Stellaris: Apocalypse is due soon & there's a new overview video up, also a note about Linux sales

I've never quite understood the big problem with Steam "DRM". As far as I can tell, I can play my games in offline mode without an internet connection. So, like, the games will play without phoning home. So what's the problem?

As I said above, it's an ideology for them. The ONLY time when Steam's DRM is actually getting in people's way is when they want to sell their games to another person, which would normally be legit, but is made impossible by Steam's DRM. The fun thing is that close to 100% of the time there is no solid desire to sell off used (=older) games, because old games tend to be dirt cheap on Steam anyway (sales...), so there is no real market for second-hand games.

I -swear- that a good approximation to 100% of the "Steam is so evil because DRM" crowd are in fact utter hypocrites that tolerate DRM anywhere but on Linux - but otherwise happily buy smartphones, gaming consoles, streaming or cable TV subscriptions, movies and E-Books. None of which come DRM free.

So as a perspective of a dev ; why should i put effort for a Linux version? You can use Linux and rant about it but eventually you're buying them on Windows.

Spot-on!

Personally, I think the anti-Valve train needs to go back in the station for a while.

Personally, I think the anti-Valve train needs to go back in the station for a while.

So you think that we will have still Paradox games in the future even with this sad message on Twitter ?

In other words, yes, I think you're a part of the problem here.

No, I am part of the solution! :D

Yeah, this is what every extremist believes right? I haven't found a case in history where that ever turned out positive..

snip

I can totally accept not being able to play PUBG, or EA/Ubi games. I consider them "platform exclusive" games that just aren't available for my platform. That's fine. What I don't (want to) accept is having no AAA games at all. As in zero, nada, nothing.

We -have- AAA games. The selection could be greater, sure, but we get enough AAA games that we don't -need- to boot Windows 100% of the time when we're in the mood for playing a game.

Yet.

But with your attitude, this picture might change soon enough, and it won't be only PUBG that makes you boot Windows (I hope you -never- use that either btw. - it's got built in DRM!). Paradox is currently supplying a very healthy portion of all AAA games released to Linux. And if they go, others might follow quickly.

Then it will be back to Tux Racer and cheap Indie games.

Well, for you that is.

Since I am not a knuckleheaded ideologist, I still have other options. WINE being one of them. Dual-booting the other. I'd -very- much prefer to see AAA games continue to being released natively on Linux, but apparently people like you are working really hard on putting an end to what might be remembered as the time when Linux got good games for a brief period in history.

I just bought Europa Universalis IV for 10 euros at their awesome Valentine's Sale (which wasn't even advertised here as far as I've seen?) and I am just getting into it. Feels like a typical "mega nerd dad game" that will just devour my nocturnal life, so Paradox, expect me to buy some DLC real soon!

In other words, yes, I think you're a part of the problem here.

No, I am part of the solution! :D

Yeah, this is what every extremist believes right? I haven't found a case in history where that ever turned out positive..

I'm not sure disagreeing with one person with "extreme" views on one topic is a valid reason to claim the median between opposing views is the correct answer in all cases without regard for specifics. Maybe the right answer would have been for Stalin to compromise and only kill off half as many people? Perhaps the Americans should only have napalmed half of Vietnam? Maybe we should be working with a theory of the solar system in which the Earth and the Sun switch off which one is at the centre every leap year, instead of accepting those radical Galilean ideas whole hog.
When the radicals turn out to be right, their thesis stops being radical and becomes received wisdom, and so it doesn't occur to anybody to consider it a "case in history" in which extremists were right.

so Paradox, expect me to buy some DLC real soon!

I don't think their approach to DLC helps them personally... I own Stellaris but I've held fire on buying the DLC as they *just keep coming* and this seems to be a recurring theme...

For these titles I tend to wait for a 'collector's edition'.

