At the beginning of 2018 we were introduced to the project DXVK, which in principle would make a conversion layer between DirectX 11 API to VULKAN, thus enabling some games to run on Linux, such as GTA V. And by mid-July its progress was very good and had been bringing several improvements and bug fixes that this implementation entails.
In the same vein is the VULKAN project, a graphic API that competes with the Microsoft API, earning more code lines, enhancements and bug fixes that have been improving the performance of games that use the API natively or through DXVK.
The other tool that has been gaining accelerated improvements was the project WINE (Wine is not an emulator), which until 2018, had implementations being released pragmatically and conservatively, always betting on safe play so as not to make mistakes.
But all of that changed quickly and positively in mid-July, when Valve made the bomb announcement of the Proton project, which in short would make Windows-only games run on Linux.
With the announcement of the project Proton All of these projects grew rapidly, surprising with every release.
First was the project VULKAN, which gives a solid foundation to the entire Proton project, which has been gaining more and more improvements and implementations in its code with each release, coming in version 1.1 and marking presence in the main Engines of the market such as CryEngine, idTech, Unity, Source and Unreal Engine As a result, game developers who choose to use VULKAN will be able to port their games smoothly to Linux without any hassle, even using the Proton project.
The second that has been gaining accelerated enhancement is the DXVK. If at the beginning of the year he relied on a small team, today they are backed by Games industry giant Valve. When Valve announced its compatibility tool, it commented that it was already supporting DXVK people. That's why many of the Linux community saw the rapid growth of the project. His latest version already has support for DX10 and DX11, in addition to having started testing to incorporate the DX9 to the DXVK project.
Last but not least, we have WINE, our old warrior who has always helped us run many games and programs in the past and today plays a key role in this new era of Linux games. It has a fundamental role because the CodeWeavers (company behind the commercial version of Wine, the Crossover) has partnered with Valve and accelerated the WINE version for Steam, and the original project that we can use for free has benefited directly from this, as there have been a number of WINE versions lately and a lot of improvements coming from the WINE reports. Steam, which the community already reports on WINE's own website and forums.
To use VULKAN you will need the latest drivers for your GPU. Intel, OMG and NVIDIA.
For AMD and Intel you need to use the Driver Table 18.1 or later. Already for NVIDIA you will need to use the Proprietary Driver on the latest versions, Beta versions. So far it is in version 396.54.09 or 410.57.
To learn more about the VULKAN project, just visit their website. To accompany the DXVK project, just follow them on GitHub. It's great to see this evolution of the tools that make Linux games possible and bringing more options to consumers. As I said in one Diolinux Friday Show, I believe that the next to join the Proton project is Battlenetowner of Overwatch, World of warcraft and Diablo Because her catalog is small and easier to manage.
But now tell us in the comments, what you expect from this evolution of the Proton project and all that it pulls together.
A big hug and see you next time.
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