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Quoting: Caldathras

Quoting: F.Ultra

Quoting: Caldathras

Quoting: pb

Quoting: drenAgain this is misleading. Once you download your game from GOG, you can completely remove them from the scenario of installation at all. You have the files, you can install it on as many computers as you want and you don't have to login to play the game. You absolutely cannot do that with Steam.

You absolutely can. There are lots of DRM-free games on steam and downloading the files is the only thing you need to do in order to run them. Obviously you can't do that with games relying on Steam DRM (at least not without using workarounds), but that's something the developer put in there, and not valve. Valve does not require any kind of DRM for games sold on Steam.

Have you read the link you provided? Steamcmd is nothing like a GOG offline installer. You are not downloading the game installer through Steamcmd, you are installing the game! It is just an incredibly convoluted command line version of the Steam client (for which, the client is likely the GUI). Yes, you can run some of the games without the client but that does NOT make it the equivalent of an offline installer. There is one fundamental difference: if you lose Internet access or Valve's servers go down, you cannot install the game!

This is not entirely true. Once a game have been downloaded but before it has been installed, there is a game installer.exe in the game path. If the game is released DRM free by the publisher you can copy this .exe to wherever you like and install it there instead.

Quoting: dren

Quoting: pb

Quoting: drenAgain this is misleading. Once you download your game from GOG, you can completely remove them from the scenario of installation at all. You have the files, you can install it on as many computers as you want and you don't have to login to play the game. You absolutely cannot do that with Steam.

You absolutely can. There are lots of DRM-free games on steam and downloading the files is the only thing you need to do in order to run them. Obviously you can't do that with games relying on Steam DRM (at least not without using workarounds), but that's something the developer put in there, and not valve. Valve does not require any kind of DRM for games sold on Steam.

@Caldathras is absolutely correct. GOG provides standalone executable installers, steam has no such feature. Games being DRM-free on steam isn't normal. Devs can and sometimes do add Steamworks DRM after initial releases, etc. The permanence of the Steam install being DRM-free isn't there. Also the Steam installation doesn't include other necessary dependencies, such as DirectX or C++ redistributables, that are included as part of an actual installer. Steam also doesn't advertise or tell you which games are DRM-free. On GOG EVERY game is DRM-free with all dependencies included as part of the installer (both Windows and Linux). In a lot of cases, these DRM-free directories still need the Steam client to act as a wrapper or handle activation. With GOG, you don't even need to use Galaxy, you can just download the installer from the website and install it where you want. This is why Heroic is able to provide direct access to your GOG library and is able to install everything you need for a game. It just feels like you are trying to make an equivalency argument that isn't actually equivalent.

But they do (if the game publisher have decided to release their game DRM free on Steam). In that case there is a perfectly fine old time .exe installer at the game location in Steam.

Well, see, this is an important tidbit of information. I was not aware of that. Here's a question or two. Does the installer remain on your system after the game is installed? If not, with the installation being automated, how do you get to that installer and back it up before it is removed?

Finally, while this is closer to parity with GOG's offline installers, it is still not the same. It is more like obtaining the installer through the back door whereas GOG is giving it to you upfront. At best, it is a loophole in the process. Most people are not going to be aware of this factoid, so few would be able to take advantage of it.

Thank you for telling me about it, though.

I think it gets removed, but then I also think that this all is 100% up to the game dev on how to handle. E.g most games have decided to use the DRM of Steam so... Then also many seam to provide a snapshot of an installed game instead of the installer but for those I'm quite confident that you could just zip the entire folder and unzip to a different folder/machine, as long as the game hasn't opted in to the DRM ofc.

This is not to say that GOG:s way isn't better here, atleast for the DRM part, the Steam way is ofc better for getting automatic updates and so on.

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Quoting: apocalyptech. The suits tend to see modern generative systems as a shortcut to Increased Productivity™ and they might just be assuming that this is the magical tech that's gonna turn a struggling company into a thriving one.

In this particular instance of a banner ad that goes up for only two weeks, spending ten seconds is objectively more productive than spending an hour, even if the results are worse and it is not great branding.

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Quoting: CaldathrasThe trademark is not held by the open source project but by the individuals contributing to it? How strange.

AFAIK it's common practice to register a trademark in order to protect an opensource project from being misused and misrepresented... Anyone can copy the code, but you still get to decide if they can call it the same name as the original project or if they'll have to publish under a different name and logo to avoid unpleasant/undue associations (see Kodi vs piracy-automation plugins and forks... and consider this is also a legal line of defense against hackers trying to clone your project and publish it with backdoors under the same name).

To that effect, the trademark may be held by a legal person (be it a private company, org, etc), but this is more work and small projects may not bother at first, registering it personally, then transfering it to the legal person later.

