Metro: Last Light Released for Linux on Steam

QuoteHowever, if you're going to use these games, you're better off using them on GNU/Linux rather than on Microsoft Windows.

Richard Stallman

The man knows the nuances.
And I think about an important difference betwee GoG and Steam;)

I've downloaded the game and started playing it. Haven't played it on Windows but it seems to me there are missing effects. I suppose it should have depth of field, ambient occlusion, motion blur and other but I didn't spot any of those. Also the video settings menu is stripped down.

It is not that it looks bad but the Linux version seems inferior.

Quoting: Quote from Caldazar

Quoting: QuoteHowever, if you're going to use these games, you're better off using them on GNU/Linux rather than on Microsoft Windows.

Richard Stallman

The man knows the nuances.
And I think about an important difference betwee GoG and Steam;)

I think he was comparing using DRMed games on Windows to using DRMed games on Linux. If those are compared, he said Linux is preferable, since Windows itself restricts users even more (not to mention that Windows always has built in own DRM).

I don't think he compared DRM free games (let's say Windows versions run in Wine on Linux), to DRMed ones run on Linux. So what he said doesn't apply to GOG vs Steam arguments IMHO.

Quoting: Quote from Caldazar@shmerl
Sure, same priority here.
All I'm saying is: Voting with your wallet has the great advantage of providing more fine grained answers than just "yes" and "no".

No freedom to lend it to a friend? Minus 5$.
(As long as DRM doesn't come as malware or has any negative impact on my system of course)

And Hey! No disrespect for Stallman please! :) He's right, it's unethical.

Yeah, because Stallman also believes in a lot of weird things, such as child porn not being child porn in some cases etc. Yes he was a visionary at the time, but his stances are a bit too far for me. Just my two cents on that issue.


http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/361173/online_only_richard_stallman_-_no_censorship_good_censorship/

Quoting: Quote from Shmerl

Quoting: Quote from scaineThat's an admirable stance, but not one I can get behind, sorry. It's a little too Stallman for me. If you take that stance and apply it to everything in your life you'll be giving up a fair list of things. In fact, off the top of my head: every console, Steam, some Desura, all Apple products, most Android products (unless you bypass Play and take your chance on the malware infested third party appstores), every Bluray disk, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Lovefilm (pretty much every online film repository bar Youtube), most DVD's (the ones encoded with CSS certainly, and good luck knowing which are before you buy them), most e-books and certainly anything to do with Kindle. There's probably lot of other examples, but most of that list affects me directly.

In fact, about the only thing that isn't governed by DRM digitally these days is music. And probably that only because of radio stations.

So, yeah, pretty admirable. But not for me. I like a balance, and a little DRM is acceptable provided it in no way gets in my way. And for me, Steam doesn't.

That's what I do :) I reject DRM in general. DVDs are an exception, since that DRM is obsolete essentially, so I don't consider that to be DRM really. libdvdcss is anyway the only way to play DVDs on Linux. Blurays? Never used those, I think they are irrelevant since disks are dying out anyway.

Apple? Oh, horror, I don't even come near that for many other reasons besides DRM. Netflix? No go (clear DRM which even aggressively attempts to push it into HTML standard - even more reasons to reject it). E-books? I buy DRM free only (no Kindle or anything like that). There are DRM free e-books available, the situation is much better than movies which are limited to DVDs mostly.

I don't use Android for mobile, but not so much out of DRM concerns, but because I prefer proper glibc mobile Linux (Harmattan, Nemo, upcoming Sailfish and so on, but that's another story).

So, obviously I don't buy any games with DRM as well.

I don't really think it's extreme - it's the only way to actually vote with your wallet, since if you are indifferent, DRM only strives more.

Please note that I am in no way making fun of you, or saying you are wrong.

What OS do you use? Is it free (as in Stallman)? If not, it technically has DRM/Non-free software. Now away from that.

Imagine this, someone decides to live using only products 100% made (components included) in the United States. Now they give up their car, television, phone, appliances,and every other modern convince they own. As you can probably guess, this doesn't work out so well, which brings me to my conclusion. 

Granted DRM isn't exactly the same as the scenario above, but it's impossible to live in the modern world without DRM. Sure, you can use all the DRM free content/software you want, but let's face it, most of the time that software is barely passable compared to the DRM'd alternatives. 

