The holiday season is approaching, so today we offer a slightly
lighter, but interesting topic. After a period of tumultuous
development, Linux gaming has finally managed to win the trust of gamers
and convince them to the platform from under the penguin sign. Thanks
to digital video game distribution services, gamers can enjoy their
favorite Windows titles also on EuroLinux Desktop.
However, before trying to install Steam, you should make sure that
EuroLinux Desktop includes the required graphics drivers. If not, Nvidia
users should download the company's official drivers, and AMD users
should install the open Mesa drivers.
Compatibility layers
- Wine – allows Windows programs to run on Linux using native Linux libraries, APIs and drivers.
- Proton – Wine fork by Valve, with some special tools for additional compatibility.
- Vulkan – a cross-platform, open-source graphics API
that is capable of using most DirectX calls present in Windows games.
Although you can install DirectX in Wine, a "more native" alternative is
to use just Vulkan.
A breakthrough for gaming on Linux systems was the introduction of
DXVK (DirectX to Vulkan), a tool for converting Microsoft DirectX 11 and
DirectX 10 graphics calls to Vulkan, an open source graphics API that
is compatible with Linux. DXVK is mainly used in Steam Play and is part
of the Proton group. The solution works differently than the traditional
emulator approach to gaming, where you have to use a Windows virtual
machine and play as if "inside it." DXVK allows translation and full use
of the computer's hardware resources. With this solution we get
comparable performance to the native version of the game.
ProtonDB
ProtonDB
is a service that compiles player experiences into a convenient-to-view
database where you can see how well a title performs on GNU/Linux. The
service has an actively growing community of testers who help improve
Proton. Users can easily check the game's compatibility rating, leave
reviews, and rate performance and compatibility. Game testers also leave
bug fixes and tips on what to do to fix a game and help it run on
Linux. Using the site, you can search for games from your library on the
homepage or link your Steam account to check the status of each game in
one go.
Steam
Steam is Valve's digital video game distribution service and store.
The Steam software client was launched in September 2003 as a way to
provide automatic updates for games developed by Valve. It was then
expanded in late 2005 to include the ability to distribute titles from
other game publishers. Steam offers various features such as digital
rights management (DRM), game server matchmaking and anti-cheat
programs, as well as social services and streaming games.
Civilization V game running via Steam on EuroLinux Desktop
To install Steam on EuroLinux 9 Desktop, run the following commands:
sudo dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm && \
sudo dnf install snapd && \
sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket && \
snap install --beta steam
Activate Proton in Steam
Proton is integrated into the Steam client via "Steam Play." To activate Proton, launch the Steam client and click the Steam menu in the upper left corner. Then click the Settings menu to open a new window, and the Steam Play button. At the bottom of the panel, select Enable Steam Play for Supported Titles and leave the Proton Experimental
selection in the drop-down list. The application will ask you to
restart the Steam client. If you want to try other games that are not
guaranteed to work on Linux, check the Enable Steam Play for All Other Titles checkbox.
GOG
GOG is a digital distribution platform service for video games and
movies. It makes many DRM-free digital games available for many
platforms, including Linux. A Linux version of the client is planned,
but an expected release date is not available. Nevertheless, in the
Software application in the FlatHub repository, you can find several
minimalist clients for this (Polish) provider. In addition, GOG provides
standalone game installers, so you can use it with any web browser. GOG
is also integrated with the Lutris platform.
Lutris
Lutris is a free and open source game manager for GNU/Linux. It
provides a consistent interface and community installation scripts that
automatically configure the Wine environment for specific game titles.
Lutris also offers integration for software purchased from GOG, Humble
Bundle, Steam and Epic Games Store. These can be run after logging into
the respective services, directly through the Lutris app. In addition,
Lutris supports more than 20 emulators, including ScummVM, DOSBox.
Dolphin, MAME, Snes9x, PCSX2 and PPSSPP. On EuroLinux Desktop, the
Lutris client can be installed directly from the Software application by
searching the FlatHub repository.
Lutris interface after GOG.com integration
Installing a game from GOG.com via Lutris
Game running on EuroLinux Desktop thanks to the Lutris service
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