Warframe on Linux discussion

[TheInternetGuy]

I'm not here to whine about warframe should be ported to Linux because making warframe work on linux for a beginner like me feels like trying to hammer a nail and missing the nail everytime but hit my thumb everytime. I can't imagine the pain it would bring to DE to port the entire game over to linux which made me curious. What kind of hurdles would DE encounter in porting the game over to linux?

Linux users are pretty small so it may not be very enticing to port. Moreover, there are tools to make windows games playable on linux so there's that.

I've also heard that Vulkan is needed for Warframe to run on linux but Warframe runs on DirectX so that's a huge undertaking already. I'm not sure about the details but from what I could understand from rumors, DE has to start from the ground up if they switch over to Vulkan. Please correct me if I'm wrong here.

I've been trying to get this game to work on my new operating system and it just pains me that I can't play the game that I used to play fine on Windows 10 despite my potato setup.

I just hope this thread could enlighten me and others on linux sharing my pain of wanting to play warframe and probably not be able to figure out how.

What other hurdles does porting Warframe to Linux bring?

[Jax_Cavalera]

Now that windows comes with a linux subsystem that works for almost all development purposes I've ran into so far (if that's why you switched to linux) is there any major advantage to running linux as the primary os?

[taiiat]

porting Warframe to Linux would entail rewriting the entire game for OpenGL. that's pretty much all you need to know.

but ofcourse, WINE is pretty effective for running non Linux software. if you want to run Warframe in Linux, try it. note that different versions of WINE may or may not have better or worse performance with specific Applications. it's fair amount of trial and error as well as adjusting compatibility settings (also pmuch trial and error).

WINE does have a database that other users can submit their findings to, to give an idea of how to speed up the process (by them having tried all sorts of settings and telling you what worked well for them, Et Cetera). which can help if you're trying to run something that isn't brand new.

 

9 minutes ago, Jax_Cavalera said:

Now that windows comes with a linux subsystem that works for almost all development purposes I've ran into so far (if that's why you switched to linux) is there any major advantage to running linux as the primary os?

the built in Linux in w10 isn't quite the same as 'real Linux'. it doesn't replace it. not currently, atleast.
(and ofcourse ideally it would be Windows running inside of Linux technically rather than the other way 'round but i digress)

[TheInternetGuy]

4 minutes ago, Jax_Cavalera said:

Now that windows comes with a linux subsystem that works for almost all development purposes I've ran into so far (if that's why you switched to linux) is there any major advantage to running linux as the primary os?

Well, for one, I pirated windows 10 so shame on me. Windows 10 kept breaking down on me. I didn't pirate windows 10 myself so I had to lug my pc for miles to get it to the guy who does it so I switched to linux.

I've been on linux and it feels so light. No updates that pop up while I'm in the middle of something, the start menu doesn't have adds for crying out loud. The games that do work on linux natively also ran much much faster. It was just liberating.

But then there's warframe. I just honestly like linux now despite how ignorant I am of it but I don't want to give up warframe either. Short answer is it was just my personal preference.

[TheInternetGuy]

1 minute ago, taiiat said:

porting Warframe to Linux would entail rewriting the entire game for OpenGL. that's pretty much all you need to know.

but ofcourse, WINE is pretty effective for running non Linux software. if you want to run Warframe in Linux, try it. note that different versions of WINE may or may not have better or worse performance with specific Applications. it's fair amount of trial and error as well as adjusting compatibility settings (also pmuch trial and error).

WINE does have a database that other users can submit their findings to, to give an idea of how to speed up the process (by them having tried all sorts of settings and telling you what worked well for them, Et Cetera). which can help if you're trying to run something that isn't brand new.

I've been trying to figure out the methods on making warframe run on linux and I did have some success using proton on steam but it crashed. I'm not sure if I had the xboxdrv setup right and was running worse than when I played warframe on windows. I count that as a victory considering I had to reinstall my OS a couple of times because of warframe but I won't give up on this game.

OpenGL though. OpenGL is what's underneath Vulkan? I'm honestly still relatively new.

[taiiat]

4 minutes ago, TheInternetGuy said:

I've been trying to figure out the methods on making warframe run on linux and I did have some success using proton on steam but it crashed. I'm not sure if I had the xboxdrv setup right and was running worse than when I played warframe on windows. I count that as a victory considering I had to reinstall my OS a couple of times because of warframe but I won't give up on this game.

OpenGL though. OpenGL is what's underneath Vulkan? I'm honestly still relatively new.

ah, right. Steam has Proton nowadays. that is indeed another option. that could work. if you don't seem to be having luck though, falling back to WINE will certainly work.

 

not quite. there are 3 major Graphics API's that Video Games deal with (there's one or two more but they didn't really catch on and/or transformed over time into something else). DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan.
they are all completely different. you could basically think of them as if they came from 3 different planets. they effectively share nothing in common. so Warframe is built under DirectX. to support either one of those other two main branches, you have to start over from scratch and basically make the game all over again.

so just like how if you take an Application for Windows, MacOS, or Linux, and try to run it on one of the other Platforms it just doesn't work, that's somewhat of the same deal here. fundamentally incompatiable. things can be hackjobbed and simulate normal functionality (like what Proton or WINE is helping you do, 'fake it'), but this comes at an overall performance cost (lower actual performance as well as extra delays on just about everything). but, that's the price you pay when you Emulate something rather than actually run it.
which, would be like if you mailed a letter and it went on a truck and it drove directly there, that would be running Software normally. but if it stopped a few times along the way and changed to a different truck before it got to the destination, that's similar to what Emulation is like. extra steps involved with just about everything and that means there is some performance drawback. the penalty can vary a lot, but it will always be some amount.

