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Feral Interactive have teamed up with Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix once again to bring a top title to Linux, this time we have Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Disclosure: My key was provided by Feral Interactive ahead of release.

It’s no secret that the Linux port of the previous Tomb Raider had some performance problems, some of which were improved with a patch after release. I’m pleased to say that with Rise of the Tomb Raider, Feral Interactive have done an incredible job overall.

Even though the Linux release is coming in a good while after the Windows release, we do get the 20 Year Celebration edition which includes all the DLC. So we have the complete edition right away along with all the polish that was put into it since release.

Benchmarks

First up, let's see how well it runs with the settings on the absolute maximum, with the different AA options that are possible. Do note, that the game itself warns you that SSAA is very heavy and will reduce performance a lot. Also, Pure Hair is turned on by default for all options above the Low preset. The different presets, even the highest preset actually leaves a few options lower than the maximum, so I manually put them up for these tests. Another note about this: the Very High textures option in use for these first tests, does require a GPU on Linux to have 6GB VRAM (I've seen it practically hit the limit):

As you can see, FXAA and SMAA actually give quite reasonable performance, especially considering all other settings are cranked up to their absolute highest. Even SSAA x2 didn't do too badly with it hitting just over 60FPS average overall. To be clear though, the above results and settings are something very few people will be able to use.

Here's some additional benchmarks for settings people are actually likely to use, from the Very High preset to the Lowest, all with FXAA turned on apart from Lowest which I manually turned off (trying to simulate what people might do):


Note: In the Linux version, the Very High preset leaves textures on High, whereas on Windows it sets it to Very High.

As a bonus, here's a comparison with Windows 10. Do note, that the Windows version has two additional modes of Ambient Occlusion not included in the Linux build, so these tests are simply done with it set to "On" in both versions to compare properly. Also, to keep it to the point we're only using the "Overall Score" given here:

As expected, there's a performance gap, although it's actually less than I expected. Given that these are some insanely high settings with everything manually put up higher than the presets go, the Linux version holds up reasonably well overall. Especially considering the high VRAM use in the Linux version with my 6GB 980ti at it's limits.

Here's how the Linux version holds up on more reasonable graphical settings:

Not bad, not bad at all.

Thoughts

We could run benchmarks until we're red in the face, however, what the benchmarks actually show is quite limited of course and is nothing in comparison to a first-hand playthrough. I started off playing it on the "High" preset, but honestly, I set it to "Very High" quite quickly since it was so damn smooth and it remained smooth even then. I did keep textures down to the default of High, due to the VRAM use. I have to say, I'm personally extremely happy about how smoothly Rise of the Tomb Raider has been running on Linux.

If you thought the first Tomb Raider was action-packed, you’re in for a whole new world of crazy here. Rise of the Tomb Raider certainly isn’t gentle with thrusting you into daunting situations right off the bat. It's also quite the emotional roller-coaster of a game, one that at times blurs the lines between game and movie in the way it's presented.

Not only are you thrown in at the deep end with Rise, you’re also shown how incredibly good-looking this game is right away. Seriously, it's easily one of the best looking games available on Linux right now, some truly gorgeous scenes can be found throughout the game. I've found myself often just stopping to have a look around.

Those pictures are on the standard “High” preset with no other adjustments, yet it looks absolutely gorgeous. It's not just the graphical fidelity, but the actual style to the game is fantastic too, all the little details have made me really appreciate it.

In the first game, Lara was forced into survival against her will. Things are a bit different this time around, as Lara has gained confidence and a sense of self and is literally seeking out the danger of her own free will. You’re on the hunt for some sort of artifact to grant eternal life, Lara is sure it exists and decides to follow her father’s path. Not the most original of story basics, but it’s exciting to actually play through given what Crystal Dynamics have done with it.

The voice actor for Lara, Camilla Luddington, reprises her role for Rise of the Tomb Raider and does just as incredible a job as before. She's really believable, you really feel the intensity of everything thanks to her excellent work here.

While Rise has ample amounts of serious action, requiring some fine aim and reflexes, there's also a healthy dose of puzzles and challenges to overcome as well. As you progress, you will find certain relics that requires Lara to have a certain level of understanding in specific languages.

This makes the exploration side of it a little more fun and varied too and at times, this will give you a reason to fast-travel back to another area, once you learn enough to translate something previously left behind. This brings me to another point, there's so many camps spread across the quite large map, that actually switching between locations is incredibly easy.

