The 2016 release of Thumper from developer Drool is yet another that has been tweaking for the Steam Deck, and there's a fresh patch out now ready for it.
What is it? "Thumper is rhythm violence: classic rhythm-action, blistering speed, and brutal physicality. You are a space beetle. Brave the hellish void and confront a maniacal giant head from the future. Scream down the endless track and crash through punishing obstacles with simple, airtight controls. Hurtle forward, master new moves, reach overwhelming velocities, and survive epic boss battles. Every crushing impact is interwoven with a pounding original soundtrack. To reach synesthetic bliss, you must go through rhythm hell."
Here's what they said the update includes:
- Fixed issues Steam Deck compatibility issues
- Added support for PS5 and Nintendo Switch controllers
- Adjusted trigger vibrations to feel better on Xbox Series S/X controllers
- Fixed single frame glitch of whiteness when game starts up
Interestingly though, the developer mentioned how it "should also let Linux users play the game via Proton (though we don't officially support that)". The strange thing about the wording, is that it's a Windows game so on the Steam Deck it would run through Proton the same as desktop Linux — because Steam Deck is Linux. Clarifying on the Steam forum, the developer said: "We'll make sure it works on Steam Deck and it should, in theory, work on Linux in general but we're not in a position to officially support Linux".
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The thing is, if something works on Steam Deck but not desktop Linux - that would be a bug in Proton that Valve would most likely solve. At least, that's what we hope Valve will continue doing.
You can buy Thumper on Steam.
They make it sound like it's some kind of huge expense or hassle.
Obviously, they don't support that.
Quoting: CybolicThe wording is odd, but I can't fault their stance (for now). To me, it sounds a lot like when Ubuntu was the only officially supported distro for many games, only here they also protect themselves from NVIDIA driver bugs and any other hardware and software stack differences.That was kind of my take: They don't want to commit to supporting all kinds of distros and hardware configurations and maybe driver issues and whatever, so they're just officially saying it'll work on the Steam Deck. I mean, I've seen many, many people talk here on GoL about the expense of supporting another platform, particularly one with a ton of complexity, being a main stumbling block in the way of more Linux games even if the actual release is very cheap.
So yeah, I think fair enough really. Pretty much "Yeah, it'll likely work, but don't expect us to have someone on staff taking Linux support calls". They wanna open the can a bit, fish out one little "Steam Deck" wormie, and then tamp down the lid before all the others get out.
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 16 February 2022 at 5:54 pm UTC
Quoting: Purple Library GuyThe trailer was eerie and cool, but I couldn't figure out what a player would be doing, exactly. I mean you're zooming down one track; you can't really dodge, most of the time it doesn't seem like you're shooting anything although now and then it seems like a shock wave comes out of you. I presume there's something, and it's related to the rhythm and all that--I'm just wondering what it is.It's a bit like a rhythm game; you have to activate the right thing when the appropriate, usually glowing, other thing hits you (or right before). It's cool, I recommend it - gets you in a weird, dreadful, semi-hypnotic mood :D
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