I have a computer with Windows 11 and I play two games: civilization V (thorugh Steam) and Guild Wars 2 (own installer).
Is there a tutorial for noobs to install a Linux distro along those 2 games for newbies? I would like it to coexist with my current Windows 11 just in case.
Linux mint is a stable distro that I would recommend to beginners. Or maybe Nobara or Bazzite would be a good choice too. Use whatever distro you like most.
All you really would have to do after installing your distro is to install Steam and enable “Steam Play” in settings. It allows Windows games to run on Linux. Then you install Civilization V through Steam as normal and when installing Guild Wars 2 you can use Steam as well. Run the installer as a non-steam app and install it. Then run the game exe through Steam once it’s installed.
There should be good guides online (YouTube or Google) for installing Linux Mint alongside Windows.
Once you have your system installed feel free to let me know if you need help with Steam and getting the games running
Hi, I installed PopOs and it’s not very beginner friendly, or at least not to the extent that I’m used. I have already spent around 12 hours configuring settings, learning to make enough partitions, etc. Most hours ha e been trying to know why Guild wars2 was laggy as hell, and I finally discovered I had to configure the UEFI (Bios?) in an obscure parameter so my graphic card (nvidia) was detected.
Now it’s in a loop of ‘building vulkan shaders’ or something like that, it takes hours.
Honestly, I thought this process was going yo be easier, I have used so many terminal commands that I feel I’m in the old days of MsDos.
Yes! I am using Steam to install the two games I play. Maybe I’ll have to try Linux Mint, PopOs is not very user friendly or at least not what I’m used to.
You can use WSL (Windows Subsystem Linux) to run a Linux VM on your windows machine alongside any other applications. I would recommend that.
To be able to select the OS on startup is called dual boot. This is more complicated though so you might not want to start there if you don’t know PCs and don’t want to put effort into learning.
A Linux version that finds widespread use is called Ubuntu. You likely want the latest stable version.
I don’t have a tutorial, but once you do have a Linux install, for standalone games I can recommend checking out Lutris. It has many user-provided install scripts that can set up games automatically, seems to include Guild Wars 2: https://lutris.net/games/guild-wars-2/
Interestingly, Guild Wars 2 is apparently also on steam - for steam games I recommend looking them up on protondb, in many cases windows-only games work out of the box, but if you’re not afraid to do a bit of tweaking, you can often find fixes there: https://www.protondb.com/app/1284210
However the details of this pan out, the timing of this news is beautiful. It’s right there alongside the headline in my feed about the Windows 11 market share going down.
And it’s not about being anti-Microsoft, it’s just that the market conditions are great for cementing Linux as an expected place to release your games. And I personally love seeing VR as part of it.
For those of you who is hyped, what is that so good with SteamOS, please? Honest question.
Own a Steam Deck myself. I ran SteamOS for about two months, I think, then I finally had enough of it because I really want to install some software of my choice on it, and having some control over the machine in general. But SteamOS is putting an immutable layer on top of it somehow and reset the changes I made every time I updated it. Forgive me for I don’t remember much detail.
Now I run Gentoo on it. I can still install Steam and all the games if I want, and I have full control of it.
What makes it appealing imo is the immutable aspect. It makes it much harder to break which is what the average user needs. And Distrobox is now included by default which makes it possible to install whatever packages you need inside a container.
SteamOS itself isn’t what’s great, what’s great is the game mode that came with SteamOS. It’s also available in a couple other distros, like Bazzite for example. If you aren’t taking advantage of the game mode, and the Steam Input that came with it, then you’re missing out on one of the best features of the Deck.
You seem to be comparing it to other Linux distros. The success is that it’s not Windows, can still run pretty much all the games, and lowers the hardware requirement.
Possibly related, but I was able to download a distrobox image of SteamOS through BoxBuddy. Dunno if it’s legit or what, but I was able to play games through it (though made no sense to). This was a week or two ago that I saw it on the dropdown when installing a new box.
Edit: I see other people in this thread mentioning some old steamos so maybe it’s that I dunno, maybe I will check later.
