Should my game natively run on Linux, or is Steam OS good enough now?
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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?

  • @bruce965@lemmy.mlEnglish
    51•6 days ago

    As a personal anecdote, recently I installed a co-op videogame on my Linux Steam machine and I couldn’t get past the main menu, I wasted quite a bit of my own and my friend’s time before realizing it was a bug in the Linux build. After reinstalling the Windows version through Proton everything worked flawlessly.

    Please don’t publish a Linux build unless you plan to test and maintain it.

    • @unchartedsectors@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      20•6 days ago

      Yes I had a similar experience with Paradox Games, where the native build delivers very poor performance over the Proton-run version. It seems to be the consensus. If I don’t receive other real counterpoints I’ll follow your advice.

    • @brax@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5•6 days ago

      I see this with things on Itch.io a lot. I think there’s some engine that has an option to export a Linux distribution of the game, so they ship that without testing.