Now that the big stable Wine 6.0 release is out for the Windows compatibility layer, work begins again on another year of pulling in major new features with Wine 6.1 out now.

For newer readers and Linux users here's a refresher - Wine is a compatibility layer built for operating systems like Linux, macOS and BSD. The idea is to allow other platforms to run games and applications only built and supported for Windows. It's also part of what makes up Steam Play Proton . Once a year or so, all the development is bundled into a stable release.

This is a fresh development release which includes these highlights:

• Arabic text shaping.
• More WinRT support in WIDL.
• VKD3D version 1.2 is used for Direct3D 12.
• Support for Rosetta's memory layout on M1 Macs.
• Support for Thumb-2 mode on ARM.
• Various bug fixes.

They also noted 37 bug fixes including problems solved for the likes of: Banished, The Witcher 3, Sniper Elite V2, Batman: Arkham Origins, The Sims 3, Battle.net, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and others.

See the release announcement here .

The Machinery, an upcoming game engine from people who previously worked on the likes of Stingray, Bitsquid, and Diesel engines released a new build with the first Preview of Linux support.

Joining the ranks of many game engines to offer it including Defold, Godot Engine, Unity, Unreal, Ren'Py and a great many more that would take too long to list. The team behind The Machinery certainly know what they're doing, given their previous work like Bitsquid / Stingray was used for some big games like Helldivers and Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide and more.

It's currently in Open Beta with the January 2021 (version 2021.1) going live that adds in (amongst other things) support for Linux in a Preview state.

Unlike other game engines, The Machinery seems to be selling itself on developers who want a ton of configuration. The developers mention about how it's "completely plugin-based" so you pick and choose all the parts of it you want to extend the editor and the engine as you see fit.

For the Linux release, the developer showed off how to get quickly and up and running keeping in mind this is the first public Linux release so it's nowhere near finished.

Watch video on YouTube.com

As for licensing, it doesn't appear to be open source and their website has no clear licensing information I could find. Use of the Beta needs you to agree to an EULA.

Highlights of the new release include:

• Linux Support (Preview) — The Machinery now runs on Linux.
• Bindless GPU Resource Management — Better performance in Vulkan backend.
• Raytracing Support (Preview) — Preview of our raytracing APIs.
• Asset Labels — Tag assets for better organization.

See more on their website .

For a more thorough introduction to it, you can see their previous older video:

As Far As The Eye is a strategy game that has you build a city, while also making you constantly move on before the world becomes submerged. It's tough and it's now available on Linux.

Developed by Unexpected with publishing from Goblinz Studio, Maple Whispering Limited it brings together city building, procedural generation and a whole lot of planning ahead. With limited resources and time against you, there's a constant need to prepare for the worst. This is no Civilization game and certainly not Cities Skylines either, this is a whole new breed. Originally released in September 2020, as of January 26 2021 it now supports Linux.

Watch video on YouTube.com

It's definitely among the more interesting build and gather strategy games thanks to both the unique gameplay loop and the absolutely charming visual style to it. Seriously, As Far As The Eye is really quite beautifully designed graphically. The UI is a bit difficult to manage at times but the overall artwork is fantastic.

What's also interesting about As Far As The Eye is that you also have no enemies to fight here, it's you and your tribe against the might of nature itself and the looping huge storm that seems to keep happening so you're trying to get to the Eye which appears to be the only safe haven.

Feature Highlight:

• Plan the best path for your tribe to take in order to go as far as the Eye.
• Explore, analyze and search places of interest for long lost treasures on a procedurally generated journey.
• Harvest, build, stock and leave your halt before the wave engulfs your tribe.
• Improve your pupils through the job system, your buildings through the improvement system and your whole tribe through Tribe's Knowledge.
• Survive dire conditions and protect the Pupils against random events.
• Meet allies, negotiate for resources, recruit new Pupils and more!
• Make offerings in Sacred Sites or plunder them, but never forget you'll have to bear the consequences of your actions .

• Live a peaceful adventure as there are no enemies in As Far As The Eye
• Relive a new adventure each time thanks to our Roguelike tribe system

You can buy As Far As The Eye from GOG , Humble Store and Steam .

