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Another Beta version of Proton is available for Valve's Steam Play for those who wish to give it a go with the latest fixes.

To avoid some confusion: The Steam Play system as a whole is still in Beta, Proton (Valve's Wine fork) which Steam Play uses has a "3.7-3" version which is the default, but you can also switch to the Beta version of Proton itself in Steam's settings (compatibility tool dropdown box) to get Proton "3.7-6" which was just released today.

Proton 3.7-6 highlights:

  • Fix failure to start VR games.
  • Improvements to fullscreen games running at non-native resolutions.
  • Compatibility fix for games that use Steam integration.
  • Return to previous D3D10 behavior in DXVK to allow games to fallback to D3D9.

Getting it to actually show up in Steam is a bit odd still. Even on a fresh boot today, I had to quit and reload Steam to get the new Beta of Proton to actually show up. Hopefully Valve will improve the user experience there when the Steam Play system is a bit further along.

Also, Valve has now upped the NVIDIA driver requirement to 396.54.

See the changelog here

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Proton, Steam, Valve
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51 comments
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Ads20000 Sep 8, 2018
Wait, does Skyrim VR on Oculus Rift (or equivalent) and Ubuntu work?!
Julius Sep 8, 2018
With a HTC Vive it might work. Other VR games running through Proton (which has a special VR pass through mode) work apparently. I am seriously considering to get a Vive now because of that.
Botonoski Sep 8, 2018
The Nvidia driver requirement doesn't seem all that strict. The decade old laptop I have hooked up to my TV ran this beta just fine despite running on version 340.106
lucifertdark Sep 8, 2018
Forgive me if I seem a little dense but what is Steam Integration supposed to be?
buckysrevenge Sep 8, 2018
The Nvidia driver requirement doesn't seem all that strict. The decade old laptop I have hooked up to my TV ran this beta just fine despite running on version 340.106

The issue is game compatibility probably. The official SteamOS distro only is at 385.xx and many games that I tested didn't run for me or had graphical problems (maybe 5 out of 18 worked). Once I upgraded to the SteamOS beta distro (which his currently at 396.54) a lot of those problems were resolved (13 out of 18 worked).
Sil_el_mot Sep 8, 2018
i see no change in VR since the new proton. Games that ran before are still running, games that didn't start before now don't start either. Would be interesting, if someone has other experiences.
Linas Sep 8, 2018
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Forgive me if I seem a little dense but what is Steam Integration supposed to be?
The workshop, achievements, cloud saves, and stuff like that.

Edit: DRM as well, I guess.


Last edited by Linas on 8 September 2018 at 12:12 pm UTC
lucifertdark Sep 8, 2018
Forgive me if I seem a little dense but what is Steam Integration supposed to be?
The workshop, achievements, cloud saves, and stuff like that.

Edit: DRM as well, I guess.
Thanks, I should have known that as I've been using steam since it started.
dubigrasu Sep 8, 2018
i see no change in VR since the new proton. Games that ran before are still running, games that didn't start before now don't start either. Would be interesting, if someone has other experiences.
Just make sure you do run 3.7-6. Sometimes is pretty finicky to get proton to actually update itself to the newest version. Supposedly is enough to only do a file verification for the game in question to get proton to update, but I've seen this failed few times.
I'd go as far as deleting the "Proton 3.7 Beta" folder to make sure the new version is downloaded (after you switch to 3.7-6 in the settings).
belisama Sep 8, 2018
The Nvidia driver requirement doesn't seem all that strict. The decade old laptop I have hooked up to my TV ran this beta just fine despite running on version 340.106

Yeah, I'm on 384.130 and have been running several (simple, lightweight) games without problem. I imagine it's going to vary a bit in practice and posting a specific requirement just simplifies their support.
lucifertdark Sep 8, 2018
I'd go as far as deleting the "Proton 3.7 Beta" folder to make sure the new version is downloaded (after you switch to 3.7-6 in the settings).
I'm glad you mentioned that, I just noticed I have two Proton folders, this might explain why I've been unable to create 32bit prefixes for those games that need .net installing. Deleted both & reinstalling Proton, fingers crossed.
spacemonkey Sep 8, 2018
Is it possible to install the Windows version of a game that has a native Linux version? Since the VR should work better I would like to try Everspace. But only the Windows version of Everspace supports VR (the Linux version does not). So, is there a way to install the Windows version and use Steam Play?
poisond Sep 8, 2018
The Nvidia driver requirement doesn't seem all that strict. The decade old laptop I have hooked up to my TV ran this beta just fine despite running on version 340.106

Yeah, I'm on 384.130 and have been running several (simple, lightweight) games without problem. I imagine it's going to vary a bit in practice and posting a specific requirement just simplifies their support.

No, 396.51 is required for Vulkan(DXVK).
Sputnik_tr_02 Sep 8, 2018
Is it possible to install the Windows version of a game that has a native Linux version? Since the VR should work better I would like to try Everspace. But only the Windows version of Everspace supports VR (the Linux version does not). So, is there a way to install the Windows version and use Steam Play?

At the moment it is not possible I think, however there is a feature request for that on github, hopefully Valve will add this feature in the future.
lucifertdark Sep 8, 2018
Is it possible to install the Windows version of a game that has a native Linux version? Since the VR should work better I would like to try Everspace. But only the Windows version of Everspace supports VR (the Linux version does not). So, is there a way to install the Windows version and use Steam Play?
Have a look at Native2Proton, I'm pretty sure it does what you want.

https://github.com/Holston5/Native2Proton
axredneck Sep 8, 2018
Is it possible to install the Windows version of a game that has a native Linux version? Since the VR should work better I would like to try Everspace. But only the Windows version of Everspace supports VR (the Linux version does not). So, is there a way to install the Windows version and use Steam Play?
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/5638
lucifertdark Sep 8, 2018
Is it possible to install the Windows version of a game that has a native Linux version? Since the VR should work better I would like to try Everspace. But only the Windows version of Everspace supports VR (the Linux version does not). So, is there a way to install the Windows version and use Steam Play?
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/5638

That thread over there has grown so fast most people posting seem to have missed the important post I mentioned just above, Native2Proton created by Holston5.
slaapliedje Sep 8, 2018
Is it possible to install the Windows version of a game that has a native Linux version? Since the VR should work better I would like to try Everspace. But only the Windows version of Everspace supports VR (the Linux version does not). So, is there a way to install the Windows version and use Steam Play?
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/5638

That thread over there has grown so fast most people posting seem to have missed the important post I mentioned just above, Native2Proton created by Holston5.
Would be nicer if they'd just add VR to the Linux version. :P
lucifertdark Sep 8, 2018
Would be nicer if they'd just add VR to the Linux version. :P
If Linux can't run the non VR version of the games there's not much hope of the VR version running yet, it's still early days, but I'm sure you'll get your wish before long. ;)

I wonder how many people signed an NDA on Proton & had to bite their typing fingers every time they posted on here?
slaapliedje Sep 8, 2018
I need to figure out why SteamVR stopped working on both my Linux installs (Debian Sid and Arch Linux). It was working pretty well at one point.
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