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.
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Is that what they think?I just wanna know what Feral thinks about this.
Competition is good. Let Feral work on DRM-free games and support upstream FOSS projects.
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ShoNuff!!! Aug 22, 2018
I just wanna know what Feral thinks about this.
Competition is good. Let Feral work on DRM-free games and support upstream FOSS projects.
Well... Feral was hit or miss... meaning if you had nvidia and Ubuntu then it was almost guaranteed... those of us that have AMD and other distros -not Debian based... can now ignore Feral and just play. Just confirmed, I can play Deus Ex Mankind Divided now ;-) Thanks Valve, wine and dxvk developers!
Last edited by ShoNuff!!! on 22 August 2018 at 4:31 am UTC
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I see a lot of people worrying that this could hurt native ports, which I don't want to dismiss the possibility, but I can also see how this could potentially be a really good thing. With Valve helping Wine/DXVK/VKD3D/etc. efforts to improve these tools to run Windows games on Linux it could bring more people to the Linux platform, and if enough people switch to Linux it could be a good intensive to get developers to optimise their games to run better on Linux through native ports and/or switching to Vulkan/OpenGL API's. Only time will tell, but the optimistic side of me hopes this is the case. :)
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Is that what they think?
Does it matter? Competition will straighten bad attitudes. I.e. if FOSS tech will become better than theirs and will allow running more games on Linux including DRM-free ones, they'll be forced to improve as well. And if their tech is so much superior, then they don't need to worry anyway.
Last edited by Shmerl on 22 August 2018 at 4:36 am UTC
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Luke_Nukem Aug 22, 2018
Proton builds on MacOS (and uses MoltenVK)... I haven't finished the build myself though since I'm running Mojave and need to compile a lot of deps from scratch. The git for Proton shows a bit of Mac interest also, so hopefully proper support will come soon.
Speaking of Wine on MacOS. Do you know why WineHQ builds have not enabled Vulkan in the official packages? Some users on inXile forum needed help with that for The Bard's Tale I remaster. Since I'm not using MacOS, I was able to give only general guidelines on Wine usage.
No idea re: wineHQ builds - official macOS builds seem to be absolute basics. I think Homebrew and macports builds enable it all? Even PlayOnMac has only basic wine builds for macOS. Rather hoping Proton will turn the macOS wine situation on its head - full support for macOS + Linux can only improve things for each vice/versa.
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Luke_Nukem Aug 22, 2018
I see a lot of people worrying that this could hurt native ports, which I don't want to dismiss the possibility, but I can also see how this could potentially be a really good thing. With Valve helping Wine/DXVK/VKD3D/etc. efforts to improve these tools to run Windows games on Linux it could bring more people to the Linux platform, and if enough people switch to Linux it could be a good intensive to get developers to optimise their games to run better on Linux through native ports and/or switching to Vulkan/OpenGL API's. Only time will tell, but the optimistic side of me hopes this is the case. :)
I'm going to throw my hat in the ring and say the use of DX9-12 to Vulkan might actually encourage switching to Vulkan completely for further better compatibility and speed. And hopefully then lead to more devs saying "Bugger it, just do a native port".
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Downloading doom on my steam machine as i type this. Woot woot
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What? Of course it matters! It matters to me anyway. I have a deep respect for Feral and I'm curious in which way this it affects them.Is that what they think?
Does it matter?
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ShoNuff!!! Aug 22, 2018
"Users playing through Steam Play experiencing Linux-specific issues should be directed to Steam for support. Keep in mind users were most likely already playing your game using Wine; you just have better visibility into it now."
I pulled the quote (partially) from here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/221410/announcements/detail/1696055855739350561
Maybe Valve see things that suggest there are more Wine users playing games than the developers even realize?
Any problems... first question will be 'ARE YOU USING UBUNTU' lol!
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To all those who have concerns about linux native games, keep in mind that the vast majority of games never come to Linux anyway. If they are playable in some automagical way with acceptable performance, that will still remove a huge roadblock that prevents a lot of people from installing Linux. It only gets better from there.Not only that, but greater market share means more users and developers on Linux, which means faster development of the Linux Free Software ecosystem as well. It's always amazed me that Linux manages to have pretty dashed good desktops and pretty solid office, graphics, music etc. open source software at 1-2% desktop market share. What would we produce at 10%?! MacOS, MS Office, and Adobe would be left in the friggin' dust.
The thing you need to understand is that we need to reach "critical mass" on the Linux desktop. We need a valid percentage of users so more proprietary companies can take us seriously and provide native ports, like Adobe for example, and proper hardware drivers for niche hardware. Once that happens, even more people will install Linux and it will snowball from there.
Linux native will always have the benefit of better performance + less bugs. So developers will still prefer this choice if they can, especially if Linux gets more marketshare.
So stop crying and support this move.
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ElectricPrism Aug 22, 2018
I know what I think about this.Head Feral Linux guy left recently.
I know what you think about this.
I just wanna know what Feral thinks about this.
Perhaps he was (Hollywood term) "hip to the chase".
He left to work on Unity...Which really needs him. But, I am sure Feral are going to be fine as I will personally use and buy a native version over Proton (am I nerd when I think of Star Trek?).
Your FACTS are not helping cultivate FEAR or FUD, lol.
Because now that we suddenly realize that SteamOS becoming a success is still in the roadmap, we must shift our pessimism to some other Linux thing to be affraid about -- suchas Feral Games having X-negative impact / bullshit.
