Steam Deck ~ PC Switch

[TemplarGR]

Most anti-cheat systems won't get Linux versions - for the same reason why you cannot emulate them. They're doing stuff that user application should never do.

The Linux kernel is in the process of acquiring an API to help with anticheat software, by closeley matching what Windows do. It is a work in progress and not accepted in the official kernel as far as i know yet, but it will come eventually, even as a 3rd party modification.

 

[TemplarGR]

Just a massive surge in people entering PC gaming, of course

Every dudebro, grandma and grandpa realized that all these years on Xbox 360 and Wii were a waste and decided to enter the PC Master race, whatever the cost.

 

[Azdul]

The Linux kernel is in the process of acquiring an API to help with anticheat software, by closeley matching what Windows do. It is a work in progress and not accepted in the official kernel as far as i know yet, but it will come eventually, even as a 3rd party modification.

Fedora and Ubuntu will not allow 3rd party kernel module that creates giant hole in SELinux / AppArmor to allow the game to scan the system looking for cheats. And developers won't bother with Linux version that will work only on SteamOS and not on other popular distributions.

Sometimes DRM / anticheat is toned down in Linux version - and that is the way to go. DRM / anticheat should be implemented server-side - without installing crap on end-user machines - no matter if it is Windows or Linux.

 

[TemplarGR]

Fedora and Ubuntu will not allow 3rd party kernel module that creates giant hole in SELinux / AppArmor to allow the game to scan the system looking for cheats. And developers won't bother with Linux version that will work only on SteamOS and not on other popular distributions.

Sometimes DRM / anticheat is toned down in Linux version - and that is the way to go. DRM / anticheat should be implemented server-side - without installing crap on end-user machines - no matter if it is Windows or Linux.

While i agree that server side anticheats would be best, you are wrong about the new API. The new API is not a security hole, it can only be used by specific applications that demand it, and it can be restricted by the admin. Administrators in Fedora and Ubuntu can already ruin the whole system whenever they want to, so letting the admin allow certain Steam video games to use a new kernel API is not a security hole.

Also, 3rd party patches/modifications are being used by pretty much most linux distributions. Only a few use vanilla Linux kernel.

 

[Zarniwoop]

And retards on the codex will blame MUH MINERZ

Imagine thinking the GPU shortage isn't due to miners when you can print money even when buying a GPU at 300% of MSRP.
No, there's just a magical massive increase in demand that came from nowhere. Just a massive surge in people entering PC gaming, of course. Nvidia seeing record, continual quarterly growth is a lie pushed by the people who want to blame the blameless miners that buy every GPU as soon as it's available.
https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-financial-results-for-first-quarter-fiscal-2022

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported record revenue for the first quarter ended May 2, 2021, of $5.66 billion, up 84 percent from a year earlier

It would indeed be silly to believe that. Personally I haven't heard anyone claiming magic so far. Most people know exactly where the demand comes from, or they're MUH MINER retards like yourself.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

You can play also the Switch games on it.

 

[whydoibother]

ITS NOT A WINDOWS EMULATOR, IT JUST EMULATES WINDOWS BEHAVIOR GRRRRRRR

Okay fag.

 

[Xi]

How well does Wine handle old games? Seems like this thing would be good for that if it does.

Not to mention, you'd probably get good battery life running old games since they don't require much compute.

Edit: If something like this does well, it may take a small bite out of windows gaming dominance.

 

[Utfärd]

Check them out yourself https://www.protondb.com/
Some work, some do after a bit of fiddling or a lot of fiddling and tearing your hair out trying to diagnose why it doesnt launch. The only game that made me install windows was pathologic 1.
You can play dosbox games on steam in a neat way https://github.com/dreamer/boxtron

 

[Abu Antar]

After thinking about it, I won't get it. If I bought one, I'd use it to connect to my TV. I already connect my PC to TV while playing action games or some jrpgs. I wouldn't play on the go. I have a 3DS/PSP/Vita for that.

 

[Biscotti]

I've had varying experiences with getting old games to run on Wine. Some can literally just be setup like their windows equivalent with wine prefixes, but if there's no lutris script for it or a guide on ProtonDB you're likely in for a bit of tinkering and research.
I played the original Tomb Raider on Linux recently, and honestly if there wasn't an excellent Lutris script for it, I'm pretty sure I would've been in for quite a bit of research before ending up with a functioning install. On the other hand, I tried replaying the original KotOR about a year ago and I couldn't get it to run properly on my Windows install no matter how hard I tried. Meanwhile on Linux it took me about 5 minutes to get a perfectly functioning and modernized install going.

