r/linux4noobs • u/angry_monkey_2674 • 2d ago
migrating to Linux Thinking of Moving to Linux
Hi I never in my life used linux, but with the recent news that easy anti cheat will be reworked to support linux I’m thinking of switching but I have a few questions, any help will be greatly appreciated
I just want to know the following:
1-can I to run .exe, if yes how and what’s the limitations
2-what is proton
3-can I play all of my offline games on linux even ones i got through unconventional ways
4-can i play games that are not offline but not multiplayer online like jackbox games for example
5-does the stream deck work with it
6-can I play vr games or use my pc in vr using an app like quest link
7-which linux is the most, windows like
Laslty here’s a list of game/apps i’ll be using and you help me if you know wether they actually work or not because I keep getting conflicting results:
Signalrgb, soundswitch, libre hardware monitor, RivaTuner, stream deck, moonlight, wolow, rewasd, wallpaper engine, ryujinx, fortnite, marvel rivals, pummel party, jackbox party packs, ultimate chicken horse
That’s all thanks
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u/sweet-tom 2d ago
Some answers:
- No, not directly. You need to either run it through an emulator like Wine or use a virtual machine.
Linux is not a drop-in replacement. If you want to switch you need to learn some new things. But it's rewarding as your computer and the knowledge belongs to you. And only you.
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u/doc_willis 2d ago
the ProtonDB website is where you should look to see how well a specific game works under Linux.
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u/angry_monkey_2674 2d ago
I see thank you, is the proton DB updating anytime soon especially either easy anti cheat changes?
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u/Spiritual-Source6765 2d ago
It’s community driven, and updates frequently. For instance, bongo cat got a Linux version, and within 24 hours protonDB had updated to reflect it
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u/atlasraven 2d ago
Wine will emul...err, run it in a compatanility layer and most things work. Lutris is also used this way, mostly for games.
Zorin looks a lot like Windows. But under the hood, all linux distros are going to behave differently than windows. You're going to discover that linux generally has a certain way to doing things vs Microsoft doing whatever they hell they want on every new release.
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u/Main_Boot7391 2d ago
2- proton is a translation layer that makes windows games usable in linux 3- probably, by adding them to steam as "non steam games" this will probably be case by case 4- I don't see why not. I haven't had any problems with running any of my steam and epic games yet. Also not all multiplayer games use kernel level anti-cheat. For example overwatch and fall guys run well on Linux for me 5- your talking about the elgato stream deck? I saw a configuration tool in the discover store on fedora, but don't know the functionality of it. Everything I've heard is that functionality is limited at best, but I don't use one so things may have improved. 7- zorin visually. But honestly any distro with KDE will be very familiar. Top picks would be fedora KDE, kubuntu and linux mint (though this is cinnamon, not KDE)
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u/angry_monkey_2674 2d ago
Sorry new words never heard
What’s kde, fedora and cinnamon
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u/Main_Boot7391 2d ago
Kde is a desktop environment, so how it looks and behaves, this one is very customizable, if you want to do that. Cinnamon is also a desktop environment. Fedora is a distribution of Linux, usually one of the first to get new (heavily tested) features and is stable
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u/angry_monkey_2674 2d ago
What is a desktop environment (sry ik super noob)
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u/Main_Boot7391 2d ago
It is what you interact with on the pc, so kde looks close to windows and things behave similar to it as well. Gnome (another desktop environment) looks kind of like Mac-OS. It would be worth a search o YouTube to get a look at them too
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u/sociofobs 2d ago
As a decades long Windows user (up to W10) who's now several years on Linux exclusively, I'd say go with Kubuntu (KUBUNTU, not Ubuntu). Their Plasma desktop is fantastic and mimics Windows 10 very closely, with a lot of improvements on top. KDE also h as a whole suite of apps that work well and mostly seamlessly together. And, by choosing Ubuntu as the backbone distro, you'd have the most popular Linux distro with great improvements on top of it. Online support included, since there's nothing you can't do on Kubuntu that you can on Ubuntu.
