This is just a vent post / unpopular opinion (? unsure if unpopular). Specifically on Steam. Linux native builds are so buggy and glitchy and never work right. Always some combination of:
- No sound
- Old outdated version missing content and incompatible online
- Controllers don’t work
- Crashes, doesn’t launch at all
- Horrific FPS
- Cutscenes don’t play
- Weird game breaking softlocks and logic errors, like critical items not spawning and dialogue not triggering
- Zero support and low priority from the developer
I have none of these issues with Proton. Proton works perfectly fine, I love it. This only happens when a game doesn’t use Proton. As soon as I change to Proton all issues are resolved. This problem has followed me across distros with fresh installs, so it’s not a config issue. Yes I have the correct drivers and such, NVIDIA proprietary unfortunately. It’s so strange, you’d imagine the native build would run better not worse.
The worst part is, it’s not easy to tell when a game will launch using Linux native as it’s the default priority. Games can even silently update and stop working when they gain Linux native “support”. You have to manually go in to properties and override compatibility to proton. Normally I do this when I notice a suspiciously large amount of bugs and I’m like hmm… oh look it’s Steam Linux Runtime 1.0 again.
I wish there was a way to just force Proton globally. Either that or people actually test and maintain their Linux builds. I’d rather there be no Linux build at all if they’re going to be so terrible.
Edit to add commented example list of games:
I couldn’t get a full list because I was relying on having set a flag forcing a specific version of Proton to identify which games were problematic to jog my memory… Unfortunately this data is local only and was not synced between computers, so it was lost when I changed distro. Just from my limited memory though, I can list some that I distinctly remembered when writing up my post, though it’s many more in reality. It’s also surprisingly hard to see whether a game even has a Linux native version, you usually have to wait for the store page to load and scroll down to compatibility, which is just annoying.
Games that worked well:
- Factorio
- Stardew Valley
- Baba Is You
- All Valve games (TF2, DotA2, etc)
Games that had issues:
- 1001 Spikes
- The Case of the Golden Idol
- Broforce
- Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition
- The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
- Cook, Serve, Delicious
- Valheim
- A Game About Feeding A Black Hole
- Audiosurf 2
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
- Slay the Princess
- TIS-100
- Cassette Beasts
- Brotato
- Bit.Trip runner
- Don’t starve together
- Unpacking
- While True: Learn
- Fez
- Magicka 2 (controllers not working)
- One Shot (critical gameplay bug right at the end. Had to watch a let’s play to finish it. I messaged the dev who left me on Read)
- Just Shapes & Beats (no sound)
- Tiny Bookshop (no sound)
- HiveSwap (critical gameplay bug right at the end, and savefile bricked, had to watch a let’s play and the dev ignored me) (I’m not a “fan” I swear, please don’t lynch me)
I’m getting tired and I’m sure you get the point. Almost every game in my experience has been unplayable on Linux runtime. I’m glad it’s working well for you though.
dunno why you’re downvoted. native games that are 10 years old rarely run for me, there’s always some issue with the libraries, even though supposedly they were built against SLR.
I have issues even with new games. They’re just not made well in most cases.
I actually agree. There is a few games that provide a linux build but I had to force using the windows version via proton to fix some issue. Last time I’ve had to do this was Slay the spire II which suffered from a multiplayer crash that just didn’t occur on the windows version. Last year I’ve did the same with X4 Fundation because the performance of the linux build was bad, but it was totally fine via proton.
This is why I’m not amongst these people demanding linux builds for games. I think devs should focus on proton compatibility at this point because it works so well.
Focusing on Proton compatibility makes the most sense and benefits both users and game devs by reducing complexity.
Do you have some examples of games? I play native games and games through Proton and do not see these differences as you outline.
Psychonauts 1. It’s unplayable using native version, but switching to proton and the whole game just run like normal. Granted this is like a very old game and it might be due to compatibility, and so far it’s the only native game that has this issue.
I couldn’t get a full list because I was relying on having set a flag forcing a specific version of Proton to identify which games were problematic to jog my memory… Unfortunately this data is local only and was not synced between computers, so it was lost when I changed distro. Just from my limited memory though, I can list some that I distinctly remembered when writing up my post, though it’s many more in reality. It’s also surprisingly hard to see whether a game even has a Linux native version, you usually have to wait for the store page to load and scroll down to compatibility, which is just annoying.
