Project Stream, the game streaming platform Google is currently building is apparently built on Linux and uses the Vulkan API. While this isn't specifically Linux desktop gaming news, hopefully some of our readers will find it interesting.
For Project Stream, Google has partnered up with Ubisoft to show off Assassin's Creed Odyssey running on it. This is something I touched on, in an editorial I wrote at the start of last month with my thoughts on Valve doing such a service.
The interesting thing here, is that it seems to be part of some wider effort from Google for something code-named Yeti. According to Eurogamer, who had some hands-on time with the system. Here's the relevant text:
Our understanding is that Yeti is a bespoke platform, built on Linux and using Vulkan as the graphics API of choice. We are also told by sources that there will be deep integration with YouTube, not just in terms of infrastructure but also in being able to leap from watching a video into playing a game. Whether these innovative ideas will make it into the final product remains to be seen, but suffice to say, Yeti may well be a major next-gen contender, especially with that kind of backing.
Emphasis mine.
It's interesting, since Project Stream itself already works well on Linux. I've had multiple reports, from people who've also had hands-on with it tell me that it's working just as well on Linux as it does on Windows. Regardless of your feelings towards cloud gaming, including the technical hurdles it faces (which are pretty big) it's going to eventually be a much bigger thing with more developers pushing it.
A lot of questions remain, such as have Ubisoft essentially ported Assassin's Creed Odyssey to Linux with Vulkan, exclusively for use on Project Stream or is it using something more like Valve's Steam Play? Considering the performance it would need, it's likely a native port.
Regardless of either way it's been done, the little point I want to make is that with enough backing, big titles like this can be ported to Linux. Most of us know this already of course, with companies like Feral Interactive, Aspyr Media and Virtual Programming all having ported some bigger titles to Linux.
What do you make of this?
Hat tip to Marc.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
not having an linux version, but the windows version is DRM free
and:
having an linux version but with drm.
what would you chose?
I stick to DRM-free only, so the first option. Such things actually are not that uncommon unfortunately. There are a number of games that have a Linux version, but it's Steam only, and it has only Windows one on GOG. It's good that at least Windows one is available DRM-free, so I'd prefer that, to not having that option at all.
I.e. for example I can play Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II in Wine (GOG release), while Linux version by Aspyr is limited to Steam. If not for the Windows release at least, I wouldn't have played it at all.
At least some other Aspyr games for Linux came out on GOG. But for instance all Linux games by Feral are Steam exclusives. So even when some of them get DRM-free release on GOG for Windows, Feral refuse to release Linux versions there. It's regrettable, but at least those Windows versions can be playable in Wine.
Example: https://www.gog.com/game/xcom_enemy_unknown_complete_pack
Last edited by Shmerl on 2 Dec 2018 at 6:32 am UTC
1 Likes, Who?
So if the game has to run on Windows (let's face it, Ubisoft did not suddenly make Linux/Vulkan port for this) and the client is a browser, where does Vulkan factor in? Even if Linux is in between there for the hosting side, I still don't see a role for Vulkan.
I guess that's why they either ported AC to Linux or use something like Steam Play. I seriously doubt that Google wants to use Windows/pay for their licenses. That's where Vulkan comes in.
1 Likes, Who?
I guess that's why they either ported AC to Linux or use something like Steam Play. I seriously doubt that Google wants to use Windows/pay for their licenses. That's where Vulkan comes in.
Rather I'd expect straight Wine+add-ons in such case. Google doesn't need Steam itself for their backend. Throwing in enough hardware, they can produce good performance for a lot of even Windows only games (using Wine).
Last edited by Shmerl on 2 Dec 2018 at 9:00 am UTC
1 Likes, Who?
I guess that's why they either ported AC to Linux or use something like Steam Play. I seriously doubt that Google wants to use Windows/pay for their licenses. That's where Vulkan comes in.
Rather I'd expect straight Wine+add-ons in such case. Google doesn't need Steam itself for their backend. Throwing in enough hardware, they can produce good performance for a lot of even Windows only games (using Wine).
