|OT| The Linux Gaming Thread - Thread of the Millenium

[Mivey]

One hint concerning multiboot (also called dual boot): Windows might cause problems in such an environment.
As in that the PC only boots Windows after a Windows update.
It personally has not happened to me in the last 2.5 years of dual-booting but it might be a possibility.

Edit: It might be that this is old information.
It seems that this does not happen with mordern mainboards (UEFI).

I think the only thing you should take care of, is to first install Windows, and Linux afterwards. This way grub and everything is set up properly. Adding Windows after the fact is a bit more complicated as you need to restore grub, since Windows will probably set it self up as the only boot partition.

 

[Arulan]

I didn't realize we had a thread.

I spent some time trying to make Debian work for me, but trying to make it a pseudo rolling-release just isn't worth it. I got deep into tiling window managers too, perhaps too much. I've come to realize Arch is the distro for me. And I've been using GNOME for a while now. I've come to really like its minimalist & workspace-focused workflow design.

I still have Windows installed on a drive for the rare occasion I need it, but running Linux as my primary OS has been a pretty great.

Has anyone tried using gamescope with an Nvidia GPU recently?

 

[KingKrouch]

Most people these days seem to prefer Fedora. You can use Fedora Silverblue for a system where you can't break things (also like SteamOS)

I'd honestly recommend suggesting checking out Nobara if you want something that's based on Fedora that also has tweaks and adjustments done for a better OOTB experience for gaming and media consumption. There's a KDE Plasma, GNOME, and custom GNOME variant (With extensions that may be nice for Windows users) version that is available for you to choose from. There's even now a setup utility where you can quickly do things like installing non-free codecs for media, and if you have an NVIDIA card, it will detect that and install the drivers for you (Keep in mind, you might still have to boot the installer using the nomodeset parameter for the first time). I'd honestly go as far to say that I'd recommend using Nobara at this point over bogstandard Fedora if you aren't willng to tweak a ton of stuff.

Regarding Silverblue/Kinoite, I did try it, and my big concern with it comes down to COPR repositories (Basically Fedora's equivalent to Arch's AUR, but everything is still done through Yum or DNF), and how challenging it can be to approach adding them as rpm-ostree doesn't seem to support COPRs. I think that it needs some more work before it's ready.

On SteamOS, you are effectively limited to Flatpaks, AppImages, and a docker/podman solution called Distrobox (Although keep in mind, I've had issues running some stuff like the Unity Hub through this method).

 

[itsamiracle]

Speaking of distrobox, TIL it has an export function to integrate .desktop files from the container to the host system application menu. No more need for custom plumbing on my part

 

[Li Kao]

I didn't tackle the thing yet but it's in the back of my mind. How much size should a linux partition be ?
I can have a limited linux partition and use my NTFS disk, right ? I know you people already confirmed NTFS compatibility, but just trying to be clear on how to use the setup.

Basically I would allocate a part of my d: to linux and when booting it I would use my existing disks as normal ? Or should I dedicate an entire disk to linux ?

 

[undu]

I didn't tackle the thing yet but it's in the back of my mind. How much size should a linux partition be ?

For the system partition you probably want about 50 GB. It's quite big for the initial setup, but it tends to get filled up with logs and various caches that needs to be cleaned periodically

I can have a limited linux partition and use my NTFS disk, right ? I know you people already confirmed NTFS compatibility, but just trying to be clear on how to use the setup.

Yes, currently it's compatible but slow. There's an alternative driver that's really fast but only safe for reading, not writing. The slow and safe one is called NTFS-3G

 

[Li Kao]

Mmh yeah, wanted to install Manjaro on a whim but I'm scared shitless of the partitioning side of things.

I want to install Manjaro in Dual Boot on my D: which is 1to and has 500go of free space.
Windows resize proposes to make a 6mo partition maximum, because windows, I guess.
Now I can use the 'install alongside' option of Manjaro live USB, it seems to take 50go or so and be non destructive, but I'm far from knowledgeable.
Customizing partition is terrifying so it's out.
I can't seem to install or use Gparted with the live USB.

