Valve put their 'Pressure Vessel' container source for Linux games up on Gitlab
gamingonlinux.com
gamingonlinux.com
On a higher level note, this shows that Valve is pretty committed to Linux as a concept. I feel that while a second wave of Steam Machines or Steam OS may be a while away, they're certainly making it much easier for gamers to Switch to Linux if they were so inclined.
personally i think we'd see much much much more console-ification of gaming, already, if Steam wasn't around, and to a lesser degree if Linux wasn't an option.
keeping game dev alive outside of the narrow walled gardens is very much a real challenge, a real problem, and Steam keeping a free & libre OS in a good state for gaming, & a flexible OS that they can be creative & take new risks & ventures on, unlike the fixed, closed operating systems, is more than a threat to keep the giant honest, it's a way to keep the ecosystem healthy, and a way to insure Valve can adapt & create & try new things. Linux, for Valve as for many others, is freedom, and it matters, here & now, & especially, ongoingly.
It may seem like a minor or fair limitation, but the ability to release Windows-only titles is a key component in maintaining the dominance of Windows as a gaming platform. Letting developers release on Linux first might go a long way to increasing adoption.
I can imagine releasing on Linux a few months early, dealing with the issues not caught during development, then launching on Windows.
At the time it was called "Don't Be Patchman", apparently it changed its name and was ported to Windows and macOS.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/378410/Patchman_vs_Red_Ci...
Microsoft has demoed graphics accelerated container-ish things with Windows Sandbox, including running full speed games, although I don’t know if it’s open to developers.
At some point you are always going to need hardware interfaces and those are provided by the OS kernel. There's only so much you can achieve with containerisation.
My view of it is less like containerization to provide complete isolation from the host/guest, but instead containerization to make the whole game a single 'entity'. Want to move the game from one system to another? Copy the container, that is where everything exists. No running around your filesystem looking for where the game decided to drop random files. Modded out the game and you break something? Just roll back the container.
Sidenote: I've been a linux/Mac user for a few years now and recently had to work on stuff for the Windows side of things. All I can say is: wow. what a disaster. documentation is a complete nightmare and there seem to be 14 different versions of anything all fighting to do similar things. dead ends everywhere.
Because Microsoft gutted its in-house testing program in favor of moving fast and letting end users find the bugs.
A 3rd party containerized system could passthrough the interfaces that are known to work, massage those that need massaging, and catalog (with user consent) the ones that are unknown. Kind of like Microsoft's compatability modes, but managed by someone else, because Microsoft stopped caring, apparently.
Windows 10 'N' Editions ship without a Media Feature Pack which some games rely on - i.e. Rockstar games (GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2).
You can install the media feature pack by downloading it from microsoft, but I've noticed that when the OS has major updates (i.e. the "Creators update" from last fall), the media feature pack gets removed and you have to reinstall it.
It's better than it used to be - or at least, it's hidden away from me via Steam etc. - but I remember loads of games coming with installers for specific versions of DirectX, Visual C++ Redistributable libraries, different versions of .Net framework.
Not sure what the rationale behind it was compared to "just statically link it" but maybe in this case you couldn't just statically compile supporting microsoft libs into your game engine... And maybe there are/were legal reasons about why you couldn't stick the right versions of .dlls into your game's working directories...?
The mod loader’s author fixed it, but I wonder what the outcome would have been if this broke 15 years after the game’s release, instead of after just a few years.
For example, all Xbox Game Pass games are installed via a virtual read only filesystem (XVD Disk Driver). If you need to mod a game, there is an optional setting to unlock write access.
With NVIDIA it will never be production ready because NVIDIA doesn't support the Linux standards for Wayland and they don't allow developers to write/use good open drivers and all functionality. Even with X11 and their closed drivers it's a bad experience with glitches in the desktop, but at least the games run.
TL;DR never say never
The experience with glitches and problems that the user above just describe to you and I see every day on social media. And the blame went to Wayland. I don't claim to know how it works deep down I can only comment about the smell and it's not pleasant.
They promised many things years ago and we are still in the same situation. I will be the first to congratulate NVIDIA if they fix this issue and change their practices. I'm sure they have legit grievances with Linux developers but their behavior is awful if you're a user or want the desktop to succeed.
There is a pile of new features that only exist in master with no clear path to users' computers. Notably some big VR enablement thingies commissioned by Valve and written by former X lead Keith Packard. I think freesync too.
I rely on Synergy/Barrier to use my mouse/keyboard between computers. They only support X and I am not aware of any Wayland alternatives.
As a desktop user I am currently stuck in a bad place because Wayland is not ready but the powers that be have moved on from X and don't care anymore.