Great, but what about actual Tombs to raid? Well there's optional tombs in there too, like the first one you find which is essentially a huge wooden ship buried in the ice:

While they're optional, they're certainly worth doing for the extras that they give you.

To me, it feels like they took all the good bits from the first game and expanded upon them giving you more options everywhere. There's more skills to learn for example, with the previous game having around 24 split across three classes, with Rise given you a whopping 50 skills! It's not just that there's more of them, they're much more interesting to actually unlock too. Some quite menacing in fact, like the ability to put a trap on an enemy corpse.

In addition to all the exploration, the scavenging, translating, region challenges and tomb raiding there's also completely optional missions you can do. Given out by various people you can find spread throughout the game. It's quite a nice way to take a break from the main story, while still giving you some extras to help you along your way, it makes the game a lot more varied that's for sure.

I think one of the great things about Rise of the Tomb Raider, is that it gives that open-world feeling with you being able to travel between areas and do things you miss, while not being overwhelming. It's a good mix of styles bundled together, to allow you to really push through when you want to, and take a break doing some of the smaller (but still fun) aspects of the game whenever you want.

There's a lot I haven't touched on here, partly because I don't want to spoil literally everything and also because it's such a big and varied game, if you spend a little time with it and don't rush through. Sometimes it's the little things, like talking to a character and a rabbit suddenly hops into view, looks right at the screen and then hops away…

As a reminder, to get the most performance out of the Linux version, you will likely want your CPU in Performance mode. You can do this using Feral's GameMode tool, by using this GNOME Shell extension or by doing it manually in terminal:

echo performance | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor

Replace "performance" with whatever mode you wish to revert it back

The Final Verdict

I haven’t been this engrossed in a game since—well—ever? I’m not being hyperbolic here either, it has such a fantastic mix of gameplay elements all wrapped up in lush detailed graphics. From the moment I first loaded it I just couldn’t put it down. Feral did a really sweet job on the port as well.

I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but given what a great job they did, this gives me high hopes for Shadow of the Tomb Raider (the next title) to be on Linux and run well.

You can find Rise of the Tomb Raider on Humble StoreFeral Store and Steam. Fantastic to have another AAA title on Linux.

We will have a livestream of it tonight and tomorrow with Sin taking the helm, keep an eye on our Twitch channel!

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can also follow my personal adventures on Bluesky.
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221 comments
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Ketil Apr 22, 2018
One of my friends bought this game for PS4 and I have to say that this game look better on very high on my linux computer than on PS4. The faces of people doesn't look too realistic, but even if they look like plastic I still find them quite pretty. The game generally looks better on my computer than on the screenshots in this post, but maybe that is because it is video and not static images.

I don't really care if it is the prettiest game on linux or not, the game is fun, and the graphics is pretty. I recommend this game.
Hugbro Apr 23, 2018
Anyone experiencing this problem?

https://imgur.com/a/s89DhMm

No text in menus :(
tuubi Apr 23, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Anyone experiencing this problem?

https://imgur.com/a/s89DhMm

No text in menus :(
Which GPU and driver?
Hugbro Apr 23, 2018
Anyone experiencing this problem?

https://imgur.com/a/s89DhMm

No text in menus :(
Which GPU and driver?

GTX 970, driver 390.48
Comandante Ñoñardo Apr 23, 2018
Finally Rapipago processed my payment...


This will take time... Tomorrow I will post benchmark results on modest hardware like GTX750ti / i3 4160

Comandante Ñoñardo Apr 24, 2018
FUUCCKKKK!!!!

x_wing Apr 24, 2018
Spoiler, click me
FUUCCKKKK!!!!


I have the same problem but with AMD vga. Do you have Ubuntu 16.04.4? I'll try to update to Ubuntu 18.04 during the weekend and see if that fixes the problem.


Last edited by x_wing on 24 April 2018 at 10:48 am UTC
DrMcCoy Apr 24, 2018
Interestingly, on my laptop (a Lenovo ThinkPad E570, with an GeForce GTX 950M), I also have the game segfaulting frequently. No issues on my desktop, though.

