No Man's Sky from Hello Games had a pretty iffy launch, with many not happy with it but Hello Games stuck at it and continued expanding it. They’ve announced more huge free updates coming and it works very well on Linux with Steam Play.
Screenshots of it on Ubuntu 18.10, click to enlarge:
Sadly, OBS Studio dropped the performance too much for me to record any decent amount of it.
The first-load was a little long, as the game was making a shader cache but subsequent loads were fine. I was honestly surprised at just how smooth it was. By default it locked it to 30FPS which didn’t look or feel good, a quick in-game option change there and it’s beautiful. To be clear though, it does have a few random drops when new areas are loading in, which a lot of games both native and Steam Play often have issues with.
After exploring for a few hours, I might be a little bit in love as a huge space-nerd. So much to do, so much to see and every single planet you visit looks and feels very different to the one before it's absolutely magical.
As for what they’ve said is coming next, it’s called No Man’s Sky: Beyond which will be arriving sometime this Summer. A free update, just like the previous upgrades were and it’s going to include what they’re calling No Man’s Sky Online. This new online update will have “a radical new social and multiplayer experience” which sounds pretty fancy.
Additionally, a second part of the Beyond update is No Man’s Sky Virtual Reality and it’s not an additional mode, Hello Games said it’s just going to be part of the game. Considering other VR games work in Steam Play, those who can afford the pricey hardware will probably have a good time.
A third major feature is coming to the Beyond update, which they haven’t detailed yet.
It’s working so well on Linux thanks to Steam Play, with a one-click install procedure and no other special adjustments needed it’s quite impressive! I will take another look when these big updates arrive, to let you know if the situation with Steam Play changes at all.
It’s also 50% off on Steam right now, good time to pick it up.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
EDIT: I've gotten more input than I expected. :O I see now that my stance was short-sighted, and that embracing Steam Play is inevitable. Linux has always been about do-it-yourself spirit. And making games run on Linux, whether the developer intended that or not, is certainly true to this spirit.
Last edited by Linas on 27 March 2019 at 1:54 pm UTC
Quoting: LinasI understand the importance of Steam Play and Proton, but is this really Linux gaming newsworthy? I personally don't think so, but I'd like to hear other options.It is a game, running on Linux. Buying with Steam Play shows the developer a Linux sale.
You say you understand the importance...yet you made this comment?
Quoting: LinasI understand the importance of Steam Play and Proton, but is this really Linux gaming newsworthy? I personally don't think so, but I'd like to hear other options.
I think many people will be interested in playing this after the new update on Linux. So I'm inclined to believe that it is worth reporting on.
Personally I wanna pick this up but I dont think a game thats so old and has had such a poor launch is worth $30. I'd be more ok with 10-20 honestly. I know theyve put tons of work in it since but thats cause they had to to try to keep it from being a total flop. All this work since should have been in launch.
I'm a No Man's Sky fan from the beginning. Space games are my very genre ;) And it's so cool how far they've come with their updates. And it's impressive they still release those huge updates for free.
Quoting: jardonQuoting: LinasI understand the importance of Steam Play and Proton, but is this really Linux gaming newsworthy? I personally don't think so, but I'd like to hear other options.
I think many people will be interested in playing this after the new update on Linux. So I'm inclined to believe that it is worth reporting on.
Personally I wanna pick this up but I dont think a game thats so old and has had such a poor launch is worth $30. I'd be more ok with 10-20 honestly. I know theyve put tons of work in it since but thats cause they had to to try to keep it from being a total flop. All this work since should have been in launch.
I'm a bit torn on this one as well; it's quite pricey. Even more so if you consider that it reached €22 some time ago, and it is now €28: https://steamdb.info/app/275850/
That said, I might just bit the bullet this time. I had been waiting for a price drop, but it doesn't seem to come, and the game is probably worth it anyway.
Regarding 'is this newsworthy', I'd like to pitch in a big yes! My Linux gaming has been dominated by a combination of Overwatch and Deep Rock Galactic in the past two or three months. Steamplay is exciting technology and once/if they crack the Easy Anticheat issue, I'll be picking up even more Windows titles, for sure.
So hearing how certain titles run is a nice re-enforcement of ProtonDB, particularly since Liam's rig is vaguely similar to my own.
Quoting: LinasIis this really Linux gaming newsworthy? I personally don't think so, but I'd like to hear other options.
For this Linux gamer; very much so. I'm mainly interested in the bigger releases, and without Steam Play those would be few and far between. Barely enough for a weekly blog post, even. So yes, knowing what titles works out of the box is really one of the more interesting news items for me personally, only beaten by news on big titles with native support.
Quoting: liamdaweSure, all of that is true. But there are a lot of games playable in Proton (which is a good thing!), and this one is not special. The game itself or its developers literally have nothing to do with Linux. That it runs on Linux is purely due to external efforts.Quoting: LinasI understand the importance of Steam Play and Proton, but is this really Linux gaming newsworthy? I personally don't think so, but I'd like to hear other options.It is a game, running on Linux. Buying with Steam Play shows the developer a Linux sale.
You say you understand the importance...yet you made this comment?
But that is just like my opinion man. :)
Quoting: liamdaweQuoting: LinasI understand the importance of Steam Play and Proton, but is this really Linux gaming newsworthy? I personally don't think so, but I'd like to hear other options.It is a game, running on Linux. Buying with Steam Play shows the developer a Linux sale.
You say you understand the importance...yet you made this comment?
While true, this game being an OpenGL game ran fine in Wine on the day of release. So a bit on the dated side. I have to give credit to the devs for updating the game for so long. It's getting quite good reviews these days as well.
I personally don't see the value of a "linux sale" for a game that doesn't support Linux. It's nice to have the option to play something, but I don't think it will really get noticed by the devs or publishers.
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me