Another week down, plenty of new games have released or been updated and we're about to begin another cycle. Let's have a chat.
With the recent huge Stellaris 2.7 update, we were going to be diving into a fresh multiplayer game with excitement to look at all the new visuals. Sadly though, it appears the latest update has numerous problems that caused all sorts of lag and sync issues. Thankfully, Paradox keep around older versions on Steam you can opt into with the 2.6.x series still working well. Issues aside, Stellaris is such a fantastic RTS overall to sink a great many hours into.
Into the Breach has also been sucking up more time lately, as a small and focused strategy game it's pretty close to perfection. I'm really not surprised it has reviewed so well. Subset Games also continue to tweak the Linux build to ensure it's running smoothly.
Across today though I've been quite sick, so thanks to Stadia I've been able to just sit back and relax with a flawless Assassin's Creed Odyssey experience to just zone-out with. It's nice to have another option if your net is good enough. The developer of firefighting game Embr also sent over a pre-release Stadia key to us, and it's quite amusing. Something to look forward to when it arrives in Early Access next week (no Linux desktop release for now).
I'm also highly jealous of everyone who has a VR kit now that Half-Life: Alyx is available on Linux. Hopefully it's working well, it looks pretty incredible and sounds like Valve did a really fantastic job on it. Half-Life: Alyx has now passed twenty-five thousand user reviews on Steam too!
Additionally, while I've not played it myself, it appears DOOM Eternal became the first game to get the brand new Denuvo Anti-Cheat (different to the DRM). This made it instantly unplayable on Linux under Steam Play Proton. Another thorn in our side. However, according to TechRaptor who spoke to Michail Greshishchev, Product Owner at Denuvo Anti-Cheat they said:
We've been tracking the Proton issue immediately after launch and are committed to delivering a fix soon. This isn't a request coming to us from a publisher or anything like that - we genuinely respect such an enthusiast community and regret introducing this incompatibility on day 1
So at least there's some sort of hope on the horizon about DOOM Eternal single-player working again on Linux under Proton.
Quick tip for parents: currently on Steam the LEGO NINJAGO game is 100% off making it free to keep, seems to work well in Steam Play proton. That deal will last until May 22.
Over to you in the comments: what have you been gaming on Linux lately?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
soulsource May 18, 2020
I would have to lie if I said I was completely sober when I accepted a tourist contract two weeks ago. A tourist contract to "Dancing with Giants", 33k lightyears from LHS 331, where the contract started. I did some maths in my head, and having to do ~100 jumps per day for the next four weeks sounded quite reasonable to not-completely-sober me. One jump per minute is something quite doable after all... Also that would be a perfect opportunity to make full spectrum scans of thousands of star systems...
The next day sober-me realized that there are some other limiting factors:
o) Fuel scooping takes time, and not every star along the way is a main sequence star.
o) Full Spectrum Scanning of star systems takes time as well. Usually less than fuel scooping, but for larger systems quite a bit more.
And that was when I decided to make a stop at some asteroid outpost that was nearly along the way (Omega Mining Operation in Omega Sector VE-Q b5-15), to replace all ship parts I could with lighter variants, and to sell all parts that have significant mass and aren't strictly necessary for the ship to fly.
That brought my jump range quite a bit up, especially since I made use of the remote workshop option to engineer the frame shift drive. Now the ship can jump about 30 lightyears (a bit less with full fuel, a bit more with low fuel).
Still, it feels more like work than gaming to finish that contract in time while doing a full spectrum scan of all systems along the way.
But I started that, and I'm going to finish it. Thanks to the upgraded ship it's now just 350 jumps left to return to LHS 331.
Once that tourist is back home, I'll play something else.
TobyGornow May 18, 2020
Nonetheless I had a nice time with it, not a bad game at all, but would've been better without the Resident Evil burden.
Next I've started Mass Effect Andromeda on Xbox One, and It's good. If you like space / planet exploration, this TPS / RPG delivers with big maps to explore and superb art direction. Some people criticize the simplicity of the story but for me it allows more liberty unfolding the game : You're a pathfinder and must guide your people in the discovery of a livable planet to settle, in short, messiah story.
Lastly, still on Godot, slowly working on my project because full time "real" work resumed.
Last edited by TobyGornow on 18 May 2020 at 7:56 am UTC
- Pistol Whip: I swear this game will make me more fit. Amazing workout - and amazingly fun.
- Budget Cuts: A stealth game that was a LOT more fun than I expected it to be. There's something about PHYSICALLY go down on your knees and hide under a desk that just adds SO much to the immersion. I am THERE, right there sneaking around, trying to avoid detection by the robots.
- Eleven Table Tennis VR: I love table tennis, and here I can work on my forehand and play online with real opponents. In a virtual table tennis game that really is quite close to the real thing!
Space Pirate Trainer: A classic shoot'em'up concept, only I'm IN the game killing waves of flying space things that files TOWARDS me and surrounds me and god damn the chaos is real.
- Serious Sam VR: Another classic game concept in every way (mindless shooter), but actually BEING THERE, stumbling around in the debris and having monsters physically TALLER THAN ME run towards me... It makes ALL the difference. Unfortunately it is technically a bit jaggy in the corners, the picture skips now and then, and that's both ironic and sad since it's one of the few natively running VR games we got for Linux. But the fun is real.
- Beat Saber: We all know this one, so there was no real surprise here other than that it's every bit as awesome as it looks.
- Superhot: Another classic that everyone knows. God damn how stylish and fun it is. Finished last week. I need a sequel.
And I've not even started on Alyx yet!
Also, it is fantastic how well VR games work on Proton. I've not had to tweak a single thing, they all just works straight out of the box.
Last edited by Beamboom on 18 May 2020 at 11:52 am UTC
The Elder Scrolls Online [Steam Proton 5.0-7]
Kingdom: Two Crowns [native]
Last edited by X6205 on 18 May 2020 at 8:27 am UTC
I did purchase a few Linux games off Steam over the past week: Stellaris, ARK:Survival Evolved, ATOM RPG, RUINER, and Total War: Shogun 2. I'll probably load them up and dabble a bit over the next couple of weeks but I always seem to keep falling back on my CRPGs: Pathfinder, Pillars of Eternity, and Neverwinter Nights.
luncheonticket May 18, 2020
Tested Half-Life: Alyx native, but my NVIDIA causes more stuttering in Linux than in our beloved Windows :). So I am hoping buying an AMD will solve that my next hardware upgrade.
By the way, shouldn't Steam list Half-Life: Alyx as a Linux (Steam Play) game now?
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