The Lunar New Year sale just started on Steam, and Paradox's games are all 50-75% off. I just got Stellaris and a bunch of DLC. ^_^

I just bought Europa Universalis IV for 10 euros at their awesome Valentine's Sale (which wasn't even advertised here as far as I've seen?) and I am just getting into it. Feels like a typical "mega nerd dad game" that will just devour my nocturnal life, so Paradox, expect me to buy some DLC real soon!

The odd thing really is that I was flabbergasted when I read that Paradox isn't doing well on Linux. They make the exact type of games I would have assumed to be really appealing to Linux users. I would have expected their Linux market share to be way above industry average.

Turns out, not. Meh :(

Just bought three DLC packs I didn't yet have, too. Just because.

So you think that we will have still Paradox games in the future even with this sad message on Twitter ?

Not that my quote has anything to do with that :P, but I will reply to the question :)

I personally think Paradox will continue supporting us for sometime, unlike smaller indie developers who struggle along, they aren't the type to make rash decisions about suddenly pulling support for a platform.

so Paradox, expect me to buy some DLC real soon!

I don't think their approach to DLC helps them personally... I own Stellaris but I've held fire on buying the DLC as they *just keep coming* and this seems to be a recurring theme...

For these titles I tend to wait for a 'collector's edition'.

I think their approach is one of the best personally.

They have seriously long-term support for their games, more so than the vast majority of developers. Pushing out DLC (that is not required) enables them to continue getting funds for each team working on each game, plus they always do a free content patch with each DLC.

I have Stellaris but none of the DLC. Suggestions for which DLC to buy?

I think Utopia is the only one really worth it. The rest are nice to have, sure, but you're not really missing anything with the cosmetic DLC. Things like Synthetic Dawn are only interesting if you plan to play as a synth. If you don't, you can also ignore it.

I just bought Europa Universalis IV for 10 euros at their awesome Valentine's Sale (which wasn't even advertised here as far as I've seen?) and I am just getting into it. Feels like a typical "mega nerd dad game" that will just devour my nocturnal life, so Paradox, expect me to buy some DLC real soon!

I've been on a EUIV mini-binge recently myself. The time just flies on by :D . You might want to do a little research on what DLC you want, since the PDS model is pretty a la carte and you can pick and choose whatever interests you the most.

I don't think their approach to DLC helps them personally... I own Stellaris but I've held fire on buying the DLC as they *just keep coming* and this seems to be a recurring theme...

For these titles I tend to wait for a 'collector's edition'.

You'll be waiting for years yet, then. The current PDS model is to keep supporting the game with free content and updates for years (much like Cherryh is a massive overhaul) but that's paid for by DLC every couple of months. Crusader Kings II came out in 2012 and it's still getting content patches thanks to continued DLC sales. I'm a pretty price-conscious gamer and don't have that big of a budget to spend on games, so the stuff that doesn't interest me that much I tend to pick up in the regular sales. It's not uncommon for the older DLC to be at least 50% off. I mean, I think there's valid criticism of this model but PDS' position pretty straightforward to understand and unlikely to change.

When the radicals turn out to be right, their thesis stops being radical and becomes received wisdom, and so it doesn't occur to anybody to consider it a "case in history" in which extremists were right.

Thanks, fair and absolutely valid point the way I stated my words ;).
I did consider using "religious fanatic" instead, I guess that would have better matched what I had in mind.


Last edited by jens on 15 February 2018 at 8:15 pm UTC

That's quite sad to read. I just bought a lot of paradox games from Humble Bundle. Maybe we need more publicity.

Yeah these bundle sales are not helpful. A whole ton of peeps get the games cheap, developers may or may not see profit. I'd bet many see fuck all profit.

They have seriously long-term support for their games, more so than the vast majority of developers. Pushing out DLC (that is not required) enables them to continue getting funds for each team working on each game, plus they always do a free content patch with each DLC.