Trivia: "Linux" is still held exclusively by Linus Torvalds, and Linux Foundation is just a licensee that manages sublicensing to other users of that trademark
https://www.linuxfoundation.org/legal/the-linux-mark

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Quoting: eggrole

Quoting: LachuMaybe devs will release server software, when shutting down own?

That would be great, but I think the ask can be even less. Literally all they need to do is not get in the way of people reverse engineering and building their own servers.

That's not nearly enough. Not even close. There are a lot more server-dependent games around than people having enough time at their hand to pick their server software apart.

The mandate should be for them to release the tools and related documentation required for players to keep the game in a runnable state, without forcing the devs to provide any further updates after that. If the server uses middleware that cannot be released for legal reasons, and/or uses cloud servers, I'd let them pick if they want to patch the servers to make them runnable, or release source code, so the community can do it.

But hey, that's just what should be done. I have ZERO faith in any lawmakers on the planet to introduce "business unfriendly" legislation, unless people start dying left and left. And that won't be the case here, so...

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I've never played any of the Final Fantasy games. I always thought of the franchise as mostly a console thing, and I've always played my games on PC. Never got around to it once there were PC releases.

Loved the first animated movie, though!

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Quoting: MarlockIIRC the code is opensource, but "Bazzite" is a trademark and he is part-owner of that trademark.

The trademark is not held by the open source project but by the individuals contributing to it? How strange.

Given that he was technically no longer a member of the project, I wonder if GPD can sue him for misrepresentation and fraud?

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Quoting: Purple Library GuyBy which you agree that yes, it is a tax.

Not at all. Taxation is something done by government (usually on net earnings, property values and/or final purchase price). It is a gross misinterpretation of the meaning of "profit" to associate it with taxes.

Quoting: Purple Library GuyBut anyway. How much profit?

What gives the public the right to tell any business how much profit they are allowed to make? As long as the business pays its taxes, it's none of the public's business. Yes, most countries have laws to deal with monopolies, but Valve is NOT a monopoly. You said so yourself.

How much experience do you have with business operations? Not that you likely care but I have nearly 35 years of practical business experience in all aspects of retail operations (not that corporate bureaucratic nonsense they teach at academic institutions). From your comments here, your knowledge of business practices and business math seems rather lacking. What you are talking about has nothing to do with the retail distribution channel, which is what governs Valve's business model (and any retailer, for that matter).

I don't want to go into a point by point analysis, so this is the last I'm going to say about this matter. You are, after all, entitled to your own opinion, whether or not I agree with it.

As always, it was good debating with you ...

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Quoting: CaldathrasI don't understand. This is an open source project. At the risk of seeming naive, how can any one individual claim "part ownership"? Doesn't that kind of go against the whole concept of open source development?

I also fail to understand how that could prevent the current Bazzite team from working with GPD if they so choose.

IIRC the code is opensource, but "Bazzite" is a trademark and he is part-owner of that trademark.

Meaning current Bazzite devs can't authorize GPD or any other hardware manufacturer to use "Bazzite" (name and logo) to advertise it is supported, even if it is supported, unless the distro bites the bullet and rebrands, which will make it a bit harder for new users to find it for a while, require a new logo, new website domain, etc

So it's not impossible for them to work around this restriction, just a PITA.

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Quoting: F.Ultra

Quoting: Caldathras

Quoting: pb

Quoting: drenAgain this is misleading. Once you download your game from GOG, you can completely remove them from the scenario of installation at all. You have the files, you can install it on as many computers as you want and you don't have to login to play the game. You absolutely cannot do that with Steam.

You absolutely can. There are lots of DRM-free games on steam and downloading the files is the only thing you need to do in order to run them. Obviously you can't do that with games relying on Steam DRM (at least not without using workarounds), but that's something the developer put in there, and not valve. Valve does not require any kind of DRM for games sold on Steam.

Have you read the link you provided? Steamcmd is nothing like a GOG offline installer. You are not downloading the game installer through Steamcmd, you are installing the game! It is just an incredibly convoluted command line version of the Steam client (for which, the client is likely the GUI). Yes, you can run some of the games without the client but that does NOT make it the equivalent of an offline installer. There is one fundamental difference: if you lose Internet access or Valve's servers go down, you cannot install the game!

This is not entirely true. Once a game have been downloaded but before it has been installed, there is a game installer.exe in the game path. If the game is released DRM free by the publisher you can copy this .exe to wherever you like and install it there instead.

Quoting: dren

Quoting: pb

Quoting: drenAgain this is misleading. Once you download your game from GOG, you can completely remove them from the scenario of installation at all. You have the files, you can install it on as many computers as you want and you don't have to login to play the game. You absolutely cannot do that with Steam.

