Linux Gaming/Program Guide's.

kibasnowpaw

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Am I the only one that thinks Linux really needs some easy-to-understand guides to help people that are new to Linux or just to give an idea of how things work? I have a homepage I never used anyway, so I started making guides on some of the things I had a problem with in Linux to do and install.

There will be more guides as time goes. I'm still new to Linux, even if I have used it for a long time. Still a lot of things I don't understand.

If I can do anything to make those better and easier to understand, I would be glad to hear them.



 


I think the challenge with Linux gaming is that you need guides to know how to install a lot of games. The good news is that Steam is supposed to make this seamless with Proton, so that you just click on a game, download it and then just launch it without major configs/guides... But even with steam, there are times when you need to change the proton version because some games might not work well with a specific version of Proton. This does not include games outside of Steam.

I've helped many folks with getting games installed on their Linux machines, it always boils down to the same thing, install Wine, Lutris, steam, etc... and then here are the configs you need to do, etc.. by the end of the day, it took a while to get everything setup and it kind of discourages people from doing this again...

Even if we have guides, unless it is easy to follow with a few steps, its not an issue, but once you have to install multiple packages, do some various configs, etc to get the games to work, I think this is where it discourages a lot of folks, and this is where I think that Linus from the Linux challenge had a good point about getting games installed in Linux being convoluted.
 
I think the challenge with Linux gaming is that you need guides to know how to install a lot of games. The good news is that Steam is supposed to make this seamless with Proton, so that you just click on a game, download it and then just launch it without major configs/guides... But even with steam, there are times when you need to change the proton version because some games might not work well with a specific version of Proton. This does not include games outside of Steam.

Yes, and no, I find that it's not really that you have to install WMP or MF or use some SLO to start a game that really is holding people from doing so. It is to find out how to do it and if they have to ask for help just to play a game, then it is not really worth most people's time. It took me three days to get BLUE REFLECTION to work because I couldn't find any guide or info on installing MF; I just knew I needed it. And GitHub just thinks you know how to, so their guides are shit for newbies, and I didn't realize how .sh worked and all that. It was just a pain in the ass to find out. Now I can do it in my sleep, so I think having some easy guides is really going to make a difference, but that's just my opining.
 
PS. also, a guide can help you understand what you need and don't. Suppose you misunderstood something like Resident Evil Revelations. In that case, you can get away with installing WMP9, but in Resident Evil Revelations 2, you need WMP11, or it will show a black screen every time a Cut-scene shows and stuff like that. i don't think many know that even if it says on protondb, you need WMP11 to play; its don't say why and they also failed to mention that WMP9 gives a black screen during a cut-scene.
 
I understand what you're saying, but my whole point, is that in Windows, you dont need guides... You just download, install and double click to launch. There's no need for any guides, not even simple guides, there's no need to know what packages to install other than Steam, EA Client, or Epic Client, etc... Once the client is installed, that is it, only package you need install manually, after that, you download the game and it just launches. And to install game clients, you just double click the executable and click next a bunch of times. In Linux, I need to install Steam, need to make sure the package is available in the repo, then there's the vulkan drivers you have to setup, then there's the AMD vs NVIDIA (Open Source vs Proprietary drivers), etc... Just too much for new users who are gamers.

I think the last time I ever had to lookup a guide on how to play a game in Windows, was when I was trying to do some custom mods for some old single player games.. but for the most part, its click and play. When Linux gaming gets to that point, then it will make the platform a lot more appealing to other folks who just use their computer for gaming, or who game from time to time.

But as we all say in the Linux community, Linux is not Windows, so who knows what will happen in the future :)
 
But as we all say in the Linux community, Linux is not Windows, so who knows what will happen in the future :)

If Linux were windows, I wouldn't be here. I'm here because I don't want to be on windows even if I have to use three days to fix a game, so it works. Sure I would love to click and play. Still, you do get some benefits like many old games run better on Linux, and most old games can't even run on windows anymore. For example, I have gotten most of my game disk to work in Linux, whereas in windows, I was stuck or forced to Duelboot to use an out-of-date window that may not even support my hardware. So sure, Linux is more work, but in the end, it has much better support for games when you get it working in wine or proton.
 
If Linux were windows, I wouldn't be here. I'm here because I don't want to be on windows even if I have to use three days to fix a game, so it works. Sure I would love to click and play. Still, you do get some benefits like many old games run better on Linux, and most old games can't even run on windows anymore. For example, I have gotten most of my game disk to work in Linux, whereas in windows, I was stuck or forced to Duelboot to use an out-of-date window that may not even support my hardware. So sure, Linux is more work, but in the end, it has much better support for games when you get it working in wine or proton.

Right, but how many games are actually better run on Linux than in Windows? I am sure there are some, but that is the minority. I agree with you that Linux for folks like us is way more fun to play with, I also dont mind doing the additional steps to get my games to work, even if I have to google and figure stuff out. But I am referring to the majority of people who play games, where they're not like us in terms of being passionate about Linux and like tinekring with the OS. For the mintority of the folks who care about Linux and want to learn, the guides are a great place to start, you did a good job on writing these up, just that unfornuately most people who play games, will stick to either a console or Windows.
 
