Patreon Logo Support us on Patreon to keep GamingOnLinux alive. This ensures all of our main content remains free for everyone. Just good, fresh content! Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal Logo PayPal. You can also buy games using our partner links for GOG and Humble Store.
Latest Comments by neffo
Crossing The Line, A New CryEngine FPS Coming To Linux
13 May 2014 at 12:48 pm UTC

Yeah, no this game isn't a thing. They are not CryEngine screenshots.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown Looks Like It's In Testing For Linux Right Now
8 May 2014 at 9:51 am UTC

*** SPOILERS ***

Aliens are the enemies.

Unreal Engine 4.1 Has Been Released, Features Early Linux Support
27 Apr 2014 at 3:45 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: Beamboom
Quoting: liamdaweThey never said they will support Linux, but that they want to which are very different things.
I think there are plenty room for interpretation in that quote, Liam.

He say "we" as in the company, not "I" as in a personal opinion or wish. So he speaks on behalf of Dice.

So he states, metaquoted, "DICE strongly want to get into Linux for a reason" -> Meaning this is not just a wish, but there are *reasons* why they want to get into it. And when a company *strongly* want something, they are working on it.
The original source (<a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/12/4826190/linux-only-needs-one-killer-game-to-explode-says-battlefield-director">polygon</a> - not really known for being anti-Linux) doesn't come away from the interview with your interpretation.

The actual quote:
"We strongly want to get into Linux for a reason," Gustavsson said. "It took Halo for the first Xbox to kick off and go crazy — usually, it takes one killer app or game and then people are more than willing [to adopt it] — it is not hard to get your hands on Linux, for example, it only takes one game that motivates you to go there."
What he is saying is they want to be a part of Linux because if it gets a "Halo"-level game it will take off. They are not saying that they want to be the Halo-maker, they are saying they want to be there when it happens so they can be a part of it. They are not saying they want to take a risk on Linux, they are saying it is a risk to not be ready for it.

(It probably doesn't hurt that they speak the same language as Linux Torvalds.)

Circuits, A Puzzle Game With A Difference And It Sounds Good
18 Apr 2014 at 7:26 am UTC

Liam you missed the chance at a great pun in the title.

Steam Hardware Survey For March 2014, Linux Is Just Holding
7 Apr 2014 at 9:42 am UTC

Quoting: TeodosioOnce Steam machines are out I think that figure will insta-jump to 5% at least... and it will keep growing steadily from there.
3 million Steam Machines is terribly ambitious.

Quoting: GuestI've been using Steam for Linux since the beginning, and only got the survey on Linux for the first time... While I regularly get it when using Wine to run Steam.
Wine is recorded as Linux (and the Wine version is also recorded). I'd speculate that the reason you see it more is likely due to the fact that people running under Wine decline it more often than those in native Linux.

Quoting: LordpkappaI never see a single survey in Linux, 2-3 times in Windows.
Same thing here. Linux users have a reason to answer the survey, Windows users don't.

Steam Hardware Survey For March 2014, Linux Is Just Holding
7 Apr 2014 at 9:11 am UTC

Another metric might be to look at Linux Steam users as a whole number over time versus a percentage. The factors that drive total Steam usage changes might not be the same factors that drive Linux usage changes.

For example the rise in popularity of a steam exclusive like DOTA2 in Asian countries where WinXP is extremely popular (and Linux is not) would tilt things one way. On the other hand, something like the TF2 Linux release (with the Tux drops) pushed Linux usage waaaaay up, and that wasn't really an accurate representation of long term usage (or, people were cheating).

That said, I wouldn't bother trying to read to much into those numbers. Linux has been trending down for a while now, but who knows why. I can't explain the trend, but I have a theory for this month.

Now that Spring has arrived in the Northern hemisphere, Linux users (well known for their love of the outdoors) have switched off their PCs, and are out enjoying the warmer weather, the sunshine on their faces and the pollen in their paranasal sinuses.

System Shock 2 FPS Now Available On Linux
4 Apr 2014 at 8:52 am UTC

Quoting: DrMcCoyAs someone who's with ScummVM, I very much disagree with you there, neffo.
Old games you be properly ported, even to the point of them being able to run on non-x86 architectures, sometime which Wine can't do.
Scumm (the original) is a VM. Which is an even higher level to a a translation layer.

I'm not quite sure what you meant, I think you missed a in there somewhere. However, my point was that Wine does a really, really good job and porting the game is pointless. (I don't know of a game of that vintage that doesn't work - but I don't tend to replay old games.)

My other point, which I have made before is that new games are what drives platform popularity, not old ones. Getting a native version of System Shock 2 will do as much for Linux as the native port of Quake did for the Amiga. New games - AAA games - are coming, they are the ones that matter. SS2 in a Wine bottle does the job just fine.

Epic Games Loves Linux, Unreal Engine 4.1 Update Preview With Linux Support
4 Apr 2014 at 8:29 am UTC

What is this Linux thing they are talking about?

System Shock 2 FPS Now Available On Linux
3 Apr 2014 at 12:22 pm UTC

There really is no reason this game needs to be ported to Linux over just running in it Wine. Forget the nonsense. It works perfect in Wine. On any modern version of Windows it runs on a functionally similar translation layer to that which Wine creates (WoW).

IMO this is how old games should be ported, ie not at all - just bottled. The outcome is the same for us gamers. Save the programmers from digging through ancient code, and get them to work on porting new games.

Unreal Engine 4 Announced With Linux Support Including The Editor, Source Code Access & More!
29 Mar 2014 at 6:22 am UTC

Quoting: DrMcCoy
and get access everything, including the full source code
Keep in mind though, that despite what other news sites have reported, while this might technically be "open source", you're not getting free (as in speech) software. It will not be GPL (nevermind any more permissive licenses), and earlier engines won't be GPL'd either.

From what I've read, there's no info yet on how exactly the license will look or how code contributions will be handled.
I believe that is only because they didn't want to call it GNU/UnrealEngine4.