Sanctum 2 got released officially for Linux after being in beta for quite a while. So, it's our job to show you how well it runs and how good the actual game is. Time to protect some Cores!
Sanctum 2 by Coffee Stain Studios is a futuristic tower defence first-person shooter where you must protect the human colony on a planet called Loek-III from the native wildlife called the Lumes. This colony is dependent on one thing called the Cores, spheres that make Loek-III a bit more suitable for human life. Naturally the Lumes are after those and it's you duty to deploy a line of defence that will keep them at bay and allow the continued existence of the colony.
Sanctum 2 was ported by the Linux porting guru Ryan C. Gordon, whose ports have been generally good, though some of them have suffered from minor issues like graphical glitches. Sanctum 2 is a similar deal, it works nicely most of the time, but changing the MSAA setting seems to break the menus quite badly, requiring a restart. I also encountered some texture issues that I was however unable to reproduce afterwards. However, it no longer has those beta bugs, like falling through the floor and it also seems to perform a bit better now. It's also compatible with Windows clients, so you can easily play cooperatively with your friends without having to mess with Wine or anything like that.
But that's enough about the port, let's talk about the game itself. Graphically it's beautiful. The environments are colourful and they are well textured. The graphics are also accompanied by good gameplay and great enemy design. You won't be just sitting around and waiting for the enemies to run into your turrets, because some enemies are invulnerable to attacks that aren't directed at certain weak spots so it's often you who has to engage the enemy. The turrets also offer nice variety and they aren't simply better versions of previous turrets. Some of them work better at tight corners, some do more damage towards the big guys and some offer mediocre damage but to a longer distance. So there are definitely some tactical aspects to think about when placing your turrets.
Another feature that increases the variety is the character system. You are not stuck with a single character, but you can select one of four characters for each map you play. They are not levelled up separately either and all the perks and towers are available for all of them, meaning that you can simply switch to another character and use the same towers, perks and secondary weapons. And they all have their own unique primary weapons and stats, so you can find out what works best for your own playstyle. I prefer getting up close and personal with the enemy, so Haigen Hawkins with his shotgun is my absolute favourite.
I'd say Sanctum 2 is a nice game to add to your growing game collection. The port is well done and the gameplay is super solid and the graphics look really good.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Sanctum 2 by Coffee Stain Studios is a futuristic tower defence first-person shooter where you must protect the human colony on a planet called Loek-III from the native wildlife called the Lumes. This colony is dependent on one thing called the Cores, spheres that make Loek-III a bit more suitable for human life. Naturally the Lumes are after those and it's you duty to deploy a line of defence that will keep them at bay and allow the continued existence of the colony.
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Sanctum 2 was ported by the Linux porting guru Ryan C. Gordon, whose ports have been generally good, though some of them have suffered from minor issues like graphical glitches. Sanctum 2 is a similar deal, it works nicely most of the time, but changing the MSAA setting seems to break the menus quite badly, requiring a restart. I also encountered some texture issues that I was however unable to reproduce afterwards. However, it no longer has those beta bugs, like falling through the floor and it also seems to perform a bit better now. It's also compatible with Windows clients, so you can easily play cooperatively with your friends without having to mess with Wine or anything like that.
But that's enough about the port, let's talk about the game itself. Graphically it's beautiful. The environments are colourful and they are well textured. The graphics are also accompanied by good gameplay and great enemy design. You won't be just sitting around and waiting for the enemies to run into your turrets, because some enemies are invulnerable to attacks that aren't directed at certain weak spots so it's often you who has to engage the enemy. The turrets also offer nice variety and they aren't simply better versions of previous turrets. Some of them work better at tight corners, some do more damage towards the big guys and some offer mediocre damage but to a longer distance. So there are definitely some tactical aspects to think about when placing your turrets.
Another feature that increases the variety is the character system. You are not stuck with a single character, but you can select one of four characters for each map you play. They are not levelled up separately either and all the perks and towers are available for all of them, meaning that you can simply switch to another character and use the same towers, perks and secondary weapons. And they all have their own unique primary weapons and stats, so you can find out what works best for your own playstyle. I prefer getting up close and personal with the enemy, so Haigen Hawkins with his shotgun is my absolute favourite.
I'd say Sanctum 2 is a nice game to add to your growing game collection. The port is well done and the gameplay is super solid and the graphics look really good.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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11 comments
This game was really positive surprise to me. The port has some issues but it is still very enjoyable experience (GTX 750 Ti).
Btw. I think they disabled high-textures for now to "fix" high-texture problem. At least I don't see any differences between medium and high textures. I had the same problem on Windows 8.1 so I guess it is not related to Linux port.
The graphics are fine but I wouldn't say they are good even compared to many other indie games.
Btw. I think they disabled high-textures for now to "fix" high-texture problem. At least I don't see any differences between medium and high textures. I had the same problem on Windows 8.1 so I guess it is not related to Linux port.
The graphics are fine but I wouldn't say they are good even compared to many other indie games.
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QuoteThe port is well done
well thats an experience i cannot share. there are multiple threads in the supportforum that the game starts with a black screen, randomly goes crazycolor mode when you change visual settings or people that affected by massive stuttering with AMD cards every few seconds.
so unless you are on an nvidia card.. better try that free trial first that is available atm.
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Quoting: loggfreaksaNctumCorrected as he's not online.
you forgot the N in the entire article :)
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Segata Sanshiro Aug 18, 2014
Glad to see this finally got released as it was too broken to play before and was quite looking forward to it.
Looking forward to more of Ryan's ports as well.
Looking forward to more of Ryan's ports as well.
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fedora 20, runs like a charm on steam and had no issues at all. i reallty like the game, tower defense with an fps twist
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QuoteGraphically it's beautiful.
It puzzles me that you think so. That was one of the first thing that struck me, that it looked awfully dated graphically. In fact I expected this to be another Unity game, it surprised me greatly to find out they've used the Unreal engine, an engine I've seen perform much, much better visually in other games. Id even go as far as saying I've hardly seen a worse looking Unreal-based game before.
But the concept is interesting. And at 85% discount it was worth the money. :)
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Quoting: loggfreaksaNctumDammit! I noticed that I made that mistake when I uploaded the video but I still managed to write it wrong in the article. Oh well, at least it's fixed now.
you forgot the N in the entire article :)
Quoting: BeamboomSure, we have games that might have higher-res textures and more detailed models, but with games like Metro the colour pallet has like one colour. This game on the other hand has plenty of bright colours and to me that made it beautiful. Might be because I live up north where it's either black or white for the bigger part of the year.QuoteGraphically it's beautiful.It puzzles me that you think so. That was one of the first thing that struck me, that it looked awfully dated graphically. In fact I expected this to be another Unity game, it surprised me greatly to find out they've used the Unreal engine, an engine I've seen perform much, much better visually in other games. Id even go as far as saying I've hardly seen a worse looking Unreal-based game before.
But the concept is interesting. And at 85% discount it was worth the money. :)
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Quoting: SamsaiThis game on the other hand has plenty of bright colours and to me that made it beautiful.Ah so you're talking purely from an esthetic point of view, how it would have been "in real life" sort of, and not technical.
Still, it could have been so much better. Some of the 3D models looks quite amateurish, and the animations likewise. In many ways this game reminds me of the state of gaming, say, a decade or so ago... As often is the case with lower budget indie games - and understandably so.
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