Just that unfortunately most people who play games, will stick to either a console or Windows.
Yes, just sad for them that console is a dying Species Microsoft and sony plane is to be more like a pc than a gaming console, so that may also be part of the past soon. And you may even have to use Xbox Pass to play some games on Playstation now that Microsoft have bought activision if rumors are true, i do also own a lot of consoles PS 1-4, Xbox original and Xbox 360, Sega mega drive, NES, SNES, and a Gameboy color and a Vita. So it's not like i only play on PC, but that is my primary gaming system.
 
Yes, just sad for them that console is a dying Species Microsoft and sony plane is to be more like a pc than a gaming console, so that may also be part of the past soon. And you may even have to use Xbox Pass to play some games on Playstation now that Microsoft have bought activision if rumors are true, i do also own a lot of consoles PS 1-4, Xbox original and Xbox 360, Sega mega drive, NES, SNES, and a Gameboy color and a Vita. So it's not like i only play on PC, but that is my primary gaming system.
You can argue that an Xbox is a small PC, it does run Windows, but a custom version of Windows if I am not mistaking.

I also don’t think that Console is a dying breed, if anything I think it is evolving to be more more like a PC but with certain functionality that makes it ideal to be connected to a TV and played from the couch.

Todays consoles are not what they were 10 years ago. You can get a PS5 or Xbox One X / series X and play in 4K, in some instances at 120fps, and from what I’ve read, it’s native for 4K. To build a computer to do the same would cost you a lot more.
 
Am I the only one that thinks Linux really needs some easy-to-understand guides to help people that are new to Linux or just to give an idea of how things work? I have a homepage I never used anyway, so I started making guides on some of the things I had a problem with in Linux to do and install.

There will be more guides as time goes. I'm still new to Linux, even if I have used it for a long time. Still a lot of things I don't understand.

If I can do anything to make those better and easier to understand, I would be glad to hear them.



I hear you , as you get more into linux and start to get deeper, its so vast. You could spend lifetimes on one topic like the kernel, or dispute which desktop enviroment or distro is best ect. Also it depends where your interests lay wether it be programming, gaming, web developement, or like me just a general enthusiast who likes the different variety and choices and freedom that come with this operating system.

How linux works is a good book also https://linuxjourney.com/ but these just lay the genreal foundation. Your already doing great work by creating guides and solving an issue youv'e had and others are likely to have. I think linux gaming definately has room for more growth, i hope to see linux gaming up their with windows one day, it is improving. That how linux and the linux community works, everybodyy does there bit and the vast information will keep getting consolidated and evolving.

I think one of the main issues is that there is no one way to learn about linux, everybody takes a unique path depending on their interests and isues and problems you come across and solve
 
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I hear you , as you get more into linux and start to get deeper, its so vast. You could spend lifetimes on one topic like the kernel, or dispute which desktop enviroment or distro is best ect. Also it depends where your interests lay wether it be programming, gaming, web developement, or like me just a general enthusiast who likes the different variety and choices and freedom that come with this operating system.

How linux works is a good book also www.linux-journey.com but these just lay the genreal foundation. Your already doing great work by creating guides and solving an issue youv'e had and others are likely to have. I think linux gaming definately has room for more growth, i hope to see linux gaming up their with windows one day, it is improving. That how linux and the linux community works, everybodyy does there bit and the vast information will keep getting consolidated and evolving.

I think one of the main issues is that there is no one way to learn about linux, everybody takes a unique path depending on their interests and isues and problems you come across and solve

Yes, and that's why if everyone in their field made a guide, even if it was on a free homepage, a forum or Steam Guide or whatever, helping people to know how to do stuff and not just expecting people to understand how things work would go a long way my Expriece lay in Gaming and I'm still fighting with myself if i want to use Wine or Steam native for Gaming since both have its own benefits and downsides i feel like i may go Wine since i like to have complete control over the Wine environment. But I just don't feel i have that with proton to native steam. Also, why i think a guide is essential because i can put my own Experience into them like i say in Resident Evil Revelations 2 Guide "Use WMP11 not WMP9 as the first game did to play the Cutscene". Hence, people understand that it does matter if it's WMP 9 or 11, so if they install WMP 9 and end up with a black screen, they know why. One of the things that annoy me with ProtonDB is people telling you to use this and that but not why or how, and then you googling, find ten-year-old posts and end up messing up your OS just to play a game.
 
Yes, and that's why if everyone in their field made a guide, even if it was on a free homepage, a forum or Steam Guide or whatever, helping people to know how to do stuff and not just expecting people to understand how things work would go a long way my Expriece lay in Gaming and I'm still fighting with myself if i want to use Wine or Steam native for Gaming since both have its own benefits and downsides i feel like i may go Wine since i like to have complete control over the Wine environment. But I just don't feel i have that with proton to native steam. Also, why i think a guide is essential because i can put my own Experience into them like i say in Resident Evil Revelations 2 Guide "Use WMP11 not WMP9 as the first game did to play the Cutscene". Hence, people understand that it does matter if it's WMP 9 or 11, so if they install WMP 9 and end up with a black screen, they know why. One of the things that annoy me with ProtonDB is people telling you to use this and that but not why or how, and then you googling, find ten-year-old posts and end up messing up your OS just to play a game.
That's why documentations and help articles exist. Nothing wrong with a little bit of reading.
 
That's why documentations and help articles exist. Nothing wrong with a little bit of reading.
Reading is not the problem. The problem is understanding what you are reading. Or at least in all the cases, I tried to find somthing. One thing is to read a documentations of somthing another to do it without some guides GitHub is an excellent example of that.
 

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