Yes, Wine already was a success story long before Valve joined Linux (I have been using wine since version 1.2 in 2010), but it's not a one-sided relationship of Valve just taking. Proton's patches are submitted upstream (back to Wine), they contribute to the Linux kernel themselves and they put formerly independent devs for DXVK and D9VK on their payroll to secure that they can work on it full time. They certainly do pay back to the project and the improvements of the past 5 years, especially regarding the use of Vulkan, happened with a lot of support and love from Valve.
@@davidd.6202 Good addition! Well worth mentioning. It is useful to know that WINE is at the heart of Proton because if a game won't work then you have to go back to the old days. Manually testing winetricks to get a game to work. The GloriousEggroll version has many game compatibility scripts containing those calls and Lutris does this via its install scripts.
It's not exactly a fork of Wine. It's Wine, with some additional libraries (like DXVK, which translates DirectX to Vulkan) preinstalled, and better integrated into Steam
@@laurinneff4304 That is what a fork is. Start with an existing project and then go off on a separate development path. Unless you think WINE exists separate and untouched somewhere in the bowels of Proton.
Given progress over the last year (which is huge), I believe the AMD, Valve and GE teams can get all games to *launch*. The real issue is getting all games to run both as intended and to Windows parity. There are still far too many games tripped up by video codex and other legacy cruft. It's all fixable, just very irritating
GE employs allot of work arounds that generally are not acceptable in official wine releases itself. I don't know if proton will adopt more workaround fixes for games or not. We still haven't seen GE like video conversion features for games with windows video formats (wmv for example).
@@mariozenarju6461 Most people getting into linux proton will never know about GE. Thus there will be complaints and people jumping immediately back to windows.
@@PRiMETECHAU All the issues that currently exist in Proton will be patched in future releases. Final Fantasy XV didn't even launch with some older vanilla Proton version, but when it got updated, worked flawlessly. For my own games, I'm using Proton GE only because of the FSR icing on the cake. Proton GE won't be a necessity *when* Steam Deck launches, at least according to Valve. But it will still offer unique tweaks over vanilla Proton for people who do want to tinker. In short, freedom of choice is always good, unless you're looking for reasons to argue
@@svenkarlsen2702 That's not all of the story, processors are not the same especially in terms of registers and processing capabilities. It's the same reason that why most of emulators can't achieve the same speed as native platform except the case that the host hardware is much more superior than the target, like Z80 vs Ryzen 9 for example. On top of that, some of processing extensions are the main roadblock to achieve a good speed of emulation. It's the reason why emulating PS3 on PC is very difficult in the case of achieving full speed due to SPE, even though PS3 hardware is decade-old now, while Apple M1 ARM processor, when emulating x86_64, can still achieve somewhat better performance-per-watt than x86_64 processors because of UMA, ahead-of-time recompilation, and advantages of ARM architecture. But in Wine case, in the execution level, instructions are not even being touched. They are the same as Windows. The thing is, Windows binaries consists a lot of dynamic-link-library (DLL) calls and not direct hardware interactions, that means emulation is not required. Wine just has to replicate API calls that Windows binaries expect them to be into the library, then mimic the function to the equivalent for them as close as the original as possible. That means zero to none performance hit on Wine (well, if the way the translation is implemented in an efficient way). If you take a look at a benchmark when there is no GPU call overheads from any graphics API translators (WineD3D, DXVK, VKD3D, and so on), the performance is just almost as the same as Windows or even better than Windows in some cases with the equivalent hardware. You may take a look at DOOM benchmark or The Talos Principle for example.
Great video. I'd work on the library metaphor for explaining the differences in operating systems on the same architecture though. It was a little bit awkward/confusing IMHO. But it was great overall. Thanks!
Just found your videos, and. Ant get enough Steam Deck content. I have an Alienware Alpha R1 i5 steam machine and I honestly love it (but I did install windows). Can't wait till you are hands on with the deck to see if I should pull the trigger!
Did it come with windows or SteamOS? I've got an Alienware Aurora R11 and a Steam Deck on reserve. I'm thinking of dual booting my R11 with Linux to try out Proton.
Good work on the video, by the way, a nice concise explanation of Proton. I love the comment at 8:05 "... having a Linux distribution to try it on." ... and up pops a picture of thousands of screwdrivers. Gotta love the imagery there.
I really hope Valve will be able to deliver on their promise. that would be great. also kinda hoping Phil Spencer will have xbox for PC ported over to the steam deck using proton if need be. I'm not going to hold my breath on that last one but it would be great to see.
idk, now days valve and xbox get along fine, plus with valve opening up steam deck for other company's to make their own storefront/ custom os versions i could see an xbox branded portable. but even barring that xcloud allows you to play on anything with a wifi connection and a web browser.
They seemed to be on the right path! I don't buy many games (only bought 2 without discount), but here is a list of games I've now got running on Linux with at least equal performance: Elite: Dangerous Rust (EAC Server issues though) Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered Command & Conquer 3 GTA Definitive Edition (I know, most don't really like i) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (will try Survivor when finished) Titanfall 2 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Enhanced with RTX) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (with RTX to max) Spyro Reignited There are other games on my Linux playability list which are not so well-known that I haven't listed. One part I do not quite understand yet, being that Red Dead Redemption 2 plays on Linux (for me) without the need of a compatibility layer. So, why can't I find any proof of this online? I play RDR2 without the use of Wine or Proton. It works better on Linux too!
The other nice thing is that OpenGL and Vulkan APIs are actually the same between Windows and Linux (and other platforms, that's the point), so for games which do most of their work calling out to the graphics APIs then WINE/Proton doesn't have to do much work at all. It just has to set up an environment for the graphics libraries to run in and expose the framebuffer to the host's display stack (and other hooks, etc.), the rest of the work is just wrapping exposing the native Linux ABI for the libraries in the Windows environment.
Great explanation. My experience with proton has been fairly positive. I am a little concerned over performance on certain games. I had a lower end machine (integrated gpu) which ran the Linux version of Rocket League (avg 60fps) up until hey stopped supporting a native version. When I tried proton, it did run but the performance was not as good. As long as the hardware is decent (mine wasn’t in this case), I don’t see a problem running most everything.
a better analogy for Proton would be a translator, because that's literally what it does; translates the DirectX "dialect" to something Linux understands. that's why some people call Proton a "translation layer"
@@matthewblackwood9653 yep. technically, "compatibility layer" is a more accurate description of what Proton as an application is. it's the libraries that Proton uses that does the translations
But EAC *DOES* have a Wine client - one of the linux users on the "The Division 2" forums found that out - but Ubisoft refused to ask EAc to enable it.
