SteamOS and PlayOnLinux
- Thread starter booman
- Start date
Daerandin
Well-Known Member
On an unrelated topic, Daerandin discovered that.. I mean, I discovered that installing PlayOnLinux on SteamOS required a whole lot of dependencies that are not present in SteamOS. So what I did was enable Debian stable repositories. I made sure to read up a bit first, because I didn't want any Debian packages to possibly replace SteamOS packages. Thankfully you can define repository preferences, so that identical packages get pulled from SteamOS repositories and not Debian repositories.
I have given one game a try in PoL on SteamOS and it runs without issues. My next task is to see if I can make the SteamOS GUI launch PoL shortcuts. I know you can do this, but I want to see if I can create such Steam shortcuts via scripts.
I have given one game a try in PoL on SteamOS and it runs without issues. My next task is to see if I can make the SteamOS GUI launch PoL shortcuts. I know you can do this, but I want to see if I can create such Steam shortcuts via scripts.
Daerandin
Well-Known Member
I have not really tested much games so far, the game I did test is a game from late 1990's (1999 I think) and it is not even a 3D game, so definitely not a good indication of performance.
The laptop I am testing this on got the following specs:
Intel i3-4010U @ 1.7 Ghz
Intel HD Graphics 4400
4 GB Memory
Checking with lsblk, I can see that SteamOS created a 9.5 GB Swap partition, which is naturally helpful on a system with low memory.
The desktop is not really very useful since there are very few programs installed. Steam Big Picture mode on SteamOS got its own web browser, so I suspect most users don't need to ever use the desktop. It is obviously tailored for use on big screens to give a console experience. I would not recommend SteamOS for regular Linux use since you pretty much need to enable Debian repositories to make it useful beyond playing Steam Linux games.
If you have a laptop you are not using, and want to turn it into a "console", then it might be fun to install SteamOS, provided you have some Linux games in your Steam library. If the laptop is decent enough to handle some newer games, and you have a controller, then you just got your own homemade console.
If you boot up SteamOS with HMDI connected to a TV, it will automatically switch off the laptop monitor and instead use the TV. I am about to start testing a game called Mark of the Ninja right now.
The laptop I am testing this on got the following specs:
Intel i3-4010U @ 1.7 Ghz
Intel HD Graphics 4400
4 GB Memory
Checking with lsblk, I can see that SteamOS created a 9.5 GB Swap partition, which is naturally helpful on a system with low memory.
The desktop is not really very useful since there are very few programs installed. Steam Big Picture mode on SteamOS got its own web browser, so I suspect most users don't need to ever use the desktop. It is obviously tailored for use on big screens to give a console experience. I would not recommend SteamOS for regular Linux use since you pretty much need to enable Debian repositories to make it useful beyond playing Steam Linux games.
If you have a laptop you are not using, and want to turn it into a "console", then it might be fun to install SteamOS, provided you have some Linux games in your Steam library. If the laptop is decent enough to handle some newer games, and you have a controller, then you just got your own homemade console.
If you boot up SteamOS with HMDI connected to a TV, it will automatically switch off the laptop monitor and instead use the TV. I am about to start testing a game called Mark of the Ninja right now.
Well they've made a beginning, We will have to wait for you to tell us how good a start they've made.
It does seem like a bit of a resource hog...":O}
But there aren't all that many extra laptops that can be dedicated to this in Linux gamers hands are there?
I'm wondering how they see the future of Steam Linux...
What hardware are they going to ultimately want us to acquire?
Computer gaming (FOR ME) has always been something else I can do with my computer,
rather than my reason for having a computer. I wonder how differently others see this?
Back a ways I spent a good three months trying to get Crisis 2 to run in POL.
I pray to Budda that you have better luck!
Your far better qualified than I. so there is more than a little hope here that you will succeed!
Do they really expect that folks are going to set up dedicated Steam boxes, Let alone dedicated Linux Steam boxes?
I mean it's great that you happen to have what they want you to have...But who would go out and acquire a laptop or desktop to do what can be done in cheaper in other ways.
Especially considering how few we Linux gamers are.
Well Hell I bought a PS3 so why not!?
Some folks even bought an X-box...so anything can happen!
(NO offence to X-Box owners, I know absolutely nothing about X-Box
Except that it can't possibly be as good as what I have!! LOL)
Please do keep us current on your progress. If something good comes of your work without to much shifting of my setup I may disconnect my other drives and try follow in your Penguin steps.
It does seem like a bit of a resource hog...":O}
But there aren't all that many extra laptops that can be dedicated to this in Linux gamers hands are there?
I'm wondering how they see the future of Steam Linux...
What hardware are they going to ultimately want us to acquire?
Computer gaming (FOR ME) has always been something else I can do with my computer,
rather than my reason for having a computer. I wonder how differently others see this?
Back a ways I spent a good three months trying to get Crisis 2 to run in POL.
I pray to Budda that you have better luck!
