It all started when myself and other French-speaking content creators were looking for people like us to share ideas and just socialize. After a few discussions, a forum was created. However, what started as a meeting ground for content creators has since evolved into a place where all Linux gamers are welcome, whether they’re content creators or not. What matters is we learn about each other while sharing ideas, blog posts, tips, games, anything that entertains us and educates us.

If you’re comfortable communicating in French and want to chat with other Linux gamers, join us at Linux Gaming Francophone.

Don’t hesitate to send me your questions and comments on either Twitter or Mastodon.

Also, if you like what I do and use the Brave browser, you can leave me a tip in form of the BAT cryptocurrency on either my website or my Twitter account. You can also use this affiliate link if you plan to buy games, books or more on Humble Bundle.

Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you soon. Laters.

L’article Linux Gaming Francophone: une place pour les créateurs de contenu est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

Installing the game

If it’s not done already, download and install Rocksmith 2014.

Configuring Wine

Once the game is installed, Wine should be configured specifically for it. Assuming Steam is set to install games on the /home/user/.steam/steam folder, plug in the Real Tone cable before entering these two command lines on the terminal :

WINEPREFIX=~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/221680/pfx winetricks sound=alsa

WINEPREFIX=~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/221680/pfx winecfg

The Wine Configuration window should appear and the following values should be set before clicking on the OK button :

• Applications tab
  
  • Windows Version: Windows 10
• Drives tab
  
  • Drive Z: /home/user/.steam/steam (or the folder containing the steamapps subfolder where the Steam games are installed, /mnt/TRUCS/SteamLibrary in my case)
• Audio tab
  
  • Input device: In: Rocksmith USB Guitar Adapter
  • Voice input device: In: Rocksmith USB Guitar Adapter

Configuring Steam

Once Wine has been configured specifically for this game, Rocksmith 2014 must be run at least once to generate an INI configuration file (Rocksmith.ini) which should be edited before launching the game for real. For that, simply right-click on the game and in the properties, click on Set Launch Options and enter the following command line:

PROTON_NO_D3D11=1 %command%

Finishing touches

When the game has been run at least once, the Rocksmith.ini file will appear in the ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Rocksmith2014 folder or wherever Steam games are installed. Simply set the following values:

ExclusiveMode=0
Win32UltraLowLatencyMode=0

Disable PulseAudio (if necessary)

Trying to tune your instrument should indicate whether the game runs properly. If a message pops up indicating that the Real Tone is unplugged, disabling PulseAudio should fix this. For that, just enter the following command lines in the terminal:

systemctl –user stop pulseaudio.socket
systemctl –user stop pulseaudio.service

To revert back:

systemctl –user start pulseaudio.socket
systemctl –user start pulseaudio.service

Don’t hesitate to send me your questions and comments on either Twitter or Mastodon.

Also, if you like what I do and use the Brave browser, you can leave me a tip in form of the BAT cryptocurrency on either my website or my Twitter account. You can also use this affiliate link if you plan to buy games, books or more on Humble Bundle.

Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you soon. Laters.

L’article How to play Rocksmith 2014 on Linux est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

My first experience with Manjaro

At the beginning of my Linux journey, I was getting comfortable with the Debian/Ubuntu family (especially Linux Mint) but I’ve always been intrigued by the Arch family. Sure, its reputation as a difficult distribution to use scared me but a colleague at the office convinced me to try Manjaro which was from the same family. At first, I’ve liked using it via Live USB but since I only had one spare computer and my family was already used to Linux Mint, I’ve decided to wait to get my hands on another computer to install Manjaro on it and thus, have multiple distros to play with.

My short time with Arch

Once I’ve finally bought a computer with Pop!_OS and a spare partition for another distro, I’ve installed Manjaro on it but after a few missteps, I’ve ended up borking the whole thing. Once I’ve reinstalled Pop!_OS, I’ve decided to put Manjaro aside for the time being and challenge myself to learn Arch and see if I can install it, let alone use it despite my relative inexperience. After months of trial and error while taking notes, I finally had a stable Arch installation… or so I thought.

