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Latest Comments

The Humble Weekly Sale featuring Tripwire
By Liam Dawe, 2 April 2013 at 7:14 pm UTC
A good chance to get RO2 cheap for when it comes to Linux ;)
The Humble Weekly Sale featuring Tripwire
By KIAaze, 2 April 2013 at 7:05 pm UTC
Well, it's getting better... :)
Dysis a real time strategy game with a difference!
By , 2 April 2013 at 2:49 pm UTC
This was one of the Kickstarters I back a while ago -- played the Alpha a few months back now and it certainly looks promising.

We need more variety of games like this :)
Valve continues pushing adding 5 new titles!
By , 2 April 2013 at 8:19 am UTC
Just in case any one was wondering, they fixed the no NPC issue on Opposing Force here: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/halflife/issues/844
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Nicodemus, 1 April 2013 at 5:18 pm UTC
sorry if i came off strong! hard to hear emotional context on the internet. =)  sometimes i can be very "matter-of-fact" in my dialogue, but i assure you there are no hard feelings on my end. =)  those are just my thoughts in response to the matter raised.

though i totally appreciate a more elaborate post that let's me see more of where you're coming than a quick one-liner.  i don't disagree with your position, i'd just hate to see decent games get overlooked amidst the general critique.
A Thought on What Holds Linux Gaming Back
By Hamish, 1 April 2013 at 3:25 pm UTC
Quoting: JeremyI'm not a graphics pro, or really even an amateur, but why isn't there a top-notch open source graphics engine published under the BSD license?  I think that that scares more game developers off than anything.  If they use a GPL engine, then they can't make the money they want.  The only thing that will draw them in is money.  They either have to save it, or make it.

Not trying to bite the new user, but seeing this misunderstanding again and again is becoming especially tiring. I will thank Berarma for beating me to actually explaining why though.

EDIT: By the way Jeremy, you do kind of have what you want - Ogre3D is under the MIT license and has been used by commercial studios such as Runic Games and Deck13.
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Hamish, 1 April 2013 at 3:10 pm UTC
I do not think you need to be so defensive about it there Nicodemus, as no one was really attacking this game or even any game developer in particular. And yes, I get the appeal of retro graphics as I did grow up playing some classic 16-bit games, many of them platformers, and yes, I understand the constraints that are placed on independent game developers, and yes, any game coming to Linux should still be highly valued.

However, for me what the problem stems from is the fact that the Indie community recently seems to have stuck itself in a bit of a rut. To me they were passed the torch from the old Shareware game industry of yore (the real golden age if you ask me), and maybe I am missing something, but in many ways they are failing to push past much of what was already achieved by their forebears in terms of innovation and original ideas, even though they have similar budgets and team sizes as those classic teams did. Something that should be a bastion of creativity is beginning to seem as repetitive as the AAA industry that many of them deride.

That is not to say there are no gems or exceptions to this, or even that there is anything wrong with platformers or going out and making a new platformer even with the old tried and true ideas, but it would be nice if some people realize that Braid and Cave Story were already released quite awhile ago and that many of us now want something a bit more fresh, or at the very least different, from the industry that is so often self-proclaimed to be the home of creative minds.
Bleak - Explore new races, governments, religions and more in this dark steampunk style platformer!
By Nicodemus, 1 April 2013 at 2:06 pm UTC
understandable.  it's a tough market, and we can't fund them all.  but i say, there are far worse problems to have when talking about Linux gaming!  more options, more better! ;):)
Bleak - Explore new races, governments, religions and more in this dark steampunk style platformer!
By , 1 April 2013 at 1:57 pm UTC
TBH, Lately I fell I founded more games then actually bought in my whole life, this one looks coo, but, still waiting for 10 others I already got my money invested in....
Jane Jensen's Moebius and Pinkerton Road Studio
By Bumadar, 1 April 2013 at 1:14 pm UTC
Just an update, they released their alpha build this weekend for windows and Mac but they will only do the Linux build when the game is released:

QuoteWe will do a Linux port of the game at release, but unfortunately it's not feasible for us to provide Alpha builds in Linux.
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Nicodemus, 1 April 2013 at 12:08 pm UTC
here's a comprehensive list of the indie games showcased at PAX East.

while not all are guaranteed for Linux (or even on the radar) many are. 

and from talking with many of the Devs, with the advent of Kickstarter, the success of HIB, and the arrival of Unity4, Linux development is more and more being talked about, and slowly beginning to be seen as an important touchstone for an indie dev team to meet.

it further sets them apart from the AAAs while also allowing them to reach a starved market.  and most of them just want to make sure to get their game out to as many prospective buyers as possible.
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Nicodemus, 1 April 2013 at 11:49 am UTC
as someone who loves platformers, i'm in bliss. =)  for me, new platformers + Linux = a happy user. =)

there's also the possible issue of talent and team size.  indie development can't really be expected to be at the same level of AAAs, so perhaps many go for a simpler graphic style because it allows them to actually realize the game at all.

though there were some great looking indie titles at PAX this year.  some dungeon rogue-likes, a racer-vs-time, some bit-builders ala Terraria, classic adventure games, and of course, platformers and puzzlers. it was a great year for indies, and i think it'll be a breakout year for Linux gaming. =)
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Liam Dawe, 1 April 2013 at 11:40 am UTC
I will never play a "retro is over card" because I think all types of graphical styles will stay relevant forever. What I am fed-up with is 90% of indie's go for puzzle games and platformers...they are to me getting tiresome.
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Nicodemus, 1 April 2013 at 11:32 am UTC
a few things come to mind.