Now the 500go of data are not life or death, I already saved what would be really annoying to lose, but if I could avoid nuking 500go of data, I would appreciate it nonetheless.

Edit - Bah, did a U-Turn and concluded that I already have a Deck if I want to toy with linux.

 

[jads653]

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[jads653]

Been messing around with Mesa-GIT the past few months and I must say raytracing is finally getting there with the RADV drivers. Performance has increased quite a bit (can still be a bit iffy) and most games work. Cyberpunk no longer crashes using standard raytracing, Metro Exodus Enhanced just works same with Control. Now to just wait for Valve to release Mesa 23.2 for the SteamDeck and we might see some really light raytracing on the Deck.

 

[Arulan]

It's been a while since I've posted here, but Linux has been phenomenal for me. I got rid of my Windows partition recently too.

I haven't considered a AMD GPU in a long time, but it's something I'll have to take into account when the time comes. I'm on a 3080 right now, and was planning on waiting until the 50XX cards show up. I also need to do a new system build, and if I don't do it in the short-term with a 7800x3D, it'll be around that time as well.

 

[Kvik]

I recently set up a mini PC running Ubuntu 22.04 to replace my ageing Steam Link.

Right off the bat, my Steam Controller doesn't work properly because of this bug which remained unfixed: Steam controller: No mouse cursor support on Wayland · Issue #6615 · ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux

Switching the window manager to Xorg seems to have alleviated the issue, but the gamma seems off; my display producing a yellow tint as a result.

Instead of reading a VN in bed like I intended, I had to research into xrandr and redshift late into the night to try to fix the issue.

I suppose nothing has really changed in the 5 years since the last time I looked into this stuff, lol.

 

[Mivey]

I recently set up a mini PC running Ubuntu 22.04 to replace my ageing Steam Link.

Right off the bat, my Steam Controller doesn't work properly because of this bug which remained unfixed: Steam controller: No mouse cursor support on Wayland · Issue #6615 · ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux

Switching the window manager to Xorg seems to have alleviated the issue, but the gamma seems off; my display producing a yellow tint as a result.

Instead of reading a VN in bed like I intended, I had to research into xrandr and redshift late into the night to try to fix the issue.

I suppose nothing has really changed in the 5 years since the last time I looked into this stuff, lol.

Does the Steam Controller fully work in Desktop mode on the Deck? Would suggest that Steam OS has some fixes as it's running Wayland

 

[Kvik]

Does the Steam Controller fully work in Desktop mode on the Deck? Would suggest that Steam OS has some fixes as it's running Wayland

It works on the deck because it uses gamescope. I don't use it in my setup.

 

[Mivey]

It works on the deck because it uses gamescope. I don't use it in my setup.

It uses gamescop even in the Desktop mode? My understanding is that gamescope runs in its own window session, it's basically the game mode itself and my understanding was that it's not active in Desktop mode. For example, you don't have as much control over the games when you run in Desktop mode.

 

[Kvik]

It uses gamescop even in the Desktop mode? My understanding is that gamescope runs in its own window session, it's basically the game mode itself and my understanding was that it's not active in Desktop mode. For example, you don't have as much control over the games when you run in Desktop mode.

Ah, right. I misread you.

I don't plan to use desktop mode often in my setup, since it primarily will sit on BPM mode. As a consequence of the bug I mentioned, remote playing games that needs KB/M as opposed to a controller also doesn't work properly. The mouse cursor is practically unusable.

There's also another issue with Wayland when playing a video with mpv. The aspect ratio somehow becomes 4:3 when the source is 16:9. Furthermore, it also renders the desktop, almost as if it's in borderless fullscreen mode.

I certainly don't have the above issues with Xorg, except the colour gamma (which I can fix with the xgamma utility).

Frankly, I'd like to give SteamOS a go, but the next version (3.0) is still nowhere in sight.

 

[Mivey]

Frankly, I'd like to give SteamOS a go, but the next version (3.0) is still nowhere in sight.

