this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2023
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] schwim@reddthat.com 70 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (10 children)

I don't think the issue is performance though. The unspoken part of this comparison is in bold:

"Linux vs Windows tested in 10 games. In the games we could find that work on linux, the performance was 17% faster on average. In all the rest of the games, Windows worked 100% better."

[–] Sentau@feddit.de 137 points 2 years ago (33 children)

Fortunately majority of games work on linux. The major pain point now is the anticheat used by multiplayer games. Single player games more or less work out of the box

[–] yote_zip@pawb.social 76 points 2 years ago (4 children)

To add on here, you can use the Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? site to track which games are not working due to anti-cheat. In my experience it's extremely rare for "Linux" (aka Wine/DXVK/VKD3D/et al) to not support arbitrary games. If a game is not working on Linux it's almost certainly because of an anti-cheat or some bloated/obscure DRM telling Linux "no you cannot run this".

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[–] mifan@feddit.dk 19 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (11 children)

I really want to switch to Linux, but I’ve been told this before and then ended up spending hours trying to get everything to work, and usually give up … but it’s been a couple of years since I tried the last time, so is this the right time?

I have zero interest in the technical parts of Linux or setting things up. I want things to work out if the box. I may have to dual boot because of WoW and MS Flight Sim, but if everything else works it may be worth it.

Edit: wow thanks for the answers. You may have convinced me to try again.

[–] Sentau@feddit.de 32 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Check out protondb to see how your game collection fares on linux. I personally just buy games without checking these days and play on linux but then again I buy older games. Although AAA games also tend to work these days within days of release

[–] nous@programming.dev 25 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Although AAA games also tend to work these days within days of release

And TBF, Far too many AAA games tend to not work well on Windows within the first few days of release either. Even a few like elden ring that worked better on Linux before Windows. Though I still avoid getting games on their release date. You are generally going to have a far better experience on either system by waiting a bit and seeing what others say about it.

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 13 points 2 years ago (3 children)

It greatly depends on the type of games you play, the vast majority of things I play I just hit play on Steam and that's it. Sure I had to do some setup, i.e. install Proton-GE and set Steam to use it as default for all games, otherwise only some games that Valve tested are available, but all in all it's almost 0 setup.

That being said that's been true for years, so I doubt that if you had a bad experience in 2021 it's going to be much different now. Also you need to realise that not even Windows is out of the box, you had to install drivers and programs, PCs are not consoles and with customisability comes the need to setup. And even though you don't have interest in the technical part of Linux you'll need to learn some of it, just like you did for Windows, and most importantly you'll need to forget the technical parts you know of windows that are different on Linux, that's usually one of the biggest problems I see, people trying to use Linux as if it were Windows and having a bad time.

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[–] DrRatso@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (8 children)

If you have AMD, for most titles it is as simple as installing a distro and then installing Steam. Then on Steam you will have to enable the compatibility tools, that is it. For Nvidia, setting up the drivers is a bit more finicky, however some distros will preconfigure it for you (such as Nobara, although personally I had a couple issues with this distro, YMMV)

You can search for games status on Linux via ProtonDB. In my experience they just work.

For WoW you might need to look up a YT tutorial to figure out the file paths, but the tldr is you need to install Battle.Net as a Non-Steam game, then launch it through Steam. This is generally a good, easy method for most non-steam titles, just installing it and adding it as a non-steam game.

According to ProtonDB flight sim should work, I habe no personal experience here.

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[–] russjr08@outpost.zeuslink.net 8 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I can't speak for both games you listed, however for WoW - Blizzard games tend to have a good reputation for running on Linux (one of the few good things I like about Blizzard). Sometimes there are a few bugs here and there (OW had a mouse cursor locking problem) but generally they're pretty good.

I have been playing Diablo 3 on Linux for as long as I can remember, even before the massive rise of Linux gaming from the introduction of VKD3D/DXVK/Proton. I know D4 was working in Linux even during the betas, and I've heard StarCraft players who've said the same.

Of course, the system requirements never mention Linux as an officially supported platform, but I can't say I've ever heard of a Blizzard game that doesn't work on Linux (games they develop - games like CoD and originally Destiny 2 where they were only the publisher/launcher host is a different story) so I'd be very surprised if WoW doesn't work.

