Frozenbyte Bundle Crosses $600k, Still Free Copies

[pvtcupcakes]

Is Trine Linux compatible?
I went to their site, to download a Demo, and I haven't found a Linux client.

http://trine-thegame.com/site/index.php?page=buy

Yep, Trine has a Linux version. It was just released with the Bundle this week; kind of like Braid from the last bundle.

[89c51]

Average Linux amount for now, I'll boost it once all the games work with free drivers.

Maybe in the next bundle, instead of charities, they can let you specify an amount towards FOSS driver development

[fernandoc1]

Maybe in the next bundle, instead of charities, they can let you specify an amount towards FOSS driver development

I agree in the way that I think that after giving people a plate with rice and beans, they should teach them how to program computers and use their time to develop open source and pay them for work.

[dimko]

well, HIB was cannibalized by earlier sales.

I have pretty much bought most of interesting games for myself there.

I got both shadow grounds games ages ago. I am only interested in Trine(and will buy bundle for that game only, though I can't say i like this sort of games), again, splot is not my bowl of rice and Jack Claw is not even running on Linux at this stage. Why should i other wise buy this bundle?

[raindog469]

I never thought I'd do such a thing, but I requested (and received) a refund for this Humble Bundle.

I bought the two previous ones for many times over the average price paid, and thought they were worthwhile purchases even though I'm more of a console gamer. I played World of Goo again having bought it twice before (the initial Linux release and then on the Wii) and started getting into Braid and Gish a little. It was fun, but I really did it just to support the business model and drive up the average Linux purchase price.

So I bought this one as soon as I heard about it. I paid less, still well above average but less, because the only one of the games I'd ever heard of was Trine. I follow a number of indie gaming blogs, so I figured it was just that the HB guys were friends with the Frozenbyte guys. Whatever, it was still 3 games with 2 to follow later for less than a retail console game. Then I discovered that none of the games would play unless you had one of two specific brands of 3D cards.

And that reminded me why I stopped playing PC games even when I was a Windows user. I haven't had a desktop machine in about a decade and have never owned a laptop that weighs 4 pounds or more. So I'll never get to play any of Frozenbyte's games. I'm all for supporting a good cause, but if I'm going to donate money without getting anything in return, I need to know that up front. (The site did mention trouble with Intel cards, but in a way that made it sound to me like it was specifically a Windows problem.) I hope to be able to support the fourth HB the way I supported the first and second.

As for Oil Rush, the only RTS I've ever enjoyed is Pikmin 2, so I won't be supporting Unigine, and I wonder how management thought an RTS out of the gate would be a good idea. Put out a AAA-grade 3D platformer, or an adventure like Fallout 3 or a Zelda game, or even a unique 2D puzzle/platformer like Limbo or Braid, or a deep physics puzzle game like World of Goo, or an unusual "shooter" like Portal, and I'll pony up, likely more than once. I care enough about Linux gaming to support games I want to play. I don't care enough about Linux gaming that I'll buy things I'm not going to like (or can't play) in hopes that they'll change course and make something I do like.

[madjr]

Maybe in the next bundle, instead of charities, they can let you specify an amount towards FOSS driver development

would be cool if they supported a foss projects on each bundle, like Gimp, blender, etc

[89c51]

would be cool if they supported a foss projects on each bundle, like Gimp, blender, etc

don't think they care about apps but drivers could have been something that would even benefit the gamers themselves. That if there was a way to support driver development with donations.

[elanthis]

So I bought this one as soon as I heard about it. I paid less, still well above average but less, because the only one of the games I'd ever heard of was Trine. I follow a number of indie gaming blogs, so I figured it was just that the HB guys were friends with the Frozenbyte guys.

Really? Trine is the only one I hadn't heard of. Shadowgrounds were quite well known games and have been available on Steam for instance for a long while now. I'm just glad that the Humble Bundle came around to draw my attention to them and to actually get me to check them out. Just beat the first Shadowgrounds a few minutes ago, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Then I discovered that none of the games would play unless you had one of two specific brands of 3D cards.

Just about any reasonably complex game is going to do that. Welcome to 2011. Intel doesn't make hardware capable of modern games. Their driver team doesn't make drivers that are capable of utilizing the weak hardware that they have.

I have several simplistic purely 2D games that can't run worth a shit on Intel's hardware, either because the hardware simply can't run a shader to save its life, or because the Intel OpenGL/Direct3D drivers are so archaic that they belong in a museum.

So I'll never get to play any of Frozenbyte's games.

You can play them just fine on plenty of small, light notebooks. So long as it has an NVIDIA or ATI GPU in it, you'll be fine. They make plenty of such machines; not every NVIDIA-using laptop has a 560m or whatever in it.

I'm all for supporting a good cause, but if I'm going to donate money without getting anything in return, I need to know that up front.

That is fair. Supported hardware should always be clearly marked.

As for Oil Rush, the only RTS I've ever enjoyed is Pikmin 2, so I won't be supporting Unigine, and I wonder how management thought an RTS out of the gate would be a good idea.

Making an RTS isn't a terribly bad idea. Making one when Starcraft 2 is still so hot is a super bad idea, though. One can only hope that by the time OilRush releases that SC2 is flying of shelves at least a little slower.

Put out a AAA-grade 3D platformer, or an adventure like Fallout 3 or a Zelda game,

That is the worst suggestion. Those are the most expensive, time-consuming, and difficult kinds of games to develop.

even a unique 2D puzzle/platformer like Limbo or Braid, or a deep physics puzzle game like World of Goo, or an unusual "shooter" like Portal, and I'll pony up, likely more than once.

That is a great suggestion. Those are exactly the kinds of games the indie developers, hobbyists, and open source communities should aspire to create. They require vision and ingenuity and smarts to developer, but they don't require $20,000,000+ budgets.

I care enough about Linux gaming to support games I want to play. I don't care enough about Linux gaming that I'll buy things I'm not going to like (or can't play) in hopes that they'll change course and make something I do like.

Good idea. But seriously, if you care about any kind of gaming, dump the Intel GPU. You're never going to be able to play anything that has even the slightest bit of interesting 3D work in it with one of those.

Shadowgrounds for instance used a lot of shaders to very good effect -- they didn't just look good, they made the game _feel_ good. You simply must have some mildly capable video hardware for that.

Modern but very low end NVIDIA and ATI mobile GPUs will handily beat the best Intel GPU ever made, and that's likely to remain true for the forseeable future.

[DeiF]

OilRush "terrain" is just a plain flat ground (actually water, but that doesn't matter).

The terrain is always a big part of a strategy, and having always a flat terrain with no blockages is going to reduce significantly the number of strategies a player can play.

0ad seems a better RTS game, and it's actually open source, so actually more Linux friendly than Unigine.

And who preorders anyway?

[schmidtbag]

don't think they care about apps but drivers could have been something that would even benefit the gamers themselves. That if there was a way to support driver development with donations.

lol no, when i buy a video card i expect it to work the way as advertised. i shouldn't have to donate money toward corporations who should have it done right the first time around.

if you're referring to open source drivers then i totally agree. but nobody is going to do a multi-os game bundle (that is mainly windows users) and have money go towards linux open-source video drivers.