A choice to make

After each installation, I always found something I wasn’t happy with and restarted the whole process. Eventually, I wasn’t able to install Arch properly anymore and that was because the distro had changed so much my notes were now outdated. That means I’ll have to go through the whole learning process again. I was facing a dilemma: spend a few more months doing exactly that or just install Manjaro while trying not to re-bork it like last time. Since my goal is to learn about the Arch family, I’ve decided to put Arch aside for now and give Manjaro another try. Besides, I can always play with Arch on a virtual machine while learning to install it at my own pace. Time will tell if I made the right call.

Don’t hesitate to send me your questions and comments on either Twitter or Mastodon.

Also, if you like what I do and use the Brave browser, you can leave me a tip in form of the BAT cryptocurrency on either my website or my Twitter account. You can also use this affiliate link if you plan to buy games, books or more on Humble Bundle.

Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you soon. Laters.

L’article Let’s give Manjaro another try est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

The bilingualism of the game

At the title screen, the interface in the main menu is displayed in both languages. Also, when you meet Eugénie, the store owner, the way you answer her greeting will determine the language you’ll both use for the rest of the game… or until you tell her you’d like to switch to the other language.

The Montreal side of the game

While in Quebec, the outdoor signs are almost entirely in French, the language spoken in Montreal vary greatly depending on the neighborhood which can be problematic to the clerks who have to interact with their customers. This typical Montreal trait is made apparent in the game via construction and outdoor signs which are in French while the store owner tells the player “bonsoir” waiting for her cue to either pursue the conversation in French or switch to English. By the way, paying a closer attention to the details inside the store should reveal both the Montreal and NFB (National Film Board of Canada) logos.

The Quebec side of the game

Since it’s Quebec French that’s used in the game, some expressions may be harder to understand for someone who’s neither lived in nor visited Quebec. For example, there’s English words like “anyway” or phrases like “wouin c’est fin ça” (oh, how nice of you), “c’est correct” (that’s alright) or “apportez-moi-le” (bring it to me). However, these expressions aren’t as informal or plentiful like in The Messenger so it should be fairly easy to understand for standard French speakers.

How does it play

The game is played from the first person perspective like a typical FPS (first person shooter) except here, the goal is simply to explore the store and find something for the player’s girlfriend. The ending depends on the time spent inside the store, the number of items bought and the items themselves. I can’t say more without spoiling the plot.

I recommend this game that, while short, gives the player the opportunity to experience both Quebec and Montreal cultures. It’s currently available on Steam and itch.

Don’t hesitate to send me your questions and comments on either Twitter or Mastodon.

Also, if you like what I do and use the Brave browser, you can leave me a tip in form of the BAT cryptocurrency on either my website or my Twitter account. You can also use this affiliate link if you plan to buy games, books or more on Humble Bundle.

Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you soon. Laters.

L’article Dépanneur nocturne: a bilingual game that takes place in Montreal est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

I first started blogging two years ago with a firm intent to always do it in both French and English. However, after a long hiatus for personal reasons, I resumed work but only in French to save time and be able to publish more regularly. What made me go back to the way it was is the ability to remain consistent by writing shorter posts and the fact I didn’t want to further penalize my English readers because of my lack of time management skills.

Even after two years, there’s still so much I need to master in order to become a better and more consistent blogger. If you’re still here, thanks for joining me as I continue to learn my way around Linux as a gaming enthusiast.

Don’t hesitate to send me your questions and comments on either Twitter or Mastodon.

Also, if you like what I do and use the Brave browser, you can leave me a tip in form of the BAT cryptocurrency on either my website or my Twitter account. You can also use this affiliate link if you plan to buy games, books or more on Humble Bundle.

Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you soon. Laters.

L’article The return of bilingual content est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

The advantage of using a karaoke machine is that you can hear your own voice coming out of the speakers as you sing, something I haven’t been able to do with the Rock Band games. However if someone has managed to do that, please let me know.