Joining the list of DLC available for Civilization VI as part of the New Frontier Pass is the Vietnam & Kublai Khan Pack that's now available with a big game update. Available to buy individually like the rest of the packs, or buy the New Frontier Pass to get access to all of them.

In addition to the new civilization and leaders details below, there's also the big new "Monopolies and Corporations" game mode. The whole idea here is to create industry around luxury resources to get powerful buffs, and eventually turn them into a full corporation to create products. If you manage to dominate a luxury resource you get a monopoly, which then gives addition tourism and gold. The idea of the mode is to give a little more fun and depth to the resources.

Watch video on YouTube.com

As for Kublai Khan, here's their details:

• Leader Unique Ability: Kublai Khan’s unique ability, “Gerege,” provides one extra Economic policy slot in any government. It also grants a random Eureka and Inspiration when establishing a Trading Post in another civilization’s city for the first time.
• As a leader of China, Kublai Khan’s science boosts are even more powerful, and his extra policy slot empowers economic strategies. As a leader of Mongolia, Kublai Khan leverages trade routes for military might.

Up next is a major free update for everyone which is due out likely during February, and then the final DLC as part of the New Frontier Pass in March. After that? Not a clue, perhaps a whole new game?

You can buy Civilization VI with Linux support from Humble Store and Steam .

Looking to make games? Defold is a pretty great option that has wonderful cross-platform support and it's free too, available under a pretty open license (but not open source).

With an editor that's available across Linux, macOS and Windows so you can develop anywhere you like. It can also export games to all three and HTML5, Android and iOS as well. A fully featured game engine, with the source code available to view if needed.

"Defold is a completely free to use game engine for development of desktop, mobile and web games. There are no up-front costs, no licensing fees and no royalties. The source code is made available on GitHub with a developer-friendly license. The Defold editor runs on Windows, Linux and macOS and includes a code editor, debugger, profiler and advanced scene and UI editors. Game logic is written in Lua with the option to use native code to extend the engine with additional functionality. Defold is used by a growing number of developers to create commercial hits as well as games for game jams and in schools to teach game development. Defold is known for its ease of use and it is praised for its technical documentation and friendly community of developers."

Pictured - Defold running nicely on Linux

Quite a capable game engine that mainly targets 2D games with support for OpenGL, Vulkan and Metal. It has fully scriptable rendering pipelines with low-level access, a particle effects editor, 2D and 3D particle effects, spine models, a tile editor, a full extension system, Lua scripting and Haxe support, 2D and 3D physics (Box 2D and Bullet) fully integrated and much more.

It's been around for a long time and now with it on Steam, perhaps more developer will take a look. What games have been made with it? Some more recent commercial indie game releases include Fates of Ort, Interrogation and Faerie Solitaire Harvest.

Find it now on Steam and see more on the official site .

Kalypso Media and Realmforge Studios have now confirmed that Spacebase Startopia is now ready to launch on March 26. The delayed release will see it supported on Linux and we expect it to work well, considering the great work Realmforge did with Dungeons 3.

Spacebase Startopia sells players the galactic dream: managing their very own donut-shaped space station. Overseen and assisted (when it feels like it) by the base's prickly on-board AI, players will play Commander to their floating home-away-from-home, kitting out the station's three unique decks with a variety of galactic gadgetry whilst tending to the wants and needs of a diverse array of vacationing extra-terrestrials. In multiplayer, up to 4 players can work together to build the galaxy's greatest getaway, or seek oblivion upon their rivals with daring feats of economic sabotage.

Watch video on YouTube.com

Feature Highlight:

• Single-player campaign with 10 fully voiced missions
• Manage a melting pot of different lifeforms, each with their own individual – and sometimes contradictory - needs and desires
• Build a variety of rooms across three very different decks to cater to the needs of visiting aliens
• Explore the potential of your space base in a fully configurable sandbox mode
• Produce and trade resources to turn a profit while running sabotage missions against your competitors
• Work together or compete against rivals in competitive and a coop multiplayer for up to 4 players

It's available to pre-order on Steam .

Here's your chance to try out the most unusual physics-based space action game I've ever seen. In Gravity in Space you fly around various weird maps filled with small planets, rocks and more in a tiny little spaceship you control with six degrees of freedom.

