Dude you are "root", you can do anything here! So don't waste time thinking next time, just (su)do!

su root

I was in that camp as well. Personally, if gaming got better on Mac I'd go back in a heartbeat. If you have a specific title you like that's support it's really nice, but anything else is a layer of compromises to get things up and running :/

ARM isn't the problem. Some games have native ARM ports, and x86 games can be run by Rosetta. It's not as fast as native, but broadly comparable with the performance of the previous gen Intel chips they replaced.

A bigger problem on macOS is that they dropped support for 32-bit software a few years ago in Catalina. Not a problem with newer games, but it decimated Mac users' Steam libraries.

And the biggest problem is that Apple just doesn't give a shit about gaming. Every few years, they claim they're going to do games, but quickly forget about it. They've never put decent video cards in Macs, and never hesitate to throttle hardware if proper cooling would mean a larger enclosure, so AAA games typically arrive on macOS years late, when second-rate or integrated video cards can run them.

If they actually cared, they'd have their own Vulcan implementation. Instead, they're focused on their own proprietary Metal API.

Basically, Apple and AAA game studios have been ignoring each other for decades.

It depends, actually. You can stack translation layers to take things from x_86 -> Arm and stuff intended for Windows -> MacOS. Depending on your solution sometimes you need to use Microsoft's x86 translation layer and some times you use Apple's.

This takes a pretty big hit tho. And for a long time DX12 was an issue, but with Apple's release of the GameDev porting kit (intended for developers) you could now do play those titlss through a WineBottle. Many users did this (myself included) and I think commercial products like CrossOver are able to have the same functionality. Playing D4 on my base m1 was kinda wild.

It's honestly kinda fun if you like tinkering, but not ideal if you care about raw performance. Ultimately tho, my Linux system is just easier now, but if I get curious if I can run a game on the thinnest laptop I own I reach for my Mac.

What do you think mobile games run on?

I'm 100% certain there would be little difference because people need an OS that can run the software that they want, and just as importantly they need to be able to actually install and use it and Linux has never even tried to make that process anything but a nightmare. And I'll stop you right there with your various flavors of Mint or Ubuntu or Elementary or the dozens of other distros. Users don't care about endlessly tinkering. They want something that just works. Linux doesn't offer that.

tbh most AAA game are not worth playing the last AAA game i bought was cyberpunk. i'd rather get a game with good performance, gameplay and story than one that just looks pretty and is buggy as hell

It's always hilarious when kids with no knowledge talk about Valve's hardware. Like... none of it has ever been developed to make money. Steam makes so goddamn much money they're literally just pissing around with R&D because it's fun.

@CapraObscura @EatMyDick

It has those windows portables (I am blanking on the company name) but those also have way worse battery life.

Oh and I guess steam has also been carefully cultivating their own IP, studios, and games for the past 40 years to ensure a steady supply of the new stuff right? Right?

Because even I hear someone gushing over their switch it's because they are playing some 4 year old game that finally made it there and it's definitely not titles like Mario or Zelda.

I thought they were going that way with Windows 11 S that prevented you using anything other than the MS Store, but it turns out you can just switch S mode off.

It would be mental for MS to do it. Their desktop dominance hinges entirely on people still being able to run the last 30 years or so of wonky old software.

I use Windows, MacOS, and Linux everyday but my primary desktop has been Linux since I moved from OS/2 in I think 1996 or so. I have been a Linux user since 1992.

I have not really been a gamer since the StarCraft days though.

For personal use, I run a Linux PC, but for work I have to use Windows as my daily driver, and I still absolutely cannot stand Windows. Recently, I've had more issues with Windows installations than Linux ones. Which is ironic, considering everyone is always shitting on Linux for not offering the same out-of-the-box usability Windows does.

It wasn't a meme yet? So like... 30+ years ago?

France is bacon

Okay, people are uploading videos of their successful Windows 11 install on YouTube, Reddit and the Steam community en-masse, followed by complaining it doesn't run well lmao

Windows 11 is #2

😬

The Android and iOS apps don't actually run games, they're essentially just the store and community tabs + SteamGuard. The hardware survey explicitly exists to tally up what kinds of hardware is actually being used to play games on Steam, so that's why it's not counted.

I'd say it counts as general user base, but does not count towards the Steam survey.

If Android share counts towards Linux gaming in general, then I think "Linux" as a whole (not necessarily versions or derivatives of Linux that users have the choice to install on their device themselves, however) wins handily. That's because billions of people are all playing Clash of Legends of Heroes of Genshin Tower Puzzle Blocks Crash Deluxe, or whatever the fuck, on their Android phones.

It's based upon the well established distro Arch, and thus still considered Linux. A distro is basically the Linux kernel with pre-installed packages. SteamOS only adds another layer of packages unto Arch afaik.

Wot

Because it’s Valve’s own OS.

Still a regular GNU/Linux distribution. Even entertaining the idea it being anything else is ridiculous.

It's not the same, and the lack of touchpads is really limiting. Even on windows, touchpads on the ROG Ally would go a long way to making the OS usable.