The first category is still definitely under-covered by linux compatibility. If I look at the game I am currently playing, recently released, Solarpunk, I can’t run it on Linux. I didn’t have to look very far.
So, no, it is not only e-sports titles. It’s going in the right direction, but it’s still not enough for Linux to be a good recommendation for gaming over Windows.
If people want to switch to Linux for gaming, that’s fantastic. But the incessant “Don’t go for Windows, go for Linux” push without mentioning that you won’t be able to play all the same titles does piss me off.
I wasn’t aware that there was such an advanced compatibility layer! This is good news!
Then Solarpunk is a bad example :) And the compatibility coverage is higher than I thought. But, since it isn’t close to complete, especially as you said when it comes to esports titles, which are extremely popular, it’s still the honest route to mention that when recommending Linux gaming.
It might be enough to make me finally do the switch on my gaming PC, though.
Ahh yeah, if you were looking only at games with native support then you’d have found an extremely small pool. Even games with native Linux versions often run better with the Windows one using proton these days. The big holdout is anticheat, which developers can choose to manually disable Linux support for (which they’re motivated to do since there’s no way to get them running kernel-level like on Windows).
Fully agreed on warning people. It’s weird to oversell something you want someone to be happy with, glazing over pitfalls that might turn out to be show stoppers just means there’s a chance they’ll have wasted their time. Even if they’re willing to put up with the little issues in the end, you’re setting them up for disappointment. It’s better to go into a movie with low expectations and be surprised that it’s half way decent vs going in expecting it to be a masterpiece right?
EDIT: On that note, I should add there’s still a small handful of single player games that don’t run well, as well as some others that require tweaks (manually setting the proton version and/or adding launch arguments) to play well. You should definitely check each game you care about out on protondb before making the switch, if you’re considering it. The one I’ve had issues with was Forza 6 (I’ve since refunded it), which had occasional micro stutters that ruined the fun- it had just come out mind you so it may have since been fixed…
The first category is still definitely under-covered by linux compatibility. If I look at the game I am currently playing, recently released, Solarpunk, I can’t run it on Linux. I didn’t have to look very far.
So, no, it is not only e-sports titles. It’s going in the right direction, but it’s still not enough for Linux to be a good recommendation for gaming over Windows.
If people want to switch to Linux for gaming, that’s fantastic. But the incessant “Don’t go for Windows, go for Linux” push without mentioning that you won’t be able to play all the same titles does piss me off.
Are you talking about this Solarpunk? Because it has a platinum rating (which means it works flawlessly).
https://www.protondb.com/app/1805110
I wasn’t aware that there was such an advanced compatibility layer! This is good news!
Then Solarpunk is a bad example :) And the compatibility coverage is higher than I thought. But, since it isn’t close to complete, especially as you said when it comes to esports titles, which are extremely popular, it’s still the honest route to mention that when recommending Linux gaming.
It might be enough to make me finally do the switch on my gaming PC, though.
Ahh yeah, if you were looking only at games with native support then you’d have found an extremely small pool. Even games with native Linux versions often run better with the Windows one using proton these days. The big holdout is anticheat, which developers can choose to manually disable Linux support for (which they’re motivated to do since there’s no way to get them running kernel-level like on Windows).
Fully agreed on warning people. It’s weird to oversell something you want someone to be happy with, glazing over pitfalls that might turn out to be show stoppers just means there’s a chance they’ll have wasted their time. Even if they’re willing to put up with the little issues in the end, you’re setting them up for disappointment. It’s better to go into a movie with low expectations and be surprised that it’s half way decent vs going in expecting it to be a masterpiece right?
EDIT: On that note, I should add there’s still a small handful of single player games that don’t run well, as well as some others that require tweaks (manually setting the proton version and/or adding launch arguments) to play well. You should definitely check each game you care about out on protondb before making the switch, if you’re considering it. The one I’ve had issues with was Forza 6 (I’ve since refunded it), which had occasional micro stutters that ruined the fun- it had just come out mind you so it may have since been fixed…