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News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Slaxer, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:34 pm UTC
By Slaxer, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:34 pm UTC
Quoting: PyrateIt's another story altogether if you simply don't accept the concept of a decentralised way for people to operate and transact their own affairs without an uninvited oversight, that this can never happen, and that you must have an overlord issuing your only accepted form of exchange medium, telling you what you can and cannot spend your money on.The real fix would probably be to go back to a gold standard and move away from fiat currency, so that the money itself has intrinsic value. I'm with you on the idea that money really should be decentralized though. I do like Bitcoin, but as someone else on this thread has already mentioned, it does come at an environmental cost that's always bothered me. Everything has pros and cons.
I genuinely feel here like one of those instances where I'm explaining the benefits of Linux to Windows users, or to use Signal instead of WhatsApp. It's the same thing all over again. Guess I'm cursed in this regard, lol.
News - The big Dino Update for Dwarf Fortress announced for June 25
By Philadelphus, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:24 pm UTC
By Philadelphus, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:24 pm UTC
Oh, cool. I might need to start a new game when this releases. With the things Dwarf Fortress players have managed to farm over the years (mermaids, sea serpents, dragons…) I can only imagine unleashing a horde of dinosaurs on the next goblin siege.
Of course, the real question is, what letters will they use in the ASCII version? 😁
Of course, the real question is, what letters will they use in the ASCII version? 😁
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By LoudTechie, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:33 pm UTC
The Netherlands.
Just like before the fusion IDEAL continues to work.
IDEAL is now Wero.
Thus Wero works there.
By LoudTechie, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:33 pm UTC
Quoting: EikeYeah, but apparently I wasn't clear.Quoting: LoudTechieThat's not what I asked.Quoting: EikeWero is a fusion of national payments providers and the ones that were supported before the fusion are still supported.Quoting: LoudTechie[/But Wero is not offered yet, right?
American Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.
Do you know a place where Wero can (directly) be used to buy Steam games already?
Because, I'm waiting for it to be supported here (Germany)...
The Netherlands.
Just like before the fusion IDEAL continues to work.
IDEAL is now Wero.
Thus Wero works there.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:16 pm UTC
But the point is not centralization. The point is power. Whether centralized or decentralized, the organization must have some way of binding people to the decisions made. If it's just "if I happen to feel like it", it will fall apart. If you have a decentralized direct democracy, and everyone votes and the majority agree to thing X, then the difference between a decentralized direct democracy government and a decentralized direct democracy culture club is, once the vote has happened, is there a mechanism to make sure everyone operates according to what was agreed? If yes, it's a real institution. If no, it's a socially pleasant nonentity and it sure as hell can't do a currency.
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:16 pm UTC
Quoting: PyrateFor 'stable institution', that is achieved here with the mining consensus. This is error proof because it's all mathematics and physics, and not what some politically motivated official who decides whether or not to fuck his subjects over for personal gain (Trump, thanks to his shenanigans, makes this point so easy to accept).Error proof doesn't matter a damn. I mean, I suppose it would be even stupider without it, but that does not substitute for real social institutions.
It's another story altogether if you simply don't accept the concept of a decentralised way for people to operate and transact their own affairs without an uninvited oversight, that this can never happen, and that you must have an overlord issuing your only accepted form of exchange medium, telling you what you can and cannot spend your money on.
But the point is not centralization. The point is power. Whether centralized or decentralized, the organization must have some way of binding people to the decisions made. If it's just "if I happen to feel like it", it will fall apart. If you have a decentralized direct democracy, and everyone votes and the majority agree to thing X, then the difference between a decentralized direct democracy government and a decentralized direct democracy culture club is, once the vote has happened, is there a mechanism to make sure everyone operates according to what was agreed? If yes, it's a real institution. If no, it's a socially pleasant nonentity and it sure as hell can't do a currency.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:06 pm UTC
Fiat currencies have value largely because there is a government that insists you pay your taxes in them. Governments have social, institutional longevity; there is some sort of social contract involving the whole population of a country that more or less agrees that the country has a government and that government gets to decide how money works in the country. And they have lawyers and armed people who will give you a hard time if you break the law by not paying your taxes in the currency the government makes. Therefore everyone has to have some, therefore it has value. So these currencies usually have a fair degree of stability; you can put them in the bank and when you turn around they will still be worth something. But it's noticeable that when the governments backing them become weak or come under strong attack, the value of the currency can fluctuate extremely.
Crypto is a fiat currency with a government backing it that is so weak it does not exist. There is nobody insisting you have to pay your taxes or debts using crypto. Crypto's value is supported solely by "extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds", which has worked for a few years but is fickle. The viability of crypto right now is mainly an artifact of massive inequality; as the very rich siphon off more and more of the world's money, they look for anything to invest in. Everything becomes a bubble, from stocks to art. Speculation has become a larger and larger part of the economy, and so it is the right time for a pure speculation vehicle to do well. But crypto's value even in these hothouse conditions fluctuates wildly, and come a crash it will crash hardest of all because it has nothing behind it except the "animal spirits" of investors, and once their optimism changes to fear it will have no value at all.
But even before we get there, it is noticeable that while crypto is far bigger and more mainstream than a few years back, most of the attempts to use it as actual currency day to day have gone away. That's because it is almost entirely a speculative investment vehicle, not money. There are a few specialized uses, yes, like crime and evading sanctions (and personally, I consider the evading sanctions part a good thing). But in general, crypto isn't money, doesn't act like money, and will not start acting like money because it has neither inherent value nor any solid social institution forcing its use as money to give it stable value.
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:06 pm UTC
Quoting: PyrateGold was always only sort of a currency. The thing about gold is it's considered valuable in itself. It's still valuable if there's no king's head stamped on it. And historically it was noticeable that if a government reduced the amount of gold in the currency, debased it, it lost value. So that has its uses--if you use gold as a currency, it doesn't matter if the government is weak or subject to rapid change, as long as it has access to a gold mine it can issue currency and that currency will have value.Quoting: Purple Library GuySimply not true. First of all, value and the concept of currency as a medium of exchange is subjective. An object is considered a currency when a group of people consider it as such and start trading between each other using said object. There are no rules that dictate what can and can't be a currency. It used to be gold, and now it's banknotes.Quoting: PyrateYour first paragraph describes Bitcoin with its transparency that compromises one's privacy because all one's transactions are transparent on a public ledger. Monero doesn't do that, it has 3 distinct technologies that obfuscate the sender, the transaction amount, and receiver.This still leaves us with the basic crypto issue that it has neither inherent value nor any stable institution giving it value, leaving it a terrible "store of value" whose main use is pure speculation.
Fiat currencies have value largely because there is a government that insists you pay your taxes in them. Governments have social, institutional longevity; there is some sort of social contract involving the whole population of a country that more or less agrees that the country has a government and that government gets to decide how money works in the country. And they have lawyers and armed people who will give you a hard time if you break the law by not paying your taxes in the currency the government makes. Therefore everyone has to have some, therefore it has value. So these currencies usually have a fair degree of stability; you can put them in the bank and when you turn around they will still be worth something. But it's noticeable that when the governments backing them become weak or come under strong attack, the value of the currency can fluctuate extremely.
Crypto is a fiat currency with a government backing it that is so weak it does not exist. There is nobody insisting you have to pay your taxes or debts using crypto. Crypto's value is supported solely by "extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds", which has worked for a few years but is fickle. The viability of crypto right now is mainly an artifact of massive inequality; as the very rich siphon off more and more of the world's money, they look for anything to invest in. Everything becomes a bubble, from stocks to art. Speculation has become a larger and larger part of the economy, and so it is the right time for a pure speculation vehicle to do well. But crypto's value even in these hothouse conditions fluctuates wildly, and come a crash it will crash hardest of all because it has nothing behind it except the "animal spirits" of investors, and once their optimism changes to fear it will have no value at all.
But even before we get there, it is noticeable that while crypto is far bigger and more mainstream than a few years back, most of the attempts to use it as actual currency day to day have gone away. That's because it is almost entirely a speculative investment vehicle, not money. There are a few specialized uses, yes, like crime and evading sanctions (and personally, I consider the evading sanctions part a good thing). But in general, crypto isn't money, doesn't act like money, and will not start acting like money because it has neither inherent value nor any solid social institution forcing its use as money to give it stable value.
News - The Complete Inkle Library Humble Bundle has some lovely narrative puzzle adventure games
By kaiman, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:36 pm UTC
By kaiman, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:36 pm UTC
Too bad I already have all of those except for Expelled! and TR-49.
Can recommend the bundle for Heaven's Vault and the novelization alone, though. I guess from an art perspective, HV may not appeal to everyone, in the way it mixes 3D environments with 2D character sprites, but if exploration is your thing, and you enjoy a plot that seems to form effortlessly around your actions and discoveries, there's nothing better.
The novels (part 1 and 2) retell the events of the game, offering some more background on certain characters and events, and felt like a nice addition to the game itself. I read them a couple years after playing the game, which may or may not have affected my perception. Liked the writing style, though. Part 3 and 4 expand on the background and secrets of the Nebula, and while I'd rather have played HV2, they are better than nothing. Writing is good, again, but I thought certain things that came to light were a bit meh. Sometimes, it's perhaps preferable that not all mysteries are resolved.
Can recommend the bundle for Heaven's Vault and the novelization alone, though. I guess from an art perspective, HV may not appeal to everyone, in the way it mixes 3D environments with 2D character sprites, but if exploration is your thing, and you enjoy a plot that seems to form effortlessly around your actions and discoveries, there's nothing better.
The novels (part 1 and 2) retell the events of the game, offering some more background on certain characters and events, and felt like a nice addition to the game itself. I read them a couple years after playing the game, which may or may not have affected my perception. Liked the writing style, though. Part 3 and 4 expand on the background and secrets of the Nebula, and while I'd rather have played HV2, they are better than nothing. Writing is good, again, but I thought certain things that came to light were a bit meh. Sometimes, it's perhaps preferable that not all mysteries are resolved.
News - Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition adds a Controller UI on PC
By geckofish52, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:13 pm UTC
By geckofish52, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:13 pm UTC
This and the auto-HDR CachyOS update may just get me to boot this game up to play from the couch with my steam controller...
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Pyrate, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:28 pm UTC
It is your subjective opinion that the concept of digital cash through something like Monero has no inherent value. Other people who value the private properties of cash, especially those who rely on it for their own safety and security, will continue to use it in the digital world. In the near future, when the end stage of this artificial ID verification requirement for everything on the internet (and maybe in real life) is reached, even more people will want to use Monero.
