this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2024
1214 points (99.8% liked)

Linux

48687 readers
388 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Even gamers nexus' Steve today said that they're about to start doing Linux games performance testing soon. It's happening, y'all, the year of the Linux desktop is upon us. ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

Edit: just wanted to clarify that Steve from GN didn't precisely say they're starting to test soon, he said they will start WHEN the steam OS releases and is adopted. Sorry about that.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] brewbart@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Whelp I tried to switch several years ago to PopOS! as daily driver. Everything was fine and dandy until I tried to use the side buttons of my Razer mouse or my Keychron M3. Short story: not plug-and-play-able. This is a non negotiable feature for me. Maybe I'll find some motivation between the years to tinker again...

[–] penquin@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

This is not a Linux issue, I'm sure you know that. It's the manufacturer who doesn't want to support Linux. Also, many things work now. I have a reddragon mouse and all of the side buttons on it work just fine. As for keychron, I have the V6 and V5 and I use VIA to program the buttons and everything else on it and it works with 0 issues. Maybe give that a shot?

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 197 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (25 children)

To anyone reading this thinking "once SteamOS comes out, I'll switch", you should know:

Gaming on Linux is already here. Pick a distro and game. You can take advantage of Proton right now. You don't need to wait for one specific distro.

I've personally been gaming on Linux exclusively for about 3 years. Windows games, not Linux games.

Edit: based on other commenters' suggestions, I'll give you some.

I have gamed for those three years on PopOS. It is a distro based on Debian, ultimately, which means it's also related to Ubuntu and Mint. Realistically, you can pick any of those 4 and you should have a nice experience.

Arch is popular with the übergeeks, and I do use it on my laptop, BTW, but you shouldn't use it as a first distro.

The concept of "distro" doesn't really exist for Windows, because you pretty much get one monolithic product. But basically, it is a specific mix of software that works together and relies on the Linux kernel. Imagine it as a "version" of Windows with specific goals, some of which are overlapping (e.g. Mint and Ubuntu tend to cater to the same audience).

If you get far enough into it, the freedom that Linux allows means that you can turn any distro into any other distro.

[–] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 117 points 6 days ago (5 children)

"Pick a distro" is why they're waiting for steamos, presumably.

[–] neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 32 points 6 days ago (8 children)

I think that is perfectly valid and I’ll happily recommend steamos to newcomers. I’m only a little worried about it being locked to flatpaks by default though. Hopefully that will change, but for most users it will be a good start.

locked to flatpaks by default makes sense long-term, I think.

Might be a little difficult in the beginning though.

load more comments (7 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] vort3@lemmy.ml 39 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (14 children)

It's actually surprising how easy it is to use.

My wife was playing Baldur's Gate 3 on her windows laptop (GOG version, DRM free) and I just wanted to see if I can run it on my Linux laptop.

Just copied the game folder from her laptop to my external SSD, plugged it into my laptop, ran through proton. Everything works without any issues. Simple as that.

I was pleasantly surprised. We could even join via LAN and had some co-op fun. After trying it out I think I'm buying the game.

load more comments (14 replies)
[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 22 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Tbh the vast majority of people who say "ill switch to (insert Linux distro here) when (insert accomplishment here)" will most likley never switch

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (22 replies)
[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 28 points 5 days ago (2 children)

The only bastion left is anticheat. Everything else are just (bad) old habits fueled by marketing.

[–] dan@upvote.au 11 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

Anti-cheat systems already have to make changes, since Microsoft have plans to significantly restrict kernel mode access after the major Crowdstrike issues earlier in the year. Kernel mode code is very invasive, difficult to get correct, and can result in major security holes or stability issues if not written correctly.

A bug in userland code may crash that one app. A bug in kernel mode code can (and often does) cause bluescreens, that people blame Microsoft for. I'm sure they're tired of being blamed for buggy code written by other companies.