For the most part, it's just a translation of the api calls which as the video pointed out, is a lot less demanding on the hardware then translating the entire hardware layer which is what emulators do. The surprise for me is how many games run faster on Linux over Windows through Proton which to me clearly tells me that the api's on Windows could be better. As for Proton, Valve are being bold on saying it should run more or less every game on Steam by the time the Steam Deck is out, for them to be so bold, I suspect they already have a much better version of Proton but not gone public with it because the current public version of Proton is a long way from running all games as it should.
I really like Proton, but I also see it as a bit of a double edged sword. It's cool to in any way get more games on Linux, I'm all for that, but the flip side is that this can actually (at least in the short term) dissuade developers even more from making native Linux ports because why bother when a game just works in Proton. The other thing is, while some games do definitely work better in Linux via Proton than on Windows, the vast majority don't. They either suffer from performance issues, or graphical issues, or both. Most of us that are on Linux are just happy they work at all, and are grateful to have access to so many more titles. But no one that isn't already a fan of Linux is going to be won over while the games still play better on Windows.
Steam deck is probably one of the best things for the Linux community. As much of us open source lovers appreciate the value of "free software', what holds Linux back from mass adoption is the compatibility issues. With this device, this will instantly flood the the Linux market with millions of users. Many of them, their first taste of PC gaming. I do believe this will get people comfortable using Arch. Also, I would imagine Epic, EA, Ubisoft, and Xbox might launch Linux apps for their gaming clients. If they want to get the deck users to play their games on the system, they'll make a way. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft launch's a Linux port for their Game Pass app. I'm not sure how they could pull this off from a technical standpoint but if they want to sale Game Pass to deck users, they'll find a way so they can make their millions. This can only be really good news for us Linux users
Just look up what Proton stands for. On Proton's website it says: "Proton (originally an acronym for "Proton Is Not an Emulator") is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant [...]" Yeah, maybe I should stop with the bad jokes. Was funnier in my head.
As said below, the cases where proton is faster than windows is rare, and not as you say by a lot, that just never happens. Now someone is bound too say, yeah there is one game, 0.001% doesn't count. Don't make it more that what it is, i.e. no bias please :) I am a Linux fan, but also respect the truth. Windows may be this or that, more resource hungry. The fact is windows games were made for windows, and on average provides the superior gaming experience. I rarely game on Linux, I often try but then just go back to windows. The average cost penalty is about win + RTX3070 v Linux + RTX3080 to get the same smoothness, it isn't all about frame rate. Linux framerate tends to fluctuate more, a lot more. Stutters and mini freezes are more common, though it is improving. LInux HDR ? no HDR.
Proton is executing the code natively. There is nothing emulated. From technical point of view, Proton is not an emulator. But from logical point of view, Proton is emulating a different system.
@@svenkarlsen2702 I guess many people see emulators as things that make it possible to run stuff that is meant for a different system. It's not the correct definition, but from this perspective it seems like Proton is one.
@@svenkarlsen2702 Nope, as I said, I was not talking about the technical side. I am talking about the logical side and made it multiple times clear. Also you cannot speak about "accurate terminology" in combination with Simulation/Emulation/Virtual Machines/API redirects. It is not 100% cut and clear in all cases. But that wasn't even my topic, as I was talking about logical view, not the technical side of implementation. The term does not even matter in what I am talking about. You can call it what you want.
Based on the definition of emulation used by Wine it's not. Based on the first paragraph of the Wiki page on Emulation it is. And if your'e wondering why the first page matters... it's because that's the public understanding of what emulation is.
Even the first paragraph of Wikipedia requires a certain interpretation to work with Wine. Wine simply uses API calls and redirects them to work in Linux, which is what an API is basically meant to enable. If Microsoft changes some of the underlying code then we wouldn't say that it emulated earlier versions just because it uses an API.
@@nicolaim4275 I think it's a matter of perception. From the point of view of WINE it's not emulating windows, just the core functionality of what an OS is. From the point of view of the programs being tricked into running on Unix and Unix-like systems it is indistinguishable from a program trying to emulate Windows. People think WINE is an emulator because programs aren't made to run on a certain piece of hardware but on a certain piece of hardware running a certain operating system. You don't just simulate the PlayStation one hardware, you also have to emulate the way the OS interacted with the game software. Just because the hardware doesn't change between a Windows and a Linux installation on the same machine doesn't mean the way programs will expect the system to interact stays the same. To call WINE just a collection of APIs is to equate emulation with simulation. Emulation by it's very nature means imitation, not simulation. An Emulator doesn't want to recreated a virtual copy of a system from the OS down to the hardware. It wants to imitate it both as much as possible so as to trick the program into thinking it's running on an OS and potentially on hardware it thinks it's not while at the same time imitating them as little as positive so as to not get into legal trouble and keep performance as good as possible. A program highly compatible with WINE won't know the difference between running on Windows and running on linux? WRONG, a program highly compatible with WINE will *always* think it's running on Windows. And that right there is the reason people look at WINE as an emulator, because that's what an emulator is supposed to do. It's supposed to trick a program into thinking it's running on something it's not, it's just that Gardiner and the people behind WINE chose to interpret that as only referring to different hardware. WINE is not emulating another set machine that runs Windows, it's just emulating the Windows operating system. Or at least trying to do so.
@@AlucardNoir A program doesn't think, so that is a very weird frame of reference. A program is a collection of algorithms nested in function calls etc until it is a series of zeroes and ones that the processor turns into a different series of zeroes and ones. Changing the backend for a function call isn't what is meant by emulation and is essentially what WINE does.
@@AlucardNoir So you worship algorithms and therefore WINE is an emulator? I have a hard time following the relevance in your logic and reasoning in these things, unless that actually was a non-argument.
I don’t believe any offer maximum performance. Really it’s like saying which is a better tool to buy a hammer or a wrench. By design each has its purpose and then you may choose to implement things differently based on which one you have. I think often hardware reviews are going to come down to benchmarking software which really tells more how well that software utilizes the firmware it’s built on. If you study Big O Notation sometimes you have one algorithm that 99% of cases. But then you gotta ask how often does that 1% of cases occur. For example a plane is faster than a car traveling to 99% of the planet but I’m guessing 99% of your travel is the 1% of distance where a car is faster
@@quatjohn4375 I mean it's quite easy to just use 20 games or so and compare all 3 OS's for games i just want to know what will offer the max. No one is going to want to use something 10% or more slower for their games. Least not PC hardware guys like me.
