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Valve really needs to roll out a 64bit client though. I always have problems just installing the client because of the 32bit architecture.

by ryu2k2 8y ago

colejohnson66 8y ago
How so?
xfer 8y ago
Use your package manager.
- mort96 8y ago
  I've had a lot of bad experiences installing Steam from a package manager and having problems with either the Steam client itself or games crashing because they can't find 32-bit OpenGL libraries. I haven't had such issues that I can remember the last few times I've installed steam, but "use your package manager" isn't (or hasn't always been) the complete answer.
  - morganvachon 8y ago
    It's gotten better recently on Ubuntu and derivatives. "Use your package manager" actually works and installs all the correct 32 bit compatibility libraries. "sudo apt install steam" really is all you need now. That, combined with improved Wine compatibility, means that a lot of Windows games already run great on Linux, though with the obligatory performance hit due to driver differences and such. Hopefully once Vulkan support matures on both platforms we'll start seeing parity, especially with games that have a native Linux port or were Linux-first.
    - chupasaurus 8y ago
      "apt install steam" is not enough on amd64 Debian installations[1] which are much more common. [1]https://wiki.debian.org/Steam#A64-bit_systems_.28amd64.29 https://wiki.debian.org/Steam#A64-bit_systems_.28amd64.29
      - morganvachon 8y ago
        Correct, which is why I said "Ubuntu and derivatives". Debian is upstream of Ubuntu, not downstream.
        chupasaurus 8y ago
        The "fun" part is that SteamOS is (was?) a derivative of Debian.
Aelius 8y ago
Flatpak to the rescue!
- stubish 8y ago
  I personally hope for Snaps or similar. Games could really benefit from containment. There is no reason for Counter Strike mods to have access to your World of Warcraft credentials, or your web browser or email client have access to them for that matter.
- nullify88 8y ago
  https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.valvesoftware.Steam https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.valvesoftware.Steam The only issue is that I can't get Hardware Accelerated Decoding to work in Steam Streaming. I believe that's because I don't have the 32bit libraries and associated dependencies for doing it installed and that's the whole point of me going the flatpak route! Other than that, works beautifully. Didn't go flatpak for Spotify though.
tfolbrecht 8y ago
Yeah multiarch was an annoyance. Not sure why it's nontrivial on their side.
executesorder66 8y ago
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Steam-64-bit-Client-Maybe-Soon https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Steam-64...
AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
It's 2018 and Linux still has issues with this? It's a complete non-issue on Windows. One wonders if you can really blame Valve for the Linux desktop community not being able to accomplish such a simple thing as running 32-bit applications along side 64-bit ones.
- gpderetta 8y ago
  What are the issues exactly? 32 bit libraries are not installed by deafult in most distros because the vast majority of the software has been ported to 64 bits decades ago.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
    Don't look at me, it's parent who has an issue: > I always have problems just installing the client because of the 32bit architecture This is trivial and completely not a problem on Windows. Why is it a problem on Linux? Because there's no thought given to compatibility, it is just assumed that the only software anyone cares about will be compiled from source against the hard-coded library names and paths of any specific distro.
    - detaro 8y ago
      Not sure Windows is a good example there. The "thought given to compatibility" under Windows is typically "each application ships all the runtime redistributables, DirectX packages, ... it could need, because there's no standard for which ones are available", which solves the problem, but isn't through superior flexibility over hard-coded dependencies.
      - AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
        But there is quite a lot of thought given to keeping applications that ran on previous Windows versions running on newer ones, without recompilation. And bundling all the non-system-provided dependencies with the application actually is a ton more flexible. In many instances, you can put the application's folder on a thumb drive and run it from there on a different computer. Try that with Linux applications without jumping through a ton of hoops, the first of which is "how do I know which files belong to this application, since they're spread all over the file hierarchy and mixed in with everything else?".

Valve really needs to roll out a 64bit client though. I always have problems just installing the client because of the 32bit architecture.

by ryu2k2 8y ago

Valve really needs to roll out a 64bit client though. I always have problems just installing the client because of the 32bit architecture.

colejohnson66 8y ago

How so?

xfer 8y ago

Use your package manager.

mort96 8y ago
I've had a lot of bad experiences installing Steam from a package manager and having problems with either the Steam client itself or games crashing because they can't find 32-bit OpenGL libraries. I haven't had such issues that I can remember the last few times I've installed steam, but "use your package manager" isn't (or hasn't always been) the complete answer.
- morganvachon 8y ago
  It's gotten better recently on Ubuntu and derivatives. "Use your package manager" actually works and installs all the correct 32 bit compatibility libraries. "sudo apt install steam" really is all you need now. That, combined with improved Wine compatibility, means that a lot of Windows games already run great on Linux, though with the obligatory performance hit due to driver differences and such. Hopefully once Vulkan support matures on both platforms we'll start seeing parity, especially with games that have a native Linux port or were Linux-first.
  - chupasaurus 8y ago
    "apt install steam" is not enough on amd64 Debian installations[1] which are much more common. [1]https://wiki.debian.org/Steam#A64-bit_systems_.28amd64.29 https://wiki.debian.org/Steam#A64-bit_systems_.28amd64.29
    - morganvachon 8y ago
      Correct, which is why I said "Ubuntu and derivatives". Debian is upstream of Ubuntu, not downstream.
      - chupasaurus 8y ago
        The "fun" part is that SteamOS is (was?) a derivative of Debian.

Aelius 8y ago

Flatpak to the rescue!

stubish 8y ago
I personally hope for Snaps or similar. Games could really benefit from containment. There is no reason for Counter Strike mods to have access to your World of Warcraft credentials, or your web browser or email client have access to them for that matter.
nullify88 8y ago
https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.valvesoftware.Steam https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.valvesoftware.Steam The only issue is that I can't get Hardware Accelerated Decoding to work in Steam Streaming. I believe that's because I don't have the 32bit libraries and associated dependencies for doing it installed and that's the whole point of me going the flatpak route! Other than that, works beautifully. Didn't go flatpak for Spotify though.

tfolbrecht 8y ago

Yeah multiarch was an annoyance. Not sure why it's nontrivial on their side.

executesorder66 8y ago

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Steam-64-bit-Client-Maybe-Soon https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Steam-64...

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago

It's 2018 and Linux still has issues with this? It's a complete non-issue on Windows. One wonders if you can really blame Valve for the Linux desktop community not being able to accomplish such a simple thing as running 32-bit applications along side 64-bit ones.

gpderetta 8y ago
What are the issues exactly? 32 bit libraries are not installed by deafult in most distros because the vast majority of the software has been ported to 64 bits decades ago.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
  Don't look at me, it's parent who has an issue: > I always have problems just installing the client because of the 32bit architecture This is trivial and completely not a problem on Windows. Why is it a problem on Linux? Because there's no thought given to compatibility, it is just assumed that the only software anyone cares about will be compiled from source against the hard-coded library names and paths of any specific distro.
  - detaro 8y ago
    Not sure Windows is a good example there. The "thought given to compatibility" under Windows is typically "each application ships all the runtime redistributables, DirectX packages, ... it could need, because there's no standard for which ones are available", which solves the problem, but isn't through superior flexibility over hard-coded dependencies.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
      But there is quite a lot of thought given to keeping applications that ran on previous Windows versions running on newer ones, without recompilation. And bundling all the non-system-provided dependencies with the application actually is a ton more flexible. In many instances, you can put the application's folder on a thumb drive and run it from there on a different computer. Try that with Linux applications without jumping through a ton of hoops, the first of which is "how do I know which files belong to this application, since they're spread all over the file hierarchy and mixed in with everything else?".