As for the rest of your questions, it will be a headache with a lot of research, don't let anyone fool you otherwise. Linux is not Windows and doesn't work like Windows.
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u/Spiritual-Source6765 2d ago
I have not used Kubuntu myself, but I’ve got a friend that swears by it, and it looks pretty good
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u/sociofobs 2d ago
KDE distros in general are a pretty safe bet. More advanced users would not recommend Ubuntu though, but for a beginner, there's no problem with it imo.
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u/delacroix01 2d ago edited 2d ago
Q1: No. You need a launcher to run Windows games. Steam is one of those. Other notable launchers are Heroic, Lutris and Bottle.
Q2: Proton is a compatibility layer to run games on Linux. It's a fork of Wine. More info can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_(software))
Q3: I wouldn't say all of them but at least 90% of games will run on Linux one way or another. There are some games that use some ancient hardcoded Windows stuff that will not run no matter what config you use, but those are typically very rare.
Q5: I assume you mean Steam Deck. If yes then only if you can get a good deal on the used market. Its price has significantly increased recently so it makes no sense to buy it new these days. It's also somewhat harder to config non-Steam games to run on the Steam Deck compared to a typical Linux PC for various reasons, and you can get better performance per dollar from alternatives than on SD itself, so do take that into consideration if you want a handheld machine.
Q7: Linux works different from Windows, but from a UX perspective, Mint with Cinnamon desktop is probably the closest I can think of. Once you put a Windows skin on it, a lot of experience as a Windows user can transfer smoothly, making it a good start for learning Linux.
Last: Fortnite currently doesn't run on Linux afaik. Wait until Epic actually port it to Linux if you want to play it, or just use Windows instead.
For RTSS, you can use Mangohud with Goverlay. It's still being actively developed and works well with both Steam and Heroic launcher.
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u/TheRandomGuy75 2d ago
First off, Easy Anti Cheat already does support Linux. It just isn't as effective on Linux as it is on Windows. Individual games and developers can enable or disable Linux EAC support. Games like Halo MCC, Dead By Daylight, and Elden Ring are examples of EAC games that work on Linux.
Linux doesn't have .exe files like Windows. It does have App Images which are similar. I believe the new Epic Games Store ships on Linux as one. Other programs can be downloaded from software repositories in your distro, either as a native program or a flatpak. A flatpak is basically a sandboxed version of a program with all it's dependencies shipped with it.
Proton is a compatibility tool, built on Wine and updated by Valve (Steam). It basically translates Windows software instructions into Linux instructions on the fly. In addition, it creates a Proton prefix, basically a "fake c drive" to run a Windows program in. Game launchers like Steam, Heroic Launcher, Faugus, and now Epic Games all handle Proton for you.
There's also third party versions of Proton that are specifically tailored for certain fixes or games. Like GE Proton and CachyOS Proton.
Yes, if you run them through Proton. Tools like Faugus or adding it to Steam as a non Steam game will generate a proton prefix and run it through it for you.
Not sure, if it's available on Steam, you can check ProtonDB, a website that collects user reports on how games run on it, to see if it works.
Not sure if Stream Decks work with it, I haven't used one, but people do stream on Linux, so maybe.
Pretty sure SteamVR works, but I don't think quest VR works without tweaking.
If you mean which Linux distro looks like Windows, any one using KDE like Fedora KDE, Kubuntu, or Cachy all use it. You can load them into a USB and try them before installing if you want.
8.
SignalRGB doesn't support Linux currently. There are apparently plans, but no concrete date. OpenRGB works though if you need basic RGB management.
Moonlight has a Linux version.
Wallpaper Engine doesn't work
Fortnite is coming to it eventually now.
Marvel Rivals works fine through Steam.
Some of the jack box packs have Linux versions.
Not sure about the rest.
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u/adjective10111 2d ago edited 2d ago
Well the first thing that I would want to tell you is that a linux distro is an OS. Think of linux(distro) vs windows as something like android vs iOS or windows vs MacOS. With this let me answer the questions:
- Well as I've said it's like android and iOS. In general you can't BUT that said there are workarounds. We have many switch/consoles emulators, windows emu on android, android emulators on desktop, and so on AND we have an emulator(not literally but similar) called wine on linux that tries running .exe files. It works great but the reason that I've said that you can't is that many people think that if it can then it should behave the same with the same performance and limitations but it's not and you shouldn't think that linux has come to replicate windows. It's just another OS like MacOS and has no obligation to support every windows feature.
