Steam

Debian Testing no stable platform for gaming?

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I’ve been testing a lot of Linux gaming lately. My preferred platform here was “Debian Testing”. Basically, I use Debian GNU Linux for a lot of projects and that’s why I’m pretty familiar with it. But the following has happened in the last few days:

  • I performed a dist-upgrade.
  • In the course of the upgrade, many of the 32-bit components from Lutris and Wine were replaced (updated).

After the upgrade, I restarted my PC and tested everything. Ultimately, I found that some of the games I installed stopped working. World of Tanks started briefly, but ended by itself. Some Steam games did not start either. I then tried to find the error for a while, but failed.

The experiments begin

A few hours later, I didn’t want to just accept that, I thought about what the goal of “Gaming under Linux” should be or should be:

  • The “gamer” must be provided with a platform that can be easily installed.
  • Maintenance must be relatively easy to accomplish.
  • The packages should be as current as possible.
  • The distribution itself must be able to be classified as “stable”.

Pop OS!

In connection with the headline “Gaming under Linux” one reads again and again about POP OS!, which is fundamentally based on Ubuntu Linux. POP OS! should be THE gaming platform. Well, let’s try it!

I use an NVIDIA graphics card, which is why I download the ISO file with the integrated proprietary NVIDIA driver right away. The installation itself is to be classified as self-explanatory. For the installation of Steam, I use the one in POP-OS! integrated software management. In contrast to Linus Tech Tips (video), the steam installation does not destroy my X server (apparently this has been improved).

After logging in and installing some games in Steam, I noticed that NONE of the installed games (including Linux-native games) are working. When you click on Start, a window briefly pops up and the game status then jumps back to Start. The game hangs immediately after it starts. I put almost no energy into troubleshooting itself. There were some contributions to this problem, but they did not help me with my problem.

Aside from the Steam issue, Pop OS! 2-3 times, it must freeze, or show me the GUI, but no longer accept any input. Sorry, I don’t have time for that!

Bye, bye Pop OS! Unfortunately, a newcomer to Linux can’t do anything with it like this and is annoyed to be thrown in the towel.

Debian Stable

Still convinced that my original problem (Debian Testing) was triggered by the fact that Debian Testing can also be “unstable”, the good Debian Stable has now been released. After installing the NVIDIA drivers, I tried apt to install Steam, which updated (to the latest version of Steam) immediately after starting. Unfortunately, however, I never got to the login window. Why? Well, Steam crashed with a “Memory segmentation error” shortly after starting it. After never having problems with my RAM, I ruled out a hardware defect.

Unfortunately, Debian Stable did not lead to the desired goal in my test either. In that case, too, I didn’t waste much time trying to find the bug, so I jumped to the next distribution.

Manjaro Linux

It was not an easy step for me to turn my back on Debian-based distributions. Manjaro Linux is a distribution based on Arch Linux. I have 0 experience with Arch. However, Manjaro should also be suitable for “Arch beginners”. Here, too, the installation is very quick and easy. As always, an ISO file serves as the basis. Regarding the GUI, you are spoiled for choice between XFCE, GNOME and Plasma. I choose Gnome as my desktop environment. The NVIDIA installation is done directly during the installation.

Now I started installing Steam, Wine and Lutris using the “Add / Remove Software” application. The following was selected:

  • steam-manjaro
  • steam-native
  • lutris
  • playonlinux
  • wine
  • winetricks

Meanwhile, rather skeptical, I logged into Steam and tested a few games. Oh it all works. Sensational! Due to the success, I was in good spirits that my beloved World of Tanks under Lutris is running again. I shouldn’t be disappointed. Everything is running smoothly.

Conclusion and closing words

I definitely don’t want to badmouth a distribution here and just refer to whether or not you can start gaming immediately after installation. In the case of POP OS! and also Manjaro Linux I’m a total newbie. In my tests, the requirement was that everything (games and platforms) had to work immediately after installation. It is essential to mention that there is no such thing as THE distribution for games. Nor can one assume that games that were actually produced for Windows run or work consistently under “Linux”. Especially with regard to Windows games and the ongoing development of Linux (packages), incompatibilities can arise that prevent games from starting. Strictly speaking, you should (if everything works so far) no longer upgrade your installed distribution in order not to run into problems. This does not work insofar as you are dependent on security updates and these should be installed promptly. Pinning Wine, Lutris, Playonlinux etc. could possibly be carried out. (This would mean that the installed versions would no longer be updated). It remains to be seen how far I can get with Manjaro Linux.

Either way, I advise anyone interested in Linux to use Linux and, if possible, only buy games that can be run “native” on Linux.

Requests, suggestions, complaints, tips and positively intended criticism are welcome via the comment function. 🙂

 

The gaming platforms Steam-Proton Wine and Lutris

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Bye, bye Windows – will Windows be important for gamers in the future

As some of the readers of my blog may have noticed, I want to get rid of the “Windows from Redmond” aka Windows in my private environment for good. Since I am also a “gamer”, it was quite difficult for me due to the lack of “Linux support” from the game developers. But there is definitely improvement in sight!

