Exactly how bad is gaming on FreeBSD?

I

IThoughtTooLongForThis

I've been thinking about finally ditching Windows all together in my life. I currently use Windows 10 on my gaming computer.
All of the games I'm concerned about do run on Linux (most are on Steam).
I run FreeBSD on my secondary desktop and my primary laptop (no dualboot, 100% full time FreeBSD on those).
I would like to know how often a game that works on Linux typically fails on FreeBSD - is it even worth considering?
Otherwise, if it's not worth considering, I'm planning on just putting Slackware on my gaming computer.

Side note: Has anyone tried the newest version of Unreal Tournament 99; does it work with FreeBSD?
 
richardtoohey2 said:
Windows will have the best support for gaming
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For this, you'd first have to define what "support for gaming" should mean. Context is gaming on some general-purpose PC*, so we're talking about an OS. From the OS point of view, my spontaneous answer would be: it needs performant drivers for 3d rendering (full screen), low-latency audio and a variety of input devices. Plus there must be "easy" to use, sane and stable APIs available for using all these features. FreeBSD can provide all of that.

So, I'd say it's more the other way around: Game vendors mostly support Windows (and nowadays increasingly Linux). As a consequence, you're dealing a lot with emulation (FreeBSD's Linuxulator, maybe wine) trying to run many games.

That said, I don't develop any ("modern") games myself. It's certainly possible that some drivers and/or APIs on Windows are technically "better" for games, I can't know for sure. But at least, what FreeBSD offers is pretty similar to Linux, you'll find the same APIs (like e.g. SDL).

*) side note, that's always a compromise, you'll have the best "gaming support" on machines dedicated to gaming where the game can fully control the machine itself.

richardtoohey2 said:
Why only have one OS?
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Maybe because anything else is a hassle to do? 😉
 
Usually, when a Windows game works on Linux, it also works on FreeBSD. FreeBSD is on the same level with Linux in Windows games' compatibility. Very rarely something fails to work only on FreeBSD, but also very rarely works only here.

But I second recommend staying with Windows. It will be generating less headache. Unless, you like to play with the glue code, called Wine. ;)
 
Off-topic: If you are paying for games or subscriptions you should know that if you have a technical issue, support will be tied to a number of operating systems set by the developer. FreeBSD probably won't be one of them, not even Slackware. For example, Steam only offers support for Ubuntu Gnome or KDE version, not Debian. At least that's how it was when I asked for help. You also don't want to be tied to single-platform games.
 
IThoughtTooLongForThis said:
All of the games I'm concerned about do run on Linux (most are on Steam).
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Are you talking about Windows games from the Steam DRM platform that you are having to cludge via Wine (incl. fork) to work on Linux?

Or are you talking about native Linux games from the Steam DRM platform that are natively compiled for Linux rather than FreeBSD?

For the former, the success of them running will be similar. For the latter, without stating the obvious; you are still trying to run the game on a completely different platform to the one it was compiled for. FreeBSD's Linux emulator will likely add a few complexities to the mix that will probably not be worth the time.

In either case, Windows can probably be ditched. Though Linux is probably the best bet since that is where the gaming efforts are moving to and pretty much none of your games are compiled for FreeBSD anyway.
 
IThoughtTooLongForThis said:
I've been thinking about finally ditching Windows all together in my life. I currently use Windows 10 on my gaming computer.
All of the games I'm concerned about do run on Linux (most are on Steam).
Click to expand...
I would not use FreeBSD for a dedicated gaming machine. We mostly aim at a good enough experience for existing FreeBSD desktop users (the people that already have some reason to use FreeBSD besides gaming), so they don't feel too far behind Linux.

IThoughtTooLongForThis said:
Side note: Has anyone tried the newest version of Unreal Tournament 99; does it work with FreeBSD?
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The version that is on Steam works for me.
 
CuatroTorres said:
Steam only offers support for Ubuntu Gnome or KDE version, not Debian.
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They liked Debian/Ubuntu so much they switched SteamOS (the platform they actually support) to Arch Linux base. I'm not sure what's the recommended toolchain for building Linux games now.
 
In my experience gaming on FreeBSD using steam and different tools to run steam has been pretty great the game performance is really great I'm still doing testing now though. I've tested nearly half my steam library in Suyimazu and 2/3 work. I've tested some with Linux steam utils and most work just as in Linux. But I'm really targeting suyimazu with testing at the moment myself. After I test my library on several systems I'll post results and then move the library go look Linux steam utils and repeat. Just when I have time though. So far steam gaming is great on freebsd and all the games in ports work perfectly.
 
LibreQuest said:
In my experience gaming on FreeBSD using steam and different tools to run steam has been pretty great the game performance is really great I'm still doing testing now though. I've tested nearly half my steam library in Suyimazu and 2/3 work. I've tested some with Linux steam utils and most work just as in Linux. But I'm really targeting suyimazu with testing at the moment myself. After I test my library on several systems I'll post results and then move the library go look Linux steam utils and repeat. Just when I have time though. So far steam gaming is great on freebsd and all the games in ports work perfectly.
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Are you just using the linux-c7 packages to get it to work or a Linux jail?
 
