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As a game developer (and avid player), I moved to straight Linux last year. Proton is really damn good, I think I only had (trivially fixable) issues with two g

As a game developer (and avid player), I moved to straight Linux last year. Proton is really damn good, I think I only had (trivially fixable) issues with two games so far (out of like 30 I played). Unfortunately my game engine of choice (Unity) has pretty spotty support, but even with it crashing every 3 hours (as opposed to once a day on Mac or once a week on Windows), the performance is still much much better than when running the editor under Windows. You win some, lose some. But as a user, my setup is nearly flawless, and I didn't have to fiddle with any custom stuff beyond what I was already doing on Windows either, maybe less if you count not having to reset my browser from Edge back to Firefox every major update. (Weren't M$ sued to high hell back in the IE days just for bundling it? This seems 10x pushier)

apatheticonion 4y ago
Proton is incredible, I had an itch to play GTA IV recently. I was on Windows but due to the old DX calls used in the game (it's something like 14 years old), it didn't play well on Windows. I dropped DXVK on it under Windows and it worked better but was constantly stuttering. I moved over to Linux (I dual boot) and Steam+Proton ran the game flawlessly. I had to install the xone driver to get my Xbox S/X controller working (and it's a little janky to get connected after restarting) but the game ran _flawlessly_. I was even able to OC my TV to 90Hz under Linux! It's wild that I used Linux to play a game that wouldn't run under Windows. I personally find Gnome 4x fantastic, it still feels incomplete but I like the direction it's going. My only gripe with Linux is applications can be a little janky. Chrome runs like crap (I know people tell me to use Firefox, I am already so deep in the Google ecosystem I don't want to change) - I run it with wayland and regularly submit bug reports to the Chromium team. Once Chrome is as nice as it is on Windows, I will likely move to Linux as my primary OS.
- jadbox 4y ago
  "Once Chrome is as nice as it is on Windows...” What issues did you have? With amd/Nvidia, I've never seen an issue in the last year or so.
  - apatheticonion 4y ago
    Various issues; Disclaimer - Might only be present on Gnome and I am a stickler for UX so they are minor annoyances. Until Chrome 109 the scroll speed was too slow. Chromium devs solved this by statically increasing the scroll speed hardcoded in the source, but it still wasn't something defined by the DE so scrolling just doesn't feel like it does under Firefox. Chrome doesn't respect system defined dark mode. Dragging tabs off the window to open in its own window isn't implemented correctly. You can drag the window off the tab-bar but you cannot position it on the desktop. You must first drag the tab off the tab-bar, then drag the newly created window to the desired position. Broadly chrome doesn't really integrate well with GTK, with inconsistent window decorations - like the profile window having a different top bar than the main window. Edge does a better job than Chrome as far as experience is concerned, but it has its own issues. Like if you highlight text, you are unable to click anything else on the page without first hitting ESC to unhighlight the text. Firefox works flawlessly though. If Chrome worked as well as Firefox I'd be happy (haha I know, "then why not just use Firefox" - that's what I do on Linux, but it does keep me away not having my bookmarks, passwords, etc synced between Windows and Linux. Plus I use Chrome for my work and also use PWAs)
    - jadbox 4y ago
      Thanks for sharing! I wonder if Chrome under KDE is any better or if this is a general Chrome<>x11 issue?
      - apatheticonion 4y ago
        It might, though I honestly really like Gnome. Going between MacOS, Windows and Linux on a near daily basis (work laptop and dual booted personal desktop), I am drawn to the flash of Gnome. It's reminiscent of MacOS but with some more sensible UX decisions.
- kroltan 4y ago
  I'm on the KDE camp, but I got to say both are shaping up incredibly. Did not have any problems with the Xbox controller, though I believe mine is from a Xbox One. Just plug (or bluetooth, which also works fine, unlike in the past!) in and play. Can't speak about Chrome, I've been on Firefox since 2014.

apatheticonion 4y ago

Proton is incredible, I had an itch to play GTA IV recently. I was on Windows but due to the old DX calls used in the game (it's something like 14 years old), it didn't play well on Windows. I dropped DXVK on it under Windows and it worked better but was constantly stuttering. I moved over to Linux (I dual boot) and Steam+Proton ran the game flawlessly. I had to install the xone driver to get my Xbox S/X controller working (and it's a little janky to get connected after restarting) but the game ran _flawlessly_. I was even able to OC my TV to 90Hz under Linux! It's wild that I used Linux to play a game that wouldn't run under Windows. I personally find Gnome 4x fantastic, it still feels incomplete but I like the direction it's going. My only gripe with Linux is applications can be a little janky. Chrome runs like crap (I know people tell me to use Firefox, I am already so deep in the Google ecosystem I don't want to change) - I run it with wayland and regularly submit bug reports to the Chromium team. Once Chrome is as nice as it is on Windows, I will likely move to Linux as my primary OS.

jadbox 4y ago
"Once Chrome is as nice as it is on Windows...” What issues did you have? With amd/Nvidia, I've never seen an issue in the last year or so.
- apatheticonion 4y ago
  Various issues; Disclaimer - Might only be present on Gnome and I am a stickler for UX so they are minor annoyances. Until Chrome 109 the scroll speed was too slow. Chromium devs solved this by statically increasing the scroll speed hardcoded in the source, but it still wasn't something defined by the DE so scrolling just doesn't feel like it does under Firefox. Chrome doesn't respect system defined dark mode. Dragging tabs off the window to open in its own window isn't implemented correctly. You can drag the window off the tab-bar but you cannot position it on the desktop. You must first drag the tab off the tab-bar, then drag the newly created window to the desired position. Broadly chrome doesn't really integrate well with GTK, with inconsistent window decorations - like the profile window having a different top bar than the main window. Edge does a better job than Chrome as far as experience is concerned, but it has its own issues. Like if you highlight text, you are unable to click anything else on the page without first hitting ESC to unhighlight the text. Firefox works flawlessly though. If Chrome worked as well as Firefox I'd be happy (haha I know, "then why not just use Firefox" - that's what I do on Linux, but it does keep me away not having my bookmarks, passwords, etc synced between Windows and Linux. Plus I use Chrome for my work and also use PWAs)
  - jadbox 4y ago
    Thanks for sharing! I wonder if Chrome under KDE is any better or if this is a general Chrome<>x11 issue?
    - apatheticonion 4y ago
      It might, though I honestly really like Gnome. Going between MacOS, Windows and Linux on a near daily basis (work laptop and dual booted personal desktop), I am drawn to the flash of Gnome. It's reminiscent of MacOS but with some more sensible UX decisions.
kroltan 4y ago
I'm on the KDE camp, but I got to say both are shaping up incredibly. Did not have any problems with the Xbox controller, though I believe mine is from a Xbox One. Just plug (or bluetooth, which also works fine, unlike in the past!) in and play. Can't speak about Chrome, I've been on Firefox since 2014.