IIRC Blizzard's anti cheat ("Warden" I believe) is mostly server side which makes things way easier - I mean hell I know a lot of their games even supported Mac OS.

And as the others have linked, for MSFS you can check Proton but I hear the reception is good there too since it's rated as Silver on there.

These days I'm usually just playing the Diablo games from them, and I just use the Bottles app which makes it really easy to play non-Steam games. It even has an option to install the Battle.net client for you, then you login, install the game, and click play - it's super simple.

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[–] NewNewAccount@lemmy.world 36 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Is anyone else bothered by the 100% better statement?

100% better is twice as good, not infinitely better which is what’s happening here. This is dividing by 0.

[–] Xanthrax@lemmy.world 15 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

It's better 100% of the time, when it's doesn't work on Linux.

Also, I'm sexy 100% of time, when I am sexy (which is 0% percent of the time).

[–] nous@programming.dev 19 points 2 years ago (29 children)

IMO that is a disingenuous way to state that. It makes it sound like they had to work to find games that worked on Linux at all and suggests that most games do not. Which is far from the truth. Most games just work these days and it is only a handful that don't, so only a handful work 100% better. Then it all really depends if you care about those few games or not.

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[–] Gebruikersnaam@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 years ago

This seems a little exaggerated. For example, over 10k games are Steam Deck playable/verified. About 75% of the games that were tested were compatible with the Steam Deck, so probably many more will follow. Also, all emulators work on Linux too and sometimes even better than on Windows. The number of games that are available to you on Linux is simply massive.

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[–] ParanoidFactoid@beehaw.org 36 points 2 years ago

I use Linux for work, and the commercial apps I use run significantly faster on Linux over Win. The performance penalty mentioned here is believable.

[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 17 points 2 years ago (2 children)

It's a shame I need Adobe to run flawlessly for work or I'd switch over. I'm so tired of Microsoft.

[–] gayhitler420@lemm.ee 10 points 2 years ago

If it’s photoshop that programs been solid for about a decade under wine.

Idk about the other stuff.

[–] MiddledAgedGuy@beehaw.org 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

A VM might be a solution for you? I have a single Windows program that I need for work. I chose a VM rather than futzing with wine because it's a solution I know will work. I just run the VM for that during work and shut it down at the end of the workday.

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[–] CylustheVirus@beehaw.org 15 points 2 years ago (1 children)

With all the historical windows bloat that's not surprising lol

[–] ReverseModule@discuss.tchncs.de 14 points 2 years ago

OP of the original video here. Wait till you see the Nvidia Optimus results. Even I was dumbdfounded by them. Windows is SOOOO bloated it's thermal throttling like no tomorrow on my laptop. Linux is about 20% faster even on Nvidia. XD

[–] Decker108@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 years ago

Aside from performance, I also noticed that older PC games work better on Linux than Windows nowadays. I really enjoy playing games from the late 90's to early 2000's, and they tend to run great on Linux with proton. Just the last year I've played all of Baldurs Gate 1, Icewind Dale 1 and Icewind Dale 2 on my scrappy Lenovo laptop and it's been great.

[–] fushuan@lemm.ee 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I like how they show ffxiv, do addons work too though? I can't play without dalamud (I can but, fuuuck) so that's 1 down already.

[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 2 years ago (2 children)

The Dalamud FAQ had Linux install steps so imma guess it does work

Which means it's prolly time for me to swap back to Linux

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[–] ganoo_slash_linux@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

Yes, plugins work really well on linux. Use xivlauncher, available through git or aur. Every addon that i have tried has worked flawlessly. Use IINACT for parsing, it's a plugin version of ACT that is much more stable than standalone ACT in my experience, albeit with fewer config options

[–] merthyr1831@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

With proton the benefit can be +/- by quite a large margin to the point where I wouldn't rely on this data to say that Linux is faster by default. Though it's promising that Linux CAN compete with windows in performance despite the added layer of abstraction necessary to run many titles.

[–] Enzy@lemm.ee 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Beauty of DXVK.

PS: works on Windows too.

[–] Sykursen@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 years ago

This is incredible. It's time for me to setup à Linux dual boot to give it a try 😎

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