Brontoforumus

I've mentioned before that, as great as it is that Steam now provides one-click Linux support for Windows games, you don't get that support if you bought your game somewhere else -- and that, specifically, this has been a barrier for my trying to pick my GOG version of The Witcher 3.

Well, I finally got around to trying Lutris, and it really is damn-near as simple as Steam Play. I still had to manually download a bunch of Windows installer files from GOG (though there's a new beta version of Lutris that supports GOG and, I think, should do that for you), but from there, you install Lutris, you look up The Witcher 3, and you click the "Install" button next to whichever version of the game it is you want to install (in my case, "GOG GOTY DXVK version"). Fill in where you want to install the game and where the installer files are, and it installs and configures everything for you. No fucking around with configuring WINE and DXVK yourself.

If you want controller support, that requires an external program (sc-controller), and if you want cloud save support, that's a bit trickier (I've already got an Owncloud server set up in my house, so it wasn't much extra overhead for me, but obviously not everybody does -- I wonder if you could use WINE to launch the Windows Galaxy client and use that to support cloud saves? I haven't tried). But for just a simple "install the game and get it to run with keyboard and mouse", it's pretty much painless, and should be moreso now that there's a version out with GOG integration that should eliminate the "download all the install files from GOG" step.

If you want to game on Linux, I still have to recommend buying games that run in Steam. But this will at least help me with my large backlog of games I got from GOG and elsewhere.

Sidebar: the reason I tried this in the first place is that, a couple months back, Cox dinged me an extra $50 for exceeding my bandwidth cap. So at the end of the following month, I checked to see how close I was to the cap, and when I saw I had plenty left, I downloaded a shitload of games -- stuff I didn't intend to play right away; that I might not ever get around to, but that I figured I should download now so that I'll have them in case I want to play them later and won't have to worry about exceeding a bandwidth cap if/when I do. Cox's bandwidth cap has turned me into a hoarder.

I'm kinda curious how widespread that is -- people getting hit with bandwidth overage fees and then using more bandwidth, overall, as a result. I'd like to think that ISPs will actually lose money by introducing bandwidth caps, as high-bandwidth users start intentionally downloading as much stuff as they can before hitting that cap -- but of course I know that's unlikely because bandwidth is dirt-cheap on the ISPs' end, and it's going to take a lot of users downloading a lot of extra files before it approaches anything like that $50/month overage fee they're soaking people for.

Is that to say that if you have a game in your Steam library, it will or won't show up under Linux based on whether you acquired it through the Steam store front or a third party access code?

If it's in your Steam library, it'll show up under Linux, no matter whether you got it directly from Steam or got a Steam code from another site (Humble or Fanatical or wherever).

By default, only games that are officially supported by Valve show up as Linux-compatible, but there's a setting you can change to show all Windows games as Linux-compatible and try to run them with Steam Play if you install them.

As I understand it, you can also set Steam up to launch games (or other arbitrary executables) from other sources, but they won't run in Steam Play or use Steam's controller hooks or any of the other wrapper niceties.

Thad wrote:

nosimpleway wrote:I need a game that I can get up and walk away from at a moment's notice without losing track of what was going on. Cities Skylines is really good for that! Factorio is pretty good for that! Skyrim is probably not great for that. I am the filthiest of casuals in that I really don't have time to develop the reflexes to play a game like Celeste, which I've otherwise heard good things about. This probably dovetails nicely into the Hard Mode thread, but

Hey guys, any recommendations?

I haven't played Surviving Mars, Parkitect, or Prison Architect, but they're building games and I hear good things.

RimWorld is another one I hear good things about. Apparently it's like a more accessible version of Dwarf Fortress.

Huge ++++ for Rimworld. It's definitely "Approachable Dwarf Fortress". Plus the mods for it are definitely really robust. I've put 142 hours into it and I can see myself putting in more if the mood struck me. Definitely worth it.

Okay, I've got a question.

What's a game that's relaxing and can be played in short bursts? Say I've only got half an hour, so maybe not enough time to complete a day in Stardew Valley or really dig into Dragon Quest Builders. Something like Civ where you think you're going to take a couple quick turns and then it's 4 AM is right out.

Like, let me paint a picture: I drank 3 cups of coffee today (fighting off a migraine) and just got done driving an hour in the damn rain (Phoenix drivers are terrible at the best of times and do not know how to cope with water falling out of the sky). I have forty-five minutes to kill before I have to go pick up my wife; I would like to play something to unwind, something that's going to make me less twitchy.

Katamari Damacy Reroll seems like a good choice. I've been meaning to check out Tetris Effect. What else?

Acceptable platforms include Linux (Steam Play included), PS4, Android, Wii U, 3DS, Xbox 360, and what the hell, PS2, NES, SNES, Genesis/SegaCD, and anything I can reasonably run in an emulator. (I've got a Dreamcast around here somewhere too, but it's not hooked up.)

If you're into old school rogue likes, Caves of Qud is pretty fun and engaging.

If you're more in the mood for choose-your-own-adventure, the Choice of Games has some interesting options.

Gunpoint is a nice experience.

You can always pause Mini Metro at any moment.

Find a good rhythm game, it's your best bet for mindlessly coming off of jitters (or at least feeling like you've gained mastery over them). Do you have Theaterhythm already?

I've reconnected with Card Thief on my phone, from the makers of Card Crawl.

Subnautica could fit those constraints depending on your level of ocean willies. Only one save, but you can do it anywhere, abandon whatever happened since saving if necessary, and food mechanics are optional so it has a chill mode. Trailmakers is a ridiculously fun little LEGO vehicle assembly and crashing simulator, and Gunpoint's non-sequel Heat Signature is a joyful Hotline Miami in space without the twitch skills.

Looking to older stuff, Grimrock is mostly divided into classic dungeon puzzles suitable for engaging one at a time, Card Hunter is explicitly separate totally-not-D&D combat encounters and FTL is worth a return if you haven't mined out all the major modded versions yet.

Also Kentucky Route Zero.

Picross is my go-to for relaxing games on 3DS. There is a danger of it becoming addictive though, especially if you're not already familiar with the rules.

(sorry Kyle)

Brentai wrote:Find a good rhythm game, it's your best bet for mindlessly coming off of jitters (or at least feeling like you've gained mastery over them). Do you have Theaterhythm already?

I do not.

A gander at the track lists suggests Curtain Call is the better choice. Is there any reason I'd go for the first one instead?

From what I hear Curtain Call is a strict upgrade.

I own both. There is no reason whatsoever to get the original if you can get Curtain Call.

Jeez, Spider-Man follows the Arkham formula even down to having a scene where you get dosed by Not Scarecrow and hallucinate a nightmare-scape.

Thing is, there is a Spider-Man villain whose deal is making people hallucinate, and...it's not the Scorpion.

I can only hope the reason the game went with Scorpion and not Mysterio is that they've got a bigger role for Mysterio in mind for the sequel. He is the villain in the next movie, after all.

(PS: When I get to New Game+ I am definitely playing the entire game through with the paper bag costume.)

finally, real inclusion

thats the wrong link mongrel