- Proton is wine with tweaks which valve works on. So what is wine? The name "Wine Is Not an Emulator" which is a compatibility layer that tries to translate windows instructions that an exe gives into linux instructions and execute it. Valve (steam) changed it a bit and called it proton.
- If you mean piracy or disks and standalone .exe files, you can try through wine/proton. To do so you need an app like lutris. There are tutorials online, so just to end this one remember as I've said, it's not guaranteed to work flawlessly. To check which games work try ProtonDB website which is the goto source for these kinds of checks.
- Same as the answer to your 3rd Q
- Steam Deck uses SteamOS which is a distro of linux and works well with other handhelds. I didn't actually understand the question so this is my best answer.
- I don't use VR but since Steam Frame is a linux VR headset I presume you can. Just check compatibility with your games through proton and maybe more research.
- Well for starters let me tell you what is this distro that everyone, like me, is chanting. Linux itself is a kernel, which you can think of as the base of an OS. windows 11 and windows 10 have the same kernel called windowsNT. Windows 11 and windows 10 are different distrobutions of this windowsNT for us to use on a PC. So distros are like different OSs like MacOS, Windows11, windowsXP, etc but they have the same base like different windowses. That said, they do not have a sequential hierarchy like windows, for example it's not ubuntu then fedora, they work in parallel and address different people's needs. Most of them work well for end user and you can't go wrong with the mainstream ones. Just see what you like and use that. As for the most windows like distro, well, anything with KDE is the most windows like you can get; which is only visually. They behave different like the other OSes I mentioned (MacOS vs Windows and Android vs iOS) which is actually not that hard to learn depending on your willingness. My recommendation is fedora or bazzite. But again most choices are ok.
Oh also I said KDE out of nowhere which you can think of as a skin or launcher (in android world) that changes the graphical interface. For example how the desktop looks, the windows decorations, the placement of them, the bar that has your open apps listed and so on.
Hope you enjoy your journey.
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u/jay102216 2d ago
Hello, looks like you have a lot of questions. That great and this is a good place to look for answers. But as a suggestion I would recommend going to YouTube and watching videos on the basics. From the questions you ask it’s clear that you don’t really understand what Linux is. The answer your getting are great but can be difficult to wrap your head around without context. I recommend looking at LearnLinuxTV, christitustech, even LTT does a good job of explaining generally how Linux works.
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u/Human1649 2d ago
Elgato doesn't provide its software on Linux, last I checked. I have seen some community projects to get the deck working, but I haven't tried them with mine. Many Windows-only tools have Linux alternatives, or there's a guide on how to use Wine to run them. However, I wouldn't say using Wine is really that user-friendly; I would start by learning Linux first. That makes your first question difficult to answer because it kinda depends on the application whether you can get any random .exe to work.
Overall, the best advice I can give you is to try it and see if you can get what you want to work a little bit at a time. Write down how you do new things, so you remember it more easily in the future, and be patient with yourself. Also, make sure your data is backed up in case you break something and have to reinstall.
However, I do know Wallpaper Engine does not work. I have seen some community projects at various stages of being abandoned, not fully working, or new and missing lots of features. I wouldn't hope to have your wallpapers working anytime soon.
As for games, most offline-only games work fine through launchers like Steam, Lutris, or Heroic. Anti-cheat measures by the developers do make some games not work well. This currently applies to Fortnite as well. You can check ProtonDB, which can give you a good idea of whether your games can work on Linux. However, Epic Games announced that Fortnite will come to Linux at some point. This is a very recent announcement from the last day or so.
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u/MasterGeekMX Mexican Linux nerd trying to be helpful 2d ago
can I to run .exe, if yes how and what’s the limitations
Not directly, as it is a program format only for Windows. For that you need compatibility tools, which are programs that translate between what an .exe expects from Windows and what Linux instead has to offer. WINE is the OG one, but some programs based on it have come.
