Unvanquished Open-Source Game Still Pushing Slowly Ahead In 2021 - Phoronix

Nearly a decade ago we were intrigued by Unvanquished as one of the most interesting open-source game/engine projects of the time. It was peculiar in going through dozens of alpha releases prior to drying up a few years ago. There hasn't been any major release yet past the prior alpha state but the project is in fact still moving along and issued their first new (point) release of the year as well as rolling out a new online updater.

How to play Raft on Linux

Raft is a first-person survival video game developed by Redbeet Interactive and published by Axolot Games. The game was released in 2018 for Microsoft Windows. Raft does not have a native Linux version, and currently, there are no plans to release one. In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up Raft on Linux.

Google open sources VR painting app Tilt Brush | GamingOnLinux

Tilt Brush, a popular VR app that lets users paint in a 3D space. Originally from Skillman & Hackett, it was later acquired by Google and now they've open sourced it. In an announcement post, Google mentioned it is no longer actively developed and so they are putting it out into the open fully into users hands and so it's now on GitHub under the Apache license. A few systems did get adjusted for the open source release due to licensing but nothing major.

Roboggled: A Puzzle Game Developed on Linux: Review

Roboggled is a puzzle game, where you play as a robot that moves crates around. The game is presented in a 3D, top-down manner. The goal is to move the crate(s) in the level to an opening vault on the floor. Then, you’ll move on to the next level. Note: review copy sent to our curator. If you’re a game developer and want us to test your game, send it our way via Steam! Controls are very simple: just use the arrow keys on your keyboard or the analog stick/D-pad on your gamepad to move the robot around. If it’s pressing against a crate, simply moving in the direction of the crate will cause it to move. The robot will move one square at a time, but if it’s on ice, it won’t stop until it hits a wall or gets back on solid ground. So, at times, moving the crate towards its goal will require some strategy. If you made a mistake, you can go back one move by clicking the double-arrow icon on the top-right corner of the screen or pressing the left-shoulder button, or to restart entirely, click the single arrow at the top-left or press BACK on your controller. [...] I mentioned earlier the game is presented in top-down view. The background is this greenish color with white rectangles moving about. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I think it would be pretty cool if there was an option to change the green color to something else. The soundtrack is hit or miss. While it has some good tunes, others are a little more…creepy, if you will. If there was an option or hotkey to change tracks, that would be great. Also, I think it would be of benefit of the music had a slider volume; right now there’s just an on and off toggle. The built-in level editor is pretty nice, but it’s a bit wonky. For instance, there are certain blocks on the grid that can’t have an item on it, particularly the blocks along the edge of the grid. For a price of $2, you really can’t go wrong here, though. Roboggled is a pretty decent puzzle game, and a plus is that there’s a Linux version and replayability value due to the in-game level editor.

How to Play Windows Games on Linux - LinuxLinks

Windows is undoubtedly the most popular operating system for gaming. But it lacks various security measures. More and more people are switching to Linux because it has a very user-friendly interface and is more stable after updates than Windows. However, some are reluctant to try Linux out. It is namely because of a widespread notion that video games are unplayable on this operating system. Linux can run the same software like Windows, including web browsers, word processors, etc. There are far fewer games created exclusively for Linux. This operating system has witnessed major advances in recent years. Gaming enthusiasts can play the latest titles on their Linux OS with emulators and compatibility layers. So let’s explore this further and learn how you can play Windows games on Linux.

Dead Cells: Fatal Falls gives us more good excuses for another run

Dead Cells: Fatal Falls is the latest DLC out now for the supremely stylish mix of action-platforming and metroidvania elements in Dead Cells. This new small expansion will enable the developer to continue expanding the game for everyone, with plenty of free updates like they have done in the past. Much like the previous DLC with The Bad Seed, it's not huge but it does nicely expand on what's already good with more excellent combat encounters. You can expect to find two extra mid-game biomes with new enemies, weapons, traps, lore rooms and a green-fingered boss!

How to play Monster Hunter: World on Linux

Monster Hunter: World is an action RPG developed and published by Capcom. It is the fifth entry in the franchise. It was released in 2018 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. However, there are currently no plans for an official Linux release.

