Steam for Linux

Steam for Linux

Linux Version vs... Windows Version Run With Proton
I played a lot of Civilization 5 on Windows before going to Linux, and it always seemed to run great on my current hardware. Recently installed Ubuntu, I open Civilization 5 and the game is running like a slideshow. I was thinking maybe the Linux version is poorly optimized or something... maybe? Other newer and more demanding games have for the most part been running well on this Ubuntu machine, so it seems a bit odd and I therefore doubt the problem is with my machine...

I noticed some new launch videos that mention Aspyr or something on the game launch that I had never seen before, so I was guessing it was probably launching the Linux version and this is why the game is performing worse on the same hardware.

So I think I want to try and have it launch with Proton, but when I asked Google's AI for instructions on how to run the game with Steam Proton instead of having Steam launch the Linux version, Google AI tells me there is no way to force Steam to launch the game with Proton instead of running the Linux version... is this true? Because I thought I remembered seeing people saying running the game in Proton works better sometimes than poorly optimized Linux versions.

EDIT: Tried all the different proton compatibility options/versions as DonMcK suggested... except for a few labeled like Proton Hotfix or something and 2 others below that that looked like they were labeled differently from all the other normal Proton versions (should I try those too?). Some of the Proton versions managed to get to the launch window thing where you select whether you want DirectX 9 or 10/11 then click to start the game... but none of them actually launched the game and successfully got me to the main menu, let alone in a game.

OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Processor: AMDRyzen 5 5600X
Memory: 32.0 GiB
Disk Capacity: 1.0 TB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
Last edited by temps; 10 Aug @ 11:31pm
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Showing 1-15 of 25 comments
DonMcK 8 Aug @ 2:19am 
Right click on the game then Properties > Compatibilty, then tick 'Force the use of a particular tool' and probably start with Proton Experimental
Last edited by DonMcK; 8 Aug @ 2:19am
temps 8 Aug @ 2:43am 
Originally posted by DonMcK:
Right click on the game then Properties > Compatibilty, then tick 'Force the use of a particular tool' and probably start with Proton Experimental

Thanks, I had used that before to select particular versions of Proton before (to see if one version provides better performance), but didn't know it was also the way to force use of Proton rather than the Linux version.
Kepos 8 Aug @ 3:11am 
Seems they stopped caring about their Linux version, as Windows + Proton runs sufficient. Plus, some of their DLC's aren't working on Linux and mods are a game of lottery.
All in all running the Windows version with Proton support at least lets you play some turns.
Ghosty 8 Aug @ 3:57am 
Civilization V Civilization VI it works natively in linux, no proton needed.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Windows macOS SteamOS + Linux
OPERATING SYSTEM: SteamOS, Ubuntu
CPU PROCESSOR: Intel Core i3, AMD A10
CPU SPEED: 2.4GHz
MEMORY: 4 GB RAM
HARD DISK SPACE: 10 GB
VIDEO CARD (ATI): Radeon HD 6450
VIDEO CARD (NVIDIA): Geforce 640M
VIDEO CARD (INTEL): Iris Pro
VIDEO MEMORY (VRAM): 1GB

this information is even written in the system requirements for the game.
temps 8 Aug @ 4:02am 
Originally posted by Ghosty:
Civilization V Civilization VI it works natively in linux, no proton needed.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Windows macOS SteamOS + Linux
OPERATING SYSTEM: SteamOS, Ubuntu
CPU PROCESSOR: Intel Core i3, AMD A10
CPU SPEED: 2.4GHz
MEMORY: 4 GB RAM
HARD DISK SPACE: 10 GB
VIDEO CARD (ATI): Radeon HD 6450
VIDEO CARD (NVIDIA): Geforce 640M
VIDEO CARD (INTEL): Iris Pro
VIDEO MEMORY (VRAM): 1GB

this information is even written in the system requirements for the game.

