LinuxGameCast Weekly 297: The Steventh Guest

Steam Spy is back! RetroArch conquers latency, VALVE absorbs the team behind Firewatch, and all your Tegra are belong to Linux. Then Rise Of The Tomb Raider faces the ChairQAsition!

All this, plus your hate mail.

Special tanks:
Frostclaw20 (new patreon)
Nicole (new patreon)
Jrullio (increased pledge)

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Colour key: Venn Jordan Pedro


Steam News:

Firewatch update
http://blog.camposanto.com/post/173170027579/campo-santo-news

  • Must have run out of people that remembered how to make games.
  • I wonder if Valve is going to become a shelter for high profile indie devs who want to sit back and collect a fat paycheque
  • And that’s the last we heard of Campo Santo as a game developer.

Steam Spies On
https://galyonk.in/whats-going-on-with-steam-spy-deed5d699233

  • Changes to the Steam API do not appear to have FL and or ALL with GDPR.
  • Will now rely on a predictive Al Gore rhythm based on maths and unicorn toenails.
  • So, the developer himself is saying the error margin can be anywhere from 10-500%
  • Well, for what it’s worth, it’s not as dead as we originally mentioned.
  • Cuz remember kids, predictive models == fact
  • So development on it continues. Apparently this site had some use from actual developers.
  • I guess this is the best that you could do without working with Valve directly.
  • Naturally, the old algorithm stopped working, and while I was busy creating a new one, some press rushed to pronounce the site dead.”

Unreal pictures
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/SteamClientBeta#announcements/detail/1657765111819118193

  • That falls directly in the about FKN time catagory.
  • I wonder if those fixes when using core contexts will fix the freezing with the overlay?

Valve down under|
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-posts-a-notice-about-australian-consumer-rights-on-steam/

  • We all have Space-Australia to thank for automated universal refunds.
  • Hooray for enforcing consumer protection and dragging kicking and screaming companies into ze light
    • Almost makes up for the whole hitler thing.
  • $3 million dollarydoos are pocket change for VALVe.
  • But, hopefully, this will hit their public perception enough that we see some cha-hahahahahahahahahaah!
    • I almost got through that.

Full beans
https://steamcommunity.com/games/564050/announcements/detail/2860225122265193696

  • This sooo looks like our kind of game.
  • If it had online multiplayer.
  • Saw the game grumps play this a while ago. Bayou Billy vibes out the wazoo.
    • And that’s not a bad thing
  • I’d be down for some Double Dragon.
  • Last time I played it was on the Master System.

MARZ
https://steamcommunity.com/games/464920/announcements/detail/1648757912562721464

  • Just so we’re clear, this is Simcity on the Mars, right?
  • More like cities sky lines.
  • They added a new challenge mode where you can’t get earf food
    • #potatos
  • Fragile passages in space seems like a poor architectural decision

Mega Fire
https://store.steampowered.com/app/799540/Super_Dungeon_Boy_Mega_Fire

  • It often gets said on this show that there isn’t much a healthy coat of fire will fix.
  • I wonder if this’ll be an exception.
  • All that flashing in the trailer caused me to click away from that page with a quickness.

Because Steve
https://store.steampowered.com/app/536770/THE_AWKWARD_STEVE_DUOLOGY/

  • Motherfu*kers, I was joking about the resurgence of FMV game.

News:

RetroArch 1.7.2
https://www.libretro.com/index.php/retroarch-1-7-2-released/

  • Better latency than the real hardware?
  • 15 kHz modelines for use with standard-definition CRT TVs.
  • Qt-powered WIMP desktop UI incoming.

Ctrl+f online multiplayer
http://blog.supertuxkart.net/2018/04/everything-is-shiny.html

  • At this point they have to be actively avoiding the one feature people want.
  • They replied in the comments they should do a post about it.
  • I would like to read that.
    • French developers, Brad.
    • Most requested feature == not going to happen.

3DS homebrew incoming
https://github.com/reswitched/fusee-launcher/blob/master/report/fusee_gelee.md

  • Well, I was sort of right. It’s not some jtag exploit, but you can fuck with some USB requests to override what gets loaded in the pre-boot environment
  • This could also be applied to potentially many other tegra devices as well, so rooting that shield tablet could be pretty easy
  • I doubt Nintendo will bother doing a hardware refresh because they actually make money on console sales.
  • They about to sell a gang of Switches.
  • All from an implementation flaw in the SoC’s USB recovery functionality.
  • Uncle Nintendo is gonna want to have words with NVidia.

Unityfall Spells
http://www.dfworkshop.net/first-look-at-spells/

  • Interesting little blog post of how they’re handling spells in daggerfall unity
  • Spells can consists of a number of attributes, and using these you can mod your own custom spells00
    • Like magic dickmissiles
  • I’m sure some daggerfall enthusiasts are super excited about this

Dark Alpha
https://alshady.itch.io/dark-nebulae-online/devlog/31277/community-forum-new-ships-new-audio-system

  • Like the post says, they’ve added a community forum
  • Looks like they’ve added some TTS engine as well, so now the AI assistant can speak a bunch of random gibberish

CHAIRQUISITION:
CHAIR– Nooope

CHAIRCHAIR– Not sure if want

CHAIRCHAIRCHAIR– Check it out

CHAIRCHAIRCHAIRCHAIR– Shutupandtakemymonies


Game: Rise Of The Tomb Raider
Webzone: Rise of the Tomb Raider
Devel: Crystal Dynamics / Feral Interactive
Engine: Crystal

Price: £39.99 / US59.99 / CA$69.99

Wazzat: One year after the events of Tomb Raider, archaeologist Lara Croft is struggling to explain her experience of the supernatural on Yamatai and appears to be suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Looking for answers, she turns to her late father’s research into the lost city of Kitezh and the promise of immortality.


