LinuxGameCast Weekly 315: Playing With Protons

Steam Play invades the stable client! Hand of Fate 2 picks a fight, WINE 3.15 gets raw, and I Hate Running Backwards gains a new perspective.


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Colour key: Venn Jordan Pedro

Steam: News

Steam Play in production

  • Grab some popcorn lads, we’re in for a ride.
    • Hopefully this’ll give proton users a respite from beta client related nonsense
  • In other news, you can right click join again on the non beta client
  • Y’all motherfu*kers need to fix Steam starting between displays on the same Xscreen.
  • Whatever artard dysfunctionality in the Steam client that allows/causes that is inherited by Proton.  
  • Alright, I figured out what the problem was.
    • You can’t have one display on a XScreen1 and the other 3 on XScreen0.
    • Well, you can… but anything that rhymes /w Proton derps the hell out.   
  • Also, I would not be against the option to play a game /w Proton vs the “”native”” version *glares at Bioshock Infinite*.
    • It seems you’re not alone with that feeling, but more on that later.
    • I agree, but at the same time it could just encourage devs to shit out a one time native port and never address it again
      • Mind you, they are already doing that
  • With the overwhelmingly positive reaction Proton caused, it’s to be expected VALVe time would be expedited a little.
  • Didn’t really expect it to be a week later, though.
  • The best part?
  • Watching everyone scramble to replace game X with game Y as their reason for not switching to Linux full time.
  • I’ve even seen a few Adobe product X excuses in the mix.

 

Steam Compatibility Reports

  • Better than trying to sort a *.doc.
  • Search, filtering, sorting, more to come.
  • The problem with any compatibility, search… thingy is you are dealing /w WINE #YMMV.
  • E.fkn.G. Multi Monitor /w displays of different sizes is a carpshoot.  
  • They should maybe look at a rating system like what wine’s appdb has
    • They already have one, kinda.  
  • What they need is a way to show owned Windows games and their compatibility.
  • Pretty GUI for searching for the games you may want to play.
  • The site itself isn’t particularly mobile friendly, but that’s just a nitpick

 

RIP Linux page

  • Agreed, in 2018 this page is of little use.
  • It served its purpose.

 

On-screen controls

  • That’s really neat, if it works.
  • Lowers the barrier for using the link app as not you don’t need a Bluetooth capable controller
  • What’d be really neat is if this were seamless with the desktop client so you could get up, take your tablet with you and continue playing on the toilet
    • Giving it this basically could turn it into a Chromecast but for games.
    • Which could easily then push those movies on Steam no one watches to Steam Link’ed device and have it working properly.

 

So it begins

  • Would you rather have a busted native version or a potentially janky Proton version?
  • I was initially cheesed when I heard development on the native version stopped.   This is just egregious
    • The Linux version just contains the OST and it’s stopping people from even installing the proton version
  • Shite devels do shite things, more at 11.
  • Honestly, I would like the option.
  • If for nothing else than proving certain points about certain “ports”
  • I’m pretty sure Saints Row 2 would work much better with Proton than it does now.

Steam: Game Updates

CS:GO Free

  • Play offline for free because that sounds fun.
  • At this point, unless you’re a recent console convert, you probably already have CS:GO.
  • Or if you don’t, chances are you don’t really care either way.
  • Yeah, considering the whole point of CS is the multiplayer, I’m not sure what value this provides

 

Rocket Pass

  • Grind to unlock extra goodies, or pay $10.
  • 4GB update.
  • Also physics…
  • Apparently they messed with the ball physics and people went apeshit.
    • Dear FSM, the ree was indeed tangible
    • But did they fuck with the cube or puck physics?

 

Hand of combat

  • Pepsi challenge, I will take it.
  • Perhaps they watched the chairquisition, because this rebalancing seems to address several of our points
  • It remains to be seen if rolling away is still the dominant strategy
    • I for one would like the game to encourage getting into the fray more.

Steam: New Games

I hate 2.5D

  • It starts, can’t get it to load levels.
  • Supposedly there’s multiplayer, so it might be fun to check out on a Thursday stream

 

SPLASH BLAST PANIC

  • If towerfall and smash had a baby, this would be it.
  • Possibly has online multiplayer.  Steam says it has both multiplayer and local multiplayer, but we’ve been burned in the past.

 

The Universe

  • I’ve been getting emails about this game for years.

News:

WINE 3.15

  • Focus on android support is interesting and probably future proofing for when shit starts moving from native x86 to emulated x86 on arm
  • Better raw input support will be handy for people wanting to play competitive shooters through WINE.

 

GODOT 3.1

  • Couple of linux fixes
  • 3d ragdoll framework means that someone needs to get on making brick simulator: full life consequences
  • Ditching openssl for mbedtls is an interesting move.   Maybe it gives better performance on mobile?

