Valve Making Linux Anti-Cheat a Reality for Steam Deck Launch - Valve is helping expand Linux anti-cheat options by working with Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye to developer Proton support for their software

[Ahriman]

Valve Making Linux Anti-Cheat a Reality for Steam Deck Launch

Valve is helping expand Linux anti-cheat options by working with Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye to developer Proton support for their software.

techraptor.net

Valve's newly-announced Steam Deck has a nice bonus for Linux gamers — it's helping to improve Linux anti-cheat by working with Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye to provide Proton support for their software.

The Steam Deck was announced earlier today as a new handheld gaming PC from Valve. Aiming to launch later this year, it looks like a pretty powerful little device. However, there's one important problem that's not immediately evident to most gamers: it uses a Linux-based operating system and many anti-cheat solutions do not work on Linux. That means that you would have a hard time playing some of your favorite games, but worry not — Valve is working on a solution.

How Valve is Making Linux Anti-Cheat Better for Steam Deck​

Linux anti-cheat solutions are pretty weak compared to what's offered on PC. As an example, neither Easy Anti-Cheat nor BattlEye work on Liinux. However, Valve is working on Proton to solve this problem.

Proton is a compatability layer that allows Windows games to run on Linux-based operating systems. It's an integral part of the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC which will be using an upgraded version SteamOS when it launches later in 2021. Valve has made its intentions clear to work with anti-cheat companies to make Proton compability a reality.

"We recommend using user-space anti-cheat components for best results, as they can typically run in the Wine environment and provide the same level of functionality," read the Steamworks documentation on the matter. "Kernel-space solutions are not currently supported and are not recommended. We have been working with most anti-cheat technology providers to provide Proton compatibility. If your solution currently isn't working, please reach out to both your vendor and Valve for support."

As one might expect, you can't play a game that uses EAC or BattlEye if the anti-cheat doesn't work — it would be pretty poor anti-cheat software if it let you play a game when it wasn't running. Once Valve has worked out a solution, you'll soon find that a lot more Linux games will be playable on Linux — and on the Steam Deck, too.

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Now this, along with this other article:

Damn good news for Linux folk in the horizon. If vidya was the last thing holding you back, then thanks to Valve the switch can be complete.

In summary: 2021 could finally be the year of the Linux desktop.

 

[Clout $ Monei]

>using a Windows cloud PC on a Linux machine
The absolute retardation of going through the trouble of running an OS that gives you back control, to then run your programs on a remote computer over which you have ZERO control. This is some next level "you will own nothing" bullshit, because you actually still own (and pay for) your hardware, but also have to go through a subscription service to run what you need to run. And it doesn't promote the development of native Linux software.
It's like buying a car for the sole purpose of driving to the car rental.

 

[ZMOT]

It's like buying a car for the sole purpose of driving to the car rental.

>car analogy
>implying driving your clunker to rent a porsche is retarded

 

[Enig]

So I can finally play Halo without a VM, huh

 

[Pissmaster]

All SaaS is bad

 

[Clout $ Monei]

>car analogy
>implying driving your clunker to rent a porsche is retarded

Fair point. But the mention of Chromebooks at the end makes me think they're targeting everyday/office work use cases, not just performance intensive tasks, in which case my clunker will do fine.

 

[Shoggoth]

Will it finally be the year of the linux desktop?

 

[Info Player Start]

Is linux gaming, going to happen?!
We've be teased for so long, It's kinda hard to get hyped

 

[seri0us]

Earlier yesterday I found out some game I missed playing had gotten broken enough to where the anti-cheat doesn't work on some servers, ergo I can play from my linux box.

 

[Flabba Wabba Jabba]

The year of the Linux desktop is around the corner. Once Proton can run almost all Steam games natively, it's going to be fucking glorious.

Better yet, SteamOS is based on Arch Linux with a KDE-Plasma DE. That's absolutely fantastic that most people's experience with this will not be with Ubuntu.

 

[ArnoldPalmer]

Well, that's about that then. Windows is actually over. This is the only thing that has kept a Windows 7 installation on my computer, because the rest of my games work on Linux on a sliding scale between slightly worse and slightly better than on Windows.

Name one reason why you would use Windows in a specific use case that even Mac OS couldn't already do better, like media editing. That's probably the last holdout. That, and one-off business software that your company still uses, but who knows, that might work too.

