC

Quoting: TheBard
Quoting: appetrosyanSurprisingly this post makes me Ok with it. Not because he's right, but because I don't want to give him any money for being so stupid.
Could we avoid to insult devs and especially devs that port their games on Linux. Furthermore, if the game is really DRM-Free on Steam, what you describe is possible (it's just a copy!)
I didn't insult the dev, just his argument.

Also, I'd like to see how you're going to "just copy" across different platforms.