@@wii166 That's true. Actually I guess you're right they could take and run benchmarks on a bunch of games giving the average framerate. I'm sure a smaller TH-cam channel could easily do a handful(maybe 5 to 20 games) where a large group might be able to give us a huge chunk like 100 games or so.
Wrong, Proton is not just Wine. Wine is just one part of Proton, which involves other key projects as well. So it is unfair to just say Proton=Wine. But I like PINE. That is a great name. :)
This project can happen by: 1) A group of people who wants to make Windows API wrapper for Linux. 2) A man who wants to play NieR:Automata™ on Linux 3) A man who loves coding challenges and frogs. 4) A company that embraces Linux as a gaming platform for whatever reason.
the fact that people think proton is a emulator 100% is based on. one a fundamental lack of knowledge of what a emulator is/does and two what did ltt say one time (in passing) about proton, just flat out calling it a emulator, instead of what it is a compatability layer.
I think that Valve needs to be careful. Microsoft already bought Zenimax/Bethesda because ID was making Doom on Proton-Vulcan API and it was making people realize how bad Direct X is. Microsoft could try to move in and buyout Steam or Valve just so they don't have to compete with Linnux if Proton gets people to jump ship on mass.
They wouldn't be able to move in and buy them because they're a private company and not publicly traded. MS would have to convince the majority shareholders to sell, Gaben being the largest majority shareholder, and he historically doesn't like MS. He created valve because he was dissatisfied with them.
I've (lovingly) called wine an emulator for well over 15 years now. And the recursive acronym does not stop me. I will always call it an emulator for the windows API
It's simply easier to explain to the layman. I've had a lot of non tech people ask me what proton / WINE is, and the easiest way to help them understand is to just say: "WINE is a Windows Emulator."
I feel like a lot of this is wrong… Linux and Windows have different libraries. I’ve never heard DirectX is slower or faster than OpenGL just a different direction. Lastly emulation is one computer system acting as another computer system not specifically translating hardware. For example you need to emulate Xbox games which run on a Pentium 3 processor
Proton is big in gaming on linux. But linux isn't that big in gaming community. ... I don't think valve will push linux that much. In fact they worry that linux might hurt stream deck. to the point that "it can install Windows" is part of stream deck's early promotion.
The fact proton can force compatibility with windows games launchers is black magic to me. Installing battlenet just took forcing proton experimental, using steam as the launcher for battlenet and its installer.
It's really not that magical. Windows provides libraries to x86 programs. Wine/proton provides compatible Windows libraries on Linux. PC games are all compiled for the CPU in your PC. In the end it doesn't really matter what OS you're running. Now emulation? That's the real magic.
Maybe some day. Would be cool to see it merged with Android, iOS, Mac, and DOS compatibility layers too, plus the more popular game engines. Maybe even a few consoles.
I'll maintain WINHE. It definitely emulates software, so it's an emulator. That it doesn't emulate hardware is an important point, but it does need the extra h.
Proton is making good use of wine and thier focus on games make's it awesome! I think(and hope) it will make people see Linux as more than the bash(for some reason people still think it's 1995). If Valve solves the anti-cheat issue it's a done deal for Linux. I will certainly begin my campaign to elevate windows gamers to Linux since it is the last bastion of Windows.
I do wish UE4 games ran better with proton. Been having some performance drop with MechWarrior5 on certain levels even with FSR enabled; I've seen this before with other UE4 games, DX12 seems to run better but it still needs more work (vkd3d-proton). Still no fix for EAC or BE support with proton; shrug...
Using Steam Proton as a runner is not recommended by Lutris but GloriousEggroll does make a custom build of Wine with Proton parity that you can use as a runner in Lutris.
Ok, i ask because i just installed my first Linux and want to be able to install and play other kinds of games as well. I also need to learn how to install a program, when I download a setup and I try to run it, it opens like a directory
@@Radrex89which distribution did u install?..... Linux has concept of repositories where distribution maintainers make software available.... They are installed using program called package manager which are part of system..... You can install either via command line (the most efficient way 🙂) or with gui frontends (which most beginner friendly distributions ship with) they are like app stores.... Depending upon distribution there will be software available (mostly open source).. About additional software instructions will depend on distribution
@@shriteendhamasker9499 Hello, I installed pop os. For example, I tried to search in the pop Shop (is that correct?) for the game 'Tibia' and did not find it, so I downloaded what is supposed to be the setup from the game's website but when I double clicked on the file I just went to a new set of other files. How would I be able to proceed with said installation?
@gghhkm this is true. But, most experiences Ive had with making xorg and Wayland play nice on the same system have ended poorly, a good example would be pop 20.10 and Ubuntu 20.10 respectively
Proton is pretty amazing... I just worry about the living of developers who make games native... At what point does proton finally cut over to native games again and Valve take its dependence off Windows... Will we have devs with the skillset or will we have a bigger hill to climb? I can't wait for the day that games are made Linux first then adapted for Windows
If Steam succeed with the Steam Deck, then Microsoft won't be able to make any Proton-incompatible changes to their API without game developers ignoring them. That seems like a good starting place for cross-platform development becoming meaningful.
@@nicolaim4275 I wouldn’t say that. But I would say if Steam Deck becomes popular this will get a larger percentage of gamers on a Linux OS. Perhaps eventually to the point where most serious gamers are on Linux. This could make developers choose Linux development first. However, Valve has advised developers against working on Linux development and instead to develop a Windows version with Proton compatibility in mind. The positive is instead of developers releasing a Linux version that gets patches late all versions will receive the same patch. The downside is Linux users will always be playing catch-up because your suggestion isn’t realistic. Eventually Microsoft will need a DirectX13 or DirectX14 as new technology is developed. Similar to how HDR became popular and we needed APIs to enable it. Let’s say if the next big thing is an enhanced form of the 3D effect on the 3DS they might need to make a new DirectX to support that
Proton on Deck will only work out of the box for Steam Games. Here I see the Problem that the Mainstream Users do not want exit the console like experience and handle things like Lutris and so on. An possibility to install other Lunchers from the Steam Menu, that handles the Proton Part would not only a „quality of life“ improvement but would increase the chances of the Deck success
I've been pretty used to having standard wine work on non-steam games, but if the steam deck becomes popular enough, then we should expect proton implemented in GoG and Epic.
