The Paradox PDX Launcher comes to Linux, Valve replaces Steam Spy with “something better”, NVIDIA goes full-metal NDA and 2D Vulkan?
All this, plus your hate mail!
Special thanks to:
- David S (increased pledge)
Morning zoo radio thinly disguised as a Linux gaming podcast. Whether you're a seasoned Linux gamer or just starting out, we have something for everyone. So join us on our journey into the world of Linux gaming!
Listen:
Download:
Colour key: Venn Jordan Pedro
Steam: News
Killall Bot
https://www.pcgamesinsider.biz/news/67304/valve-brings-down-hammer-on-csgo-skin-trading-bots-holding-2m-in-value/
https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensiveTrade/comments/8poohf/psa_there_are_other_alternatives_to_opskins/
- Opskins literally opened a door to gambling with their PUBLIC API and that door got shut down really fast.
- VALVe doesn’t like people taking money away from them.
- So they nuked all the Bots they identified as holding skins for OpSkins
Good luck
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/SteamClientBeta/discussions/3/1694924244566215904/
- Oh, you think bots are bad now?
- Yeah, not gonna happen. Google championed xmpp for the longest time until they wanted to lock people in to hangouts, which they’re very slowly killing
- It’d be easier/far more likely for VALVe to open the chat via API than to change the entire backend for an open one.
New Metrics
https://help.steampowered.com/en/accountdata/SteamLoginHistory
https://help.steampowered.com/en/accountdata/ThirdPartyLogins
- -192 (Linux) -1 (Android) -400 (Web?)
- Even WINE logins are identified as -192.
- Holy buffer overflow batman?
ValveSpy
https://www.pcgamesn.com/steam-spy-alternative
- It reads like they are working on their own version of Steam Spy for developers.
- Makes sense to make this available for developers.
- Also, why didn’t they already have something like this for Developers?
- Publishers don’t want the data to be public and Valve knows they can sell it.
- And I better see a tweet from the Steam Spy guy about his upcoming move to Washington.
- I kinda assumed programmable gerbils were allowed.
- Now they need to ban the real performance enhancing drug, RGB.
- Banning programmable mice makes sense and is consistent with the no software macro rule
- You might ask why, but I’d remind you that this isn’t a mechanical switch programmable mice. It’s all software
- Real talk, do they test the FKRs for adderall and the like?
- Is DPI adjustments on the fly considered cheating too?
- Is setting a single keyboard key to a mouse button also cheating?
- Why aren’t Razer and Roccat and the rest of them kicking a fuss about this?
Rob
https://twitter.com/robyescombe/status/1011562387625906176?s=19
- With the acquisition of the firewatch team and now this guy, it seems pretty clear that valve has some narrative VR thing in the works
- Now will it ever see the light of day? That’s the $64,000 question
Hate running backwards
http://www.croteam.com/ihrb-available-linux/
https://steamcommunity.com/games/575820/announcements/detail/1705058617787957713
- This is the first game to come out of Croteam’s talent incubator.
- Looks like their support also results in linux versions
- I’m going to assume Croteam educated them on the benefits of cross-platform development.
- Big thanks to the devs for sending us some keys!
Coming Fall 2027
http://refract.com/post/175365965296/your-first-look-at-distance-v10
- Six years old, Dude.
- Well, shit! If it does get a 1.0 soon we can only keep throwing shade at Carmageddon.
- 100% of this latest round of holdups has been due to the completion of the story mode.
- I don’t give a singular FK about story mode.
- They are also adding some community made maps to the official game.
- Menu is getting reworked but there is an option to go back to the old one.
- And it’s going to have cheats, because we were all clamoring for that.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
https://store.steampowered.com/app/640820/Pathfinder_Kingmaker/
- Pathfinder, for those not.in the know, is an older version of D&D with the serial numbers filed off. Same version Neverwinter nights is based off of
- So this is multiplayer-less nwn
- Since this is unity based, it’ll probably work better than NwN:EE
- Some multiplayer would be nice though
Physiology and Anatomy
https://store.steampowered.com/app/873230/The_Kings_Request_Physiology_and_Anatomy_Revision_Game/
- Free to play educational game
- Utilize eugenics to take over a fantasy world!
Taco Bell (RTheren)
https://steamcommunity.com/games/690250/announcements/detail/1670152547969988786
- 100% OpenGL accelerated card so don’t try it with any of that 97% bullsh*t.
- Do they mean we need a GPU which supports 100% of all OpenGL extensions?
- Including the 4.6 ones?
- Needs 100% Organic grain fed non GMO openGL
- Whycome sega genesis game needs 1GB of storage?
News:
GG NVIDIA
https://videocardz.com/76645/nvidias-new-non-disclosure-agreement-leaked
- Must be great to be so high up above everyone else that you don’t even care for a shitstorm like this.
- So, much, reeeeeee!11!! over this.
- In non lawyer speak this is what the NDA says.
- Don’t post your review before date/time/timezone.
- Don’t test it in some FKY setup e.g. RedHat 5 /w Nouveau drivers.
- If we give you non-public (trade secret) info during the review period you can’t tell anyone for 5 years.
Linux from the devs
https://www.back2gaming.com/b2g-interviews/what-do-game-developers-think-of-supporting-linux-part-2/
- At least the Trine developers are being honest.
- I think it’s important for developers to remember the Linux support comes with free marketing.
