Helium Rain [Steam] is a gorgeous space sim and the developers have been really supportive of Linux, this update is a real juicy one too.
They've updated their build of Unreal Engine, which includes a new audio pipeline and support for Vulkan. If you add "-vulkan" (without quotes) as a launch option for the game on Steam, it will now use the Vulkan API. The developer says that it's a little slower right now, but for AMD GPU owners it might be more reliable.
They've also put in a Skirmish game mode, for you to get into a quick space battle without playing through the management and simulation involved in the main game mode. A good way to experience the combat to experiment and practice! I've tested the Skirmish mode out today and it really was quite fun, sitting myself in a large Anubis cruiser was pretty awesome.
Honestly, I can see myself spending ages with this new game mode, the battles really do look quite incredible. Seeing your turrets along your bow rotate and fire, as enemies zoom towards you—incredible!
Here's a video they put up about the battle changes:
Direct Link
See their announcement here for the full details.
This is one game I'm really happy to watch evolve, it just keeps getting better with every release.
Thanks for the tip Rémi!
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
njaguardsheep Jan 26, 2018
I've been using vulkan in the beta branch with no issues on radv, it fixes the lighting issues with gl on the open source drivers.
Developers also can simply post ready builds on their own site, or use itch.io if they can't handle hosting.
Last edited by Shmerl on 26 January 2018 at 3:20 pm UTC
Last edited by iiari on 26 January 2018 at 10:11 pm UTC
Been enjoying this one, it's a good sofa game.
I've been using vulkan in the beta branch with no issues on radv, it fixes the lighting issues with gl on the open source drivers.
Been enjoying this one, it's a good sofa game.
I've been using vulkan in the beta branch with no issues on radv, it fixes the lighting issues with gl on the open source drivers.
Just wondering how you got this to be a sofa game. Using a steam link, it crashes with the -vulkan option, and without it I get the dreaded green screen.
It's not a huge deal for me since I figure that eventually it will be fixed, so I'll play it when I can play it from the couch (although the developers told me they are not supporting the steam link at this time, which is odd since the steam link should not require "support"). In the meantime my 8 year old son is loving it.
njaguardsheep Jan 27, 2018
Just wondering how you got this to be a sofa game. Using a steam link, it crashes with the -vulkan option, and without it I get the dreaded green screen.
By playing it on the PC in my living room :), thats a pain haven't tried to stream it.
Been enjoying this one, it's a good sofa game.
I've been using vulkan in the beta branch with no issues on radv, it fixes the lighting issues with gl on the open source drivers.
how about the battles? I've read about its newtonian physics, etc and I'm no fan of eternal flyby battles. Are they good and engaging?
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