If someone chooses to live their lives DRM free that's fine by me, but the best products in terms of usability use DRM. Why? Because if someone creates something, they want to make money on it. And without DRM, the only way to make money is by the honor system.

If you wish to share a product, that doesn't help the developers. Granted I love sharing, I can see where developers are coming from.

In an ideal world, where software is free and sharable by all, DRM wouldn't exist. But for now, the closet one can get is The Pirate Bay. All the software is "free," and you can share it as much as you like, but does that really help anyone in the end?*

*Yes I understand that my avatar is from TPB, but please know I pay for every piece of software/games I use/play. I just believe in the power of free and open information.

I know this post was long, but can we please get back to the real news here? A Triple-A Gaming Title was released on Linux. Whether you will buy it or not, just know that this is great news for Linux.

Quoting: Quote from n30p1r4t3it's impossible to live in the modern world without DRM.

This is completely besides the point; just because it's impossible to do something 100% doesn't mean it's foolish to even try.

It's impossible to live completely vegan, without profiting from any exploitation of animals. The majority of people would say vegan alternatives pale in comparison to "the real thing". Yet you'll find people living as vegan as possible, and while I'm not one of them (I'm a happy omnivore, so not even a vegetarian), I still find it laudable in principle.

Likewise, it's not possible living in our societies without contributing to global warming and the general wasteful exploitation of resources, third-world countries and people. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to keep your carbon footprint low; that doesn't mean projects like the Fair Mouse are stupid.

For anyone who's bought this game, can you try to see if you actually CAN run the game without Steam, straight from the installation folder? You can do this with a bunch of Steam-exclusive games, like the entire Half-Life 2 series. If Last Light runs without Steam, I'll buy it in a heartbeat.

Quoting: Quote from DrMcCoy

Quoting: Quote from n30p1r4t3it's impossible to live in the modern world without DRM.

This is completely besides the point; just because it's impossible to do something 100% doesn't mean it's foolish to even try.

It's impossible to live completely vegan, without profiting from any exploitation of animals. The majority of people would say vegan alternatives pale in comparison to "the real thing". Yet you'll find people living as vegan as possible, and while I'm not one of them (I'm a happy omnivore, so not even a vegetarian), I still find it laudable in principle.

Likewise, it's not possible living in our societies without contributing to global warming and the general wasteful exploitation of resources, third-world countries and people. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to keep your carbon footprint low; that doesn't mean projects like the Fair Mouse are stupid.

I agree. But no matter what I try, it always feels like a losing battle.

n30p1r4t3: DrMcCoy expressed it well. One should try as much as possible, so the argument that 100% isn't possible is not really useful. DRM is like unethical pollution. You should avoid its proliferation with each opportunity.

I disagree with your idea that DRM is needed to make money. DRM is useless, since it doesn't prevent piracy. In practice DRM is only used for nefarious purposes - controlling the user, controlling the technology, controlling the market and so on. And then you should think about derivatives of DRM, such as DMCA 1201 and other such junk, which are even more evil. Unlike DRM, closed / non free software is by far not always used for nefarious purposes just because it's closed. But DRM - always, really, since DRM has no sensible and ethical reason to ever be used.

I never really encountered a situation when DRMed product had higher quality and usability than alternative DRM free one. The presence of DRM itself is equal to crippling of usability of the product, and therefore it always means reduced quality.

I knew someone would bring up the issue of Steam/DRM/nonfree software/Stallman. That's alright. Stallman is a true visionary and I respect him for standing up for his principles. Personally, I subscribe to the theory of maximizing utility while trying to minimize reliance on nonfree software. That's why I use Mint. I find it gives me a good balance between being stuck in closed Microsoft hell and Stallman's free choices like gNewSense. Here's my favorite quote from Stallman's article:

QuoteThus, in direct practical terms, this development can do both harm and good. It might encourage GNU/Linux users to install these games, and it might encourage users of the games to replace Windows with GNU/Linux. My guess is that the direct good effect will be bigger than the direct harm.

That's the main point right there. Steam does more good for us than harm. Steam for Linux makes Linux adoption more viable, which hopefully will spread it's use, which will get people more involved in the use, development, and funding of free software. It'll get more people to oppose nonfree software. But in practical terms, Steam for Linux will finally allow us to wipe all Microsoft software from our computers, and that my friends, is a victory.