Proton GE, the community-built version of the Windows compatibility layer Proton has a new release available and there's quite a lot of fixes included.
If you're not clear on what Proton and Steam Play are, be sure to check out our constantly updated dedicated page. It's a special compatibility layer for running Windows games and apps from Steam on Linux. Proton GE is not affiliated with Valve/Steam, it also has less quality assurance versus the official Proton but often ends up with special game-specific fixes quicker.
Proton-6.15-GE-1 and shortly after Proton-6.15-GE-2 with a few extra fixes are live now. A fair bit of it is pulling in fixes from the official upstream Proton like the cloud save fixes, multiple font fixes, Project Cars III window focus fixes and Tokyo Xanadu Xe+ ASF fixes. There's also a workaround for FFXIV having a broken login button, there's a FFXIV frame timing configuration for DXVK to resolve some stuttering, a fix for some Unity games that had broken Microsoft's Media Foundation Platform in 6.14, a patch to help Riftbreaker and other game-specific fixes.
Other updates include Wine / Wine Staging at version 6.15, DXVK added the latest git fixes to help Endless Legend and Borderlands 2, VKD3D added the latest git code and the same for FAudio. Interestingly VKD3D has a patch added for Diablo II Resurrected, which the Proton GE developer notes it was added "in case it fixes other games" as non-Steam games are not supported with Proton.
The quick follow-up release with GE-2 added a fix for TemTem, Tokyo Xanadu eX+ and has a workaround to skip Call of Duty Black Ops III videos making it playable.
If you do use this version, you may want to make save backups for the Steam Cloud fixes so you don't lose them - just in case. Proton GE's developer also notes you will want to "remove your old game prefixes so that they are properly regenerated with new symlinks". More on how to do that in our previous article.
How to install Proton GE? Here's a quick how-to:
- Download the Proton-6.15-GE-2.tar.gz file from the release notes.
- If this folder does not exist, create it:
~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/ - Extract the archive downloaded in Step 1, and place the contents into the above directory.
- Restart Steam if it's open which refreshes the Steam Play list for Proton-6.15-GE-2 to show up.
- Right click on your game, go to Properties, Compatibility and ensure the box is ticked named "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool" then select it from the dropdown box that appears.
Quoting: BeamboomTo be fair, I never had to do anything like that. Even when GE doesn't work, you just switch to a different one in the Steam settings for the game and that's it.Quoting: SystemShockDid you always delete the wineprefix when you change from normal Proton to Proton-GE or the other way round?
Hooh - that question alone is enough for me to steer clear of GE. I want the "out of the box" experience, add a startup parameterer at worst, I do not want to start fiddling with Wine stuff again. Oh no, no thanks.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPTo be fair, I never had to do anything like that. Even when GE doesn't work, you just switch to a different one in the Steam settings for the game and that's it.
Ok, thanks TheSHEEP, that's good to know!
There was a time when a couple of games I wanted to play only seemed to work properly under GE, but since then Steam's Proton has come a very long way. As of today there's not really any games I can't play via the official Proton.
There's of course always the curious side of me wondering if GE would improve performance in a given game, but thus far it's been good enough for me to not bother checking.
Vasya Sovari Aug 18, 2021
Quoting: TheSHEEEPProton-GE has to be one of the most wildly unreliable pieces of software that I use regularly anyway.
If/How it works changes radically for me per game. Some games won't work with it at all that work just fine with normal Proton, some games work, but with abysmal performance compared to normal Proton.
Or the other way around.
Or anything in-between.
True.
I always try the latest mainline Proton first, then check GE if that outright doesn't work.
There are also a great many cases where a given game will work with one very specific release and no other.
However, It's currently somewhat safe to assume Valve & GE are painfully aware of this and working on a more comprehensive solution - since the SteamDeck will fail if gamers are constantly faced with 'Proton hunts' rather than OOTB play.
I, for one, have no objection to effectively beta-testing releases if it helps reach that point. I already report to ProtonDB regularly and mention specific Proton compatibility in Steam reviews
InhaleOblivion Aug 21, 2021
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