 

[seri0us]

Well, that's about that then. Windows is actually over. This is the only thing that has kept a Windows 7 installation on my computer, because the rest of my games work on Linux on a sliding scale between slightly worse and slightly better than on Windows.

Name one reason why you would use Windows in a specific use case that even Mac OS couldn't already do better, like media editing. That's probably the last holdout. That, and one-off business software that your company still uses, but who knows, that might work too.

And with the direction of Windows 10 + 11, I think even my grandparents would be happier with a linux distro using cinnamon as a DE or something.

 

[Flabba Wabba Jabba]

And with the direction of Windows 10 + 11, I think even my grandparents would be happier with a linux distro using cinnamon as a DE or something.

I am currently in the process of convincing my parents to switch over to an Arch distro. Told them I'd set everything up so it would seem like nothing changed.

 

[Seasoned News Reporter]

I am currently in the process of convincing my parents to switch over to an Arch distro. Told them I'd set everything up so it would seem like nothing changed.

Honestly, trying to tell my parents shit about linux is hell in a handbasket. Mother just got a new laptop & my dad wouldn't even fucking hear shit about putting linux on it. This is the same guy who asks me what's a decent computer & then buys a mac. The fuck you ask me for if you won't even listen to my advice. You could have saved more money buying a regular laptop & putting linux or god for gentoo on it. I know for a fact since my mom does nothing but web browsing & whatever linux would have been absolutely dandy.

 

[Flabba Wabba Jabba]

Honestly, trying to tell my parents shit about linux is hell in a handbasket. Mother just got a new laptop & my dad wouldn't even fucking hear shit about putting linux on it. This is the same guy who asks me what's a decent computer & then buys a mac. The fuck you ask me for if you won't even listen to my advice. You could have saved more money buying a regular laptop & putting linux or god for gentoo on it. I know for a fact since my mom does nothing but web browsing & whatever linux would have been absolutely dandy.

Yeah my dad's current PC takes like 2 minutes to boot, then when you click on Chrome the whole PC lags. He literally has to wait 15 seconds after clicking a new tab for it to open. Spends the whole time complaining about it too.

Told him I'd load Arch for him and like you said, he wouldn't hear any of it. I'm still gonna convince him one way or another.

 

[Seasoned News Reporter]

Yeah my dad's current PC takes like 2 minutes to boot, then when you click on Chrome the whole PC lags. He literally has to wait 15 seconds after clicking a new tab for it to open. Spends the whole time complaining about it too.

Told him I'd load Arch for him and like you said, he wouldn't hear any of it. I'm still gonna convince him one way or another.

Hey if you can convince him them more power to you. I personally just said fuck it & stopped bothering. Also he wouldn't happen to be using an hdd for his booth drive is he?

 

[Flabba Wabba Jabba]

Hey if you can convince him them more power to you. I personally just said fuck it & stopped bothering. Also he wouldn't happen to be using an hdd for his booth drive is he?

Yes he is. It's my old hard-drive from 2015 too.

 

[Seasoned News Reporter]

Yes he is. It's my old hard-drive from 2015 too.

That figures then. I used to do the same but lucky for me I was use linux so I replaced it once I started getting superblock errors. Wait till it kicks the crapper if it hasn't yet & he has no idea what's going on with it. That's gonna a fun dinner for you I'll bet.

 

[Flabba Wabba Jabba]

That figures then. I used to do the same but lucky for me I was use linux so I replaced it once I started getting superblock errors. Wait till it kicks the crapper if it hasn't yet & he has no idea what's going on with it. That's gonna a fun dinner for you I'll bet.

Yeah because then he'll act like an idiot, claim there's nothing wrong with it, eventually cave and blow a ton of money on a Macbook. I know that this is the logical progression. It's not that he's bad with tech, he's got this adamant refusal to learn about anything computing related.

 

[Seasoned News Reporter]

Yeah because then he'll act like an idiot, claim there's nothing wrong with it, eventually cave and blow a ton of money on a Macbook. I know that this is the logical progression. It's not that he's bad with tech, he's got this adamant refusal to learn about anything computing related.

Kinda like companies who complain about not finding employees but then not hiring people who don't have work experience. The solution to everyones problem is right there in your face but instead you choose to throw sand in your eyes.