If you were like me then when you heard Valve was delaying Steam Machines to 2015 you were bummed. We might not be able to buy our shiny new hardware yet BUT that doesn't mean you can't play around with the next best thing. Valve's Steam Machines will run on top of SteamOS, a modified version of Linux. Valve has made SteamOS publicly available BUT it's not the easiest thing to install yet. In the meantime you can get your feet wet with Linux using the next best thing, Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is a Linux distribution that has been around for a few years and as it currently sits, i'd argue it's the easiest way to run a Linux Desktop. It also has the added benefit of being...
"Should gamers care about net neutrality? If you're someone who uses the internet on a regular basis (and I'm betting you are), you should make yourself aware of the current Net Neutrality debate. The FCC is considering new rules in which internet providers could charge companies (like Steam, Sony or Microsoft) for a "fast lane", the costs of which could be passed on to the consumer (YOU). With so many gamers downloading, playing, streaming online, what could this "fast lane" environment do to gaming as we know it?"
In the latest Game/Show Jamin makes a really good point about net neutrality and gaming. One of my biggest "gaming fears" is a bandwidth cap in a world...
In the latest Game/Show Jamin makes a really good point about net neutrality and gaming. One of my biggest "gaming fears" is a bandwidth cap in a world...
Get ready to dispense justice: Shovel justice.
The credits for Shovel Knight, which releases this Thursday, June 26, are rolling on my PC right now. I can't think of a more satisfying platformer in recent memory.
The game takes plenty of inspiration from some old NES favorites. If you're familiar with Capcom's NES library, you'll feel right at home here. The graphics, music, controls, and every other detail have been pretty immaculately crafted.
Expect a full review of this when the game drops, this is just a teaser. If this game hasn't been on your radar, you owe it to yourself to check it out. If you backed it on Kickstarter, don't worry: you made a good call.
The credits for Shovel Knight, which releases this Thursday, June 26, are rolling on my PC right now. I can't think of a more satisfying platformer in recent memory.
The game takes plenty of inspiration from some old NES favorites. If you're familiar with Capcom's NES library, you'll feel right at home here. The graphics, music, controls, and every other detail have been pretty immaculately crafted.
Expect a full review of this when the game drops, this is just a teaser. If this game hasn't been on your radar, you owe it to yourself to check it out. If you backed it on Kickstarter, don't worry: you made a good call.
AdamPFarnsworth gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
AdamPFarnsworth gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
On sale for $3.99 on Steam!
I can't believe I haven't written about this game yet! I've put in over 20 hours and really enjoyed it.
I don't want this post to be too long, as the sale isn't going on long, but the game is definitely worth this price.
You create a start up video game company, starting back in the 80's. You have a few different options when you start, 4 different topics (you start with 4 different topics. Anything from Ninja to Transport to Zombies to Hacking), and 5 genres (Action, Adventure, RPG, Simulation and Strategy). Then you balance different aspects of the game based on the topic and genre (Story/Gameplay/Sound/AI/etc).
As you progress through the...
I can't believe I haven't written about this game yet! I've put in over 20 hours and really enjoyed it.
I don't want this post to be too long, as the sale isn't going on long, but the game is definitely worth this price.
You create a start up video game company, starting back in the 80's. You have a few different options when you start, 4 different topics (you start with 4 different topics. Anything from Ninja to Transport to Zombies to Hacking), and 5 genres (Action, Adventure, RPG, Simulation and Strategy). Then you balance different aspects of the game based on the topic and genre (Story/Gameplay/Sound/AI/etc).
As you progress through the...
Hold on to your butts, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake is coming to mobile on June 26th and Steam July 1st. It will run you $3.99 on iOS and Android and $14.99 on Steam for all your PC HD needs.
I took a test drive of the Monsters Kickstarter backer beta a few months ago so if you are interested in that clicky, click.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1938/monsters-ate-my-birthday-cake-early-preview-is-fantastic
And we also did a few interviews with them over the last year that you might fill your cake hole for the next few weeks.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/919/interview-w-sleep-ninja-games-justin-baldwin
...
I took a test drive of the Monsters Kickstarter backer beta a few months ago so if you are interested in that clicky, click.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1938/monsters-ate-my-birthday-cake-early-preview-is-fantastic
And we also did a few interviews with them over the last year that you might fill your cake hole for the next few weeks.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/919/interview-w-sleep-ninja-games-justin-baldwin
...
"19th Century Chile. A powerful warlock has fallen into a deep sleep. His nightmares are becoming real, and his monsters emanate into the world above. Enter the Abyss, and confront the source."
