LinuxGameCast Weekly EP153 – Gauntlet: Because FK Linux Edition

Steam Curses up a storm! Arrowhead nopes Gauntlet, Aspyr ports a 10 year old game, and Resident Evil 2 on my Linux? Then The Magic Circle faces our CHAIRQUISITION! All this, plus your hate mail.

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Mango-chan

Steam News:

Colour key: Venn Jordan Pedro

And he curses!
https://github.com/TOTBWF/SteamCurses

It’s a NCurses Steam client, isn’t it?
Yes, one that allow for both Native and WINE Steam games to be played without having to fire up both instances.
I guess it’s handy.

How long?
http://www.howlongtobeatsteam.com/#/

It would take me a year and a half of 24/7 play to (theoretically) 100% all the games in my library.
Aka yourmoneyisgoneandyoushouldfeelbad.com
1 year, 3 months, 3 weeks, 6 days and 9 hours

This is why you don’t pre-order
http://steamcommunity.com/app/258970/discussions/0/535151589889765396

Time to put those Steam refunds to use, kids!
Next time, though: Don’t fucking buy a game that isn’t out for Linux.
As for these jerkwads, fuck’em!
Its fantastic that you told us this 7 fucking months later after people GAVE YOU MONEY FOR THIS. Thanks guys
“In our judgment that’s both what you PC players deserve,”
- I’m sorry, could you repeat that?
- What about those Linux using PC players? This is exactly what they deserve. Yup….
I have an idea. We should start up a developer/publisher blacklist. Guys proven to make promises and not deliver.
The chairs bestowed upon us an interesting bit of moon-tech.
It’s called the De BS-O-TRON 9000.
It decrypts PR speak, like a boss-organ.
Initially we set it on the default of ’11’ and the result was “Because FK YOU! That’s why.”
While concise, we wanted a clearer understanding.
After lowering the setting to ‘8’ we received the following.
“Shite, we never expected this Steam refund thing. Now people can see the game is nothing like we promised. We’re spending our remaining wet-stinky on delivering a feature complete version that people won’t insta-refund after a hour of play. We’re also focusing on the PS4 since those FKRS are stuck with whatever shovelware we give them. Like in the good old days.”
So, how are they going to deal /w pre-order refunds?

Viktor Gold Vran
http://store.steampowered.com/app/345180/

I know we haven’t thrown chairs at it but I’m confident in saying that, if you wished the Van Hellsing games had to come to Linux, this is the game you want!
It’s a fun beat’em’up that runs flawlessly on linux. Buy this shit!
Just buy the damn thing.

Talos Principle – Road To Gonorrhea
http://store.steampowered.com/app/358470/?snr=1_7_7_230_150_1

I understand this FKR really resonated with (some) people.
For me, it’s a mediocre puzzle game /w an annoying narrator.
Really, really need to get around to finishing Talos Principle
- You and me both.

The Magic Circle
http://store.steampowered.com/app/323380/

This FKR is strange, man.
Mind you, in a good way.
Hey man, it’s voiced by Dr. Venture. What could go wrong?

Knights of the Old Republic™ II? !
http://store.steampowered.com/app/208580/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/21/knights-of-the-old-republic-2-coming-to-mac-steamos-with-massive-update?abthid=55ae6be908edff3d73000011
https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/600317235370954753

That’s that same listing from May that is now gone.
The worst kept secret ..in the world.
Why not go full-metal Feral and be like ‘YO bitch-es! Check out the noise we’re working on!’
What with ass-pyre teasing their new release on the 21st, we shall see if this is it. I hope not.
Listen, I appreciate that the back catalogue is getting ported, but whar new games? We haven’t seen a linux AAA title in months!
Yup, it’s KOTOR2.
- WHAR NEW GAMES ASS-PYRE!?!
At least they fixed all the progression blocking bugs
D-did you just spend time and wet-stinky to port a 10yr old game that ran on WINE with a Gold rating? Really?
I’m not picking up a copy, mostly out of protest.
Dragon Age Origins was basically KOTOR 2 in medieval times with prettier graphics.
- And not D20 based
TSLRCM hangs /w Linux http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/discussion/485537937/541906348059098329/
- The mod was created by a Windows user and there were case sensitivity issues.
- Aspyr stepped in and reworked the necessary code for the game to work around it and it seems to have been fixed.

