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Latest Comments by g000h
Some nuts Black Friday deals for Linux gamers to make note of
26 November 2016 at 3:23 am UTC

Just decided to purchase GRID Autosport direct from Steam. It is 75% off (£6.24) at the moment. Buying on a Linux pc, naturally.

Also picked up indie game "The Swapper" (for Linux) on Steam - It is currently 81% off (£2.27).

Future purchases "when they get ported to Linux".... Witcher 3 GOTY, Shadow Warrior 2 - I'm holding back on purchasing these until the Linux version is out. Tempted by XCOM 2, Tyranny, Deus Ex: MD - but maybe at some point in the future.

Recently finished "Mad Max" which is on the sales now. It worked really well on my Linux system. Good port.

The Humble Store is having a huge birthday sale, tons of stuff for insanely cheap
11 November 2016 at 5:20 am UTC

Having scanned through the games, ordering the list by biggest discount, there are plenty of games listed which are not at optimal discount level, i.e. I've picked them up cheaper on other sales.

Here's a few that I've spotted and like the game and the price.... but I own most of them already (not this one *)

FTL: Faster Than Light (DRM free + Steam) -70% £1.79
Trine: Enchanted Edition (DRM free + Steam) -85% £1.49
Trine 2: Complete Story (DRM free + Steam) -85% £2.09
Prison Architect (DRM free + Steam) -75% £4.99 *
Tomb Raider (Steam) -70% £4.49

Pick and choose, and you'll get some juicy morsels.

The Humble Store is having a huge birthday sale, tons of stuff for insanely cheap
11 November 2016 at 4:54 am UTC

Quoting: cprnBeware of the titles that show up on Humble Bundle after selecting Linux as a platform but don't actually have a Steam Linux package, if you care for this kind of thing (e.g. Shadowgrounds series are available for Linux DRM free but not via Steam).

Funnily enough, the other way round to your comment.. I already have these on Steam (as Windows/Mac titles which I can't played under Linux)... Thinking to buy them *again*, so I get the Linux DRM free goodness that actually works on Linux.

GOG Connect has new games for you to grab from Steam for free if you already own them
11 November 2016 at 4:45 am UTC

Quoting: Comandante oardo
Quoting: g000hI'm a bit peeved with GOG Connect. The last time it was up and running (a few weeks ago, maybe 3 weeks), I noticed a number of games on the Connect system - one being "Dex". Then a day later, I picked up Dex on Steam on sale (probably 75% off). Immediately after buying I was back on GOG Connect trying to make the connect so that Dex would be added to my GOG account too. Well the Connect was no longer available... so I thought: I'll wait 'til the next one....

Well now is the next one, and the game "Dex" is no longer available to connect from my Steam account. Fortunately another 3 games were available, that I didn't have before on GOG, but no Dex.

I'm tempted to say it is going through a testing / analytics phase at the moment, but that doesn't alleviate my frustration.

Now, DEX is free when you reach the 15000XP :)

Hi again,

After musing over the Autumn ( "Fall" ) GOG sale, which is on the verge of ending (as I type this), I did manage to put together a game bundle + XP collected which totalled over 15000 XP, and got me the first two free games.

Here are the ones I bought:

Points collected from challenges (4400XP)
Capsized (Linux) -79% £1.69 (2200XP)
Risk of Rain (Linux) -74% £2.09 (2500XP)
Serpents in the Staglands (Linux) -67% £5.49 (6600XP)
TOTAL POINTS (15700XP)

So this got me the first two free games:

Expeditions Conquistador (Windows, so might try it on Wine/Linux)
Dex (Linux) * which I already own on Steam, but wanted the DRM-free version.

Good to support Linux game developers and GOG ;)

GOG Connect has new games for you to grab from Steam for free if you already own them
7 November 2016 at 8:43 pm UTC

I'm a bit peeved with GOG Connect. The last time it was up and running (a few weeks ago, maybe 3 weeks), I noticed a number of games on the Connect system - one being "Dex". Then a day later, I picked up Dex on Steam on sale (probably 75% off). Immediately after buying I was back on GOG Connect trying to make the connect so that Dex would be added to my GOG account too. Well the Connect was no longer available... so I thought: I'll wait 'til the next one....

Well now is the next one, and the game "Dex" is no longer available to connect from my Steam account. Fortunately another 3 games were available, that I didn't have before on GOG, but no Dex.

I'm tempted to say it is going through a testing / analytics phase at the moment, but that doesn't alleviate my frustration.

'VCMI' is an open-source engine for Heroes of Might and Magic 3
7 November 2016 at 3:17 am UTC

Hi again,
After reading the above comments, I decided to have another go. Not sure why, but I didn't spot the binary Linux files on the VCMI website on my first visit ( and it wasn't in my distribution's repository when apt-cache search vcmi ).

