LinuxGameCast Weekly EP129 – Better Call Sol

GDC speculation abounds! Leadwerks gets a Game player, Apotheon hits Linux open beta, and Rigs of Rods rises from the ashes. Then Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered faces our CHAIRQUISITION! All this, plus your hate mail.

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http://store.steampowered.com/app/312840/

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Special Thanks to our Patreons:

Mango-chan

Patrik Nilsson

Ryan

Colour key: Venn Jordan Sandy Pedro

Steam News:

GDC
http://www.develop-online.net/news/valve-unveiling-the-future-of-opengl-at-gdc/0202706

I hope this doesn’t just lead to another competing standard.
But that’s exactly what it is.
- Thems the breaks. If they wanted to ditch all the legacy openGL cruft, they needed a clean break, which means an incompatible second product.
- We’re probably gonna see quite a bit of fragmentation because of it.
  - I think that’s why you will be seeing engineers from Dice , Unity and Epic with Valve to make a statement to the hardware vendors “ Hey we want to work with you, but we need you to work with us on this”. Cause really, who is going to benefit from this? Mantel’s API on benefits AMD really, and by making a it open sauce no one company is going to have the most benefit.
    - It won’t be open source necessarily. Open standard sure, but the implementations will most likely be proprietary, as are current openGL implementations other than mesa
      - hmmmmm interesting.
        The real issue is going to be how close to the mark these various implementations are going to be, and what developers are going to do now that they’ll need to change graphics stacks and address the looming incompatibility
  - We can always create a new unifying standard.
    - https://xkcd.com/927/
      - Can’t believe you bit
- It’s like applying the Mantle design to OpenGL itself.
  - Which is like saying “Oh shit, Microsoft is already doing this with Dx12!”
    - Even still only Microsoft is benefiting from the features, Cha-ching! At least by have different companies working together on OpenGL’s API this will allow easier and cheaper development cost.
- Hopefully this one will be open with the sauce and people will be allowed to implement it at will, unlike any of the proprietary alternatives.
  - Well, that’s probably what they’re banking on, what with it being the only legitimately cross platform modern graphics API
  - And we’ll probably see support for it in Mesa by 2199
- Now WHY is this an issue goils and guys? Because DX!!WHATEVER11!! runs on FK all mobile.

All them eggs in a single basket
http://store.steampowered.com/news/15728/

Yet one more way for Valve to monetize in-game items.
- Games which are not theirs, this time!

Leadwerks Game Player
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=384856486

…and what games are we playing exactly?
- You know, that game that is a poor version of another game. Like most that come out. I am really trying root for these guys, but at this point I am not going to expect much anymore.
I’m not entirely positive what it is.
- It’s a client that let’s you play Leadwerks tech demos from within the Steam client.
  - It’s pointless-ness on an Inception level.
Where is my killer app leadwerks? Get back to me on that.

Multiplayer stability update
http://steamcommunity.com/games/239140/announcements/detail/112923269201683635

“Performance issues of systems based on the AMD processor”
- It sometimes launches using a single FKN core, BRAD!
- Takes about 5min.
“Some rendering/OpenGL performance issues”
- Yeah, like hardley 30 FERPS /w a 980? (/w the draw distance noped)
- At least they acknowledge that those are still issues and if the wording on that is to be believed they’re working on it.
  - And they better, I’m not buying it until they do.
- But did they start playing nice?
  - At least on the upside a lot of windows users are complaining as well.

Penumbra: Necrologue
http://store.steampowered.com/app/346290/

FK all if I can get it to launch.
- The Steam Install is apparently borked.
- You can get it from its indiedb page in the meantime: http://www.indiedb.com/mods/penumbra-necrologue
  - It seem now to mostly be the command issue in the .ini file “-” now. But I still would rather get it from IndieDB.