I agree! I mean...look at how old CK2 is, and they are STILL making content for it. I love this game, and they keep making it better and better. Which is waaaay better than the usual "fire and forget" approach other publishers take. If you compare that to the Civilization franchise, they keep (re-)making the same game over and over, releasing it with graphics updates (and sometimes downgrades, like the horrible art style they picked for Civ VI), and one or two minor new features, I keep buying CK2 DLC for a few years longer, thank you!

As for their continued Linux support - I guess we're safe as far as their Clausewitz II games go, as they already ported that engine to Linux and can probably port games using it to Linux with minimal effort, as long as they keep using/updating that engine.
The problem might be their -other- games. Like Cities Skylines, which probably had to be built from the ground up to support Linux, costing them additional resources. They might be tempted to say "nah, let's not bother" next time. Which would suck, thinking that Cities Skylines is one of the best games we have on Linux.

They have seriously long-term support for their games, more so than the vast majority of developers. Pushing out DLC (that is not required) enables them to continue getting funds for each team working on each game, plus they always do a free content patch with each DLC.

I agree! I mean...look at how old CK2 is, and they are STILL making content for it. I love this game, and they keep making it better and better. Which is waaaay better than the usual "fire and forget" approach other publishers take. If you compare that to the Civilization franchise, they keep (re-)making the same game over and over, releasing it with graphics updates (and sometimes downgrades, like the horrible art style they picked for Civ VI), and one or two minor new features, I keep buying CK2 DLC for a few years longer, thank you!

As for their continued Linux support - I guess we're safe as far as their Clausewitz II games go, as they already ported that engine to Linux and can probably port games using it to Linux with minimal effort, as long as they keep using/updating that engine.
The problem might be their -other- games. Like Cities Skylines, which probably had to be built from the ground up to support Linux, costing them additional resources. They might be tempted to say "nah, let's not bother" next time. Which would suck, thinking that Cities Skylines is one of the best games we have on Linux.

Well Cities Skylines is made by Colossal Order Ltd. and it's only published by Paradox Interactive (again, not be confused with the Paradox studio). A lot of times, the developer can be the one making the platform decisions, not the publisher.

In the case of Cities, it's a Unity game, so they didn't exactly need to re-work tons of Linux.

I don't think their approach to DLC helps them personally... I own Stellaris but I've held fire on buying the DLC as they *just keep coming* and this seems to be a recurring theme...

Kind of agree. I have some of the base games, yes they are intricate, but at the same time the game mechanics do not evolve much even between games, let alone the DLC's. Maybe they are too scared to experiment much with the franchise/core ideas in case they upset the die-hard fans, at least that's the impression I get.

I think their approach is one of the best personally.

They have seriously long-term support for their games, more so than the vast majority of developers. Pushing out DLC (that is not required) enables them to continue getting funds for each team working on each game, plus they always do a free content patch with each DLC.

It is a pretty good approach when one bought the base on its release date. Other publisher would have just released Crusader Kings III, IV, V etc. They do more or less the same but packaged as DLC's.

It gets a little bit complicated when one decides to buy lets say Crusader Kings II now, the base game including all DLC's then gets rather expensive. The DLC's that change the game mechanics should be somehow merged into the base game to keep the "entry" price always at a fair level imho.

so Paradox, expect me to buy some DLC real soon!

I don't think their approach to DLC helps them personally... I own Stellaris but I've held fire on buying the DLC as they *just keep coming* and this seems to be a recurring theme...

For these titles I tend to wait for a 'collector's edition'.

I think their approach is one of the best personally.

They have seriously long-term support for their games, more so than the vast majority of developers. Pushing out DLC (that is not required) enables them to continue getting funds for each team working on each game, plus they always do a free content patch with each DLC.

Totally appreciate the support Paradox has given to the Linux gaming scene.

I've got very limited time to play a game nowadays (I appreciate your job allows the freedom to re-visit titles) I'm fortunate to get a single visit! I don't want to buy thinking there is likely to be 5+, game play changing, additions to the content.