I found links to the binary files here:
http://wiki.vcmi.eu/index.php?title=Installation_on_Linux

I attempted to install the binary with dpkg -i package.deb
The various dependencies were mentioned, so I installed those with apt-get install dependency1 dependency2 etc

Success, I managed to get it up and running. Yes, I know I could add another repository to my available repos, but decided to do it this way instead.

One little question, if anyone cares to answer: Is the game stuck at 800x600 resolution? That is what I found when I started playing. i.e. Is it just me, or is that what everyone gets with it?

'VCMI' is an open-source engine for Heroes of Might and Magic 3
6 November 2016 at 3:58 pm UTC Likes: 2

VCMI as available so far is a bit of a pain for us Linux users. No binary installer, so if you want it you need to compile it from source, and make sure all the many dependencies are also installed. After 20 minutes of trying, and having issues along the way, I gave up. Shame the site doesn't provide a deb binary package for Debian/Ubuntu/Arch/Mint platforms. For Windows, there is an exe install file - so nice and easy for Windows users.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided released for Linux, port report and review
4 November 2016 at 7:13 pm UTC

Great that it is ported to Linux. And I'm seriously tempted. If it wasn't on Linux, I wouldn't be that upset that I'm missing out. No fault of Feral, but the game sounds like it isn't optimised that well, so you need very high-end kit to fully enjoy and appreciate it. That's one of the things that puts me off. I want to play smooth, e.g. 60fps in 4K, not HD.

Currently the price is £39.99, and I'm the type of frugal person that doesn't pay that sort of price for a game. When it drops down to a 50% off sale / £20 then maybe I'll be ready to get it.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying other Feral port - Mad Max - which I got nice and cheap in a Humble monthly subscription. Unfortunately Feral probably got zero cash for their port from me (I got it when it was only out on Windows, anticipating that it was coming to Linux - taking a chance, that worked out).

Peace out! ;)

Why Linux games often perform worse than on Windows
27 October 2016 at 12:05 pm UTC Likes: 1

Here here. Great article and clear up of the situation.

I'm also not that bothered as long as I can get "good enough" performance when gaming (meaning a reasonable FPS rate).

Noting that I'm aiming to play my games at 4K resolution wherever possible, and in order to achieve that I've spent the money on a system that should be able to cope. For me, the screen resolution is the problem to overcome, rather than Linux being the problem. (I can drop down to 1920x1080 resolution if need be.)

System has:
AMD FX8350 4.0GHz (8 core) - as yet I haven't overclocked it.
Nvidia GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 - just the manufacturer's clocking.
16GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM - should be big enough for most games.
480GB Sandisk Ultra II SSD - solid state drive for loading speed.

Some of the more demanding games I'm running on Linux at 4K, and the performance is decent / good enough for me:
Mad Max
Rocket League
Life Is Strange
Chaos Reborn
Dying Light (Enhanced Edition: The Following)
Torchlight 2
Ziggurat
Serious Sam 3 BFE
Left 4 Dead 2
Saints Row: Gat out of Hell

Hope this gives some perspective. All these are working fine at 4K assuming the PC is good enough.

Mad Max released for Linux, port report and review available
21 October 2016 at 12:51 am UTC

Hi All,
I've been playing Mad Max for Linux successfully for the last 5 hours. There was one crash during my session, but a restart took me back to the point I'd reached (so no big deal).

Spec wise: AMD FX8350 (8 core, 4GHz), 16GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM, Sandisk Ultra II SSD 480GB, Nvidia GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 graphics.

Playing at 3840x2160 resolution (4K), on monitor that has 60Hz refresh rate. I put up most of the graphics settings up to Very High. (I might try putting them up to Ultra, and see how that works out.)

So, I'm giving the game a lot of work to do.. running at 4K. The frame rate and performance were good. The environment looks fantastic in 4K. It plays fine with this kit. It could be a bit smoother, but it is good enough. I don't feel I need to drop down to lower resolution (e.g. 1920x1080) to thoroughly enjoy it.

Playing with mouse and keyboard has been going okay. Probably a gamepad would be better, but I don't feel I *have* to use a gamepad to enjoy it.

No graphical glitches, sound glitches or other problems of that nature.

The game itself.. It's decent, I've been enjoying it. Not blown away by the game, but then different people have different preferences, and I prefer Dying Light game play to playing this. And I prefer Rocket League less than this. Hehe. *That's me*

Thumbs up, Feral. Great job!

EDIT: Well, I've played about 15 hours now. I have noticed that my system is dipping on framerate during more complicated stages in gameplay, e.g. when facing multiple opponents inside a big enemy base. Can't say exactly why it is happening, but it is possibly due to CPU.