Transport Fever 2 to release Vulkan API support on February 23

More Vulkan API goodness is coming with Urban Games announcing that Transport Fever 2 will release the big Vulkan update on February 23 along with a macOS version. It's positively rated by users overall so they've done well with it and a major graphics API change is no small thing to do. Great to see though, especially as another developer opting for an open graphics API rather than a closed one like DirectX. Hopefully, this will lay out the foundation for continued support and give Urban Games more wiggle room to make it an ever bigger game, or perhaps work towards a third game in the series. Currently the Vulkan API support is available in a Beta (Steam only until release) and so you can join in, to ensure the Linux version is nicely polished up and let them know of any issues found. You can find more info on the dedicated Steam Group they setup especially to gather feedback on the testing.

FreeSpace 2 Source Code Project releases version 21.0.0

FreeSpace and FreeSpace 2 are two of the absolute best space shooters around, and thankfully FreeSpace 2 continues living on very nicely with the FreeSpace 2 Source Code Project. A new release is up after another year of work with version 21.0.0 going up today, January 27 2021. There's some big stuff included in this release too!

How to install Krita 4.4 on Linux Mint 20.1

In this video, we are looking at how to install Krita 4.4 on Linux Mint 20.1. 

Short film made with Krita

My name is Lucija Oroz and I am a professional animator from Croatia. In my spare time I love to read about the human mind and human behavior. The film 45” is my master’s degree project, the largest project I ever did. While working on it, I was so afraid that something would go wrong that I was unable to finish it, so I decided to something to cheer myself up. I got the chance to experience a tandem parachute jump. I was so impressed: it was both scary and beautiful. That was how the idea was born to combine my film with emotions that people usually experience during good or bad moments in their life.

Systemd Plasma Applet

Just a short announcement that I pushed some commits to github https://github.com/jansenm/systemd-plasmoid and tagged a release 2.0.1. The first ever with a tag. Unfortunately I am not that sure I did that right so in case someone out there packages this and needs more just complain.

NVIDIA release the 460.39 Linux driver update, improved support for kernel 5.10+

Ready for a new stable NVIDIA driver for Linux? There's a new one out now with added GPU support and some tidying up work done with bug fixes too.

AMD RDNA2 "Duty Cycle Scaling" Will Turn Off The GPU Under Heavy Load For Relief

A new Radeon power management feature with RDNA2 graphics processors being exposed by the open-source Linux driver is Duty Cycle Scaling in the name of power/thermal management with a focus on low-power hardware. AMD graphics Duty Cycle Scaling is designed for "small power limit SKUs" and is designed to actually shut off the graphics core and power it back up based on current/power/temperature thresholds. Under heavy workloads, the AMD "DCS" functionality controlled by the graphics firmware will power down the GPU during heavy load scenarios for power/thermal relief before being powered back up to resume work.

Linux 5.12 Bringing VRR / Adaptive-Sync For Intel TIger Lake / Xe Graphics - Phoronix

Finally with the upcoming Linux 5.12 cycle is support for Variable Rate Refresh (VRR) / Adaptive-Sync for Intel Tiger Lake "Gen12" Xe Graphics and newer.  The VRR/Adaptive-Sync support for the latest-generation Intel graphics with Tiger Lake and the likes of the forthcoming Rocket Lake, Alder Lake, and discrete DG1 graphics is now in order for the mainline kernel. The VRR enabling for Tiger Lake and newer was sent in this morning to DRM-Next ahead of the Linux 5.12 kernel. This effort has been going on for many months while now has reached the stage that it's ready for merging. 

Intel Iris Xe Discrete Card Will Only Work With Select CPUs and Motherboards

These motherboards require a special BIOS that supports Intel Iris Xe, so the cards won’t be compatible with other systems.

Linux 5.10 LTS Will Only Be Maintained Until EOY 2022 Unless More Companies Step Up

Announced a few years ago was the notion of "extended" LTS kernel versions whereby the long term support cycle would span six years rather than the usual two years for LTS kernels in providing maintenance and bug/security fixes to the codebase. This means Linux 5.4 LTS is supported until the end of 2025, Linux 4.19 until the end of 2024, and even Linux 4.14 until the start of 2024. But with the recently minted Linux 5.10 LTS at least for now it's only being committed to maintenance until the end of next year. There's been differing remarks/indications for how long the Linux 5.10 long-term support cycle would last with many expecting six years given that's what has been happening on recent LTS kernels -- even the Linux 4.4 kernel is being planned for maintenance until February 2022 and Linux 4.9 until 2023. Linux stable maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman has now provided a more transparent answer on the Linux kernel mailing list stemming from the talk over how long Linux 5.10 will be maintained.

Three stable kernels

Stable kernels 5.10.11, 5.4.93, and 4.19.171 have been released. They contain important fixes and users should upgrade.

5.10.11

5.4.93

4.19.171