In my opinion, Steam has set a few levers in motion, not least because of the development of the Steamdeck, to teach the “penguin to play” (keyword: Steam / Proton). Apart from that, there is also Lutris, who in the team with Wine provides a tool to install Windows games under Linux and make them run. The trick is that with Lutris you don’t necessarily have to worry about the configuration (of Wine). Many games run out-of-the-box.

Pay attention to “Linux compatibility” when purchasing Steam

Optimal conditions for playing under Linux can be created by making sure when purchasing the game that it can run natively under Linux (Linux is supported as a platform).

So be sure to take a look at the system requirements in the Steam Shop the next time you buy. Ubuntu is usually listed there as a supported Linux distribution. That’s why you don’t have to smack Ubuntu for a long time. I use Debian Testing as a basis and it works perfectly.

Example: Steam – Systemrequirements in german  (SteamOS + Linux)

Steaminstallation with Debian GNU Linux

Since we are dependent on the software “Steam”, among other things, here are short installation instructions.

  • Add the branches contrib and non-free to the package sources in /etc/apt/sources.list
  • Run apt-get update
  • Activate multiarch (i386): dpkg –add-architecture i386
  • Run apt-get update
  • apt-get install steam
  • Start Steam, log in and check the options for Steam-Play

Only Windows supported?

It is perfectly clear that a lot of the games out there are still built exclusively for Windows. There is nothing nice to talk about! If your game is not running “out-of-the-box” with Steam / Proton it will be a bit more difficult. What options do you have?

Steam with “Glorious Eggroll / Proton” extension

The “Proton” compatibility layer is available in a wide variety of versions. Apart from the steam’s own developments, a resourceful programmer tries to make Proton “even more compatible”. The extension is called Glorious Eggroll and can be found on Github. Version 6.20-GE1 is currently available for download.

Installation takes place in a few simple steps:

  • Download the Proton * .tar.gz file via Github
  • Unzip the file in the folder: /home/<user>/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d, whereby the folder of the Glorious-Eggroll version must be in the folder compatibiltiytools.d.
  • In Steam itself (in the game properties) – Steam-Play select the desired Proton version
  • start Game

Note: There would also be the option in the Steamclient to store a fixed Proton version (including the GE) under your settings (Steam-Play). Unfortunately, there is a bug here. As soon as you select the GE version and then restart the Steam client, Steam “forgets” the setting again. I have therefore switched to selecting the Proton version per game (via game properties).

Bug: Global settings are not saved (the checkmark for Enable Steam Play for all other titles in combination with Proton-GE is “forgotten” after restarting Steam).

Lutris

I only use Lutris for “non-steam” games. In my case, I am using it for World of Tanks. If you rely on Lutris, you have to do some preliminary work. Apart from installing the packages for Lutris, Wine (in the most recent version possible) must also be installed. Detailed instructions can be found on WineHQ.

“Wine-staging” works very well for me, which is why I can recommend this version to you.

A short summary of World of Tanks & Lutris can be found here.

Hardware, driver and additional packages

What use is the best compatibility layer if the hardware does not play along? Probably little to nothing 😉

It is extremely important to have the latest (proprietary) graphics card driver installed. However, as long as all games are running, I don’t see any need to always be at the forefront with regard to graphics card drivers. In my experience, this often causes additional problems. The procedure: “Never change a running system” should therefore be used here. I can only speak for NVIDIA cards here and not for AMD.

NVIDIA

The NVIDIA driver can be obtained from their website.

Before the actual installation, some additional packages have to be installed (you may have to add contrib and non-free to your /etc/apt/sources.list):

  • apt-get install linux-headers – $ (uname -r) build-essential libglvnd-dev pkg-config

Please do not forget (if you have not already done so) to activate Multi-Arch (i386), as 32-bit libraries from Wine & Steam are also required:

  • dpkg –add-architecture i386
  • apt-get upgrade

To install the NVIDIA driver you have to be outside the GUI. I usually do this by pressing the “e” key for Edit in the Grub boot menu and adding the kernel parameter “single” (without quotation marks) to the very back of the line in the line that also contains “vmlinuz”. Finally, press F10 to start the boot process. The system now only boots into the console.

After entering the root password, change to the folder into which you previously downloaded the NVIDIA driver (with the extension .run) and make the file executable with the command:

  • chmod + x NVIDIA driver name.run

Finally you start the installation by calling:

  • ./NVIDIA-driver-name.run

It is important that the 32-bit libraries are also installed (there is a query here) and that the xorg.conf is adapted (there is also a query here).

 

Blacklisting of the nouveau-module

If you have installed the so-called “nouveau” driver for the Nvidia card, it may be necessary to carry out a blacklisting so that there are no collisions. For me, however, this was not necessary for any installation so far.

  • echo blacklist nouveau > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nvidia-nouveau.conf

Restart of the system

  • reboot

Conclusion

There is certainly still a long way to go before everything runs absolutely smoothly. But there is definitely a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. The development is going in the right direction. We, as end users, can support the development. When buying games, pay attention to “Linux compatibility” and use a Linux distribution if possible 😉