 

RTC 0.2.1

  • Bane of international communism version
  • They have some better logic to detect which version of roller coaster tycoon you want to use

 

Legion

  • Doesn’t exactly work just yet but progress is underway.

 

Android Gamepad

  • That might possibly be the best use of Python I’ve seen in a while.
  • Single file which runs the whole thing server/desktop side and another for the android version.
  • Compatible with SDL2 as well, which is really cool

 

SnapMania

  • With Trackmania and a bunch of other games being available through Proton I’m somewhat indifferent to this and WINEpak
  • I guess if you really hate Steam?
  • It’s good to have anyway…
  • How does this work?
  • I mean, can you legally distribute it?

 

Flare 1.07

  • More old school diablo goodness
  • The engine has a bunch of updates including an automated quest log, cutscene revisiting and the ability for items to improve skills
  • Only a few updates here and there on the shipped campaign

CHAIRQUISITION:
– Nooope

– Not sure if want

– Check it out

– Shutupandtakemymonies


Game: Into The Breach (Proton Edition)
Webzone: Into_the_Breach
Devel: Subset Games
Engine: Custom (via Proton)
Price: £11.39 / US$14.99 / CA$17.49
Wazzat: The remnants of human civilization are threatened by gigantic creatures breeding beneath the earth. You must control powerful mechs from the future to hold off this alien threat. Each attempt to save the world presents a new randomly generated challenge in this turn-based strategy game from the makers of FTL.

Mandatory Disclosure: they made with the keys


Pass|Fail



Venn:

Does It Launch

  • Have more than one screen? *spins monitor wheel*
  • That’s the monitor Steam will launch a game on /w Proton, period.
  • Yeah yeah, I know that changing my FSM damned X settings will fix it but that’s one hell of a workaround.

Performance @ 1080

  • 60 ALL THE THINGS!

Graphics

  • No issues.

Control

  • Click click, move.


Jordan:

Does It Launch

  • Yerp

Performance @ 1080

  • Locked at 60fps

Graphics

  • Such pixels

Control

  • Click Click boom


Pedro:

Does It Launch

  • I have the UHD monitor set as the primary and the game spawned smack in the middle of it.
  • It also remembers the window position so that’s good

Performance @ 1080

  • There’s a frame limiter option to limit the game to 60FerPS, which you want to keep on.

Graphics

  • Nothing odd to report, especially since it’s running through proton.

Control

  • You click the mouse and hit the buttons on the keyboard
  • It’s turn based so you get to take your time.
  • I also liked how it gives you the indication of which action does what when you’re pondering where to move or shoot.

QA Score:

Fedora
Soulless
Ubuntu


Fun:

Venn:

  • Didn’t hate it.
  • Really really simple turn-based checkers.
  • Oh, there is depth if that’s your jam but I was able to Venn way through the first two islands.
  • Venn way, same as the wrong way… only faster.
  • Being able to upgrade mechs is nice.
  • Smashing monster is fun.
  • Punching to move a baddie so you can nope him with a tank is also enjoyable.
  • Keeping monster holes blocked is an interesting mechanic.
  • Has bonus objectives but they can be safely ignored #VennWay
  • After getting it running I lost a solid 45min in one go just cocking around.

Jordan

  • Subset, y u do dis 5 me
  • I knew going in that I was probably gonna like this game
  • Grid movement, giant robots, turn based strategy.  I’m sold
  • The game doesn’t fail to deliver either
  • The gameplay is solid, and it hammers in very early on that stalling out fights is just as valid a strategy as
  • The soundtrack can sound a wee too similar to FTL.  Maybe it’s just Ben Prudy’s “style”
  • All I know is I entered a bit of a fugue state while I was playing and about 3 hours had passed
  • I’m probably gonna pick this up on the switch too so I can play it on the terlet.   Actually, I should probably try with the steam link app first

Pedro

  • This plays similar to chess.
  • Chess with a dash of mechwarrior.
  • I guess that’s what it takes to get me to like chess.
  • All the mechs have different movement radiuses, they all have different fire modes, and all the fire modes have a knockback effect.
  • There are very few things as satisfying as causing a cascade of death with a well placed shot.
  • If I had to pick one thing to hate on it’s the energy/escort quest mechanic.
  • You really have to be careful with not letting the bugs kill the buildings.
  • That’s the one really annoying bit of Into the Breach and, since it’s such a core mechanic, the game suffers a bit for it.

Fun Score:

Venn:   
Jordan:
Pedro:   


Hate Mail:

Hatting on SteamOS

 

Feelings

 

Photon =/= Heretic Purchase

  • That, that’s some interesting fanfic you got going on there Richard.
  • Unfortunately what is and what is not a Heretic purchase is not determined by a store that sells video games.
  • Hell, the our Heretic system predates Steam on Linux #HallowAreTheChairs
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