You absolutely can. There are lots of DRM-free games on steam and downloading the files is the only thing you need to do in order to run them. Obviously you can't do that with games relying on Steam DRM (at least not without using workarounds), but that's something the developer put in there, and not valve. Valve does not require any kind of DRM for games sold on Steam.

@Caldathras is absolutely correct. GOG provides standalone executable installers, steam has no such feature. Games being DRM-free on steam isn't normal. Devs can and sometimes do add Steamworks DRM after initial releases, etc. The permanence of the Steam install being DRM-free isn't there. Also the Steam installation doesn't include other necessary dependencies, such as DirectX or C++ redistributables, that are included as part of an actual installer. Steam also doesn't advertise or tell you which games are DRM-free. On GOG EVERY game is DRM-free with all dependencies included as part of the installer (both Windows and Linux). In a lot of cases, these DRM-free directories still need the Steam client to act as a wrapper or handle activation. With GOG, you don't even need to use Galaxy, you can just download the installer from the website and install it where you want. This is why Heroic is able to provide direct access to your GOG library and is able to install everything you need for a game. It just feels like you are trying to make an equivalency argument that isn't actually equivalent.

But they do (if the game publisher have decided to release their game DRM free on Steam). In that case there is a perfectly fine old time .exe installer at the game location in Steam.

Well, see, this is an important tidbit of information. I was not aware of that. Here's a question or two. Does the installer remain on your system after the game is installed? If not, with the installation being automated, how do you get to that installer and back it up before it is removed?

Finally, while this is closer to parity with GOG's offline installers, it is still not the same. It is more like obtaining the installer through the back door whereas GOG is giving it to you upfront. At best, it is a loophole in the process. Most people are not going to be aware of this factoid, so few would be able to take advantage of it.

Thank you for telling me about it, though.

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Quoting: Tethys84

Quoting: QYMEIt still a shame that ff4 years after, the pixel version, is stuck on the psp. We can only buy the 3d one nowadays.

What? The pixel version is on Steam. Not sure what you are talking about.

No it's not.
As Dirge was saying, the pixel version of The Years After is only available on psp as i was explicitely saying on the post you answered to. We only have the 3d version of The Years After (ff4-2 if you prefer), not 2d one.
So the only way to play it is either through original psp hardware or emulation.

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Quoting: The_Real_Bitterman*Cries in Kepler GPU*

My other laptop is a Kepler. I sympathize.

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Quoting: clatterfordslim

Quoting: CaldathrasAnd I've been holding off on 580.126.09 because someone here mentioned problems with XFCE.

Yes it was me I think. Screen flickering in Xfce and Cinnamon. To fix screen flickering, make sure you setup composition pipeline in Nvidia Settings.
Next put this command into your terminal and reboot.
xfconf-query -c xfwm4 -p /general/vblank_mode -s off
What this command does is switch off vblank in Xfwm4.
That is why the screen and opened apps start flickering, vblank needs to be switched off. Once rebooted Flickering gone forever.

Thanks for this.

I sort of accidentally installed it last night. I haven't experienced the problems you've described but Mangohud (v0.81.0) was behaving rather bizarrely afterwards. I need to look into further.

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I just came to like the CachyOS guys. ❤️

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Quoting: amataiFrom what I understood, Antheas claims part ownership of the brand and will block attempts to change the trademark rule to allow its use by hardware vendor.

I don't understand. This is an open source project. At the risk of seeming naive, how can any one individual claim "part ownership"? Doesn't that kind of go against the whole concept of open source development?

I also fail to understand how that could prevent the current Bazzite team from working with GPD if they so choose.

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Quoting: fenglengshunWell, Bazzite's dev at least has stated that he believe that anti-cheat should be done server-side (paraphrasing).

100% agreed. I mean this whole client-side anti cheat is deeply flawed anyway. Imagine you cant brows certain websites or fullfill any payments online because your system lacks a local fraud-detector. No one in Webdev even does this. For online games it is exactly the same situation. Except the website becomes the game.

Latency also is not a valid argument here either. Which I often hear. "But it's a fast paced shooter we can't have server side anti cheat it's too slow" Mean while GamingOnLinux played BF6 using GeForce Now just fine. While the whole game was streamed and not just a few bytes of player positions and stats and it worked fine.

If you ask me, if a dev / publisher is crazy about anti cheat, then simply don't allow people to run your game locally in the first place. In Software development there is this number one rule: "Never trust the client" same goes for CLIENT side anti cheats. You can not trust them either. You can simply not know if they have been tampered with.

Locking down the customers system and installing spyware is not the way to go and even violates (some) human rights:

1. All human beings are free and equal
Not the case the user is no longer free and spied on. Also they are no longer equal, we Linux users simply locked out and considered a cheater.