Proton is built to catalogue the windows API's to Linux but Mac is based on BSD which is not Linux so definitely No but it's definitely possible maybe sometime in future Mac's will also get an translation layer as it isn't limited by the technology
@@animegamer3336 Well it's not GNU/Linux but it is a Unix based operating system under the hood. MAC OS has almost the same command tools that Linux have. But yeah 🍎 uses their own programming language called swift. They also uses common languages called: c, c++ and objective-c. Long story short no proton won't work on Mac OS because they uses a custom programming language called Swift. Different libraries etc.
@@squadramunter programming languages does not really matter in Unix-like systems because almost every single unix-like uses a libc which makes system calls to kernel to get resources to run a process, MacPorts exists which just need a few changes to make linux applications to work on macs. Wine already exists on mac so proton can too but nobody is interested in porting it. I won't too because I hate them but each to their own. Have a nice day! :]
Honestly, the one the thing I've heard about Proton MOST, is the fact that it's not an emulator. .. I feel like I've seen several videos and articles about this. While yes, I did happen hear one person monetarily referrence it as a emulator but he later correct his verbal slip up.
Yes, but you don't need to. Lutris is a game management tool that comes with its own version of wine that includes many of the improvements brought by Proton. With it you can install Ubi, Origin, Epic, GoG etc games.
just because it's not a hardware emulator doesn't mean it's not an emulator. you can emulate software and hardware. to emulate is to act like something it's not. and an emulator emulates. and wine acts like windows for purpose of running the program. wine is not windows so therefore it is acting like something it is not. therefore wine is an emulator despite the acronym.
@@logangraham2956 it's a semantic or philosophical question if the term Emulator is restricted to hardware or not. The fact is true that there are emulators that add another faked layer (the hardware one) to the environment that is being given to the executable software to run in, and thus the difference is definitely impactful and perceptable in performance. This may change in the future if architectures become more interchangeable. In the end it does not matter how you call it, but with current technology, there is a difference in performance. In a classic emulator, you have a virtualized processor that executes the code and then sends native commands to the host OS. To be fair, you could speak of "emulation in more general sense" if you emulate software only, and "emulation in narrower sense" if you emulate hardware. But I totally agree with you that wine is more than just an API. If it was, it would not need faked windows structures like wineprefixes for example. It is not a virtualized machine though and it is not a full virtualization of Windows either. It pretends to be a Windows installation though. You could say it emulates the Windows API.
@@logangraham2956 If Wine tried to recreate windows and the apps ran in that virtual environment, then it would be a software emulator. If wine takes app calls and redirects them, then it is a translator. Wine does the latter and therefore emulator is the wrong term.
@@davidd.6202 "You could say it emulates the Windows API" actually that the exact line of thinking i was going for. yes indeed it's not a virtual machine. it's certainly not a container either though that would be interesting. they also make mention that wine does not run at the operating system level but funny thing is there use to be a project called longene which basically had wine running as a kernel module. but as far as i can tell that project has been dead for a long time now.
When you look at the source of Proton, you will find WINE. So a big shout out to the WINE devs who made all this possible!
Yes, Wine already was a success story long before Valve joined Linux (I have been using wine since version 1.2 in 2010), but it's not a one-sided relationship of Valve just taking. Proton's patches are submitted upstream (back to Wine), they contribute to the Linux kernel themselves and they put formerly independent devs for DXVK and D9VK on their payroll to secure that they can work on it full time. They certainly do pay back to the project and the improvements of the past 5 years, especially regarding the use of Vulkan, happened with a lot of support and love from Valve.
@@davidd.6202 Good addition! Well worth mentioning. It is useful to know that WINE is at the heart of Proton because if a game won't work then you have to go back to the old days. Manually testing winetricks to get a game to work. The GloriousEggroll version has many game compatibility scripts containing those calls and Lutris does this via its install scripts.
And Wine Is Not an Emulator!
@@nirgunawish You can pretty much assume proton as a contribution to the project.
@@nirgunawish a lot of proton patches is upstreamed back to wine
P - Wine
R - Is
O - Not an
T - Emulator
O -
N -
There is a significant increase in how many anti-clickbait thumbnails I see after the video by Veritasium about clickbait.
well I thought proton was a fork of Wine, and wine stands for "Wine is not an emulator".. soo no? XD
Great 100 Logic
But not always it's valid to say "Nomen est omen" but in this instance it's valid.
It's not exactly a fork of Wine. It's Wine, with some additional libraries (like DXVK, which translates DirectX to Vulkan) preinstalled, and better integrated into Steam
Proton is more like a WINE in steroids, because wine in itself is not focused on gaming
@@laurinneff4304 That is what a fork is. Start with an existing project and then go off on a separate development path. Unless you think WINE exists separate and untouched somewhere in the bowels of Proton.
All of the games I play work either natively in Linux or with Proton. I'm really looking forward to the Steam Deck.
Given progress over the last year (which is huge), I believe the AMD, Valve and GE teams can get all games to *launch*. The real issue is getting all games to run both as intended and to Windows parity.
There are still far too many games tripped up by video codex and other legacy cruft. It's all fixable, just very irritating
GE employs allot of work arounds that generally are not acceptable in official wine releases itself. I don't know if proton will adopt more workaround fixes for games or not. We still haven't seen GE like video conversion features for games with windows video formats (wmv for example).
Luckily, Glorious Eggroll injects his versions of Proton with those irritating fixes. Even L.A. Noire runs out of the box with recent releases
If you have a game that works, just hope it doesn't get slammed with anti cheat measures like what happens on steam.
@@mariozenarju6461 Most people getting into linux proton will never know about GE. Thus there will be complaints and people jumping immediately back to windows.
@@PRiMETECHAU All the issues that currently exist in Proton will be patched in future releases. Final Fantasy XV didn't even launch with some older vanilla Proton version, but when it got updated, worked flawlessly. For my own games, I'm using Proton GE only because of the FSR icing on the cake. Proton GE won't be a necessity *when* Steam Deck launches, at least according to Valve. But it will still offer unique tweaks over vanilla Proton for people who do want to tinker. In short, freedom of choice is always good, unless you're looking for reasons to argue
Proton and also Wine is not an emulator.
They are translators. Translate windows calls into Linux calls.
Like translating Chinese into English.