Not sure if that’s a joke about a since-corrected typo or if you’re serious.
Just in case serious, it’s the Linux-based operating system that runs on the Steam Deck, and soon to be related devices. So, Linux modified to work better for gaming, especially with Steam.
I legitimately didn’t know what the steam OS was, so thanks. I was very curious about something that has very little to do with my interests, but I like playing games have always been curious about the steamdeck
Honestly, the Steam Deck has done more for gaming on Linux than just about anything in recent years. Not least because it spurred significant improvements in the software that allows you to run Windows software in Linux (Proton, which is a fork of Wine), since a big chunk of the Steam library doesn’t have an actual Linux version.
Like Android, iOS and MacOS, the core conceit of Steam OS is emphasizing usability on a particular set of devices (in this case gaming handhelds, but presumably eventually consoles too since the whole thing is designed around controller inputs as a central UX concern) for a system whose guts are ultimately built on Linux or Unix, but with the worst of the fiddly bits abstracted away and hidden from most end users.
i wasn’t trying to poke fun at any typo, i was just trying to make light of the logo looking like it says “STEAMOS”. but i appreciate you taking the time to give an earnest response :)
While I very much hope that this finally happens, I can’t help but think that these labels are kinda not very clear. Too many “levels”/distinctions to make, and not enough visual queues to indicate them.
But then again, I’m no graphics designer!
It’s beyond me why Valve hasn’t yet deleted that page or at least updated it to make it clear that it’s an obsolete version that hasn’t received an update in 8 years.
This is possibly regarding the updated OS that’s on SteamDeck, which is not built on the same distro of Linux as the older SteamOS from back in the day.
I’m sure that’s available somewhere too; it’s not as if Valve is massively violating the GPL or something. (If they were, it would’ve been big news by now.)
Edit: I don’t get it; what’d I say that’s so upsetting/controversial/wrong?
I guess I need to verify instead of just having faith. It took a minute to find, but the FOSS parts of SteamOS (version 3, for the Steam Deck) are indeed available here: https://gitlab.steamos.cloud/public
SteamOS as a whole is not open source. Most of it is, but it also includes proprietary software (e.g. Steam itself). This is likely why you were downvoted, as SteamOS can be kept private without violating any license thus your first statement was false.
Valve could distribute each single piece of open source software they use on request to their customers, without publishing any guide to actually build it. (Thanks for linking to Valve’s repo, which seems to match this statement.)
This is how Apple does it with Darwin, the BSD-derived open source core of macOS. Without all the proprietary parts it’s not useful as an OS, even though they follow all the necessary licensing.
But the standard BSD license is permissive, therefore Apple doesn’t need to do that.
The GPL still applies to large parts of SteamOS (at least the kernel though since it’s arch based there’s probably more). So for those source code needs to be provided.
it’s only meant to work on steam deck, if you have a computer similar to what the steam deck uses, i can also work there, but there are issues with that. Like hackintosh, basically.
There’s no reason to do that though, because you could just use something like bazzite.
So is it like a distro I can install on my Rog Ally X or something? No need for Bazzite anymore?
I have a computer with Windows 11 and I play two games: civilization V (thorugh Steam) and Guild Wars 2 (own installer).
Is there a tutorial for noobs to install a Linux distro along those 2 games for newbies? I would like it to coexist with my current Windows 11 just in case.
Linux mint is a stable distro that I would recommend to beginners. Or maybe Nobara or Bazzite would be a good choice too. Use whatever distro you like most.
All you really would have to do after installing your distro is to install Steam and enable “Steam Play” in settings. It allows Windows games to run on Linux. Then you install Civilization V through Steam as normal and when installing Guild Wars 2 you can use Steam as well. Run the installer as a non-steam app and install it. Then run the game exe through Steam once it’s installed.
There should be good guides online (YouTube or Google) for installing Linux Mint alongside Windows.