"something like" Steam Play ;)
I mean they could literally just use Proton, since it's open source.
1 Likes, Who?
I mean they could literally just use Proton, since it's open source.
Yep, or whatever their flavor of Wine would be. Proton is still somewhat Steam specific.
If Google can push more developers to use Vulkan, it will be a big plus already.
Last edited by Shmerl on 2 Dec 2018 at 9:05 am UTC
1 Likes, Who?
I mean they could literally just use Proton, since it's open source.
If Google can push more developers to use Vulkan, it will be a big plus already.
As long as they don't enforce Streaming only I'm fine with it as an alternative. If people want to use it... fine. But I would never want to rely on that.
1 Likes, Who?
As long as they don't enforce Streaming only I'm fine with it as an alternative. If people want to use it... fine. But I would never want to rely on that.
Yep, we'll have to wait and see if this will be spoiled by exclusivity or not.
0 Likes
I quite doubt Google would be running Android on the server for gaming purposes. What for? Android can't run existing Linux games (thanks to its completely incompatible Surface Flinger) and normal glibc Linux works much better with Wine.
1 Likes, Who?
walther von stolzing 2 Dec 2018
One thing that might be worth remembering is that this is Google, who are notoriously flakey on certain types of project, and this 'game streaming' thing may be one of those. So I wouldn't be surprised if it just spontaneously evaporates after a while.
Nevertheless, this sounds like very good news for Vulkan, etc.
Nevertheless, this sounds like very good news for Vulkan, etc.
0 Likes
As I've often written here. I think streaming is the deeper reason why Valve is into Linux. Valves streaming platform will be called Steam Play. Maybe they will cooperate with Google. Similar to Netflix and Amazon. Maybe they already do in the background.
Unfortunately, Valve is the only big publisher that also has a real heart for the Linux desktop. Fortunately, they own the biggest marketplace for PC games.
Last edited by 1xok on 2 Dec 2018 at 2:12 pm UTC
Unfortunately, Valve is the only big publisher that also has a real heart for the Linux desktop. Fortunately, they own the biggest marketplace for PC games.
Last edited by 1xok on 2 Dec 2018 at 2:12 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
ElectricPrism 2 Dec 2018
Sorry Google, you have no place in my life anymore.
After being bullied into buying more Storage, having Google Plus shut down, having Google Photos no longer upload original quality pictures not against your quota, and all of the location tracking on Android mixed with the shitty Apps crammed full of ads and planned obsolescence I am done.
I have moved my entire Photo library, Email library to NextCloud.
What's worse but was an accepted evil in exchange for convenience is knowing the facial recognition AI will use all our data to feed their machine and scan photos for things to sell us. Don't get me wrong, I expect every company to do some level of evil -- but Google has gone too far.
Their Google Express shopping experience is absolute shit. Their support technicians can't even cancel an order 1 hour old.
They shutdown Google Reader and a lot of other amazing projects and have mish-moshed technologies into some post-appocolytic technical era where all your data is owned and located at Google HQ.
I'll be damned if I ever give them money to support a shitty Game Streaming startup that rips off technologies built by Valve. Google has not done Linux right. Android Graphics drivers are blobs, kernels are out-dated, Linux stock user-space is not included by default. The least they could have done is created a state of the art filesystem similar to ZFS and BTRFS.
2001 Google and 2004 Google are dead. 2018 Google is as evil, incompetent, malicious and dumb as they come.
After being bullied into buying more Storage, having Google Plus shut down, having Google Photos no longer upload original quality pictures not against your quota, and all of the location tracking on Android mixed with the shitty Apps crammed full of ads and planned obsolescence I am done.
I have moved my entire Photo library, Email library to NextCloud.
What's worse but was an accepted evil in exchange for convenience is knowing the facial recognition AI will use all our data to feed their machine and scan photos for things to sell us. Don't get me wrong, I expect every company to do some level of evil -- but Google has gone too far.
Their Google Express shopping experience is absolute shit. Their support technicians can't even cancel an order 1 hour old.
They shutdown Google Reader and a lot of other amazing projects and have mish-moshed technologies into some post-appocolytic technical era where all your data is owned and located at Google HQ.