Running the anti cheat code in userland will (in theory) make it easier to run on other OSes too.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Microsoft-paves-the-way-for-Linux-gaming-success-with-plan-that-would-kill-kernel-level-anti-cheat.888345.0.html

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yes indeed, I've followed that from afar (as I generally mostly play offline, definitely not competitively) so I hope this will be the final missing piece.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] amju_wolf@pawb.social 8 points 5 days ago (10 children)

...and VR. VR is already finicky on its own, gaming on Linux can be finicky in different ways, and the issues multiply if you have two things like that.

[–] priapus@sh.itjust.works 5 points 5 days ago

Tends to depend on the headset you own, some work perfectly. Also, Valve is very likely releasing a headset based on SteamOS, which should help.

load more comments (9 replies)
[–] Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip 78 points 6 days ago (18 children)

the biggest wall imo is still getting companies with anticheat games on board.

[–] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 106 points 6 days ago (5 children)

IMO, no one should be playing games with kernel level anticheat. There is no way I would let any big gaming company have that level of control over my PC. It's a security nightmare.

[–] DynamoSunshirtSandals@possumpat.io 20 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I wonder if Valve will eventually offer their own system of checks similar to Google Play Integrity? I don't think I'd care for it since it's an invasion of personal choice on a device that you own, but for people who want to play competitive games with cheating problems, running a partition with integrity checking seems a fair trade.

[–] lordnikon@lemmy.world 23 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Yeah you can do most of that server side but they don't want to pay for it. Why pay when your players let you coop their machine for free or even better yet pay you for the privilege. Also player run dedicated servers would fix all of this. Don't like the cheaters movement servers. Own the server ban them. We had this working just fine in the 90s.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (17 replies)
[–] Technus@lemmy.zip 65 points 6 days ago (10 children)

A Linux distro with a great OOTB experience for gamers would go a long way.

  • Steam pre-installed
  • trustworthy Flatpak packages for popular gamer apps like Discord (not uploaded by some nameless rando)
    • TeamSpeak for curmudgeons like me and my friends
  • desktop environment tailored to Windows users
  • auto-install and configure graphics drivers for AMD and Nvidia
  • configurable automatic updates and system backup
  • choice between Chromium, Firefox, etc. for default browser during setup
  • included in Steam Deck compatibility testing
[–] asap@lemmy.world 61 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Luckily for you this already exists, and it's effectively SteamOS:

https://bazzite.gg/

You can even put this on a Steam Deck as a drop-in replacement.

[–] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 21 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Bazzite is fantastic and it's what I'm running on my gaming laptop, but I've always wondered why you would want to put it on a Steam Deck? Is it for the people who use it as a laptop replacement?

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (9 replies)
[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 51 points 6 days ago (9 children)

When SteamOS releases on all devices people will say "I'll switch when every peice of Windows software is compatible" or some other unreasonable and impossible accomplishment. Even if every peice of Windows software was compatible people would say "ill switch to Linux when it looks and functions identically to Windows".

load more comments (9 replies)
[–] korazail@lemmy.myserv.one 34 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I jumped into Linux, via Mint, about a year ago when I refreshed my hardware. The transition was pretty easy, and I haven't looked back. Steam runs fine and I haven't had a modern game that didn't work under default proton settings except for things I've run outside Steam and mods. Most of my personal PC's workload is gaming and handful of web-based apps that are effectively OS-agnostic; Everything else has an easy equivalent in the apt repos.

I would say that my decision to embrace Linux as my OS was primarily influenced by my Steam Deck. Gaming on it has been simple and the desktop UI was easy to adapt to. I replaced my laptop with the Steam Deck, bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and a USB-C dock with HDMI out (all things I already had for the laptop). I now just hook into whatever TV is handy as a monitor when I need a computer on the go.

I was a tech enthusiast when I was younger, and am thus familiar with fucking around on the command line, but now I'm an old man who just wants his stuff to work and it just has... The barrier of entry for the Linux Desktop is effectively gone. We just need PR now.

