Latest Comments by Corben
Why Linux games often perform worse than on Windows
27 Oct 2016 at 1:12 pm UTC Likes: 2
27 Oct 2016 at 1:12 pm UTC Likes: 2
Another aspect is, this will vanish over time.
Hardware is getting more and more powerful, but good games can be played at any time. Even when they are already a few years old (which is a lot regarding the fast paced times nowadays).
E.g. I still like to play Aliens vs Predator (2010). It doesn't perform very well on my desktop (C2Q, GTX670) in wine, but it's running perfect in wine on my new notebook hardware (i7, GTX1070). I would love to have a supported port, even if it would use wine on steam then. Just the requirements would be higher than on Windows.
Nevertheless my desktop is still powerful enough to play Alien: Isolation, Tomb Raider, Mad Max at playable framerates. So I don't see a reason to upgrade my desktop too (especially as the notebook was expensive enough *g*).
So I guess with my new hardware even a port of Batman: Arkham Knight would have been playable.
Nevertheless there is a chicken-egg problem. If ported games have a bad performance (unbearable to play performance), people won't buy them, so devs/porters aren't getting money and won't port more games. Additionally most people prefer to play recent games, and not games which are already half a decade old.
Personally I'm fine with ports of games, which are already finished with their sales on windows. I prefer to get more games ported, and play them later on a newer hardware than having no ports.
And as Feral is doing a really good job in porting, I think the performance discussion is mainly from people looking at benchmark numbers rather than at gameplay fun.
Of course it's a valid argument, but imho it doesn't have as much weight as it seems. Otherwise the SmachZ kickstarter campaign wouldn't be successful. There people already know they won't have the best performance playing games. But it will be enough to enjoy playing them.
Yeah, I see, I should also send some cookies to aspyr, cheese, feral, flibit, icculus, knockout_games, ttimo, etc pp... all the lovely people bringing us the games we long for ;)
Hardware is getting more and more powerful, but good games can be played at any time. Even when they are already a few years old (which is a lot regarding the fast paced times nowadays).
E.g. I still like to play Aliens vs Predator (2010). It doesn't perform very well on my desktop (C2Q, GTX670) in wine, but it's running perfect in wine on my new notebook hardware (i7, GTX1070). I would love to have a supported port, even if it would use wine on steam then. Just the requirements would be higher than on Windows.
Nevertheless my desktop is still powerful enough to play Alien: Isolation, Tomb Raider, Mad Max at playable framerates. So I don't see a reason to upgrade my desktop too (especially as the notebook was expensive enough *g*).
So I guess with my new hardware even a port of Batman: Arkham Knight would have been playable.
Nevertheless there is a chicken-egg problem. If ported games have a bad performance (unbearable to play performance), people won't buy them, so devs/porters aren't getting money and won't port more games. Additionally most people prefer to play recent games, and not games which are already half a decade old.
Personally I'm fine with ports of games, which are already finished with their sales on windows. I prefer to get more games ported, and play them later on a newer hardware than having no ports.
And as Feral is doing a really good job in porting, I think the performance discussion is mainly from people looking at benchmark numbers rather than at gameplay fun.
Of course it's a valid argument, but imho it doesn't have as much weight as it seems. Otherwise the SmachZ kickstarter campaign wouldn't be successful. There people already know they won't have the best performance playing games. But it will be enough to enjoy playing them.
Yeah, I see, I should also send some cookies to aspyr, cheese, feral, flibit, icculus, knockout_games, ttimo, etc pp... all the lovely people bringing us the games we long for ;)
Mad Max released for Linux, port report and review available
21 Oct 2016 at 6:06 am UTC
21 Oct 2016 at 6:06 am UTC
Pretty decent performance on my old desktop:
Core2Quad Q9550 (unsupported) @2.8GHz
8 GB DDR2
GTX 670 (driver 370.28)
Native resolution (1680x1050)
Not on minimum settings and getting between 40 to 80 FPS which is very well playable.
Unfortunately I couldn't buy it on the Feral store, as I didn't want to pay 2.50€ for additional fees (e.g. for paypal), and due to a verification issue credit card didn't work (have to sign up for 3-D security on my VISA first).
But as I'm playing on Linux I hope this also counts ;)
Many many Kudos to Feral for another great game brought to Linux!
Core2Quad Q9550 (unsupported) @2.8GHz
8 GB DDR2
GTX 670 (driver 370.28)
Native resolution (1680x1050)
Not on minimum settings and getting between 40 to 80 FPS which is very well playable.
Unfortunately I couldn't buy it on the Feral store, as I didn't want to pay 2.50€ for additional fees (e.g. for paypal), and due to a verification issue credit card didn't work (have to sign up for 3-D security on my VISA first).
But as I'm playing on Linux I hope this also counts ;)
Many many Kudos to Feral for another great game brought to Linux!
The 'SMACH Z' gaming handheld is back on Kickstarter, no longer using SteamOS but their own Linux version
19 Oct 2016 at 8:39 am UTC Likes: 1
19 Oct 2016 at 8:39 am UTC Likes: 1
I'm a little bit torn about this device.
