Dealing with games that just won't run on Linux

RadDevon@lemmy.zip to Linux Gaming@lemmy.ml – 85 points –

How are people coping with games that just won't run on Linux (aside from leaving them behind)? Do you dual boot Windows? Virtualize? What's your strategy for this?

This will be extremely rare for me since I don't play a lot of competitive stuff, but I'd love to find a solution. I have a large library, and it's bound to happen from time to time.

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Generally, Proton is enough for gaming.

I use Tiny11 when I have to use Windows to run games.

This modified Windows edition has no ads, no Edge browser, no forced online microsoft account, and no forced updates, so it’s a tolerable Windows edition.

Tiny 11 comes in two variants:

Tiny11 Core is not suitable for use on physical hardware as it outright disables updates. It's best used for short-term VM instances.

Tiny11 also has problems with updates. The advantages gained through Tiny11 will erode with applying Windows updates. The installer is more tolerable than Windows 11 by not forcing an online account (but still needing to touch telemetry settings). Components like Edge and One drive will inevitably rebuild themselves back in with cumulative updates. If this is something that coerces you to not update your system, don't subject yourself to using Tiny11. Additionally Tiny11 fails to apply some cumulative updates out of the box, which could be a further security risk.

I recently tested the main Tiny11 in a VM based on a different user recommending it in a now deleted thread. I was skeptical knowing the history of Tiny10 onward that 11 would actually be able to update properly, and NY findings backed up my initial skepticism of functional updates.

Thanks for the long details, dude.

I just use Windows to run games. I need nothing else on Windows. So Tiny11 is good enough for me.

In terms of safety, I don’t store any information on Windows, so I never update it. It's just a gaming tool for me.

If my game accounts like Ubisoft, Steam, or GOG are leaked, it’s acceptable. They are just some email addresses and automatically generated passcodes, easy to update. It’s not important.

And the file systems used by Windows and Linux partitions aren’t mutually readable, so running games on Windows is hardly likely to affect the safety of the Linux partition. It’s perfect.

Ah, that’s very helpful. Thanks!

Do you virtualize or dual boot?

I use dual boot. Virtualization is a bit cumbersome and inefficient for me.

I just use Windows to run games; I don’t do anything else on it. iPad/Linux is better for me.