Flashbacks! This reminds me of my first Gravis Gamepad (IIRC). Was a disappointing joystick, even compared to old Intellivision controllers.
It was okay with fighting games, and I do recall a nineties PC giant robot fighting game (One Must Fall maybe?)
Still, my first joystick that I actually loved and made a game much better was an old CH Products flightstick. Early flightstick, so it only added a throttle to the base, so no rudder control.
I remember playing Comanche Maximum Overkill with that stick and just popping in and out of canyons. Also Earthsiege and Strike Force Centauri. I ended up with a Saitek Flightstick, and it was even better (Independence War is a fond memory) but the difference was not as revolutionary as going from a regular joystick to that first CH Products flightstick.
Ironically, the Atari -like joystick from the 2000’s from Walmart for $15 that plugs directly into your TV with games stored in the joystick is a better joysticks than the original 2600 joysticks.
However, I would contend that the Intellivision controller was worse.
I had a Colecovision (and Vic 20), and although I will say that was better than the 2600 and Intellivision joystick, I have to emphasize to all these youngsters complaining about the original NES controllers that those were still an improvement over previous default joysticks.
The developer of Fist Puncher has an insightful “Promoted Comment” now on the Ars Technica article:
therealmattkain I’m one of the creators and developers of Fist Puncher which was also published by Adult Swim on Steam. We received the same notice from Warner Bros. that Fist Puncher would be retired. When we requested that Warner Bros simply transfer the game over to our studio’s Steam publisher account so that the game could stay active, they said no. The transfer process literally takes a minute to initiate (look up “Transferring Applications” in the Steamworks documentation), but their rep claimed they have simply made the universal decision not to transfer the games to the original creators.
This is incredibly disappointing. It makes me sad to think that purchased games will presumably be removed from users’ libraries. Our community and our players have 10+ years of discussions, screenshots, gameplay footage, leaderboards, player progress, unlocked characters, Steam achievements, Steam cards, etc. which will all be lost. We have Kickstarter backers who helped fund Fist Puncher (even some who have cameo appearances in the game) who will eventually no longer be able to play it. We could just rerelease Fist Puncher from our account, but we would likely receive significant backlash for relaunching a game and forcing users to “double dip” and purchase the game again (unless we just made it free).
Again, this is really just disappointing. It seems like more and more the videogame industry is filled with people that don’t like and don’t care about videogames. All that to say, buy physical games, make back-ups, help preserve our awesome industry and art form. March 7, 2024 at 12:51 am
I used to use PlayOnLinux for exactly this thing. It’s a front end/manager for WINE. Heroic and Lutris are similar, but have carried the concept further.
I loved Earthsiege! IIRC I got the game with an expansion card (STI Lightning 128?), and it really was fun playing with my first flight stick, a CH Products flight stick.
What I am searching for is for games that support touch screens and can be played with 1 finger / one hand. No action games with fake joysticks on the screen, just games that work with a single finger or at least one hand while lying in bed and trying to wind down. One very good example is Civilization V, which has a dedicated...
I’ll double check on my Steam Deck, but from what you described, many old point-and-click game would also work, since a mouse input without right clicking should translate well one finger touch input. This might make SCUMMVM and all the compatible classic adventure games potential successes. More modern adventure games might also work well.
Like I said, I’ll have to test, but tentatively I’ll suggest:
SCUMMVM + numerous classic adventure games (Amazon Queen and Beneath A Steel Sky are available for free for the SCUMM project, completely legally).
Got so many good games through Humble Bundle. I remember the early days when all the games were Linux compatible. That was around when I stopped dual booting and just ran Linux full time.
There are some remakes of adventure game classics out there, Day of the Tentacle specifically comes to mind. Not sure if it’s “one-finger friendly” though.
Got distracted playing Beyond A Steel Sky, and it seems designed more for controllers, with one stick for looking, b add the other for moving. Granted I didn’t force it to use mouse inputs only.
Looking for those games that you may have heard about but never tried until you got a Deck. Or old games on systems you never had that you’re trying for the first time. Or new AAA games that just released in the last year or two that you picked up for the first time specifically to play on Steam Deck and have kept you glued to...
I haven’t built a gaming PC for over fifteen years; I defected to PlayStation in '08 when the constant upgrading got too expensive to really justify, but now I’m looking to come crawling back....
Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t have the best launch (lol). But some of us enjoyed the game despite its flaws. In the time since then, they’ve had nearly two years to patch the issues and add QoL....
I’d agree. In theory, there are many legitimate reasons to “sell” FOSS software. If I was putting it on a DVD, labelling, and mailing FOSS software my time and materials certainly deserve to be rewarded. Likewise, listing it on closed store like the MS store but keeping it updated from sources might make it easier for people embedded in the MS ecosystem to keep up to date.
I would expect legitimate repackagers/redistributors to be open that the software itself is freely available though. Besides I fear the well is poisoned by hustlers trying to sell something free for cheap to make a quick buck.
Most of the video games I’ve played were pretty good. The only one I can think of that I didn’t like was MySims Kingdom for the Nintendo DS. Dropped that pretty quickly. It was a long while ago, but I’ll guess it was because there were too many fetch quests and annoying controls.
Obviously BioWare is working to optimize their operational footprint and consolidate production in order to improve their return on invested capital. I’m sure they have made the difficult decision to rightsize their team as part of this effort. Certainly one of the most critical factors they consider when making the difficult decision to reduce their team size is the impact it will have on the lives of their team members, and they are committed to assisting their team with exploring alternate roles as well as providing outplacement assistance.