Also, I think I'd replace Mint on my primary PC with SteamOS, given a simple way to do so. About a year ago, the desktop/beta SteamOS was not fully baked.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] somenonewho@feddit.org 42 points 6 days ago (3 children)

I've been using Linux exclusively for ~14 years now. Heavily gaming on Linux only for the last ~8 years.

It was possible (though sometimes headache inducing) to play most games back then (Wine and soon Proton to thank) the biggest change IMHO came with SteamPlay since it turned the headache into one click on most games (thanks to the amazing work of wine/proton developers and the tinkering of the community).

When the SteamDeck released people seemed surprised at the breadth of games that were running on day one. To me it was not really a surprise since I had been Linux gaming with SteamPlay all the time and was almost expecting games to "just work" (though I still would and still am checking ProtonDB before purchase).

What the SteamDeck changed in my view was

  1. Showing "everyone" that Linux Gaming is a thing that's happening and been happening for a while. So maybe check it out?
  2. That a Handheld that doesn't have to work around Windows but uses a purpose built OS just makes a lot more sense

I feel that the SteamDeck with SteamOS has really put Linux, especially Linux gaming on the map. Even though I want to be like "Linux Gaming has been a thing forever, I was doing it before it was cool" ;) I have to recognize that fact. In the past years I've seen so many people setting up Linux especially by the way of SteamOS (using HoloISO, Chimera ...) just to play/mess with it which is also why I think an Official SteamOS release will make a huge difference.

Tl;dr: Gaming on Linux was a thing before. But the SteamDeck/SteamOS 3 made a huge impact nonetheless.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Eyck_of_denesle@lemmy.zip 37 points 6 days ago (5 children)

I saw a post on bluesky saying Steamdeck can't be widely adopted because of linux. I asked why is that the case? He says "Linux doesn't run as many games as windows ". I said "only a few and the anti cheat ones". He kept arguing. I asked him about nintendo and he goes "It has the games to back it up" and I blocked him lol.

Millions of games are not enough because its FOMO.

[–] GhiLA@sh.itjust.works 29 points 6 days ago (10 children)

Linux doesn't run as many games as Windows

I'd argue it runs more due to compatibility breaks. Wine just-werks with a lot of old installers.

load more comments (10 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Cheems@lemmy.world 44 points 6 days ago (6 children)

I recently switched to fedora and I didn't think it would be difficult, but it was even easier than I expected. Every game I've tried to play has worked perfectly.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] argarath@lemmy.world 24 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (7 children)

This is the fifth person I see misinterpreting what Steve said about doing Linux performance testing, they aren't going to start doing this soon, they will only start doing it WHEN SteamOS is released for desktops! It was very clear on the video FFS

I'm also really fucking excited for that tho, I recently switched to mint and helldivers 2 actually feels smoother than on windows, it has been such a good experience!! I cannot imagine how much better things will get with more people jumping to Linux and thus game makers actually pay attention to us

load more comments (7 replies)
[–] bad_news@lemmy.billiam.net 14 points 5 days ago

To paraphrase the gay chant from the 90's: 4% is not enough RECRUIT RECRUIT RECRUIT!

[–] john89@lemmy.ca 15 points 6 days ago (5 children)

I've been saying for years: we need a dedicated gaming operating system.

[–] asap@lemmy.world 23 points 6 days ago (4 children)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] witx@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 5 days ago (2 children)

No we don't. Who needs that? That's what consoles are for. Every time I want to play on my computer I would need to dual boot and change to the OS? That's nonsense

Game Devs and device driver Devs need to get their shit together and fix things.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Cyv_@lemmy.blahaj.zone 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Plz gaben I want steamOS official so bad ;-;

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Noved@lemmy.ca 13 points 6 days ago (13 children)

New to the Linux community here; why is a valve owned Linux OS better than any other massive company OS. Like if Microsoft released their own Linux OS, would it be good suddenly?