The speculation part is true for all the other crypto currencies that, at the end of the day, more or less exist because someone wanted to get rich quick, but here, speculation over Monero's market value has severely shrunken because of delistings that occured on a lot of major exchangers like Coinbase, Binance and the others, exchangers that are the main way most people get their hands on assets such as crypto. This made it so the barrier of entry is way higher than for a crypto bro to want to buy some Monero for speculation, the amount of shit you have to go through depending on your jurisdiction to get your hands on Monero is ridiculous at times, this filtered out a lot of those who are in it for speculation. Now, can you guess why the privacy tool for money go delisted and attacked ?
That's another thing, actually; take literally any of these fake crypto "coins", if any of them face the level of delisting and crackdown that Monero went through, their value will go to zero immediately, because as you've said, they have no use case beyond being numbers on a screen. Didn't happen to Monero, because it actually gets used by groups of people, outside of using it like stock asset for speculation.
For 'stable institution', that is achieved here with the mining consensus. This is error proof because it's all mathematics and physics, and not what some politically motivated official who decides whether or not to fuck his subjects over for personal gain (Trump, thanks to his shenanigans, makes this point so easy to accept).
It's another story altogether if you simply don't accept the concept of a decentralised way for people to operate and transact their own affairs without an uninvited oversight, that this can never happen, and that you must have an overlord issuing your only accepted form of exchange medium, telling you what you can and cannot spend your money on.
I genuinely feel here like one of those instances where I'm explaining the benefits of Linux to Windows users, or to use Signal instead of WhatsApp. It's the same thing all over again. Guess I'm cursed in this regard, lol.
By Pyrate, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:28 pm UTC
Quoting: Purple Library GuySimply not true. First of all, value and the concept of currency as a medium of exchange is subjective. An object is considered a currency when a group of people consider it as such and start trading between each other using said object. There are no rules that dictate what can and can't be a currency. It used to be gold, and now it's banknotes.Quoting: PyrateYour first paragraph describes Bitcoin with its transparency that compromises one's privacy because all one's transactions are transparent on a public ledger. Monero doesn't do that, it has 3 distinct technologies that obfuscate the sender, the transaction amount, and receiver.This still leaves us with the basic crypto issue that it has neither inherent value nor any stable institution giving it value, leaving it a terrible "store of value" whose main use is pure speculation.
It is your subjective opinion that the concept of digital cash through something like Monero has no inherent value. Other people who value the private properties of cash, especially those who rely on it for their own safety and security, will continue to use it in the digital world. In the near future, when the end stage of this artificial ID verification requirement for everything on the internet (and maybe in real life) is reached, even more people will want to use Monero.
The speculation part is true for all the other crypto currencies that, at the end of the day, more or less exist because someone wanted to get rich quick, but here, speculation over Monero's market value has severely shrunken because of delistings that occured on a lot of major exchangers like Coinbase, Binance and the others, exchangers that are the main way most people get their hands on assets such as crypto. This made it so the barrier of entry is way higher than for a crypto bro to want to buy some Monero for speculation, the amount of shit you have to go through depending on your jurisdiction to get your hands on Monero is ridiculous at times, this filtered out a lot of those who are in it for speculation. Now, can you guess why the privacy tool for money go delisted and attacked ?
That's another thing, actually; take literally any of these fake crypto "coins", if any of them face the level of delisting and crackdown that Monero went through, their value will go to zero immediately, because as you've said, they have no use case beyond being numbers on a screen. Didn't happen to Monero, because it actually gets used by groups of people, outside of using it like stock asset for speculation.
For 'stable institution', that is achieved here with the mining consensus. This is error proof because it's all mathematics and physics, and not what some politically motivated official who decides whether or not to fuck his subjects over for personal gain (Trump, thanks to his shenanigans, makes this point so easy to accept).
It's another story altogether if you simply don't accept the concept of a decentralised way for people to operate and transact their own affairs without an uninvited oversight, that this can never happen, and that you must have an overlord issuing your only accepted form of exchange medium, telling you what you can and cannot spend your money on.
I genuinely feel here like one of those instances where I'm explaining the benefits of Linux to Windows users, or to use Signal instead of WhatsApp. It's the same thing all over again. Guess I'm cursed in this regard, lol.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 2:58 pm UTC
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 2:58 pm UTC
Quoting: PyrateYour first paragraph describes Bitcoin with its transparency that compromises one's privacy because all one's transactions are transparent on a public ledger. Monero doesn't do that, it has 3 distinct technologies that obfuscate the sender, the transaction amount, and receiver.This still leaves us with the basic crypto issue that it has neither inherent value nor any stable institution giving it value, leaving it a terrible "store of value" whose main use is pure speculation.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By pilk, 11 Jun 2026 at 1:25 pm UTC
By pilk, 11 Jun 2026 at 1:25 pm UTC
Quoting: LoudTechieAs for PayPal, they're also pretty stingy on adult content. I've seen people who work in adult entertainment (use your imagination) get their accounts nuked from orbit for the smallest mention of their field.Quoting: blindcoderOh come ON. The last option to bypass fuckers like Master and Visa policing content on Steam, and OF COURSE they do away with it.American Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.
News - DELTARUNE Chapter 5 arrives free on June 24
By pilk, 11 Jun 2026 at 1:21 pm UTC
By pilk, 11 Jun 2026 at 1:21 pm UTC
Am I ready for another emotional gut-punch this month?
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By PaldinoX, 11 Jun 2026 at 12:34 pm UTC
By PaldinoX, 11 Jun 2026 at 12:34 pm UTC
This will stop nothing, there's no shortage of other gift cards these scammers can take advantage of.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Eike, 11 Jun 2026 at 12:26 pm UTC
Do you know a place where Wero can (directly) be used to buy Steam games already?
Because, I'm waiting for it to be supported here (Germany)...
By Eike, 11 Jun 2026 at 12:26 pm UTC
Quoting: LoudTechieThat's not what I asked.Quoting: EikeWero is a fusion of national payments providers and the ones that were supported before the fusion are still supported.Quoting: LoudTechie[/But Wero is not offered yet, right?
American Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.
Do you know a place where Wero can (directly) be used to buy Steam games already?
Because, I'm waiting for it to be supported here (Germany)...
News - Cave Story+ 2026 major update out now - Native Linux version dropped
By rea987, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:55 am UTC
By rea987, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:55 am UTC
Quoting: PhlebiacFor anyone (like me) who got it from some old Humble Bundle - reminder that the old Linux build is still available to download from there. The Windows and macOS builds are from Dec 2012 / Jan 2013 respectively, for an idea of build age (it doesn't say a date for the Linux packages).Majority of discontinued Linux and macOS builds of old HBs are still there. Yet, few of them such as Limbo's old 32 bit macOS build was removed even from user accounts. Not great... Or, Dear Esther's native Linux build used to be available on HB Store widged is no longer being sold but still available in the accounts of user who purchased old HBs... Not a great picture for game preservation...
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By rea987, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:50 am UTC
By rea987, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:50 am UTC
Quoting: mr-victoryYou can change the registered country of your Steam account every 6 months. However if you have some games with region block you may not be able to play them anymore, Steam may refuse to launch them.I won't change my Steam region while still being paid a 3rd world salary, sorry.
News - Steam Beta gets improved Pipewire session logic on Linux
By Taros, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:41 am UTC
By Taros, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:41 am UTC
They should fix the bug, that Steam recording captures everything and not just the game audio.
I have a python scripts which fixes it with pw-link but it should really work out-of-the-box nowadays.
I have a python scripts which fixes it with pw-link but it should really work out-of-the-box nowadays.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By LoudTechie, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:15 am UTC
[I found IDEAL(fused national payment providers)/wero still worked in the Netherlands, so I counted it in.](https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/JEKhW/steam-payment-ideal-from-nl)
[Also apperantly direct bank transfers are supported.](https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/7/2577696996221441610/)
edit:
[and vanilla prepaid](https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/what-payment-methods-does-steam-accept/)
By LoudTechie, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:15 am UTC
Quoting: EikeWero is a fusion of national payments providers and the ones that were supported before the fusion are still supported.Quoting: LoudTechie[/But Wero is not offered yet, right?
American Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.
Quoting: blindcoderI listed more than only in my country supported payment providers.Quoting: LoudTechieAmerican Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.What region are you in that Steam offers you Wero?
[I found IDEAL(fused national payment providers)/wero still worked in the Netherlands, so I counted it in.](https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/JEKhW/steam-payment-ideal-from-nl)
[Also apperantly direct bank transfers are supported.](https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/7/2577696996221441610/)
edit:
[and vanilla prepaid](https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/what-payment-methods-does-steam-accept/)
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Pyrate, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:26 am UTC
Using money for illegal activity isn't something new, if you apply the same standard elsewhere, guess what kind of money you shouldn't use anymore because it gets used in ransom and money laundering ? That's right, cash. Monero is in fact used in darknet markets and such, a fact I and you can hate all we want, but it is proof that the technology works. There is a bigger discussion about how criminals are the first to adopt technology for their nefarious activities, it's nothing new at all.
I'd like for you to first learn about Monero and disassociate it from Bitcoin when you claim it's not equal to the privacy-preserving projects I mentioned.
I'll read more about GNU-Taler, but the concept of not accepting a new currency is a different topic we can indulge in. I mentioned the privacy side of using Monero, in addition to its openness in that anyone can have a wallet for free, and become their own bank account in that sense. Now, why introduce a new currency ? The first question I'd ask is why not, like what's the big deal in doing so ? Fiat currencies aren't this set-in-stone thing when you realise central banks can print as much as they want, devaluing your own money via inflation. Governments and central banks can print all the banknotes they want without any proof of work to show for it, as time goes on, your salary, while remaining unchanged numerically, continuously depreciates in value and purchasing power. What Bitcoin introduced is a way to create money through real and verifiable proof of work through electricity that can be performed by individuals in a decentralised manner, and this was later fixed so only regular consumer CPUs and not massive ASIC machines can mine with Monero. The promise is to provide the people their own sense of money that they fully own, independent of any government, while protecting your right to privacy. It is as grass roots and pure as any of the privacy preserving projects I mentioned. It pretty much achieves the mission described in the Cypherpunk's Manifesto from 1993, the same initiative that led to the development of PGP and the Tor network, technologies that are also decentralised, off the grid, and used by criminals and righteous people alike.
Journalists, whistleblowers and freedom fighters use Monero. I will look into GNU-Taler like I said, but I suspect there'd be a massive reason why I never heard about it before in all my research, including none of the kind of people that need privacy the most.