Your far better qualified than I. so there is more than a little hope here that you will succeed!
Do they really expect that folks are going to set up dedicated Steam boxes, Let alone dedicated Linux Steam boxes?
I mean it's great that you happen to have what they want you to have...But who would go out and acquire a laptop or desktop to do what can be done in cheaper in other ways.
Especially considering how few we Linux gamers are.
Well Hell I bought a PS3 so why not!?
Some folks even bought an X-box...so anything can happen!
(NO offence to X-Box owners, I know absolutely nothing about X-Box
Except that it can't possibly be as good as what I have!! LOL)
Please do keep us current on your progress. If something good comes of your work without to much shifting of my setup I may disconnect my other drives and try follow in your Penguin steps.
Daerandin
Well-Known Member
I personally do not see much point in SteamOS, since I can just connect my Arch machine to the TV if I want to play games on the TV. I can also use a controller on my Arch machine easily. SteamOS is really just a heavily modified Debian made to work exactly like a console system.
The Steam Big Picture mode did not seem to be a resource hog, and the mode switching between the Steam GUI and games was very smooth. Unfortunately, the laptop I am testing on is really not suited for any gaming. The Linux game I did try ran very poorly, which was expected.
My next goal is to look into creating Steam shortcuts for PoL games through scripts. If that can be done atomatically, then I might look into creating a simple program which will enable Debian repos just to install PoL on SteamOS, and which could also have all PoL shortcuts appear in the Steam GUI, so they could be launched from within Steam. Now I just need to take the time to look into this, perhaps during next week.
The Steam Big Picture mode did not seem to be a resource hog, and the mode switching between the Steam GUI and games was very smooth. Unfortunately, the laptop I am testing on is really not suited for any gaming. The Linux game I did try ran very poorly, which was expected.
My next goal is to look into creating Steam shortcuts for PoL games through scripts. If that can be done atomatically, then I might look into creating a simple program which will enable Debian repos just to install PoL on SteamOS, and which could also have all PoL shortcuts appear in the Steam GUI, so they could be launched from within Steam. Now I just need to take the time to look into this, perhaps during next week.
Agreed. I never game in the living room on TV's since I have 6 PC's ready to game at any time. So I've never needed a console environment. SteamOS doesn't have much use to me, which kinda sucks because it IS Linux and I love supporting Linux.
Its kinda funny, I was reading posts about Console's and "golden age" etc, etc... There were some comments from gamers about frustrations with PS4 and Xbox One and how it would be nice to have a PC in the living room that could be easy-to-use and game-ready. The first thing I thought was:
STEAMOS
Of course... when most gamers want to have a easy gaming experience in the living room, SteamOS is perfect for that application. Console gamers are getting tired of updating, patching and downloading DLC on their PS4 and Xbox One. They are tired of always online connection to play certain games. We knows that these new console's are just PC's customized for games... Thats all. but now they browse the internet, play music and watch movies. Sounds like a PC to me. The "golden age" of consoles were the older cartridge based consoles where it was simple. But its never enough for today's gamers. Apparently consoles are loosing to phones and tablets. Meaning most people are playing simple arcade games on their phone, kinda like in the 80's. Casual gaming. The rest of us are playing intense, high quality, high definition, surround sound games and Consoles just can't handle it without being more of a PC.
So now they have to decide:
Its kinda funny, I was reading posts about Console's and "golden age" etc, etc... There were some comments from gamers about frustrations with PS4 and Xbox One and how it would be nice to have a PC in the living room that could be easy-to-use and game-ready. The first thing I thought was:
STEAMOS
Of course... when most gamers want to have a easy gaming experience in the living room, SteamOS is perfect for that application. Console gamers are getting tired of updating, patching and downloading DLC on their PS4 and Xbox One. They are tired of always online connection to play certain games. We knows that these new console's are just PC's customized for games... Thats all. but now they browse the internet, play music and watch movies. Sounds like a PC to me. The "golden age" of consoles were the older cartridge based consoles where it was simple. But its never enough for today's gamers. Apparently consoles are loosing to phones and tablets. Meaning most people are playing simple arcade games on their phone, kinda like in the 80's. Casual gaming. The rest of us are playing intense, high quality, high definition, surround sound games and Consoles just can't handle it without being more of a PC.
So now they have to decide:
- Do I play simple arcadish games on my portable phone?
- Do I invest in a PC for high quality gaming
This is good news and bad news. So how many more steps will it take to install, setup, configure a game in PlayOnLinux and get it linked to Steam in big picture?
I've read many complaints that our guides are too long... so adding more steps is going to be discouraging. For them of course... I don't mind more steps.
I hope there is a way to automate the necessary dependencies so we don't have to go through a long list to find the right ones.
It would be great to add a PlayOnLinux button to Big Picture.
Also, if you want to download a GOG game in SteamOS, how can we do that? And where do we save it?
I spend a LOT of time on my Desktop and Home, so it would be difficult for me to install games without it.