On the one hand, cool! Mobile PC Gaming. And from the stats, a lot of games could run decent enough for some mobile fun.
On the other hand... an expensive gadget that will be already outdated when it's being released. New games which will be released from now might even not run properly anymore on that device.
I want them to succeed, I was thinking about pledging. But the early bird tiers have already been gone some minutes after the start, and I recently got new hardware, so I want to save some money.
Their custom Linux version sounds interesting though. It's cool to read they are recommending Linux, as they can better adopt to their hardware. I'm curious how this turns out. Maybe I'll get the second version, if it succeeds.
On the one hand, cool! Mobile PC Gaming. And from the stats, a lot of games could run decent enough for some mobile fun.
On the other hand... an expensive gadget that will be already outdated when it's being released. New games which will be released from now might even not run properly anymore on that device.
I want them to succeed, I was thinking about pledging. But the early bird tiers have already been gone some minutes after the start, and I recently got new hardware, so I want to save some money.
Their custom Linux version sounds interesting though. It's cool to read they are recommending Linux, as they can better adopt to their hardware. I'm curious how this turns out. Maybe I'll get the second version, if it succeeds.
What have you been playing recently, and what do you think?
17 Oct 2016 at 12:27 pm UTC
17 Oct 2016 at 12:27 pm UTC
Quoting: lvlarkWe're playing with the Frozen Throne addon and version 1.26 as most community maps aren't patched for version 1.27. And we mostly play funmaps like various tower defense maps and such.Quoting: CorbenWarcraft III (wine)Now there's an idea. I've played all official single player campaigns a handful of times, but haven't touched the game since I switched to Linux a few years ago.
What have you been playing recently, and what do you think?
17 Oct 2016 at 11:48 am UTC Likes: 2
17 Oct 2016 at 11:48 am UTC Likes: 2
Meanwhile I barely start Windows to play my games, as there is either a native version, or it runs perfectly in wine. Even though I haven't played a lot in single player, I played a lot multiplayer. Especially as I've been to some LAN parties recently.
Among those games are: FlatOut 2 (Linux version from gog), Warcraft III (wine), Aliens vs Predator (2010, running perfectly in wine, also its dedicated server), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (wine + special registry entry = perfect), No Man's Sky (also perfect with wine), Rocket League, PayDay 2, Unreal Tournament (Alpha) and DotA 2.
My favorite from that list is AvP atm. This game makes so much fun in multiplayer and its different game modes. There is of course the classic deathmatch and team deathmatch, but already those modes get spiced up by the different species. As you can have species modes, where for example marines fighting aliens fighting predators. Or mixed species team deathmatch, where you can choose your species. There are also modes like domination (capture and hold control points), predator hunt (only the player who is the predator can score) and my favorite mode: infestation.
In this mode you have to survive the alien infestation. Meaning one player is chosen randomly to be the first alien. All other players are marines. Each marine the alien kills is becoming an alien on respawn... "warning: infestation is reaching critical level" :D Until only on marine is left in a last man standing mode. It's so much fun!
I wish I would have more time to play, and when I have time, I wish I would be more in the mood to play ;)
Nevertheless, there are only a very few games for me worth booting into Windows. Which are Elite: Dangerous and Doom. Hope both will be running sooner or later also on Linux.
Among those games are: FlatOut 2 (Linux version from gog), Warcraft III (wine), Aliens vs Predator (2010, running perfectly in wine, also its dedicated server), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (wine + special registry entry = perfect), No Man's Sky (also perfect with wine), Rocket League, PayDay 2, Unreal Tournament (Alpha) and DotA 2.
My favorite from that list is AvP atm. This game makes so much fun in multiplayer and its different game modes. There is of course the classic deathmatch and team deathmatch, but already those modes get spiced up by the different species. As you can have species modes, where for example marines fighting aliens fighting predators. Or mixed species team deathmatch, where you can choose your species. There are also modes like domination (capture and hold control points), predator hunt (only the player who is the predator can score) and my favorite mode: infestation.
In this mode you have to survive the alien infestation. Meaning one player is chosen randomly to be the first alien. All other players are marines. Each marine the alien kills is becoming an alien on respawn... "warning: infestation is reaching critical level" :D Until only on marine is left in a last man standing mode. It's so much fun!
I wish I would have more time to play, and when I have time, I wish I would be more in the mood to play ;)
Nevertheless, there are only a very few games for me worth booting into Windows. Which are Elite: Dangerous and Doom. Hope both will be running sooner or later also on Linux.
The Wine Stable Release 1.8.5 Is Now Available
9 Oct 2016 at 1:52 am UTC Likes: 3
9 Oct 2016 at 1:52 am UTC Likes: 3
Just have fallen in love with wine again.
I'm at a LAN party just now, and don't need to boot into Windows to play the games needed for tournaments or just to play for fun. Among orhers:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Aliens vs. Predator (2010) (also its dedicated server)
- FlatOut 2
- No Man's Sky
All working really great with wine. So cool!
