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Portal Released For Steam On Linux

phoronix.com

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Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#71
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that Valve is at danger at all. The types of games on Steam are COMPLETELY different from what is on app stores, and so are the prices and consumer behavior. People will pay large sums of money on Steam, in a way they won't in a mobile app store. And you can trust that you're getting a quality game.

They are in danger should Microsoft ever gain a significant foothold with the Windows Store. Microsoft can turn off "side-loading" of software in Windows and lock everyone into their walled garden. If Valve hasn't successfully migrated away from Windows by that point they will be completely screwed.

Given the importance of backwards compatibility for corporate Windows users and the history Microsoft has with the Justice Department, I find such a situation very hard to fathom. Microsoft is not Apple - they cannot use the Reality Distortion Field to get away scot-free with imposing draconian restrictions on their user base.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#72
post #63
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

This is how OSX is by default now. I'm relatively new to Macs but I was pretty surprised when I had to go into my preferences to enable the ability to run software downloaded from the internet (not from the Mac App Store).

> I had to go into my preferences to enable the ability to run software downloaded from the internet

Wrong, the default Gatekeeper setting is set so that:

- you don't have to if the software is recent and signed by the developer.

- you don't have to either for unsigned code: as explained in the dialog that pops up, you can right click instead and choose open, which will pop up a similar dialog alllowing you to whitelist this app only.

Threfore, don't ever turn off Gatekeeper in Preferences.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#73
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would sympathize with Valve if they didn't completely ignore Linux before acting like the Linux community's best friend when it became apparent that they had nowhere else to turn to [1]. Like many, I'm a fan of their games and their flat management, but they have a history of being as short-sighted and callous as EA and I wish more people would see that [2]. I have a lot more respect for the people behind Humble Bu…

What? Humble BundLe totally sold out their integrity after they let THQ sell their games with the Humble Bundle brand, without linux versions and with DRM. [1] http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/the-humble-thq-bu... [2] http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/11/humble-thq-bundle-thre...

Technically, and financially it was all good. However marketing wise not a good move. Your post proofs this. And I kinda agree.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#74

Yet another reason to lament the lack of decent mouse driver support in GNU/Linux. As long as I have to relearn how to move my mouse in order to play a game, I'm going to keep a Windows box handy for games.

Some clarifications Yes, mice often have dpi-switching mapped to hardware buttons. However, as with my mouse, this hardware switching offers very limited granularity and many dpi "modes" can only be selected in software by a proprietary driver.

I'm mostly talking about RTS games (think StarCraft) as well as some rhythm games (think Osu!) where persistent mouse behavior is essential to playability.

Competitive fps players actually often play at very low dpi on essentially barebones hardware (think Intellimouse Optical @ 400dpi) compared to what's out there. Because these older mice don't actually have any dpi switching functionality, they usually don't require any special mouse drivers.

This is also not about whatever special fancy macro buttons on the mice not being supported.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#75
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PC game developers could hardly be wooed any further in that direction. A game being released for Linux two years after Windows is hardly an imminent threat.

It's not a matter of when it was released, but that it's an indication that Valve is porting its Source engine to Linux. It looks like Future Valve games are going to be released on all three platforms simultaneously, which is a pretty big win for Linux.

That was my impression when Valve started porting Steam, but then Dota 2 came along and proved us wrong.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#76
post #67
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

when that day comes, I am sure many would switch to Linux, especially among the developers. In the past few years using Windows, I have stopped thinking about device drivers at all, I just expected them to work. I am looking forward to the day where this comes to desktop Linux.

I've been using Mac OS since OS 7.1 when I was ~14. All through high school and my Bachelor of Software Engineering degree, and now working full time, I'm completely dumbfounded when Windows or Linux users talk about device drivers. What a shocking waste of time.

OSX still doesn't support OpenGL 3.3 or 4.0, both of which are >3 years old.

Perhaps with a driver update from the vendor... oh wait, no.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#77
post #36

Steam is now the de-facto "app store" of the PC as far as games go, which was no small feat. It took them more than 10 years to get to this point and it's now in jeopardy. With Google and Apple already controlling the mobile app stores, various console manufacturers controlling their own ecosystems, and Microsoft attempting to abandon their "open" Windows (so they can run their own app store) - the industry is shifti…

I would sympathize with Valve if they didn't completely ignore Linux before acting like the Linux community's best friend when it became apparent that they had nowhere else to turn to [1]. Like many, I'm a fan of their games and their flat management, but they have a history of being as short-sighted and callous as EA and I wish more people would see that [2]. I have a lot more respect for the people behind Humble Bu…

This is not about being anyone's friend: they're merely trying to keep their head above water.

If this makes linux more popular as side-effect, so be it.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#78
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that Valve is at danger at all. The types of games on Steam are COMPLETELY different from what is on app stores, and so are the prices and consumer behavior. People will pay large sums of money on Steam, in a way they won't in a mobile app store. And you can trust that you're getting a quality game.

They are in danger should Microsoft ever gain a significant foothold with the Windows Store. Microsoft can turn off "side-loading" of software in Windows and lock everyone into their walled garden. If Valve hasn't successfully migrated away from Windows by that point they will be completely screwed.

> Microsoft can turn off "side-loading" of software in Windows and lock everyone into their walled garden.

I think the EU might have something to say about that.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#79

Steam is now the de-facto "app store" of the PC as far as games go, which was no small feat. It took them more than 10 years to get to this point and it's now in jeopardy. With Google and Apple already controlling the mobile app stores, various console manufacturers controlling their own ecosystems, and Microsoft attempting to abandon their "open" Windows (so they can run their own app store) - the industry is shifti…

>The software industry is heading in very bad directions, and this is at least a glimmer of hope. I don't buy this -- Steam is just another walled garden app store with the same conflicts of interest that we're used to seeing, such as giving top billing to their own products on their store, using DRM, promoting itself as an advertising space, etc. The problem I have is: where are all the GPL'ed games? The Torque Engi…

Most good games are made by people who are paid to make them. Or people who hope to pay themselves when their game is finished and sold.

It's hard to get a large volume of unpaid volunteers to collectively work together on a creative endeavor. If I'm going to spend my free time working on something creative then it's going to follow my vision and not someone else's.

If you want a community driven game nothing is stopping anyone. Quake 3/Doom 3 are GPL'd. Unity is cheap. Plenty of games are incredibly mod friendly. There's been no better time in gaming history than to be indie than today.

Re: Portal Released For Steam On Linux

#80
post #7

Sweet. Now hopefully they bring DOTA2 over next. That game will lead to a ton of Linux switchers!

Indeed. However, it must be said that DOTA2 runs perfectly with OpenGL through wine on a decent machine . Thanks Valve!

use these options : "-gl -window -novid -noborder -w 1920 -h 1080"

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