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For gamers, one of the biggest drawbacks to Linux operating systems is the lack of compatibility with many major PC games. Valve created their own SteamOS, which is Linux-based, but ultimately it didn't go very far in terms of gaming. Steam machines running the aforementioned OS were quietly removed from Steam's main page, though updates are still being pushed out. Within some of these updates have been interesting notes, with references to something that could "let users play games built for other operating systems". Called "Steam Play", it would work similarly to Wine, and allow for Linux users to boot Windows games on their computer. It appears that Steam has been tinkering and playing with such a feature since at least January of this year. While a 3.0 update of SteamOS is coming soon, we probably won't see anything officially announced in regards to this for a while yet, if ever. Since Valve hasn't said anything about this, it could just be something that the company is looking into to test the waters, but at the same time, the latest updates show that they've created a UI to change settings in regards to "Steam Play", meaning things could be a bit more concrete.

Source: GitHub

 

[SomeKindOfUsername]

I predict they'll get a few games up and running, maybe provide the tools free and rely on other developers and the community to get other games working, promise some huge overhaul/improvement down the line, then get bored and go back to focusing on Dota 2, CS:GO, and sometimes VR tech demos.

 

[WildDog]

If there's an issue with a specific feature on an operating system, shouldn't it be up to the developers to fix/mitigate said issue instead of leaving it in the dumpster fire? Abandoning the entire notion of gaming on Linux would be rather complacent of them.

Besides, many people don't like Windows for various reasons, be it telemetry concerns, forced updates, OS design, or stability issues, and want a viable alternative.

But there are viable alternatives to Windows, you have like a loads of Linux distro that you can use for the 99% of the stuff. You can even add them to a "windows domain" and share content in a local network. The only thing you can't is gaming and that one you can't blame Microsoft for it..... Developers are the one that jus don't want to release a game on Linux....
OpenGl(Now Vulkan) exist since 1992, a lot of games are able to run either in DX mode or OpenGl mode. So they can port the game to linux quite easy. But they just don't want.


Microsoft made Windows as a streamlined as possible, easy to use for the average user. 10 years ago i was a Linux zealot, i would install ubuntu or any other distro in any new pc i build for myself, friends and for sale in the place i was using... The machines were cheaper due to the lack of windows license, but the user would complaing about not being able to use it like they wanted.

-Cumbersome repositories that don't always have the latest and all the software avaible.

-Most of the software that is not in the repositories, you will have to build it using cli and most important download all the dependencies it may need...

-Office solutions most of the time save in their native format... So when average joe sends an file instead of being docx is odt,etc it will cause a nightmare for both user (YES something as basic as save as and selecting .docx can be hard for the average user)


Is not either Linux or Windows, both them coexist. For some functions linux is much better than Windows but for others Windows just beat the crap out of any linux distro.

well... linux is free

So?

 

[Deleted User]

But there are viable alternatives to Windows, you have like a loads of Linux distro that you can use for the 99% of the stuff. You can even add them to a "windows domain" and share content in a local network. The only thing you can't is gaming and that one you can't blame Microsoft for it..... Developers are the one that jus don't want to release a game on Linux....

A viable alternative for playing video games. Sorry, I should have specified that earlier. Also...

But let's face it gaming is not the strong point of linux, issues with propertary drivers, poor performance.. even on native port.

...

Yes and what distro should they use? what drivers?
Windows is more streamlined for gaming, that's why developers don't even bother releaseing ports for Linux OS, because they know it will be a nightmare to support all the different OS and drivers out there.

OpenGl(Now Vulkan) exist since 1992, a lot of games are able to run either in DX mode or OpenGl mode. So they can port the game to linux quite easy. But they just don't want.

You seem to be contradicting yourself at this point. You say that developing for Linux is a nightmare due to poor driver support, but then turn around and say that any game can run in OpenGL and that porting games to Linux is a trivial matter? Also, OpenGL and Vulkan are two completely different graphics APIs.

-Office solutions most of the time save in their native format... So when average joe sends an file instead of being docx is odt,etc it will cause a nightmare for both user (YES something as basic as save as and selecting .docx can be hard for the average user)

It is possible for LibreOffice to export to .docx files, you know. You're given the option to save to .docx or any format of your choice at the "Save As..." screen.

 

[WildDog]

A viable alternative for playing video games. Sorry, I should have specified that earlier.

But you do, you have a lot consoles, like PS4, Switch, Xbox one, 3DS XL.

You seem to be contradicting yourself at this point. You say that developing for Linux is a nightmare due to poor driver support, but then turn around and say that any game can run in OpenGL and that porting games to Linux is a trivial matter? Also, OpenGL and Vulkan are two completely different graphics APIs.