By Pyrate, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:26 am UTC
Quoting: PlayingOnLinuxphoneYour first paragraph describes Bitcoin with its transparency that compromises one's privacy because all one's transactions are transparent on a public ledger. Monero doesn't do that, it has 3 distinct technologies that obfuscate the sender, the transaction amount, and receiver.Quoting: Pyrate[...] What I referred to when I said 2014 was Monero, you can think of it as the cash equivalent of Linux, PGP, the Tor network, and all the other foundational privacy-preserving projects.I never used it, because it has major issues like requiring a lot of energy and all transactions stay public visible. Once they know who you are, all your history is also visible and not just one transaction deanonymized, but all at once. It is also an object for bad people highjacking other peoples PC to farm coins (I even knew a homepage doing it) or speculating with the money or using it for illegal activities (and unlike dark net it has not so many positive effects).
The thing I initially wanted to highlight by mentioning the years is that we already have these technologies that can enable our freedoms, but for reasons, including convenience and laziness, we choose to ignore them.
It is clearly not equal to Linux, PGP, TOR Project etc, even if original it was meant to be such. I still honor the idea and work, but the plan was bad from begin on, we just leaned and saw it some time later. GNU-Taler on the other hand is like all the privacy tools you mentioned. It is free software, decentralized, anonymous for private people, collecting companies data for tax. It is also lightweight and does not introduce another currency (1:1 translation of the real currency - always). If we can spread the idea, we may get new payment options for Steam, GOG, and all others at some point. Would reduce the nightmare of not being able to pay without the man in the middle that accesses our bank accounts...
Using money for illegal activity isn't something new, if you apply the same standard elsewhere, guess what kind of money you shouldn't use anymore because it gets used in ransom and money laundering ? That's right, cash. Monero is in fact used in darknet markets and such, a fact I and you can hate all we want, but it is proof that the technology works. There is a bigger discussion about how criminals are the first to adopt technology for their nefarious activities, it's nothing new at all.
I'd like for you to first learn about Monero and disassociate it from Bitcoin when you claim it's not equal to the privacy-preserving projects I mentioned.
I'll read more about GNU-Taler, but the concept of not accepting a new currency is a different topic we can indulge in. I mentioned the privacy side of using Monero, in addition to its openness in that anyone can have a wallet for free, and become their own bank account in that sense. Now, why introduce a new currency ? The first question I'd ask is why not, like what's the big deal in doing so ? Fiat currencies aren't this set-in-stone thing when you realise central banks can print as much as they want, devaluing your own money via inflation. Governments and central banks can print all the banknotes they want without any proof of work to show for it, as time goes on, your salary, while remaining unchanged numerically, continuously depreciates in value and purchasing power. What Bitcoin introduced is a way to create money through real and verifiable proof of work through electricity that can be performed by individuals in a decentralised manner, and this was later fixed so only regular consumer CPUs and not massive ASIC machines can mine with Monero. The promise is to provide the people their own sense of money that they fully own, independent of any government, while protecting your right to privacy. It is as grass roots and pure as any of the privacy preserving projects I mentioned. It pretty much achieves the mission described in the Cypherpunk's Manifesto from 1993, the same initiative that led to the development of PGP and the Tor network, technologies that are also decentralised, off the grid, and used by criminals and righteous people alike.
Journalists, whistleblowers and freedom fighters use Monero. I will look into GNU-Taler like I said, but I suspect there'd be a massive reason why I never heard about it before in all my research, including none of the kind of people that need privacy the most.
News - Mouthwashing devs next project is co-op tank horror Carcass Clad
By tuubi, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:21 am UTC
By tuubi, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:21 am UTC
Quoting: PhlebiacAt the risk of offending someone: are they speaking a real language in that trailer, or is it just gibberish?It's Finnish. 🤣
News - Proton-CachyOS update brings automatic HDR, Wayland improvements and more bug fixes
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:10 am UTC
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:10 am UTC
Automatic logic for best defaults (HDR, DXVK fallbacks, etc.) is really the best way. No fussing about, unless you really want to experiment with different options.
News - Mouthwashing devs next project is co-op tank horror Carcass Clad
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:04 am UTC
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:04 am UTC
At the risk of offending someone: are they speaking a real language in that trailer, or is it just gibberish?
News - Cave Story+ 2026 major update out now - Native Linux version dropped
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:00 am UTC
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:00 am UTC
For anyone (like me) who got it from some old Humble Bundle - reminder that the old Linux build is still available to download from there. The Windows and macOS builds are from Dec 2012 / Jan 2013 respectively, for an idea of build age (it doesn't say a date for the Linux packages).
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Adutchman, 11 Jun 2026 at 8:33 am UTC
By Adutchman, 11 Jun 2026 at 8:33 am UTC
Quoting: GustyGhostA shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
Quoting: GustyGhostA shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.Not really though right? They can see how much money you spend in aggregate, but not what you spend it on. That at least removes the concern of them tracing what games you buy/play.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Adutchman, 11 Jun 2026 at 8:33 am UTC
By Adutchman, 11 Jun 2026 at 8:33 am UTC
Quoting: GustyGhostA shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
Quoting: GustyGhostA shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.Not really though right? They can see how much money you spend in aggregate, but not what you spend it on. That at least removes the concern of them tracing what games you buy/play.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By GustyGhost, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:45 am UTC
By GustyGhost, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:45 am UTC
A shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
News - Dark-fantasy bullet heaven auto-shooter Hand of Fate: Hordes arrives July 22nd
By hardpenguin, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:56 am UTC
By hardpenguin, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:56 am UTC
Love to see another Hand of Fate game, even if it's something different this time.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By blindcoder, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:15 am UTC
By blindcoder, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:15 am UTC
Quoting: LoudTechieAmerican Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.What region are you in that Steam offers you Wero?
News - Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns arrives in August
By iiari, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:57 am UTC
By iiari, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:57 am UTC
Quoting: PhlebiacVery cool! Thanks for the tip, looks interesting!Quoting: iiariThere is absolutely a place for a modern, truly outstanding jousting mini-game.Screenshots are pretty, reviews are decent. I know nothing about it, though:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3220180/Vestigia_Joust/
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By PlayingOnLinuxphone, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:16 am UTC
It is clearly not equal to Linux, PGP, TOR Project etc, even if original it was meant to be such. I still honor the idea and work, but the plan was bad from begin on, we just leaned and saw it some time later. GNU-Taler on the other hand is like all the privacy tools you mentioned. It is free software, decentralized, anonymous for private people, collecting companies data for tax. It is also lightweight and does not introduce another currency (1:1 translation of the real currency - always). If we can spread the idea, we may get new payment options for Steam, GOG, and all others at some point. Would reduce the nightmare of not being able to pay without the man in the middle that accesses our bank accounts...
By PlayingOnLinuxphone, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:16 am UTC
Quoting: Pyrate[...] What I referred to when I said 2014 was Monero, you can think of it as the cash equivalent of Linux, PGP, the Tor network, and all the other foundational privacy-preserving projects.I never used it, because it has major issues like requiring a lot of energy and all transactions stay public visible. Once they know who you are, all your history is also visible and not just one transaction deanonymized, but all at once. It is also an object for bad people highjacking other peoples PC to farm coins (I even knew a homepage doing it) or speculating with the money or using it for illegal activities (and unlike dark net it has not so many positive effects).
The thing I initially wanted to highlight by mentioning the years is that we already have these technologies that can enable our freedoms, but for reasons, including convenience and laziness, we choose to ignore them.
It is clearly not equal to Linux, PGP, TOR Project etc, even if original it was meant to be such. I still honor the idea and work, but the plan was bad from begin on, we just leaned and saw it some time later. GNU-Taler on the other hand is like all the privacy tools you mentioned. It is free software, decentralized, anonymous for private people, collecting companies data for tax. It is also lightweight and does not introduce another currency (1:1 translation of the real currency - always). If we can spread the idea, we may get new payment options for Steam, GOG, and all others at some point. Would reduce the nightmare of not being able to pay without the man in the middle that accesses our bank accounts...
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By GustyGhost, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:12 am UTC
By GustyGhost, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:12 am UTC
I remember when Steam accepted Bitcoin.
Some things are just too good for the people to have.
Some things are just too good for the people to have.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Slaxer, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:34 pm UTC
By Slaxer, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:34 pm UTC
Quoting: PyrateIt's another story altogether if you simply don't accept the concept of a decentralised way for people to operate and transact their own affairs without an uninvited oversight, that this can never happen, and that you must have an overlord issuing your only accepted form of exchange medium, telling you what you can and cannot spend your money on.The real fix would probably be to go back to a gold standard and move away from fiat currency, so that the money itself has intrinsic value. I'm with you on the idea that money really should be decentralized though. I do like Bitcoin, but as someone else on this thread has already mentioned, it does come at an environmental cost that's always bothered me. Everything has pros and cons.
I genuinely feel here like one of those instances where I'm explaining the benefits of Linux to Windows users, or to use Signal instead of WhatsApp. It's the same thing all over again. Guess I'm cursed in this regard, lol.
News - The big Dino Update for Dwarf Fortress announced for June 25
By Philadelphus, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:24 pm UTC
By Philadelphus, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:24 pm UTC
Oh, cool. I might need to start a new game when this releases. With the things Dwarf Fortress players have managed to farm over the years (mermaids, sea serpents, dragons…) I can only imagine unleashing a horde of dinosaurs on the next goblin siege.
Of course, the real question is, what letters will they use in the ASCII version? 😁
Of course, the real question is, what letters will they use in the ASCII version? 😁
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By LoudTechie, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:33 pm UTC
The Netherlands.
Just like before the fusion IDEAL continues to work.
IDEAL is now Wero.
Thus Wero works there.
By LoudTechie, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:33 pm UTC
Quoting: EikeYeah, but apparently I wasn't clear.Quoting: LoudTechieThat's not what I asked.Quoting: EikeWero is a fusion of national payments providers and the ones that were supported before the fusion are still supported.Quoting: LoudTechie[/But Wero is not offered yet, right?
American Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.
Do you know a place where Wero can (directly) be used to buy Steam games already?
Because, I'm waiting for it to be supported here (Germany)...
The Netherlands.
Just like before the fusion IDEAL continues to work.
IDEAL is now Wero.