Now available in Early Access and it will remain there for at least six to twelve months, it's actually quite surprising. The developer sent a copy for us to test early, and the control system and overall quirky uniqueness of it is thoroughly charming and like nothing else. The flight controls definitely take some getting used to as you swing your ship around various celestial bodies.

Watch video on YouTube.com

"Unlike most other space games you are actually bound to Newton’s laws of motion — you cannot control where you go directly, but only indirectly through acceleration impulses that add to your current velocity vector. Controlling a spaceship is totally different compared to an aircraft. It is much harder. No air resistance, no maximum speed, no limits. You have to completely rethink the basic idea of flying. Float around several gravitation centers and use them to get to your target. But you must not lose focus on your enemy! You have put yourself in superior positions, avoid his mines, repel his attacks, and finally shoot him."

The training will probably take you a little while to get through, after that you can hop in to play against others in real-time online battles. Once you do get the training down, the combat needs you to carefully use the gravitational forces spread-out throughout each level to outplay opponents with your mastery of the six degrees of freedom manoeuvrability.

Your ship isn't the only unusual thing, your weapon is too. You fire off a little explosive probe, which is also of course affected by gravitational pulls so you need to take that into account for both your ship and your weapon.

Find it in Early Access on Steam .

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the dungeon-crawling action-RPG Sword of the Necromancer is out now.

"Turn your foes into allies using the forbidden powers of the Sword of the Necromancer and help Tama reach the dungeon's depths in order to gain enough power to bring Koko back from the dead. Gather a little army of monsters, equip yourself with weapons and relics and level up to take on the guardians that stand between you and your objective."

Watch video on YouTube.com

Features:

• Turn your foes into allies: use the Sword of the Necromancer to revive defeated monsters and make them fight alongside you.
• Gather weapons and relics: each weapon is different from the others thanks to the procedural weapon generation system, which gives them various effects and attributes.
• Fight with all your might: defeat your enemies using a variety of weapons and objects and dominating the fluid head-to-head battle system.
• Level up: enhance your character by fighting enemies and upgrade your stats. Improve your summoned monsters by fighting alongside them.
• Death is not the end: Each try gets you closer to the Necromancer. You will lose all your equipped weapons and monsters, but you will retain half the level you achieved in your run.
• Learn the truth: Discover Tama and Koko's past as you advance through the dungeon.
• Local co-op play: Use the Flask of Homunculus to create a copy of the playable character and play with a friend in local co-op game.

Sadly, the Linux version is currently a bit of a mess. They're using GameMaker Studio, which is somewhat notorious for not having the best Linux support overall. In this case though, the developer has bundled a ton of unnecessary dependencies which is causing issues so it won't launch on most Linux distributions right now. However, I've told them exactly how to fix it and it can be done quite quickly (and you can do it manually too). Even once fixed, it still has the usual GameMaker Studio problems with gamepad support being rubbish.

Find Sword of the Necromancer on Steam .

Plague Inc: Evolved just got the biggest expansion it's ever seen with Plague Inc: The Cure. You can play it free right now too, as there's no cost until 'COVID-19 is under control'.

Really great stuff from Ndemic Creations who worked together with global health organisations including the WHO, CEPI and GOARN. The idea here is to simulate how the world reacts to fight off a deadly disease so it's very much the opposite of what you do in the normal Plague Inc: Evolved. You can read more behind the scenes work on the CEPI website page for the game. It tries to keep to real science often, although there's often plenty that has to be simplified due to such a real thing being vastly complex.

Watch video on YouTube.com

Features:

• Hunt the Disease: Dispatch research teams around the world to find patient zero, track the spread of the outbreak and support local responses.
• Control the Outbreak: Implement measures such as contact tracing, lockdowns and border closures to limit the spread of the outbreak, whilst getting people to wash their hands and preparing hospitals to prevent them getting overwhelmed.
• Support the Economy: People won’t comply with poorly designed quarantine measures; use furlough schemes and other policies to drive community support and consensus.
• Develop a Vaccine: Research, manufacture and distribute a vaccine to stop the disease. Work carefully and promote global cooperation to accelerate development.

Grab it on Steam now as a free DLC . Plague Inc: Evolved is also 60% off on Steam to help more people have a go until February 4.