Our live radio broadcasts are currently on hiatus while we work on improvements to Sanitarium.FM's core services. For further information, visit our Discord.
Valve has removed the SteamOS icon from a batch of games compatible with Linux on Steam, meaning that Linux owners now cannot download those titles anymore.
Reportedly the reason behind the removal of the SteamOS icon from these games is because Valve had determined those games do not work properly with their new OS, and so ahead of the big launch of their new Steam Machine line have trimmed those games to avoid problems later on with games not working which could cause more work around a time they will be busy with the hardware launch.
Unfortunately because the Linux Tux was replaced earlier this year with the SteamOS icon, it does mean that regardless of whether or not a user is using SteamOS they cannot purchase and play these games any longer. However, games purchased before this removal can still apparently be downloaded and played as normal.
Steam Machines, Steam Link and Steam Controller all launch next month.
Steam might be one of the big name in PC digital distribution, but as many have found out their customer service has found to be at times… lacking. Most recently there has even been a post on the /r/steam Reddit about someone willing to seek legal action for the lack of response to their support ticket about a compromised account that had been left untouched for half a YEAR. Ouch.
Fortunately, it seems that Valve have recognised that work needs to be done.
“We started by realising we had a lot of software to write to build a new support system,” says Valve’s Erik Johnson in an interview. “The first feature that came of that was the ability to get refunds of purchases made on Steam. If a customer buys something they don’t like, they can get their money back in a pretty transparent way. We think that’s a good feature, but we don’t think it was the fix for support. It had a lot more work behind it that was long-term thinking than just refunds.”
Next step has been working on account security and theft, with updates coming to the mobile app and two-step authentication being put in place to try and help. They’ve also tried bringing in third-party companies to help, but found that because they were more focused on their numbers Valve have opted to instead provide better in-house training and solutions.
“It’s a function of training up more and more people answer customer issues,” explains Johnson. “We’re not there yet. It’s getting better internally; it’s just that it hasn’t yet translated to great support for users. We’re gonna get there, though.”
Owners of Macs found out when they bought some of Valve’s new hardware that their computers couldn’t make either the Steam Link or the Steam Controller work. Despite them having been advertised to work.
Valve are sending out apology emails now to all affected, hoping to make up for the oversights. They have cited the cause as “temporary software issues” and say they will probably last a few weeks before they can be fixed.
“We want to apologise for the delays in providing full functionality for the Mac platform. We’re doing everything we can to resolve the issues. For the latest fixes and functionality, we recommend that you opt in to the Steam client beta.”
An upcoming update will add support for Macs so that you can use the Link to stream from them, as well as adding support for video,audio and controller input. Gamepad emulation will also be supported on Macs for the Steam Controller.
Until then, Valve are adding the Valve Complete Pack to the Steam accounts of affected customers, giving access to them for all Valve games; past, present and future. It’s free and can be kept even if the customer opts to get a refund on their hardware. The returns policy has also been extended to 60 days and Steam will also cover postage for those wanting a refund.
Up until today, I hadn’t realised that I haven’t seen a tricked out car bouncing about on its lowered hydraulics on the television for quite some while. Guess it was something that quietly was left behind when things moved on. Now though Rockstar are planning to revive some of that car-dancing magic in GTA V with the next expansion to the game.
GTA Online: Lowriders will bring lowriders to the virtual streets, as well as a new customs shop in downtown Strawberry. Benny’s Original Motor Works is the location for a whole set of new vehicular customisations.
“Deck out your engine block with covers and air filters, coat your interiors with velour, leather and patterns, choose custom colors and designs for your dials, or add a new steering wheel and custom shift levers. Give your ride lift with hydraulics – the more powerful the pumps, the higher you can bounce. And boost your stereo’s performance with new speakers and subs in the back.”
There’s also new interactions added for opening the doors, bonnet and boot of the cars you drive around in now, so you can simulate a pimped-out car gathering with your friends in GTA Online! At least, until another player shows up in a helicopter and kamikazes into you all that is. There will also be new Lamar missions added, a forth residence to buy and new clothing, hair and accessories for your avatar.
GTA Online: Lowriders arrives on PC as an automatic update on Tuesday, October 20.
Firstly Dracucat has reached its target now with 12 days to go, so expect that game to be available at some point in the future; while Home Free has reached and passed the Dockland stretch goal and is very close to getting the Cat stretch goal met too. Aberford unfortunately is way off target with less than 3 days to go, so another method will need to be found to fund that game if Sketchy Panda decide to go ahead with it.
Every one of the four games covered last week still have quite a while to go yet and none are too close to their targets as of yet. However we know that the last few days of a Kickstarter can bring surges so this isn’t to say that they will fail, and we’ll update you as the weeks go by.
Starting us off with the sole card game this week, and I chose this one because not only does it sound quite silly; it’s another team based card game and I do enjoy some co-op play.
The game is an 12+ (normal deck) or 18+ (NSFW deck) game for 2-6 players, although there needs to be an even number to make the two teams balanced. The aim is simply to be the team who conquers 25 of the territories, and play is conducted through 3 assaults. The team who wins the best of 3 using their held damage cards get the territory.
GOAT ARMY currently has 36 days to go and has made €1,301 of its €2,000 goal, so I dare say this one will meet target.
This is a 2D adventure game with RPG elements set in a sci-fi future, using pixel graphics and a hand painted feel setting. Sounds promising.
The story follows a convict who awakes his deep sleep to find the orbital prison facility he was being held in has crashed on an abandoned Earth. With the aid of a ragtag group he finds himself trekking the wasteland of the planet to try and locate the nine cell blocks now scattered about the planet, braving the harsh environments as well as dangers both animal and sentient. The game is also on Steam Greenlight, so if you’re interested you might want to go find it to vote it up there too.
Wanderer has made $15,686 of its $70,000 goal so far with 26 days still to go.
This game’s a puzzler that might seem familiar at first, but this game has a neat little twist to turn it around. Literally.
Quatros is like a graphically updated Tetris. Except whenever a piece is placed the ‘board’ will rotate 90s degrees, changing the stacks and lines to keep you on your toes and alert. Each turn could mess up or make easier your task as you keep stacking blocks to form the lines to make them vanish and score your points. It’s simple but if you’re a fan of simple puzzle games, this one might be for you.
Quatros Origins has a target of €15,000 of which it has made only €515 so far with 26 more days to go.
Finishing our round-up today is a game with graphics that consist of school-book scribbles, which is a unique draw to say the least.
Scribbled Arena is a twin-stick shooter where everything looks like the pen doodles that you used to draw on or in your school books during class. It has both a singleplayer and a multiplayer mode, with customisation of armours and weaponry available. It’s already been successful on Android and is now halfway through development for the PC version and the Kickstarter page has a planned schedule of objectives and when they aim to be working on them which inspires a little confidence in backers if they want to know when they can expect to see certain things.
Scribbled Arena has made $1,178 of the $25,000 goal and has 27 days to go.
