I’ve always used Windows and am super comfortable with it. I have set up a dual boot with fedora but don’t use it because I have never identified a need to use it. I see a lot of windows hate, so what does Linux have that I need? What can motivate me to migrate? What is a good Linux to have for a desktop + steam?
If the games you want to play work well on Proton then it’s fine. You’ll receive a minimal performance hit, or on very rare occasions, none at all. Unfortunately something like half the top 10-20 games on Twitch either don’t run on Linux at all, or run really poorly and require a lot of workarounds.
I’ve only really run into one or two games that haven’t worked flawlessly not for lack of variety
I’m guessing the top games on twitch are probably competitive things with strict anti cheat right?
Yes, I think it’s mostly anti-cheat causing the issues. Still, these are some of the most popular games in the world like Fortnite and Destiny 2 and Valorant.
Valorant I’m not surprised isn’t that the one with the super invasive anticheat?
I’m not sure. I think any effective anti-cheat is invasive. I hate them but I hate cheaters even more.
Games manage to have good anti cheat that doesn’t do that though, I rarely encounter cheaters in overwatch for example and if I have they’ve been really subtle about it
Last time I investigated this, Overwatch used a very poorly-designed client-side solution called Warden. It’s a signature-based detection system, similar to antivirus. It looks for process IDs of known cheats. There is also some server-side heuristic detection which looks for impossible player stats that reveal rage-mode cheating. Again, this is easily defeated to the point that it doesn’t work at all because cheaters know about it and spend the first few minutes of the match firing into walls and floors to dilute their stats. Detecting process IDs is useless when you can just make some minor changes and recompile every few days, which is exactly what the subscription-based hacks do. It is a naive and amateur solution, and because of its flawed architecture it can never be effective.
The only serious anti-cheat in any game is in Valorant. It’s a kernel module that can detect low-level hacks. Overwatch’s anti-cheat runs in user mode, and all the serious hacks use HID drivers that are recompiled periodically to prevent signature detection.
But how often realistically do you run into people who have spent money on clients like that? I’m going off perceived experience in the game and I have very noticed cheaters, and if they’re around they aren’t OP enough to ruin a game single handedly or it’d be obvious
Cheating estimates are hard. I think my Fortnite games are plagued by cheaters, but maybe I just suck and everyone else is competitive level. This study found that 32% of gamers had admitted to cheating, and 12% claim to cheat regularly. This study found astonishingly high levels of people searching for cheats for their games, with Sweden topping the ranks of cheaters.
Bottom line: if it’s not a problem for you, that’s great. It’s a big problem for me and others, and I’m grateful to give up a little privacy in exchange for a cheat-free experience, which Valorant does.