New Linux Gaming Survey For November

Thanks for your work!

Under Steam Machines, I missed a point like:
"I'm waiting until the platform gets more mature. (Vulkan, more AAA-Titles, etc...)"

Btw, this is something most reviews totally miss.
It's not like the Steam Machines are "released" like a console.
They are a moving target and the best is yet to come.

Still, most influential news sites provide mostly negative reviews
on the status quo and miss out how Valve is working on the whole
environment, including developer tools (profiling, debugging),
encouraging the graphics companies to provide better drivers,
pushing Vulkan and so forth...

Yet, I almost all comments on those influential websites tell you
in unison that the Steam Machines will fail because they're utter crap
and you don't get AAA-games.

Sadly, it seems Valve's PR-department is totally failing when it comes
to the SteamOS/Steam Machines. And THIS is worrisome to me.

Oh yeah, wrong place to complain about this. Sorry. :)

Likewise with the maturity, but I still can't resist the controller even though I know there will be better iterations of it in the future.

I think you do a wonderful job with the surveys, I especially like the new design -- very swave. :D

Filled in. I bought more games than I realized last month, and I've hardly played any of them.

I just realized that I forgot to check a box for Feral's store in the "where did you buy from" question. Bah.

Quoting: WorMzyI think you do a wonderful job with the surveys, I especially like the new design -- very swave. :D

Thanks, but you can thank Google for the new aesthetics haha.

Quoting: GuestThe survey doesn’t work without javascript anymore.

I have no idea what that entails in practical terms, or how to fix it... This is why I'm no good with this stuff!

Oh right, so it's a Google Forms issue then... It would make sense since there seem to be a lot of aesthetic differences, small animations and things. Actually, in terms of the UI on my side of things, it's probably a bit more cumbersome and less obvious. Seems like they changed it to be more usable on tablets et. al., which usually means a worse desktop experience.

Not a huge deal we can do, unless someone feels up to designing an in-house survey or one based on an existing FOSS one.

Isn't it redundant to ask for the current GPU in the last question ("Unique Question 2"), too? I already filled in what GPU I currently have...

I kindly ask you to stop using Google Forms for this, I block Google because of privacy reasons. Google Forms have trackers too you see.

Quoting: StianTheDarkI kindly ask you to stop using Google Forms for this, I block Google because of privacy reasons. Google Forms have trackers too you see.

While I sympathize with your point of view, it is very easy to open the survey in a private window (Firefox) where any attempt to track you is useless. Close the window when you are done and everything that google may have recorded about you is discarded.

In future surveys can you please ask about audio setups? (Headphones, Stereo Speakers, 4-channel, 5.1, 7.1)? I have noticed that surround support is very inconsistent among ports to linux,

I'm curious what percentage of Linux users are affected by this. I assume that Linux desktop users mostly play on stereo headphones, but as SteamOS creeps into peoples' living rooms, this will become a bigger issue when Linux games are more frequently played on home theater systems.

Alien Isolation, Borderlands 2 and TPS, all of Valve's games except CS:GO (only quadrophonic and 5.1, no 7.1), all of Virtual Programming's EON-wrapped ports, and many others are stereo-only ports that are supported in surround sound on all other platforms.

We wouldn't put up with these games only running at 25% video resolution on Linux, why should we accept losing 75% of our audio channels? Alien Isolation is a very audio-centric game, and being stuck in stereo is totally unacceptable. Is it okay that the regularly-maintained Linux/SteamOS version of Team Fortress 2 sounds worse than the 8-year-old XBox360 version? Right now, linux gaming offers a very poor value for me, since I have a high-end audio system (which cost nearly 20x more than the display I game on).

7.1 Audio works in Serious Sam 3 and The Talos Principle, but is curiously missing from Shadow Warrior, even though they all appear to use the same engine and have the same publisher.

Also, where would be the best place to maintain a list of the audio status of Linux games?


Last edited by Starbelly on 4 November 2015 at 7:30 am UTC

the last unique question is a really nice idea, I'd like to see the results on that.

Anyway, I do believe that the steam hardware is not perfect at all, but I sincerely hope/assume that valve will improve everything possible via software updates in the very near future. such a "dynamic" thing like a steambox simply can not be released as all-in-one or as embedded/optimized like older consoles, like the playstation or the xbox.

