Best way to play windows games on Linux?

Hillbilly H

Hillbilly H

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What will be the best and simplest was to play windows games on Linux?
The games i plan on are Witcher 1,2 and 3.
Some time after the first of the year im supposed to get my leg worked on :rolleyes:"Again"
and will have a month or three sitting on my butt with my leg up.
i was thinking gaming will help pass the time, keep me out of the the old ladys hair and off her last nerve.
witch-witchcraft.gif

LOL Yes this is why i built my new PC.;)

P.S. YES i am DUMB! LOL i need to look. Installing Games on Linux
 


The "simplest" way. Run a Windows VM with something like VirtualBox.
Some Windows games just do not run under Linux at all.

Most Steam and Proton games are compatible. Some of the older less resource
intensive games will run under Wine ( a Windows emulator ). But if you really
just want windows games, it's best to just run Windows.
 
I was about to say something along those lines myself. With rare exceptions, Windows software really runs best on Windows......I was exceptionally lucky finding out the photo editor I'd used for years under XP continued to run, 100% perfect, under WINE.

This doesn't often happen.

No way would I describe myself as a "gamer". I occasionally like to waste the odd half-hour or so with something that doesn't require much in the way of concentration OR thought (those old grey cells are getting harder to stimulate these days!) What little interest I have in computer gaming dates all the way back to a mate who used to spend hours & hours playing Doom & Quake on the original Play Station in the late 90s. I decided early on that I'd explore what "native" games Linux has - or those with a Linux port - rather than trying to make stuff for one OS work inside another.....

It turns out there's rather a lot..! FPSs are what I prefer........and stuff like AssaultCube, UrbanTerror, RedEclipse and the long-running Xonotic fit the bill nicely as far as I'm concerned. Other "occasionals" include Half-Life 2 and Castle Wolfenstein, but these take more setting up before they'll work; much of the time, I simply can't be bothered.

I appreciate there's a lot of folks out there who've gotten really INTO particular games, and naturally, wish to continue playing them regardless of platform. For them, I re-iterate what I've already said; you want to play games written for the Windows platform? Then RUN them under Windows.....

Just my two-penn'orth, FWIW.


Mike. ;)
 
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Hillbilly H said:
The games i plan on are Witcher 1,2 and 3.
Click to expand...
Just buy them on Steam and you will be able run them using Proton.
It looks like 2 has got a native Linux build since it has the label "native" on ProtonDB.
store.steampowered.com

Save 81% on The Witcher Trilogy on Steam

Includes 3 items: The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt...
store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com
 
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I would agree that windows games are best on windows. unless you want to spend your recovery time trying to make things work right. Even in a Virtual machine you will not get directx to work nor most 3d graphics. In fact the graphics ability on a VM is very limited unless somebody knows something I do not. I made a triple boot with windows just for games.
 
To add to what I said before, I've been gaming on Linux since before Proton and if you would have asked me then I would have advised you Windows but now as long as you aren't playing any multiplayer games with kernel level Anti-cheat you'll be fine with Linux for gaming. I have played "The Witch 3: Wild Hunt" on Linux runs great, my general experience is that all the games that are gold and platinum run without issues on Linux anything below that you might have to use a different Proton version or use some launch options but those are usually mentioned in the game comments on ProtonDB.
 
Hillbilly H said:
Some time after the first of the year im supposed to get my leg worked on :rolleyes:"Again"
and will have a month or tree sitting on my butt with my leg up.
Click to expand...
Good Luck with the leg repairs and a speedy recovery.
I need to get a hip replaced that's bone on bone cause of arthritis so I can relate.

Hillbilly H said:
P.S. YES i am DUMB! LOL i need to look.
Click to expand...
No your not you successfully built a new PC and that's something that some just won't ever enjoy.
 
I've just gotta ask

Hillbilly H said:
and will have a month or three sitting on my butt with my leg up.
Click to expand...

You know your old lady would say

"So what's different?"

Wiz
 
I recently switched to Linux for Windows gaming, too. Things are pretty decent, although not free from the occasional hiccups.

Just check protondb.com to check the level of compatibility your games would have, and how to set you up using your favourite distribution.
 
Thoughts on running older Win games like the original Halo and H2, or Warcrafts/Spacecraft?

I know there was a way to play Warcraft on newer windows as I did that a few years back.
 
some games like cyberpunk 2077 and doom eternal run better (read higher fps) on linux through proton than natively on windows
 
Got virtualbox/win7 running and got a quick reminder of why i switched to Linux.
So i got Wine i can open and run the install wizard. it reads the first disk ok
asks for the 2ed disk but it looks like the install wizard cant see it?
"The Witcher"
 
Got home early for the Holidays and decided to install PlayOnLinux and break out the old Halo.

Install went easy enough. Then it hit me. I opted for a Thermaltake case for my new PC build. Ummmm ... This model has no DVD player. No CD player. And no slots for sim cards. Guess I won't be enjoying Halo unless I order up a whole new case. Didn't even give that stuff a passing thought when I ordered this thing. LOL
 
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With my experience in playing games on Linux. I first suggest choosing an os that uses a more up to date kernel. Steam is my first choice when it comes to playing and installing games. If you have a game that is on a dvd you can add the .exe installation as a non steam game and install it that way. Once its complete remove the setup file from your library and add the games exe file to your library.

Right click the game, properties, compatiblity, and choose the latest proton.

For older games like Everquest I used Bottles to setup everything. If Bottles doesnt work I go with Lutris.
 
The "simplest" way. Run a Windows VM with something like VirtualBox.
Some Windows games just do not run under Linux at all.

yeah but if its running under emulation it will probably suck at performance, you need a real gaming pc to get that to run at least decent
 
@Hillbilly H,
which OP does fit your wishes ?
If it is Windows, take it (Dual Boot), it is not necessary to tell your decision all.

As W. Shakespeare has said, "do not let her look in your eyes, and not tell her all.", Linux is sometimes like a girl.
 
Hillbilly H said:
What will be the best and simplest was to play windows games on Linux?
The games i plan on are Witcher 1,2 and 3.
Click to expand...
The Witcher games are all on Steam. Just install Steam on Linux. Then go to Settings / Compatibility / and flip the switch Enable Steam Play for all other titles. Save it then install your Witcher games and enjoy. So simple you can do it in your sleep.
 
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