I'll be damned if I ever give them money to support a shitty Game Streaming startup that rips off technologies built by Valve. Google has not done Linux right. Android Graphics drivers are blobs, kernels are out-dated, Linux stock user-space is not included by default. The least they could have done is created a state of the art filesystem similar to ZFS and BTRFS.
2001 Google and 2004 Google are dead. 2018 Google is as evil, incompetent, malicious and dumb as they come.
4 Likes, Who?
The real reason Twitch still exists is they aren't Google, nor Microsoft, nor some game company. Period. It's not because they're _better_.
How is Amazon any better? They are as nasty as it gets in many ways. They own Twitch.
Last edited by Shmerl on 2 Dec 2018 at 5:21 pm UTC
3 Likes, Who?
I quite doubt Google would be running Android on the server for gaming purposes. What for? Android can't run existing Linux games (thanks to its completely incompatible Surface Flinger) and normal glibc Linux works much better with Wine.
i dont know how good surface flinger is, but but x.org is outdated, everyone knows that and is trying to replace it with wayland but failing.
google has an bigger install base with android's surface flinger than x.org and wayland ever had, so why should they care?
they probably will make those games streaming only, then port it to chromeOS only and not give a shit about the rest of the linux world.
we are already busy fighting against each other (gnome x kde x etc) we dont have energy to compete against then (as if we could anyway)
0 Likes
i would add:
the end of mods
Not necessarily. Depending on the implementation, there could be something like Steam Workshop, but allowing your own mods to be uploaded to your folder in the cloud.
2 Likes, Who?
wintermute 2 Dec 2018
Just want to point out that Google already have an OS that uses Linux...
Actually they have two: Android and ChromeOS.
I would just like to add to the speculation in this comment thread the speculation from this slightly older thread and note that Assassin's Creed was one of the guesses on that. If Ubisoft have indeed ported their game to Linux it's possible they brought in some expert help?
2 Likes, Who?
I think you can safely say this is on topic, Liam. ;)
Well if it has to run server-side, it has to run on Linux, right? Unless it went through yet *another* layer of streaming (vomit!).
Well if it has to run server-side, it has to run on Linux, right? Unless it went through yet *another* layer of streaming (vomit!).
0 Likes
From the article: "Ubisoft has been able to accurately port one of its most advanced titles from Windows and DX11 across to Linux and Vulkan." Would be nice to see them attempt to recoup some of that development cost by actually making it available outside of streaming.
Please don't forget the part that comes before, it completely changes the meaning:
we still have no idea if the Odyssey demo is using the system spec shared with developers working on the Yeti platform. If it is, all we can really take away from this is that Ubisoft has been able to accurately port one of its most advanced titles from Windows and DX11 across to Linux and Vulkan
0 Likes
Android making an interesting sidelight on certain long-running naming discussions; unusually it is I believe Linux but not GNU/Linux. And indeed much of the feeling of it not being really Linux comes precisely from that lack of GNU.Just want to point out that Google already have an OS that uses Linux...
Actually they have two: Android and ChromeOS.
0 Likes
GNU isn't important, just look at the BSDs. The important thing is that it is unix-like.Android making an interesting sidelight on certain long-running naming discussions; unusually it is I believe Linux but not GNU/Linux. And indeed much of the feeling of it not being really Linux comes precisely from that lack of GNU.Just want to point out that Google already have an OS that uses Linux...
Actually they have two: Android and ChromeOS.
1 Likes, Who?
dirkdierickx 4 Dec 2018
Interesting that the push to linux gaming will come from cloud streaming.
I guess, in the end money talks and those game cloud streaming services probably will be a bigger income for publishers than trying to sell to linux gamers directly.
I guess, in the end money talks and those game cloud streaming services probably will be a bigger income for publishers than trying to sell to linux gamers directly.
0 Likes
Patreon
PayPal
How to install GE-Proton on Steam Deck, SteamOS, Linux
An idiots guide to setting up Minecraft on Steam Deck / SteamOS with controller support
See more from me