I don't think you read what i said..
No i'm not contradicting myself.
I never said it was a nightamre to port, but a nightmare to support, which is a whole different thing.
Drivers are indeed a big mess ranging from somewhat official drivers to Open source ones that are either a great or a mess.
Also Vulkan is the continution of Open Gl, it would be a "Open GL 5.0"... but they got a new name and want to unify GL with GL ES. If MS tomorrow release DX13 but instead of calling it DX 13 it call it "MS X" it would be still from the family of DX.

It is possible for LibreOffice to export to .docx files, you know. You're given the option to save to .docx or any format
of your choice at the "Save As..." screen.

Again you are not reading what i said... I never said it was not possible. I said that for the average joe that works in an office, THAT what you said is annoying and cumbersome.

 

[Deleted User]

But you do, you have a lot consoles, like PS4, Switch, Xbox one, 3DS XL.

PC Gaming, I meant.

I don't think you read what i said..
No i'm not contradicting myself.
I never said it was a nightamre to port, but a nightmare to support, which is a whole different thing.

How exactly? Part of the whole process of porting a game from one system to another is to ensure that it runs, with minimal bugs or hiccups, on the target system. If a port doesn't support the system(s) that it was meant to run on, then the whole porting job was a bust. Besides, many modern games run using a pre-made engine such as Unity, which not only supports Linux out of the box, but even has the editor available for Linux.

Drivers are indeed a big mess ranging from somewhat official drivers to Open source ones that are either a great or a mess.
Also Vulkan is the continution of Open Gl, it would be a "Open GL 5.0"... but they got a new name and want to unify GL with GL ES. If MS tomorrow release DX13 but instead of calling it DX 13 it call it "MS X" it would be still from the family of DX.

I concede that Vulkan is a continuation of OpenGL, but there are differences in the underlying API that make them distinct from each other, whereas earlier versions of OpenGL always maintained backwards-compatibility with the previous version's API. Code written for Vulkan will not work for OpenGL, and vice versa. This concept of API backwards-compatibility also applies to DirectX. Naming conventions have nothing to do with it.

 

[WildDog]

How exactly? Part of the whole process of porting a game from one system to another is to ensure that it runs, with minimal bugs or hiccups, on the target system. If a port doesn't support the system(s) that it was meant to run on, then the whole porting job was a bust. Besides, many modern games run using a pre-made engine such as Unity, which not only supports Linux out of the box, but even has the editor available for Linux..

One thing is to make the game working in a system another is give support to it.
A lot of games use Unreal Engine 4, that engine has native Linux. How many games that were released using Unreal Engine 4 have a Linux release? Not a lot.
Why? Microsoft forces devs only to release games for Windows? Not really.
Linux is a cluster f#ck of distros, drivers, libraries, etc.
For a company to give support to a Linux release is a nightmare that can end in the software returns(profit loss) , warranty issues(profit loss), even demands(profit loss). So why bother to release the game for linux, when Windows once again is more streamlined and much easier find and fix issues.
But if that's not the case, why you think Developers don't release games on Linux

I concede that Vulkan is a continuation of OpenGL, but there are differences in the underlying API that make them distinct from each other, whereas earlier versions of OpenGL always maintained backwards-compatibility with the previous version's API. Code written for Vulkan will not work for OpenGL, and vice versa. This concept of API backwards-compatibility also applies to DirectX. Naming conventions have nothing to do with it.

A code written for DX11 won't work on DX6. A game that was meant to be played on DX6 most likely won't work on a new PC. Yet they belong to the same family even if they are not backward compatible.
Down the road the predecesor of Vulkan is Open GL.

 

[Deleted User]

One thing is to make the game working in a system another is give support to it.
A lot of games use Unreal Engine 4, that engine has native Linux. How many games that were released using Unreal Engine 4 have a Linux release? Not a lot.
Why? Microsoft forces devs only to release games for Windows? Not really.
Linux is a cluster f#ck of distros, drivers, libraries, etc.

It may also have to do with the fact that you have to compile UE4 from source on Linux. There are other options for game engines out there, such as Game Maker Studio and Unity, which don't require you to perform such a task.

For a company to give support to a Linux release is a nightmare that can end in the software returns(profit loss) , warranty issues(profit loss), even demands(profit loss). So why bother to release the game for linux, when Windows once again is more streamlined and much easier find and fix issues.
But if that's not the case, why you think Developers don't release games on Linux

Honestly, profit loss and risk vs. reward seem like a sounder reasons for a lack of Linux support, more than anything else. Linux users are, admittedly, a minority when it comes to personal computer users as a whole, and many tend to hold a distrust of proprietary software, which results in companies choosing to ignore support for the OS entirely.

A code written for DX11 won't work on DX6. A game that was meant to be played on DX6 most likely won't work on a new PC. Yet they belong to the same family even if they are not backward compatible.
Down the road the predecesor of Vulkan is Open GL.

Fair enough. I guess I had DirectX11 in mind; it's backwards-compatible with DirectX9, which has been in use since 2002.