Games that worked well:
- Factorio
- Stardew Valley
- Baba Is You
- All Valve games (TF2, DotA2, etc)
Games that had issues:
- 1001 Spikes
- The Case of the Golden Idol
- Broforce
- Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition
- The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
- Cook, Serve, Delicious
- Valheim
- A Game About Feeding A Black Hole
- Audiosurf 2
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
- Slay the Princess
- TIS-100
- Cassette Beasts
- Brotato
- Bit.Trip runner
- Don’t starve together
- Unpacking
- While True: Learn
- Fez
- Magicka 2 (controllers not working)
- One Shot (critical gameplay bug right at the end. Had to watch a let’s play to finish it. I messaged the dev who left me on Read)
- Just Shapes & Beats (no sound)
- Tiny Bookshop (no sound)
- HiveSwap (critical gameplay bug right at the end, and savefile bricked, had to watch a let’s play and the dev ignored me) (I’m not a “fan” I swear, please don’t lynch me)
I’m getting tired and I’m sure you get the point. Almost every game in my experience has been unplayable on Linux runtime. I’m glad it’s working well for you though.
Alright, did not expect so many games to be listed. Most oft them are not in my library (but a few are).
Played the original Stanley Parable and do not remember having any technical issues. I plan on playing The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe soon too (just purchased it, noticed there is a good discount on Steam right now). Valve gave it a Steam Deck verified rating and the community rating based on ProtonDB rating is Platinum. Looking at the reports, many play with Proton. Note, I don’t object, just having a look at it.
Yeah in my experience, if it has a Linux native build, it is bad. 90% of the time at least. Of course there’s exceptions, but mostly I try and manually set the Proton version when I play a game the first time. Never have issues with Proton, it’s great.
Though sometimes I forget and run into frustrating issues. Like today actually, I tried to play Magicka 2 with my kid. We only had 30 minutes, and the controllers just weren’t working no matter what I did… It thought every controller was a “steam controller”, so most of the buttons didn’t work at all, because I didn’t have them lol. Couldn’t get past the tutorial. Press the Steam button to use Life energy. Hello, we are using Xbox and Nintendo Switch Pro controllers? Spent the whole time troubleshooting.
Just now when I was writing my list, I was like, no way… Checked the store page. Yep it forget my Compatibility setting between distros, and the Linux native version was the whole problem. Changed it manually to Proton 10 for next time
:/. Works fine now…Ultra deluxe works great as well on Proton. Only problem is that the jump button doesn’t work
:P. Surprisingly my kid likes that game too, which I wasn’t expecting at all.Just a suggestion: Update your post with the list you provided. I feel like lot of people might miss it buried somewhere in the comments, especially if it fills up with more comments over time.
ClusterTruck also has no sound without Proton
Good idea, I did that. Also I just tried Caves of Qud, which apparently has a Linux build. No sound 😂 yet another strike
Maybe it’s a hardware thing? Caves of Qud Linux build works perfectly fine for me.
I’m wondering if my audio setup is confusing some games? I installed JACK and Reaper along with other audio software because I like to make music, but I would think that if it’s not running then it wouldn’t affect anything
I’ll compile a list but it’ll take a while because I don’t remember off the top of my head and I don’t have my library in front of me right now
Borderlands 2: you don’t have the borderlands 4 ads you get in the win through proton version but you also can’t play multiplayer with windows users
It makes a lot of sense that it sadly is that way. Most of the linux gaming work does go into the compatibility layers and then the drivers and software stack is overwhelmingly tested on those compatibility layers due to the lack of demanding native games.
Another issue is that a lot of linux ports are from the original Steam Machine wave that haven’t been updated since. On Steam Deck it’ll automatically use the Proton version in these cases but I don’t think it applies to desktop.
Small tip: press the (i) on the right, next to game settings, and it’ll show what runtime is being used for this game at the bottom.
Bro that’s not a small tip, that’s an epic tip. Makes it so much easier to see what’s actually happening. Ideally there would be that information visible at all times and also in Big Picture Mode, instead of hidden behind a button click in desktop only, but I’ll primarily use it to quickly check compatibility at the time of install. Thanks mate!