Thus Wero works there.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:16 pm UTC
But the point is not centralization. The point is power. Whether centralized or decentralized, the organization must have some way of binding people to the decisions made. If it's just "if I happen to feel like it", it will fall apart. If you have a decentralized direct democracy, and everyone votes and the majority agree to thing X, then the difference between a decentralized direct democracy government and a decentralized direct democracy culture club is, once the vote has happened, is there a mechanism to make sure everyone operates according to what was agreed? If yes, it's a real institution. If no, it's a socially pleasant nonentity and it sure as hell can't do a currency.
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:16 pm UTC
Quoting: PyrateFor 'stable institution', that is achieved here with the mining consensus. This is error proof because it's all mathematics and physics, and not what some politically motivated official who decides whether or not to fuck his subjects over for personal gain (Trump, thanks to his shenanigans, makes this point so easy to accept).Error proof doesn't matter a damn. I mean, I suppose it would be even stupider without it, but that does not substitute for real social institutions.
It's another story altogether if you simply don't accept the concept of a decentralised way for people to operate and transact their own affairs without an uninvited oversight, that this can never happen, and that you must have an overlord issuing your only accepted form of exchange medium, telling you what you can and cannot spend your money on.
But the point is not centralization. The point is power. Whether centralized or decentralized, the organization must have some way of binding people to the decisions made. If it's just "if I happen to feel like it", it will fall apart. If you have a decentralized direct democracy, and everyone votes and the majority agree to thing X, then the difference between a decentralized direct democracy government and a decentralized direct democracy culture club is, once the vote has happened, is there a mechanism to make sure everyone operates according to what was agreed? If yes, it's a real institution. If no, it's a socially pleasant nonentity and it sure as hell can't do a currency.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:06 pm UTC
Fiat currencies have value largely because there is a government that insists you pay your taxes in them. Governments have social, institutional longevity; there is some sort of social contract involving the whole population of a country that more or less agrees that the country has a government and that government gets to decide how money works in the country. And they have lawyers and armed people who will give you a hard time if you break the law by not paying your taxes in the currency the government makes. Therefore everyone has to have some, therefore it has value. So these currencies usually have a fair degree of stability; you can put them in the bank and when you turn around they will still be worth something. But it's noticeable that when the governments backing them become weak or come under strong attack, the value of the currency can fluctuate extremely.
Crypto is a fiat currency with a government backing it that is so weak it does not exist. There is nobody insisting you have to pay your taxes or debts using crypto. Crypto's value is supported solely by "extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds", which has worked for a few years but is fickle. The viability of crypto right now is mainly an artifact of massive inequality; as the very rich siphon off more and more of the world's money, they look for anything to invest in. Everything becomes a bubble, from stocks to art. Speculation has become a larger and larger part of the economy, and so it is the right time for a pure speculation vehicle to do well. But crypto's value even in these hothouse conditions fluctuates wildly, and come a crash it will crash hardest of all because it has nothing behind it except the "animal spirits" of investors, and once their optimism changes to fear it will have no value at all.
But even before we get there, it is noticeable that while crypto is far bigger and more mainstream than a few years back, most of the attempts to use it as actual currency day to day have gone away. That's because it is almost entirely a speculative investment vehicle, not money. There are a few specialized uses, yes, like crime and evading sanctions (and personally, I consider the evading sanctions part a good thing). But in general, crypto isn't money, doesn't act like money, and will not start acting like money because it has neither inherent value nor any solid social institution forcing its use as money to give it stable value.
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:06 pm UTC
Quoting: PyrateGold was always only sort of a currency. The thing about gold is it's considered valuable in itself. It's still valuable if there's no king's head stamped on it. And historically it was noticeable that if a government reduced the amount of gold in the currency, debased it, it lost value. So that has its uses--if you use gold as a currency, it doesn't matter if the government is weak or subject to rapid change, as long as it has access to a gold mine it can issue currency and that currency will have value.Quoting: Purple Library GuySimply not true. First of all, value and the concept of currency as a medium of exchange is subjective. An object is considered a currency when a group of people consider it as such and start trading between each other using said object. There are no rules that dictate what can and can't be a currency. It used to be gold, and now it's banknotes.Quoting: PyrateYour first paragraph describes Bitcoin with its transparency that compromises one's privacy because all one's transactions are transparent on a public ledger. Monero doesn't do that, it has 3 distinct technologies that obfuscate the sender, the transaction amount, and receiver.This still leaves us with the basic crypto issue that it has neither inherent value nor any stable institution giving it value, leaving it a terrible "store of value" whose main use is pure speculation.
Fiat currencies have value largely because there is a government that insists you pay your taxes in them. Governments have social, institutional longevity; there is some sort of social contract involving the whole population of a country that more or less agrees that the country has a government and that government gets to decide how money works in the country. And they have lawyers and armed people who will give you a hard time if you break the law by not paying your taxes in the currency the government makes. Therefore everyone has to have some, therefore it has value. So these currencies usually have a fair degree of stability; you can put them in the bank and when you turn around they will still be worth something. But it's noticeable that when the governments backing them become weak or come under strong attack, the value of the currency can fluctuate extremely.
Crypto is a fiat currency with a government backing it that is so weak it does not exist. There is nobody insisting you have to pay your taxes or debts using crypto. Crypto's value is supported solely by "extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds", which has worked for a few years but is fickle. The viability of crypto right now is mainly an artifact of massive inequality; as the very rich siphon off more and more of the world's money, they look for anything to invest in. Everything becomes a bubble, from stocks to art. Speculation has become a larger and larger part of the economy, and so it is the right time for a pure speculation vehicle to do well. But crypto's value even in these hothouse conditions fluctuates wildly, and come a crash it will crash hardest of all because it has nothing behind it except the "animal spirits" of investors, and once their optimism changes to fear it will have no value at all.
But even before we get there, it is noticeable that while crypto is far bigger and more mainstream than a few years back, most of the attempts to use it as actual currency day to day have gone away. That's because it is almost entirely a speculative investment vehicle, not money. There are a few specialized uses, yes, like crime and evading sanctions (and personally, I consider the evading sanctions part a good thing). But in general, crypto isn't money, doesn't act like money, and will not start acting like money because it has neither inherent value nor any solid social institution forcing its use as money to give it stable value.
News - The Complete Inkle Library Humble Bundle has some lovely narrative puzzle adventure games
By kaiman, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:36 pm UTC
By kaiman, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:36 pm UTC
Too bad I already have all of those except for Expelled! and TR-49.
Can recommend the bundle for Heaven's Vault and the novelization alone, though. I guess from an art perspective, HV may not appeal to everyone, in the way it mixes 3D environments with 2D character sprites, but if exploration is your thing, and you enjoy a plot that seems to form effortlessly around your actions and discoveries, there's nothing better.
The novels (part 1 and 2) retell the events of the game, offering some more background on certain characters and events, and felt like a nice addition to the game itself. I read them a couple years after playing the game, which may or may not have affected my perception. Liked the writing style, though. Part 3 and 4 expand on the background and secrets of the Nebula, and while I'd rather have played HV2, they are better than nothing. Writing is good, again, but I thought certain things that came to light were a bit meh. Sometimes, it's perhaps preferable that not all mysteries are resolved.
Can recommend the bundle for Heaven's Vault and the novelization alone, though. I guess from an art perspective, HV may not appeal to everyone, in the way it mixes 3D environments with 2D character sprites, but if exploration is your thing, and you enjoy a plot that seems to form effortlessly around your actions and discoveries, there's nothing better.
The novels (part 1 and 2) retell the events of the game, offering some more background on certain characters and events, and felt like a nice addition to the game itself. I read them a couple years after playing the game, which may or may not have affected my perception. Liked the writing style, though. Part 3 and 4 expand on the background and secrets of the Nebula, and while I'd rather have played HV2, they are better than nothing. Writing is good, again, but I thought certain things that came to light were a bit meh. Sometimes, it's perhaps preferable that not all mysteries are resolved.
News - Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition adds a Controller UI on PC
By geckofish52, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:13 pm UTC
By geckofish52, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:13 pm UTC
This and the auto-HDR CachyOS update may just get me to boot this game up to play from the couch with my steam controller...
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Pyrate, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:28 pm UTC
It is your subjective opinion that the concept of digital cash through something like Monero has no inherent value. Other people who value the private properties of cash, especially those who rely on it for their own safety and security, will continue to use it in the digital world. In the near future, when the end stage of this artificial ID verification requirement for everything on the internet (and maybe in real life) is reached, even more people will want to use Monero.
The speculation part is true for all the other crypto currencies that, at the end of the day, more or less exist because someone wanted to get rich quick, but here, speculation over Monero's market value has severely shrunken because of delistings that occured on a lot of major exchangers like Coinbase, Binance and the others, exchangers that are the main way most people get their hands on assets such as crypto. This made it so the barrier of entry is way higher than for a crypto bro to want to buy some Monero for speculation, the amount of shit you have to go through depending on your jurisdiction to get your hands on Monero is ridiculous at times, this filtered out a lot of those who are in it for speculation. Now, can you guess why the privacy tool for money go delisted and attacked ?
That's another thing, actually; take literally any of these fake crypto "coins", if any of them face the level of delisting and crackdown that Monero went through, their value will go to zero immediately, because as you've said, they have no use case beyond being numbers on a screen. Didn't happen to Monero, because it actually gets used by groups of people, outside of using it like stock asset for speculation.
For 'stable institution', that is achieved here with the mining consensus. This is error proof because it's all mathematics and physics, and not what some politically motivated official who decides whether or not to fuck his subjects over for personal gain (Trump, thanks to his shenanigans, makes this point so easy to accept).
It's another story altogether if you simply don't accept the concept of a decentralised way for people to operate and transact their own affairs without an uninvited oversight, that this can never happen, and that you must have an overlord issuing your only accepted form of exchange medium, telling you what you can and cannot spend your money on.
I genuinely feel here like one of those instances where I'm explaining the benefits of Linux to Windows users, or to use Signal instead of WhatsApp. It's the same thing all over again. Guess I'm cursed in this regard, lol.
By Pyrate, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:28 pm UTC
Quoting: Purple Library GuySimply not true. First of all, value and the concept of currency as a medium of exchange is subjective. An object is considered a currency when a group of people consider it as such and start trading between each other using said object. There are no rules that dictate what can and can't be a currency. It used to be gold, and now it's banknotes.Quoting: PyrateYour first paragraph describes Bitcoin with its transparency that compromises one's privacy because all one's transactions are transparent on a public ledger. Monero doesn't do that, it has 3 distinct technologies that obfuscate the sender, the transaction amount, and receiver.This still leaves us with the basic crypto issue that it has neither inherent value nor any stable institution giving it value, leaving it a terrible "store of value" whose main use is pure speculation.
