SDL did eventually write the wrapper
https://github.com/libsdl-org/sdl12-compat [External Link]

X-Wayland is trying to smooth out the rough edges for X.org apps running over Wayland

Pipewire is already working as a drop-in replacement for PulseAudio, ALSA and Jack (WIP, has a few limitations but awesome progress)

I know some libs in some abstraction levels are worse than others, but it's not all doom and gloom and linux / opensource in general does have a very active comunity working on shims for pretty much anything you can think of.

Not to mention old windows software is often better via wine or than on windows itself, so there is that...

View this comment - View article - View full comments

The first thing that came to my mind was the Apple M1 beast, then Raspberry Pi 4 and only then the ARM Chromebooks...

Definitely useful in multiple fronts :)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

my takeaways:

1) avoiding the root issue

PopOS devs failed to check for package conflicts between steam and the rest of the repos used by their OS in default conditions. Maybe they do have checks in place, but they failed, maybe they just don't do that... probably worth some attention towards devising/improving automated checks on their end.

It shouldn't happen, period. Nothing anyone says will make this error "right", only understandable.

2) unexplored GUI friendliness issue?

IMHO the Pop Shop showed too little info on the encountered error, and that's part of why Linus went online to find advice in the "wrong" venues.

Needing to search online without clear error messages is something I criticize Windows for... at least on Linux the terminal exists, but the exact stdout output could be there in the GUI as an "extra details" section on the error message (something Linux Mint does a lot on their GUI design for various system maintenance tools).

An URL for the official distro forum/wiki is also something I'd use in such cases, to help drive users to better quality info online.

3) a small step for tech-savvy linux-seasoned users, a giant leap for the rest of mankind... aka "x.org" might as well be a website

There is an important gap between the meaning of "This big list of packages of all kinds in no particular order will get uninstalled:" and "DANGER: This shorter list of CRITICAL SYSTEM COMPONENTS will get uninstalled!"... tech-savvy linux users are apparently not noticing the difference due to the unavoidable mental translation of core package names to "IMPORTANT" when reading apt warnings, but people with no prior contact with the names of such components may be left a bit in the dark here... no, "X.org" does not look one bit as menacing as it should

4) putting the direst warning closest to the decision options

Dr. Strange says "They really should put the warnings before the spell" and while this is an important lesson, it shouldn't be taken literally.

On the terminal, there are at least 2 reading orders to consider:
a) disciplined - rolls back to top then reads in order until the bottom of the output
b) spontaneous - starts at the bottom (where the command is waiting for user input) and maybe glances towards the top

(b) may oclude warnings at the top of the output and at the beginning of long lists, and there is a good chance of the user passively limiting their reading to the current visible portion of the output instead of scrolling up to see the rest, unless (or even if) prompted to

IMHO informative output is indispensible, but "tl;dr:" warnings should also exist close to the decision being made, carefully avoiding the risk being ocluded

5) actually helpful output is not always just about providing data, but also advice / recommendations

this kind of situation could be seen as analogue to the rationale behind choosing sane defaults but on user input questions

combining (3) and (4) is probably more effective than a "type this long sentence if you're sure" safety lock without propper context, because better context helps the user avoid "huh? so what?! yeah, i'm sure" behaviour

eg:
"This list of stuff will be installed:
...

This list of stuff will be updated:
...

This list of stuff will be uninstalled (including 18 CRITICAL SYSTEM COMPONENTS):
...

ALERT! 18 CRITICAL SYSTEM COMPONENTS will be uninstalled!

Proceed:
Yes - DANGER! see ALERT and review details above!
No - RECOMMENDED"

6) a lock is not a soldered iron bar, it has a key to make it convenient to open it when necessary

I'm totally OK with experimenting with a "place i_am_sure.txt in this folder" to unlock developer mode, but what happens after a user uses the file-based (un)lock mechanism?

IMHO implementing that shouldn't reduce the importance of tackling (3), (4) and (5) because people like Linus might still plow through that extra barrier unwittingly (out of a lack of immediate info on alternatives and risks), and because tech-savvy users can also gain from those UX improvements

it should also get properly explained in the footnotes of apt's stdout, instead of a dry "can't be done"

by the way, apt is great at detecting but sucks at telling us about indirect unresolved dependancies (missing a dependancy of a dependancy)

7) in-place advice is better than out-of-place advice

where did you first learn it was important to update the fresh installed OS before installing stuff?

a new user runs linux for the first time... how is he supposed to discover that it's important to update the OS he just installed?