I'm at a LAN party just now, and don't need to boot into Windows to play the games needed for tournaments or just to play for fun. Among orhers:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Aliens vs. Predator (2010) (also its dedicated server)
- FlatOut 2
- No Man's Sky
All working really great with wine. So cool!
Just a heads up, Saints Row: The Third on Linux has broken co-op play
30 Sep 2016 at 4:34 pm UTC Likes: 1
A pity they don't use github anymore, as it's a great place for such things.
But another interesting thing...
30 Sep 2016 at 4:34 pm UTC Likes: 1
They have since changed the github for it from being a place to report bugs, to a place for "open discussion and problem solving". And request people to report issues to them directly. It seems they have now done this for all their github trackers, so they are no longer for public bug reports. This is more in line with what other developers do (private bug reports).Ah! Good to know, as I have issues with Overlord, which I reported on the corresponding github issue tracker.
A pity they don't use github anymore, as it's a great place for such things.
But another interesting thing...
We are currently extremely busy with project deadlinesHopefully more high quality Linux ports? :)
Natural Selection 2 is finally taking steps towards 64bit with a new patch
19 Sep 2016 at 6:22 am UTC
19 Sep 2016 at 6:22 am UTC
Meh, looks like I can't explain my point properly :( Seems like I'm missing the correct verbal ability to make it clear.
My point isn't about 32 bit at all. It is about that somebody asked a question why not getting support, and then the answer is because (almost) no one isn't using it. Now the asking person (if he even belongs to that fraction) feels like: aww man, just because we are few, we don't get support?
And that is how some Linux users feel, when they get kind of the same answer when asking for a Linux port.
Of course the reason for dropping 32 bit support in particular has technical reasons. 32 bit is dying out. Even I don't have a 32 bit CPU anymore. So everything you say about why 32 bit isn't/shouldn't be supported anymore is correct and I agree with that. But there are still people using it and would like to have support for it. So they ask for it. Just wanted to point out, that giving the technical explanation as answer (which has also been given) in this case would be more plausible for them, than referring to a small share.
At least that's my opinion ;)
My point isn't about 32 bit at all. It is about that somebody asked a question why not getting support, and then the answer is because (almost) no one isn't using it. Now the asking person (if he even belongs to that fraction) feels like: aww man, just because we are few, we don't get support?
And that is how some Linux users feel, when they get kind of the same answer when asking for a Linux port.
Of course the reason for dropping 32 bit support in particular has technical reasons. 32 bit is dying out. Even I don't have a 32 bit CPU anymore. So everything you say about why 32 bit isn't/shouldn't be supported anymore is correct and I agree with that. But there are still people using it and would like to have support for it. So they ask for it. Just wanted to point out, that giving the technical explanation as answer (which has also been given) in this case would be more plausible for them, than referring to a small share.
At least that's my opinion ;)
Natural Selection 2 is finally taking steps towards 64bit with a new patch
18 Sep 2016 at 5:58 pm UTC
Have a look online, and you see a lot more people than the two here are still using a 32 bit OS.
But my point is not about 32 bit in general. As I said, it just reminds me to that situation. And as we (Linux users) with a small market share want to have more support, we shouldn't tell others who have a small share they shouldn't get support because of their small share.
18 Sep 2016 at 5:58 pm UTC
Quoting: cue58Who is fighting for us to switch to 32-bit though? As far as I know everyone still using 32-bit isn't really doing so by choice.As e.g. debian still will support 32 bit CPUs for another few years, there are people who are fighting for this. Otherwise it would have been already ditched as discussed.
Quoting: cue58Not to mention that if we go by the numbers in that link the percentage of 32-bit Linux users among us is about 1000 times smaller than the percentage of Linux to Windows users.The statistic page here isn't comparable. Not all visitors created an account, and not everybody who has an account has filled his profile with that info. So you don't know the numbers.
Have a look online, and you see a lot more people than the two here are still using a 32 bit OS.
But my point is not about 32 bit in general. As I said, it just reminds me to that situation. And as we (Linux users) with a small market share want to have more support, we shouldn't tell others who have a small share they shouldn't get support because of their small share.
Natural Selection 2 is finally taking steps towards 64bit with a new patch
18 Sep 2016 at 10:36 am UTC Likes: 1
Of course this is a bit different, but nevertheless:
"Why no Linux?"
"Here's a good example: [Link to Linux marketshare]"
Only because a few people are using it, shouldn't be the reason to not support it. We also don't let that argument count, do we? ;)
18 Sep 2016 at 10:36 am UTC Likes: 1
Quoting: liamdaweWell, reminds me a bit of the Windows <-> Linux situation ;)Quoting: rambo1462Why no 32-bit? It seems now that no new Linux games have a 32-bit port, like rocket league for example.Here's a good example: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/users/statistics see how many people tell us they use 32bit.
Of course this is a bit different, but nevertheless:
"Why no Linux?"
"Here's a good example: [Link to Linux marketshare]"
Only because a few people are using it, shouldn't be the reason to not support it. We also don't let that argument count, do we? ;)