At the end of the day, we don't want our OS's big company owned right?

[–] john89@lemmy.ca 21 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

SteamOS is better than, for example, macOS and Windows because of licenses.

Since you're new (welcome!), I should let you in on a little secret: pretty much the entire free software movement is built around licensing. I know, it's boring and seems insignificant. But the outcomes are profound.

Because SteamOS is built to function within the free software ecosystem, it means users are never beholden to the decisions of one centralized entity (usually the company that owns the software patents.)

If Valve ever decides to, say, include candy crush ads in SteamOS' start menu (they'd have to make their own start menu, since right now SteamOS uses one that's already made by the free software community), then users can choose to remove that part of the menu or replace the menu altogether without having to start from scratch.

For wealthy people who can always pay the "proprietary tax," this might seem like a non-issue. Practically speaking, these people only want their software to work without hassle. They don't care about the true cost of that software, such as only one entity being able to modify/distribute the software. It's not until, say, photoshop starts charging a subscription (which they can always increase the price of) that people start to see the value in free software and the importance of licensing.

[–] penquin@lemm.ee 15 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Because valve is a private company. They don't have to answer to shareholders. That means, they don't go through enshitifaction, they care about their product and their customers. Are they perfect? Absolutely not, are they good? Better than every single company out there that tries to be like them. Period.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Strawberry@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 6 days ago

Microsoft is deeply entrenched and has undergone decades of enshittification. SteamOS is at only the beginning of this cycle. And since SteamOS is linux-based, it's likely to have ramifications for the whole GNU/Linux ecosystem. Furthermore, if there are two vastly different OSes that developers and graphics card manufacturers need to seriously target, they're more likely to write more platform-agnostic software that everyone can benefit from.

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] NutWrench@lemmy.ml 15 points 6 days ago

Every game I bought on Steam under Windows runs great on Steam in Linux Mint. The few games I didn't buy on Steam (Deus Ex, Giants: Citizen Kabuto) run great on Wine, using the default settings.

Adopting Proton was the smartest thing Valve ever did. They're going to get about 90% of gamers migrating from Windows to Linux, who don't want to fiddle with configuration settings.

[–] DicJacobus@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago (24 children)

I have about 7-9 months to decide what to do with my PC. I don't want to move to windows 11. Because I will have to basically fresh-install my entire system that has 4 drives and god knows how many antiquated programs on it from the XP, Vista and 7 era that I still use. and Im just not ready for it. Im too busy

headache

load more comments (24 replies)
[–] Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (12 children)

I don’t understand this tbh. It’s here already. SteamOS will likely be just like the deck - immutable arch running the existing steam package.

You can totally do this today and it works great. Don’t want to mess with arch and that confusing command line? Use something easier like mint and install the flatpak - then you don’t even have to futz with nvidia drivers. Or use bazzite?

What does steamOS offer that we don’t already have? (Serious question)

load more comments (12 replies)
[–] Patariki@feddit.nl 13 points 6 days ago (21 children)

I just build a new gaming/creative pc, decided to make the jump to linux mint while i was setting up something new. And I honestly expected more hickups than i got, nothing which a quick search didn't fix except for one. My xbox controller won't connect over Bluetooth, it works when connected through a cable though. But I also noticed some stick drift, so I'm tossing it and order an 8bitdo which has those magentic sticks (forgot the name) and linux compatibility.

load more comments (21 replies)
[–] thisisbutaname@discuss.tchncs.de 14 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I just did that. I have a dual boot laptop where Windows was used exclusively for games, and instead of upgrading that I built myself a PC with an AMD GPU (Nvidia, fuck you!).

So far I haven't run into any problem that I couldn't easily solve, and the only games that won't run are those demanding I install an anti cheat system, but I'm fine not playing those.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments