How are people coping with games that just won’t run on Linux (aside from leaving them behind)? Do you dual boot Windows? Virtualize? What’s your strategy for this?
This will be extremely rare for me since I don’t play a lot of competitive stuff, but I’d love to find a solution. I have a large library, and it’s bound to happen from time to time.
I was a total Rust junkie, I was playing 40 hours a week. Then they dropped support for the Linux client and wouldn’t let Proton users do EAC. I had to stop cold turkey. But I fucking did it, because fuck capital-driven operating systems designed to exploit me and my own computer against me.
I use Tiny11 when I have to use Windows to run games.
This modified Windows edition has no ads, no Edge browser, no forced online microsoft account, and no forced updates, so it’s a tolerable Windows edition.
Tiny11 Core is not suitable for use on physical hardware as it outright disables updates. It’s best used for short-term VM instances.
Tiny11 also has problems with updates. The advantages gained through Tiny11 will erode with applying Windows updates. The installer is more tolerable than Windows 11 by not forcing an online account (but still needing to touch telemetry settings). Components like Edge and One drive will inevitably rebuild themselves back in with cumulative updates. If this is something that coerces you to not update your system, don’t subject yourself to using Tiny11. Additionally Tiny11 fails to apply some cumulative updates out of the box, which could be a further security risk.
I recently tested the main Tiny11 in a VM based on a different user recommending it in a now deleted thread. I was skeptical knowing the history of Tiny10 onward that 11 would actually be able to update properly, and NY findings backed up my initial skepticism of functional updates.
I just use Windows to run games. I need nothing else on Windows. So Tiny11 is good enough for me.
In terms of safety, I don’t store any information on Windows, so I never update it. It’s just a gaming tool for me.
If my game accounts like Ubisoft, Steam, or GOG are leaked, it’s acceptable. They are just some email addresses and automatically generated passcodes, easy to update. It’s not important.
And the file systems used by Windows and Linux partitions aren’t mutually readable, so running games on Windows is hardly likely to affect the safety of the Linux partition. It’s perfect.
Mostly same here, but (I have an SSD with W10 on it. I haven’t booted into my Windows drive since 2023. I only had a a few games installed on that drive, but it was also useful for the rare instance that I needed to some some propriety configuration utility.
Why are we conforming to fit the software’s needs instead of vice-versa? Fuck the devs who can’t be assed to make it work for proton at the least. This isn’t my job, I’m not being paid to use software that goes against my values. There’s tens of thousands of games out there and I’m gonna let myself get so hung up on the few hundred that don’t work that i just go back to m$?
Fuck. That. They deserve to get left behind. No piece of media is worth compronising on my values to consume.
It has been my experience that avoiding games with shitty features like microtransactions and whatnot, or where the studio treats its staff poorly, that kind of thing, also virtually guarantees Linux compatibility. Funny that.
I usually go on protondb and try whatever people tried until it works. Right now I’m playing on nvidia geforce 1050 ti with proprietary drivers on Bazzite and somehow it just works. For games that run badly natively on Steam I switch to Proton.
You might have a different experience than I do since I only play games that are at least 3 years old and never online competitive games.
I do leave them behind. Same as with console exclusives or games for Macs (if they exist). If they don’t run on my system, I play some of the hundreds of thousands of games that do.
If they are online only with anti cheat dual booting is the only viable solution because most anti cheat’s that don’t work with Linux/proton will flag you as cheating if you try to use a vm.
If its some older game its prolly better to use a vm for that OS, lien a lot of old games for windows XP or windows 95 are like that. For really old ones you can just use dosbox which is very tried and true.
If it’s just some random game that doesn’t work I either A: figure it will get working in some way eventually or B: give up on ever playing it again.
I think I’m at the point where if a new game comes out and it didn’t work on Linux I just wouldn’t buy it.
But I might be an outlier since most of the games I like usually get a Linux port or will work with proton anyways
My solution is “have a large game collection, and move on to the next game”. The odd bad game will likely get better in a future version of Wine. Proton 9-something even picked up support for some of the fussier Japanese VNs (but not well enough for IMHHW, alas).
All of them i’ve actually wanted to try out I was able to stream via the xbox game pass website in a browser. It is not a perfect experience, but it is “good enough” on a decent internet connection. I understand that if you physically have an xbox you can also run the game on that and stream it to your linux desktop for much better performance and latency, but I have not tried this myself.
That said, it is pretty rare. The only ones I’ve tried that with were fortnite (a friend wanted to play the lego game mode, but it was short lived - starved for content, lol) and starfield (it was free on game pass and I wasn’t sure I wanted to buy it).
I was a total Rust junkie, I was playing 40 hours a week. Then they dropped support for the Linux client and wouldn’t let Proton users do EAC. I had to stop cold turkey. But I fucking did it, because fuck capital-driven operating systems designed to exploit me and my own computer against me.
All games run perfectly. if it doesnt it bc if the anti-cheat the devs dont enable. I just dont play their games. simple as. Fuck them
I stopped playing games. Honestly, they are more boring than lying around watching flys buzz.
Dual boot
Generally, Proton is enough for gaming.
I use Tiny11 when I have to use Windows to run games.
This modified Windows edition has no ads, no Edge browser, no forced online microsoft account, and no forced updates, so it’s a tolerable Windows edition.
Tiny 11 comes in two variants:
Tiny11 Core is not suitable for use on physical hardware as it outright disables updates. It’s best used for short-term VM instances.
Tiny11 also has problems with updates. The advantages gained through Tiny11 will erode with applying Windows updates. The installer is more tolerable than Windows 11 by not forcing an online account (but still needing to touch telemetry settings). Components like Edge and One drive will inevitably rebuild themselves back in with cumulative updates. If this is something that coerces you to not update your system, don’t subject yourself to using Tiny11. Additionally Tiny11 fails to apply some cumulative updates out of the box, which could be a further security risk.
I recently tested the main Tiny11 in a VM based on a different user recommending it in a now deleted thread. I was skeptical knowing the history of Tiny10 onward that 11 would actually be able to update properly, and NY findings backed up my initial skepticism of functional updates.
Thanks for the long details, dude.
I just use Windows to run games. I need nothing else on Windows. So Tiny11 is good enough for me.
In terms of safety, I don’t store any information on Windows, so I never update it. It’s just a gaming tool for me.
If my game accounts like Ubisoft, Steam, or GOG are leaked, it’s acceptable. They are just some email addresses and automatically generated passcodes, easy to update. It’s not important.
And the file systems used by Windows and Linux partitions aren’t mutually readable, so running games on Windows is hardly likely to affect the safety of the Linux partition. It’s perfect.
Ah, that’s very helpful. Thanks!
Do you virtualize or dual boot?
I use dual boot. Virtualization is a bit cumbersome and inefficient for me.
I just use Windows to run games; I don’t do anything else on it. iPad/Linux is better for me.
I used to have a second partition with Windows for such cases, but over time I just stopped bothering with those games.
Now I just refund if it doesn’t work and move on in my to-play list.
I still have a Windows VM for some applications and for doing firmware updates but I never bothered to set it up for playing games.
Mostly same here, but (I have an SSD with W10 on it. I haven’t booted into my Windows drive since 2023. I only had a a few games installed on that drive, but it was also useful for the rare instance that I needed to some some propriety configuration utility.
If it doesn’t work I try a few things from protondb I try lutris then I give up and refund the game.
Why are we conforming to fit the software’s needs instead of vice-versa? Fuck the devs who can’t be assed to make it work for proton at the least. This isn’t my job, I’m not being paid to use software that goes against my values. There’s tens of thousands of games out there and I’m gonna let myself get so hung up on the few hundred that don’t work that i just go back to m$?
Fuck. That. They deserve to get left behind. No piece of media is worth compronising on my values to consume.
It has been my experience that avoiding games with shitty features like microtransactions and whatnot, or where the studio treats its staff poorly, that kind of thing, also virtually guarantees Linux compatibility. Funny that.
I usually go on protondb and try whatever people tried until it works. Right now I’m playing on nvidia geforce 1050 ti with proprietary drivers on Bazzite and somehow it just works. For games that run badly natively on Steam I switch to Proton.
You might have a different experience than I do since I only play games that are at least 3 years old and never online competitive games.
Not the answer ya want, I RARELY play AAA games. Honestly haven’t run into a game that wouldn’t run so far.
I do leave them behind. Same as with console exclusives or games for Macs (if they exist). If they don’t run on my system, I play some of the hundreds of thousands of games that do.
It kinda depends on what games you are using.
If they are online only with anti cheat dual booting is the only viable solution because most anti cheat’s that don’t work with Linux/proton will flag you as cheating if you try to use a vm.
If its some older game its prolly better to use a vm for that OS, lien a lot of old games for windows XP or windows 95 are like that. For really old ones you can just use dosbox which is very tried and true.
If it’s just some random game that doesn’t work I either A: figure it will get working in some way eventually or B: give up on ever playing it again.
I think I’m at the point where if a new game comes out and it didn’t work on Linux I just wouldn’t buy it. But I might be an outlier since most of the games I like usually get a Linux port or will work with proton anyways
Everything I want to play that doesn’t work on Linux is available on GeForce Now.
My solution is “have a large game collection, and move on to the next game”. The odd bad game will likely get better in a future version of Wine. Proton 9-something even picked up support for some of the fussier Japanese VNs (but not well enough for IMHHW, alas).
Then there’s the ones that actively block Linux and will ban you if you actually manage to get it to work (*cough* Destiny 2 *cough*)
When somebody tells you “fuck off, I don’t want your business”, believe them.
Oh, believe me, I do
All of them i’ve actually wanted to try out I was able to stream via the xbox game pass website in a browser. It is not a perfect experience, but it is “good enough” on a decent internet connection. I understand that if you physically have an xbox you can also run the game on that and stream it to your linux desktop for much better performance and latency, but I have not tried this myself.
That said, it is pretty rare. The only ones I’ve tried that with were fortnite (a friend wanted to play the lego game mode, but it was short lived - starved for content, lol) and starfield (it was free on game pass and I wasn’t sure I wanted to buy it).