Developer ACE Team is creating a monster of a game. They've sampled the DNA of Castlevania, Smash Bros and Pokemon, making the whole thing co-op (Steam shows Local Co-op included), and are about to unleash Abyss Odyssey to the masses in less than a month, on July 15th.
Emphasis seems to be on the combat system, that resembles classic 2D fighters like Street Fighter, but with a move set more akin to Smash Bros (easy to pickup, hard to master). As you fight through the abyss, you...
Developer ACE Team is creating a monster of a game. They've sampled the DNA of Castlevania, Smash Bros and Pokemon, making the whole thing co-op (Steam shows Local Co-op included), and are about to unleash Abyss Odyssey to the masses in less than a month, on July 15th.
Emphasis seems to be on the combat system, that resembles classic 2D fighters like Street Fighter, but with a move set more akin to Smash Bros (easy to pickup, hard to master). As you fight through the abyss, you...
Seems hack free and also contains a strange set of actions to achieve. I wish we have the source for these old games so I could find out what game state triggers this bug.
That said, 2014 and the game community is still discovering more about Super Mario Brothers.
That said, 2014 and the game community is still discovering more about Super Mario Brothers.
No genre ever falls completely out of favor. Heroes Rise takes you to a world where heroes are celebrities and you have to work your way through tons of enemies to end up on the A-list.
I missed out on the text adventure heyday, I only ever played one or two, but the idea is captivating. In a world where the next big thing has to be graphically intense, it's nice to see that text adventures can still carve out their corner of the market.
I missed out on the text adventure heyday, I only ever played one or two, but the idea is captivating. In a world where the next big thing has to be graphically intense, it's nice to see that text adventures can still carve out their corner of the market.
Game of Thrones intro done with the art of Link to the Past? Apparently it happened and you can watch it.
Even though SteamOS and the Steam Controller is being pushed to 2015 it seems some companies are still moving forward to design products built around the Steam ecosystem. Intro the Steamboy, a new project meant to bring all the amazing awesomery of your Steam catalog to a handheld device.
They've released a trailer and it's fairly impressive. That said, after I watched it I was a bit skeptical. Valve has pushed back it's Steam Machines till 2015 and now we hear about a Steam based handheld? Not to say I don't want one, but i'll hold off on my excitement until I hear a few more details.
http://www.steamboymachine.com/
They've released a trailer and it's fairly impressive. That said, after I watched it I was a bit skeptical. Valve has pushed back it's Steam Machines till 2015 and now we hear about a Steam based handheld? Not to say I don't want one, but i'll hold off on my excitement until I hear a few more details.
http://www.steamboymachine.com/
As far as dual booting goes, I will say that I've never had an issue with setting up dual boot. However, when you're ready to partition your drive for Ubuntu, it's very easy to click a button and wipe out everything. So, while it's easy to set up dual-boot, be sure you know what you're doing.
Oh! And for that Steam Machine feel, you can also do this:
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/11/how-to-login-to-steam-big-picture-mode-in-ubuntu
The system will start up in Steam Big Picture.
"For Dat Steam Machine feels..."
So in the past on Ubuntu you've installed Gnome and used that. Are you sticking with Unity this time?
I think I am. I moved away from it before because it wasn't great but I have no problems with this particular version. It's much snappier than before and as I think about it more I can't remember what my problem with the old one was, but whatever it was I don't seem to have it anymore.
It's interesting, because in the past the reason I stuck with Unity was because Gnome 3 sucked, but it's gotten better and I'm thinking of using it.
Gnome 3 is really great after you make a few tweaks to it. With Unity or Gnome 3 on the latest versions I don't really have a problem with either.
To be honest they really do just about the same thing except Gnome 3 doesn't ship with a dock by default(it really should).
Well, it has a dock but it's hidden in the activities menu, which is an odd choice. Overall my problem with Gnome 3 has been the bizarre defaults that take an act of congress to change. That's still an issue, but it's gotten better.
That said, it's started crashing a lot. I've barely used this new version but these crashes are not a good sign.
Are you using the latest version of Ubuntu and some Gnome 3 PPA?
I'm actually talking about the latest version of Gnome that's available for Ubuntu by default. I don't want to mess around with PPAs to get Gnome 3.12 because that breaks Unity.
I didn't know there was a native Ubuntu Gnome version. I might have to check that out at some point.
Yeah it's just the one in the Debian repositories.
Cool. In earlier versions Ubuntu had removed Gnome 3 so it's nice to hear they left it in from the Debian sources.