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truthfultemporarily, do games w Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced adverts like in mobile games

Related: timsh.org/tracking-myself-down-through-in-app-ads…

Unity games on mobile send your location to Unity servers every couple seconds through the Unity ad network.

Things you can do:

  • GDPR Request to Unity
  • use a DNS that blocks trackers, like mullvad
smeg,

I just deny most mobile games the network permission, though obviously this doesn’t work if you actually need any internet access (and I don’t think all devices give you control over that permission)

grue,

I just don’t play games that have ads (most of the games on my phone are from F-Droid).

JigglySackles,

I’ve had a hard time finding quality games in there. Outside of Shattered Pixel Dungeon they are few and far between. I still agree with your take though, because fuuuuck mainstream mobile games.

I made a rare dip into the play store recently and tried to just get the hill climb racing game or a similar one. I played them as web games years ago and liked them and wanted to play them again. All of them are so riddled with ad garbage they are unplayable. Even the lego one was stuffed with “buy gems or your progress is nonexistent” and other garbage tactics.

Every game I get in there is a disappointment. The Netflix games started out solid but I feel like they are going to change to more standard mobile junk eventually.

AceFuzzLord,

F-Drlid games definitely aren’t always the greatest, but I have been recently having a lot of fun with Feudal Tactics.

JigglySackles,

Awesome, that’s for the rec! I’ll be sure to check it out.

diemartin, (edited )

I can vouch for Luanti (formerly known as Minetest), Simon Tatham’s Puzzle Collection, and RetroArch.

Edit: added links

JigglySackles,

Right on, thanks for the direct links. I’ll definitely try them out.

diemartin,

My pleasure.

grue,

I’ve had a hard time finding quality games in there. Outside of Shattered Pixel Dungeon they are few and far between.

You’re not wrong. F-Droid would benefit greatly from having some sort of curated “best of” list, especially for games.

That said, here are some I think are reasonably quality:

  • Mindustry
  • Frozen Bubble
  • Burger Party
  • Endless Sky
  • Vector Pinball
  • Surge Engine
  • SuperTuxKart
  • Xeonjia Ice Adventure

tried to just get the hill climb racing game or a similar one.

F-Droid has Lato, which seems to be in the same genre. It’s pretty polished in terms of having a nice graphical style and music, but IMO doesn’t quite make the list above because the gameplay seems a little simplistic compared to e.g. Hill Climb Racing. Still, worth a shot if you’re looking for that sort of game.

JigglySackles,

That’s an excellent list, thanks for sharing all that. I’ll be sure to check them out. I wish FDroid at least allowed some kind of user rating system to make this a little easier but I can understand some reasons to not include that function. If there’s no rating system there’s no raring abuse lol.

TinyShonk,

I didn’t see that permission when I looked for it

smeg,

Probably custom ROM only

wreckedcarzz,
@wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah, I have the option on graphene

dan1101, do games w Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced adverts like in mobile games

I read that games with ads were already banned from Steam a long time ago. That explains why we don’t have more junk in the Steam store. Judging by how many never completed early access asset flip games there are, it would be a complete cesspool with ad-supported games. Good decision by Valve.

Dezzillion, do games w Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced adverts like in mobile games

sorts by controversial

Blackmist, do games w Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced adverts like in mobile games

A good move. Nip that shit in the bud right now.

The mobile stores are fucking unusable, a sea of ad-ridden garbage.

echodot,

You can always tell when a game has been ported over from PC due to the fact the game takes up the whole screen.

Phegan, do games w Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced adverts like in mobile games

Common valve W

f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4, do games w Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced adverts like in mobile games

Valve applying a bit of regulation (the right way) and still making piles of money, weird how that works.

I’ve been saying for years that if we want healthy economies, compare to human health. When the factors keeping growth at a controlled rate are disrupted, you end up with cancer.

Rant is related although covering hardware manufacturing rather than software:

Commodore manufactured in the USA and Europe some of the best-selling personal computers ever under lack of regulation. When the market became dominated by IBM-compatibles and Macintoshes, Commodore folded and left Superfund sites all over. (Superfund is basically EPA disaster declaration allowing for taxpayer funds release for large-scale cleanup operations.) Privatize the profits and socialize the losses. (lack of regulation led to the wrong way)

Horsey,

to anyone reading this comment:

I strongly recommend going to this government website and checking out the superfund sites located in your area. If you live anywhere east of the Mississippi, your chances of living near or not far from an illegal dumping site are really high.

epa.gov/…/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live

f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4,

I almost wish I hadn’t looked; knew my area had paper mills and wood processing, they’ve been dredging the waterways for PCBs (chlorinated organics) for decades.

I work with electronics and have heard from multiple older gentleman that when they were young, they saw old high-voltage transformers from power poles being replaced which would be leaking off the backs of the trucks until empty or even purposely tipped into the storm drains. Why is healthcare so expensive? 🤔

No apologies for being politics-adjacent in the Gaming community, billionaires aren’t keeping their hands out of anything either. Keep rewarding Valve and the good companies and shitting on the bad ones!

