this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2025
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Linux Gaming

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Hey there!

I'm a solo dev working on a sci-fi grand strategy game (I didn't manage to find if self-promo is allowed so I'll keep the name for myself).

I was updating my planning and started to think: since my game will be published on Steam, it will be playable on Linux using Compatibility Mode even if I don't specifically target Linux itself. I myself play on an Ubuntu and this allows me to play almost every Windows game (old ones are more capricious, but recent ones are ok).

So I'm wondering, is there really an advantage to have native Linux support nowadays? As a solo dev, the thing I lack the most is time. The days/weeks/months it would take me to add it and fix all the probable bugs it entails could be used to improve the game itself or add features instead for example.

On a more general note, what do you other Linux players expect from a Linux game?

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I find that native clients are almost always a worse experience than running through Proton. Cursors not hiding or not appearing, inability to adjust certain graphics/display settings, and, rarely, worse performance than through Proton (including not actually managing to init).

That said, Proton has its own irritating quirks. Try turning off mouse acceleration in Skyrim on Linux for instance. Have to use protontricks to find the appid, then you have to nav to it in any of the locations that it could be found (depending on flatpak, native, etc.), and then you have to sift through the prefix to find the bloody INI that has the setting to toggle.

But as an indie dev, you should do whatever makes less work for you so you can do more with your time. If supporting native Linux will increase your workload and detract from work on the game itself, then simply don't support it. Just make sure that your Windows builds work via Proton.

EDIT: Here's a specific example from today. For reference, I normally play everything through Proton so I haven't intentionally loaded a native game for like 6 months. But today I loaded up Yooka-Laylee not realizing it had a native version. Get in, alt tab to screencast on Discord aaand... the game nixed my cursor entirely. I mean, it likely just locked it to the game window, but that still means that I couldn't interact with my PC outside the game window. So quickly downloaded the Proton version and it worked just fine after that.