Destination: Open World Retrobooster
http://store.steampowered.com/app/342980

For the price of Free, Terry!
Can’t rebind controls, 1 chair!
I want my 40MB back.
If we ever review this sucker, we are totally giving it 2.5 chairs
The main difference it seems is that Terry actually built levels for his game. THis one is procedurally generated

Open Beta Apotheosis
http://store.steampowered.com/app/208750/
https://plus.google.com/+flibitijibibo/posts/8Dfrn2xVphD

Now with moar bugtracking: http://steamcommunity.com/app/208750/discussions/0/606068060820669570/
I can’t get over the art “style” and the properly fucked character animation.
- I like the art style for this game.
It’s a flibijibibibo port so you know the controls works.
- Fact, science.
- Hell, you know every single feature of every controller ever works
It kind of reminds me of Guacamelee, except in ancient greece.
No nazis either
- DOTZIS!

News:

FK Desura
https://twitter.com/zigfrak/status/563505136694071297
http://steamcommunity.com/app/259430

Whulp, we know that the BadJuju folks are watching the show. These seem like fairly valid complaints from a developer. Whatchu gonna do about it brother?
- Snap them into a slimjim.
Seems like he’s already talked to someone and they’re cool again.
- Negative, pretty sure he is referring to how the original Desura team was compared to now.
Desura exists for people unable to get on Steam (minus a few exceptions)
- I honestly really want to see Desura succeed. It is my first love towards digital distribution on Linux. But so far now with Reskinning the old client (which still crashes) and now elongated updating methods for developers to update their product on the service. Someone really need to sort out the priority list for Desura.

Because how long did the Linux release take?
http://www.joystiq.com/2015/01/30/octodad-dadliest-catch-reels-in-4-9-million-in-gross-revenue/

Still, once they sorted out the controller issues, it was a pretty fun game.
- Octodad is a cool game within its design budget.
Since the Linux port came out quite a bit later these numbers are FK all useless.
I’m more interested in games that has simultaneous releases.
- Agreed, I would much rather get the numbers from B:PS on it’s same day release.

New Killing Floor 2 screenshots from Pax South
http://tripwireinteractive.com/news/new-killing-floor-2-screens-and-a-report-from-pax-south!.aspx

Well, it’s a stark improvement from killing floor 1
- Looks like more texture quality on a lot of the same models from the first game.
That looks great, lets hope they’ve reworked the janky-ass animations from the first game too.

Ogre’s GSoC 2015
http://www.ogre3d.org/2015/02/04/ogres-gsoc-2015-season-kicked-off?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

MINIONS!!!! STUDENTS!!! Donate some of your time and effort to Ogre3D
How else will we get Morrowind reverse engineered?
They want prospective coders and ideas for what to accomplish with this year’s funding
- http://www.ogre3d.org/tikiwiki/tiki-index.php?page=GSoC%202015%20Project%20Ideas
- The current To-do List. If you are a student and think you can help, get in contact with these guys. Open source projects are good resume padders

FS?
http://michaelb.org/projects/fsgamer/

I finally figured out a use for this!
- It makes it so that Unity games don’t try to full-screen into all of your monitors.
- Assuming you configure fsgamer to a specific resolution, of course.
Again, does anyone really have an evidence to support running an entirely separate X session for an application increasing game performance?
- Some window managers do cripple performance. Most don’t, but some still do.
  - GNOME3 being the worst offender, currently.
- So not having the Window manager handle that specific window and letting run on an X session of its own with nothing else running, could theoretically allow you to run the game unhindered.
  - Kinda pointless since you’re still using those resources on the other X session but, even if the game isn’t directly affected, on a low end system you’re still adding an extra X server to your already struggling machine and if you’re on the higher end you really don’t care either way.
    - Exactly my point
The only real use for these is to remove the middle man and deal with the issues of game engines, like Unity, that like to use all available screen space or refuse to be run in a fullscreen borderless window.
- It prevents you from having to fuck around with your DE and lets you just abstract from DE-game issues.

This is still around?
http://www.rigsofrods.com/entries/204-DevBlog-Progress-report-01-2015

This is my unicorn game. I’ve never been able to make it compile (the last three years)
“Rigs of Rods is an open source soft-body vehicle simulator”
Well, it’s alive again. YAY?
Two new devels joined.
New menu/GUI and working on a stable release.

