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: Alm888Oracle has history of stalling development of MySQL that it bought from Sun Microsystems.Quoting: Whitewolfe80The code has not been tampered with no code injection has taken place they havent(sic) re written direct x to get it to work so they shouldnt(sic) have any legal grounds.Yeah, sure. This didn't stop Oracle® from suing Google® for its Java™ API implementation.
Quoting: GuestStop with the FUD. Even if they sue they won't get anywhere. WINE infringes on no copyright, plus it has existed for 2 decades, legally they have lost the right to pursue anything now.Even if a court ultimately rejects all claims, this can take ages and Valve®'s reputation will be tarnished. And, more importantly, the court can forbid any Valve®'s economical activity in the US of America during the process in order to prevent any possible further violations. By the time Microsoft® will be forced to pay reparation it will be useless because Valve® will be bankrupt.
Google's Android is open source, and encourages open standards.
So, Oracle suing Google made Google the unsung Hero. Sure Google spent loads of money fighting Oracle, but the worldwide fame it brought to 'Android', made it the Top Operating System.
If Microsoft sues Valve, you can be assured that the "view of Microsoft supporting Linux initiatives" will be destroyed, and Valve will become the unsung Hero, making Steam OS another Top Operating System.
Last edited by Ne0 on 22 August 2018 at 8:18 am UTC
P.S. I always knew who really sponsoring DXVK development :)
Last edited by yar4e on 22 August 2018 at 8:06 am UTC
By the way is Insurgency Sandstorm in the list? I mean since UE doesn't help us, if we at least could use this Steam WINE thingy.
Last edited by bolokanar on 22 August 2018 at 8:12 am UTC
Quoting: Alm888So, in case Valve in fact gets somewhere with its small WINE trick…
How long will it take for Microsoft® to sue WINE and Valve® for copyright infringement regarding Windows™ API and unlicensed DirectX™ implementation?
After all, WINE was tolerated only as long as it was relatively useless. I dobt Microsoft® will allow someone to chew off some 20…30% of its market share with basically its own API.
Exactly this. I've been thinking of this for some time now; Microsoft will very likely not allow any competition to become---competitive. They've not excatly got the best track record of ethical and fair conduct in such regards.
The moment MS see any kind of impact to their [numbers], they'll at least do what they can to break compatibility. And with DX being the main tool they have to lock down game development to their platform, I suspect there'll be some kind of attempt at striking out against Vulkan if it starts to gain momentum.
Call me tin-foil, but I have very little faith in MS playing any kind of fair game when their monies/monopolies is at stake.
PS: I would, however, very much like to be proven wrong! :D
Last edited by Appelsin on 22 August 2018 at 8:12 am UTC
Quoting: jakobvonguntenInstalled and it's working. This will be the end of Lutris?
Doubtful. There are a lot of games out there that don't use Steam. My big use of Lutris is to play the Elder Scrolls Online.
Imaging the nightmare users had to go through to get this working before. While I have my concerns that this could adversely affect Linux porting efforts since Proton would be justified as "good enough", it's a step in the right direction overall. Maybe Valve will use this to further expand the reach of SteamOS.
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