Just thought I’d share something I thought was pretty interesting. I have a mother in law who is… well let’s just say she’s a stereotypical older mom who doesn’t own a computer, just an iPad. During the pandemic, she started getting into Nintendo games and bought herself a Switch. Fast forward a few years later and...
…but I totally get what he means. Some people just aren’t excited about fiddling with settings, hardware, software or otherwise. It’s just a pain. Even myself, I’ve noticed I’ve lost most of my appetite for twiddling with drivers and such so I get it. When I play a game, I want to play the game, not set up the game, tweak the game, etc.
This has always been one of the key advantages of consoles over PC gaming. You can go to Gamestop, buy the game, plug it into your console, and then play. Or at least you used to.
Consoles have gotten more fiddly over the years, and the Steam Deck meets them halfway. If you are okay with online game stores, managing storage space for your games, you are already good to go with your Steam Deck. If you want to, you can tweak your settings for more battery life or performance, or venture outside the Steam Deck Verified games.
In a response to a post from the AntiDRM Twitter account, Ubisoft Support has clarified that users who don’t sign in to their account can potentially lose access to Ubisoft games they’ve purchased. The initial post from AntiDRM featured a snippet of an e-mail sent to a user from Ubisoft notifying them that their account had...
Through the magic of democracy (Mastodon’s poll function), an account called Dungeons over on the federated Twitter-alternative platform is letting its audience choose their own adventure in an ongoing D&D campaign.
Fair enough. I absolutely remember running randomly generated dungeons from the back of the 1st edition DM’s guide, and the players dutifully mapping it out on graph paper. No cohesive dungeon theme, just all random monsters and such.
It was kind of fun, like playing Diablo.
Of course this also reminds me of the first time I ran Pacesetters Chill. A single monster… investigations, a false finish. My player’s loved it. This Dungeon Bot is the complete opposite that, for sure, but it’s still kind of fun, like just mowing through random monsters.
I asked what your fave controllers are, now. What is the worst controller you have used?
So. I have 2 I hate....
“It‘s kind of depressing”: WB Discovery pulls indie game for “business changes” (arstechnica.com) angielski
Archive link: archive.ph/168Vn...
Trying to play my old CDROM games on Windows10 and about to lose my marbles. Could you help me?
Okay listen: I am less than tech-savvy, but I tried so many step-intensive things on my dinky PC, to no avail....
What game company from your childhood do you remember with fondness?
I was thinking about how I remember Maxis fondly, and I got to wondering what other people’s experiences were like!...
Anyone knows about calm Windows games with 1-finger touch screen support? angielski
What I am searching for is for games that support touch screens and can be played with 1 finger / one hand. No action games with fake joysticks on the screen, just games that work with a single finger or at least one hand while lying in bed and trying to wind down. One very good example is Civilization V, which has a dedicated...
Steam Deck Owners: What’s been your favorite game that you first discovered on Steam Deck and now you can’t seem to put down?
Looking for those games that you may have heard about but never tried until you got a Deck. Or old games on systems you never had that you’re trying for the first time. Or new AAA games that just released in the last year or two that you picked up for the first time specifically to play on Steam Deck and have kept you glued to...
Please help me select parts for a "competent" gaming PC
I haven’t built a gaming PC for over fifteen years; I defected to PlayStation in '08 when the constant upgrading got too expensive to really justify, but now I’m looking to come crawling back....
I am so pumped for Phantom Liberty and Cyberpunk 2077 v2.0!
Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t have the best launch (lol). But some of us enjoyed the game despite its flaws. In the time since then, they’ve had nearly two years to patch the issues and add QoL....
Facebook marketplace in my country is wild. (lemmy.ca) angielski
Not counting games that were unfun because of bugs, what’s the most unfun video game that you’ve played and what made it unfun? (kbin.cafe) angielski
Most of the video games I’ve played were pretty good. The only one I can think of that I didn’t like was MySims Kingdom for the Nintendo DS. Dropped that pretty quickly. It was a long while ago, but I’ll guess it was because there were too many fetch quests and annoying controls.
An Update on the State of BioWare - 50 roles being eliminated (blog.bioware.com) angielski
^archive.org^...
The Steam Deck is changing how normies think of gaming PCs.
Just thought I’d share something I thought was pretty interesting. I have a mother in law who is… well let’s just say she’s a stereotypical older mom who doesn’t own a computer, just an iPad. During the pandemic, she started getting into Nintendo games and bought herself a Switch. Fast forward a few years later and...
'Dad, people are sending me pictures of bears': Baldur's Gate 3 boss Swen Vincke 'wasn't ready' for the bear sex scene to go so viral (www.pcgamer.com) angielski
When your son's friends start sending him bear pics, you know you made a splash.
Ubisoft Can Delete Inactive Accounts, Making Users Lose Access to Their Games (gamerant.com) angielski
In a response to a post from the AntiDRM Twitter account, Ubisoft Support has clarified that users who don’t sign in to their account can potentially lose access to Ubisoft games they’ve purchased. The initial post from AntiDRM featured a snippet of an e-mail sent to a user from Ubisoft notifying them that their account had...
Out of the way FROMSoft, Pokémon Sleep is now the hardest game ever created (cdn.imgchest.com) angielski
seen on Twitter...
are there small sized mmorpg's? angielski
I know there is runescape and albion but is there anything else, or are those the only small file sized ones for pc?...
Yet another reason to ditch Musk's Twitter: You can play a crowdsourced Dungeons & Dragons campaign over on Mastodon (www.pcgamer.com) angielski
Through the magic of democracy (Mastodon’s poll function), an account called Dungeons over on the federated Twitter-alternative platform is letting its audience choose their own adventure in an ongoing D&D campaign.