I think Valve just does not have the resources to work on improving SteamOS on the Deck, and also getting working on general PCs. Some of the work they do on Docks right now willy likely prove vital for that, so it's not entirely unrelated, but I assume it's simply a case where it's not exactly "sexy" work and so there are few at Valve that want to tackle it.

Meanwhile, you might want to look at ChimeraOS, which is a distro that also puts gaming first, and ships with its own gamemode, using gamescope from what I gather.

 

[Kvik]

Meanwhile, you might want to look at ChimeraOS, which is a distro that also puts gaming first, and ships with its own gamemode, using gamescope from what I gather.

I did take a look at ChimeraOS, but it seems that it doesn't have support for neither Intel nor Nvidia. The GPU in my mini PC is Intel. I suppose I could install the Intel non-free driver myself to see what it's like, but reading other people experiences in customising it feels like a summer holiday project to me.

 

[Kvik]

Apropos of nothing, but I laughed a bit at this snippet of syslog I found while trying to troubleshoot an issue.

Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8321]: /etc/gdm3/Xsession: Beginning session setup...
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: There was a young man of Australia
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: Who went on a wild bacchanalia.
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: #011He buggered a frog,
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: #011Two mice and a dog,
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: And a bishop in fullest regalia.
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8337]: localuser:kvik being added to access control list

 

[Mivey]

Apropos of nothing, but I laughed a bit at this snippet of syslog I found while trying to troubleshoot an issue.

Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8321]: /etc/gdm3/Xsession: Beginning session setup...
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: There was a young man of Australia
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: Who went on a wild bacchanalia.
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: #011He buggered a frog,
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: #011Two mice and a dog,
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8328]: And a bishop in fullest regalia.
Aug 20 02:29:19 vidar /usr/libexec/gdm-x-session[8337]: localuser:kvik being added to access control list

I think these messages are produced by this program: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_(Unix)

There is a website that seems to store all the snippets of text that fortune can spit out, here the one you posted There was a young man of Australia Who went - Freebsd Limericks: 698 - 707

 

[Kvik]

Yeah, I'm familiar with the limerick, but I'm just surprised to see it in the least likely place it could turn up.

Anyway, I've set up that fortune program, so it will run whenever I open up a terminal window.

 

[itsamiracle]

2024 is gonna be the year of the NVK desktop

NVK holiday update: What we've achieved, and where we're headed

A wrap up of NVK's progress in 2023 and what's to come for 2024.

www.collabora.com

 

[undu]

Seeing the progress of NVK, I wouldn't be too surprised if the steam deck 2 has an Nvidia gpu.

Also, the main developer of Zink, the openly to vulkan translator is not chair of the standard at Khronos: Manifesto

 

[Arulan]

As someone with an Nvidia GPU and running Linux exclusively on my desktop, the progress of NVK has been great to see.

I am a little concerned about if they can get DLSS implemented in it. And I'm not very familiar with legal details on this, but would similar reasons as to why HDMI 2.1 isn't currently available on the open-source AMD Mesa drivers prevent it from being supported on NVK as well?

 

[Mivey]

As someone with an Nvidia GPU and running Linux exclusively on my desktop, the progress of NVK has been great to see.

I am a little concerned about if they can get DLSS implemented in it. And I'm not very familiar with legal details on this, but would similar reasons as to why HDMI 2.1 isn't currently available on the open-source AMD Mesa drivers prevent it from being supported on NVK as well?

I think for DLSS you pretty much need nvidia proprietary driver.

 

[arcadepc]

I use Linux Mint which is convenient ,stable and easy . Flatpak support eliminates the need to install apps, ppas, appimages, debs , custom updates, upgrades etc.