Performance is also, of course, down on the laptop. On the desktop, 60 fps with high settings no problem, on the laptop I get about 25 fps with low-ish settings. It's playable, but not as nice. And, yes, frequent segfaults.
lucifertdark Apr 24, 2018
Since switching to Ubuntu 17.10 with the 390.48 drivers I've only had a single segfault crash, before that with 16.04.4 & 396.18 it was crashing every 5 minutes.
x_wing Apr 24, 2018
For AMD users: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMDVLK-Tomb-Raider-Fixed

I have this problem with Radv (SegFaults, no system freezes so far). I think it's not driver related (something on Ubuntu 16.04.4 is giving troubles)


Last edited by x_wing on 24 April 2018 at 11:44 am UTC
DanglingPointer Apr 24, 2018
For AMD users: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMDVLK-Tomb-Raider-Fixed

I have this problem with Radv (SegFaults, no system freezes so far). I think it's not driver related (something on Ubuntu 16.04.4 is giving troubles)

I've played 8hrs using Ubuntu 16.04.4 using Linux kernel 4.16.3-041603-generic and Mesa 18.0 RADV
GPU: R9-290X (liquid cooled)
CPU: i7-3770

No problems so far! Running everything on Very High except Textures, using FXAA and the best hair setting
No problems... Not sure I'm lucky, I didn't do anything special for this game.

What kernel are you using? How did you get the kernel?
I'm using the mainline stable kernel compiled by Canonical using Ukuu.
Using Padoka Stable for Mesa.


Last edited by DanglingPointer on 24 April 2018 at 1:01 pm UTC
x_wing Apr 24, 2018
For AMD users: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMDVLK-Tomb-Raider-Fixed

I have this problem with Radv (SegFaults, no system freezes so far). I think it's not driver related (something on Ubuntu 16.04.4 is giving troubles)

I've played 8hrs using Ubuntu 16.04.4 using Linux kernel 4.16.3-041603-generic and Mesa 18.0 RADV
GPU: R9-290X (liquid cooled)
CPU: i7-3770

No problems so far! Running everything on Very High except Textures, using FXAA and the best hair setting
No problems... Not sure I'm lucky, I didn't do anything special for this game.

What kernel are you using? How did you get the kernel?
I'm using the mainline stable kernel compiled by Canonical using Ukuu.
Using Padoka Stable for Mesa.

I have kernel 4.13 (also canonical generic) + Padoka Stable with a RX 580 and a R9 380. The 580 works with all setting maxed out but gets segmentation faults when you start playing the game (2 to 3 minutes after you start playing). Using the R9 380 the image has very low bright, some artefacts and it crash while loading benchs or game (even in low settings).

Guess I can try updating the kernel (but doubt it will work). Anyway, my plan is to jump to 18.04 this weekeng (perfect excuse to buy a SSD :D)

Edit: CPU: i5 3470k (no oc right now)


Last edited by x_wing on 24 April 2018 at 1:16 pm UTC
Comandante Ñoñardo Apr 24, 2018
Something is wrong here..
They can not recommend a non LTS distro... A non LTS version is no more than a BETA.

The game must be the broken one, because I am not the only one with this SISSEGV (11) Segmentation Fault thing.
tuubi Apr 24, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Something is wrong here..
They can not recommend a non LTS distro... A non LTS version is no more than a BETA.
No. LTS is simply a release with a stability focus and a longer support cycle. That's what LTS means: Long Term Support.

Although I do agree that they should support the latest LTS. In a couple of days that'll be 18.04. :)
Comandante Ñoñardo Apr 24, 2018
Something is wrong here..
They can not recommend a non LTS distro... A non LTS version is no more than a BETA.
No. LTS is simply a release with a stability focus and a longer support cycle. That's what LTS means: Long Term Support.

Although I do agree that they should support the latest LTS. In a couple of days that'll be 18.04. :)

I understand if the don't want to support the obsolete Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and even the very much alive Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, but Ubuntu 16.04 LTS MUST be supported..
jens Apr 24, 2018
  • Supporter
Something is wrong here..
They can not recommend a non LTS distro... A non LTS version is no more than a BETA.

The game must be the broken one, because I am not the only one with this SISSEGV (11) Segmentation Fault thing.

Well, I haven't had a single crash here, Fedora 27 fully updated with Nvidia drivers and Steam from Negativo17. Sorry to hear that you got such problems.

The only time I had crashes (on startup) with Feral games was with DX-MD. I tried to reproduce the crashes on a system they support on a spare disk. I could reproduce the issue and opened a support ticket. Turns out my CPU was to old. I rightfully got indeed the message in the launcher that my CPU was unsupported ;). I would advise to take the same approach.
Comandante Ñoñardo Apr 24, 2018
Something is wrong here..
They can not recommend a non LTS distro... A non LTS version is no more than a BETA.