 

[Melcar]

The only old games in my library that I can't run straight up in Wine (even with a GOG installer) are the original three Tomb Raiders and IWD2. All others I have tried (Thief, ToEE, Fallout 1&2, Fallout Tactics, NWN 1&2, Freespace 2, Diablo, Baldur's Gate 1&2, IWD, PST, Deus Ex, Abe's Odyssey) work with no special tweaks, even with the original ISOs and CD cracks.

 

[Biscotti]

Thief worked OoB for you? Many people, myself included, get horrible audio stuttering and a choppy framerate without installing NewDark first.

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

Didn't Steam already try this a couple of times with Steam OS and that Steam box console thing? Steam does online PC gaming pretty well. And that's about it.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I've had varying experiences with getting old games to run on Wine. Some can literally just be setup like their windows equivalent with wine prefixes, but if there's no lutris script for it or a guide on ProtonDB you're likely in for a bit of tinkering and research.
I played the original Tomb Raider on Linux recently, and honestly if there wasn't an excellent Lutris script for it, I'm pretty sure I would've been in for quite a bit of research before ending up with a functioning install. On the other hand, I tried replaying the original KotOR about a year ago and I couldn't get it to run properly on my Windows install no matter how hard I tried. Meanwhile on Linux it took me about 5 minutes to get a perfectly functioning and modernized install going.

Proton runs a lot more games out of the box than wine does, fyi. It has a lot of game-specific fixes and various modifications.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

(game developer here) One thing to note about Linux and Proton.... When you are running Linux with a fast and dedicated GPU proton performance is generally worse than Windows. But on an APUs, a lot of dx9-dx11 games actually run better through the compatibility layer than natively in Windows (at 720p). The main reason being that DXVK (DirectX to Vulkan API converter) greatly improves memory bandwidth by stripping away the whole pipeline of preparing graphics instruction (draw calls) to the GPU via the CPU. Resulting in far fewer read and writes to an already limited memory bus of an APU. As an example, in an older game like Dishonored I can never fully reach 60fps on my Ryzen 2500U laptop in Windows. It regularly dips down to 45 and 50fps at weird places which are neither CPU or GPU bound.... With Proton in Linux on the other hand, 60fps is easily achieved. Generally performance in 1080p is worse than Windows by a couple of percent due to being GPU constrained, however at 720p Proton has the advantage in a lot of games (even if it is not native)... So, with this being said. Proton is not necessarily having negative impact on games, especially when it comes to APU performance at lower resolutions.

 

[Biscotti]

Proton runs a lot more games out of the box than wine does, fyi. It has a lot of game-specific fixes and various modifications.

I meant Wine in a more general manner, including Proton. Sure, Proton will run a lot of things perfectly just like that, but tinkering is going to be necessity for certain games. Really no different than getting old games to run Windows, except with a slightly different approach.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

How well does Wine handle old games?

Some old Win'95 games run better on Wine than on Win10.

 

[Melcar]

Proton patches and fixes get upstreamed to Wine-Staging. In general terms Wine-Staging+DXVK=Proton. The main differences are Steam platform specific fixes.

 

[Fedora Master]

 

[ADULF HITLOR FAN KLUB]

I hear there are a lot of extremely talented black engineers in Wakanda.

 

[good fucking shit happen]

The president of Valve ain't black and that needs to change. Nobody cares about the tech monkeys. You just give some chink a Switch and tell him to copy that while you bang his wife in the next room.

 

[Readher]

 

[Zarniwoop]

Didn't Steam already try this a couple of times with Steam OS and that Steam box console thing? Steam does online PC gaming pretty well. And that's about it.

Basically what I said.

Everything hardware related they tried has been a colossal failure. The online shovelware store is doing great. Everything else, not so much. And to launch it now, in the worst hardware shortage ever (because huuuuurrrrr muh minerz are buying all the PS5s and laptops) is definitely not a good start.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Shit, this thing will be amazing. Not going to do any favors for the shortages...