@@svenkarlsen2702 That's not all of the story, processors are not the same especially in terms of registers and processing capabilities. It's the same reason that why most of emulators can't achieve the same speed as native platform except the case that the host hardware is much more superior than the target, like Z80 vs Ryzen 9 for example. On top of that, some of processing extensions are the main roadblock to achieve a good speed of emulation. It's the reason why emulating PS3 on PC is very difficult in the case of achieving full speed due to SPE, even though PS3 hardware is decade-old now, while Apple M1 ARM processor, when emulating x86_64, can still achieve somewhat better performance-per-watt than x86_64 processors because of UMA, ahead-of-time recompilation, and advantages of ARM architecture.
But in Wine case, in the execution level, instructions are not even being touched. They are the same as Windows. The thing is, Windows binaries consists a lot of dynamic-link-library (DLL) calls and not direct hardware interactions, that means emulation is not required. Wine just has to replicate API calls that Windows binaries expect them to be into the library, then mimic the function to the equivalent for them as close as the original as possible. That means zero to none performance hit on Wine (well, if the way the translation is implemented in an efficient way). If you take a look at a benchmark when there is no GPU call overheads from any graphics API translators (WineD3D, DXVK, VKD3D, and so on), the performance is just almost as the same as Windows or even better than Windows in some cases with the equivalent hardware. You may take a look at DOOM benchmark or The Talos Principle for example.
Can I just say how happy I am that your videos get sponsored? Hope you hit 100k soon!
Great video. I'd work on the library metaphor for explaining the differences in operating systems on the same architecture though. It was a little bit awkward/confusing IMHO. But it was great overall. Thanks!
Thank you for this video. I was having a hard time explaining my friend what proton actually is.
Just found your videos, and. Ant get enough Steam Deck content. I have an Alienware Alpha R1 i5 steam machine and I honestly love it (but I did install windows). Can't wait till you are hands on with the deck to see if I should pull the trigger!
Did it come with windows or SteamOS?
I've got an Alienware Aurora R11 and a Steam Deck on reserve. I'm thinking of dual booting my R11 with Linux to try out Proton.
@@dralberthofmann I had Steam OS and immediately put windows on. I would love to see how dual boot works
A superb way to explain these concepts to everyone! Great job!
Good work on the video, by the way, a nice concise explanation of Proton.
I love the comment at 8:05 "... having a Linux distribution to try it on." ... and up pops a picture of thousands of screwdrivers. Gotta love the imagery there.
The best video you have done in my opinion. Nice explanation
I really hope Valve will be able to deliver on their promise. that would be great. also kinda hoping Phil Spencer will have xbox for PC ported over to the steam deck using proton if need be. I'm not going to hold my breath on that last one but it would be great to see.
idk, now days valve and xbox get along fine, plus with valve opening up steam deck for other company's to make their own storefront/ custom os versions i could see an xbox branded portable. but even barring that xcloud allows you to play on anything with a wifi connection and a web browser.
@@spicydeath82 plot twist, XBOX gets valve to make an Xbox Deck :P
They seemed to be on the right path!
I don't buy many games (only bought 2 without discount), but here is a list of games I've now got running on Linux with at least equal performance:
Elite: Dangerous
Rust (EAC Server issues though)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
Command & Conquer 3
GTA Definitive Edition (I know, most don't really like i)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (will try Survivor when finished)
Titanfall 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Enhanced with RTX)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (with RTX to max)
Spyro Reignited
There are other games on my Linux playability list which are not so well-known that I haven't listed.
One part I do not quite understand yet, being that Red Dead Redemption 2 plays on Linux (for me) without the need of a compatibility layer. So, why can't I find any proof of this online?
I play RDR2 without the use of Wine or Proton. It works better on Linux too!
The other nice thing is that OpenGL and Vulkan APIs are actually the same between Windows and Linux (and other platforms, that's the point), so for games which do most of their work calling out to the graphics APIs then WINE/Proton doesn't have to do much work at all. It just has to set up an environment for the graphics libraries to run in and expose the framebuffer to the host's display stack (and other hooks, etc.), the rest of the work is just wrapping exposing the native Linux ABI for the libraries in the Windows environment.
Great explanation. My experience with proton has been fairly positive. I am a little concerned over performance on certain games. I had a lower end machine (integrated gpu) which ran the Linux version of Rocket League (avg 60fps) up until hey stopped supporting a native version. When I tried proton, it did run but the performance was not as good. As long as the hardware is decent (mine wasn’t in this case), I don’t see a problem running most everything.
Your videos are much appreciated.
Man I already knew alot about proton but man well done video, very well explained man, best I've scene!
a better analogy for Proton would be a translator, because that's literally what it does; translates the DirectX "dialect" to something Linux understands. that's why some people call Proton a "translation layer"
I've also heard it called a 'compatibility layer'. I feel that's less specific than translation layer, but also apt.
@@matthewblackwood9653 yep. technically, "compatibility layer" is a more accurate description of what Proton as an application is. it's the libraries that Proton uses that does the translations
But EAC *DOES* have a Wine client - one of the linux users on the "The Division 2" forums found that out - but Ubisoft refused to ask EAc to enable it.
Thanks! I knew Proton was not an emulator, but I did know how exactly to describe how it works. Now more or less I Know how it is.
For the most part, it's just a translation of the api calls which as the video pointed out, is a lot less demanding on the hardware then translating the entire hardware layer which is what emulators do.
The surprise for me is how many games run faster on Linux over Windows through Proton which to me clearly tells me that the api's on Windows could be better.
As for Proton, Valve are being bold on saying it should run more or less every game on Steam by the time the Steam Deck is out, for them to be so bold, I suspect they already have a much better version of Proton but not gone public with it because the current public version of Proton is a long way from running all games as it should.
allow me to throw oil on the fire
proton is emulating the windows api
I really like Proton, but I also see it as a bit of a double edged sword. It's cool to in any way get more games on Linux, I'm all for that, but the flip side is that this can actually (at least in the short term) dissuade developers even more from making native Linux ports because why bother when a game just works in Proton.
The other thing is, while some games do definitely work better in Linux via Proton than on Windows, the vast majority don't. They either suffer from performance issues, or graphical issues, or both. Most of us that are on Linux are just happy they work at all, and are grateful to have access to so many more titles. But no one that isn't already a fan of Linux is going to be won over while the games still play better on Windows.
Steam deck is probably one of the best things for the Linux community. As much of us open source lovers appreciate the value of "free software', what holds Linux back from mass adoption is the compatibility issues. With this device, this will instantly flood the the Linux market with millions of users. Many of them, their first taste of PC gaming. I do believe this will get people comfortable using Arch. Also, I would imagine Epic, EA, Ubisoft, and Xbox might launch Linux apps for their gaming clients. If they want to get the deck users to play their games on the system, they'll make a way. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft launch's a Linux port for their Game Pass app. I'm not sure how they could pull this off from a technical standpoint but if they want to sale Game Pass to deck users, they'll find a way so they can make their millions. This can only be really good news for us Linux users
One of the best, to the point explanation of proton
Just look up what Proton stands for.
