To ensure games run well on Linux either via Native Linux builds or Windows games with Proton, part of the magic is in the Steam Linux Runtime.

To ensure games run well on Linux either via Native Linux builds or Windows games with Proton, part of the magic is in the Steam Linux Runtime. A new version of it, the Steam Linux Runtime 4.0 was recently put up with some pretty big changes.

What’s the point of it? It ensures Steam and games run through Steam on Linux work properly across all the many different Linux distributions. Another secret Valve sauce for Linux. Well, not secret at all but you get my meaning I’m sure.

  • bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.deEnglish
    40·
    2 days ago

    The runtime is not Steam itself. That’s more or less independent from the runtime. The runtimes are a collection of libraries that developers can develop against without having to include them themselves.

    Kind of similar to the Visual C++ Runtime on Windows.

    • Victor@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      I know what a runtime is, but I’d like to check which version of it I’m running. 🙂 Wouldn’t be very difficult but I’m this instance I don’t know how.

      • Alxe@lemmy.worldEnglish
        13·
        2 days ago

        The runtime is for launching games, not Steam itself. You can check the runtime selection in Compatibility tab of Steam and of each game. If your Steam Flatpak install doesn’t work, the issue is likely somewhere else.

        I’d suggest trying to launch the flatpak from the terminal and seeing if there’s any strange logging.

        • Victor@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          I’d suggest trying to launch the flatpak from the terminal and seeing if there’s any strange logging.

          Already did that but I couldn’t see anything that I could recognize as abnormal. The “Connecting” window shows up, actually. But it just stops loading for a second and then it just says “Reaping pid” in the console and it closes the process.

        • Victor@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          The runtime is for launching games, not Steam itself. You can check the runtime selection in Compatibility tab of Steam and of each game. If your Steam Flatpak install doesn’t work, the issue is likely somewhere else.

          Hold up, are you talking about the compatibility layer, “Proton”? I’m not sure that’s what we’re talking about here. Proton is up to version 9 and 10, not 4.0.

    • Axolotl@feddit.itEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      So you can use those to develop on a platform and be sure that it work on the other too? Is this runtime steam-indipendent?