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Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

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Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#351

Post by MiddleEndian »

Gigachad wrote: post #29
malbs wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

to give you a single data point, I've finally committed to linux on my desktop machine at home (I posted in another comment on this thread regarding my sim setup, thats another issue), but on the desktop machine, I installed steam, proton, downloaded a few games from my library, and they just worked on install, no stuffing around at all, no searching the web for fixes to get it going. It's probably been 6 years since…

There is value in the gaming specific distros since they already include all the stuff like controller drivers. I installed Bazzite on my desktop which I have plugged in to the TV and it's been every bit as seamless as the steamdeck. It boots up direct in to steam big picture mode and I can do everything with my xbox controller. Bazzite is an immutible os which is absolutely the future of linux. Your install will nev…

One of the straight-up benefits of TV gaming that Bazzite (and presumably any KDE environment, but it's been a bit since I used another) has over Windows is that you can label your Bluetooth devices. I have blue controller, pink controller, white controller, damaged white controller. 90% of my gaming is local multiplayer games and I switch between an actual PS5 and PC, so this is super useful.

Can't do it in Windows 11 for some reason. No option to label them in the new settings app and the option to label them in the old control panel does not work. They all got saved as "Dualsense Controller" and you just had to guess which one you were reconnecting.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#352

Post by akimbostrawman »

coldpie wrote: post #266
akimbostrawman wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>yes games with kernel anticheat won't work. *unless the developers explicitly enabled linux userspace support which some do https://areweanticheatyet.com/

> linux userspace support Note that this is a much less robust form of anti-cheat, which is why many developers do not enable it.

yes because its not a rootkit. it a lot less invasive and more secure for the client device.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#353

Post by nijave »

embedding-shape wrote: post #272
nijave wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

YMMV, I've not had good luck with Bluetooth on any OS

Fun how those things go, I've only ever had troubles with Bluetooth on Apple hardware (both phones and laptops), meanwhile I never had problems with Bluetooth on either Windows or Linux, both desktops and laptops, with controllers, headphones and keyboards. YMMV indeed :)

On Apple, I've had interference problems but the daemon seems stable. On Linux, the daemon locks up and crashes sometimes but no interference issues (so maybe my chip is quirky or not well supported)

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#354

Post by nijave »

foresto wrote: post #314
nijave wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

YMMV, I've not had good luck with Bluetooth on any OS

Your computer's bluetooth module could be the source of the trouble. Some people have found that using a different dongle fixed their wireless controller problems.

That makes sense. I've had the most issues on my old Dell XPS and a dongle would be annoying on such a small laptop

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#355

Post by functional_dev »

simmanian wrote: post #10

A few weeks ago, I installed linux (Nobara, if you're curious) on my PC and hooked it up to the living room TV to use as a gaming console. I have absolutely no regret. I did it initially because apparently playing games on a shared screen is better for my kid. But I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly Windows only games run on Linux. The whole experience has been great, and I don't think I'll ever go back. I hav…

what surprised me is how Proton works under the hood... no emulation at all!

wine translates win API -> Linux. Then DXVK converts DirectX calls into Vulkan in real time, and VKD3D-Proton for DX 12. so it always native Vulkan.. no wonder performance is even better than in windows!

this laid it out it for me visually - https://vectree.io/c/how-proton-runs-windows-games-on-linux-...

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#356

Post by simmanian »

tasuki wrote: post #318
simmanian wrote: post #10

A few weeks ago, I installed linux (Nobara, if you're curious) on my PC and hooked it up to the living room TV to use as a gaming console. I have absolutely no regret. I did it initially because apparently playing games on a shared screen is better for my kid. But I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly Windows only games run on Linux. The whole experience has been great, and I don't think I'll ever go back. I hav…

> I did it initially because apparently playing games on a shared screen is better for my kid. Explain please?

I read online that playing games on a shared screen is better because it establishes gaming as a group/social activity.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#357

Post by foresto »

drnick1 wrote: post #338
foresto wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Debian Stable gamer here. > Honestly, don't use debian for gaming, as it is too far behind. Gaming stuff needs a bit more bleeding edge packages. Please stop spreading this misconception. There are only a tiny handful of packages that a Debian gamer might need to update, and those are generally available in Debian Backports. It's not what I would call a beginner distro for any purpose, but gaming on it is perfectly v…

This is true, but you may be missing out on performance and compatibility improvements from recent ("bleeding edge") drivers. You need recent hardware for this to be relevant. Generally speaking, you don't need rock-solid stability on a gaming rig or even a "workstation," since uptime isn't really a consideration. I run Debian on my home server, but my other machines, including a backup laptop, all run Arch. A good A…

> This is true, but you may be missing out on performance and compatibility improvements from recent ("bleeding edge") drivers.