Makes with the working

Venn-CHAIRCHAIR

  • Cinematics so long your Steam Controlla will go to sleep.
  • Had my first hard-lock @ the Temple
  • Second while fighting the bear.
  • Screen blacked out when first running from the bear.
  • Brass tax: 4 hours played and 50 minutes in-game.
  • It “””works””” but only after some serious tinkering.
  • Also, I’m a little disappoint in Feral support on this one.
  • It’s been a week and we’ve only reached the “have you disabled Steam overlay” part of the relationship.
  • I would be a bit more understanding if the 531 (6 use vulkan) other games in my library exhibited this issue.
  • AVG 87 on high @1080.

Jordan-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • It can get a wee crashy running at max settings
  • Essentially unplayable at UHD
  • Had a really nasty freeze just after I killed the bear
  • Fortunately, the game remembered I killed that fucker after I reloaded and it respawned me back in the cave

Pedro-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • The gifts bit of the marketplace doesn’t work
  • The shift between regular play and locked 30 FerPS cutscenes is about as jarring as you’d expect.
  • Recording the footage you’re looking at right now required more than a little massaging of OBS from what I usually do.
  • And even then, good thing we don’t do game audio, cuz OBS garbled it up right proper.

Total-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIR


Shiny / Sounds

Venn-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • Those 30fps cutscenes are brutal.
  • Outside of that is looks like a slightly upgraded Tomb Raider 2013.
  • Hell, some of the in-game cinematics verge on uncanny valley.
  • Voice work is what one would expect from a twipple A title, passable / borderline good.

Jordan-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • AAA from 2 years ago is still super purdy
  • Professional voice acting is professional
  • The soundtrack is just your regular orchestral sweeps and predictable game music
  • It’s squeenix. They have super talented VFX people

Pedro-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • It looks AAA, it sounds AAA.
  • I can leverage a lot of criticism at AAA games but aesthetics is where they shine.

Total-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIRCHAIR


Control

Venn-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • No complaints here.
  • Picked up and worked OOTB with the Steamy Controlla without issue.
  • I was pleased to see this since aiming with a hat stick is impossible for my old decrepit mind-organ.
  • The ariola pad at least gives me a fighting chance and I think it will be possible to become proficient at it.
    • Right now I’m still in the “you would already be the dead if I was using the gerbil” phase.

Jordan-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • The game natively supports DS4 with all the appropriate prompts
  • Unfortunately, Steam input doesn’t take any of that shit, so into big picture mode we go to disable steam input for this game
  • That said, shooting with controller still sucks
  • The game’s perfectly playable with wasd though. I’d just rather be sitting on my couch doing this

Pedro-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • And I suppose controls shine through in AAA games, too.
  • Barring a few exceptions, of course.
  • But in Tomb Raider and Rise of More Tomb Raider they’re fine.

Total-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIR


FUN

Venn-CHAIR

  • Oh Laura (i’m injured on my right side) Croft, how I have missed you.
  • Healing berries.
  • Is girlfriends first reaction to everything to make a bow?
    • Like, flat tyre… better make a bow.
  • Did you play TR 2013? Well, it’s more of that but not in a bad way.
  • I was worried when the game introduced crafting but fortunately it’s nothing more than collect shite and hit make.
  • Story seems legit if you play games for that kind of thing.
    • However I am 100% team keep that shite hidden.
  • It would be nice if Laura could still go all kung-fu Jimmy Chow with the backflips and shite like the original TR.
  • Basically all I can say is this, it looks like a fun two year old game and it’s definitely worth $20 but ya might want to wait for that point release because problems, this port has them.
  • I primarily say this since system locks with this title are common and semi-HARD.
  • Having a tablet ssh’d into the box to kill the game when it locks is not my definition of fun.

Jordan-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • ROTR builds on what was already there in the last TR game
  • They added a few more survival mechanics and a lite-minecraft mode, but the real fun in this game comes from the exploration
  • I’m super glad this game starts you out raiding tombs. The last game was a little short on it’s namesake activity
  • There’s a ton to do in the environments and it’s really fun darting around, climbing and shimmying across all of the various environments
  • The combat is your standard over the shoulder (Boulder holder) shooter, but every time I get into a fight, I’m just waiting to get back to the exploration portion
  • Oh yeah, they’re really trying to make that ice pick Lara’s crowbar. Seriously, I thought she was straight up gonna trotsky someone in that first flashback
  • And the QTE’s are back. Fortunately, there aren’t too many of them. Unless you buy into the melee skill tree

Pedro-CHAIRCHAIRCHAIR

  • Still hate the forced QTEs.
  • Still hate how delivering the story through cutscenes, literally in this case, slows down the game.
  • Look at this cutscene, look at it in its magnificent cinematic 30 FerPS.
  • But, the core gameplay is what made me give the previous version 3 chairs!
  • That and the catharsis of seeing Lara get impaled, again because the game didn’t register my input.
  • And I think they realize this, which is why now they slow down time the first few times you’re stepping into a trap.
  • The rest of the gameplay is great and the DLC gives you plenty of stuff to do.
  • Including, if you like to min max stats, it gives you cards to make the game harder or easier.
  • I still hate the QTEs, though!
  • Fuck that noise.

Total-CHAIRCHAIR


Final –CHAIRCHAIR


Hate Mail:

ROTT
https://linuxgamecast.com/bradley/?6NeW3da

Epoch
https://linuxgamecast.com/bradley/?QyvchtH
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lastepoch/last-epoch/

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