On Proton's website it says:
"Proton (originally an acronym for "Proton Is Not an Emulator") is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant [...]"
Yeah, maybe I should stop with the bad jokes. Was funnier in my head.
PINEE: Proton is not emulation either.
I hope they don't make a phone!
@@paulnortham There would be no market for a phone that runs windows phone apps, not even if they were 100% native.
As said below, the cases where proton is faster than windows is rare, and not as you say by a lot, that just never happens. Now someone is bound too say, yeah there is one game, 0.001% doesn't count. Don't make it more that what it is, i.e. no bias please :)
I am a Linux fan, but also respect the truth. Windows may be this or that, more resource hungry. The fact is windows games were made for windows, and on average provides the superior gaming experience. I rarely game on Linux, I often try but then just go back to windows.
The average cost penalty is about win + RTX3070 v Linux + RTX3080 to get the same smoothness, it isn't all about frame rate. Linux framerate tends to fluctuate more, a lot more. Stutters and mini freezes are more common, though it is improving. LInux HDR ? no HDR.
Is Gardiner a gardener?
He is a linux gardener.
Proton is executing the code natively. There is nothing emulated. From technical point of view, Proton is not an emulator. But from logical point of view, Proton is emulating a different system.
@@svenkarlsen2702 I guess many people see emulators as things that make it possible to run stuff that is meant for a different system. It's not the correct definition, but from this perspective it seems like Proton is one.
@@svenkarlsen2702 Yes, as I said, its emulating a different operating system from logical point of view. Not from technical point of view.
@@svenkarlsen2702 Nope, as I said, I was not talking about the technical side. I am talking about the logical side and made it multiple times clear.
Also you cannot speak about "accurate terminology" in combination with Simulation/Emulation/Virtual Machines/API redirects. It is not 100% cut and clear in all cases. But that wasn't even my topic, as I was talking about logical view, not the technical side of implementation.
The term does not even matter in what I am talking about. You can call it what you want.
Based on the definition of emulation used by Wine it's not. Based on the first paragraph of the Wiki page on Emulation it is. And if your'e wondering why the first page matters... it's because that's the public understanding of what emulation is.
Even the first paragraph of Wikipedia requires a certain interpretation to work with Wine. Wine simply uses API calls and redirects them to work in Linux, which is what an API is basically meant to enable. If Microsoft changes some of the underlying code then we wouldn't say that it emulated earlier versions just because it uses an API.
@@nicolaim4275 I think it's a matter of perception. From the point of view of WINE it's not emulating windows, just the core functionality of what an OS is. From the point of view of the programs being tricked into running on Unix and Unix-like systems it is indistinguishable from a program trying to emulate Windows.
People think WINE is an emulator because programs aren't made to run on a certain piece of hardware but on a certain piece of hardware running a certain operating system. You don't just simulate the PlayStation one hardware, you also have to emulate the way the OS interacted with the game software. Just because the hardware doesn't change between a Windows and a Linux installation on the same machine doesn't mean the way programs will expect the system to interact stays the same. To call WINE just a collection of APIs is to equate emulation with simulation. Emulation by it's very nature means imitation, not simulation. An Emulator doesn't want to recreated a virtual copy of a system from the OS down to the hardware. It wants to imitate it both as much as possible so as to trick the program into thinking it's running on an OS and potentially on hardware it thinks it's not while at the same time imitating them as little as positive so as to not get into legal trouble and keep performance as good as possible.
A program highly compatible with WINE won't know the difference between running on Windows and running on linux? WRONG, a program highly compatible with WINE will *always* think it's running on Windows. And that right there is the reason people look at WINE as an emulator, because that's what an emulator is supposed to do. It's supposed to trick a program into thinking it's running on something it's not, it's just that Gardiner and the people behind WINE chose to interpret that as only referring to different hardware. WINE is not emulating another set machine that runs Windows, it's just emulating the Windows operating system. Or at least trying to do so.
@@AlucardNoir A program doesn't think, so that is a very weird frame of reference. A program is a collection of algorithms nested in function calls etc until it is a series of zeroes and ones that the processor turns into a different series of zeroes and ones. Changing the backend for a function call isn't what is meant by emulation and is essentially what WINE does.
@@nicolaim4275 Neither do gods exists, that has never stopped humans from worshiping them.
@@AlucardNoir So you worship algorithms and therefore WINE is an emulator? I have a hard time following the relevance in your logic and reasoning in these things, unless that actually was a non-argument.
it's magic... it's amazing, it pushed me into full time linux... no dual-boot, that's a trap
I'm hoping actual hardware reviewers compare W10 & W11 with Linux to see what offers the max performance for enthusiasts that is ALL what matters
I don’t believe any offer maximum performance. Really it’s like saying which is a better tool to buy a hammer or a wrench. By design each has its purpose and then you may choose to implement things differently based on which one you have.
I think often hardware reviews are going to come down to benchmarking software which really tells more how well that software utilizes the firmware it’s built on.
If you study Big O Notation sometimes you have one algorithm that 99% of cases. But then you gotta ask how often does that 1% of cases occur. For example a plane is faster than a car traveling to 99% of the planet but I’m guessing 99% of your travel is the 1% of distance where a car is faster
@@quatjohn4375 I mean it's quite easy to just use 20 games or so and compare all 3 OS's for games i just want to know what will offer the max. No one is going to want to use something 10% or more slower for their games. Least not PC hardware guys like me.
@@wii166 That's true. Actually I guess you're right they could take and run benchmarks on a bunch of games giving the average framerate. I'm sure a smaller TH-cam channel could easily do a handful(maybe 5 to 20 games) where a large group might be able to give us a huge chunk like 100 games or so.
I don't know if it's proper but the best way for me to imagine what WINE and Proton is doing is to think of them as dongles
Of course it isn't. End of video 😂😜
Good educational piece!
PINE - Proton Is Not an Emulator
PIJW - Proton Is Just Wine
Wrong, Proton is not just Wine. Wine is just one part of Proton, which involves other key projects as well. So it is unfair to just say Proton=Wine.
But I like PINE. That is a great name. :)
@@thingsiplay PINJW
@@MichaelButlerC That's clever too!