It is your subjective opinion that the concept of digital cash through something like Monero has no inherent value. Other people who value the private properties of cash, especially those who rely on it for their own safety and security, will continue to use it in the digital world. In the near future, when the end stage of this artificial ID verification requirement for everything on the internet (and maybe in real life) is reached, even more people will want to use Monero.
The speculation part is true for all the other crypto currencies that, at the end of the day, more or less exist because someone wanted to get rich quick, but here, speculation over Monero's market value has severely shrunken because of delistings that occured on a lot of major exchangers like Coinbase, Binance and the others, exchangers that are the main way most people get their hands on assets such as crypto. This made it so the barrier of entry is way higher than for a crypto bro to want to buy some Monero for speculation, the amount of shit you have to go through depending on your jurisdiction to get your hands on Monero is ridiculous at times, this filtered out a lot of those who are in it for speculation. Now, can you guess why the privacy tool for money go delisted and attacked ?
That's another thing, actually; take literally any of these fake crypto "coins", if any of them face the level of delisting and crackdown that Monero went through, their value will go to zero immediately, because as you've said, they have no use case beyond being numbers on a screen. Didn't happen to Monero, because it actually gets used by groups of people, outside of using it like stock asset for speculation.
For 'stable institution', that is achieved here with the mining consensus. This is error proof because it's all mathematics and physics, and not what some politically motivated official who decides whether or not to fuck his subjects over for personal gain (Trump, thanks to his shenanigans, makes this point so easy to accept).
It's another story altogether if you simply don't accept the concept of a decentralised way for people to operate and transact their own affairs without an uninvited oversight, that this can never happen, and that you must have an overlord issuing your only accepted form of exchange medium, telling you what you can and cannot spend your money on.
I genuinely feel here like one of those instances where I'm explaining the benefits of Linux to Windows users, or to use Signal instead of WhatsApp. It's the same thing all over again. Guess I'm cursed in this regard, lol.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 2:58 pm UTC
By Purple Library Guy, 11 Jun 2026 at 2:58 pm UTC
Quoting: PyrateYour first paragraph describes Bitcoin with its transparency that compromises one's privacy because all one's transactions are transparent on a public ledger. Monero doesn't do that, it has 3 distinct technologies that obfuscate the sender, the transaction amount, and receiver.This still leaves us with the basic crypto issue that it has neither inherent value nor any stable institution giving it value, leaving it a terrible "store of value" whose main use is pure speculation.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By pilk, 11 Jun 2026 at 1:25 pm UTC
By pilk, 11 Jun 2026 at 1:25 pm UTC
Quoting: LoudTechieAs for PayPal, they're also pretty stingy on adult content. I've seen people who work in adult entertainment (use your imagination) get their accounts nuked from orbit for the smallest mention of their field.Quoting: blindcoderOh come ON. The last option to bypass fuckers like Master and Visa policing content on Steam, and OF COURSE they do away with it.American Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.
News - DELTARUNE Chapter 5 arrives free on June 24
By pilk, 11 Jun 2026 at 1:21 pm UTC
By pilk, 11 Jun 2026 at 1:21 pm UTC
Am I ready for another emotional gut-punch this month?
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By PaldinoX, 11 Jun 2026 at 12:34 pm UTC
By PaldinoX, 11 Jun 2026 at 12:34 pm UTC
This will stop nothing, there's no shortage of other gift cards these scammers can take advantage of.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Eike, 11 Jun 2026 at 12:26 pm UTC
Do you know a place where Wero can (directly) be used to buy Steam games already?
Because, I'm waiting for it to be supported here (Germany)...
By Eike, 11 Jun 2026 at 12:26 pm UTC
Quoting: LoudTechieThat's not what I asked.Quoting: EikeWero is a fusion of national payments providers and the ones that were supported before the fusion are still supported.Quoting: LoudTechie[/But Wero is not offered yet, right?
American Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.
Do you know a place where Wero can (directly) be used to buy Steam games already?
Because, I'm waiting for it to be supported here (Germany)...
News - Cave Story+ 2026 major update out now - Native Linux version dropped
By rea987, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:55 am UTC
By rea987, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:55 am UTC
Quoting: PhlebiacFor anyone (like me) who got it from some old Humble Bundle - reminder that the old Linux build is still available to download from there. The Windows and macOS builds are from Dec 2012 / Jan 2013 respectively, for an idea of build age (it doesn't say a date for the Linux packages).Majority of discontinued Linux and macOS builds of old HBs are still there. Yet, few of them such as Limbo's old 32 bit macOS build was removed even from user accounts. Not great... Or, Dear Esther's native Linux build used to be available on HB Store widged is no longer being sold but still available in the accounts of user who purchased old HBs... Not a great picture for game preservation...
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By rea987, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:50 am UTC
By rea987, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:50 am UTC
Quoting: mr-victoryYou can change the registered country of your Steam account every 6 months. However if you have some games with region block you may not be able to play them anymore, Steam may refuse to launch them.I won't change my Steam region while still being paid a 3rd world salary, sorry.
News - Steam Beta gets improved Pipewire session logic on Linux
By Taros, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:41 am UTC
By Taros, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:41 am UTC
They should fix the bug, that Steam recording captures everything and not just the game audio.
I have a python scripts which fixes it with pw-link but it should really work out-of-the-box nowadays.
I have a python scripts which fixes it with pw-link but it should really work out-of-the-box nowadays.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By LoudTechie, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:15 am UTC
[I found IDEAL(fused national payment providers)/wero still worked in the Netherlands, so I counted it in.](https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/JEKhW/steam-payment-ideal-from-nl)
[Also apperantly direct bank transfers are supported.](https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/7/2577696996221441610/)
edit:
[and vanilla prepaid](https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/what-payment-methods-does-steam-accept/)
By LoudTechie, 11 Jun 2026 at 11:15 am UTC
Quoting: EikeWero is a fusion of national payments providers and the ones that were supported before the fusion are still supported.Quoting: LoudTechie[/But Wero is not offered yet, right?
American Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.
Quoting: blindcoderI listed more than only in my country supported payment providers.Quoting: LoudTechieAmerican Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.What region are you in that Steam offers you Wero?
[I found IDEAL(fused national payment providers)/wero still worked in the Netherlands, so I counted it in.](https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/JEKhW/steam-payment-ideal-from-nl)
[Also apperantly direct bank transfers are supported.](https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/7/2577696996221441610/)
edit:
[and vanilla prepaid](https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/what-payment-methods-does-steam-accept/)
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Pyrate, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:26 am UTC
Using money for illegal activity isn't something new, if you apply the same standard elsewhere, guess what kind of money you shouldn't use anymore because it gets used in ransom and money laundering ? That's right, cash. Monero is in fact used in darknet markets and such, a fact I and you can hate all we want, but it is proof that the technology works. There is a bigger discussion about how criminals are the first to adopt technology for their nefarious activities, it's nothing new at all.
I'd like for you to first learn about Monero and disassociate it from Bitcoin when you claim it's not equal to the privacy-preserving projects I mentioned.
I'll read more about GNU-Taler, but the concept of not accepting a new currency is a different topic we can indulge in. I mentioned the privacy side of using Monero, in addition to its openness in that anyone can have a wallet for free, and become their own bank account in that sense. Now, why introduce a new currency ? The first question I'd ask is why not, like what's the big deal in doing so ? Fiat currencies aren't this set-in-stone thing when you realise central banks can print as much as they want, devaluing your own money via inflation. Governments and central banks can print all the banknotes they want without any proof of work to show for it, as time goes on, your salary, while remaining unchanged numerically, continuously depreciates in value and purchasing power. What Bitcoin introduced is a way to create money through real and verifiable proof of work through electricity that can be performed by individuals in a decentralised manner, and this was later fixed so only regular consumer CPUs and not massive ASIC machines can mine with Monero. The promise is to provide the people their own sense of money that they fully own, independent of any government, while protecting your right to privacy. It is as grass roots and pure as any of the privacy preserving projects I mentioned. It pretty much achieves the mission described in the Cypherpunk's Manifesto from 1993, the same initiative that led to the development of PGP and the Tor network, technologies that are also decentralised, off the grid, and used by criminals and righteous people alike.
Journalists, whistleblowers and freedom fighters use Monero. I will look into GNU-Taler like I said, but I suspect there'd be a massive reason why I never heard about it before in all my research, including none of the kind of people that need privacy the most.
By Pyrate, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:26 am UTC
Quoting: PlayingOnLinuxphoneYour first paragraph describes Bitcoin with its transparency that compromises one's privacy because all one's transactions are transparent on a public ledger. Monero doesn't do that, it has 3 distinct technologies that obfuscate the sender, the transaction amount, and receiver.Quoting: Pyrate[...] What I referred to when I said 2014 was Monero, you can think of it as the cash equivalent of Linux, PGP, the Tor network, and all the other foundational privacy-preserving projects.I never used it, because it has major issues like requiring a lot of energy and all transactions stay public visible. Once they know who you are, all your history is also visible and not just one transaction deanonymized, but all at once. It is also an object for bad people highjacking other peoples PC to farm coins (I even knew a homepage doing it) or speculating with the money or using it for illegal activities (and unlike dark net it has not so many positive effects).
The thing I initially wanted to highlight by mentioning the years is that we already have these technologies that can enable our freedoms, but for reasons, including convenience and laziness, we choose to ignore them.
It is clearly not equal to Linux, PGP, TOR Project etc, even if original it was meant to be such. I still honor the idea and work, but the plan was bad from begin on, we just leaned and saw it some time later. GNU-Taler on the other hand is like all the privacy tools you mentioned. It is free software, decentralized, anonymous for private people, collecting companies data for tax. It is also lightweight and does not introduce another currency (1:1 translation of the real currency - always). If we can spread the idea, we may get new payment options for Steam, GOG, and all others at some point. Would reduce the nightmare of not being able to pay without the man in the middle that accesses our bank accounts...
Using money for illegal activity isn't something new, if you apply the same standard elsewhere, guess what kind of money you shouldn't use anymore because it gets used in ransom and money laundering ? That's right, cash. Monero is in fact used in darknet markets and such, a fact I and you can hate all we want, but it is proof that the technology works. There is a bigger discussion about how criminals are the first to adopt technology for their nefarious activities, it's nothing new at all.
I'd like for you to first learn about Monero and disassociate it from Bitcoin when you claim it's not equal to the privacy-preserving projects I mentioned.