Maybe Valve could pick up X release duty for a while? That'd be quite more good karma on their part, additionally to all what they've already done.
Freesync works with released X.org, at least for amdgpu.
[1] https://www.zdnet.com/article/valve-ceo-why-linux-is-the-fut...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_Machine_(hardware_platfo...
In what concerns Crostini, it even uses another Linux kernel running on top of a container.
It's stupidly amazing how outdated views from 15 years ago poison people's opinions to this day.
The fact that it uses the Linux kernel is completely irrelevant to userspace.
Steam machines didn't take off because there were no games for it [1], the price point for the pre-builds was too high [2], nobody wanted to buy another (inferior) PC just for gaming [3] and the Steam Controller that was billed as part of the package was an experimental concept rather than being something people could pick up and play [4].
All of these kind of made sense at the time, but kind of felt like they had the signature Valve over-engineering. They have learned from this and have done the following:
For [1]: Proton
In 2018 in on fell swoop, Valve brought thousands of Windows games to Linux. Basically everything other than Multiplayer games with EAC or Battleeye work now (and EAC has a Linux version for native games).
From this point on I'd say that even though Linux still isn't 'the future of gaming', it's definitely a contemporary option. There are limitations, but it's viable.
For [2]: Scrap steam machines
It was a good effort, but I don't think Steam Machines will happen unless they can go toe to toe with the consoles. They don't need to, though, because people who want to run Linux are happy installing it on kit they already have.
For [3]: Steam Link
They released Steam link at the time, but now there isn't the competition of Steam Machine vs. Steam link - you can just run your Linux desktop and stream to your TV or to a raspberry pi.
For 4: Controller support with Steam Play
Steam play now has exceptional APIs which make it easy to play with any controller. I do think they need to release a Steam branded 'boring' xbox style controller, but I think they'd wait until another Steam OS version before then.
They've also invested massively in surrounding tech such as KWin, DXVK and a bunch of others. Linux may not be the 'future' of gaming, but it's definitely going to be a valuable safety net if Windows or the Consoles go rogue.
I think if Valve built out their game streaming tech (stream from your PC in the background or stream from our cloud), offered a gamepass-like subscription, and make proton work for 100% of their games and tested all of them for compatibility, they would have the best offering. From the sales, usability, features, and catalog they'd be able to be competitive. With what Microsoft is doing, in a few years steam will be in a very bad spot.
I'm not so sure about this. I have the Steam Controller and, while I'm aware it is an experiment, it's a completely functional controller and in many ways significantly better than any other I've ever used, especially for MMOs. The biggest problem, imo, is that people simply refused to give it a try because it's something new.
The touchpads, gyro, and back paddles make it so much better than any other controller. It’s a shame they discontinued it. The more mainstream reviews of the controller by tech news sites and Linus Tech Tips didn’t quite grasp its potential, which is understandable. But there are some solid niche YouTubers like RambleTan and Critical Input that have made entire channels out of exploring its potential, and the subreddit is pretty good too.
They would need to follow some of the lessons of the other consoles though:
1. They need to have a standardized base implementation against which developers can test, and be confident enough to say systems that at least meet that base configuration will playable.
2. They need to manufacture or have someone manufacture a version that's as easy (or easier) to setup and use as game console.
So it does mean that it's not really a container, but that's fine. No need to reinvent the wheel. It's the kernel providing most of the functionality for containerization anyways.
I was wondering about that as Proton is on Github. I feel that's a good evolution.
I often stream from my steam running on my linux desktop to the steam box connected to my TV and that also work fine.
GPU support is really independent of steam, but these days both Nvidia and AMD have pretty good drivers.
Manage your expectations, I would treat it like a console, you won't be able to play 100% of "PC" games but you will have a very large selection of games including AAA. And in comparison by raw numbers Linux have many more games than regular consoles, not to mention all the emulators you can use.
Performance wise Source engine games run better than on Windows for me and a few Proton (Wine) games runs better too, but that's not the rule as there is a small penalty from the "translation" layers. Vulkan games run very well.
If you try to run all games even the ones that Valve didn't approved to run with Proton ("1-click in the UI and it just works") you will have to tinker and do nerd stuff like using different versions or compiling from source. Don't blame the platform if you go that route without proper knowledge and patience. Also in the same line of thinking don't try to use Wayland yet, specially if you have a NVIDIA card because there's no support from them, and I hope they do something about that but I wouldn't hold my breath.
I thought I had one game with a crash to desktop bug in linux but then I played it on windows and it turns out the crash has been faithfully reproduced.
I rarely even look to see if a game has Linux compatibility at this point, with the exception of multiplayer focused games.
Basically everything I've tried has worked with Proton, with maybe one or two exceptions.