5 ms·
Why? Windows is what most gamers use and need
by ChildOfChaos 4y ago
Why?
Windows is what most gamers use and need
- falcor84 4y agoI get "use", but why do gamers "need" Windows?
- jahnu 4y agoGraphics drivers
- pjmlp 4y agoDirectX for starters. NVidia and AMD usually design their GPUs together with Microsoft, OpenGL and Vulkan then play catchup with extension spaghetti until some subset of it gets available as standard feature.
- bpye 4y agoIs this totally true? Vulkan supposedly derives from AMD’s Mantle API. Yes Vulkan and OpenGL have extensions in between major releases, but is that worse?
- pjmlp 4y agoYes, coding against extensions means multiple code paths, hardly any different than using multiple APIs when the semantics from multiple vendors don't match 1:1. https://vulkan.gpuinfo.org/listextensions.php https://vulkan.gpuinfo.org/listextensions.php https://opengl.gpuinfo.org/listextensions.php https://opengl.gpuinfo.org/listextensions.php At least with Vulkan they learned why proprietary APIs have profiles.
- rstat1 4y agoDirectX isn't much better with regard to the extension spaghetti. At the very least when you see a OpenGL or Vulkan version you can be assured that w/e that version includes is supported. With DX you can have something claim DX12 support but in reality it only actually supports some variation of DX10 or 11 through the feature level nonsense.
- bolt7469 4y agopretty much all peripheral software (RGB control, anything customization) is Windows-first or Windows-only
- notcowtools 4y ago
- lbwtaylor 4y agoIn addition to graphics libraries, a lot of anti-cheat is still windows only. Many gamers hate anti-cheat, but by popularity many top games require it.
- nivenkos 4y agoMicrosoft is likely to tie future games in to being Games Pass exclusives, as well as using Microsoft Pluton and TPM chips to use remote attestation in DRM and anti-cheat - so you can't replace your OS or bootloader and still play, etc. (like anti-jailbreak checks on phones).
- llanowarelves 4y agoMost computer games only have native first-class Windows support from the developer. OS X if youre lucky. Linux basically never (not worth it).
- Sohcahtoa82 4y agoThis can be explained in a single URL: https://www.protondb.com/explore https://www.protondb.com/explore This is a list of games (by default sorted by popularity) and their compatibility with Linux. Some games work great, but there are major games like PUBG and Destiny 2 that don't work at all. Some major games like Apex Legends require tweaking to work. If you're a hardcore gamer, then you need Windows because the games need Windows. Though this may slowly change over time since Valve put out the Steam Deck which runs Linux.
- slipheen 4y agoTo echo a comment I made elsewhere in the thread, one thing that's worth considering is that WHAT TYPE of games you play makes a big difference. Most single player games work well, most multiplayer games don't. Both are very valid ways to play games, but it can give different gamers very different experiences with what's supported.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 4y agoNo, only if you play those specific, multiplayer only games. You can be a hardcore gamer and not play any of those. There are very different type of gamers out there, don't forget about us, people who play single players!
- weberer 4y agoI feel like I already explained why. It goes against Microsoft's business trajectory. Most gamers don't care at all about privacy or ads. The ones who do have most likely already made the switch to Linux.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y agoWhat bubble do you live in? There are a lot of games that don't work well in Linux in addition to a lot of other issues with using Linux for gaming in general. For instance: VR on Linux is still a shit show, with only one company kinda supporting it and not doing a very good job of it at that.
- chaostheory 4y agoThat was his point
- weberer 4y agoThe pro-privacy, power user bubble, obviously. The one company that supports VR on Linux you're mentioning is Valve, which lets you use their headsets in any OS with no fuss. They fully support Linux, so I don't really know what you're talking about there. The Occulus line on the other hand, requires a Facebook account and tracks your data constantly. Obviously the overlap of Linux gamers and people fine with the Occulus ToS are pretty small. Conversely, the overlap of Windows users and privacy-conscious people who are knowledgeable enough to modify their OS is also very small.
- TheHappyOddish 4y agoIt may surprise you how many people use Linux and have a Facebook account or an iPhone. You seem to have conflated a standard Linux user with a staunch privacy advocate. There did used to be a strong corrlation, but as lack of privacy becomes more normal, and young people grow up in that world, that lessens significantly.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y agoEven if you accept that only some models of Vive and Index really work... > They fully support Linux No power management for base stations, the Index camera doesn't work, asynchronous reprojection causes issues, no automatic audio switching, and a host of other little issues. Yup, fully supported.
- scythe 4y agoI think you're misinterpreting. It's not Windows itself that's sinking, it's the customizability of Windows. As people who care about user control switch to other OS's, the demand for custom Windows drops. Even gamers may simply dual-boot or own two setups if they want customization or privacy — you don't need much in terms of an OS to simply start a full-screen video game. By contrast, XP was very customizable. I used to like BBLean.
- officeplant 4y agoWindows ME + Litestep shell made my old K6 Athlon machine I had as a teen a lot more usable.
- weberer 4y ago>Windows ME I'm sorry to hear that
- officeplant 4y agoIn it's time and place it wasn't so bad. Had I been a wiser 16yo I might have just asked a friend for a pirated copy of win2k.