I'll read more about GNU-Taler, but the concept of not accepting a new currency is a different topic we can indulge in. I mentioned the privacy side of using Monero, in addition to its openness in that anyone can have a wallet for free, and become their own bank account in that sense. Now, why introduce a new currency ? The first question I'd ask is why not, like what's the big deal in doing so ? Fiat currencies aren't this set-in-stone thing when you realise central banks can print as much as they want, devaluing your own money via inflation. Governments and central banks can print all the banknotes they want without any proof of work to show for it, as time goes on, your salary, while remaining unchanged numerically, continuously depreciates in value and purchasing power. What Bitcoin introduced is a way to create money through real and verifiable proof of work through electricity that can be performed by individuals in a decentralised manner, and this was later fixed so only regular consumer CPUs and not massive ASIC machines can mine with Monero. The promise is to provide the people their own sense of money that they fully own, independent of any government, while protecting your right to privacy. It is as grass roots and pure as any of the privacy preserving projects I mentioned. It pretty much achieves the mission described in the Cypherpunk's Manifesto from 1993, the same initiative that led to the development of PGP and the Tor network, technologies that are also decentralised, off the grid, and used by criminals and righteous people alike.
Journalists, whistleblowers and freedom fighters use Monero. I will look into GNU-Taler like I said, but I suspect there'd be a massive reason why I never heard about it before in all my research, including none of the kind of people that need privacy the most.
News - Mouthwashing devs next project is co-op tank horror Carcass Clad
By tuubi, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:21 am UTC
By tuubi, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:21 am UTC
Quoting: PhlebiacAt the risk of offending someone: are they speaking a real language in that trailer, or is it just gibberish?It's Finnish. 🤣
News - Proton-CachyOS update brings automatic HDR, Wayland improvements and more bug fixes
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:10 am UTC
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:10 am UTC
Automatic logic for best defaults (HDR, DXVK fallbacks, etc.) is really the best way. No fussing about, unless you really want to experiment with different options.
News - Mouthwashing devs next project is co-op tank horror Carcass Clad
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:04 am UTC
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:04 am UTC
At the risk of offending someone: are they speaking a real language in that trailer, or is it just gibberish?
News - Cave Story+ 2026 major update out now - Native Linux version dropped
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:00 am UTC
By Phlebiac, 11 Jun 2026 at 9:00 am UTC
For anyone (like me) who got it from some old Humble Bundle - reminder that the old Linux build is still available to download from there. The Windows and macOS builds are from Dec 2012 / Jan 2013 respectively, for an idea of build age (it doesn't say a date for the Linux packages).
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Adutchman, 11 Jun 2026 at 8:33 am UTC
By Adutchman, 11 Jun 2026 at 8:33 am UTC
Quoting: GustyGhostA shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
Quoting: GustyGhostA shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.Not really though right? They can see how much money you spend in aggregate, but not what you spend it on. That at least removes the concern of them tracing what games you buy/play.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By Adutchman, 11 Jun 2026 at 8:33 am UTC
By Adutchman, 11 Jun 2026 at 8:33 am UTC
Quoting: GustyGhostA shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
Quoting: GustyGhostA shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.Not really though right? They can see how much money you spend in aggregate, but not what you spend it on. That at least removes the concern of them tracing what games you buy/play.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By GustyGhost, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:45 am UTC
By GustyGhost, 11 Jun 2026 at 7:45 am UTC
A shame. I'd been using them for a while in response to payment processors trying to play nanny state.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
It is still possible to top up your Steam wallet with the digital gift cards, although this allows your card provider (and all their data sharing partners) to see behaviorally how you use Steam.
News - Dark-fantasy bullet heaven auto-shooter Hand of Fate: Hordes arrives July 22nd
By hardpenguin, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:56 am UTC
By hardpenguin, 11 Jun 2026 at 6:56 am UTC
Love to see another Hand of Fate game, even if it's something different this time.
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By blindcoder, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:15 am UTC
By blindcoder, 11 Jun 2026 at 5:15 am UTC
Quoting: LoudTechieAmerican Express, Discover, JCB, PayPal, Wero(for european customers), PaysafeCard and Klarna are all still options.What region are you in that Steam offers you Wero?
News - Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns arrives in August
By iiari, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:57 am UTC
By iiari, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:57 am UTC
Quoting: PhlebiacVery cool! Thanks for the tip, looks interesting!Quoting: iiariThere is absolutely a place for a modern, truly outstanding jousting mini-game.Screenshots are pretty, reviews are decent. I know nothing about it, though:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3220180/Vestigia_Joust/
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By PlayingOnLinuxphone, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:16 am UTC
It is clearly not equal to Linux, PGP, TOR Project etc, even if original it was meant to be such. I still honor the idea and work, but the plan was bad from begin on, we just leaned and saw it some time later. GNU-Taler on the other hand is like all the privacy tools you mentioned. It is free software, decentralized, anonymous for private people, collecting companies data for tax. It is also lightweight and does not introduce another currency (1:1 translation of the real currency - always). If we can spread the idea, we may get new payment options for Steam, GOG, and all others at some point. Would reduce the nightmare of not being able to pay without the man in the middle that accesses our bank accounts...
By PlayingOnLinuxphone, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:16 am UTC
Quoting: Pyrate[...] What I referred to when I said 2014 was Monero, you can think of it as the cash equivalent of Linux, PGP, the Tor network, and all the other foundational privacy-preserving projects.I never used it, because it has major issues like requiring a lot of energy and all transactions stay public visible. Once they know who you are, all your history is also visible and not just one transaction deanonymized, but all at once. It is also an object for bad people highjacking other peoples PC to farm coins (I even knew a homepage doing it) or speculating with the money or using it for illegal activities (and unlike dark net it has not so many positive effects).
The thing I initially wanted to highlight by mentioning the years is that we already have these technologies that can enable our freedoms, but for reasons, including convenience and laziness, we choose to ignore them.
It is clearly not equal to Linux, PGP, TOR Project etc, even if original it was meant to be such. I still honor the idea and work, but the plan was bad from begin on, we just leaned and saw it some time later. GNU-Taler on the other hand is like all the privacy tools you mentioned. It is free software, decentralized, anonymous for private people, collecting companies data for tax. It is also lightweight and does not introduce another currency (1:1 translation of the real currency - always). If we can spread the idea, we may get new payment options for Steam, GOG, and all others at some point. Would reduce the nightmare of not being able to pay without the man in the middle that accesses our bank accounts...
News - Valve to no longer offer physical gift cards due to scammers
By GustyGhost, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:12 am UTC
By GustyGhost, 11 Jun 2026 at 4:12 am UTC
I remember when Steam accepted Bitcoin.
Some things are just too good for the people to have.
Some things are just too good for the people to have.
Guide - Anticheat check - which competitive games actually work on Linux?
By Zakaria_Shalih, 31 May 2026 at 2:44 am UTC
By Zakaria_Shalih, 31 May 2026 at 2:44 am UTC
games whose anti-cheats makes them never works in Linux(even with wine/proton) aren't ended up in my Library for whatever reason
Guide - How to give Valve feedback when Proton games have issues on Linux / SteamOS
By ProfessorKaos64, 30 May 2026 at 8:57 pm UTC
By ProfessorKaos64, 30 May 2026 at 8:57 pm UTC
Quoting: StellaIs that really worth doing though? I uploaded logs and gave really detailed information for 3 different games that have issues with Proton. The Witcher 3, Vampyr, Doom TDA. All 3 are Steam Deck Verified. In all 3 reports, i gave detailed repro steps along with proton logs, and the issue was 100% reproducible. In Vampyr, the report was specifically about a regression in Proton 8 or later on the Steam Deck. I have never heard back from Valve on any of these 3 reports. This effort feels like a waste of time now.😫This. I have a plugin called decky-proton-pulse, and as soon as I started reading this I was excited to maybe work this in some native easy way, but I remembered that so many do these seem to be ignored. Maybe they are not though, and we just don't see what goes in in Valve's world. Perhaps they ingest these etc... for trends and fixes.
Guide - Anticheat check - which competitive games actually work on Linux?
By kaisellgren, 29 May 2026 at 11:29 pm UTC
By kaisellgren, 29 May 2026 at 11:29 pm UTC
If you're completely stuck, want to use Linux for gaming but need specific gamesThe simplest option is to have Windows on another SSD and then you just boot into it for few select competitive games while using Linux for all the rest. This is what I do.
Guide - How to give Valve feedback when Proton games have issues on Linux / SteamOS
By Stella, 22 May 2026 at 10:27 am UTC
By Stella, 22 May 2026 at 10:27 am UTC
Is that really worth doing though? I uploaded logs and gave really detailed information for 3 different games that have issues with Proton. The Witcher 3, Vampyr, Doom TDA. All 3 are Steam Deck Verified. In all 3 reports, i gave detailed repro steps along with proton logs, and the issue was 100% reproducible. In Vampyr, the report was specifically about a regression in Proton 8 or later on the Steam Deck. I have never heard back from Valve on any of these 3 reports. This effort feels like a waste of time now.😫
Guide - How to give Valve feedback when Proton games have issues on Linux / SteamOS
By Cley_Faye, 21 May 2026 at 5:32 pm UTC
By Cley_Faye, 21 May 2026 at 5:32 pm UTC
Ah, there must be a rule somewhere to state that a solution to a problem will show up when you don't need it anymore :D
I was facing an issue with a game last week, and ended up getting proton logs out this way. It was quite helpful. Ubuntu 24.04 have nvidia 595 drivers, but for some reason they didn't ship with the 32 bit builds of the various libraries. The proton logs showed that the game (a 32-bit windows executable) was just not seeing the GPU *at all* and moved to llvmpipe.
Still, a useful post; I'm sure there are issues that can't quite get fixed on our end.
I was facing an issue with a game last week, and ended up getting proton logs out this way. It was quite helpful. Ubuntu 24.04 have nvidia 595 drivers, but for some reason they didn't ship with the 32 bit builds of the various libraries. The proton logs showed that the game (a 32-bit windows executable) was just not seeing the GPU *at all* and moved to llvmpipe.
Still, a useful post; I'm sure there are issues that can't quite get fixed on our end.
Guide - How to give Valve feedback when Proton games have issues on Linux / SteamOS
By Yasri, 21 May 2026 at 2:44 pm UTC
By Yasri, 21 May 2026 at 2:44 pm UTC
You can upload the log file, first I have heard of this. I've just been chopping them up and making dozens of posts per bug report.
/this is a joke, don't do this.
/this is a joke, don't do this.