some distros like Linux Mint have a "Welcome" app with ordered to-do recommendations for a fresh install, qnd that's the first thing on the list

a second (afaik unexplored) strategic place for this is as a warning banner/messagebox, in the GUI app manager, when that gets ran before the first update, or even later if there are pending updates

8) working together

Valve should really start talking to (and working with) distro devs more often, instead of just upstream

they could be testing and helping ensure distros package their stuff flawlessly... they could also help teach their users to trust distro repos first and the damn .deb file on their website later... to update the OS before installing it... to teach Ubuntu users to enable multiverse and 32-bit and then install OpenGL and Vulkan libs, etc

there are just sooooo many new users hitting the Steam for Linux forums with these same issues! it's obvious more help could be provided to avoid them becoming lost at first

9) we can have our pie and eat it too

linux distros CAN maintain our liberty to do what we want with the OS and at the same time decrease the odds of users breaking stuff inadvertedly

this is definitely s9mething where distros have ample room to improve, and yes, Arch Linux can come with less safety locks than Ubuntu so everyone is happy

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Guest

Quoting: Marlockwe are around 1% of steam users yet we are making 5,8% of purchases for this game

That either shows that Linuxers are even more interested in this type of games,
or
that there is a world outside steam. You can also buy ΔV on GOG.....

Well, yes, there is a world outside Steam... However, the since those are the global sales figures from that dev, not specifically the steam sales figures, the net ratio of linux users to non-linux users is what it is.

I can imagine the proportion of steam linux gaming users are way higher than non-steam linux gaming users, so the 1% figure is probably not too low below the total gamers vs. non-gamers ratio (more likely higher?) ...

...so you'd get something like 12.000 total sales of which 8.000 are steam sales (no idea about this ratio, just an example)... and 700 linux sales across sales platforms, which would be comprised of ~500 linux sales through steam and some 200 linux sales on GOG maybe. Net result is maybe-not-that-much-more/likely-less than 1% linux gamers responsible for those 5,8%

There is also some game type eschew between platforms, but I'd venture to say that's just repressed demand due to the types of games that have more or less linux support (eg: competitive online multiplayer games being less likely to have native linux support than indie single-player stuff, for very understandable technicall reasons), and that the ones that do release for linux in underrepresented/undersupported genres will actually see high linux demand too.

In any case this is all conjecture until observed over real data and analysed with proper statistical methods.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

the other compelling argument in favour of linux releases is also floating around in this article

we are around 1% of steam users yet we are making 5,8% of purchases for this game

View this comment - View article - View full comments

"More windows games run on linux now than on windows itself"

That headline will be awesome to read when it comes :)

It will still not be 100% and it will tell us more about old games than new ones, but it will stillbe awesome and will have its sway factor too.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Valve invests upfront in compatibility layers so it can ensure its huge catalog of games doesn't suffer later, eg. when OpenGL gets axed from new GPU drivers... they are the proverbial man with a plan.

It also already helps in another scenario (though I'm not sure Valve has plans to leverage this or if it's just an unintentional positive side-effect)... OpenGL is deprecated in OSX, but Zinc allows for OpenGL >> Zink >> Vulkan >> MoltenVK >> Metal... which has already been tested in more than one occasion IIRC and actually works!

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: dpanterPresenting the GOL Deck, a.k.a. GOLdie

To protect your privacy, external media requires approval to load.

Source: i.imgur.com

View cookie preferences.
Accept & Show Accept All & Don't show this again   Direct Link

OMG, this actually looks great!!!
Please take my money :grin:

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Julius

Quoting: MarlockGiven how Valve handled theSteam Controller (releasing 3d printing blueprints for replaceable plastic parts to the general public), maybe all of this can become true.

Of course, the process of changing the husk on a controller is likely a million times easier than doing it with a complete handheld pc... but hey, people do fix and replace smartphone parts, so let's see what they'll say on iFixIt... as long as it's not all glued up, modders should be happy :happy:

Yeah, but maybe it will be possible to 3D print some parts yourself :)

Exactly... but 3D printing a part is the easy step (not that it's actually easy, with so many prunter models, materials, filling settings and etc)... the real trial is actually replacing the original part for the new, without breaking the new expensive toy... shivers!

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Given how Valve handled theSteam Controller (releasing 3d printing blueprints for replaceable plastic parts to the general public), maybe all of this can become true.

Of course, the process of changing the husk on a controller is likely a million times easier than doing it with a complete handheld pc... but hey, people do fix and replace smartphone parts, so let's see what they'll say on iFixIt... as long as it's not all glued up, modders should be happy :happy:

View this comment - View article - View full comments