the 8 & 16 bit eras are arguably the golden-age of gaming, so it's understandable that those of us who grew up on the classics would continue to esteem that artistic style, users and devs alike.

furthermore, the previews for this game are excellent and it received a lot of accolades coming out of PAX East.  made by a talented team of ex-devs from WayForward, it's a team that knows what made classic gaming great without taking itself too seriously.  it's not just "riding the retro train" to cash in, so i think it'd be unfair to judge it harshly based on graphics alone.  rather, a game should be judged for its complete package.

finally, let's not forget that we're on Linux.  even a year ago we were lucky to get any game attention at all.  as far as i'm concerned, any game news for Linux is good news.

if it's not your style of game, that's fine. but can we not play the hipster "retro is so over" card? ;)  i'd like to think we're better than that. ;)
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Liam Dawe, 1 April 2013 at 10:49 am UTC
Quoting: HamishNo offence, but there are so many love letters to 8 and 16 bits from the Indie community that all other games are getting jealous. ;)
Indeed am I the only one getting a bit sick of "omg retro!" graphics and gameplay?
A Thought on What Holds Linux Gaming Back
By berarma, 1 April 2013 at 7:57 am UTC
Quoting: JeremyI'm not a graphics pro, or really even an amateur, but why isn't there a top-notch open source graphics engine published under the BSD license?  I think that that scares more game developers off than anything.  If they use a GPL engine, then they can't make the money they want.  The only thing that will draw them in is money.  They either have to save it, or make it.

No way. GPL engines can be used (and are used) to make commercial games. The only requirement is that the engine modifications must be released under the same license. A game isn't an engine modification but an asset that USES the engine. We're fooling our own nest by making false statements.
A Thought on What Holds Linux Gaming Back
By , 1 April 2013 at 6:03 am UTC
Since you're gonna install a rolling release based on Arch with Cinnamon, you could be a beta tester of Cinnarch :D
Soul Capture 2.0.0 has now been released
By Bumadar, 1 April 2013 at 5:16 am UTC
nothing provides glc needed by soulcapture-2.0.0-1suse.noarch using the default repo's & packman repo

however glc is available through a 1-click install right [here](http://software.opensuse.org/search?utf8=✓&q=glc&search_devel=false&search_unsupported=false&baseproject=openSUSE%3A12.3)
Half-Life 4 added to the SteamDB for Linux!
By Bumadar, 1 April 2013 at 5:08 am UTC
bah ! someone read my idea on the other post about what is holding linux gaming back :)
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Bumadar, 1 April 2013 at 5:06 am UTC
15k for linux/mac, I can understand that as it will require more development, just a shame its at the 130k mark, which is still a long way to go.
A Thought on What Holds Linux Gaming Back
By , 1 April 2013 at 1:21 am UTC
I'm not a graphics pro, or really even an amateur, but why isn't there a top-notch open source graphics engine published under the BSD license?  I think that that scares more game developers off than anything.  If they use a GPL engine, then they can't make the money they want.  The only thing that will draw them in is money.  They either have to save it, or make it.
A Thought on What Holds Linux Gaming Back
By berarma, 31 March 2013 at 10:17 pm UTC
Money is all that matters, specifically, the potential income. People can speculate but that's all that really matters, users on other platforms already know it and don't even get to play the speculation game as much as we do.
Half-Life 4 added to the SteamDB for Linux!
By , 31 March 2013 at 9:24 pm UTC
I'm sorry, but not funny. Been waiting for a new game in the HL series for a long time, got my hopes up and died a little inside :(
Half-Life 4 added to the SteamDB for Linux!
By , 31 March 2013 at 8:28 pm UTC
It says:
QuotePreloadUnlockTime April 1, 2013 21:00:00 (1364850000)
So it's likely just a joke...
Half-Life 4 added to the SteamDB for Linux!
By , 31 March 2013 at 8:27 pm UTC
it is the SteamDB folks, not Valve
The stuff in the Additional Information give it away
Shovel Knight - A groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!
By Hamish, 31 March 2013 at 8:24 pm UTC
No offence, but there are so many love letters to 8 and 16 bits from the Indie community that all other games are getting jealous. ;)
Half-Life 4 added to the SteamDB for Linux!
By , 31 March 2013 at 7:54 pm UTC
IT"S HAPPENING

WHY DIDN"T YOU STOP IT
A Thought on What Holds Linux Gaming Back
By , 31 March 2013 at 11:23 am UTC
Dreamfall seems like an AAA adventure game
A Thought on What Holds Linux Gaming Back
By Liam Dawe, 31 March 2013 at 10:11 am UTC
Quoting: Xpanderohh thanks... im blind as usual:D
No worries, thanks to your blindness it gave me the idea to add the unsubscribe link into emails so it works both ways :D
A Thought on What Holds Linux Gaming Back
By Bumadar, 31 March 2013 at 5:00 am UTC
Quoting: Hyeron 
... That would plummet within weeks/months

of course, but it would not go back to the old % as some will stay.  It would give windows gamers a reason to install linux for games and thus growing the market (and that is what this editorial is about) because then the % will be interesting enough for other parties.  And right now it simply is not
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