![]() ![]() Real-time strategy: 0 A.D., Warzone 2100, Widelands, Bos Wars, MegaGlest, Pingus, etc.First-person shooters: OpenArena, Nexuiz, Xonotic, AssaultCube, Sauerbraten, etc.What if you just want a simple diversion now and then? Or perhaps, like me, you enjoy the retro aesthetics of older (and even downright ancient) games? If so, Linux is a treasure trove of options! Here's a small sampling of the free and open source games directly available through Linux repositories: Let's shift gears and forget about high-end graphics for a minute. In any case, if you're interested in using SteamVR on Linux, either for fun or development, you'll want to read the release notes and known issues. Given Valve's apparent commitment to elevating Linux as a gaming platform, I expect SteamVR performance under Linux to improve greatly in the years ahead, but until that happens, as the proud owner of a (refurbished) HTC Vive, this will continue to be my primary reason for dual-booting Windows. Well, I should qualify that: I'm speaking primarily of apps associated with SteamVR and the HTC Vive (I don't know as much about other VR ecosystems). Now that I've mentioned a couple of VR games, I have a confession to make: for now, virtual reality tends to be a smoother experience on Windows than on Linux. In fact, as of this writing there's at least one person who's had moderate success running Fallout 4 VR on Linux! And yes, the outlook is even better for Skyrim and Skyrim VR. ![]() I'm impressed that some folks are even having success with notoriously Linux-averse games like Fallout 4. Currently, the best source for this accumulated knowledge seems to be ProtonDB where you can search for any game of interest and see what people have reported (combined with details about their hardware, graphics drivers, etc.). Many Linux gamers eagerly tested this new feature and started compiling their own unofficial lists of compatible and semi-compatible games as well as advice for how to get certain games to perform more effectively. You can also enable installation of unconfirmed games, many of which run wonderfully (though some will require a little tweaking). With this tool enabled, the Linux version of Steam can now directly install a growing list of Windows games that are officially confirmed as Proton-compatible. However, in my experience it usually works beautifully, including installation of the Windows version of Steam followed by installation of multiple Steam games within that same PlayOnLinux setup.Īctually, that last example involving Steam is, I'm happy to say, now superfluous: on August 21, 2018, Valve-the company behind Steam and a strong supporter of Linux gaming-announced the release of their own Wine-based compatibility tool: Proton. Now, I must admit, installing a Windows game this way doesn't always go smoothly, and even if everything runs perfectly at first, if the game continues receiving updates there's a small chance it could eventually break your Wine setup. I recommend installing Lutris and/or PlayOnLinux as their communities have created install scripts to help set up Wine configurations for a wide array of games and other software. Now, what about those Windows-only games? Well, for starters, many Windows programs actually run extremely well on Linux with just a little help from a "compatibility layer" such as Wine. Oh, and for all you Minecraft addicts out there, there's a Linux installer available as well as a free and open source clone called Minetest. You can follow these links to browse extensive lists of Linux games available through a few popular portals: Steam, GOG.com, and the indie-focused itch.io. Windows is still the primary market, so not everyone ports to other systems, but that's starting to seem like the exception rather than the rule. This is also true of more general applications, such as Discord and Spotify. More than ever before, developers are creating native Linux (and macOS) builds of their PC games. Let's get right to the big question: What can Linux offer hardcore gamers?
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