I find this really exciting. The Steam Workshop is quite convenient, but having mods limited to a single store and a single generic platform is limiting. People often mention that console versions of games don't have mods at all, which in my opinion is ridiculous. Having a single unified mod system for all the platforms they support is good for everyone. Plus, the Paradox Launcher is still in beta but they already have a Linux version, which is just great.

Also, there are already Paradox mods that don't use the workshop (because they are too big), and problems with the workshop itself - sometimes it won't download the mods you want, or just the lack of a good versioning system (for games that update as frequently and drastically as Paradox titles, mod compatibility is a huge deal). For me this is one of the big draws of a Paradox launcher - mods could be managed in a much more sensible way, across different stores and all.

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Frankly, not impressed. Their excuse is "we would have to update it later so why bother", which to me raises the question of how bad their support for the Linux/Mac versions will be. And after their optimistic (but obviously non-commital) messages in the past, this doesn't sound encouraging - still not even a release date.

I hate the cliche argument that games are released "unfinished" or "incomplete" (bad games happen for many reasons and they can improve after release), but in this case I think it has merit. This was a crowdfunded game that "released" a year late, and six months after is still cleaning up the messy release. It finally froze development so they could actually port it to the platforms it had promised. This isn't just patches and good DLC, this is the game finally leaving Early Access and getting a real release.

Also, their crowdfunding campaigns talked so much about how being an indie studio meant they could do amazing things that their new talk about how being bought by Microsoft is the best thing ever makes me cringe.

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There is also a CK2 sale on paradoxplaza.com (the publisher's website, it sells steam keys) for the 7th anniversary of the game, with 75% discounts on most DLC. For some time now CK2 DLC was never discounted more than 50%, so this is the lowest price ever for some and the lowest price in a long time for others. It pairs pretty well with the Humble Paradox Bundle 2019.

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Quoting: liamdaweSo uh, GOG just announced they will also have it as a day-1 release :)

That is really great. CK2, EU4 and HoI4 aren't even available on GOG (Stellaris is their only recent game -and thus their only Linux game - available on GOG). I suspect because they rely on Steam features, while Stellaris is being tested with their own launcher and even has a console version. This probably means Imperator will not be so restricted, which is great.

That said, when I buy Imperator it will probably be on Steam. GOG is lagging far behind with their Linux support; their flagpole feature, Galaxy, isn't even planned for Linux. I really regretted buying Stardew Valley from GOG instead of Steam, and many games just lack features or are updated less frequently.

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Quoting: GuestWe sure aren't lacking strategy games on linux

Yeah, as a strategy gamer I feel like I am particularly privileged within Linux gaming. Most of the biggest titles - Civ, XCOM, Total War, Paradox - have native support, and a respectable number of indies.

It is not perfect - Stardock and Slitherine publish many titles, rarely if ever with Linux support, for example - but I feel like it is so much better than for the fans of action games, shooters, action rpgs and other AAA games in general.

I think only fans of programming games have better luck playing on Linux. :D

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Quoting: ziabiceAm I the only one that still uses the official issue trackerto report things? It's very well maintained, they (Valve employees) reply in minutes, and sometimes you can talk with Codeweavers developers.

That said, there are 1576 open issues, 647 closed.

The open issues that are whitelist requests are 445 (that means games that work without problems, with a Platinum or Gold rating), while 913 issues are "Game Compatibility - unofficial" (that means that the game can work with workaround or not at all, it depends).

So we have already nearly 500 games that are click'n'play, that's great! :D

I reported a bug there on the early days (a weird thing with some timezones in Unity games), which eventually was fixed in upstream Wine. I was quite satisfied with the results.

But I feel like GitHub issues serve a very different purpose than a compatibility "wiki". GitHub issues are great for reporting bugs, but not for users wanting to know if a game works or what are the workarounds. Issues posted have to include a lot more details (like logs), and even then it not necessarily is enough for developers to fix the issue. On the other hand, ProtonDB is more convenient for finding games and for "unofficial" tweaks and fixes.

Still, I find that just looking at the rating (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Borked) is not nearly enough. Considering that Gold will always include some tweaks and Silver will always include some problems (and because people misunderstand the ratings, many platinum and borked games are misrated), the description is crucial.

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I agree that it is very unfair to consumers. Changing something crucial right before the release, after taking pre-orders, is not cool. You can't just change your mind after advertising and selling your product. And of course... exclusives are bad.

All the while, Epic is trying to "compete" in the least competitive way possible - by removing consumer choice and using its resources to push publishers/developers into exclusive deals where they can't sell their products anywhere else. Frankly, there is no way Epic's success results in a "competitive" market. It might push Steam into reacting, but it is going to be even more hostile to smaller stores and will still result in more anti-competitive practices. Instead of investing into creating a superior product, Epic is trying to create additional barriers to its competitors (which right now is mostly the absolute market leader, but in the future might not be).

I am also not sure if Steam's "competition" will be entirely positive. Let's hope Valve doesn't change its mind about having exclusives of its own, or doesn't decide to cut down from investing in other areas to lower prices.

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That's quite interesting. We know intuitively that supporting multiple platforms is hard because you have to upload everything multiple times, but it seems many platforms are just really bad. I wouldn't imagine that GOG support was so primitive for Linux builds - just lost even more of my respect for doing a crap job for one platform and having a very outdated system still in place.

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QuoteAdded the ability to force Steam Play compatibility tools for non-Steam game shortcuts

Again I am pleased - I would say pleasantly surprised, but it is not that surprising by now - by Steam making it easier for people to play non-Steam games. :)

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Quoting: const

Quoting: eldakingIt's not just about "cheap or joke" games. It is about potentially fraudulent games. It is about games that are seriously objectionable, that can cause a lot of harm - like a nazi propaganda game.

Well, I'd prefer laws to regulate such things, rather then private companies.
Do you have an example for a nazi propaganda game on Steam? I'd be shocked, if it would be available here in germany.

Well, yes, ideally the laws created by democratic governments would deal with everything unethical. But in practice, it isn't enough: laws can be unethical, wrong, outdated, incomplete, hard to interpret... or, when you operate in a lot of countries, inconsistent. There are countries where homosexuality is illegal, there are countries where the age of consent is different, there are countries with no fair use laws, etc. Navigating all those laws is a big task, and neither extreme (applying the most restrictive laws to everywhere or doing just the minimum required by local laws) is a good solution.

Even if they went with a "we allow anything that is legal", I think they should at least check for compliance instead of relying on notifications and terms signed by developers taking all responsibility. They are selling the game, they should be responsible for checking.

I really hope there is no actual nazi propaganda game on Steam. It is an exaggerated example of something that clearly shouldn't be there. Though I'm not sure if the laws of most countries would make such a game straight up "illegal", for example.

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