Windows only… yeah, no thanks.
As opposed to…? Linux and Mac gamers aren’t worth wasting time or money on.
Millions of gamers on Linux and Mac (with growing numbers) tend to disagree. It is a small number, sure, (less than 10%, probably somewhere around 5-7%) but large enough to be worth supporting.
Hell, there are even devs by now going “Linux first” and can live from that (even I wouldn’t go THAT far, though).
But you do you.
Meanwhile, I’m happily using my free OS, which is way faster, way more transparent and way more customizable than Windows, while still being able to play most Windows-only games and thanks to Steam Play even without needing to bother with Wine.
Of course, I dual-boot Windows for the few games not running on Linux - and because I’m a dev myself and need it for work.
In the end, everyone will use the system they are most productive with. But it should tell you something that of those who really tried out Linux or Mac, almost nobody goes back to Windows permanently…
I had the same problem with Origin! I don’t know if the issue was with the google capcha system or how the app works. I had the same problem when login from outside the app, in a normal web, so I suspect it’s the first option.
I had the same doubt as you. After searching on google, the answer is ‘put whatever you want, Valve don’t check the validity unless you do a commercial project that spam them’.
I thought I had put it more clearly, sorry.
edit: it’s strange it doesn’t have linux version, given that is open source, but it’s done in .net/wpf, I guess that’s why. That said still should be possible to be multiplatform in the future, the code is in github.
Unfortunately, the cross-platform UI story for c# (the language they built it in) has been pretty poor until very recently. I also suspect that some of their integration with launchers (particularly non-steam launchers) requires some windows specific code. So I can imagine those are the main reasons.
It is reasonable that they cannot port it now anymore, as it would be A LOT of work.
What I don’t get is why they chose to program using WPF to begin with. That stuff is ancient, rather badly documented, etc. And there are endless amounts of alternatives out there, all of them cross-platform, many with a way larger amount of tools.
Qt (/PyQt), Electron, wxWidgets … or if it has to be C#, there are cross-platform toolkits like GTK#, Avalonia, NoesisGUI…
I just don’t get the mindset of picking a single-platform toolkit if you could pick one for multiple platforms without disadvantages. Oh, well…
A lot of developers don’t enjoy programming in Javascript nor C++. C# is a really good personal coding language as it’s very easy to write maintainable code while being very productive. WPF most definitely isn’t obsolete, depreciated, or useless, and I think many of the developers I know who actively use it (both in jobs and personal projects) would disagree with that as well. GTK# is terrible, Avalonia has only just released its’ first release it claims is productive ready (even though playnite has been in development for well over a year), NeosisGUI isn’t nearly as well known (first I’ve heard about it despite being in a lot of game dev and coding circles).
It’s an open source project made by people in their free times, give them some slack. They are probably windows users who were making a project that benefited themselves (as individuals) and used the tech they could to be productive and make progress quickly.
It’s open source. If you really want to port it to Linux and/or Mac, you’re more than welcome to take their code and do it yourself :-)
Also, Microsoft just open sourced WPF, because many developers still use it. To cast it off as “ancient” and “rather badly documented” is a really outdated mindset.
Usually the explanation for things like this is pretty simple: maybe the guy knew wpf because his day job, but he doesn’t know the other options. Familiarity > other features.
Coming back to the app discussion, I like it doesn’t only save the played time, but other stats like play count and last time played, and completion status (it can be played, beaten, completed).
Oh hey I didn’t notice that, I was using categories for that. Neat.
Very cool.
For the life of me I can’t seem to get authenticated on twitch. I seem to fail the recaptcha or whatever it is called every time.
Let’s see how this compares with LaunchBox and mGalaxy.
More mindsets that I don’t understand.
As a programmer, I see it as my duty to use the best tool available for the job and improving myself constantly. Which means also looking at programming languages I have little or no knowledge in, yet. I’ve been doing this for a while now and am comfortable with C++(the one I started with), C, C#, Java, Haxe, Python, Lua and JS. So far.
A programming language is a tool to wielded, not a personal choice of lifestyle. Almost all programming languages are very similar, so knowing one automatically helps in learning another, knowing many helps even more - the more you know, the easier it gets to learn more. Learning a new language would actually be an argument for me to try out a new tool (if it is a good candidate). Why limit your own skillset?
To open-source something does not magically make it less ancient or outdated. The entire principles behind WPF are simply… well, let’s call it oldschool. There’s nothing outdated about my mindset since I had the “honor” to work with it just recently.
I know a few devs like that style, but I don’t really view it as something to be strived for.
It’s open source, have at it.
You do know “it’s open source, make it better!” isn’t really an argument, given that time is a limited resource?
A programming language is indeed just a tool. Seems like the creator of Playnite is very familiar with WPF so he used what he knew to create something that looks good and works really well.
You’re also right that time is a limited resource. So he used what he was very proficient at instead of wasting time on something he wasn’t.
If you claim it’s so easy to replace one thing with another and that they should be relatively interchangeable, have at it - contribute to the open source project.
Lazy Linux gamer. Should write your own tools as befits the platform. Gee, could it be for the same reason devs don’t waste time and money supporting an idealistic but skinflint cheap demographic?
You never waste time when you learn a new set of tools to add to your skillset.
I never claimed that, indeed I said the exact opposite. But yeah, I have learned by now reading comprehension is not everyone’s forte. It seems much more fun to put words into someone’s mouth…
Do you have an argument to make or only failed attempts at insults? Cause that’s a bit boring.