No, not missing out. Just waiting a few weeks longer than I would on a rolling distro, until the improvements arrive in Debian Backports. (If I'm really impatient, I can install something manually or make my own backport, but I'm assuming most people won't do that.) I have experienced cases like you describe, such as when I bought an RDNA3 GPU shortly after the platform was released, but they have been infrequent in my experience, and never so urgent that I couldn't wait a few weeks.

> you don't need rock-solid stability on a gaming rig or even a "workstation," since uptime isn't really a consideration.

System uptime is a consideration whenever I need my computer for something immediately, but my choice of Debian is not only about that. It's also about my time. Debian generally requires attention less often than other distros. Less time spent troubleshooting when things break. Less time re-learning things or adjusting workflows when new software versions change their behavior or interface. Fewer annoying interruptions. A low-maintenance system leaves me more time to get work done, or play games.

Also worth noting: These days, a lot of the components that games use are provided by the likes of Steam or Flatpak, which means they will be at exactly the same version and updated exactly as often on every Linux distro.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#358

Post by forrestthewoods »

scheeseman486 wrote: post #349
forrestthewoods wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have a SteamDeck. Have shipped games for Linux.

SteamOS is Arch with atomic updates and some custom patches here and there. The system stack is pretty standard; Mesa drivers, Steam Linux Runtime, Proton, it's all what ships on every other distro. The only significant difference is that games run in gamescope-session by default, but that isn't exclusive to SteamOS either and doesn't meaningfully affect the execution of software, it's just a different window manager…

Let me take the game developer lens. You love Linux and want to support Linux. What is the cost to you?

SteamDeck is a very specific set of hardware running a very specific OS with a specific runtime. This is very easy. The fact that it is Linux is almost immaterial. If it were not Linux at all it would require a similar amount of effort. Might as well be a Nintendo Switch.

Now let’s imagine you want to support generic Linux desktop with a native Linux exe. May God have mercy on your soul. Deploying pre-compiled binaries that run on an infinite number of hardware variations running an infinite number of local variables env permutations is an unfathomable nightmare.

Once upon a time I shipped a native Linux binary (Planetary Annihilation). Somewhat infamously our Linux users were less than 1% of users but ~50% of bug reports. And no it wasn’t because Linux users simply report more general gameplay bugs.

These days you can support Linux by just giving them a Win32 binary. Which is objectively hilarious.

In any case. It would be profoundly fascinating to know the number of gameplay hours played across OSs. And I would imagine that SteamDeck accounts for over 90% of Linux gaming hours.

The Year of the Linux Desktop is still not here. Not yet. IMHO. YMMV.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#359

Post by rkomorn »

forrestthewoods wrote: post #358
scheeseman486 wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SteamOS is Arch with atomic updates and some custom patches here and there. The system stack is pretty standard; Mesa drivers, Steam Linux Runtime, Proton, it's all what ships on every other distro. The only significant difference is that games run in gamescope-session by default, but that isn't exclusive to SteamOS either and doesn't meaningfully affect the execution of software, it's just a different window manager…

Let me take the game developer lens. You love Linux and want to support Linux. What is the cost to you? SteamDeck is a very specific set of hardware running a very specific OS with a specific runtime. This is very easy. The fact that it is Linux is almost immaterial. If it were not Linux at all it would require a similar amount of effort. Might as well be a Nintendo Switch. Now let’s imagine you want to support gener…

> Once upon a time I shipped a native Linux binary (Planetary Annihilation).

Pretty sure I kickstarter'd that! But also never actually played it.

Re: Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March

#360

Post by tasuki »

simmanian wrote: post #356
tasuki wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I did it initially because apparently playing games on a shared screen is better for my kid. Explain please?

I read online that playing games on a shared screen is better because it establishes gaming as a group/social activity.

Thanks. Believable - when my kid is glued to a tablet with another kid and they're talking about what they're seeing or doing, it makes me feel much better than when she's doind the same by herself...
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