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.
Personally, I'm just down with the idea of Liam covering what he enjoys playing. As long as that's on Linux, I wanna hear about it.
And if streams it, I usually want to watch. Even better if I can take part and partially ruin said stream... :D
Last edited by scaine on 26 March 2019 at 4:22 pm UTC
Steam Play is here and it's going to be the only way to play a lot of AAA titles (and plenty of bigger indies) on Linux. Some have a stance against it, others love it. We try to cater to both sides of the coin and that won't change.
If you don't like that, you really don't need to comment or read the article. I make it easy too, Steam Play as a tag is always shown first and coloured if it's a Steam Play related article.
Frankly, I'm not going to debate it any further as it will go in circles.
stretch611 Mar 26, 2019
Quoting: LinasI agree. If this site starts to comment on any title that works through Steam Play, it might as well remove the word "Linux" from the website name.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: GuestQuoting: LinasQuoting: 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. :)
It's certainly not news that I care about either, but I can understand someone who has the game and transitioned to Linux caring about it. For everyone else though, you should get actual real support when you support a developer, and encourage more Linux support, not less, so definitely don't send these devs a cent until they support us in return.
That used to be my take too. But I'm more nuanced now. In some cases, "no tux no bux" just won't work. In those cases, I'll decide if I'm gonna make an exception. So far, I've made one, for Deep Rock Galactic (any other Windows games I own are through the Humble Monthly). Reckon I might do the same for this one.
Last edited by scaine on 26 March 2019 at 4:32 pm UTC
Quoting: stretch611Quoting: LinasI agree. If this site starts to comment on any title that works through Steam Play, it might as well remove the word "Linux" from the website name.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. :)
Because... what? We're gaming on Windows, are we?
Quoting: stretch611I agree. If this site starts to comment on any title that works through Steam Play, it might as well remove the word "Linux" from the website name.Okay, I said I wouldn't debate it further, but this really irked me something special.
We've covered all sorts of things for years including Wine and Emulators and no one complains about when we do. Yet Valve come along, improve things for us dramatically in a short time, enable us to show developers we're actually here and a thing.
It's being played on Linux, it's still very much Linux and as always, I cover what interests me and what I think others might also want to see. I can't please everyone, but saying we're basically no longer a Linux gaming site because we do this is utterly ridiculous.
Edit: Here's more food for your thoughts, on our PC Info survey (see stats here only about 6% of the 500+ people who did the Steam Play question said they wouldn't use it.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 26 March 2019 at 4:36 pm UTC
Quoting: liamdaweAt least for me personally I still have a hard time swallowing stuff like this. I personally enjoy Proton for things like Skyrim which I've had since I was on Windows but I still try to stand by no tux no bucks as I think it's a bit of a slippery slope. Yes it's a Linux sale but it's a Linux sale that the dev didn't put any special effort into and that IMO breeds laziness. Why port if they don't have to. Idk, no man's sky looks cool I just don't know if I can swallow buying a windows game.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?
Last edited by mao_dze_dun on 26 March 2019 at 4:47 pm UTC
wintermute Mar 26, 2019
Quoting: ScooptaI personally enjoy Proton for things like Skyrim which I've had since I was on Windows but I still try to stand by no tux no bucks as I think it's a bit of a slippery slope.
I personally enjoy playing games. I've been on Linux since 2007, I'm not going to only play Windows games released before then. Generally I buy Linux games I want to play on or around the day of release and Windows games I want to play when they're at least 50% off, so I guess my policy is "No Tux, Less Bux".
Quoting: wintermuteWhich is a perfectly acceptable stance (especially for crazy-expensive games!). Pay a bit less if the developer isn't actually supporting Linux but Valve have provided an easy way for you to play it, while still showing the developer Linux sales.Quoting: ScooptaI personally enjoy Proton for things like Skyrim which I've had since I was on Windows but I still try to stand by no tux no bucks as I think it's a bit of a slippery slope.
I personally enjoy playing games. I've been on Linux since 2007, I'm not going to only play Windows games released before then. Generally I buy Linux games I want to play on or around the day of release and Windows games I want to play when they're at least 50% off, so I guess my policy is "No Tux, Less Bux".
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