As we speculated previously, Valve have now officially announced their new version of 'Steam Play' for Linux gaming using a modified distribution of Wine called Proton, which is available on GitHub.
What does it do? In short: it allows you to play Windows games on Linux, directly through the Steam client as if they were a Linux game.
What many people suspected turned out to be true, DXVK development was actually funded by Valve. They actually employed the DXVK developer since February 2018. On top of that, they also helped to fund: vkd3d (Direct3D 12 implementation based on Vulkan), OpenVR and Steamworks native API bridges, wined3d performance and functionality fixes for Direct3D 9 and Direct3D 11 and more.
The amount of work that has gone into this—it's ridiculous.
Here's what they say it improves:
- Windows games with no Linux version currently available can now be installed and run directly from the Linux Steam client, complete with native Steamworks and OpenVR support.
- DirectX 11 and 12 implementations are now based on Vulkan, resulting in improved game compatibility and reduced performance impact.
- Fullscreen support has been improved: fullscreen games will be seamlessly stretched to the desired display without interfering with the native monitor resolution or requiring the use of a virtual desktop.
- Improved game controller support: games will automatically recognize all controllers supported by Steam. Expect more out-of-the-box controller compatibility than even the original version of the game.
- Performance for multi-threaded games has been greatly improved compared to vanilla Wine.
It currently has a limited set of games that are supported, but even so it's quite an impressive list that they're putting out there. Which includes DOOM, FINAL FANTASY VI, Into The Breach, NieR: Automata, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and more. They will enable many more titles as progress on it all continues.
To be clear, this is available right now. To get it, you need to be in the Steam Client Beta.
There will be drawbacks, like possible performance issues and games that rely on some DRM might likely never be supported, but even so the amount of possibilities this opens up has literally split my head open with Thor's mighty hammer.
Holy shit. Please excuse the language, but honestly, I'm physically shaking right now I don't quite know how to process this.
Update #1: I spoke to Valve earlier, about how buying Windows games to play with this system counts, they said this:
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.Hey Liam, the normal algorithm is in effect, so if at the end of the two weeks you have more playtime on Linux, it'll be a Linux sale. Proton counts as Linux.
Quoting: 14Quoting myself because I need to correct the Windows game count. Looking at my Windows drives, I haven't booted to it since April. I also found what I really had installed. I looked at the games I had installed and referenced them on WineHQ. It looks like the pending doom of my Windows drives comes down to just two games. Considering how little I boot to Windows, how much do I care about PUBG and DOSII? Hmm....Quoting: Spud13ySo I guess this is how gaming on Linux will die.Whatever. If the one or two games I have installed in Windows works with this Steam Play system, then I can nuke my Windows drive a year and a half earlier than I was planning.
Should work in WINE / Steam Play:
Dark Souls II
TERA
ESO
GW 2
Dishonored
Battlefield 4
Doesn't work in WINE:
PUBG
Divinity Original Sin II (runs but can't read books)
EDIT: Unintentional smiley
Last edited by 14 on 22 August 2018 at 3:37 am UTC
Comandante Ñoñardo Aug 22, 2018
Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoI suggest to make a list in this website with the games that works flawlessly with Proton.
That's not useful outside of Steam though. Better make a list that benefits from esync for instance. There is one for dxvk already.
now they all have to use VULKAN. did anyone tested WOLFENSTEIN and compared it with windows?
SystemShock Aug 22, 2018
I will try Proton as soon as i can.
Last edited by SystemShock on 22 August 2018 at 3:48 am UTC
Asides from that: Great! Thank you!
Edit: Especially thank you for Dawn of War - Dark Crusade and Soulstorm!
Last edited by logge on 22 August 2018 at 4:03 am UTC
I decided to go with Age of Empires II for my first test - somehow it seemed fitting to run a Microsoft game first :)
Hopefully Valve forks WINE so that it can better be targeted as a linux solution in a way that the WINE developers were never willing to do. The WINE devs have long refused to implement OS specific ways to improve compatibility and performance as they want to reduce platform specific code. This sometimes results in them duplicating effort to make their own wine specific code that doesn't always work out so great.
Admirable goal and a good idea for software which is meant to be used by both Linux and Mac but Valve is only targeting Linux and there are probably some low hanging fruit that could be plucked by eschewing those convictions.
Last edited by Madeanaccounttocomment on 22 August 2018 at 4:05 am UTC
coryrj19951 Aug 22, 2018
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