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People should keep in mind that Runesoft are doing this to port more of their old catalogue to Linux, rather than just grabbing new tittles. Personally, I applaud them for it.

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I wonder what took so long when it came to getting the game out or private beta.

Regardless, it is still great to see Runesoft's titles popping up on Desura. :)

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Just switched on steam and for some spooky reason was asked to do a survey despite not ever having been asked to do one in all the many many years I have used steam.

Anyway on the results page it says this :

QuoteWhy do many of the Steam Hardware Survey numbers seem to undergo a significant change in April 2012?

There was a bug introduced into Steam's survey code several months ago that caused a bias toward older systems. Specifically, only systems that had run the survey prior to the introduction of the bug would be asked to run the survey again. This caused brand new systems to never run the survey. In March 2012, we caught the bug, causing the survey to be run on a large number of new computers, thus giving us a more accurate survey and causing some of the numbers to vary more than they normally would month-to-month. Some of the most interesting changes revealed by this correction were the [increased OS share of Windows 7 (as Vista fell below XP)](http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/#cat0),
the [rise of Intel as a graphics provider](http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/#pcvidcard) and the overall diversification of Steam worldwide (as seen in the [increase of non-English language usage, particularly Russian](http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/#cat9)).

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right now what does steam offer me as a linux user that I don't already have ?

- sure I entered all my humblebundle keys  but I played all those games already or still got them installed
- games I want on steam like Legend of Grimrock because of the easy way to get the custom dungeons does not appear, so am playing that via wine.
- only close to new AAA title so far has been serious sam 3, and I loved it but beyond that there is nothing on steam that I can't get/have on desura or from a direct download page.

Once a few high profile kickstarters come out I might start using it more then now but till then I don't have the urge.

<rant>

As for the comment that X is to blame and Mir is the way to go, its a silly remark, 2 game engines (unity and unigine) show that they can run fine on X.  Mir is about a unified desktop for ubuntu on different devices, and if developers will make games that only work on Mir then we will have Linux and Ubuntu, which is a bad thing for all none ubuntu users, and don't tell me to switch because I am not telling you to switch to windows. 

</rant>

for the rest I agree with cheesness, its holding steady despite the fact that steam only has like 1% linux games vs windows games.

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Does any one know if the game has modding support? Perhaps like the the older C&C games (with the rules.ini editing).

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Quoting: percentagesThere most certainly some amount of users that wanted to see the Linux Client for the novelty.

Or the TF2 Tux ;)

You make a good point though -- Windows 8 and OS X both had a large percentage increase and these could have been new accounts which would push the Linux percentage down (while the actual number of users remains the same).

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Another point that should be made is percentages lie. I know people say that numbers don't lie, but that's not true because percentages do lie. For instance, the total number of linux users could be increasing month-to-month, but not as fast as growth in other areas. There could have been greater gains in the Windows or Mac spectrum that offset growth in the Linux market.
We need raw numbers to make good assumptions.

However, it also wouldn't surprise me that there are a glut of dual booting users went to check out the Linux client to see it's viability. When seeing that it's not on par with the Windows client, they went back. There most certainly some amount of users that wanted to see the Linux Client for the novelty.

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well....this looks like original C&C graphics hahah, and this is not even a RPG or something with depth of gaming so...no...not buying

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Quoting: ublangotaSo this game was released before Starcraft 1. Guess that does not mean it cannot be good but that combined with their affiliation with TopWare who have done some pretty questionable anti-piracy work makes me not very interested.

That was for 2160 not for 2140 and Runesoft are a completely different company as well who don't use DRM or any anti-piracy tactics like that.

Personally I feel Runesoft are worth supporting.

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So this game was released before Starcraft 1. Guess that does not mean it cannot be good but that combined with their affiliation with TopWare who have done some pretty questionable anti-piracy work makes me not very interested.

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DRM is another factor that you might not counted.

There are lot of Linux users that don't want Steam because don't like DRM.

The proof is the cold reception of the lastests HumbleBundles. I mean, the HumbleBundles that need Steam.
The Linux percentage was the worst in history.

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This game is very old. 1997 made in Poland :) Good game, just not sure did it aged well.

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I dunno why, I'm 99% sure this is the first I've heard of this game, but I feel like I've heard it somewhere else before too.

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1) Seeing as the desktop linux user base is quoted at 1% or thereabouts, having 1.4% of steam usage in Linux suggest that proportionately more linux users are likely to get steam than windows users..
2) Statistics with these numbers are likely to be error prone due to the small numbers and failure ot get all users to respond to survey.  People who have completed a survey once are less like to repeat the same survey again any way.  Buggy surveys as another reader has commented do not help accuracy.  Annual surveys 
3) Just a guess but I suspect she Linux user base awareness of Steam is amongst older non-gaming, Linux developers and enthusiasts, the non-geeky younger Linux users are likely to be less aware the new developments in this front yet...

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It's come to my attention that some have taken offence from my comments in this thread. Apologies to anybody who did - that was certainly not my intention :)

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For help, the changelog, FAQ reporting bugs, an updated installer for the original dvd release, please visit our Jack Keane project on Bitbucket.

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The first month was 'high' because of people trying the beta. Now the number will stay around this, until the Steambox comes out or another huge event like this incites people to buy hardware with Linux installed. Meanwhile, as long as the majority of games are on Windows, there are no more reasons for people to switch to Linux.