If we could just hold off the FUD for at least 24 hours please.
1 Likes, Who?
What? Of course it matters! It matters to me anyway. I have a deep respect for Feral and I'm curious in which way this it affects them.
I mean it doesn't matter in the sense that it should provide positive outcome for Linux gaming either way. Feral might need to change something, and hopefully the right way. For one I hope they'll start releasing DRM-free games.
Last edited by Shmerl on 22 August 2018 at 4:44 am UTC
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This is the Hottest Thing since Sliced Bread.
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The results of my tests:
Carmageddon Max Damage
Win 10 60+ fps. Proton 1 fps!
Amid Evil: Win 10 100+ fps. Proton 30 - 40 with drops to 7 fps!
Dusk: Win 10 100+ fps. Proton 50 - 60 fps. Wine Staging 80+ fps.
PC: Mint cinnamon. Core i5 3450 3.5 Ghz. 1050ti 4GB. Nvidia 396.51.
Carmageddon Max Damage
Win 10 60+ fps. Proton 1 fps!
Amid Evil: Win 10 100+ fps. Proton 30 - 40 with drops to 7 fps!
Dusk: Win 10 100+ fps. Proton 50 - 60 fps. Wine Staging 80+ fps.
PC: Mint cinnamon. Core i5 3450 3.5 Ghz. 1050ti 4GB. Nvidia 396.51.
1 Likes, Who?
Oh dear, oh f***ing dear!
Awesome, the picture around dxvk now comes together ;)
We'll now have to see if Linux (gaming) share rises. If so, I hope this means we get more native ports in the long run. Because now, devs have no real reason to take the effort to make a native Linux version, if it works well enough in proton. And we know how difficult it can be, and then in the end won't get any version of a game at all if the hurdles can't be taken economically.
So I'll be specially thankful to devs who do native ports! Keep supporting them especially.
I'm wondering, is it possible to use proton with games, that already have a native Linux version? I'm thinking of games that are not compatible in multiplayer, like Company of Heroes 2.
Oh man, I kinda feel bad asking this, Feral did an awesome job porting it to Linux. It's just, most buddies use windows and I have to dualboot.
Is this now the end of native Linux gaming, or the end of Windows gaming? ;)
Last edited by Corben on 22 August 2018 at 5:11 am UTC
Awesome, the picture around dxvk now comes together ;)
We'll now have to see if Linux (gaming) share rises. If so, I hope this means we get more native ports in the long run. Because now, devs have no real reason to take the effort to make a native Linux version, if it works well enough in proton. And we know how difficult it can be, and then in the end won't get any version of a game at all if the hurdles can't be taken economically.
So I'll be specially thankful to devs who do native ports! Keep supporting them especially.
I'm wondering, is it possible to use proton with games, that already have a native Linux version? I'm thinking of games that are not compatible in multiplayer, like Company of Heroes 2.
Oh man, I kinda feel bad asking this, Feral did an awesome job porting it to Linux. It's just, most buddies use windows and I have to dualboot.
Is this now the end of native Linux gaming, or the end of Windows gaming? ;)
Last edited by Corben on 22 August 2018 at 5:11 am UTC
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hey guys. Where does proton creates the bottles? I need to recreate the bottle to try without installing some dotnet cruft.There's a "compatdata" folder in "steamapps".
I guess all the games are 600mb fatter (that's what wine bottles take for system files)
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Jesus f*cking christ. 
I'll keep my wineprefix with Gallium-Nine for obvious reasons but this is great news for all these D3D11 games I grabbed with some bundles.
Praise the Gaben!
I'll keep my wineprefix with Gallium-Nine for obvious reasons but this is great news for all these D3D11 games I grabbed with some bundles.Praise the Gaben!
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Something that I noticed on the page that I found very telling:
So Vulkan is definitely our way forward. Valve is saying as much, if you want to Linux sales without having to port, go with Vulkan. And that is an absolutely terrific first step. The cost difference in porting a DirectX game to Linux versus a Vulkan title is night and day because there's just so much less to do on the Vulkan game. That's our foot in the door.
As for the Steam Play Beta client, it's glitchy. Right now the storefront won't display. Most of the games Aren't working yet. Installing Alan Wake as I type this.
Not Working for Me:
Far Cry 2(buggy but started on with display options all turned down to low. Also didn't want to uninstall)
Far Cry 3
Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY
Working:
F.E.A.R.(flawless)
Last edited by jarhead_h on 22 August 2018 at 5:39 am UTC
Q: I'm a developer; I wasn't planning on targeting Linux, how can I best leverage the new Steam Play?
We recommend you target Vulkan natively in order to offer the best possible performance on all platforms, or at least offer it as an option if possible. It's also a good idea to avoid any invasive third-party DRM middleware, as they sometimes prevent compatibility features from working as intended.
So Vulkan is definitely our way forward. Valve is saying as much, if you want to Linux sales without having to port, go with Vulkan. And that is an absolutely terrific first step. The cost difference in porting a DirectX game to Linux versus a Vulkan title is night and day because there's just so much less to do on the Vulkan game. That's our foot in the door.
As for the Steam Play Beta client, it's glitchy. Right now the storefront won't display. Most of the games Aren't working yet. Installing Alan Wake as I type this.
Not Working for Me:
Far Cry 2(buggy but started on with display options all turned down to low. Also didn't want to uninstall)
Far Cry 3
Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY
Working:
F.E.A.R.(flawless)
Last edited by jarhead_h on 22 August 2018 at 5:39 am UTC
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