To start outputting mic sound directly from the speakers, enter this command line in the terminal:

pactl load-module module-loopback latency_msec=1

To put everything back to normal, enter this command line in the terminal:

pactl unload-module module-loopback

Now that you know how to do this, have fun… but try not to disturb your neighbors too much.

Don’t hesitate to send me your questions and comments on either Twitter or Mastodon.

Also, if you like what I do and use the Brave browser, you can leave me a tip in form of the BAT cryptocurrency on either my website or my Twitter account. You can also use this affiliate link if you plan to buy games, books or more on Humble Bundle.

Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you soon. Laters.

L’article Enjoying karaoke at home on Linux est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

What initially drew me to this game

While always keeping a close eye on Linux gaming-related news, I came across this article from Linux Gaming Consortium. While my experience with visual novel is limited to Capcom’s Phoenix Wright series on Nintendo handhelds, Konami’s Snatcher on Sega CD/Mega CD and MoaCube’s Cinders on Windows via Wine, a few elements got my attention.

The art style

First, the art alone from the talented Tida Kietsungden set it apart from other visual novels by its sheer quality. While the majority of these games use an average anime-like feel, this particular one doesn’t strike me as one to follow the herd. Instead, the characters’ faces have more realistic features, they’re anatomically more accurate in terms of body proportion and the color choices veering towards neon gives a distinct 80s retro feel. This last aspect brings me to my next point: the setting.

The setting

Being born during the 80s, this is a decade I closely link to a more innocent and nostalgic period of my life despite my memory of it being kind of fuzzy. I especially cherish this era where most of my grandparents were still alive and a lot of my uncles and aunts were either teenagers or young adults entering the real world. Going back to the 80s even for a short while is an opportunity I just couldn’t miss.

The music

When a game interests me, I usually wait for it to be heavily discounted and for positive reviews to come in before I make the jump. In that case, why would I buy it full price and day one without waiting for the first reviews? The answers lies within this trailer.

The last piece of that sweet 80s nostalgia puzzle is obviously the music. New wave, city pop, synthpop… these genres represent that decade so well that the first musical notes in the trailer made me push aside my habit and commit to buy that game as soon as it hits digital stores, be it Steam or Itch.

What’s it about and how does it play

As the title suggests, A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 takes place in Hong Kong during the Summer of 1986. The story centers around two radically different women: Michelle Cheung and Sam Wong. Michelle lives with her mother, works in an office and leads a squeaky clean but repetitive and boring life which adheres to Hong Kong society expectations at the time. In contrast, Sam lives alone in a small apartment, runs her own video store and leads a fulfilling albeit less conventional life. She and Michelle cross paths by chance and despite their differences, see their lives changed forever and the conclusion of their story is left up to the player.

If you enjoy love stories but steamier scenes make you blush, the uncensored version is optional and available as a patch that has to be enabled manually (see Passion Patch in the settings menu).

Like a typical visual novel, there’s a lot of reading involved and fairly few player input save for a few choices in order to guide the storyline. Where the game sets itself apart from its romance-centric peers is the facts that it involves two women and that the main protagonist (Michelle) can end up with one potential partner (Sam) hence only two possible endings. From my understanding, there’s an invisible system of points that add up depending on the player’s choices which will unlock either one or two possible endings depending on the player’s score.

The soundtrack comes courtesy of three talented artists who are also on Bandcamp: Timecop1983, Stevia Sphere and Crystal Cola. Here’s a song from Crystal Cola which can be heard in the game:

What I got out of this game

LGBT rights in Asia during the 80s

I know a few homosexual people but when they tell me their story, it’s always in today’s society which treats them better than in the past. That’s why seeing it from more than 30 years in the past make me realize that while the world has changed in certains aspects, it has also remained the same in others. We live in a society where we’re expected to live a certain way and within a rigid set of rules. While Michelle lived by these rules, Sam didn’t and chose instead to live solely on her terms which was unheard of at the time.

To better understand the differences, unlocking both endings is necessary. One is the desirable one while the other is the realistic one. Also, one is longer and more vague while the other is shorter but also clearer. I’ll stop here before I spoil the story any further.

