Quoting: liamdaweYeah, it might seem like SteamOS/Steam Machine don't see a lot of attention, but as always when you look at all the work they're actually doing to improve everything relating to Steam/Linux gaming there's a lot going on.

This seems as good a time as any to mention this comment thread [External Link], which genuinely surprised me. (You might have noticed some incoming clicks, actually. Not my doing. :) For some reason, I never comment over there.) There's the odd naysayer, as always, but for the first time I can remember on any general PC gaming site, they're in the minority. This stuff is beginning to get noticed outside our Linux-fanatic bubble. Shamus talks a little about it at the beginning of his latest podcast [External Link].

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Quoting: Sojiro84I read online that aiming should be done with the gyro but that means moving my wrists in weird angles.

The trick is to use the gyro to assist the right trackpad, not instead of it. Set it so that barely does anything at all, and use it for fine adjustments. You don't need to move your wrists very much. The method's harder to describe than it is to use. I was sceptical myself, but within seconds of trying it, it became second-nature. If it's set up properly (a lot of the community configs are really good) I barely notice that I'm using the gyro at all; it just feels like the trackpad is more accurate than it really is.

All that said, I still can't get used to it for driving games. It's just about okay for something like Euro Truck Simulator 2, but when I'm racing it feels like I'm wearing boxing gloves. And I'm still not sure why. I think it's a combination of things: 1, I've been using a 360 controller for over a decade; 2, it is slightly too large, as Liam says; 3, no rumble; and 4, the triggers don't have the same “feel” as the 360, due, I think, to a slightly shorter throw and slightly weaker springs.

[Edit: It's also possible that the massive amount of hidden assistance driving games give to thumbstick controllers just isn't configured for it.]

I still use KB+M for a lot of things too. But I wouldn't get rid of it. It's definitely one of my top 3 controllers of all time (and I remember when the Atari VCS stick was the standard, so I've used a few...).

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Quoting: ShmerlTo develop this idea, I think more computing power would be needed for some sophisticated AI, not for better visuals.

Fair point. That was in the back of my mind too, but the comment was already getting pretty long. :)

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Quoting: rustybroomhandleThis is nice as a tech demo and great as a source reference for developers, but compared to the original, this looks uuuuugly. It's so bright and all the atmosphere has been lost.

Yeah, it's a bit like the “sitcom effect” (or “soap-opera effect” if you prefer) you get with high-framerate video. It looks too real. Sometimes “better” is worse.

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It all looks a bit “meh” to me. What worries me is that five, ten years down the line (assuming they can keep it running that long), developers will start producing games that are massively out of the scope of consumer hardware but look absolutely incredible when running on Google's servers. Then, for people who don't care about the downsides and dangers of the SAAS model - i.e., the mainstream - it becomes hard to resist.

For that reason, I kind of hope that things like resolution and framerate increases will mean that the bandwidth requirements for a comfortable experience comparable to local code will always remain ahead of what most people actually have. I suspect they will, but we'll just have to wait and see. I never thought we'd see streaming HD video over, basically, copper twisted-pair phone lines, yet here we are.

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There was definitely a ~50Mb update to the Linux version a few days ago (Friday?). No idea what it did.

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Quoting: Redfaceand it seems to be gone already.

“We're terribly sorry, but due to technical issues with Steam library verification, we had to remove GOG Connect for Stellaris. We're investigating in order to resolve it and will try to bring you back this offer in the near future.”

Ah, fair enough. I like GOG Connect a lot. :D

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Sounds interesting. I actually haven't touched Stellaris since the last update that reworked the planets. It's not that I don't like that change; I haven't even seen it yet. Too much other stuff to play. The Green Planet DLC in Surviving Mars has got me hooked on that again...

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Quoting: alex9kAnyway, IMHO if the developer guarantees Proton compatibility, I'm totally fine with that.

This. But it's a big “if”. I know Valve has taken on responsibility for Proton compatibility itself, but I don't want developers batting away Linux support questions with Proton then six months down the line telling Linux customers any problems are all their own fault for running an unsupported OS.

Just be clear. We know some developers don't support Linux, and that's fine. We'll either ignore them or use Proton/WINE and figure out the issues ourselves. But if you're telling us to use Proton, then support it when things go wrong, and don't break compatibility by introducing incompatible middleware.

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Fortunately the friend who bought me the game for Christmas had the foresight to include the Season Pass. It really is the gift that keeps on giving. :)

Un-fortunately all the new terraforming stuff doesn't work with existing saves, so as you say, it's going to take hours before I get to that stage. Nice problem to have though, I suppose.

Man, I was so wrong about this game before its release. Haemimont really knocked it out of the park.

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