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.
Quoting: CorbenI'd like to know if they changed the graphics API. Before it was OpenGL for sure, which worked great on Linux with wine and later with proton. But for VR I guess they had to change to a more recent API. I guess it's Vulkan, but couldn't find anything so far. Well, I bet it'll still be working fine with Steam Play.
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.
This is my worry, as well, although if they move to dx11, dxvk will likely have us covered. We'll see, though. Maybe Liam or someone can reach out to Hello Games?
Quoting: garpuJust sent them an email to find out.Quoting: CorbenI'd like to know if they changed the graphics API. Before it was OpenGL for sure, which worked great on Linux with wine and later with proton. But for VR I guess they had to change to a more recent API. I guess it's Vulkan, but couldn't find anything so far. Well, I bet it'll still be working fine with Steam Play.
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.
This is my worry, as well, although if they move to dx11, dxvk will likely have us covered. We'll see, though. Maybe Liam or someone can reach out to Hello Games?
If a developer doesn't want to develop for Linux, buying their game for Steam Play is not likely going to influence them one way or the other.
Quoting: liamdaweWe'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.Well said, Liam. Ten years ago, “gaming on Linux” meant “hacking around trying to get Wine and emulators to work”.
I suppose if you want to put a positive spin on this argument, it shows how far Linux gaming has come that we're having it at all. Me, I just want to play videogames.
Quoting: wintermuteI've been on Linux for 4 years so not quite nearly as long but before Proton existed I only played native titles and was perfectly content with that. Even still the only game I play in Proton is Skyrim because my love for that game runs deep. Even playing anything at all in Proton was a huge deliema for me when it first came out but if I already own the game it doesn't really matter if I play it. Outside of proton I've never touched wine or a VM or any means of running Windows software.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: mao_dze_dunIf we let the purists have their way, Linux would have no GUI. Nobody is forcing you to play Windows games on Linux. I believe in the utilitarian approach - if it works then it's good. Liam should probably add some filter on the home page, so the "no tux, no bucks crowd" can only read about native games and then all will be happy. For too long the Linux community has been held back by having to cater to OS hardliners and their politics. The more Linux can do - the better.That's what OS/2 thought until that went the way of the dodo. I don't think Linux will die like that but back in the day one of the reasons for OS/2's demise was devs built windows software with the mentality of "OS/2 can run it too so we're targeting both." I personally think wine is a double edged sword, always have, always will.
wintermute Mar 26, 2019
Quoting: ScooptaEven still the only game I play in Proton is Skyrim because my love for that game runs deep.
Skyrim was released four years after I started using Linux full time, so according to your rules I'm not allowed to play it and should be content with that?
Quoting: wintermuteI would be.Quoting: ScooptaEven still the only game I play in Proton is Skyrim because my love for that game runs deep.
Skyrim was released four years after I started using Linux full time, so according to your rules I'm not allowed to play it and should be content with that?
wintermute Mar 26, 2019
Quoting: ScooptaI don't think Linux will die like that but back in the day one of the reasons for OS/2's demise was devs built windows software with the mentality of "OS/2 can run it too so we're targeting both."
That's a myth. OS/2 was several times more expensive than DOS/Windows and didn't support 386 CPUs, the lack of native commercial software was a consequence of the lack of market share not the cause of it.
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