I don’t care if Monday’s blue / Tuesday’s grey and Wednesday too
http://store.steampowered.com/app/355180/?snr=1_7_7_230_150_1

The half-life 2 turrets, crates and general atmosphere with Left 4 Dead’s zombies mashup is ticking several checkboxes on my OCD list.
Yet another team zombie shooter game. This has been done to un-death. If you’re going to make a game like this, at least have an interesting twist?
Also 0 Chairs, cannot play as Robert Smith or Barbara Streisand

Something something Time, Unity.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/368730/?snr=1_7_7_230_150_1

FK that Shark.
Their past selves paid a visit and told a story of why their flash game sucked:
- http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlexNichiporchik/20150717/248836/Why_the_original_No_Time_To_Explain_sucked.php
- Not only did they manage to work past that, in part due to Steam’s previous crappy front page layout, but now they’ve become a publisher for other “indie” titles.
- Mad respekt for these people, but only for as long as they keep supporting Linux.
I’ve seen a few playthroughs of the Windows version and the game itself seems pretty cool
It’s SMB hard and equally rage inducing.

This trainwreck, still not updated.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/332970/discussions/1/535150948598761217/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/332970

In short: “We’re working on it guys! Seriously!”
I’m pretty sure Venn is right on with the whole “These guys have no idea what they’re doing” theory. And they expect this to be profitable.
- Sometimes you gotta learn the hard way
“very busy with the company side of things”
- These lot are pants-on-head-retarded.
- The GAME is the company, Brad.
Children, I’ve created (and sold) three businesses in my life-organ.
This is textbook how to FK up your brand.
Since launch they were screaming ‘it’s all about teh community’
Then some people of questionable intelligence backed the game
Now it’s ‘we’re busy, FK off!’ while their $19.99 alpha is on Steam, busted, and _empty_.
When this eventually launches as FTP that community you shat all over will not be there.

XCom with real time combat
http://store.steampowered.com/app/268870/

With a little inspiration taken from Fallout Tactics.
Big thanks to Dean from 5 Lives Studios for sending us keys.
The final release should be, if the store page is to believed, August 28th.

News:

Tessellate tessa-e-llate!
http://cgit.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/commit/docs/GL3.txt?id=bac12c8948681a23fd1a8f8a6bbb5523ccfe0939

But wait there’s more!
http://mesamatrix.net/#Version_OpenGL4.0-GLSL4.00
- Fermi NVidia cards on nouveau now support OpenGL 4!
  - As of July 24th, they now support OpenGL 4.1 as well.
Spoon…
Still waiting for the r600 drivers to get full OpenGL 4 support.

MOD$
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bethesda-talks-skyrims-paid-mods-controversy/1100-6428952/

What a pointless fluff piece.
It makes no attempt to look deeper into why paid mods failed beyond “These stupid mod developers were mad they weren’t making more money”
How about the blatant content theft? What about not consulting modders and the community to actually assess their wants and needs?
I completely blame VALVe for this nightmare.
It’s a good idea but completely unworkable /w VALVe’s hands-off approach.

Unreal Evil 2
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-21-resident-evil-2-fan-remake-nears-finish-line-free-this-summer

Hope they export to the Penguin before Sony breaks out the Nope Hammer.
I don’t know how finicky capcom is with their IP but, if they haven’t pulled the plug yet, it won’t be long before they do.

Satellite Rush
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/680602475/satellite-rush-sci-fi-roguelike-shooter

Has Demo will plug.
For a twin stick shooter, the controls are pretty sloppy
I’ll admit, I took a look at the video and went meh.

Get Horny
http://mitzialexander.itch.io/orc-dating-sim

The best gay orc dating sim you will play this week

BattleTank
https://github.com/Vicyorus/BattleTank

Just a little mention for a 17yr olds first game.
- It certainly is that.
- At least it runs

You get NOTHING
https://github.com/ncase/nothing-to-hide/

Dude is offering 75% refunds and it’s open sauce so no real reason to bitch.
- Yeah, at least he’s trying to make some form of amends
That said, good luck funding another campaign.

CHAIRQUISITION:
– Nooope

– Not sure if want

– Check it out

– Shutupandtakemymonies

Game: The Magic Circle
Webzone: http://www.magiccirclegame.com/
Devel: question (that’s actually their name)
Engine: Unity
Price: $/€ 19.99 – CDN $21.99

Wazzat: In this darkly comedic story, you are the hero of an unfinished fantasy game, and your designers have failed you. Steal the power of a game god – trap their creations, swap behaviors and body parts, crafting your own unique solutions to free-form puzzles. Can you ship a game …from the inside?