I'm on an AMD Ryzen 5600X CPU and an NVIDIA RTX 3070, and I have 32 GB RAM... so I think my hardware can handle those system requirements pretty easily...
Last edited by temps; 8 Aug @ 4:35am
Originally posted by temps:
I asked Google's AI for instructions ... is this true?
Predictive text is not reliable on any subject. It just generates things that look like words, but has no concept of meaning.
DonMcK 8 Aug @ 6:51am 
Are you using Wayland or x11?
Originally posted by temps:
I played a lot of Civilization 5 on Windows before going to Linux, and it always seemed to run great on my current hardware. Recently installed Ubuntu, I open Civilization 5 and the game is running like a slideshow. I was thinking maybe the Linux version is poorly optimized or something... maybe? Other newer and more demanding games have for the most part been running well on this Ubuntu machine, so it seems a bit odd and I therefore doubt the problem is with my machine...

I noticed some new launch videos that mention Aspyr or something on the game launch that I had never seen before, so I was guessing it was probably launching the Linux version and this is why the game is performing worse on the same hardware.

So I think I want to try and have it launch with Proton, but when I asked Google's AI for instructions on how to run the game with Steam Proton instead of having Steam launch the Linux version, Google AI tells me there is no way to force Steam to launch the game with Proton instead of running the Linux version... is this true? Because I thought I remembered seeing people saying running the game in Proton works better sometimes than poorly optimized Linux versions.

EDIT: Tried all the different proton compatibility options/versions as DonMcK suggested... except for a few labeled like Proton Hotfix or something and 2 others below that that looked like they were labeled differently from all the other normal Proton versions (should I try those too?). Some of the Proton versions managed to get to the launch window thing where you select whether you want DirectX 9 or 10/11 then click to start the game... but none of them actually launched the game and successfully got me to the main menu, let alone in a game.
It is probably not linux in general but some other issue since these are the reports

https://www.protondb.com/app/8930

Which means one you understand the problem you can fix it permanently.

Which version of your distribution are you using? You could check for stability issues. Additionally you could set up proton GE which works at times when regular proton doesn't (but the protondb reports say proton works). Lastly you could try something like winetricks and do some tweaking.

Side notes… when you believe AI, you get the problems that come with it just like you do when you blindly believe instructions on the internet rather than understanding a problem. Secondly broken Linux ports are a common occurrence so in that case you'll be needing to switch to proton a lot. You also have problems for games with many dlc that sometimes the later dlc are just not released for Linux so you can only play them if you use proton (as Kepos mentioned already).

Older games on Linux do not absolutely work better. Have a look at the civilization 3 reports on protondb for example.
Last edited by Ratconned; 8 Aug @ 7:58am
hello

funny and so simple
https://i.postimg.cc/3N1rRsSt/Capture-d-cran-du-2024-08-09-01-56-52.png
my favorite windows player ( xmplayer) running trought steam and connected to a shoutcast stream to listen to etn.fm under a vm after i just added it as a non steam game shortcut and selected proton-ge ( why not ge ) and nothing else done
so simple xD
and posting there throught steam under my mint vm xd
too bad i can't really test game this way , at least under a vm , but adding some old windows tools is really easy when they are not too complexe
Last edited by bidulless; 8 Aug @ 5:10pm
Originally posted by bidulless:
hello

funny and so simple
https://i.postimg.cc/3N1rRsSt/Capture-d-cran-du-2024-08-09-01-56-52.png
my favorite windows player ( xmplayer) running trought steam and connected to a shoutcast stream to listen to etn.fm under a vm after i just added it as a non steam game shortcut and selected proton-ge ( why not ge ) and nothing else done
so simple xD
and posting there throught steam under my mint vm xd
too bad i can't really test game this way , at least under a vm , but adding some old windows tools is really easy when they are not too complexe
As a newer linux user I am trying to understand because it is not simple.

  1. Instructions unclear, did you add the virtual machine software as a non-steam game?
  2. Why could a game not be tested?
  3. What exactly was meant by mint vm? Is it a virtual machine of mint or a virtual machine on mint? And why would this be needed?

Answer is completely unnecessary but I am curious and like to learn things. In time I would learn it, I feel, but I will appreciate any explanation I get here.
Originally posted by Ratconned:
Originally posted by bidulless:
hello

funny and so simple
https://i.postimg.cc/3N1rRsSt/Capture-d-cran-du-2024-08-09-01-56-52.png
my favorite windows player ( xmplayer) running trought steam and connected to a shoutcast stream to listen to etn.fm under a vm after i just added it as a non steam game shortcut and selected proton-ge ( why not ge ) and nothing else done
so simple xD
and posting there throught steam under my mint vm xd
too bad i can't really test game this way , at least under a vm , but adding some old windows tools is really easy when they are not too complexe
As a newer linux user I am trying to understand because it is not simple.

