LinuxGamecast Weekly 386: Pedro’s Still Dead

DragonBox prototypes begin shipping! VVVVVV releases the source, Quake II RTX learns how to monitor, and Steam Lunar sale dates leak. Then Axiom Verge faces, the CHAIRQASITION!


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Timestamps:
04:37 Steam Lunar sale dates leaked
06:37 Steam client beta update
09:07 Steam soundtrack updates
12:22 Dota 2 losing players
15:42 Quake II RTX 1.3.0 update
19:32 WarriOrb
21:42 Nexoria: Dungeon Rogue Heroes
23:32 Daemmerlicht
30:42 Nvidia Vulkan beta drivers
32:12 DXVK 1.5.1
33:42 Nvidia 360Hz monitors
37:57 Intel discrete GPU at CES
42:42 SuperTuxKart 1.1
44:47 VVVVVV open sourced
48:07 Julius 1.2.0
50:22 DragonBox Pyra shipping
54:42 CHAIRQASITION: Axiom Verge
01:06:02 Hate Mail


Colour key: Venn Jordan Jill

Steam Lunar sale

  • Missed something during the winter sale? Just wait a few weeks
  • Yeh, I remember this last year and grabbed a few games from my wishlist that I missed during the Winter Sale.

 

Steam Beta

  • They fixed the hard-nope if you moved the Steam survey window.

 

Steam Soundtrack

  • There has been major updates and new functionality to Steam gaming Soundtracks on Steam.
  • There is a new “soundtrack” app type now. For music content, this has many improvements over soundtracks original label as DLC, including being able to purchase the soundtrack without purchasing the base game.
  • Soundtracks can now support not just MP3s but other file formats as well, including higher quality Flac and Wav files.
  • The Steam Library has a new interface for Soundtracks that is very minimal and makes it easier for playback and browsing of files.
  • Soundtracks can now include album art and liner notes.
  • I actually do occasionally use the Soundtrack player in Steam on occasion so it is nice to see it getting some love, more details and a visual overhaul.
  • I can kinda see this being used in big picture mode? I dunno. Computers these days are powerful enough to run an audio player and a game at the same time

 

Running low on DOTA

  • The Dota Underlords auto chess game whos early access was released in June of 2019, I am sure was Valve’s attempt to keep the Dota 2 franchise going.
  • Especially, since the wildly popular Dota Auto Chess community created mod was releases for Dota 2 back in January 2019.
  • Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long
  • MOBAs these days have a pretty high skill barrier for entry and a reputation of less than welcoming communities
    • Plus BR kinda ate it’s lunch in terms of the “new hot thing all the studios are trying to do”
  • Like LOL, it’s not going anywhere because free.

Steam: Game Updates

Quake II RTX 1.3.0

  • It can find the correct monitor now.
  • Playing with dynamic res I can hit 60 but it doesn’t look so hot at super scaled 720.
  • Ate poo on initial launch.
  • 15 FPS on virtual RTX. WOO

Steam: New Games

WarriOrb: Prologue

  • Play as a demonic Skittle with a big sword.
  • Controller does not work with the Xclone for PS4 and ended with the UE4 crash reporter showing up.
  • The Full version is coming spoon™
  • Steam input with the DS4 works
  • What’s with all the coming soon games?
  • Is that some hack to get your game out before announcing the release date?

 

Nexoria: Dungeon Rogue Heroes

  • It’s hipster pixel deep sky derelicts
  • …With more WEEB

 

DAEMMERLICHT (Demo)

  • Daemmerlight is a soon to be released beautifully surreal and atmospheric adventure/puzzle game.
  • You play as a small orb that came into the world by someone or something, and realize that this isn’t somewhere you want to be. On your journey you collect 3 lights (Not four!) attached to 3 decisions and collect remnants of souls that came before.
  • The demo reminds me of a cross between one of my favorite games of all time, the abstract atmospheric puzzler Kairo, and the Doorways immersive horror adventure series.
  • I am looking forward to playing the full beautifully crafted game by developer SYNTHCODER.

