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Latest Comments by Purple Library Guy
The latest 'Steam Client Beta Update' fixes wired Steam Controller support on Linux
21 October 2016 at 7:35 am UTC Likes: 4

Quoting: ElectricPrism
Quoting: MblackwellThe track pad is far superior to a stick for FPS.

Wut? No seriously I would like to hear your argument? For me I'm a billion times faster and preciser on twin joysticks.

Of course I know this is probably a case of "what works for me" and "what works for you" are totally different.

I have no personal experience on such things, but my understanding is that
--it depends on what you're used to and trained on, so that someone who's got muscle memory for years of twin joysticks will find them better
--but generally, for FPS those with about even experience with both typically find mouse + keyboard significantly more precise for things like aiming
--and mouse users have found that the Steam controller's trackpad mimics the mouse experience much more closely than any other controller

So, one would expect that for those with mouse experience the Steam controller would be better than a twin-joystick controller for FPS.

Football Manager 2017 now has a playable beta if you own the game on Steam, Linux included
19 October 2016 at 4:28 pm UTC

While I personally don't care in the slightest about this kind of sports game, it's still good to see this kind of thing. Whatever my personal taste, the things are pretty popular and I've had the impression that Linux coverage in that genre has been pretty slim pickings, so good news.

The 'SMACH Z' gaming handheld is back on Kickstarter, no longer using SteamOS but their own Linux version
19 October 2016 at 4:23 pm UTC

Quoting: Mountain ManI won't be backing - I'm against "crowd funding" on general principle
I haven't really thought through my position on crowd funding, since I don't have a ton of spare funds to be part of a crowd with. So, genuinely wondering, not snarking--what general principle? And, against its existence or against getting involved?

Jagged Alliance 2 - Wildfire now has a Linux beta available on Steam, uses Wine
19 October 2016 at 9:01 am UTC

Quoting: GuestActually it's not okay. The JA source code is available. Heck, it's posted on GitHub! So what Topware is saying is, "We won't make a Linux game with the source code we have. But pay us money for our Windows game."

So the source code is available, so what? The point is, it's an older game so efficiency doesn't matter that much--it won't be putting stress on modern hardware even if Wine adds some overhead, so big whoop--let 'em "port" it that way if it's easier. As long as we can play it on Linux and buy it as a Linux sale, there's no downside. And if their cost of doing it is lower, that means the result doesn't have to sell as much to make a profit and they're more likely to do the same for more titles than if they had to spend the money doing a real port of an old game, probably not written well for cross-platform so a pain to port, the results of which won't sell much (because it's an old game).
The perfect is the enemy of the good, man.

Feast your eyes on the new trailer for 'Stellaris - Leviathans' DLC, releasing October 20th
18 October 2016 at 5:15 pm UTC

The War in Heaven sounds like it will significantly change the course of the game, though. And it also sounds kind of like it might not be the same war every time--like, there are a number of ancient races that are normally quiet, and any of them could start fighting.

Jagged Alliance 2 - Wildfire now has a Linux beta available on Steam, uses Wine
17 October 2016 at 7:24 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: JahimselfWhat is the difference between jagged alliance 2, and jagged alliance 2 wildfire?

I understand the fire in original Jagged Alliance 2 was too tame.

Manipulate the ground and fights robots in 'Cloudbase Prime' now on Linux
14 October 2016 at 8:34 pm UTC Likes: 2

The "About the game" lies! There is no such thing as "a decent Monday"!

Shallow Space open-world beta now on Linux, bringing it to Linux helped overall performance
14 October 2016 at 8:32 pm UTC

Quoting: liamdawe
Quoting: devland
Quoting: liamdawe
Quoting: devlandI'm still not sure what they mean when they use the term "open world".
The game looks like a space strategy game. Where and how does the "open world" aspect kick in?
You're not forced down a set path, you essentially do what you want.

So the games have persistence? I had the impression you played games like in every other 4x/strategy game. Aren't the games session based? Aren't there maps? Is there a universe in which you can travel?
I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at. It's an open-world open-ended space game, you build up your fleet and do whatever you want by the looks of it.
I guess the question is "Then what did you do before?"

Shadow Warrior 2 should still be coming to Linux after all, was a miscommunication
14 October 2016 at 6:58 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: minj:rolleyes:

Game level designers are not the sort of people to get platform news from, Liam.

You need engine devs for that. Or porters.
Why is some guy who hauls baggage supposed to know what's going on? ;)

Tyranny, the new RPG from Obsidian, gets a release date and will have day-1 Linux support [Updated]
14 October 2016 at 1:43 am UTC

Quoting: SalvatosI have yet to even start Pillars of Eternity, so on the wishlist it goes for now. I do like the "evil has already won" approach, it's a theme I've been curious about for a while. I just hope the overlord isn't a two-dimensional "conquer the world because I can" villain.
It's not like those are so unrealistic. Up until recently "conquer everyone I can" was more or less an accepted principle of statecraft--not the only possible approach, but a common and perfectly respectable one. When we look at historical kings, Roman emperors and so on are we very often measure them by the "Did he expand the country/empire's territory? Yes? Then he was good!" yardstick.
And to this day it has its adherents--Dick Cheney, for instance.