Good night ladies and gentlemen, cheapskates alike! Welcome to a new edition of The Cheapskate's Corner, the place to go when in need of Linux entertainment at a reasonable price. As is the custom of the house, we begin by whetting your appetite with all the stuff you might have missed:
· The Humble Indie Bundle 8 is now over, but its legacy will be forever among us (and DRM-free!). Our favourite bundle purveyors brought us no less than 11 games (although some wicked minds may say that two of them are not really a game :P), most of them debuting on Linux: Dear Esther, Thomas Was Alone, Capsized, Awesomenauts, Little Inferno, Proteus, Hotline Miami, Tiny & Big in Grandpa's Leftovers, Intrusion 2, English Country Tune and Oil Rush. An awesome bundle in its own right.
· Just like as its bigger sibling, the Humble Weekly Sale has just ended. Although the majority of its contents where not available for Linux, it still offered the chance to get Serious Sam 3: BFE (which included the classical versions of SS: The First Encounter and SS: The Second Encounter) as well as Serious Sam II. The first of these games has its own working Linux version on Steam, but the other three need to be meddled a bit before being able to play them natively.
· Another recently departed bundle was Bundle In A Box's Capsule Computers Indie Bundle, where you could've acquired a good deal of Linux games (either native or needing a little tuning): Hacker Evolution Untold, The Blackwell Legacy, Blackwell Unbound, The Blackwell Convergence, The Blackwell Deception, Lune (alpha), Hacker Evolution Duality, and Secret of the Magic Crystals.
UPDATE: As we explained in our two last editions, the Blackwell games need the AGS runtime Linux port in order to be played natively.
· The last finished deal from our previous column was Indie Royale's The Hammerhead Bundle, featuring Primordia (another game made with AGS, like the Blackwell series) and Potatoman Seeks the Troof. It also included Richard & Alice,a game made with AGS and therefore likely to be natively played with the AGS Linux port. We've tried to find out with the game's demo, yet another AGS title. However, it remains unclear whether this game can be played natively in Linux, as it turns out the demo installer is not an INNO archive and therefore its contents cannot be extracted with innoextract.
UPDATE: We can finally confirm that Richard & Alice can be played natively. We did need to install the game demo using Wine but were able to run it with the native AGS port afterwards.
· And lastly another finished deal which we didn't report here (although it was on the sales page for its entire duration): IndieGameStand's Snorms sale, where you could get the game along with its soundtrack and an exclusive map pack. We're very sorry for having missed it, but we were too busy whipping our typewriting monkeys to make them finish the last crowdfunding column... :whistle:
Apart from those mentioned in the previous section, there's still a bunch of bundles and sales going on:
Without a doubt, the best of last week's unexpected additions was the opening of Amazon's Indie Games section and its widespread sales. Before proceeding to detail its most relevant deals, there's a couple of things to mention:
· This whole Indie Game Section is an Amazon.com thing, meaning US-only. But if you, miserable reader, happen to live outside Uncle Sam's borders, don't despair! There may be something we could do about it... ;)
· During this promotion, for any indie purchase you get 3 free games. But beware, the gift games change every other day, so make sure what the current offer is to avoid surprises.
That being said, let's recap the most interesting discounted game bundles: the first one is the Indie Quintet, costs $9.99 and includes The Cave, Little Inferno and Stealth Bastard Deluxe (as well as Strike Suit Zero, a game everyday closer to being released on Linux):
The other interesting bundle is the Oh So Fine and Dandy Bundle, which also costs $9.99 and it's the ideal purchase for those who missed the recent Humble Double Fine Bundle. It includes The Cave, Costume Quest, Stacking, Psychonauts and Brütal Legend:
UPDATE: There's a new bundle with Steam keys for Linux games in it. It's the Indie Combat Pack and among its 10 games it includes Dungeon Hearts, Guns of Icarus Online and SpaceChem:
Like the other game bundles in Amazon it costs $9.99, what constitutes almost a 70% discount.
The other unexpected surprise from last week was Charlie's Games' Charlie's Games MegaBundle Pack. For as little as $1 and upwards you can get Irukandji, Bullet Candy (the 2013 update) and Bullet Candy Perfect:
If you pay $9.99 or more, you'll also get Scoregasm (Steam key):
We still don't know when is this going to end and neither does Charlie himself :Oso be quick to grab it before it's too late! As you can also see in the comments, the developer is willing to send Desura and Steam keys to anyone who requests them (only for the games that are currently on those platforms, obviously!)
Indiebundle.org's Perilous Puzzle Bundle is also still available, with no expiration date yet. For the third consecutive week we inform you that you can pay $5 to get Hairy Tales, or pay $7 and also get Wyv and Keep:
As a sort of possible bonus in the $5 level the bundle also includes Great Permutator, which is apparently being ported to Linux.