News:

NVIDIA Vulkan beta drivers 440.43.02 Released

  • Now with Linux 5. RC compatibility goodness.
  • They work.
  • I was hoping that DXVK infinite loop thing might help with some performance in Vermintide. It did not
  • The next bit of news just might!
  • GPUs from the Turing architecture, RTX 2060 and above, have many new Vulkan extensions giving developers access to new features.

 

DXVK 1.5.1

  • Moar cores!
  • Moar DX9 Fixes
  • Moar shadows!

 

NVIDIa 360

  • I like the thing at the end where they’re all “here’s a video in which you can’t see the difference because you’re watching this on a 60hz monitor”
  • What’s the over under on the price point here? I”m gonna say over $2k
  • I will buy a 120hz monitor when there is no other option.
  • Call it the Shield, I dare ya.
  • To be honest, I don’t think I would be able to notice much of a difference between a 120hz or a 360hz monitor, because I only use one eye to see anyways.
  • Looking forward to hearing the comparisons of G-SYNC vs FreeSync on 360hz panels in the future.

 

DG1

  • This a standalone version of intel’s new graphics which apparently will be shipped with CPUs
    • The article speculates this might be an iris replacement
    • 2X Ice lake performance doesn’t really sound like much.
  • Hopes of a standalone intel GPU seem dashed
  • Your options will be LP, HP and HPC
  • And at CES Intel announced a similar product to the Intel Xe.
  • Intel announced their newest Compute Element, a more convenient, modular way to swap components in and out of their latest NUC 9 Extreme.
  • The Compute Element also consists of a GPU and CPU in a PCIe x16 form factor like the Xe.
  • The new NUC 9s are the first desktop-level gaming and the first workstation class NUCs.

 

SuperTuxKart 1.1

  • We Teased it a few weeks ago, but it’s out now
  • Better network latency, some pumpkins and speedrun timers just in time for AGDQ
  • SuperTuxKart 1.1 has been released with some new editions and enhancements.
  • There is a new arena called Pumpkin Park that I am looking forward to playing here on LGC.
  • UI enhancements on desktop and mobile.
  • And a story mode timer for speedrunners.
  • Adding network support to SuperTuxKart was literally a game changer, and made the game so much more fun and playable.
  • Ever since we compiled and played the first network Alpha release of SuperTuxKart 1.0 back in November of 2018, I have been impressed with all subsequent releases and improvements made to SuperTuxKart. Keep up the great work!

 

VVVVVVVV

  • To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the fun platform game VVVVVV’s release, Terry Cavanagh’s released the game’s version 2.0+ source code for everyone to modify and play with.
  • And, as a surprise, Sergio Cornaga announced a 10th anniversary game jam for VVVVVV over on glorious trainwrecks!
  • Ethan Lee is one of the developers of VVVVVV, who helped Terry “Ensure that the game runs nicely on the latest multitude of confusing linux systems.”
  • Terry, I <3 Super Hexagon, ChatChat, and Constellation Machine, but my favorite is Radio Silence! I love the abstract games!
  • First off, it’s not open source since you may not alter or redistribute this software in any manner that is primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation.
  • It’s “source available” like UE4.
  • Apparently the source code is pretty dirty. One particularly egregious switch statement got brought up
  • The licence does bring up that the intent here is to help people learn from and make custom content for vvvvvvv

 

Orange

  • See you in hell XP support
  • Fighting in Carthage no longer causes infinite loops
  • They have an official appimage now too

 

Pyra DragonBox prototypes

  • I’m sure the folks who have been waiting for this are ecstatic
  • Apparently there is still some battery wonkiness that they’re trying to nail down with a software update
  • If you wanted a prototype you had to plop down 1462.00 EUR / 1704.82 USD and wait a few years.
  • You can preorder one for €400.00
  • Unlike other handheld PCs, like the GPD Win or Pocket, the Pyra DragonBox is built by and for enthusiasts of open source hardware.
  • The goal is not to sell thousands of units but to bring something into the world that meets specific needs for a specific set of individuals.
  • It is nice to see that the DragonBox is in beta tests with the community, and that an open source hardware project is actually coming to fruition.

