Quoting: Quote from Half-ShotI wouldn't expect them to give out DRM free games because Steam.

Why? In many cases developers have no objections to DRM-free distribution (and sell the same games on HB and GOG DRM-free for example). It's only Steam service limitations prevent DRM-free options from being offered. So as I said - it's time for Valve to address that. And that would be welcome. Offering games at no charge but with DRM? No, thanks.

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So, can you install and run them without running Steam? I thought it was impossible for any games offered there. To provide DRM-free offerings Valve should address the installation / backup step first.

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If Valve wants to make a positive move, they should start offering DRM free games, rather than "free" games. That would be a welcome step. And it's time for them to address the issue of DRM anyway.

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I really don't like when expansion packs are called DLC. It's such a dumb term, but it caught up for some weird reason...

I guess the original drive behind it was to change the idea of expanding the game with additional quests, extended story line and etc. which are developed over time after the release, to expanding a game with additional features (items, skills etc.) for which the developers would charge extra, while developing everything at the same time as the main game, and just splitting the release to squeeze more money. While expansion pack is a good kind of add-on, DLC (the way I described it) is bad. That's one of the reasons I don't like when real expansion packs (like in this case with Don't Starve) are called DLCs. And also because the term is so non descriptive (obviously created by some "business minds" ).

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I'd be interested to run the upcoming Witcher 3 in Wine (which will be one of the very few DRM free games which use DX11). Unfortunately I doubt Wine will enable DX11 support in time for that (and not only DX11, Witcher 3 will be strictly 64 bit and Wine also lags behind with that). I still hope CDPR will add Linux support to the Witcher sometime after the release, since now with all the SteamOS rise they might pay more attention.

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I played it for a while. Surely it's strongly influenced by the Elder Scrolls. It's not on a level like the Witcher series story wise, and it's not hilariously funny like inXile's Bard's tale. But it has some fun moments, like using a bow while riding on a horse for example.

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I see the Android version was already sold on Humble Bundle. Will they distribute the Linux version through HB as well?

UPDATE: It's already in the Humble Store (DRM free) for $12.49. I just didn't notice it before:
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/ravensword_shadowlands_storefront [External Link]

Good RPG natively on Linux DRM-free? Instant buy.

On a side note, Shadowrun Returns is in the Humble Store now as well (DRM free).

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Great to see them using Debian rather than Ubuntu. It means they don't want to deal with the Mir mess and will go with Wayland in the future.

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You make your assumptions on the same claim that "everyone uses Ubuntu". So depending on how much you believe this to be true, you can estimate further what Valve is going to base their system on. I don't consider this claim to be valid, or at least proven. And even if it is, that's not what system design should be based on - it should be based on technological advantages. Wayland is clearly better looking from each angle now. Can Mir suddenly become so good that everyone will start using it? May be, anything can happen. But so far it looks like it will remain Canonical's internal tool only. It doesn't look like you can see a big picture here, if you claim that it makes sense for Valve to use Mir. No one who commented on the matter, so far bought Canonical's claim that it made any sense for them (Canonical) to ditch Wayland for Mir. Let alone for anyone else to do the same thing. Valve didn't voice their opinion on that yet.

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Distrowatch is not reliable for any estimations, they write so explicitly. All that you mentioned above aren't comprehensive statistics. It works by the method "if you talk about it enough, people will start accepting it as such". That's how I see the claim that Ubuntu is most used, and until some solid numbers can demonstrate it, I'll keep it as unproven in my view.

Console OS by definition needs to be optimized to the maximum like crazy, that's what all PlayStations and Xboxes do, so actually Gentoo which is bent on optimization makes all the sense for Valve (I'm not using Gentoo, just showing an argument).

Ubuntu won't remain (and isn't, the way I see it) a fattest target, thanks to their shortsighted Mir decision, which will essentially severely isolate them from everyone else. So, from system design perspective, betting on Ubuntu is simply bad. Canonical can of course come back to their senses and drop this Mir obsession, but why should Valve wait for that to happen? Even downstream users of Ubuntu, like Kubuntu and etc. were pretty concerned with it, and contemplated how they are going to maintain Wayland integration on their own. So, why should Valve get involved with this headache to begin with? Just thinking out loud, we of course don't know what Valve actually plans to do. This touches their long term plans, since neither Wayland nor Mir are ready for gaming desktop usage (drivers wise).

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