UPDATE: Another bundle with Linux content has gone live! It's the new Deadly Dungeons Bundle and for $5 it offers you Dungeon Fray and Knytt Underground:
The second one hasn't been officially released on Linux yet, but it's well under development at the beta stage and it's only a matter of time for it to hit our OS. The bundle also includes Dwarf Quest, the developers of which have shown a certain interest in a Linux port, so this one could be the future bonus game of the bundle.
The Race Against Time Gamer Bundle will still be running for another 10 days and as we already informed you it includes only one Linux game, which can be yours for $1, Dungeon Hearts:
However, considering there are other 5 games in this bundle, it's likely that Cube Roots will receive a minuscule part of what you pay for it. So if you really want to support the developer while remaining a cheapskate at the same time, you may want to get the game at the aforementioned Amazon's Indie Sale. It's only $0.50 more, but the developers will receive far more than the other way.
DISCLAIMER: We don't have the slightest idea about grossing distributions or resellers takes for this particular game, so our advice is to do whatever you want and feel good about. ^_^
And finally, another bundle with only one Linux game. It's Bundle Stars' Atomic Indie Bundle and among its 10 games there's SpaceChem:
Right now the bundle costs a little more than €4.50, meaning you'd get the game at a 55% discount. Again, Zachtronics Industries is likely to receive a tiny fraction of that amount,but since there's no alternative sale for this game we can only say "Go for it!". :D
UPDATE: We were utterly wrong as there is indeed an alternative. Again, it's one of the Amazon Indie Sales, so proceed just like we advised before.
After so many sales-in-progress we're glad to be able to present you a couple of new deals!
We won't repeat the same mistake, so we're reporting the current IndieGameStand's deal which is Paranautical Activity:
Pay what you want ($1 min for a Desura key) for this frenetic FPS/Roguelike, and if you beat the average (currently slightly under $2) you'll also obtain the game's OST. We encourage all of you to get it because it's a great game and because they need all the love we can give them after their Greenlight incident. :(
This time around the gods have been benevolent and they've brought us a full-Linux and full-DRM-free Humble Weekly Sale! This week featuring 11 bit studio's portfolio, excluding the newly released Anomaly 2. So pay what you want to get Anomaly: Warzone Earth ($1 min for a Steam key), Anomaly Warzone Earth: Mobile Campaign, Sleepwalker's Journey and Funky Smugglers:
If you pay above the average ($2.72 right now) you'll also get Anomaly Korea:
The above average content also includes an Anomaly 2 model for 3D printing and wallpapers for all the games. As its name suggests it will last only a week, so it will be over by the time we return with our next column. Go and get it now before you forget!
We've got absolutely no idea. Not a single clue, really. Barring an unexpected new Humble Bundle for Android, we don't know what could hit us in the next days. There are currently Indie Royale and Indie Gala bundles going on with no Linux content whatsoever (while we wait for the mystery games to be revealed, although we're not very optimistic), and there's also the much anticipated Groupees Build-A-Bundle which ended up being a Meridian 4 bundle with no Linux games either.
But according to recent experience, there's always something that comes out of the blue and surprises in a good manner. Be assured that we'll be ready to take them and explain them to you, so stay tuned for updates! And also don't forget to check the sales page for the most up-to-date info about sales and cheap games! Ta-ta!
Looks like there really was a Groupees' Build A Bundle in the works! It's announced as starting soon, probably way before our next column, so we're talking about it here and now.
Unfortunately they do seem to really enjoy teasing us with Jonny's doodles, so we can't speculate much about its possible content. Judging by the drawings, there surely be some kind of an offroad racing game, a fairies game, probably Spectraball and Smash Cat too, and another game where you get to wield a machete or a butcher's knife. :P
We'll stay tuned for any further development in this matter. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
· The Humble Indie Bundle 8 is now over, but its legacy will be forever among us (and DRM-free!). Our favourite bundle purveyors brought us no less than 11 games (although some wicked minds may say that two of them are not really a game :P), most of them debuting on Linux: Dear Esther, Thomas Was Alone, Capsized, Awesomenauts, Little Inferno, Proteus, Hotline Miami, Tiny & Big in Grandpa's Leftovers, Intrusion 2, English Country Tune and Oil Rush. An awesome bundle in its own right.
· Just like as its bigger sibling, the Humble Weekly Sale has just ended. Although the majority of its contents where not available for Linux, it still offered the chance to get Serious Sam 3: BFE (which included the classical versions of SS: The First Encounter and SS: The Second Encounter) as well as Serious Sam II. The first of these games has its own working Linux version on Steam, but the other three need to be meddled a bit before being able to play them natively.