Guide - How to setup OpenMW for modern Morrowind on Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck
By Savor592, 10 Apr 2026 at 1:32 pm UTC
By Savor592, 10 Apr 2026 at 1:32 pm UTC
I would welcome a post (or an edit) introducing https://modding-openmw.com/ and especially showing a setup that works well on Steam Deck.
Their scripts make modding really easy. But unfortunately the Total Overhaul seems to be too much for the Deck. Would be nice to see a configuration close to it which can be run on the Deck.
Their scripts make modding really easy. But unfortunately the Total Overhaul seems to be too much for the Deck. Would be nice to see a configuration close to it which can be run on the Deck.
Guide - How to get Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 online working on Linux, SteamOS, Steam Deck
By lucasgomesbz, 7 Apr 2026 at 11:44 pm UTC
By lucasgomesbz, 7 Apr 2026 at 11:44 pm UTC
Thanks so much!
Your trick work!
Your trick work!
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By esapolundead, 11 Feb 2026 at 11:37 pm UTC
Close Lutris, then
Open Lutris, start Battle.net. You will have to login again, but it should be working now. Hope this helps.
By esapolundead, 11 Feb 2026 at 11:37 pm UTC
Quoting: iliyalesanitried wine, wine-staging-tkg, proton experimental, proton-ge, proton-tkg, reinstalled battle.net multiple times on different prefixes even cleared appdata and programdata but still nothing. gave VPN and tethering mobile network a shot as well. the result was always the same:This happened to me as well. Looks like the latest Battle.net launcher update broke something. This is how I fixed it in Lutris.
"Battle.net Update Agent went to sleep. Attempting to wake it up... BLZBNTBNA00000005".
Close Lutris, then
# pkill -9 Battle.net
# pkill -9 Agent
# pkill -9 Blizzard
# rm -rf ~/Games/battlenet/drive_c/ProgramData/Battle.net/Agent
# rm -rf ~/Games/battlenet/drive_c/ProgramData/Blizzard\ EntertainmentOpen Lutris, start Battle.net. You will have to login again, but it should be working now. Hope this helps.
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By iliyalesani, 11 Feb 2026 at 9:46 pm UTC
By iliyalesani, 11 Feb 2026 at 9:46 pm UTC
tried wine, wine-staging-tkg, proton experimental, proton-ge, proton-tkg, reinstalled battle.net multiple times on different prefixes even cleared appdata and programdata but still nothing. gave VPN and tethering mobile network a shot as well. the result was always the same:
"Battle.net Update Agent went to sleep. Attempting to wake it up... BLZBNTBNA00000005".
same thing with lutris using different versions of wine runners. even tried starting up the agent before and after launching battle.net to no avail:
EDIT / FIX:
using bottles (AUR, not flatpak) with proton-ge 10-30 worked. bottles also applied this launch option:
"Battle.net Update Agent went to sleep. Attempting to wake it up... BLZBNTBNA00000005".
same thing with lutris using different versions of wine runners. even tried starting up the agent before and after launching battle.net to no avail:
WINEFSYNC=1 WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2240255771/pfx/" "$HOME/.steam/steam/compatibilitytools.d/Proton-Tkg-2634/files/bin/wine" "$HOME/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2240255771/pfx/drive_c/ProgramData/Battle.net/Agent/Agent.exe"EDIT / FIX:
using bottles (AUR, not flatpak) with proton-ge 10-30 worked. bottles also applied this launch option:
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="locationapi=d" WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1 %command%
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By mr-victory, 23 Jan 2026 at 4:01 pm UTC
By mr-victory, 23 Jan 2026 at 4:01 pm UTC
Proton will also do however the default wine is ancient and does not work. I had to give this info in universal blue discord so many times I started to meme about "days since last Battle.net install failure on Lutris: 0". It is a pet peeve of mine😅
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By tuubi, 23 Jan 2026 at 2:55 pm UTC
Lutris really needs to cut a new release at some point and make this the default.
By tuubi, 23 Jan 2026 at 2:55 pm UTC
Quoting: mr-victoryI forgot this guide existed lol. Option 1 (Lutris) does not work and hasn't for months unless the default Wine version is changed from Wine GE 8.26 to something newer. Other wine versions can be installed by clicking a tiny button that looks like an open box in the main page of Lutris, next to "Wine" button.For most games you'll want to select "GE-Proton (Latest)" instead. No need to download anything manually. Lutris (UMU) will automatically download and manage the latest Proton version for you.
Lutris really needs to cut a new release at some point and make this the default.
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By mr-victory, 23 Jan 2026 at 12:44 pm UTC
By mr-victory, 23 Jan 2026 at 12:44 pm UTC
I forgot this guide existed lol. Option 1 (Lutris) does not work and hasn't for months unless the default Wine version is changed from Wine GE 8.26 to something newer. Other wine versions can be installed by clicking a tiny button that looks like an open box in the main page of Lutris, next to "Wine" button.
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By dbarreda, 23 Jan 2026 at 4:54 am UTC
By dbarreda, 23 Jan 2026 at 4:54 am UTC
I did install Steam thru Flatpak (K)ubuntu 25.10;
Proton 9 did not work, but Proton 10 did. It got stuck on "agent went to sleep attempting to wake it up steam".
The location for the directory is here: `~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/`
Hope this helps someone.
Proton 9 did not work, but Proton 10 did. It got stuck on "agent went to sleep attempting to wake it up steam".
The location for the directory is here: `~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/`
Hope this helps someone.
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By Liam Squires-Hand, 14 Jan 2026 at 12:57 pm UTC
By Liam Squires-Hand, 14 Jan 2026 at 12:57 pm UTC
I've added the Steam Snap path into the guide now, thanks.
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By jurquizo, 14 Jan 2026 at 12:55 pm UTC
*mod snip: we prefer note to have user scripts here, especially from an AI*
By jurquizo, 14 Jan 2026 at 12:55 pm UTC
Quoting: Liam DaweThanks for the quick reply. The folder compatdata is in ~/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/steamapps, and there are a two folders with random numbers as names with the same created/modified date. In my case it was easy to find the correct because there were only 2 candidate folders.Quoting: jurquizoFirst of all, great guide. I tried following the steam method and I couldn't find the folder of the Steam installation folder to change the shortcut, I think it is because I installed Steam via snap and I can't find similar paths inside the .snap folder. Could you help me?Ah, that's an interesting one. Snap is a whole different can of worms.
Could you try looking in: ~/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/steamapps
See if the compatdata folder is there? Once we find the correct path, I'll add it to the guide.
*mod snip: we prefer note to have user scripts here, especially from an AI*
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By Liam Squires-Hand, 13 Jan 2026 at 8:25 pm UTC
Could you try looking in: ~/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/steamapps
See if the compatdata folder is there? Once we find the correct path, I'll add it to the guide.
By Liam Squires-Hand, 13 Jan 2026 at 8:25 pm UTC
Quoting: jurquizoFirst of all, great guide. I tried following the steam method and I couldn't find the folder of the Steam installation folder to change the shortcut, I think it is because I installed Steam via snap and I can't find similar paths inside the .snap folder. Could you help me?Ah, that's an interesting one. Snap is a whole different can of worms.
Could you try looking in: ~/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/steamapps
See if the compatdata folder is there? Once we find the correct path, I'll add it to the guide.
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By jurquizo, 13 Jan 2026 at 8:17 pm UTC
By jurquizo, 13 Jan 2026 at 8:17 pm UTC
First of all, great guide. I tried following the steam method and I couldn't find the folder of the Steam installation folder to change the shortcut, I think it is because I installed Steam via snap and I can't find similar paths inside the .snap folder. Could you help me?
Guide - How to setup OpenMW for modern Morrowind on Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck
By Caldathras, 4 Jan 2026 at 7:16 pm UTC
By Caldathras, 4 Jan 2026 at 7:16 pm UTC
This is for those looking for a solution that doesn't involve Flatpak. It is primarily intended for desktop Linux users. Although, I imagine with a little tweaking, It might work for Steam Deck as well.
Option 3) Direct Download
https://openmw.readthedocs.io/en/stable/manuals/installation/install-openmw.html#direct-download
Recently, I discovered that OpenMW offers a Direct Download "installer" on their GitHub site. This archive acts just like the Windows installer, allowing you to keep multiple versions of OpenMW installed in Linux.
The problem is that the installation instructions from the online guide are written very poorly. All they say is "run the install package once downloaded. It’s now installed!". It is not that easy. For one, the "installer" is an archive, not an executable. For two, they assume that you know what file to run once the archive is extracted. Here are my expanded instructions:
1) Download the latest Direct Download archive from the GitHub Releases page.
2) Extract the archive to the folder/location of your choice.
3) Launch the "openmw-launcher" script from within the folder.
.... a) If you are simply upgrading, it will use your existing configuration. You are good to go.
.... b) If this is a fresh installation, the launcher will offer to run the OpenMW Wizard to help you set everything up (see Option 1 of Liam's guide above for the rest of the steps).
4) If the launcher script will not start, then you have very likely encountered the rather infamous glibc issue (you can verify this by trying to launching the script in a terminal).
5) Make sure to download the latest version of the Steam Linux Runtime (currently Steam Linux Runtime 4).
6) To add OpenMW to the Steam client, choose the option "Add a Non-Steam Game ...". You may have to manually point Steam at the location of the openmw-launcher script (I did).
7) Go to the Properties menu for openmw-launcher and select "Install Compatibility Tool". Choose the latest Steam Linux Runtime, which you downloaded in Step 5.
8) Update and customize the Steam Library entry to your preferences. You should now be good to go.
Spoiler, click me
There are many ways to install OpenMW. There is even an unofficial AppImage available. The distro repositories almost always offer an out-of-date version. In the past, I used to install via the LaunchPad PPA (only works for Ubuntu derivatives). The problem with PPAs is that they have to be reinstalled with every major version upgrade of your distro. If you are slow to upgrade, the PPA will eventually update to a version of OpenMW that will not run on your outdated distro. Updating uninstalls the version that currently works and then fails on installing the new version.
Option 3) Direct Download
https://openmw.readthedocs.io/en/stable/manuals/installation/install-openmw.html#direct-download
Recently, I discovered that OpenMW offers a Direct Download "installer" on their GitHub site. This archive acts just like the Windows installer, allowing you to keep multiple versions of OpenMW installed in Linux.