The years leading up to the handover of Hong Kong to China

I remember watching the movie A Better Tomorrow by John Woo which, by pure coincidence, was released in Summer 1986. The characters briefly mentioned the upcoming handover of Hong Kong to China. That’s when I understood the Hong Kong people were already thinking about their future way before the fateful day of July 1st 1997. In A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986, even if that wasn’t the main subject of the story, it was discussed at one point by Michelle and Sam where each gave her opinion and what such an event could mean for the future of the Hong Kong people. Now that more than 20 years have passed since the handover, we can see there are still two camps: those content with the status quo and those that desire change.

Should you play this game?

If you wish to revisit a pre-Internet era, love music from the 80s or believe that love between two individuals is universal regardless of their identity, I highly recommend this game. Also, if like me, you tend to wait for that 75% discount before buying it, maybe this song from Timecop1983 will encourage you to buy it sooner:

The developers at Oracle & Bone have already expressed in this article their desire to add Cantonese voice acting in the future for a more immersive experience. If enough people buy it, this may come sonner than later. If you do play it, please share your thoughts with the world.

Don’t hesitate to send me your questions and comments on either Twitter or Mastodon.

Also, if you like what I do and use the Brave browser, you can leave me a tip in form of the BAT cryptocurrency on either my website or my Twitter account. You can also use this affiliate link if you plan to buy games, books or more on Humble Bundle.

Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you soon. Laters.

Buy the game on Steam or Itch

Oracle & Bone (studio) : site web

Tida Kietsungden (art direction) : site web

Timecop1983 (music) : Bandcamp

Stevia Sphere (music) : Bandcamp

Crystal Cola (music) : Bandcamp

L’article How Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 really affected me est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

Hey everyone. Klebs here and today, I’m back after a long hiatus. 2019 has been an eventful year for me personally. However, it also gave me time to take a step back and rethink about what I want to do with my blog.

What have I done these last few months?

Before I wrote my last blog post, I worked hard to maintain an online presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Steemit. Unfortunately, it quickly overwhelmed me and I ended up spending more time engaging with people on the Internet than actually writing. Moreover, I no longer had time to do what interested me in the first place: play video games and learn about the wonderful world of Linux. No writing material? No blog post. That and my personal life led me to take a long break. During that time, I got myself a Neo Geo MVS and a Wii U, I started using Pop!_OS fully installed on a USB key, I installed Nextcloud on my desktop computer and I kept tinkering with the MiSTer project on my DE10-nano.

What do I have in store for the next few months?

I recently created a GitLab account in order to share whatever I learn with the community. Since I’ve only been using Linux for a year, I will focus mainly on Debian-based distributions for the time being. I remain open to the idea of exploring Fedora and Manjaro is there’s a demand for it. My main objective is to write more frequently but I will allow myself more freedom to write something off-topic once in a while.

Don’t hesitate to send me your questions and comments. See you in the next blog post.

L’article My plans for 2020 est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

Before Steemit

For many years, I’ve watched countless YouTube videos and thought about becoming a YouTuber to make funny sketches but I was never motivated enough to start. Since then, I’ve started a family and my interests somehow shifted when I started watching some videos about motivation in general and others about video game guides and tutorials. My goal was then to create video content helping people solve problems related to video games knowing my biggest roadblock was time. After all, I also had to do that while balancing time for my family, my job and of course, sleep.

Discovering Steemit

I was still struggling to make videos faster when one day, someone on Twitter mentionned Dtube, a YouTube competitor but on a decentralized network operating on the STEEM blockchain. This led me to Steemit, a social media similar to Medium but decentralized and operating on the same blockchain. The idea behind those is to enable users to express themselves more freely while monetizing their content via the STEEM cryptocurrency. After some thought, I accepted the fact that for now, writing blogs and tutorials about video games represented the best compromise between expressing myself on the web while still honoring my other commitments. I still intend to create videos but that will wait for the time being.

