Update: Total War: THREE KINGDOMS is now announced, we're unsure if it's related to this but still worth noting.
As if we haven't had enough teasers from Feral Interactive already, they're at it again today so what do we think is going on?
Writing on Twitter and Facebook, they simply said this:
macOS and Linux fans, hold on to your novelty video game-themed baseball caps. Big things are happening. Let’s meet back here, this time next week, and reflect on it all...
While including a lovely picture of a big cat (like their logo) and that's all that was said.
I'm going to assume this is either a game about to be released or they're going to reveal the actual games they've been teasing lately. We know they're porting Total War: WARHAMMER II but there's two other Linux ports they've teased. They seem to be moving a bit quicker with things lately, especially since they only released Life is Strange: Before the Storm for Linux two weeks ago.
The other two teasers currently on their port radar (as a reminder) are these two:
While they've often done teasers for new games, teasing something so vague like this on their social networks telling us to stick around is certainly new. I'm not sure I can handle all this excitement! What do we all think this is then?
Quoting: GuestThis is so stupid... Just reveal it already. Or don't talk about it at all until the games are released and we can buy them. What is the point of polluting our social media with vague stuff with no solid info?
It's called Kiting. And when it works -- "you have been kited"
=D
Last edited by Anders1232 on 27 September 2018 at 9:29 pm UTC
Quoting: wintermuteThey've bought Tell Tale Games :P
It would be great if they put out native versions of their catalog, although they do tend to run well in Wine. But they already supported MacOS well, didn't they? I was disappointed that their dabbling in Linux testing didn't result in releases.
Quoting: PhlebiacQuoting: wintermuteThey've bought Tell Tale Games :P
It would be great if they put out native versions of their catalog, although they do tend to run well in Wine. But they already supported MacOS well, didn't they? I was disappointed that their dabbling in Linux testing didn't result in releases.
Yeah, the main thing I used Proton for by now was playing a lot of Telltale games from a Humble Bundle I once bought. Some of them grabbed all input (en-nerving), but in every other aspect, they ran perfectly.
From their wording, I'd really expect this to be a new cooperation. Or new cooperations.
Maybe some engine asked them to do the work they fail to do themselves for years, as they are embarrassed that Proton tops their native exports? :)
Or it might even be a new business strategy.
With proton integrated in the official steam client, I really suspect they need to change the way they work. Porting games that run perfectly in Proton still makes sense, but not as much as porting games that don't. If I were working at Feral, it would not feel as fulfilling doing ports of games that run perfectly in wine/Proton any more. And it's very likely Proton will also be integrated on Mac in the future.
I'm waiting for such an announcement from the porting studios since the initial Proton release. Maybe they will give answers next week.
Last edited by const on 28 September 2018 at 11:25 am UTC
Quoting: PhlebiacTell Tale Games (...) tend to run well in Wine.
I tried The Walking Dead on SteamOS and the controller didn't work, also the mouse cursor disappeared right after the menu loaded. So I wouldn't say it's playable, let alone running well. But it did work for me some years ago on the steam client installed with wine (I completed the first chapter).
Quoting: constPorting games that run perfectly in Proton still makes sense, but not as much as porting games that don't. If I were working at Feral, it would not feel as fulfilling doing ports of games that run perfectly in wine/Proton any more.Some people here won't like it - I'm not particularly happy about it myself - but the sensible thing for them in business terms would be to concentrate on publishers who insist on third-party DRM, especially the dreaded Denuvo. Proton has real problems with that, and it's not something that'll be easy for Valve to overcome.
As I say, you may not like it. But you don't have to buy those games. A lot of people now considering Linux for the first time will want to though. If Proton expands the userbase as we and Valve hope it will, a lot of publishers who've turned Feral down in the past might be more interested in the future. Paradoxically, although at first glance it looked as if it would kill the porting business, Proton might actually give it a shot in the arm.
Quoting: DuncQuoting: constPorting games that run perfectly in Proton still makes sense, but not as much as porting games that don't. If I were working at Feral, it would not feel as fulfilling doing ports of games that run perfectly in wine/Proton any more.Some people here won't like it - I'm not particularly happy about it myself - but the sensible thing for them in business terms would be to concentrate on publishers who insist on third-party DRM, especially the dreaded Denuvo. Proton has real problems with that, and it's not something that'll be easy for Valve to overcome.
As I say, you may not like it. But you don't have to buy those games. A lot of people now considering Linux for the first time will want to though. If Proton expands the userbase as we and Valve hope it will, a lot of publishers who've turned Feral down in the past might be more interested in the future. Paradoxically, although at first glance it looked as if it would kill the porting business, Proton might actually give it a shot in the arm.
With the current development, the porting houses face some pressure, as long lasting relationships might not continue the way they did. But at the same time, there will be great opportunities. If a significant amount of people actually switch to linux because of the enhanced catalogue and increased comfort, there will be demand for people that shave the remaining corners.
If linux becomes important enough, there might actually be a shift from porting to consulting. Helping the studios to build up linux targets and QA from the start, decide on proper supported middleware and fix bugs in middleware and engines. The last point can't be overstated. Half-supported middleware and engines are the most frustrating bottleneck for our beloved platform, directly after being neglected by management :)
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