Linux and Steam... advice please!

[zixi]

Yesterday I totally lost it with Windows 10 and deleted the whole caboodle. I've installed Ubuntu 19.04 and I've got Steam running Skyrim SE via Steam Play and Proton 4.11-2. I've loaded (a few) mods via the Bethesda versions but the game is a bit unstable. I've frozen it three times in about 20 minutes... Has anyone got any advice at all about making the game a bit more stable? Or is it just flaky? I have tried the Wine, Wine-tricks path but that was even more unpredictable and ran so slowly I got seasick watching the cart in the opening scenes...

 

I could try a different OS - apparently Fedora is a bit more stable - but I don't want to wipe the machine and try something else if it won't make that much difference.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

 

[HeyYou]

Might try a dual-boot...... Windows for gaming, Linux for everything else....... Trouble is, you have too many layers running games under linux, instability is the result.

[tekmage]

@zixi Ubuntu works well for Steam on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. The later versions are really flaky for some reason. Unsure as to why.

You won't need wine if you are using Proton for Steam.

Edited August 26, 2019 by tekmage

[zixi]

Might try a dual-boot...... Windows for gaming, Linux for everything else....... Trouble is, you have too many layers running games under linux, instability is the result.

I did the dual boot thing last time round after Wine became too unstable for Skyrim and it's a pain... and I'd rather avoid Windows if I can... but thanks for the reply! I guess I want to make sure there isn't something I'm missing! :-)

[zixi]

@zixi Ubuntu works well for Steam on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. The later versions are really flaky for some reason. Unsure as to why.

You won't need wine if you are using Proton for Steam.

 

OK - thanks! I'll look into that. Strangely the last time I tried moving to Ubuntu it worked very well for a while and then there was some change in one of the 'links' (Ubuntu, Wine or Skyrim) and it all fell apart. Actually, I'm impressed how much easier the process was this time round. And I do really like Ubuntu as an OS... :-) re Wine: I tried the Wine, Wine-Tricks before Proton. Proton is *much* better!

[zixi]

Just an update for anyone who's interested.

 

I decided not to roll back to Ubuntu 16 (it's what I'd used last time round in 2015-ish) and I'm not going to dual-boot. I have no plans to revert to Windows. So, it's Ubuntu 19 with the Gnome 3 desktop and Steam's Steamplay. Skyrim SE is OK except I can't get the voices to work - all other sounds are fine but not that. I've tried all of the suggestions I can find and it doesn't want to relent! So, I've installed Skyrim (again via Steamplay) and that works very well. The only problem is it (so far) freezes on exit; however, because Linux lets you open a terminal I can easily 'kill' the process and get a clean exit. I remember there would sometimes be that issue on Windows in any case.

 

I shall miss Vortex but I'm really hopeful that Steam will fix the issues with Steamplay and SE will be possible in all its glory. At the moment, SE is playable via subtitles in any case which is kind of reminiscent of Baldur's Gate!

 

But if you have popped back here - thank you again. The last thing I wanted was a lecture on Windows and you didn't do that so thank you!!!! :-)

 

***

edited to add that voices (and missing music) now work perfectly thanks to:

 

https://steamcommunity.com/app/489830/discussions/0/3441214221459912300/

 

So, if anyone else is thinking of trying Linux then hopefully my experiences will be of some use...

[tekmage]

@zixi Congrats on getting everything to work. I dual boot Ubuntu Linux on my Chromebook so hardware plays a large factor on what version of Linux works best. I use a variety of emulators that don't play very well with Linux versions above 16.04 and performance also becomes a issue with later variants. If you have no plans in that regard, it is probably a good thing you are using version 19. Let me know how it goes with your other games using Proton. Compatibility is looking very promising these days.

[zixi]

There was major celebration here yesterday! I love the Gnome 3 desktop - it is very, very attractive and it feels right. I was already using a lot of open source apps so it hasn't felt like a huge change app-wise and the PC feels like it's mine again. It didn't under Windows 10. It was a lot easy to do this time round as well - Ubuntu has come a long way. And Steamplay make it much easier than getting Wine to work though Wine Tricks makes Wine easier anyway. Most of my time was taken up with the missing voice and incidental music issue. I didn't realize I had a problem at first as I had Live Another Life installed and it dumped me miles from anywhere so it wasn't until I stumbled across someone that I found the problem.

 

I agree with Steam working on Steamplay it feels like Linux is a real alternative for gamers.

 

I'll give it a few weeks and report back. There might be others who are wondering if this is a way to go. But thanks sooooo much! I really appreciate the positive input!

 

PS - I miss Vortex - it feels like a huge chasm has been left. :sad: In fact, it's all I do miss from Windows 10...

[Bourgh]

There was major celebration here yesterday! I love the Gnome 3 desktop - it is very, very attractive and it feels right. I was already using a lot of open source apps so it hasn't felt like a huge change app-wise and the PC feels like it's mine again. It didn't under Windows 10. It was a lot easy to do this time round as well - Ubuntu has come a long way. And Steamplay make it much easier than getting Wine to work though Wine Tricks makes Wine easier anyway. Most of my time was taken up with the missing voice and incidental music issue. I didn't realize I had a problem at first as I had Live Another Life installed and it dumped me miles from anywhere so it wasn't until I stumbled across someone that I found the problem.

 

I agree with Steam working on Steamplay it feels like Linux is a real alternative for gamers.

 

I'll give it a few weeks and report back. There might be others who are wondering if this is a way to go. But thanks sooooo much! I really appreciate the positive input!

 

PS - I miss Vortex - it feels like a huge chasm has been left. :sad: In fact, it's all I do miss from Windows 10...

 

You can install Vortex through Lutris. (after it's done installing, you'll have to manually point to your steamapps/common directory for it to notice games)

 

I can't say how well it works/if it works though.

 

If you don't want to use workarounds for sounds you could use GloriousEggroll's Proton-GE which has everything needed for sound to work from the get-go, and it's more updated than base Proton, being at 4.14 while base Proton is just 4.11. (if you want things to be easy)

 

If you have problems with a game, or don't know how well it would work (with Proton), you should check the ProtonDB site.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Bourgh

[zixi]

Bough - thank you * n (where n is extremely large)! The ProtonDB site is seriously impressive! I had no idea that support for Linux gamers had come so far. I went back to Windows (for gaming) in 2016 because my games were so unstable. I eventually gave up dual booting because it was so annoying. But this time, I'm determined it will work for me!

 

I'll give Lutris a go and see if I can use (the much missed) Vortex!