Stupid card game helper app thingy
https://github.com/supertriodo/Arena-Tracker

Well, it works!
qtmake all the things!

Scale:
– Nooope

– Not sure if want

– Check it out

– Shutupandtakemymonies

Game: Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered
Webzone: http://store.steampowered.com/app/312840/
https://www.fahrenheit-game.com/?age-verified=bb982f5772
Devel: Ass-pyre
Engine:
Price: €8.99/$9.99

Wazzat: Originally released in 2005, Fahrenheit (known as Indigo Prophecy in North America) was a breakthrough in interactive narrative. This newly remastered edition features updated textures in HD, full controller support, and is based on the uncut /and uncensored international version of the game.

Makes with the working

V-

Solid 89/100 FERPS @ 3480×2160

J-

I’m looking forward to the advanced video options DLC
- You can set the graphics to custom and it’ll let you edit further.
The game seems to be locked at 100 FPS for me
- It is capped at 100.
  - Thank you sherlock. Couldn’t have figured that one out

P-

S-

the menu is utterly fucked.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1rKUJZAgiIiNWZrMVRUVFFWZmc/view?usp=sharing
had to go to the aspyr folder to configure it to window mode.
I finally got the game running properly by shutting off Steam overlay

Total-

Shiny / Sounds

V-

This game was built for the PS2 and Xbox ..it shows
Nice textures wrapped around bad (even for the time) models.
Some of the animation rigging is FK all LOL
Sounds are fine. Voice acting passable.
Yeah, I get it. It’s an interactive movie. Sadly whoever “directed” scene cuts never visited film school.

J-

The underruns are wonderful in a dialogue heavy game like this
Like Venn said, remaster or no, it’s very clearly a PS2 Game
Voice acting is decent

P-

All characters move like they’re from Morrowind!
If you look at their walking animations, outside of cutscenes, they all have that very 2002 walk.
The high res textures are jarring on what looks like a very, very old “game”.
- Regardless of how shiny the paint job, it looks absolutely old.
The voice acting is absolutely cringe-worthy at times.

S-

About as nice as you can get for remastering a game that came out 10 years ago.
not too impressed with the looks but. I had never played the game before so it was worth trying it out.
what’s with Theory of a Dead Man soundtrack?

Total-

Control

V-

Everything “worked” /w the Xclone in Big Picture
Controls are hit-or-miss e.g. sometimes I can walk right up to a door organ and BAM …open. Other times it takes a bit of random flailing
Dat FK ALL busted camera of randomness. Really!
L/R might pan or OR (get this) hard cut depending on the scene.

J-

Quick time events! The Game!
The controls are fine until you try to finely navigate certain areas
I dunno, the controls don’t really work with an 360 controller. Maybe they’re better with a PS2 one
- Its a little better, but the menus are still hella innacurate

P-

This was a PS2 game
- I remember, I played the demo on my PS2!
The binary choice pop up dialogs, cannot be navigated with the controller.
How do you mess up the controller scheme on a game that was DESIGNED for controllers?
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate QTE’s?

S-

zero issues with controllers working right out of the box.

Total-

FUN

V-

Interactive movie is ZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz ……interactive
Seriously is this FK colour blind people /w quicktime events ..the game?
I don’t hate the “game” I hate the whole concept of interactive movies.
This loathing started /w Night Trap.

J-

It’s fun to make everyone as incompetent as possible
I also like to watch the in game models attempt to do things like open doors and drink without even coming into contact with each other
However, the story didn’t hook me, and I really don’t want to know what will happen to these annoying fucking characters

P-

I refuse to endorse a “game” made by someone like David Cage.
- He is very clearly a Hollywood reject director, who sees video games as a way to push his movie scripts without having to put himself under the scrutiny of movie critics.
- Unfortunately for him, video game critics can be bigger arseholes than most movie critics.
I also hate the fact that the game keeps telling me how to feel.
- You don’t need to tell me how I’m supposed to feel. If you’re a competent game dev, you can actually MAKE me feel good or bad.

S-