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vv221: I guess you meant Windows and not Linux here?
In that case you’re absolutely right! As someone who is never interested in so-called "AAA" games, it’s a point I often forget.
I did, yes, sorry.
But even loads of cool (and megaloads of uncool) indie games have also never made it to linux.
Linux was never made with gaming in mind, so you are better off with WIndows.
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babark: But even loads of cool (and megaloads of uncool) indie games have also never made it to linux.
Once again you’re right, but I don’t care ;)
There is much more good games playable on Linux (native or not) than I will be able to try during my whole life!
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vv221: Now I’d like to return the question: is there any point in gaming on WIndows?
obviously depending on your gfx card, but graphic driver performance

if 'm already near the minimum system requirements, then playing under windows usually gives me a smoother experience. At least the open source radeon driver is not on the same level as the windows driver.
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immi101: if 'm already near the minimum system requirements, then playing under windows usually gives me a smoother experience. At least the open source radeon driver is not on the same level as the windows driver.
Good point about the open-source drivers, but aren’t the non-free ones (especially on nVIDIA side) reputed to be as good on Linux than on Windows?

I use the open-source radeon driver here too, on a low-end GPU (Radeon HD 6650) but on a "low-res" (1280×1024) screen, so all in all I’m quite happy with the performances I get.
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babark: Okay, so I asked a while back on here for advice on which laptop to get. I got a laptop finally, and it had Windows 8 installed on it. Because Windows 8 is a filthy horrible thing, I'm currently in the process of downgrading to Windows 7. Because of my love of linux, I've also created an extra partition to house it, but I'm wondering, at this point, is there any point in gaming on linux?

I mean, I have to use Windows for my work, so there's no question as to whether it'll be installed or not. And I like linux, so it'll be there too. But if I have both available to me, aside from the convenience of not having to boot it when I want to switch what I'm doing, is there any point in gaming on linux?
Is there any advantage to it over gaming on windows 7? I don't think I want to spread my gaming across both OSes needlessly, with me ending up having something like steam (and Galaxy when it's ready maybe) on both Windows and Linux, with duplicates of games on both.

So I guess I should just stick to gaming on Windows 7, or is there some reason I'd want to game on linux?
IMO, Win7 has great compatibility for both old and new games and it's probably the best choice for balance. But if you really like Linux and think of going with it, then please consider the following points:

a) Are you a DRM-Free exclusive gamer or do you also tolerate Steam / other clients?

b) What kind of games do you want / plan to play? GOG has many great Linux games and unfortunately doesn't offer the Linux version of some, Also as you're probably aware, many high budget or multiplayer Linux games (think Shadow of Mordor, Alien: Isolation, BioShock Infinite, CS: GO) are on Steam (Point A comes into play here).

c) Wine is good and can play many Windows games but sometimes you come up with a game you really want to play and happens that Wine doesn't run it (Mostly DX10/11 games applies to this).

d) Do you do anything else on your PC beside gaming? Linux has good audio/video editing tools but these are generally more popular on Windows/Mac (I haven't explored these a lot myself so I could be wrong).


With Linux you have freedom of choice, almost worry free from malware, a solid system that performs great day after day. You have to put the OS before the games with this one and that's literally the only real price to pay. This all depends on what games you intend to play.

I'm living exclusively in Linux for just a little over 1 year, It was hard at first but now I got used to it and do not miss some of the games that don't work, others never left me cause Wine works and new ones keep coming out all the time. It's a fair trade for all the great things the OS provides.
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immi101: it's still the same game under linux, the fun factor is the same :p
there is no technical factor that makes a game better under linux (in general).
Ability to run any windows title in a window.
Look at GoG Linux game.
http://www.gog.com/games##sort=bestselling&system=lin_mint,lin_ubuntu&page=1
And steam
http://store.steampowered.com/search/?publisher=Ubisoft#sort_by=_ASC&os=linux&page=1

Can you finish them in your lifetime?

The current backlog in win 7 games is massive enough already, that we probably do not need any window 10 games.

And the way AAA games is going, AODRM, microtransection, DLC and more DLC, dumb down for lowest denominator...... I don't think you are missing much.
Some scrubs downvoted my initial post. I wonder if they'll die for real if they don't downvote other peoples' opinions.

But yeah, I agree with whoever who said that Linux was never made with gaming in mind. It can play games, but not as much as in the scope of Windows. Not to mention that originally, Linux was seen as a system for nerds, which is probably just another reason why it didn't get much of a fire, especially in gaming, even after GOG's efforts and the likes of Valve's movements.
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Sarisio: Linux was never made with gaming in mind, so you are better off with WIndows.
That might have been true in the past but a lot of new games come with Linux builds on release.

For example Metro 2033, Last Light, Civilization 5, Tropico 5, Empire: Total War, Alien Isolation, Company of Heroes 2, and so on have Linux versions. Not to forget the indies that are more or less crossplatform developed from the start (Victor Vran, Star Ruler 2, Mini Metro, Prison Arhitect, Kingdom Rush, Ai War, etc.). Its true though that gog is having issues getting the Linux builds for games released here but that is just a question of time.
Post edited November 17, 2015 by Matruchus
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vv221: Now I’d like to return the question: is there any point in gaming on WIndows?
(that’s not as sarcastic as it may sound, I’ve been gaming exclusively on Linux for the last ten years or so and I might not know about some recent Windows features)
Since Vista, the underlying display server is similar to Wayland (bitmap-based) which means it can use modern GPU hardware more efficiently. Xorg is like GDI (windows xp era), although much more sophisticated (with most of complexity hurting, rather than helping the Xorg). I assume the extreme amount of RAM use since Vista is because its default and de-facto only Desktop Environiment is overloaded with bitmaps (bells and whistles). Since Vista the networking UI has improved quite a lot, although contains excessive amount of useless wizards.