- That said, it can come with unrelenting (and unending) backlash if you renege on the port.
- Just ask those fk mothering clowns @ Stainless Games, the creators of Carmageddon Reincarnation.
- I’m noticing a recurring theme. The devs who are more supportive of Linux are the ones actually using it
- Speaks to something we’ve been preaching for a while. Capture the developers, make them use cross platform tools and support will follow
- It works, with one game.
C#
https://plus.google.com/+flibitijibibo/posts/4t72TQYCW3u
- Apparently mono depends on some very specific ncurses behaviour that got changed in the latest curses update
- Putting export TERM=xterm fixes this issue until the mono devs fix their shit
- Flibit’s hint at updating old games makes me happy.
2D Vulkan
https://github.com/nyorain/rvg
- No more “use Vulkan for 2D” jokes… grr.
- Might be necessary now that the apple environment is determined to excise itself of opengl
- MoltenVK is the single best thing to happen to MacOS since they started using the BSD kernel and they just don’t give a damn.
BG2:EE-2.5
http://blog.beamdog.com/2018/06/baldurs-gate-ii-enhanced-edition-25.html
- Whole whack of fixes being made to the core game
- BG1 had a Priest class, BG2 has a cleric class with kits. There were some issues with character importing that they mostly have solved
This orphan of mine
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studioblackflag/orphan-age
http://orphan-age.com/OrphanAge_Linux_Test.zip
- Makeup and Vanity music is pretty good, so this has my attention
- I’m concerned this’ll fall into the same trap as this war of mine though
- “Sitting somewhere between The Sims and This War of Mine,…”
- ZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzzZZZZZ- Urgh… talk about making a game with a serious message into something boring.
CHAIRQUISITION:
– Nooope
– Not sure if want
– Check it out
– Shutupandtakemymonies
Game: Turok
Webzone: https://store.steampowered.com/app/405820/Turok
Devel: Iguana Entertainment / Nightdive Studios / Ryan C. “Icculus” Gordon
Engine: KEX
Price: £14.99 / US$19.99 / CA$21.99
Wazzat: A world where time has no meaning – and evil knows no bounds. Torn from a world long gone, the time traveling warrior Turok has found himself thrust into a savage land torn by conflict.
Mandatory Disclosure: Bought ourselves
Venn: 
Does It Launch
- No problems.
Performance @ 1080
- 60 @ 1080 / 60 @ 2160
Graphics
- WHAR FOG?
- I knew something was off and Bradley brought it up in the YT comments.
- Turns out you it’s not enabled by default for FK all reason.
Control
- WASD standard and everything was mapped logically OOTB.
- Works /w the Steam controlla, bonus soda.
Jordan:
Does It Launch
- Doesn’t launch on steam beta with the overlay on. Doesn’t bode well if you wanna use the areola controlla
Performance @ 1080
- The N64 dev kits were significantly more powerful than the console, so often times there were peformance problems back in the day
- Not so much now
Graphics
- I like the lack of fog
- Otherwise junky 1997 goodness
Control
- Doesn’t require an n64 controller to play. 0/64
Pedro:
Does It Launch
Performance @ 1080
- FerPS are capped at 60 even if you disable VSync.
Graphics
- It does give you the option to play in fog world by disabling the “Extend Draw Distance” option.
- Also, thank goodness for the option to disable the camera bobbing.
Control
- Fully rebindable keys and mouse sensitivity sliders.
QA Score:
Fedora:
Soulless:
Ubuntu:
Fun?
- Venn:
- Most of the graphics scale up quite nicely.
- The sounds, not so much.
- Some of them are down tight bad. Now I’m not talking about the beeps and boops but anything that was sampled.
- Also something added for the N64 version was aim assist; so you only have to shoot in the general direction.
- N64 cheat codes work and that’s good for a little fkn around.
- All in all I had a good time with it despite it being the nerfed N64 port.
- Yeah, it’s primitive as all shite but the level design and enemy placement still hold up.
- However, unless you have a raging nostalgia boner I would stay away unless it’s on hella sell.
- Right now it’s $5 and that’s what it should be, not $19.99.
- I’m still curious how a 8MB ROM turned into a 200+ MB PC game.
- Music folder.
- Jordan
- I mean, it’s turok. Played it on a rented n64 cartridge from blockbuster 20 odd years ago
- It’s still pretty solid after all of these years
- Sure the enemies are vulnerable to circle strafe, but everyone in these old games were
- It’s nice that we can play old n64 games on modern hardware
- If were a playstation kid back in the day, this might be a nice pick up when it’s on sale
- Gotta agree with Venn though, this should be GOG budget price, not B+ game prices
- Pedro
- Old school FPSs always have this timeless feeling of FUN to them
- None of them RPG elements, forced story bits, pointlessly taking control away from you to show you a cutscene, or even the sense there is only one way to progress and no point in backtracking.
- Well, Turok seems to have been the daddy of pointlessly taking control away from you to show a cutscene.
- What exactly is there to be had by seeing the titular Turok holding a key aloft in such a way that it looks like he’s drinking from it?
- That said, the rest of it is just so much pure unbridled fun I can’t help but enjoy it very much.
Fun Score:
Venn:
Jordan:
Pedro:
Hate Mail:
Salami
https://linuxgamecast.com/bradley/?P7lVep8