This project can happen by:
1) A group of people who wants to make Windows API wrapper for Linux.
2) A man who wants to play NieR:Automata™ on Linux
3) A man who loves coding challenges and frogs.
4) A company that embraces Linux as a gaming platform for whatever reason.
Proton is a fork of Wine, and Wine is a Windows "compatibility layer" whose name is literally a recursive acronym for "Wine is not (an) Emulator"
almost 1 month later and still no automatic subtitles T.T
I don't know why youtube does that...
Thanks for the info.
the fact that people think proton is a emulator 100% is based on. one a fundamental lack of knowledge of what a emulator is/does
and two what did ltt say one time (in passing) about proton, just flat out calling it a emulator, instead of what it is a compatability layer.
I think that Valve needs to be careful. Microsoft already bought Zenimax/Bethesda because ID was making Doom on Proton-Vulcan API and it was making people realize how bad Direct X is. Microsoft could try to move in and buyout Steam or Valve just so they don't have to compete with Linnux if Proton gets people to jump ship on mass.
They wouldn't be able to move in and buy them because they're a private company and not publicly traded. MS would have to convince the majority shareholders to sell, Gaben being the largest majority shareholder, and he historically doesn't like MS. He created valve because he was dissatisfied with them.
@@Gabriel-ui1po Thanks. That's good news. The last thing we need is Microsoft gaining a foothold as large as Valve in the gaming space.
@@Gabriel-ui1po Gaben will have to die someday. What that happen MS will snatch Valve.
The zenimax acquisition was about hiding Vulkan's superiority to Direct X? That's a whopper of a story, my friend. I don't know where you heard that.
This is the best I've heard this described
Sooo I guess we should rebrand it to “Pine Is Not an Emulator”, right?
Thanks for the info
Proton is just a translator so that windows apps can be understood by linux.
I've (lovingly) called wine an emulator for well over 15 years now. And the recursive acronym does not stop me. I will always call it an emulator for the windows API
It's simply easier to explain to the layman. I've had a lot of non tech people ask me what proton / WINE is, and the easiest way to help them understand is to just say: "WINE is a Windows Emulator."
c'mon, 3 days and still no auto subtitles? I don't get youtube sometimes :(
P. I. N. E=proton is not emulator
I feel like a lot of this is wrong… Linux and Windows have different libraries. I’ve never heard DirectX is slower or faster than OpenGL just a different direction. Lastly emulation is one computer system acting as another computer system not specifically translating hardware. For example you need to emulate Xbox games which run on a Pentium 3 processor
Proton is big in gaming on linux. But linux isn't that big in gaming community. ... I don't think valve will push linux that much.
In fact they worry that linux might hurt stream deck. to the point that "it can install Windows" is part of stream deck's early promotion.
that part of it can install windows. is just them saying that is not a walled garden type of product
Hey, would anyone give me a recomendation for what linux would be best to use for gaming, potentially more specific, VR gaming?
I see you are using proton GE as well :D
The fact proton can force compatibility with windows games launchers is black magic to me. Installing battlenet just took forcing proton experimental, using steam as the launcher for battlenet and its installer.
It's really not that magical. Windows provides libraries to x86 programs. Wine/proton provides compatible Windows libraries on Linux. PC games are all compiled for the CPU in your PC. In the end it doesn't really matter what OS you're running.
Now emulation? That's the real magic.
Proton should be built up to be a game sandbox environment that is independent of the OS
Maybe some day. Would be cool to see it merged with Android, iOS, Mac, and DOS compatibility layers too, plus the more popular game engines. Maybe even a few consoles.
@@svenkarlsen2702 I'm thinking something like Lutris, but every Runner is like Wine or Proton.
I'll maintain WINHE. It definitely emulates software, so it's an emulator. That it doesn't emulate hardware is an important point, but it does need the extra h.
I been saying this for awhile everyone that calls an emulator just argues that it is an emulator when it isnt
You look like David Wood's younger brother
I think I had a déjà vu
The name PINE was already taken.
Proton is making good use of wine and thier focus on games make's it awesome! I think(and hope) it will make people see Linux as more than the bash(for some reason people still think it's 1995). If Valve solves the anti-cheat issue it's a done deal for Linux. I will certainly begin my campaign to elevate windows gamers to Linux since it is the last bastion of Windows.
some windows builds of games run better on proton than the native linux builds.
No closed captions? :'(
Proton Is Not an Emulator => Pine
Then pine book would be a misnomer
Or rather PINE
so.. what's the difference between Proton and Wine ?
Great job 💪
Don’t forget about the telemetry and spying Windows 10 is doing the entire time that Windows is logged into since you turned on the computer.
My life’s dream is to play Garrys Mod on a handheld.
I do wish UE4 games ran better with proton. Been having some performance drop with MechWarrior5 on certain levels even with FSR enabled; I've seen this before with other UE4 games, DX12 seems to run better but it still needs more work (vkd3d-proton).
Still no fix for EAC or BE support with proton; shrug...
*Quality Content* 👍
Is it possible to use non steam games through proton? Like a GOG game or any other game with its own windows installer
yes, I use heroic to install Epic games and run them with proton or wine
Using Steam Proton as a runner is not recommended by Lutris but GloriousEggroll does make a custom build of Wine with Proton parity that you can use as a runner in Lutris.
Ok, i ask because i just installed my first Linux and want to be able to install and play other kinds of games as well. I also need to learn how to install a program, when I download a setup and I try to run it, it opens like a directory
@@Radrex89which distribution did u install?..... Linux has concept of repositories where distribution maintainers make software available.... They are installed using program called package manager which are part of system..... You can install either via command line (the most efficient way 🙂) or with gui frontends (which most beginner friendly distributions ship with) they are like app stores.... Depending upon distribution there will be software available (mostly open source).. About additional software instructions will depend on distribution
@@shriteendhamasker9499 Hello, I installed pop os. For example, I tried to search in the pop Shop (is that correct?) for the game 'Tibia' and did not find it, so I downloaded what is supposed to be the setup from the game's website but when I double clicked on the file I just went to a new set of other files. How would I be able to proceed with said installation?
Linux does have overhead with xorg and gtk but that's pretty much it
@gghhkm Wayland is not a complete product, just like pipewire isn't. That's why I have not swapped to it yet.
@gghhkm and tbh, I don't think it will be, it's already becoming fragmented with kde and gnome having their own variants of Wayland...