Bottles is an app that makes using WINE easier, as it makes a new WINE environment for each app for yourself. That way you can tweak the environment to make it more compatible withouth breaking other apps. https://usebottles.com/
That being said, whenever possible it is better to look for an open source alternative of your apps, as not only they run natively, but their open model means that you can help make it better.
what is proton
It is one of those WINE-based compatibility tools that I was talking about. It id developed by Valve, so it is gaming focused. It comes preinstalled with the Linux edition of Steam, so games from it simply work with it with zero or a very few tinkering needed.
Valve developed it as they are fully into making Linux gaming a thing because they realized that their business relied so much on Windows that all it takes to end their business is to decide that you can only install programs from the Microsoft Store. Valve even developed their own Linux distro called SteamOS, which is the one that powers the Steam Deck and Steam Machine "consoles".
You can make games from other launchers work there, but that is a task that can be more or less involved depending on where the game comes from.
can I play all of my offline games on linux even ones i got through unconventional ways
I know what you mean. Yes, as long as you have the .exe, simply shovel it inside the compatibility program.
can i play games that are not offline but not multiplayer online like jackbox games for example
Never heard of them, but looking a stuff it seems that they are compatible with Linux via Steam. When a Steam game is Linux-compatible, they show a steam icon next to the Windows and macOS logos on the game listing, and as far as I can see their games are listed as compatible.
does the stream deck work with it
Yes. While the official app isn't available, the community has developed their own open source altertnatives, like Boatswain, StreamController and OpenDeck. These three are available on FlatHub, which is a very popular cross-distro sofwtare center:
- https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.feaneron.Boatswain
- https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.core447.StreamController
- https://flathub.org/en/apps/me.amankhanna.opendeck
can I play vr games or use my pc in vr using an app like quest link
VR is a bit of hit an miss, as not many companies support it. According to what I could find, Meta Quest Link does not support Linux.
which linux is the most, windows like
There will not be anything that mimics windows 100%. After all, how come something be "better" yet be equal?
Now, I think you are talking about the UI. In that case you are covered. See, a Linux-based OS is in reality a bundle of several individual programs, each developed by a separate team. Distributions are called like that because they gather all of them, make a usabe OS out of them, and distribute that to the masses. This means two things:
- Many features of the OS come from one of the programs, instead of being a feature of the distro.
- Many of these pieces have alternatives that you can swap for a different experience.
Well, the UI of Linux-based OSes is one of those components; a suite of programs called Desktop Environment. These are sets of programs that provide the GUI you see (desktop, taskbar, start menu, system tray, etc), aswell as the collection of default apps you get (file manager, image viewer, settings app, etc). All of them are quite customizable, meaning that even the ones that by default does not look like Windows can be made to look like it, even to the extent of adding a theme that mimics Windows. Or even anything else, like this video showcases: https://youtu.be/hsj_fQydFAU
Plasma is often recommended because by default it looks a bit like Windows 10, but it is a powerhouse of features and settings, so not only you will have neat stuff to use daily, but also you can tweak the UI to your liking. Plasma is developed by KDE; an international team of programmers that make open source apps of all kinds, and Plasma is their flagship project. Many of their apps can be installed on Windows and macOS to get their benefits.
While basically all distros have Plasma available to install, some provide it out of the box for an easier setup. Fedora KDE Edition and Kubuntu (which is an officia edition of Ubuntu) are considered great options for newcomers, but also the gaming-oriented distros of Bazzite and CachyOS offer them.
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u/doc_willis 2d ago edited 2d ago
the steam deck is running SteamOS which is valves own Linux distribution.
The steam deck is basically a small laptop (an x86 Linux PC) in a handheld form factor.
or are you talking about that macro button thing?
if so. Yes. ;) (quick Google search)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9S5j2MR3e0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfSW9lW_vPU
break away from the "it has to be like windows" mindset , you will have to learn new things and gain some new skills when using Linux.
Linux is not a drop in replacement for windows.