My time on Steemit

At first, I was warmly welcomed by the community and people kept saying the following:

People come for the money. They stay for the community.

That was in March 2018 and while the crypto market was losing its momentum, people remained on the platform and were still fairly optimistic. They would regularly post content and engage in the comments section.
However, as months pass, I noticed some prolific writers being less consistent with their content and others simply disappearing altogether. Optimism left and pessimism crept in as well as bitterness towards users with more influence thus capable of generating at least 100$ with a simple photo while those who write newspaper-worthy articles could barely scrape 1$. Seeing my readership slowly diminish, I needed to leave my comfort zone and create my own platform.

Combining blogging and social media

While I kept on being consistent with my blog posts (still working on it), I continued watching videos about motivation, entrepreneurship and personal growth. That’s when I decided to create my own website: Les Ateliers PHV
Thanks to the Steempress plugin in WordPress, I was able to publish my blog posts simultaneously on my website and my Steemit account. When it comes to social media, Share2Steem was the tool I used to repost on Steemit whatever I publish on Instagram and Twitter.

What’s next

Before, my main focus was on retro video games and now, I’m adding Linux to the list of subjects I’ll be covering in my next blog posts and tutorials. If you’re reading these lines, it means you’ve decided to join me in my journey as a blogger or at least, you’re considering it. For that, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

If you have questions or comments, feel free to reach out and see you on the next blog post.

L’article Blogging on Steemit: one year later est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.

One thing I usually take for granted, albeit unintentionally, is the ability of certain game consoles of keeping save data for some games that I play for an extended period of time.

With cloud technology, hard drives and more, the various methods of storing data are very reliable as far as I’m concerned.

With that type of mindset, of course I would forget that retro consoles have a limited lifespan when it comes to save game preservation. Eventually, a recent bad experience would quickly remind me of that fact…

This is The Legend of Xanadu (the title in Japanese roughly translates as Xanadu – The Legend of the Wind).

It’s a J-RPG on PC Engine developed by Nihon Falcom, one of my favorite developers until now.

Source: Tigerfog

The game is quite lengthy involving tons of grinding necessary to improve the main hero’s stats and his equipment. Also, the process repeats itself every time a new equipment is used.

In summary, as much as I liked the game, I slowly got tired of it and eventually put it aside for a few months.

Source: Tigerfog

One day, I decided to resume the game from where I left off.

I fired it up, chose the option to continue…

Source: Tigerfog

…arrived at the loading screen and am greeted with this horror.

Source: Tigerfog

My save game is no more!

All the hours I poured in, down the drain!

Apparently, this is due to the fact there’s a battery used by the internal memory of the PC Engine and if it dies, the save data goes along with it.

To avoid that situation, it’s recommended to turn on the console once in a while to slightly recharge the battery, something I’ve never thought of doing.

Not one to give up without a fight and too obsessed with playing on original hardware instead of settling on emulation, I looked for a solution.

As it turns out, there exists a HuCard with the sole purpose of storing save data: the Tennokoe Bank (the bank of the voice from heaven).

Source: Tigerfog

With such a boastful name, that product better be good, even if it dates from the PC Engine era.

I then bought it from eBay and as soon as I got it, tested my new save data from Legend of Xanadu without missing a beat.

Source: Tigerfog

Unlike the Mega CD Backup RAM cart, the Tennokoe Bank can only be used as a backup device. It can’t be accessed straight from the game nor used to save a game on-the-fly.

Source: Tigerfog

It’s only through the Tennokoe Bank’s interface that I can sync the entire internal memory of the console to the device or restore its backup to the console.

So yeah, this is basically a cloning machine for the entire internal memory… no way of selecting save data individually.

Obviously, it’s not the end of the world. At least this is a decent solution for my issues with the PC Engine and hopefully, I can finish Legend of Xanadu one day.

If you’ve had a bad experience with save data from retro games, tell us about it as well as how you resolved the situation!

L’article Losing video game save data: a tragedy est apparu en premier sur Les Ateliers PHV.