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- Steam games will now need to fully disclose kernel-level anti-cheat on store pages
- The latest free games with Prime Gaming - October 25 edition - lots for Steam Deck / Linux
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I wonder what you all think about the state of Linux gaming in the proton era. Was there a big picture article about this on GOL I missed? These days I barely even feel like there's anything particular to Linux about my gaming. My steam library, once a pure collection of games with explicit Linux support, now looks a lot more like most other gamers. The last four games I've played seriously I ran using proton, and I'm sad (nostalgic?) to admit the days of checking GOL daily obsessively to see what games we'd get are largely gone. Proton isn't perfect, and steam isn't the entire gaming world, but for many they are each a reasonable approximation. I know that some people are exhausted by these "Is Linux gaming X" thought pieces, but I wonder what you all think? Has Linux gaming to some extent become a victim of its own success?🤔
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Thanks to Steam Play, people who just want to play games while being on Linux, have never had it better. However, there's still a long fight ahead. If we end up entirely relying on Proton, developers will care even less about Linux support at all. Proton itself as well has a long way to go, especially for multiplayer titles where it's junk most of the time due to anti-cheat.
I'm very positive about the future of The Linux Gamer, so many moving parts and things somewhere are always improving.
Something else to think on is the new Linux Steam Runtime container system, this should eventually help developers properly QA their Linux builds against something solid in a much easier form. Especially as we can pick it too, on any distro and it then should just work without any random lib issues.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 5 December 2019 at 10:21 pm UTC
People can talk plenty about how Proton might expand our user base but if those users are buying Windows stuff then that user base has little weight, so I believe developers are the key here. Pretty much the worst thing that can happen here is development tools start pulling Linux support, tying developers further into the Windows ecosystem, which could still happen if companies like Unity or Epic think that their Linux export targets aren't worth supporting due to people just playing games via Proton.
As for me, I am too much of a radical to be swayed by Proton and the like. If nobody else will make Linux games for me, I'll just make them myself.
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1. Bayonetta
2. Dark Souls III
3. Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition
4. Grim Dawn
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
6. NieR:Automata
7. Tekken 7
8. Vanquish
9. Wreckfest
10. Yakuza 0
That's just a partial list. There are many games we won't have natively on Linux even if the developers who have supported Linux for a long time are still releasing games for Linux.
Even if Feral Interactive is able to double or triple their capacity to port "AAA" games, it still won't be enough since they are limited by the game library of the publishers they have partnered with (SEGA, Codemasters, Square Enix, etc.). Feral Interactive needs to secure partnerships with other publishers such as CAPCOM and BANDAI NAMCO.
Even before Proton, there are developers who stopped Linux support or have stated Linux has low sales. Stop blaming Proton if you see some developers dropping Linux support or will not support Linux in their future games.
We need more PC gamers switching to Linux or newbies using Linux for their 1st gaming PC. We can do that by showing them there are lots of games to play on Linux, native and Steam Play. Parotting ideals such as "No Tux, No Bux" doesn't help.
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Many GOLer's are probably already attuned to this, but for the sake of general knowledge this is probably an opportunity clarify some terminology.
Translation layer = converts foreign system calls into system calls native to the host. As far as gaming on Linux is concerned, this largely involves translating DirectX into OpenGL. Proton and Wine.
Emulation = takes things a step further by entirely imitating a foreign system within software on the host. Virtual machines, console emulators.
My own personal thoughts on these: When one purchases and plays games designed for other platforms through compatibility layers or emulators, one is indirectly telling the market "I endorse that games should continue be constructed adhering to standards hostile to interoperability laid out by proprietary interests". It is a single vote cast for short term convenience at the expense of long term freedom.
Last edited by GustyGhost on 8 December 2019 at 7:14 pm UTC
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So, what do we tell to PC gamers who are considering to switch to Linux?
Just stick to Windows? I'm sure telling them to just play alternatives won't convince them to switch.
Also, counter-point: do we actually need more "PC gamers" and if so, why? Getting more active community participants is good obviously but getting someone to play their Windows games on Linux instead of Windows seems quite inconsequential to me and any growth in marketshare would similarly be rendered pointless if all of those people are buying Windows software regardless.