The game must be the broken one, because I am not the only one with this SISSEGV (11) Segmentation Fault thing.

Well, I haven't had a single crash here, Fedora 27 fully updated with Nvidia drivers and Steam from Negativo17. Sorry to hear that you got such problems.

The only time I had crashes (on startup) with Feral games was with DX-MD. I tried to reproduce the crashes on a system they support on a spare disk. I could reproduce the issue and opened a support ticket. Turns out my CPU was to old. I rightfully got indeed the message in the launcher that my CPU was unsupported ;). I would advise to take the same approach.

While I recognize that it is time for me for to upgrade from my trusty Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS to Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS.. But I will Never upgrade to a non LTS... I will try 18.04 months later, when it became mature; Every new LTS Ubuntu has some problems.

I have afraid to brake something in the upgrade process...
jens Apr 24, 2018
  • Supporter
Something is wrong here..
They can not recommend a non LTS distro... A non LTS version is no more than a BETA.

The game must be the broken one, because I am not the only one with this SISSEGV (11) Segmentation Fault thing.

Well, I haven't had a single crash here, Fedora 27 fully updated with Nvidia drivers and Steam from Negativo17. Sorry to hear that you got such problems.

The only time I had crashes (on startup) with Feral games was with DX-MD. I tried to reproduce the crashes on a system they support on a spare disk. I could reproduce the issue and opened a support ticket. Turns out my CPU was to old. I rightfully got indeed the message in the launcher that my CPU was unsupported ;). I would advise to take the same approach.

While I recognize that it is time for me for to upgrade from my trusty Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS to Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS.. But I will Never upgrade to a non LTS... I will try 18.04 months later, when it became mature; Every new LTS Ubuntu has some problems.

I have afraid to brake something in the upgrade process...

I didn't touched my main system. I did a fresh install on a spare disk to having temporary a supported system where I tried to reproduce the crashes.
Brisse Apr 24, 2018
Something is wrong here..
They can not recommend a non LTS distro... A non LTS version is no more than a BETA.

The game must be the broken one, because I am not the only one with this SISSEGV (11) Segmentation Fault thing.

Well, I haven't had a single crash here, Fedora 27 fully updated with Nvidia drivers and Steam from Negativo17. Sorry to hear that you got such problems.

The only time I had crashes (on startup) with Feral games was with DX-MD. I tried to reproduce the crashes on a system they support on a spare disk. I could reproduce the issue and opened a support ticket. Turns out my CPU was to old. I rightfully got indeed the message in the launcher that my CPU was unsupported ;). I would advise to take the same approach.

While I recognize that it is time for me for to upgrade from my trusty Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS to Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS.. But I will Never upgrade to a non LTS... I will try 18.04 months later, when it became mature; Every new LTS Ubuntu has some problems.

I have afraid to brake something in the upgrade process...

While I do understand why someone would do things this way, especially on some sort of production system, server or whatever, I do think you are grossly exaggerating. You should have upgraded to 16.04 a looong time ago unless there are known problems that you knew would affect you. The first point release would have been a good place if you are really conservative about upgrading.

Personally, I'm gonna stick to my rolling release distros. Debian Sid on my desktop, Arch on my laptop. They do require a little bit more attention and management but it's totally worth it in the end, and they are actually surprisingly stable considering they aren't exactly advertised as such.

Please take my advice and upgrade to the Bionic Beaver as soon as possible, and no later than 18.04.1. By using outdated software you are actually causing yourself more headaches than any potential upgrade issue would cause you. The issues you describe in your recent posts are evidence enough of that.
DanglingPointer Apr 24, 2018
Something is wrong here..
They can not recommend a non LTS distro... A non LTS version is no more than a BETA.

The game must be the broken one, because I am not the only one with this SISSEGV (11) Segmentation Fault thing.

The game isn't broken, I haven't had a single crash or error and I'm using a GCNv1.1 card on Mesa using 16.04.4!

If they aren't production servers and you're playing "games" on them, improve your life and upgrade to the next Ubuntu LTS.
Then install Ukuu and install the latest Canonical compiled stable mainline kernel. See the word "stable" in there? Its stable for desktop use for 90% of everyone.
Get the latest Padoka Stable PPA to get the latest Mesa.
Then your life is improved and say good-bye to all your segmentation cr@p.

You should be afraid of your setup now with errors and crashes, not upgrading which gets rid of all of them.
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