[TheInternetGuy]

9 minutes ago, taiiat said:

ah, right. Steam has Proton nowadays. that is indeed another option. that could work. if you don't seem to be having luck though, falling back to WINE will certainly work.

 

not quite. there are 3 major Graphics API's that Video Games deal with (there's one or two more but they didn't really catch on and/or transformed over time into something else). DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan.
they are all completely different. you could basically think of them as if they came from 3 different planets. they effectively share nothing in common. so Warframe is built under DirectX. to support either one of those other two main branches, you have to start over from scratch and basically make the game all over again.

so just like how if you take an Application for Windows, MacOS, or Linux, and try to run it on one of the other Platforms it just doesn't work, that's somewhat of the same deal here. fundamentally incompatiable. things can be hackjobbed and simulate normal functionality (like what Proton or WINE is helping you do, 'fake it'), but this comes at an overall performance cost (lower actual performance as well as extra delays on just about everything). but, that's the price you pay when you Emulate something rather than actually run it.
which, would be like if you mailed a letter and it went on a truck and it drove directly there, that would be running Software normally. but if it stopped a few times along the way and changed to a different truck before it got to the destination, that's similar to what Emulation is like. extra steps involved with just about everything and that means there is some performance drawback. the penalty can vary a lot, but it will always be some amount.

So DirectX, Vulkan and OpenGL are big three graphics APIs. I thought OpenGL and Vulkan were related. I have heard of rumors that DE is gonna look into Vulkan but it's not even Soon(TM).

From what I understand about WINE, it stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. Something about a compatibility layer. I've been told that too many times but yes, I'd be inclined to think WINE as an emulator.

Not giving up on warframe so it's the tough pill I gotta swallow.

[taiiat]

3 minutes ago, TheInternetGuy said:

From what I understand about WINE, it stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. Something about a compatibility layer. I've been told that too many times but yes, I'd be inclined to think WINE as an emulator.

technically WINE isn't an Emulator, no. but as far as you're concerned, that's basically what it is doing.
technically instead of Emulating it is converting the code in realtime to what the Host system you're trying to run it on understands.

[TheInternetGuy]

2 minutes ago, taiiat said:

technically WINE isn't an Emulator, no. but as far as you're concerned, that's basically what it is doing.
technically instead of Emulating it is converting the code in realtime to what the Host system you're trying to run it on understands.

The trouble I have with warframe in linux is assembling the parts for it. It's like the IKEA of operating systems without a main store. Instructions can sometimes go wrong and troubleshooting becomes a headache with outdated tutorials even on my distro. Making progress nonetheless.

[taiiat]

2 hours ago, TheInternetGuy said:

The trouble I have with warframe in linux is assembling the parts for it. It's like the IKEA of operating systems without a main store. Instructions can sometimes go wrong and troubleshooting becomes a headache with outdated tutorials even on my distro. Making progress nonetheless.

the upside, is that if you need to get this or that module, it's as simple as writing into the Console to get it, and it just goes and gets it.
so once you know what you need, you basically just call for it and the Operating System does the rest for you. hehe.

[TheInternetGuy]

9 hours ago, taiiat said:

the upside, is that if you need to get this or that module, it's as simple as writing into the Console to get it, and it just goes and gets it.
so once you know what you need, you basically just call for it and the Operating System does the rest for you. hehe.

Definitely a learning curve.

[Fredhoof]

I've been running Warframe on Linux via Lutris for the past couple of weeks, and other than the unusually long initial install time it seems to work just fine.

[tychondus]

Alternatively, if you hardware supports virtualisation. Then you could try GPU Passthrough with a Windows 10 VM. My hardware does and have been playing warframe and many other games at near native speed this way for over a year now. Never had any issues.

Edited August 14, 2019 by tychondus

[George_PPS]

Even if it’s your preference to use Linux and wants to run Windows games or apps on it, it already tells you that your choice of operation system is wrong. If it doesn’t work, why keep trying? Windows works so well for the rest of us. Just get a pre-built gaming PC with genuine Windows 10 license and activated, you won’t have all these non-sense headaches. 

[Kontrollo]

Have you seen this thread?

 

[TheInternetGuy]

On 2019-08-15 at 4:16 AM, Kontrollo said:

Have you seen this thread?

 

Oh my. Thanks for that.

[TheInternetGuy]

On 2019-08-14 at 10:31 PM, George_PPS said:

Even if it’s your preference to use Linux and wants to run Windows games or apps on it, it already tells you that your choice of operation system is wrong. If it doesn’t work, why keep trying? Windows works so well for the rest of us. Just get a pre-built gaming PC with genuine Windows 10 license and activated, you won’t have all these non-sense headaches. 

bruh