4 ms·

I think it is incredible that after all these years the best target for Linux gaming is still a Windows compatibility shim.

no_time 5y ago
You would be writing linux-to-linux compatibility shims instead. Desktop linux is forever stuck in the "move fast and break things" mindset that just isn't compatible with the release-and-forget style of proprietary software.
alex_smart 5y ago
Why wouldn't it be? What were you hoping would happen?
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  Presumably, they were hoping for native Linux support.
  - edflsafoiewq 5y ago
    Going through a shim is better. It allows you to modify the open-source shim to analyze and patch the closed source game. This is why Proton can release fixes so fast. It also lets each party care about the natural thing for them: gamedevs care about windows and do a good job writing windows code; winedevs care about linux and do a good job writing linux code. Gamedevs don't care about linux so their native linux code is crap.
    - arendtio 5y ago
      But in some cases it is also the reason why anti-cheat software is such a pain and for multiplayer it sucks :-/
      - Siira 5y ago
        “Cheating,” also known as modifying user facing software to better satisfy the user needs. Perhaps sealing the user is net-positive for games (I personally don’t think so), but any OS with such a capability will get abused (e.g., look at iOS).
    - pjmlp 5y ago
      Android and ChromeOS games make use of ISO C, ISO C++, OpenGL, Vulkan, OpenSL, almost no one cares to port their games to GNU/Linux, quite telling.
  - TulliusCicero 5y ago
    Unrealistic for most games, there just aren't enough users. With Proton now, there's probably more games playable on Linux than MacOS, even though the latter as far higher uptake among consumers.
  - pjmlp 5y ago
    Android and ChromeOS have native Linux support in what concerns game development APIs, amount of games that were ported to GNU/Linux, almost irrelevant.
squarefoot 5y ago
The Windows user base is too large, and the cost of maintaining two versions is too costly for most publishers to even think of making two versions. They instead learned how to write Windows games that can be easily run under Linux with no or minimum effort. Once a significant number of people will transition to Linux because they have enough apps/games that do what they want under Linux, and the gain in stability, privacy and cost is worth the migration, major games being written only for Linux may become a reality. Although this would require many years, Microsoft has been well aware for a long time, and it's the main reason they already aimed at taking control of Linux before it was too late (WSL, VS Code, Edge for Linux, etc), and it's very likely we'll see a Microsoft branded free only as in beer Linux distribution soon. Unfortunately, I'm 100% sure they will succeed.
- 0dayz 5y ago
  I don't think MS is still in its EEE days (or at least its EEL), but its pretty obvious they want part of the new cake while having their own. Microsoft will most likely continue to adapt the open source model with lock downs like the rest of the industry. The question is will they be like red hat or Oracle. Also they already have a distro although internal: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-released-cbl-mariner-linux-distro https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-released-cbl-mar...
- thrower123 5y ago
  It's just an interesting shift in the wind. A few years ago I'd get flamed hard for suggesting that just building Wine-compatible Windows builds was smarter than trying to build native linux versions.
  - johnny22 5y ago
    you still will. there just happens to be more people arguing with them now than there used to be.

no_time 5y ago

You would be writing linux-to-linux compatibility shims instead. Desktop linux is forever stuck in the "move fast and break things" mindset that just isn't compatible with the release-and-forget style of proprietary software.

alex_smart 5y ago

Why wouldn't it be? What were you hoping would happen?

Wowfunhappy 5y ago
Presumably, they were hoping for native Linux support.
- edflsafoiewq 5y ago
  Going through a shim is better. It allows you to modify the open-source shim to analyze and patch the closed source game. This is why Proton can release fixes so fast. It also lets each party care about the natural thing for them: gamedevs care about windows and do a good job writing windows code; winedevs care about linux and do a good job writing linux code. Gamedevs don't care about linux so their native linux code is crap.
  - arendtio 5y ago
    But in some cases it is also the reason why anti-cheat software is such a pain and for multiplayer it sucks :-/
    - Siira 5y ago
      “Cheating,” also known as modifying user facing software to better satisfy the user needs. Perhaps sealing the user is net-positive for games (I personally don’t think so), but any OS with such a capability will get abused (e.g., look at iOS).
  - pjmlp 5y ago
    Android and ChromeOS games make use of ISO C, ISO C++, OpenGL, Vulkan, OpenSL, almost no one cares to port their games to GNU/Linux, quite telling.
- TulliusCicero 5y ago
  Unrealistic for most games, there just aren't enough users. With Proton now, there's probably more games playable on Linux than MacOS, even though the latter as far higher uptake among consumers.
- pjmlp 5y ago
  Android and ChromeOS have native Linux support in what concerns game development APIs, amount of games that were ported to GNU/Linux, almost irrelevant.

squarefoot 5y ago

The Windows user base is too large, and the cost of maintaining two versions is too costly for most publishers to even think of making two versions. They instead learned how to write Windows games that can be easily run under Linux with no or minimum effort. Once a significant number of people will transition to Linux because they have enough apps/games that do what they want under Linux, and the gain in stability, privacy and cost is worth the migration, major games being written only for Linux may become a reality. Although this would require many years, Microsoft has been well aware for a long time, and it's the main reason they already aimed at taking control of Linux before it was too late (WSL, VS Code, Edge for Linux, etc), and it's very likely we'll see a Microsoft branded free only as in beer Linux distribution soon. Unfortunately, I'm 100% sure they will succeed.

0dayz 5y ago
I don't think MS is still in its EEE days (or at least its EEL), but its pretty obvious they want part of the new cake while having their own. Microsoft will most likely continue to adapt the open source model with lock downs like the rest of the industry. The question is will they be like red hat or Oracle. Also they already have a distro although internal: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-released-cbl-mariner-linux-distro https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-released-cbl-mar...
thrower123 5y ago
It's just an interesting shift in the wind. A few years ago I'd get flamed hard for suggesting that just building Wine-compatible Windows builds was smarter than trying to build native linux versions.
- johnny22 5y ago
  you still will. there just happens to be more people arguing with them now than there used to be.