Quoting: Liam Dawe

Quoting: EikeWith a bit of surprise I found that my statistics don't contain that I own a Steam Deck (as it's not my primary device).

Hmmm yes, that brings up a good point. Need to think on a way to include it regardless, and potentially other handhelds. Open to suggestions.

I've got several portables (they're my jam ), but given that there are so many variations out there (both natively Linux, and that are supported by Linux but don't come with it by default), I'd suggest perhaps having a checkbox (something like "Do you own a Linux handheld?") and a blank field to fill in which one(s) you have.

I'm not sure how one would handle a handheld being someone's primary Linux gaming device, though (which is the case for me - my listed specs are for my GPD Win Max 2021, but I game in different ways on all four of my Linux portables) - perhaps a second checkbox to denote that, as well? (EDIT: I'm a dummy - I forgot that this option is already in there! )

At any rate, portables are popular, and even if Valve opts not to continue with the Steam Deck in the end, the category itself isn't going to go anywhere.

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Quoting: whizseWikipedia got a list of the longest-running video game franchises, because of course it does!

Both Civ and Elite are on it, but maybe not where you expected them to be:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-running_video_game_franchises

Quoting: Purple Library GuyWhoa. Not even close, huh.

Quoting: slaapliedjeLooking at Oregon Trail... hiw does that qualify? Seems they mostly just kept remaking / porting it. The 10 year gap seems to be ignored a few times just to make sure it got number one. Then again, I just died of dysentery.

I spy Bomberman at number 7 there, so all is well.

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I'm not seeing any Platformer Fest. But, hey, maybe by the time the Strategy Fest comes along, Super Bomberman R 2 will be out and I can say "Hey you guys, Super Bomberman R 2 is in the Steam Strategy Fest!" and I can drag some more people along for the ride.

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Quoting: Hamish

Quoting: PenglingWell well, X-Bomber looks right up my alley. Thanks for that!

Just stumbled across another game going by the name XBomber but was also ported to SDL:
https://www.linuxmotors.com/linux/SDL_bomber/

Just to keep things nice and confusing.

Thanks for this one, too!

Interestingly, it looks like it uses graphics ripped directly from 1997's Atomic Bomberman. There are some other open-source Bomberman clones that use pre-existing official graphics, too (for example, Bombermaaan - I guess that folks don't see a need to meddle with the looks too much, though I'm sure that some non-infringing assets in a similar style would be a good idea at some point!

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QuoteHowever, the good news is that a patch is coming that will add the cutscene back in, it just wasn't ready for the main release.

The cutscene isn't missing here - it never existed in the original 1989 arcade game (or the 1992 PC Engine CD conversion, which has a completely different intro that is distinctly lacking in CATS), and was made from whole cloth for the 1991 Mega Drive conversion*. It's interesting that it's so famous that they'll be altering the original in this re-release!

*For localisation nerds, there is further reading here and here.

QuoteEspecially nice that they did Native Linux support that works great on Desktop Linux and Steam Deck.

I've said this before, but this is great, and due to how great emulation is on Linux there's no excuse for developers not to offer native releases of compilations like this going forward*.

*I am fully aware that this is likely to put me in a position to complain if there's a Bomberman 40th Anniversary collection this year, because it'll be just my luck that they won't offer a native version if that happens.

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QuoteBig Rigs: Over the Road Racing

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I've just got to give a shout-out to Blazing Beaks, here - it's a fantastic roguelite twin-stick shooter with a weird-but-family-friendly vibe along the lines of, say, the old 1989-1991 Beetlejuice cartoon series, if anybody else here is old enough to remember that one. It's a great fit for portable devices, and it has a penguin as one of the playable characters - what else could one want?

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Quoting: Loftybtw i mean, the other, other shop.. that Liam is not fond of right now ;)

Quoting: BlackBloodRum(I have no idea what stores Liam does, or does not like )

The "go-faster" one that oversold the graphics cards recently?

Quoting: robvvWhen BT took over Dabs, my local branch closed (as did many others) and the service declined.

Dabs.com used to be good, as well - that went straight downhill after the BT buyout, too.

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Quoting: StoneColdSpiderI bet if they added bombs you would love it

Actually, bombs are one of the main gameplay mechanics.

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I eventually tried out the demo for Hot Heat Reset, but I was a bit disappointed. To be clear, though, that's absolutely not the fault of the game or the developer!

Attempting to play the Linux version threw an error message about the executable being missing (ok, fair enough, it's a demo, these things happen), and, though there's nothing wrong with the game, I'd say that's it's a lot closer to a puzzle game than a maze-action title, so I went in expecting something that it really wasn't.

The various maze-game subgenres don't get a whole heap of entries these days (for the most part, the only surviving franchises are really just Pac-Man and Bomberman, though there is 2019's excellent Ape Out, which turned out to be a nice surprise), and this one just wasn't for me - maybe I'll have better luck next time.

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