2. No discrimination
Well, as I said Linux users are obviously discriminated here by being locked out entirely simply because of a personal choice. Imagine some would lock out transgender of these games to "Protect the players".

...

11. Innocent until proved guilty
Do I really need to elaborate on this one? Everyone is simply considered a cheater in the first place. Otherwise they wouldn’t install their AC on everyone’s PC.

12. Right to privacy
Obviously violated

Okay, maybe I've gone a bit too wild with this. Idk someone will sure correct me.

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Quoting: Liam DaweArticle updated with a note from GOG.

wow, that's a REALLY terrible official response from them. I mean, oof.

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Well, nice of GOG to make everything nice and clear. /s

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Quoting: Sakuretsu

Antheas (Antheas Kapenekakis), who was previously part of the Bazzite team and creator of the Handheld Daemon project, but ended up being kicked out due to "repeated violations of our Code of Conduct".

Maybe I'm going to regret asking but what did that guy do?

They handled most of the hardware integration and testing for handhelds & other exotic setups like Intel Arc.

Quoting: StellaI do agree with antheas that the IWD change was too early. My laptop (which has Intel wifi) is fine but my desktop (Realtek WIFI) always disconnects sporadically since the update. Seems that IWD causes issues for non-Intel cards specifically. A lot of other people on the discord reported losing or worse wifi functionality after this update

The inverse for me on my macbook running arch linux, installing iwd and disabling networkmanager saved some battery life and made my moonlight streams more stable.

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Quoting: kaktuspalme

Quoting: Durandal... and the current version being delisted, as usual. A bit of burying the lede there.

Though I personally get it, VIII for example, there's the Remastered and just VIII, which one should I choose?

When it's a barely-remaster like that, frankly, it should just be a single purchase that gets you both. But in the case of 8... they DO offer both for purchase still... so there is no reason they can't do that with 7. They're already saying that saves won't work from one to the next, so there's some structural change under the hood... meaning that all the community mods are likely going to break on this new version and who knows if it will be moddable. This was an issue with other games like Doom3 where the BFG version was just trash for modding and broke all the existing mods, so if you wanted them you had to make sure you had the original version.

Delisting games is just bs.

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the only reason I even use GOG at all is because Amazon Prime gives me free games there, same as Epic, if it wasn't for the free games I wouldn't be touching GOG at all, I appreciate their efforts in wanting to preserve old video games, but generally I don't spend my money on old games at this point anyway, I barely even play the free games they give away, most are just kind of awful. The big thing most of these game stores seem to not realize or capitalize on is community and the ability to interact with not only other people who play the games but also developers, and while a lot of the time Steam Game Communities can be highly toxic, it also has a lot of good benefits, GOG, Epic, Amazon and virtually every other game store I have tried has one concern, sell games and thus ends the transaction, once you buy the game that is it, you are lucky if you can even get company tech support if it doesn't involve a game sale failing or something, god forbid you need support for the games themselves. As long as these games stores only focus is taking my money and nothing else beyond that they will not only not get my money, but will also not really have much good to say about them.

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Seems like the usual open source drama. But when the entire team no longer wants to work with someone, perhaps they really are the problem. Bazzite is pretty fantastic for casual users and that's what we need right now with the state of Windows 11.

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Quoting: Durandal... and the current version being delisted, as usual. A bit of burying the lede there.

Though I personally get it, VIII for example, there's the Remastered and just VIII, which one should I choose?

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For everyone that has bought anything on GOG and cares about this issue, please send them a message saying you will not buy from them anymore until a public apology is made, and they stop using gen AI.
You can do it [here.](https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?form=other&product=gog)
Maybe they will rethink if enough people send it...

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Glad I went ahead and read the former Bazzite dev's response, as before that this whole saga seemed like the most worthless thing, but the post made me realize it probably wasnt a good idea to promote such a newface (and apparently shaky) Linux distro to the incoming masses.

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I don't know what's the future of Bazzite but Antheas's statement feels like a bad omen.

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Quoting: razzeIMO mikes take on https://www.supergoodcode.com/unpopular-opinion/ is at least something to consider

Bear in mind that half of Mike's beef is usage in Zink. Being an opengl driver forces you to implement things most apps will never have to.

It's not like managing descriptor sets is easy :/ But he does have a point that we need more of these API shattering extensions to make the rest of Vulkan more coherent with heaps.

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Article updated with a note from GOG.

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Despite the game being teased for like, ever, I still have no idea what's in it aside from cat and that it comes from Edmund McMillen.

It's nice to hear it's coming along though. I'm definitely curious about anything he decides to put out.

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Article updated with the new Bazzite note.

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Hopefully both CachyOS and the Open Gaming Collective (OGC) continue on to do great work for the benefit of all Linux users, even if it's apart.

Sentence of the week!

Now have nice weekend und game on!

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