Once you have your system installed feel free to let me know if you need help with Steam and getting the games running
Hi, I installed PopOs and it’s not very beginner friendly, or at least not to the extent that I’m used. I have already spent around 12 hours configuring settings, learning to make enough partitions, etc. Most hours ha e been trying to know why Guild wars2 was laggy as hell, and I finally discovered I had to configure the UEFI (Bios?) in an obscure parameter so my graphic card (nvidia) was detected.
Now it’s in a loop of ‘building vulkan shaders’ or something like that, it takes hours.
Honestly, I thought this process was going yo be easier, I have used so many terminal commands that I feel I’m in the old days of MsDos.
@LemmyRefugee @DaTingGoBrrr Using Linux for gaming is harder then using it for coding or web-browsing 🌐.
Especially if you run closed source games like Guildwars 🎮. In my experience open source games like minetest or supertux run better.
Building vulkan shaders seems familiar: Do you use steam?
Yes! I am using Steam to install the two games I play. Maybe I’ll have to try Linux Mint, PopOs is not very user friendly or at least not what I’m used to.
You can use WSL (Windows Subsystem Linux) to run a Linux VM on your windows machine alongside any other applications. I would recommend that.
To be able to select the OS on startup is called dual boot. This is more complicated though so you might not want to start there if you don’t know PCs and don’t want to put effort into learning.
A Linux version that finds widespread use is called Ubuntu. You likely want the latest stable version.
I don’t have a tutorial, but once you do have a Linux install, for standalone games I can recommend checking out Lutris. It has many user-provided install scripts that can set up games automatically, seems to include Guild Wars 2: https://lutris.net/games/guild-wars-2/
Interestingly, Guild Wars 2 is apparently also on steam - for steam games I recommend looking them up on protondb, in many cases windows-only games work out of the box, but if you’re not afraid to do a bit of tweaking, you can often find fixes there: https://www.protondb.com/app/1284210
However the details of this pan out, the timing of this news is beautiful. It’s right there alongside the headline in my feed about the Windows 11 market share going down.
And it’s not about being anti-Microsoft, it’s just that the market conditions are great for cementing Linux as an expected place to release your games. And I personally love seeing VR as part of it.
For those of you who is hyped, what is that so good with SteamOS, please? Honest question.
Own a Steam Deck myself. I ran SteamOS for about two months, I think, then I finally had enough of it because I really want to install some software of my choice on it, and having some control over the machine in general. But SteamOS is putting an immutable layer on top of it somehow and reset the changes I made every time I updated it. Forgive me for I don’t remember much detail.
Now I run Gentoo on it. I can still install Steam and all the games if I want, and I have full control of it.
What makes it appealing imo is the immutable aspect. It makes it much harder to break which is what the average user needs. And Distrobox is now included by default which makes it possible to install whatever packages you need inside a container.
SteamOS itself isn’t what’s great, what’s great is the game mode that came with SteamOS. It’s also available in a couple other distros, like Bazzite for example. If you aren’t taking advantage of the game mode, and the Steam Input that came with it, then you’re missing out on one of the best features of the Deck.
You seem to be comparing it to other Linux distros. The success is that it’s not Windows, can still run pretty much all the games, and lowers the hardware requirement.
And with funny I mean awesome
Possibly related, but I was able to download a distrobox image of SteamOS through BoxBuddy. Dunno if it’s legit or what, but I was able to play games through it (though made no sense to). This was a week or two ago that I saw it on the dropdown when installing a new box.
Edit: I see other people in this thread mentioning some old steamos so maybe it’s that I dunno, maybe I will check later.
If it’s based off of Debian 12 then it’s the old version of SteamOS.
Just opened it up to check… It is Arch. I was able to grab pacman and use it to get fastfetch to confirm (as if I needed to at that point lol).
Looking forward to swapping bazzite with steamos on my ally x
what’s a steamo and how is it used to power things?
Not sure if that’s a joke about a since-corrected typo or if you’re serious.
Just in case serious, it’s the Linux-based operating system that runs on the Steam Deck, and soon to be related devices. So, Linux modified to work better for gaming, especially with Steam.