· Another recently departed bundle was Bundle In A Box's Capsule Computers Indie Bundle, where you could've acquired a good deal of Linux games (either native or needing a little tuning): Hacker Evolution Untold, The Blackwell Legacy, Blackwell Unbound, The Blackwell Convergence, The Blackwell Deception, Lune (alpha), Hacker Evolution Duality, and Secret of the Magic Crystals.
UPDATE: As we explained in our two last editions, the Blackwell games need the AGS runtime Linux port in order to be played natively.
· The last finished deal from our previous column was Indie Royale's The Hammerhead Bundle, featuring Primordia (another game made with AGS, like the Blackwell series) and Potatoman Seeks the Troof. It also included Richard & Alice,
UPDATE: We can finally confirm that Richard & Alice can be played natively. We did need to install the game demo using Wine but were able to run it with the native AGS port afterwards.
· And lastly another finished deal which we didn't report here (although it was on the sales page for its entire duration): IndieGameStand's Snorms sale, where you could get the game along with its soundtrack and an exclusive map pack. We're very sorry for having missed it, but we were too busy whipping our typewriting monkeys to make them finish the last crowdfunding column... :whistle:
Apart from those mentioned in the previous section, there's still a bunch of bundles and sales going on:
Without a doubt, the best of last week's unexpected additions was the opening of Amazon's Indie Games section and its widespread sales. Before proceeding to detail its most relevant deals, there's a couple of things to mention:
· This whole Indie Game Section is an Amazon.com thing, meaning US-only. But if you, miserable reader, happen to live outside Uncle Sam's borders, don't despair! There may be something we could do about it... ;)
· During this promotion, for any indie purchase you get 3 free games. But beware, the gift games change every other day, so make sure what the current offer is to avoid surprises.
That being said, let's recap the most interesting discounted game bundles: the first one is the Indie Quintet, costs $9.99 and includes The Cave, Little Inferno and Stealth Bastard Deluxe (as well as Strike Suit Zero, a game everyday closer to being released on Linux):
The other interesting bundle is the Oh So Fine and Dandy Bundle, which also costs $9.99 and it's the ideal purchase for those who missed the recent Humble Double Fine Bundle. It includes The Cave, Costume Quest, Stacking, Psychonauts and Brütal Legend:
UPDATE: There's a new bundle with Steam keys for Linux games in it. It's the Indie Combat Pack and among its 10 games it includes Dungeon Hearts, Guns of Icarus Online and SpaceChem:
Like the other game bundles in Amazon it costs $9.99, what constitutes almost a 70% discount.
The other unexpected surprise from last week was Charlie's Games' Charlie's Games Mega
If you pay $9.99 or more, you'll also get Scoregasm (Steam key):
We still don't know when is this going to end and neither does Charlie himself :Oso be quick to grab it before it's too late! As you can also see in the comments, the developer is willing to send Desura and Steam keys to anyone who requests them (only for the games that are currently on those platforms, obviously!)
Indiebundle.org's Perilous Puzzle Bundle is also still available, with no expiration date yet. For the third consecutive week we inform you that you can pay $5 to get Hairy Tales, or pay $7 and also get Wyv and Keep:
As a sort of possible bonus in the $5 level the bundle also includes Great Permutator, which is apparently being ported to Linux.
UPDATE: Another bundle with Linux content has gone live! It's the new Deadly Dungeons Bundle and for $5 it offers you Dungeon Fray and Knytt Underground:
The second one hasn't been officially released on Linux yet, but it's well under development at the beta stage and it's only a matter of time for it to hit our OS. The bundle also includes Dwarf Quest, the developers of which have shown a certain interest in a Linux port, so this one could be the future bonus game of the bundle.
The Race Against Time Gamer Bundle will still be running for another 10 days and as we already informed you it includes only one Linux game, which can be yours for $1, Dungeon Hearts:
However, considering there are other 5 games in this bundle, it's likely that Cube Roots will receive a minuscule part of what you pay for it. So if you really want to support the developer while remaining a cheapskate at the same time, you may want to get the game at the aforementioned Amazon's Indie Sale. It's only $0.50 more, but the developers will receive far more than the other way.
DISCLAIMER: We don't have the slightest idea about grossing distributions or resellers takes for this particular game, so our advice is to do whatever you want and feel good about. ^_^
And finally, another bundle with only one Linux game. It's Bundle Stars' Atomic Indie Bundle and among its 10 games there's SpaceChem:
Right now the bundle costs a little more than €4.50, meaning you'd get the game at a 55% discount. Again, Zachtronics Industries is likely to receive a tiny fraction of that amount,
UPDATE: We were utterly wrong as there is indeed an alternative. Again, it's one of the Amazon Indie Sales, so proceed just like we advised before.