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Quoting: liamdaweAs usual i disagree cheese, since we are talking single digit percantages here a .13% decline and a decline two months in a row is a negative.

Nothing sensationalist about it.

How can anything be "holding steady" when in decline two months in a row?!

I'll have a SteamLUG post with some alternative interpretations up in a moment, but in the meantime, consider that since this month's drop is much less than last month's, things could be interpreted as levelling out. The kinds of numbers we are talking about aren't worth making a fuss over though - we're talking about a number that is just over 1/1000th of survey respondents. It's statistically insignificant, and it's more than appropriate to call these minor fluctuations "holding steady".

Calling them "poor" is most definitely an overreaction.

Edit: Here we go.

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Irrespective of if people are willing to switch to a Linux based OS (which I recall cropping up before), Valve are still putting the value in getting a port out if not just for their Steam box.

I've yet to get a Linux client hardware survey though, probably because I keep getting them when I'm logging in to the Windows version in Wine.

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As usual i disagree cheese, since we are talking single digit percantages here a .13% decline and a decline two months in a row is a negative.

Nothing sensationalist about it.

How can anything be "holding steady" when in decline two months in a row?!

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Quoting: tweakedenigmaI too have noticed this with the survey, I received it once and then never again. So there might be a glitch in it somewhere.

Only a (presumably random) portion of the Steam user community is prompted to participate in the survey. It's not unusual to go a number of months in a row without being selected to participate.

Additionally, I imagine that there are others who were prompted whilst not using the native Linux client (I was prompted whilst on a Mac laptop which I keep the client open on to use Steam chat, and Mim was prompted when she fired up Steam in Wine to play some Orcs Must Die 2). I've spoken to at least three of four Linux users who were in a similar situation.

All that said, last time I spoke to Steam support about sampling issues, they pretty much said that the survey was so anonymous that they wouldn't know if something was wrong - six or so months later they identified the sampling bug for which there is currently a notice on the survey results page. I wouldn't be surprised if there were ongoing sampling problems.


This article seems pretty sensationalist. A 0.13% drop is not significant enough to be considered negative or positive. At worst, it could be described as "stagnant" or "holding steady", but since we barely have enough data to even think about establishing a proper baseline, I'd advise against interpreting it that way as well.

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Quoting: QantouriscSay is it me or are we well into "Next week" ?

Yup, and it'll continue to be "next week" right up till Monday.

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Say is it me or are we well into "Next week" ?

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I did not log into Steam at all in April.  Life and busy things kept me from even firing up any game at all (except the Akaneiro beta, which was only a couple days ago, and worked perfectly).  I was sick for a week, had U.S. tax paperwork deadline on the 15th, moved furniture in our house... all that in addition to spending each weekend last month helping friends in dire need of assistance.  It was not a month for gaming.

Add to that the fact that I only own The Cave on Steam to support Double Fine Productions (I don't count the Humble Indie Bundle #1 steam key I redeemed just to be able to vote on Greenlight), and it just wasn't going to happen.  I need to have a good block of time set aside to truly enjoy an adventure game, even one shrouded in the trappings of a platformer.

Perhaps others had a similarly stifling April.  I promise to play The Cave a bunch in May;  perhaps that will make up for the shortfall, all on my own ;)

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I used Linux (again) since Winter 2012.
Then i logged into Windows, just because i need a some Photoshopfiles. My Brother asked me to go online in steam to help him with some mathproblems... that was the first time after more then 6 month that i logged into steam from windows.. and BAM.. Hardware Survey... lol... !

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Think about it, if you are a gamer and (let's say) you probably have windows installed.  What real reason do you have to go to Linux?   Not many will be truly motivated to make the move based on ethical values or some such reason.   As others have stated, all these games and more are available already on their current platform.
Those who use Linux for their OS for the Freedom will actually be put off by the non-Free values of Steam.  On top of that, those who use (or dual-boot) to Linux for development reasons either already have a Windows box/boot for gaming or they probably don't do much gaming.  I see this crowd as the initial spike in usage that has worn off.

Honestly, as more games are added, I see Steam for Linux being viable for someone buying a brand new computer.  I think this is why there is so much interest in making a "steam box" because ultimately, you're just not going to get people to install (or instead use) linux over their current OS which already has what they need.

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I'm telling u the problem… most of people don't even know how to install another operating system, and they are not even interested because "I have one already and it works fine". The problem is windows is preinstalled on almost every machine, and people are used to it. I don't think dota 2 will raise the % of linux users a lot… only those who actually have tried linux and are not happy with the curent games proposed on this operating system.

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I triple boot Ubuntu, Mac, Windows. As much as I love Ubuntu, I was sick of seeing all the best games available on windows, so I just boot into windows when I want to play games. Everything is available for that platform. 

Ubuntu is good. I love the OS more than mac/windows... but Steam needs to emphasise a more compelling reason to switch to her for gaming. Some examples: Timed linux exclusives, Heavy linux game discounts, stability, better performance... something.

The marketing currently goes something like this... try linux, there are fewer games at the same price, running at or below the current performance of windows games but not as stable.

I'll pass, but will watch this space.

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Honestly, I haven't been using steam anymore. Those Pixel-Art games were OK at first but I'm tired of them truth be told. But regardless of what happens, I'm not going back to Windows; I don't care if the bottom falls out I'm 100% dedicated.

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