Quoting: GuestInstead, the correct message to send is we will not send you money until you support us like every other gamer gets to enjoy. We demand Linux support. That's how you get more Linux support.

Hate to break it to you so directly, but that is wishful thinking without any base in reality.
Uhhh, about 1% of gamers demand Linux support. Yes, that will sure convince developers. As a 1% group demanding anything has always been very successful, I'm sure.
Seriously, it convinces barely anyone even here and we're all linux gamers ;)

No, Linux gamers will be ignored by most developers without a personal interest in the platform itself - until there are enough linux gamers to actually listen to them, to make the effort viable.
And that number can only be increased by growing game support. Which - since a larger percentage of native ports won't happen without a larger target audience first - can only be provided by Wine/etc.

Though, of course, the increased support of Linux by engines naturally also helps here, as it lowers the perceived barrier of having to maintain another platform.

Obviously, preferably buying games with Linux support has a positive influence, as has (nicely!) asking for future Linux support of game X. But beyond that, buying a Windows-only game on Linux and playing it there will show a developer that there's an audience here which has the one thing any developer desires most: $$$.
Which might convince a developer to give the platform a try with a proper release. Or not.
But at least it is a chance, in contrast to a handful of people screeching "No tux no bux!" in their ear, which only leads to the "ignore those Linux freaks"-reaction you can regularly see wherever the topic comes up.

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Hehe, Valved walked into the "customers really can be daft at times, better be very clear" trap.

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I also wasn't aware there was a dosemu 2.
Is there any guide on how to actually run a game with it?

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Too many fish in the sea, really.
I don't think there is much that could be done about it.

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Quoting: sub

They're also still working on the next major release with DOSBox 0.75

I know, it's just a number, but isn't DOSBox at 0.74-x for more than a decade? :D

Few things are as slow as DOSBox development cycle.
To be fair, it's not like new games are coming out to catch up with and it kinda works reliably, but on the other hand, there are so many glaring issues that just are not getting tackled, it's just weird.

Quite frankly, DOSBox is not a good example of how to develop software, but it's the only thing we have doing what it does. *shrugs*

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If only they would fix their window management to allow you to easily change resolutions at runtime, alt-tab, multi-monitor management, etc.
Then again, Wine has similar problems with its virtual desktop, so maybe emulation (yes, yes, Wine is not an emulator, but who cares) devs think window management is something dirty.

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Quoting: Linas

Quoting: Salvatos

Quoting: Mountain ManAt this point, what is the best Ubuntu alternative?

Depends on what you're after. I left Ubuntu after they forced too many UI decisions I didn't like, so Mint was a natural choice for me. Similar look and feel to good old Ubuntu + Gnome.

And Debian Testing is a rolling distribution with packages that are fairly up-to-date.

Rolling distributions are a rather big red flag for some distros.
Like, I'd always recommend Manjaro stable over Arch for most users, as it has a more thorough process of making sure things remain stable before updates roll out - or rather, an additional round of checking on top of what Arch does.

Nonetheless, if Steam would officially support Arch, that would (if I'm not mistaken) include Manjaro, so...

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Well, I did hope some positive things came from this mess.

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Quoting: EikeEven tinfoil hat wearers won't have everything in their lives wrong.

Of course not!
Their brains are not yet rotting away from cellphone radiation! Duh!

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Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: TheSHEEEPThat's not at all what I was saying,

Then learn to communicate.

I'll learn to communicate when you learn to read without interpreting in whatever way you feel like right now.

Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: einherjarThanks Canonical :><:

Now we will have lots of game devs and publishers saying:
"See, there is no reliable Distro in the Linux world. It doesn't make sense to ship software for Linux"
We need a big popular and reliable Distro, to have enough marketshare and live the "diversity". With 1% marketshare distributed across more then 10 Distros, we will remain irrelevant (on Desktop) for most of the companies.

As may be--would you be happier right now if Ubuntu were the only Linux distro?

If it was, this situation extremely likely wouldn't have happened as we would have a ton of developers working on Ubuntu to solve problems like these, or rather try and make sure they don't arise - instead of everyone and their mum going about to make their own distros for a teeny weeny difference to the next best distro...
People want Linux to keep up with (or rather catch up with) the big ones, but only few seem to understand that this can only be possible under a more unified hood.
Everything else is fragile at best.

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