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Proton is such a huge achievement. The SteamDeck isn't for me (don't care for mobile form factor). But this work also benefits me on a Chromebook using its exp

Proton is such a huge achievement. The SteamDeck isn't for me (don't care for mobile form factor). But this work also benefits me on a Chromebook using its experimental Steam support. It runs Steam and games in a container that works well with Proton.

parabyl 3y ago
Proton is really quite incredible as a compatibility layer, I've not seen any performance drops (if anything, only small performance gains, which I assume is due to fewer background processes in the OS), but most incredible is the frequency with which Proton is updated and worked on. I'd tried gaming on linux before and gave up after a week or two of configuration attempts. I had put it off for ages and tried with proton on a dual boot system earlier this year, and instantly had access to everything installed on windows. It also means I can actually recommend linux to people with older machines trying to squeeze a little extra out of their lifespan, without having to tell them it's an uphill battle to get gaming working as expected.
- NovaDudely 3y ago
  The one very specific oddity depending on how old the system is, at make sure the GPU supports Vulkan. Yes, you can force it down to OpenGL but compatibility is low and buggy. Not the fault.of proton as they are just focusing on the path forward.
- fomine3 3y ago
  Some people say that a thing how Steam Deck performs good is thanks to shader cache. There's only one GPU(SoC) SKU for Steam Deck like normal gaming console, so shader cache can be precompiled for Steam games, unlike PC.
G3rn0ti 3y ago
The company that’s really behind Proton [1] sells „CrossOver“ as a commercial product to run Windows applications on MacOS, Linux and ChromeOS with enhanced compatibility compared to free Wine. IIRC they started out to selling „CrossOver Office“ running MS Office seamlessly on a Linux desktop. If you want to support their effort you could buy a license for under $100 and run many Windows titles and games w/o emulation or the Steam client. [1] https://www.codeweavers.com/ https://www.codeweavers.com/
- IggleSniggle 3y ago
  I bought a license two years ago and the experience was not good. I admire their work quite a bit, but that little tiny extra bit of glue really makes a all the difference.
  - hoten 3y ago
    I only have a single usecase under my belt, which was to play Age of Empires 2 DE - and I was pleasantly surprised that it was just a matter of searching for it and installing a single "bottle". It felt like magic software.
- afruitpie 3y ago
  For those on macOS, there is an excellent new project called Whisky [0] built around CrossOver and Apple's Game Porting Toolkit. [0] https://github.com/IsaacMarovitz/Whisky https://github.com/IsaacMarovitz/Whisky

parabyl 3y ago

Proton is really quite incredible as a compatibility layer, I've not seen any performance drops (if anything, only small performance gains, which I assume is due to fewer background processes in the OS), but most incredible is the frequency with which Proton is updated and worked on. I'd tried gaming on linux before and gave up after a week or two of configuration attempts. I had put it off for ages and tried with proton on a dual boot system earlier this year, and instantly had access to everything installed on windows. It also means I can actually recommend linux to people with older machines trying to squeeze a little extra out of their lifespan, without having to tell them it's an uphill battle to get gaming working as expected.

NovaDudely 3y ago
The one very specific oddity depending on how old the system is, at make sure the GPU supports Vulkan. Yes, you can force it down to OpenGL but compatibility is low and buggy. Not the fault.of proton as they are just focusing on the path forward.
fomine3 3y ago
Some people say that a thing how Steam Deck performs good is thanks to shader cache. There's only one GPU(SoC) SKU for Steam Deck like normal gaming console, so shader cache can be precompiled for Steam games, unlike PC.

G3rn0ti 3y ago

The company that’s really behind Proton [1] sells „CrossOver“ as a commercial product to run Windows applications on MacOS, Linux and ChromeOS with enhanced compatibility compared to free Wine. IIRC they started out to selling „CrossOver Office“ running MS Office seamlessly on a Linux desktop. If you want to support their effort you could buy a license for under $100 and run many Windows titles and games w/o emulation or the Steam client. [1] https://www.codeweavers.com/ https://www.codeweavers.com/

IggleSniggle 3y ago
I bought a license two years ago and the experience was not good. I admire their work quite a bit, but that little tiny extra bit of glue really makes a all the difference.
- hoten 3y ago
  I only have a single usecase under my belt, which was to play Age of Empires 2 DE - and I was pleasantly surprised that it was just a matter of searching for it and installing a single "bottle". It felt like magic software.
afruitpie 3y ago
For those on macOS, there is an excellent new project called Whisky [0] built around CrossOver and Apple's Game Porting Toolkit. [0] https://github.com/IsaacMarovitz/Whisky https://github.com/IsaacMarovitz/Whisky