CHAIRQUISITION:
– Nooope

– Not sure if want

– Check it out

– Shutupandtakemymonies


Game: Axiom Verge
Devel: Thomas Happ Games LLC
Engine: FNA
Price: 19.99

Wazzat: Explore and uncover the mystery of a surreal alien world by blasting aliens and glitching your environment in this intense retro side-scrolling action/adventure.



Venn:

Does It Launch

  • No issues

Performance @ 1080

  • Caps out around 855fps on the 2060.

Graphics

  • Hipster-pixel done right.

Control

  • Everything worked OOTB.

Fun?

  • With Axiom Verge 2 around the corner it’s well time we took a look at the original.
  • It’s Metroid, with like, half the numbers filed off.
  • To say Axiom Verge draws heavily on the original Metroid would be an understatement.
  • The pixels, the beeps, the boops, level design, weapons, even the tubes between areas all scream Metroid.
  • And you know what, that’s not a bad thing since you would be hard pressed to find a better Metroidvania than one of the games responsible for the genre.
  • What Axiom Verge gets right IMNSHO is that ever so difficult balance of exploration vs reward.
  • I’m bringing that up since it’s what kept me tied to my Chair hours at a time.
  • You see, no matter what direction you tear off there is a good chance of stumbling across some trinket or power up every 15 minutes or so.
  • All the while passing by inaccessible areas that cause you to theorize exactly how you’re going to bypass that particular bit of nonsense.
  • Boss fights are like the story, something you run into on occasion.
  • They both exists only to break up the exploration.
  • I spent 11 hours in my first playthrough and 13 during my second.
  • Yeah, yeah… I could think of worse ways to spend $20.
  • Verdict: Metroid.


Jordan:

Does It Launch

  • yes

Performance @ 1080

  • Metroid truly is a graphical juggernaut

Graphics

  • Juicy Pixels

Control

  • FNA means everything works OOTB

Fun?

  • I orignally bought this for the switch cuz I figured it’d be a good low battery game that I can sink some time into on car rides or flights
  • And it is. Cuz it metroid
  • Well, Metroid if it was made for a modern controller, cuz it finds a use for all the buttons
  • But otherwise you run and pew pew through labyrinthine levels that loop back in on each other
  • There isn’t anything wrong with wearing your inspiration on your sleeve though, especially if you can offer a comparable experience instead of a pale imitation
  • Axiom Verge does that.


Jill:

Does It Launch

  • Yes, in a very tiny window on my Acer UHD monitor on my Core i7 CPU, AMD RX 580 8GB GPU running Ubuntu 18.04

Performance @ 1080

  • Works great at 4x = 1080p 60 FPS with Vsync on and 220 FPS with Vsync off.
  • 5x = 1440p 60 FPS with Vsync on.

Graphics

  • Works beautifully!

Control

  • As with many side-scrollers, it worked great with my 8BitDo controller and is extremely responsive. It was a bit more challenging using a keyboard, but that was to be expected.

Fun?

  • I am loving the driving retro chiptunes music and sound design.
  • The atmosphere and game play are exquisite.
  • Axiom Verge is definitely a love letter to classic NES style metroidvanias.
  • It draws you into a retro hipster pixel world, but plays like a newer game would.
  • The joystick control for movement is very precise and smooth.
  • I found myself not using the D-pad much like I usually do for side scrollers and retro style games.
  • The feel of this game is so arcade like, but on steroids.

Hate Mail:

Necro suggestion

Memorial

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