Makes with the working

V-

Completely playable at 3840 x 2160 /w a 980.
What’s with the hella long savegame loads?
I could forgive it if it was using more than one FK mothering core.

J-

P-

8 whole cores and it maxxes one of them at a time occasionally changing to another one.

Total-

Shiny / Sounds

V-

4K 60+ FERPS /w Unity?!!?!
Really digging the art style.
Even when it went 3D hipster-pixel.
The game doesn’t really have much in the way of sounds.
Instead, you get above average voice talent #bonussoda

J-

Top notch voice acting
I the art style is also really cool.
The shift between the artsy sketchy look and the pixelly doom look is a fun juxtapostion

P-

It’s the second Unity game which I’m never sure if the engine fucking up or if it’s on purpose. Since it put me in the good mood, I’m going to assume just like Hack’N Slash they were intentional.
The pixely remains from the “old engine” contrasting with the high-poly count models and textures gave me a right proper headache.
The voice acting was spot on.
I guess it’s better to stick to what you know and if you know about videogames that’s what you should talk about.

Total-

Control

V-

Standard gerbil/keyboard business.
Damn thing even works /w the Xclone controlla.
I’ll explain why that’s important-sauce in the fun section.

J-

P-

I had to create specific profile for this game with mouse because even at 400dpi and with the sensitivity slider all the way down, if I so much as sneezed in the general direction of the mouse it’d turn me all the way around.
While that is enough for me to ding it a chair, I still love the fact that the collision detection was frickin’ spot on.
If I saw a hole in the middle of a few brambles in that forest early on and I thought I could fit through there, I would fit through it. In other games they’d just have made that an invisible wall and told you to pike off.

Total-

FUN

V-

This game comes on STRONG, Brad.
The first 30min is pure amazeballs.
A truly unique experience that is masterfully crafted.
Notice how I said “the first 30min”
I don’t want to say I’ve soured on this game but damn if it didn’t lose most of its charm /w a quickness.
Seriously, after an arn of exposition I just wanted the game to STFU and get on /w it.
This is where controlla support comes in handy.
I genuinely believe I would have had a better time playing this on a couch-organ.
Sitting in FPS-mode /w keyboard/gerbil at the ready is not the way to play this critter.
Think about it. In FPS-mode your entire body-organ is waiting for shite to get real and with the possible exception of a few puzzles, it doesn’t.
If I was curled up on the couch /w a nice mug of tea and a few grams of coke I would be infinitely more receptive to a FPStory.
Then we get into minion management.
Like Hack’N Slash, programming all the little creature thingies becomes tedious.
The puzzles are simple enough for a Windows user to sort.
The “combat” feels like someone played a console RTS and said “That’s busted as FK all. I’ll have me some of that.”
Mix that together /w an overall playtime shorter than my dick.

J-

It’s different. The good kind of different.
Similar in concept to your Hack’n’slashes and your brutal legends
The writing is top notch
Juggling all of the various abilities is a bit tedious though

P-

The typical Unity mouse sensitivity and graphics á lá Saturday Morning RPG make it so I can’t give it 4 chairs for the fun
But ignoring that for a bit, this is a very good game.
It doesn’t tell you what to do, it shows you. It lets you explore, make mistakes, get your ass kicked and when you do finally come out on top you feel awesome!
It takes a bit of metroidvania and puts it in a Portal-esque situation, while everyone around you treats you as a player instead of a character.
Is it a 4th wall break if they actually acknowledge right from the start that you’re a person playing a game?
Most of the humor is actually pretty good but, like every game that attempts to satirise “gamer culture”, there’s a few cringe-worthy moments. Thankfully it’s just a few of them and I’m almost willing to bet they were intentional.
From what I saw, it seems to be a relatively short game. You should be able to finish it in 3 or 4 hours if you don’t much care for exploring everything.
There’s a lot of content in this game and given the free-form “puzzles” you can miss most of it and that’s okay!

Total-

Final –

Hate Mail:

LEGO
http://slexy.org/view/s2o5bgB9uZ

Chairs
http://slexy.org/view/s2bcmiPzYR

No. It is a mystery lost to the ages. Archaeologists one thousand years in the future-past will come across these archaic recordings and treat it as a mystery like the Nazca lines or the Easter Island heads.
Like Ass Mode …it’s a way of life.
Plus, lawn-chairs are awesome.