The warhammer 3 native build straight up seg faults when I opened it up. Plus u cant play multiplayer, so idk y theybother with it. On proton, I just have to disable shadows to get it working. Works pretty damn well otherwise
But nothing against linux builds here tho, this is just the devs half arsing it
Warhammer 3 is really just rude with their native build. It’s so bad it would be better if they just didn’t bother.
Titan Quest 2 on the other hand works like a charm.
What about flatpaks though? Or you’re talking actual builds?
I don’t think Steam ships flatpaks does it? At least I’ve never seen it.
Steam doesn’t ship flatpak-packaged games themselves, but games launched from Steam’s flatpak version inherit the runtime environment. This is why you need, for example, to install separate flatpak releases for Mangohud, Gamescope, or various Vulkan things.
Running Steam-flatpak can sometimes resolve compatibility issues, since it has greater control over which package versions to use compared to native, system-level packages. Arch and Debian-based systems can have wildly different package versions, but if a flatpak app pins a particular version of a dependency, it will always install and load that regardless of the OS packages.
I see, that’s very confusing and interesting, thank you.
Generally I just try to install things “normally” if possible, like for Steam I just went to their website and downloaded the installer. I often get weird file system and audio and other problems with flatpak and snap, so I just decided one day to avoid those sources if possible lol
I expressed this view before. Wine and Proton are now the Linux Gaming Layer.
Windows has relatively stable APIs or ABI to serve the third party software and games.
Linux does not. It is however so incredibly flexible that it can assimilate entire operating systems as interface layers. I think it’s absolutely awesome we are using Microsoft’s DirectX tech combined with Vulkan to run Windows games faster than Windows does.
It’s been years since I bothered to check if a game I’m buying is Linux compatible or not, because of it isn’t, it will be soon.
There’s a part of Wine called winelib that lets you build an application meant for windows and get a Linux executable. I don’t know if Proton has it too.
https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/wikis/Winelib-User’s-Guide
Completely agreed. Win32 is the most stable API on Linux.
Ideally the devs would target Proton explicitly and test against itPeople who downvote because “hurr durr linux good” but have never had to support a cross-platform application should read Raiguard’s experience of maintaining Factorio’s Linux-native build: https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-408
“Why don’t most games support macOS and Linux?” is a sentiment I often see echoed across the internet. Supporting a new platform is a lot more than just changing some flags and hitting compile. Windows, macOS, Linux, and the Nintendo Switch all use different compilers, different implementations of the C++ standard library, and have different implementation quirks, bugs, and features. You need to set up CI for the new platform, expand your build system to support the new compiler(s) and architecture(s), and have at least one person on the team that cares enough about the platform to actively maintain it. If you are a video game, you will likely need to add support for another graphics backend (Vulkan or OpenGL) as well, since DirectX is Windows-exclusive.
I support every solo and small-team developer who prioritizes making the game over maintaining a completely different platform build.
Supporting a new platform is a lot more than just changing some flags and hitting compile.
Sadly, based on many comments I’ve seen (across the net at large but also here on Lemmy), a lot of gamers really do think it’s that easy.
See also: ‘why don’t the devs just add multiplayer?’
Still get into arguments with Mario Maker 2 players on why multiplayer had to be lockstep sync without “the rollback like fighting games use”
I kind of feel like MM2 is designed around playing multiplayer with people next to you rather than on the other side of the planet
I don’t mind people downvoting. To me that means the games they play don’t have that issues. Maybe I’m just unlucky but I’m also a “variety gamer” so my exposure surface is very high as well
I wouldn’t say just because people downvoted you means they don’t have issues. I for myself don’t have much issues (as far as I know) that can be attributed to Linux builds, and still upvoted you. They might not agree with you fully and that’s why downvote you. In example your statement it didn’t work ever and you always have to use Proton version, but also there are examples of games that worked well. It might be that some games work well and some don’t, I wouldn’t argue against that. But many games work well without Proton.
Also Proton doesn’t work perfectly fine either, depending on the games. In some cases games might even stop working using newer version of Proton. And for some DRMs like Denuvo, Proton is deadly, because every time the Proton version updates, it counts as a new machine (which counts as a new installation for no reason!) and will get you a cooldown of 24 hours before able to play game again; even for single player games.