And just to mention that: I got the xbox 1, 360 and one as a gift from friends + exclusive games like halo, I really can make a statement for sure: the xbox series are not perfect at all, there are so many issues that I used to play with these just to finish campaigns in the given games, and that's it. The 1 and the 360 were even further given to friends of mine simply because I don't want/need them into my living room. Not to mention that I am not willing to pay for the xbox live network, just to be able to play multiplayer games! that idea sounds so much stupid to me, but microsoft seems to make lots of money with that. so I am not going online with that, no multiplayer, except for local multiplayer games with multiple controllers.

another absolutely annoying thing is that I can not play 1 games on the 360 or the xbox one - that is a somewhat complete fail, even microsoft trying to sell that new emulator software for the 360 and 1 as something revolutionary and new, which will make that possible at least for the xbox one.

But hey, capitalism works, people buy sh*t.


Last edited by miro on 4 November 2015 at 7:40 am UTC

#EVGAftw

Quoting: StarbellyIn future surveys can you please ask about audio setups? (Headphones, Stereo Speakers, 4-channel, 5.1, 7.1)? I have noticed that surround support is very inconsistent among ports to linux, [...]

I'm so with you on this one!! I researched and bought a very nice set of surround headphones specifically in anticipation of playing Metro 2033 and Half-Life 2 only to find that neither actually supported it, making them mostly useless for what I bought them for.
They do work great for video though, but that's besides the point (they're the Roccat Kave XTD; I recommend them wholeheartedly).

Quoting: StianTheDarkI kindly ask you to stop using Google Forms for this, I block Google because of privacy reasons. Google Forms have trackers too you see.

What non-intrusive Google Forms alternatives do you have in mind?

I found the question "Did you change your primary Linux gaming distribution" a bit ambiguous. Does upgrading to a new version of the same distro count as a change (e.g. Ubuntu 15.04 to Ubunto 15.10)?

Quoting: enzI found the question "Did you change your primary Linux gaming distribution" a bit ambiguous. Does upgrading to a new version of the same distro count as a change (e.g. Ubuntu 15.04 to Ubunto 15.10)?

That's an upgrade, not a different distribution.

Could we please have a 'desktop/sofa PC' entry in the type of PC question? I, like many others I suppose, use a desktop that also has a TV connected to play from the sofa. I game pretty much equally from both positions, depending on the game.

Quoting: subIt's not like the Steam Machines are "released" like a console.
They are a moving target and the best is yet to come.

To be fair, so are the consoles. My PS4 keeps getting updated, and the Xbone today is an infinitely better deal than the Xbone when it launched. It's not like the competition is standing still and only Steam machines keep moving,

Quoting: noinformationhere...it is very easy to open the survey in a private window (Firefox) where any attempt to track you is useless. Close the window when you are done and everything that google may have recorded about you is discarded.

I'm sorry but this is simply wrong and horrible advice, for a real solution to stop trackers would be to get something like uBlock. The only difference between "Private" and a normal window is "Private" doesn't load or store cookies. Google can very easily see your IP and depending on how you have your browser configured, which I take it yours tells a lot, Google can read a lot of information about you!


Last edited by Xylemon on 5 November 2015 at 12:55 pm UTC

Quoting: XylemonI'm sorry but this is simply wrong and horrible advice, for a real solution to stop trackers would be to get something like uBlock. The only difference between "Private" and a normal window is "Private" doesn't load or store cookies. Google can very easily see your IP and depending on how you have your browser configured, which I take it yours tells a lot, Google can read a lot of information about you!

In that case, I recommend you use Privacy Badger and Ghostery (if you use chromium), and browse through a VPN. If I'm not mistaken, uBlock only blocks ads, not trackers.
Just on this page alone, Ghostery has blocked 4 possible trackers for me: Facebook, Twitter, Gravatar and Piwik analytics.

Quoting: Stupendous ManIn that case, I recommend you use Privacy Badger and Ghostery (if you use chromium), and browse through a VPN. If I'm not mistaken, uBlock only blocks ads, not trackers.

If you use the more extensive filters you can stop trackers, and there's also the default-deny mode which is a lot like request policy. And yeah, a VPN or proxy would truly hide your IP.


Last edited by Xylemon on 5 November 2015 at 4:42 pm UTC