I use it mostly for retrogaming as I connected it to an old CRT monitor and added custom resolutions to xorg , eg 600x240x120 hz which is mandatory for old games to look decent with scanlines. Retroarch but also other emulators like Scummvm, Flycast and Redream, are low res friendly and allow you to adjust the menus and stretch the picture correctly. Same for some source ports of other games that can also take advantage of the CRT monitor. Eg Gzdoom, vkQuake, Nblood, Eduke32 etc
Playing at native low resolutions with added gfx makes the game look better than upscaling them

 

[LEANIJA]

I've recently booted Windows off my PC and gave it a fresh Manjaro (KDE) install; gave it a bit more RAM (now 32GB) and swapped in a 2 TB NVME that was in my laptop (which was my main machine and already running Manjaro; but I felt more and more like using my "old" tower PC again)

Im basically only writing this because I just stumbled upon another new(?) gaming-dedicated Linux distro; https://bazzite.gg – as featured by GamingOnLinux — and if I hadnt just set everything up I wouldve tried this (although maybe I might slap it on the laptop at some point for fun)

But maybe someone wants exactly something like that and wants to give it a go

 

[KingKrouch]

I've recently booted Windows off my PC and gave it a fresh Manjaro (KDE) install; gave it a bit more RAM (now 32GB) and swapped in a 2 TB NVME that was in my laptop (which was my main machine and already running Manjaro; but I felt more and more like using my "old" tower PC again)

Im basically only writing this because I just stumbled upon another new(?) gaming-dedicated Linux distro; https://bazzite.gg – as featured by GamingOnLinux — and if I hadnt just set everything up I wouldve tried this (although maybe I might slap it on the laptop at some point for fun)

But maybe someone wants exactly something like that and wants to give it a go

Bazzite is pretty good for HTPCs and handheld PCs. Currently using that on my Steam Deck, because it streamlines setting up stuff like Waydroid. It comes with a straightforward GUI for setting things up. I just wish I could disable the Bazzite branding and switch Decky Loader to the experimental branch.

Also been using NixOS on my desktop and laptop (Moved from Fedora to that), and I really like how I can declare my system setup in a configuration and have it deploy exactly the same way on different sets of hardware. I just found that maintaining a shell script for setting up all my software and such was increasingly becoming more and more unsustainable the more I added to it. Paired that with a Windows 11 LTSC IoT install for dual-booting when I need to run certain applications.

Only thing I dislike about NixOS is how there's plenty of packages that haven't been ported yet (I'd like to get around to trying Kando), and how I need to rely on Distrobox for running IDEs and game engines when I need a consistent toolchain set up. I guess I still need to figure out how to set up libndk and stuff with Waydroid on Nix.

 

[LionelInoe]

I've recently booted Windows off my PC and gave it a fresh Manjaro (KDE) install; gave it a bit more RAM (now 32GB) and swapped in a 2 TB NVME that was in my laptop (which was my main machine and already running Manjaro; but I felt more and more like using my "old" tower PC again)

Im basically only writing this because I just stumbled upon another new(?) gaming-dedicated Linux distro; https://bazzite.gg – as featured by GamingOnLinux — and if I hadnt just set everything up I wouldve tried this (although maybe I might slap it on the laptop at some point for fun)

But maybe someone wants exactly something like that and wants to give it a go

Sorry to bump so long after your post,

I've been running Bazzite on my steam deck and Bluefin (related project) on my work machine for almost a year now. These systems are awesome and super stable thanks to how great OSTree is, so I would highly recommend anyone try it out.

There are some pain points involving the read-only file system, but for the most part it's really stable and a nice way to have a super-stable linux system imo.

 

[KingKrouch]

I've been running Bazzite on my steam deck and Bluefin (related project) on my work machine for almost a year now.

Yeah I've been using Bazzite on my Steam Deck ever since the unstable Deck beta updates screwed up Flatpak updates for me. It's been working fine, and haven't had many issues with it outside of Steam client updates in Game Mode.

Been personally using NixOS on my desktop and laptop, and it's been rock solid, and I have a mostly consistent config between each system as well. Moved from Fedora to that since I don't want to have to bother maintaining a bash script to install everything, just to then have to copy-paste segments into the terminal to avoid stuff that might not work right off the bat. Maintaining a Git repo with a bunch of config files at least in my eyes is much easier, and I got it set up where I can open Visual Studio Code and have it update my system in three clicks.