Also Metro, regardless of the tastes.

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PookaMustard: But yeah, I agree with whoever who said that Linux was never made with gaming in mind. It can play games, but not as much as in the scope of Windows. Not to mention that originally, Linux was seen as a system for nerds, which is probably just another reason why it didn't get much of a fire, especially in gaming, even after GOG's efforts and the likes of Valve's movements.
Windows was also never made with gaming in mind. It can play games, but not as much as in scope of any gaming console. Originally it was made for office work as typewriter replacement, this is why it didn't get much of fire, after Microsoft efforts and the likes. Remind you of bad backward compatibility, XNA disaster? You have not used Linux for say, a year exclusively - without rebooting into Windows at all, but you publish opinions on it. Wtf. Windows has constantly transformed itself over the course of development - just like Linux did.

Its problems are just as with Windows - possible bad driver support for outdated very old hardware which is caused by manufacturer; and less available native software - although a lot of its software is either unix-exclusive(not available for windows), or runs much better on unix-like. Additionally adware, ramsonware or malware are virtually non-existent and it can run most of Windows software directly.

FYI:
Attachments:
Post edited November 17, 2015 by Lin545
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Lin545: Windows was also never made with gaming in mind. It can play games, but not as much as in scope of any gaming console. Originally it was made for office work as typewriter replacement, this is why it didn't get much of fire, after Microsoft efforts and the likes. Remind you of bad backward compatibility, XNA disaster? You have not used Linux for say, a year exclusively - without rebooting into Windows at all, but you publish opinions on it. Wtf. Windows has constantly transformed itself over the course of development - just like Linux did.

Its problems are just as with Windows - possible bad driver support for outdated very old hardware which is caused by manufacturer; and less available native software - although a lot of its software is either unix-exclusive(not available for windows), or runs much better on unix-like. Additionally adware, ramsonware or malware are virtually non-existent and it can run most of Windows software directly.

FYI:
I tried using Linux a while ago before, after Humble Bundle made this bundle with VVVVVV on it for both Android and PCs, but I couldn't get VVVVVV to work. In addition, I was using LXLE, which should be a really good Ubuntu, but no dice for that. I'd like to stick to Linux for a while exclusively but I don't have the time commitment to set it up and prepare for a temporary switch of how my life works. In addition, I need a OneDrive for Linux in order to support my writing of college lectures and uploading them into the cloud.

Windows was also not made for gaming, but it self-positioned itself to be made for usage by anyone, by regular people, hence why it works out of the box straight and up and running, and these customers would later on get games. At least I think how it is.

That said, I wonder if Linux suffers from application compatibility problems like I hear that Windows 10 suffers (which I haven't met save for that Final Fantasy VIII title)... oh, and another reason why I wasn't okay with LXLE was because I couldn't find a proper wifi driver for Linux for my laptop model (the Lenovo Z50-70), which made me rely on cable to get the internet, and cable's a bit restrictive, especially when I have the mouse and the power plug connected at all times... if you want me to try Linux exclusively for a time, I'd suggest you help me in that wifi driver issue when you have free time. As for viruses, I didn't install any antiviruses on my Windows 10, besides the built in Windows Defender. Basically as long as I avoid shay websites and destinations, I don't need to fear a virus. The whole virus situation may change if Linux suddenly becomes a majority of the desktop OSes, so make good use of the time with Linux market share at 2%, its also an advantage. Also, regarding your screenshot, I knew you wouldn't do it :)
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vv221: _Using a less demanding OS means more resources will be free for the game usage, and it’s far easier to build a light OS based on Linux than Windows.
That doesn't help you until the devs stop [making] shitty ports [but make good ones instead] and until Wine performance becomes identical to native performance.
This post is extremely misleading.

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Sarisio: Linux was never made with gaming in mind, so you are better off with WIndows.
That is illogical and no reason for being better off with Windows. Windows was also never made with gaming in mind.

[(..,)]→ Edited because of ambiguity
Post edited November 18, 2015 by 0Grapher
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immi101: if 'm already near the minimum system requirements, then playing under windows usually gives me a smoother experience. At least the open source radeon driver is not on the same level as the windows driver.
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vv221: Good point about the open-source drivers, but aren’t the non-free ones (especially on nVIDIA side) reputed to be as good on Linux than on Windows?

I use the open-source radeon driver here too, on a low-end GPU (Radeon HD 6650) but on a "low-res" (1280×1024) screen, so all in all I’m quite happy with the performances I get.
oh yeah, the linux nvidia driver is really good. But this is the point where ideology comes into play (for me at least).
Since i choose to support hardware vendors who support open source & open specification, NVIDA isn't an option.
And i'm still mentally scarred from several attempts to installs AMDs catalyst driver in the past :/. Booting windows for the handful games seems less effort.
Let's say that Linux is okay for some games but not for all games. If you really like gaming the Linux OS is probably not going to work. Read a book!