I legitimately didn’t know what the steam OS was, so thanks. I was very curious about something that has very little to do with my interests, but I like playing games have always been curious about the steamdeck
Honestly, the Steam Deck has done more for gaming on Linux than just about anything in recent years. Not least because it spurred significant improvements in the software that allows you to run Windows software in Linux (Proton, which is a fork of Wine), since a big chunk of the Steam library doesn’t have an actual Linux version.
Like Android, iOS and MacOS, the core conceit of Steam OS is emphasizing usability on a particular set of devices (in this case gaming handhelds, but presumably eventually consoles too since the whole thing is designed around controller inputs as a central UX concern) for a system whose guts are ultimately built on Linux or Unix, but with the worst of the fiddly bits abstracted away and hidden from most end users.
i wasn’t trying to poke fun at any typo, i was just trying to make light of the logo looking like it says “STEAMOS”. but i appreciate you taking the time to give an earnest response :)
Oh as if “steamos” is the plural of “steamo”? I think the plural of “steamo” would be “steamoes.”
The image with a bit more pixels (hopefully)
Significantly better thank you!
If this takes off the Xbox handheld will be DOA and Microsoft once again looses a very lucrative market due to pure incompetence.
KDE is now working on releasing an atomic Arch-based distro themselves, which sounds a lot like SteamOS. I wonder how they will compare.
2025 is the year of Linux!
Make America GNU Again
Why is this so good, and so fitting lol? I’m not a MAGA person but I’d stand behind this interpretation of it, even as a non-American.
I think we can go ahead and make it “MAGA America GNU Again”
2019 is the year of Linux!2020 is the year of Linux!2021 is the year of Linux!2022 is the year of Linux!2023 is the year of Linux!2024 is the year of Linux!2025 is the year of Linux! HYYYPE
Oh, I think you forgot many previous years.
@Huschke @dangling_cat every year is the year of Linux!
Steam Machines: “First time?”
While I very much hope that this finally happens, I can’t help but think that these labels are kinda not very clear. Too many “levels”/distinctions to make, and not enough visual queues to indicate them. But then again, I’m no graphics designer!
What do you mean to the public? Isn’t it already available for 10 years?
https://store.steampowered.com/steamos
It’s beyond me why Valve hasn’t yet deleted that page or at least updated it to make it clear that it’s an obsolete version that hasn’t received an update in 8 years.
You’re not wrong.
That’s the old one based on Debian. The new one on Steam Decks is based on Arch iirc.
This is possibly regarding the updated OS that’s on SteamDeck, which is not built on the same distro of Linux as the older SteamOS from back in the day.
I’m sure that’s available somewhere too; it’s not as if Valve is massively violating the GPL or something. (If they were, it would’ve been big news by now.)
Edit: I don’t get it; what’d I say that’s so upsetting/controversial/wrong?
I guess I need to verify instead of just having faith. It took a minute to find, but the FOSS parts of SteamOS (version 3, for the Steam Deck) are indeed available here: https://gitlab.steamos.cloud/public
SteamOS as a whole is not open source. Most of it is, but it also includes proprietary software (e.g. Steam itself). This is likely why you were downvoted, as SteamOS can be kept private without violating any license thus your first statement was false.
Valve could distribute each single piece of open source software they use on request to their customers, without publishing any guide to actually build it. (Thanks for linking to Valve’s repo, which seems to match this statement.)
This is how Apple does it with Darwin, the BSD-derived open source core of macOS. Without all the proprietary parts it’s not useful as an OS, even though they follow all the necessary licensing.
But the standard BSD license is permissive, therefore Apple doesn’t need to do that.
The GPL still applies to large parts of SteamOS (at least the kernel though since it’s arch based there’s probably more). So for those source code needs to be provided.
Its available, just only works on steam deck.
it’s only meant to work on steam deck, if you have a computer similar to what the steam deck uses, i can also work there, but there are issues with that. Like hackintosh, basically.
There’s no reason to do that though, because you could just use something like bazzite.