Zacryon, do games w Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced adverts like in mobile games
@Zacryon@feddit.org avatar

Some options you could consider include […] making your game free to play with optional upgrades sold via Microtransactions or Downloadable Content (DLC).

I am not sure this is better. I hate microtransactions usually more than ads.

Ads don’t cost you money, just time, and sometimes some screen space. They are annyoing and that sucks. But leveraging dark patterns as stuff like FOMO and other psychological tricks to nudge people towards microtransactions can cost you a lot. A business model, which relies on techniques from the gambling industry – also by catching some whales – is imo way worse than ads.
Such games aren’t made for all players, just for some who don’t have control over their expenses (or can really afford it).

I can live with DLCs as long as there aren’t so many that it becomes increasingly indistinguishable to microtransactions. But in the end I don’t want to buy a fucking lego set, where I have to constantly buy new stuff.

That’s why I prefer single purchase games. I am also ok with paying more for them if that means the devs get the proftis to keep the development of games I like going. Buy once – have it all. Keeping games at a comparably equal price over decades is imo not meaningful anyways due to factors like inflation. But the gaming community can be really unforgiving in this regard. That’s why ad-based or microtransaction-based games are taking off. A majority of gamers are uncritical enough that this works. And then they are surprised when it bites them in the ass…

Eagle0110,

I think what matters more, or perhaps at least in Valve’s perspective, is that microtransactions are inherently binding between the game’s developer/publisher and the player, so the game’s developer/publisher is the sole party held accountable here (by Valve), while ads inherently involve and invite a 3rd party advertiser, muddying the situation for everybody. While on the other hand, microtransactions can only be done for content already a part of the game, while ads serve content outside the scope of the game.

So this is much much more enforceable for Valve, while DLC and microtransactions marketing is already subject to the established rules on Steam.

TacoSocks, (edited ) do games w Luanti (formerly Minetest) v5.11 out now with an in-game settings menu and better server browser

I’ve tried luanti several times and I’m trying to dial in the graphics settings for best performance with the lack of in game settings menu was always a such a pain I’d give up. I’m super excited about his change.

MNByChoice, do games w Luanti (formerly Minetest) v5.11 out now with an in-game settings menu and better server browser

Because I want people to be interested, but that requires knowing what a thing is.

From FAQ:

Is Luanti a clone of Minecraft? # No. Luanti has very different goals from Minecraft, and doesn’t aim to compete with or replace Minecraft. Luanti is an engine and a platform for many different voxel games, rather than one cohesive gaming experience.

When Luanti was initially created in 2010 it intended to replicate what Minecraft Alpha had been shown to do at the time, but it has later diverged into becoming more akin to a game engine.

wastelandpilot,
@wastelandpilot@lemmy.world avatar

So… Roblox, but with Minecraft’s graphical style and general mechanics, an open source project, and not a greedy corporation? Cool. I think I’m bookmarking this.

ICastFist, do games w Luanti (formerly Minetest) v5.11 out now with an in-game settings menu and better server browser
@ICastFist@programming.dev avatar

Is there any minecraft clone that uses non-blocky character models? Or how would one go to mod Luanti to use different meshes for some of the characters?

Ephera,

I have no idea, if it’s any good, but apparently this exists: content.luanti.org/…/aw_personaje_anthro/

I believe, you could in principle use any Blender model, although I’m guessing, they’d need to match in terms of animations. I’m not deep into either Luanti modding or Blender, so not sure how it works together, but here’s some documentation describing it: docs.luanti.org/models/using-blender/

SplashJackson, do games w Luanti (formerly Minetest) v5.11 out now with an in-game settings menu and better server browser

Does it have gamepad support for Android yet?

maplebar, do games w Luanti (formerly Minetest) v5.11 out now with an in-game settings menu and better server browser

Good that they changed the name.

warmaster, do games w Luanti (formerly Minetest) v5.11 out now with an in-game settings menu and better server browser

The day Luanti gets split screen local coop it will skyrocket.

simple, do games w Team Fortress 2 Classic is coming to Steam thanks to Valve adding TF2 to the Source SDK

Awesome! I’ve wanted to play it for a while but never had the chance. Hopefully this reinvigorates the TF2 community.

AnExerciseInFalling,

The TF2 community has been going strong! There’s even been a revitalization of classic custom game modes like TFWare, Balloon race, Dodgeball, Smash Bros, Randomizer, Class Wars, etc: teamwork.tf/community/quickplay

LandedGentry, (edited )

deleted_by_author

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  • XenBad,

    I haven’t seen a blatant cheater / bot ever since they did the update that banned a ton of them. They used to be in every single casual match and I would have to join a community server.

    Darkcoffee, do games w Team Fortress 2 Classic is coming to Steam thanks to Valve adding TF2 to the Source SDK

    That is such good news! Can’t wait to see if they incorporate more stuff from the SDK too!

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