Hi everyone!
I’m a Playstation gamer looking into moving to Linux gaming as the next Playstation might not be able to play physical games.
Here are my 2 computers:
MacBook Pro 2012 (upgraded) with Fedora 41
Surface Go 1 with Fedora 41
I bought Frostpunk on Steam after checking on Proton DB that it would normally run on the MacBook as I knew the Surface Go would probably be way too weak.
According to Proton DB it’s a Gold game.
In the end, no matter what version of Proton I use, it doesn’t launch on the MacBook. I have a black screen, some icy sounds and then it crashes at best..
I then thought, let’s give it a try on the Surface Go and it launched immediately without any tinkering using Proton experimental.
But, the game crashes when the firat cinematic starts, probably because it’s loading too many assets for the Surface.
If anyone has an idea about what to try too many get it working on the MacBook, I would be thankful.
In the meantime, I would want to know, how do you know if a game is gonna run on your machine?
With the launch option PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command% provided by someone here, I managed to start playing and only noticed low fps and audio crackling. For now I also only tried it on Proton Experimental and 6.3-8 seemed to work better when I was just struggling to launch the game, so I’ll try to remember to update this post and Proton DB when I can get more time to play.
Frostpunk minimum requirements page says you need a dedicated GPU with 2 GB VRAM. So an Intel HD Graphics GPU won't cut it. You can only do light gaming with it.
I'm sure there are gaming benchmark videos for it, or for at least CPU+GPU combination. You can get idea about what you should expect. Even Age of Empires II DE would have a hard time with it.
For Linux gaming, you need a relatively new system with a dedicated GPU. For example you can still do low to mid end gaming with GTX 1060 3GB, with a relatively new CPU.
Though for Linux gaming, AMD systems are suggested for more seamless experience. You can also get a Steam Deck if you live in one of those countries.
Edit: Also apparently Intel HD Graphics 4000 doesn't support Vulkan, so'll you need this launch option for every non-native game:
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%You're a life saver and an e-waste avoider! I've only tried for a few minutes for now, but it looks like the game might work.
I managed to start playing and only noticed low fps and audio crackling. For now I also only tried it on Proton Experimental and 6.3-8 seemed to work better when I was just struggling to launch the game, so I'll try to remember to update this post and Proton DB when I can get more time to play.
Glad that it worked for you. Though even if it's playable I wouldn't place my expectations high. You can definitely play some games but Frostpunk looks too demanding for your situation. I too like giving a new life to old devices with Linux. One of my older devices serve me as a home server for example. As long as they work, no need to make them e-waste.