@gghhkm this is true. But, most experiences Ive had with making xorg and Wayland play nice on the same system have ended poorly, a good example would be pop 20.10 and Ubuntu 20.10 respectively
@gghhkm kde has the most complete version of wayland, most hitches and kinks are handled there.
Proton is similar to monodevelop
E need a rebranding of Proton, maybe Proton is Not an Emulator
TH-cam Recommended
Proton is pretty amazing... I just worry about the living of developers who make games native... At what point does proton finally cut over to native games again and Valve take its dependence off Windows...
Will we have devs with the skillset or will we have a bigger hill to climb?
I can't wait for the day that games are made Linux first then adapted for Windows
Proton games are native.
If Steam succeed with the Steam Deck, then Microsoft won't be able to make any Proton-incompatible changes to their API without game developers ignoring them. That seems like a good starting place for cross-platform development becoming meaningful.
@@gyroninjamodder The point of Proton is that they are not native. If they were native you wouldn’t need Proton
@@quatjohn4375 and bash is not a native Linux application because it needs libc? Depending on software doesn't make it nonnative.
@@nicolaim4275 I wouldn’t say that. But I would say if Steam Deck becomes popular this will get a larger percentage of gamers on a Linux OS. Perhaps eventually to the point where most serious gamers are on Linux. This could make developers choose Linux development first.
However, Valve has advised developers against working on Linux development and instead to develop a Windows version with Proton compatibility in mind. The positive is instead of developers releasing a Linux version that gets patches late all versions will receive the same patch. The downside is Linux users will always be playing catch-up because your suggestion isn’t realistic. Eventually Microsoft will need a DirectX13 or DirectX14 as new technology is developed. Similar to how HDR became popular and we needed APIs to enable it.
Let’s say if the next big thing is an enhanced form of the 3D effect on the 3DS they might need to make a new DirectX to support that
Proton on Deck will only work out of the box for Steam Games. Here I see the Problem that the Mainstream Users do not want exit the console like experience and handle things like Lutris and so on. An possibility to install other Lunchers from the Steam Menu, that handles the Proton Part would not only a „quality of life“ improvement but would increase the chances of the Deck success
I've been pretty used to having standard wine work on non-steam games, but if the steam deck becomes popular enough, then we should expect proton implemented in GoG and Epic.
You an add a game as a 'non-steam game' and it'll go through Steam's Proton layer and work.
Steam comes preinstalled on Manjaro? Who decided that ha ha, what a bloat.
Can MacOs use Proton too?
No
Proton is built to catalogue the windows API's to Linux but Mac is based on BSD which is not Linux so definitely No but it's definitely possible maybe sometime in future Mac's will also get an translation layer as it isn't limited by the technology
@@animegamer3336 Well it's not GNU/Linux but it is a Unix based operating system under the hood. MAC OS has almost the same command tools that Linux have. But yeah 🍎 uses their own programming language called swift. They also uses common languages called: c, c++ and objective-c. Long story short no proton won't work on Mac OS because they uses a custom programming language called Swift. Different libraries etc.
@@squadramunter programming languages does not really matter in Unix-like systems because almost every single unix-like uses a libc which makes system calls to kernel to get resources to run a process, MacPorts exists which just need a few changes to make linux applications to work on macs. Wine already exists on mac so proton can too but nobody is interested in porting it. I won't too because I hate them but each to their own.
Have a nice day! :]
no, because proton utilized vulkan which doesnt available on mac unless you using moltenvk
Odysee is extremelly slow in my third world country of choice. ._.
Is direct x or open gl an emulator no neither is proton
Honestly, the one the thing I've heard about Proton MOST, is the fact that it's not an emulator. .. I feel like I've seen several videos and articles about this. While yes, I did happen hear one person monetarily referrence it as a emulator but he later correct his verbal slip up.
Proton = Wine = Wine is not an Emulator
can i play non-steam games with proton?
Yes, but you don't need to. Lutris is a game management tool that comes with its own version of wine that includes many of the improvements brought by Proton. With it you can install Ubi, Origin, Epic, GoG etc games.
Just a use the "add nonsteam game" button
For Epic games you can use Heroic to install the games and run them with proton/wine without having to install Epic Store
Thanks. I found a way to install my game natively
python script + wine + DXVK
Technically yes but still no
But u can install emulators if u want tho
PINE
Proton is not emulator
wine is an emulator (it emulates windows api).
and proton being an extension of wine makes it also an emulator.
just because it's not a hardware emulator doesn't mean it's not an emulator.
you can emulate software and hardware.
to emulate is to act like something it's not.
and an emulator emulates.
and wine acts like windows for purpose of running the program.
wine is not windows so therefore it is acting like something it is not.
therefore wine is an emulator despite the acronym.
@@logangraham2956 it's a semantic or philosophical question if the term Emulator is restricted to hardware or not. The fact is true that there are emulators that add another faked layer (the hardware one) to the environment that is being given to the executable software to run in, and thus the difference is definitely impactful and perceptable in performance. This may change in the future if architectures become more interchangeable. In the end it does not matter how you call it, but with current technology, there is a difference in performance. In a classic emulator, you have a virtualized processor that executes the code and then sends native commands to the host OS.
To be fair, you could speak of "emulation in more general sense" if you emulate software only, and "emulation in narrower sense" if you emulate hardware.
But I totally agree with you that wine is more than just an API. If it was, it would not need faked windows structures like wineprefixes for example. It is not a virtualized machine though and it is not a full virtualization of Windows either. It pretends to be a Windows installation though. You could say it emulates the Windows API.
@@logangraham2956 If Wine tried to recreate windows and the apps ran in that virtual environment, then it would be a software emulator. If wine takes app calls and redirects them, then it is a translator. Wine does the latter and therefore emulator is the wrong term.
@@davidd.6202 "You could say it emulates the Windows API"
actually that the exact line of thinking i was going for.
yes indeed it's not a virtual machine.
it's certainly not a container either though that would be interesting.
they also make mention that wine does not run at the operating system level but funny thing is there use to be a project called longene which basically had wine running as a kernel module. but as far as i can tell that project has been dead for a long time now.
tl;dr: no
Milking the steam deck
WINE is not an emulator
WINE Is Not an Emulator
I can see it now, Linux becomes the standard for gaming, and Windows stays for businesses and mac for productivity.
pNOton
Wonder if GloriousEggroll is cooking up something for Steam Deck....
Not sure which way your computer encodes numbers? Ask the bureau of endian affairs
Still waiting for Proton fix to Squad, where it swallows VRAM like it Chrome