Spoiler, click me
NOTE: By default, all installations share the same saves and configuration. There is a feature that was introduced with version 0.48 that allows you to set up a "portable install", which allows you to isolate a particular version with its own configuration and save files.
https://modding-openmw.com/tips/portable-install/
https://modding-openmw.com/tips/portable-install/
The problem is that the installation instructions from the online guide are written very poorly. All they say is "run the install package once downloaded. It’s now installed!". It is not that easy. For one, the "installer" is an archive, not an executable. For two, they assume that you know what file to run once the archive is extracted. Here are my expanded instructions:
1) Download the latest Direct Download archive from the GitHub Releases page.
2) Extract the archive to the folder/location of your choice.
Spoiler, click me
NOTE: If you want to maintain multiple versions, keep in mind that only one of them can be in your default PATH. In fact, it would probably be better to keep the lot of them out of your PATH altogether. Instead of treating the executable/script like a system command, you will just have to provide the entire folder address to launch the game.
This, however, also makes the installation somewhat portable since you can place folder wherever you want. Combined with the "portable install" feature described above, this means you won't even have to have the game installed in your File System partition at all.
This, however, also makes the installation somewhat portable since you can place folder wherever you want. Combined with the "portable install" feature described above, this means you won't even have to have the game installed in your File System partition at all.
3) Launch the "openmw-launcher" script from within the folder.
.... a) If you are simply upgrading, it will use your existing configuration. You are good to go.
.... b) If this is a fresh installation, the launcher will offer to run the OpenMW Wizard to help you set everything up (see Option 1 of Liam's guide above for the rest of the steps).
4) If the launcher script will not start, then you have very likely encountered the rather infamous glibc issue (you can verify this by trying to launching the script in a terminal).
Spoiler, click me
GLIBC Compatibility Issues
One of the big concerns that I have with the OpenMW project is that they don't clearly notify Linux users of a change in system requirements (which they could include with the text for each release on GitHub). The OpenMW Team occasionally increases the version of the glibc library required without clearly advising their Linux users of this change.
For example, the latest version of OpenMW (0.50.0) requires glibc 2.38. This is only available on Ubuntu 24.04 (Mint 22) or higher. (Still running an earlier distro version? Surprise!)
The solution is quite simple. You need to integrate the game into the Steam Client and set the compatibility to Steam Linux Runtime 4, which is based on Debian 13.2 Trixie (and supports glibc 2.38).
One of the big concerns that I have with the OpenMW project is that they don't clearly notify Linux users of a change in system requirements (which they could include with the text for each release on GitHub). The OpenMW Team occasionally increases the version of the glibc library required without clearly advising their Linux users of this change.
For example, the latest version of OpenMW (0.50.0) requires glibc 2.38. This is only available on Ubuntu 24.04 (Mint 22) or higher. (Still running an earlier distro version? Surprise!)
The solution is quite simple. You need to integrate the game into the Steam Client and set the compatibility to Steam Linux Runtime 4, which is based on Debian 13.2 Trixie (and supports glibc 2.38).
5) Make sure to download the latest version of the Steam Linux Runtime (currently Steam Linux Runtime 4).
6) To add OpenMW to the Steam client, choose the option "Add a Non-Steam Game ...". You may have to manually point Steam at the location of the openmw-launcher script (I did).
7) Go to the Properties menu for openmw-launcher and select "Install Compatibility Tool". Choose the latest Steam Linux Runtime, which you downloaded in Step 5.
8) Update and customize the Steam Library entry to your preferences. You should now be good to go.
Guide - How to get Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 online working on Linux, SteamOS, Steam Deck
By subzero, 19 Dec 2025 at 9:04 pm UTC
By subzero, 19 Dec 2025 at 9:04 pm UTC
Quoting: Liam Daweyes im trying to play battlefield 3, apologiesQuoting: subzeroThis doesnt seem to be working for me, i am on the official steam version of the game and i followed all the steps but for some reason the browser menu doesnt seem to detect the EA app on my computer that's already open, i am on fedora cinnamonSince the guide covers two games, which game are we talking about? Battlefield 3?
Guide - How to get Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 online working on Linux, SteamOS, Steam Deck
By Liam Squires-Hand, 19 Dec 2025 at 5:57 pm UTC
By Liam Squires-Hand, 19 Dec 2025 at 5:57 pm UTC
Quoting: subzeroThis doesnt seem to be working for me, i am on the official steam version of the game and i followed all the steps but for some reason the browser menu doesnt seem to detect the EA app on my computer that's already open, i am on fedora cinnamonSince the guide covers two games, which game are we talking about? Battlefield 3?
Guide - How to get Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 online working on Linux, SteamOS, Steam Deck
By subzero, 19 Dec 2025 at 5:47 pm UTC
By subzero, 19 Dec 2025 at 5:47 pm UTC
This doesnt seem to be working for me, i am on the official steam version of the game and i followed all the steps but for some reason the browser menu doesnt seem to detect the EA app on my computer that's already open, i am on fedora cinnamon
Guide - How to install Battle.net on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck for World of Warcraft and Starcraft
By Mirrored, 29 Nov 2025 at 9:52 am UTC
By Mirrored, 29 Nov 2025 at 9:52 am UTC
On CachyOS:
I was not able to get the Lutris method to work. The installer kept complaining about a file system error and the Battle.net installer would freeze. I attempted this installation many times (~10) and eventually managed to install it without a file system error appearing, but even then, Battle.net would give either the "Battle.net Agent Went to Sleep" error or the "An error occurred while loading game information" error. I tried changing the Runner configuration to many other options than the default, but they all resulted in Battle.net freezing immediately after launch. I didn't try Jiloup's suggestion of using Proton Plus, though, so look at that if you insist on Lutris.
I was able to get the Steam method to work. Use Steam to run the Battle.net setup exe, and then re-target it to the launcher exe that is installed. However, the suggested Compability setting of Proton 9.0-4 still lead to the "Battle.net Agent Went to Sleep". Once I switched it to proton-cachyos-10.0-20251120, that error went away, Battle.net started normally, and I was able to install games. I then tried Proton 10.0-3, which also worked.
TL;DR: I'd recommend the Steam method, and Proton 10.0+
I was not able to get the Lutris method to work. The installer kept complaining about a file system error and the Battle.net installer would freeze. I attempted this installation many times (~10) and eventually managed to install it without a file system error appearing, but even then, Battle.net would give either the "Battle.net Agent Went to Sleep" error or the "An error occurred while loading game information" error. I tried changing the Runner configuration to many other options than the default, but they all resulted in Battle.net freezing immediately after launch. I didn't try Jiloup's suggestion of using Proton Plus, though, so look at that if you insist on Lutris.
I was able to get the Steam method to work. Use Steam to run the Battle.net setup exe, and then re-target it to the launcher exe that is installed. However, the suggested Compability setting of Proton 9.0-4 still lead to the "Battle.net Agent Went to Sleep". Once I switched it to proton-cachyos-10.0-20251120, that error went away, Battle.net started normally, and I was able to install games. I then tried Proton 10.0-3, which also worked.
TL;DR: I'd recommend the Steam method, and Proton 10.0+
Guide - How to get Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 online working on Linux, SteamOS, Steam Deck
By Turkeysteaks, 23 Nov 2025 at 5:12 pm UTC
By Turkeysteaks, 23 Nov 2025 at 5:12 pm UTC
Realise this is a bit old now, but I've been playing with BF4 for a year or so and one thing is really annoying - no steam overlay. Which also means no steam recorder.
Do you or anyone have any experience with getting the steam overlay to work with this?
Do you or anyone have any experience with getting the steam overlay to work with this?
Guide - How to install, update and see what graphics driver you have on Linux and SteamOS
By Eike, 17 Nov 2025 at 12:27 pm UTC
Installing nvidia-drivers on Debian is basically
> apt install nvidia-driver
I made I video talking way too long for the easy task of installing Steam plus Nvidia drivers on a virgin Debian:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS6mXW7KPoU
By Eike, 17 Nov 2025 at 12:27 pm UTC
Added some notes for Debian.Our wiki is bad.
Installing nvidia-drivers on Debian is basically
> apt install nvidia-driver
I made I video talking way too long for the easy task of installing Steam plus Nvidia drivers on a virgin Debian:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS6mXW7KPoU
Guide - How to install, update and see what graphics driver you have on Linux and SteamOS
By Liam Squires-Hand, 17 Nov 2025 at 11:58 am UTC
By Liam Squires-Hand, 17 Nov 2025 at 11:58 am UTC
Added some notes for Debian.
Guide - Why are there so many different Proton versions? Proton 8, Proton 9, Experimental, GE-Proton
By vertigo, 3 Nov 2025 at 6:40 pm UTC
By vertigo, 3 Nov 2025 at 6:40 pm UTC
Great write up, very useful for new users. It could be worth adding [proton-cachyos](https://github.com/CachyOS/proton-cachyos) given how popular CachyOS is now.
Guide - An idiots guide to setting up Minecraft on Steam Deck / SteamOS with controller support
By blindcoder, 28 Oct 2025 at 10:07 am UTC
By blindcoder, 28 Oct 2025 at 10:07 am UTC
Thank you, I just setup the Steam Deck using this guide and now my kid and I can play together on my own server! <3
Guide - How to setup OpenMW for modern Morrowind on Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck
By Cu5t0m1z3, 19 Oct 2025 at 8:43 pm UTC
By Cu5t0m1z3, 19 Oct 2025 at 8:43 pm UTC
I think you missed a huge part of playing a TES game by leaving out modding. I know modding on Linux tends to be difficult but the website modding-openmw makes it so easy.
I followed their Automatic Installation guide for the Total Overhaul of 589 mods on Linhx Mint and it worked flawlessly with no crashing after a few hours of playing. It downloads mods from Nexus through your terminal into your game install. If you pay for Nexus it'll be quicker and smoother, otherwise you have to acknowledge all 589 mods so it can take a few hours.
I followed their Automatic Installation guide for the Total Overhaul of 589 mods on Linhx Mint and it worked flawlessly with no crashing after a few hours of playing. It downloads mods from Nexus through your terminal into your game install. If you pay for Nexus it'll be quicker and smoother, otherwise you have to acknowledge all 589 mods so it can take a few hours.
Guide - How to setup OpenMW for modern Morrowind on Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck
By quot, 10 Oct 2025 at 2:47 pm UTC
By quot, 10 Oct 2025 at 2:47 pm UTC
The next release is focused around their new gamepad UI feature.
https://openmw.org/2025/openmw-0-50-0-is-now-in-rc-phase/
It's not officially released, but the RC releases of OMW are very stable.
https://openmw.org/2025/openmw-0-50-0-is-now-in-rc-phase/
It's not officially released, but the RC releases of OMW are very stable.