After so many sales-in-progress we're glad to be able to present you a couple of new deals!
We won't repeat the same mistake, so we're reporting the current IndieGameStand's deal which is Paranautical Activity:
Pay what you want ($1 min for a Desura key) for this frenetic FPS/Roguelike, and if you beat the average (currently slightly under $2) you'll also obtain the game's OST. We encourage all of you to get it because it's a great game and because they need all the love we can give them after their Greenlight incident. :(
This time around the gods have been benevolent and they've brought us a full-Linux and full-DRM-free Humble Weekly Sale! This week featuring 11 bit studio's portfolio, excluding the newly released Anomaly 2. So pay what you want to get Anomaly: Warzone Earth ($1 min for a Steam key), Anomaly Warzone Earth: Mobile Campaign, Sleepwalker's Journey and Funky Smugglers:
If you pay above the average ($2.72 right now) you'll also get Anomaly Korea:
The above average content also includes an Anomaly 2 model for 3D printing and wallpapers for all the games. As its name suggests it will last only a week, so it will be over by the time we return with our next column. Go and get it now before you forget!
We've got absolutely no idea. Not a single clue, really. Barring an unexpected new Humble Bundle for Android, we don't know what could hit us in the next days. There are currently Indie Royale and Indie Gala bundles going on with no Linux content whatsoever (while we wait for the mystery games to be revealed, although we're not very optimistic), and there's also the much anticipated Groupees Build-A-Bundle which ended up being a Meridian 4 bundle with no Linux games either.
But according to recent experience, there's always something that comes out of the blue and surprises in a good manner. Be assured that we'll be ready to take them and explain them to you, so stay tuned for updates! And also don't forget to check the sales page for the most up-to-date info about sales and cheap games! Ta-ta!
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ UPDATE $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Looks like there really was a Groupees' Build A Bundle in the works! It's announced as starting soon, probably way before our next column, so we're talking about it here and now.
Unfortunately they do seem to really enjoy teasing us with Jonny's doodles, so we can't speculate much about its possible content. Judging by the drawings, there surely be some kind of an offroad racing game, a fairies game, probably Spectraball and Smash Cat too, and another game where you get to wield a machete or a butcher's knife. :P
We'll stay tuned for any further development in this matter. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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· Confirmation that Richard & Alice can be played with the AGS Linux port.
· The new Indiebundle.org's Deadly Dungeons Bundle.
Unless people hit that audio corruption bug w/Pulse... :(
But that's neither here nor here, and will be resolved eventually, I promise!
Hmm... How does that bug work? Does it occur randomly? Because yesterday after testing the Richard and Alice demo I also had a go at Primordia and I got a core dump as a result of some sort of audio crash. I restarted the game and it happily didn't crash at the same point again.
The corruption bug sounds like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrdhuNOOuO8
We haven't seen a crash to core dump due to audio trouble, though. That's new :(
I don't suppose the core dump came from an unstripped build with debug symbols (i.e., you could fire up gdb on the core file and PM me a stack trace?)
I didn't know you were involved with AGS, I'll make sure to keep any future core dump I get (and I'll pester you about any bug I find :D).
Looks like I will have to try getting it to run again.
Run flawlessly out of the box for me (Ubuntu 12.10 64bit). However, I had some troubles getting Funky Smugglers to work. It complained about not finding libcurl-gnutls.so.4, and since the game is distributed as a 32bit binary it seems to require to 32bit version of that library. In my system I only have the 64bit version in /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ so it refused to run. Until I created a symlink to a random 32bit library and it magically worked!
Anyone else had problems with that game?
However, regarding Richard & Alice, I did receive a response from Harvester Games, who replied that they did, in fact, use InnoSetup to package the demo.
???
So, I downloaded the demo and tried out innoextract:
Two things.
First, it appears that this extracted just fine. Go figure.
Second, it appears that the game uses the old snowrain plugin, rather than the AGS module (i.e., native instead of scripted). This is, of course, a slight performance advantage, but AGS is not a terribly CPU-hungry engine. If Harvester Games chooses to switch to the script module, it could open up Richard & Alice to have snow/rain in ported versions of the game for Linux, iOS and Android (as well as Mac OS X, when that port is ready to go). It is possible that they've packaged it as such, but aren't actually using the snowrain plugin, but I doubt it. It would be pretty obvious in comparing it to how it looks in Wine (assuming that Wine is working properly with it; never a guarantee of that).
Anyway, I'll probably end up trying this out myself sometime later in the week.
Edit: Yeah, game seems to play fine, for the five minutes I spent on it, at least. Also, I thanked the devs for sharing that info with me, and for promptly doing so.