  1. Instructions unclear, did you add the virtual machine software as a non-steam game?
  2. Why could a game not be tested?
  3. What exactly was meant by mint vm? Is it a virtual machine of mint or a virtual machine on mint? And why would this be needed?

Answer is completely unnecessary but I am curious and like to learn things. In time I would learn it, I feel, but I will appreciate any explanation I get here.
hello

I am running windows 7 and i used virtualbox to make a vm ( virtual machine ) of linux mint 22
Under the mint vm, i decided to setup steam so i just downloaded it and installed it using fhe minit tool where you can find many programs ( software manager ) from the left menu.
After steam has been setup, i decided to copy/past somewhere inside the vm my windows
folder of xmplayer.
And i launched steam under the mint vm, and added the xmplay.exe as a non steam game with compatibility using proton ge and steam did the rest for the me.
I hope it's more clear

You can't test game because it's a vm and you can't really use 3d acceleration for game inside a vm/

and it's a virtual machine of mint 22

It was so simple at least , xmplayer is not a too complex tool and i had nothing to setup , i just pressed the play button under steam to run it ( that's why i said it was so simple)
Last edited by bidulless; 9 Aug @ 3:00am
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Last edited by Ratconned; 9 Aug @ 8:47am
temps 10 Aug @ 9:32pm 
Originally posted by Ratconned:
Originally posted by temps:
I played a lot of Civilization 5 on Windows before going to Linux, and it always seemed to run great on my current hardware. Recently installed Ubuntu, I open Civilization 5 and the game is running like a slideshow. I was thinking maybe the Linux version is poorly optimized or something... maybe? Other newer and more demanding games have for the most part been running well on this Ubuntu machine, so it seems a bit odd and I therefore doubt the problem is with my machine...

I noticed some new launch videos that mention Aspyr or something on the game launch that I had never seen before, so I was guessing it was probably launching the Linux version and this is why the game is performing worse on the same hardware.

So I think I want to try and have it launch with Proton, but when I asked Google's AI for instructions on how to run the game with Steam Proton instead of having Steam launch the Linux version, Google AI tells me there is no way to force Steam to launch the game with Proton instead of running the Linux version... is this true? Because I thought I remembered seeing people saying running the game in Proton works better sometimes than poorly optimized Linux versions.

EDIT: Tried all the different proton compatibility options/versions as DonMcK suggested... except for a few labeled like Proton Hotfix or something and 2 others below that that looked like they were labeled differently from all the other normal Proton versions (should I try those too?). Some of the Proton versions managed to get to the launch window thing where you select whether you want DirectX 9 or 10/11 then click to start the game... but none of them actually launched the game and successfully got me to the main menu, let alone in a game.
It is probably not linux in general but some other issue since these are the reports

https://www.protondb.com/app/8930

Which means one you understand the problem you can fix it permanently.

Which version of your distribution are you using?

Under settings > system I see the following:

OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Processor: AMDRyzen 5 5600X
Memory: 32.0 GiB
Disk Capacity: 1.0 TB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

Hope that is the info u requested.
Last edited by temps; 10 Aug @ 9:34pm
Ratconned 10 Aug @ 10:09pm 
Originally posted by temps:
Originally posted by Ratconned:
It is probably not linux in general but some other issue since these are the reports

https://www.protondb.com/app/8930

Which means one you understand the problem you can fix it permanently.

Which version of your distribution are you using?

Under settings > system I see the following:

OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Processor: AMDRyzen 5 5600X
Memory: 32.0 GiB
Disk Capacity: 1.0 TB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

Hope that is the info u requested.
I've personally have had a lot of problems with ubuntu, it is the distribution which I'm least likely to recommend to anyone as another new-ish iser. Furthermore, a lot more of thhe recent ubuntu problems mention 24.04. Has support ended for 22.04LTS? That one will probably, but not certainly, work as the protondb reports state.
Last edited by Ratconned; 10 Aug @ 10:10pm
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