And this is not just great for Linux gamers, as already explained, but just as well for gamers on platforms such as Windows, where update mechanisms are even less reliable than on Linux (as in, mostly manual). Having the game on Steam resolves all of these problems: now, the developers behind OpenTTD have a single place to keep the game up-to-date, and all gamers who use Steam can rely on the fact that they are on the latest version of the game, at the same time. Especially for games like OpenTTD which features a multiplayer mode: having different versions will likely cause clients to refuse to each other’s on the same server. While it might not matter much for your typical everyday tools, for games you certainly want to have the latest version as soon as possible. I could go on and on with more examples, but you get the idea: the distro fragmentation and the lack of standard when it comes to the maintenance of such packages makes every Linux user under the sun end up with a different version of the same game, sometimes behind by several months or years vs. 1.11 is the latest official version of OpenTTD, and Fedora, not remotely as popular as Arch, actually features the 1.11 version in their repos! After all, it’s normal: Arch is a rolling distro and you get the most recent packages for everything right?Įxcept that no, 1.10.3-2 is not the latest version. How about on Arch? Presently, you would be on one of the most recent versions, 1.10.3-2.

So on Debian stable you end up with OpenTTD 1.08 as the most recent version. Debian stable tends to have really old packages, sometimes years behind their latest versions. In practice however, it’s far from being something you can rely on, beyond security updates. In theory, this is the BEST way to keep your packages up to date. If you have ever played OpenTTD on Linux, let me venture that you have probably relied on your distro’s package manager to keep your game up-to-date. The team behind the project decided to release the game on Steam (still free as always) and this has changed everything. OpenTTD, the free and open-source software recreation of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, has been a popular game for a long time, but recently something unusual happened.

Download games like transport tycoon