Yeah that’s true as well. Nothing is perfect, I was just sharing my experience because even today I ran into this issue multiple times and got annoyed.
I noticed people here seem to attribute a lot more meaning to downvotes than other websites, and it’s even a bit taboo to downvote too often. Personally I don’t really think about it that deeply, there’s always people who will disagree with you
There are also people who hate on Proton, because it uses the Windows build and advocate for Linux builds only. They say its bad for Linux, because developers don’t need to understand and care about Linux in the long run anymore. This is not my opinion and I disagree with those statements. So when you say you hate native Linux games, they will downvote you because they disagree with you on that point. As always, there is a truth in all those statements, so I don’t want to discourage anyone for being against Proton.
One thing I want to mention is, that these games on Steam are for the most part proprietary. So having native builds isn’t as effective as having native Open Source builds. The reason we usually want native is, because we can change and adapt issues with Open Source tools and games. But that is not possible with proprietary games. Therefore having them on Proton isn’t losing much on that front.
Yeah that’s a good point. There’s a huge difference between Cities: Skylines and OpenTTD. I feel like those kinds of older style PC games are especially suited to native Linux builds.
Well I downvoted you because I don’t like Australians. They keep bullying me on 4chan!
There’s a list of fixes for games in the archwiki or something like that, that’s how I managed to even open some games, but I only really needed to do it for 1 game. The other ones don’t even have a linux version mostly.
I can agree that an old and buggy version of a game is no fun. But that is as true of Windows versions as Linux versions.
You seem to have much worse luck when starting linux native games than I though. I have no problem with Factorio, Oxygen Not Included or Kingdoms and Castles which I think are the only linux native games I got installed at the moment.
The thing I find much more frequently is that a game released on GOG doesn’t receive the patches and dlc that the developer release on Steam. I always have to verify that a developer actually support their GOG release as well as Steam before buying.I think I had this issue with xcom 2. I thought it was native Linux but I ended up using a proton version I think due to issues.
Xcom 2 is a strange game. Apparently it’s very popular. I remember buying it specifically because it was a game on a list of ‘best games that run natively in linux’ games without knowing what it was about or anything.
Dam is it a difficult game. I can’t tell if i just suck at it or if it’s actually very difficult. I tried it again and after a stupid snake grabbed one of my people with his tongue through a wall like a bullshit master I got so frustrated I had to put it down
Yes, it’s way more difficult than the first one.
I managed to complete the first one, I forget exactly now but I think I struggled through to somewhere near the end of the second and then had to give up.
It’s an extremely difficult game, yes. I lost to the first mission, then 90% of my team died in the second mission, and I’m like, I’m not particularly strategically gifted, maybe this game isn’t for me ^😂^
XCOM is pretty famous for its difficulty and the 2013 reboot was famous for being much, much easier than basically all other games in the series, including its eventual sequel. You basically need to accept losses and strategize around eventually losing some of your people and some missions, because you will.
I’ve experienced countless times a native Linux game not working because of a dependency issue, an outdated version of some library that’s not in the distribution repositories anymore. And it’s often very hard or impossible to find it.
I would say it happened with over half the native games I’ve tried.So unless it’s a popular game with good support, don’t bother and go with wine.
Kerbal Space Program on proton literally uses half the amount of ram compared to the Linux version. I assume the way unity exports for Linux is just not optimized at all but it works. Maybe with Linux gaining popularity these engines will put more effort into making them work well.
classic Unity
This is the actual explanation.
Turns out, Unity on Linux… kinda sucks!
Just, literally at the engine level, outside of all the other shenanigans.
Because Linux is an after thought for them.
ofc and btw the same engine who tried to charge devs for every download they got (but fired the CEO who tried to do that) and owns a company who put malware installer on people’s phone.
Whoa! Hold up there. It’s “Aboriginal” Linux Games. /s
This joke makes me feel uncomfortable
My apologies. A rose is a rose is a rose after all. It’s okay to mention race or culture without being racist or xenophobic. A silly, stupid quip, nothing more. That being said, I paraphrase Mark Twain who said “Some people will go way out of their way to feel offended”.