IThoughtTooLongForThis said:
Are you just using the linux-c7 packages to get it to work or a Linux jail?
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I tried installing linux-steam-utils last night and it's not working again. It likes to break often. But regarding how it works, I think it just points steam to local libraries and translates Linux kernel calls to bsd kernel calls. I'm still not clear on exactly how it works though. It's basically magic.
 
LibreQuest said:
I tried installing linux-steam-utils last night and it's not working again. It likes to break often. But regarding how it works, I think it just points steam to local libraries and translates Linux kernel calls to bsd kernel calls. I'm still not clear on exactly how it works though. It's basically magic.
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Any error messages?
 
The question itself is too broad for a good answer. It is much better to ask how specific games are working, because "gaming" means something different to each person. Myself, I spend most of my gaming (in Windows) with Minecraft, Master of Orion 2 (DOS version), ET Legacy, Crusader Kings 2, C&C RA2, Descent (via dxx-rebirth), and Deus Ex Revision mod. With the exception of Minecraft and CK2, very old games that work well in FreeBSD with DosBox or Wine.

Short story is, try the specific games you want to play. If they can be made to work consistently, you have a FreeBSD gaming machine. If not, you'll have to look at another OS for that.
 
cracauer@ said:
Any error messages?
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Sorry I just tried to respond to this post and I accidentally selected report and I just sent my entire response in a report so any of the moderators can disregard my message. But yes it's the same error that I got the last time I've already done a post about it and eventually a fix was rolled out I'm not sure what's going on with my system it may just be mine. In fact I tried to install it again from packages and that didn't change anything so I installed it from ports and I just ran it as a batch so I may have messed it up just by running it as a batch. But for some reason my fstab entries were missing and I had to re-enter those as well so maybe something else going on with my specific system setup. But I'm not really using it right now I'm just using Suyimazu.
 
jardows said:
The question itself is too broad for a good answer. It is much better to ask how specific games are working, because "gaming" means something different to each person. Myself, I spend most of my gaming (in Windows) with Minecraft, Master of Orion 2 (DOS version), ET Legacy, Crusader Kings 2, C&C RA2, Descent (via dxx-rebirth), and Deus Ex Revision mod. With the exception of Minecraft and CK2, very old games that work well in FreeBSD with DosBox or Wine.

Short story is, try the specific games you want to play. If they can be made to work consistently, you have a FreeBSD gaming machine. If not, you'll have to look at another OS for that.
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For example, I'm trying to run Unreal Tournament 99 and it's failing to launch the game.
I already have a forum posted on oldunreal.com. It's compiled for Linux and I tried launching the game from inside my Linux (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS) jail.
Note: I don't expect any help here for this issue on UT. I already have a post open, like I said above.
Log: Log file open, Mon Oct 9 01:01:55 2023
Init: Name subsystem initialized
Init: Version: 469
Init: Revision: d (Preview)
Init: Compiled: Aug 21 2023 08:39:29
Init: Command line:
Init: Base directory:
Init: Character set: Unicode
Log: Bound to SDLDrv.so
Log: Bound to Engine.so
Log: Bound to Core.so
Init: Object subsystem initialized
Init: OS: Unix
Init: CPU Detected: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7500 CPU @ 3.40GHz (GenuineIntel)
Init: CPU Features: INVARIANT_TSC CMov FPU RDTSC PAE MMX SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 SSE4_1 SSE4_2 AVX AVX2
Init: CPU Processors=4
Init: Timer Frequency=3407.989050 MHz - Timing Source = gettimeofday
Log: Your ini had WinDrv...Forcing use of SDLDrv instead.
Init: Unreal engine initialized
Init: Detected 0 joysticks
Init: SDLClient initialized.
Log: Bound to Render.so
Init: Lighting subsystem initialized
Init: Rendering initialized
Log: LoadMap: Entry
Log: Bound to Fire.so
Log: Bound to IpDrv.so
Critical: appError called:
Critical: Assertion failed: GetPropertiesSize()>=sizeof(UObject) [File:/home/stijn/UnrealTournament/Core/Src/UnClass.cpp] [Line: 1241]
Exit: Executing UObject::StaticShutdownAfterError
Exit: Executing USDLClient::ShutdownAfterError
Critical: Propagating Error
Critical: Error reentered: Throwing C++ exception for error logging
Critical: Propagating Error
Critical: Error reentered: Assertion failed: GObjBeginLoadCount>0 [File:/home/stijn/UnrealTournament/Core/Src/UnObj.cpp] [Line: 3024]
Critical: Propagating Error
Log: HandleError
Log: Log file closed, Mon Oct 9 01:02:15 2023
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To answer OP: That really depends on the game. I'd say if a game is available in ports (Like most games from KDE Games), then the gaming experience is not bad at all. If the computer is usable, no complaints, then it's safe to assume the game from ports will run OK.

But if you want Doom, or games that require Xbox/PlayStation/Switch to even run/install, then you gotta have not only decent hardware specs, but also the patience to do research on how to get that kind of stuff to run under FreeBSD specifically. And be prepared to run into a dead end.

Having said all that, I do know how satisfying it is to solve a stubborn problem like that, no matter the topic.
 
Run your application on the platform for which it was developed.
You can strip Win10 down to a much more lean installation with the "debloat" scripts found on the internet.
Most are written in Powershell, so you can see what is going on.

I suggest always having a second disk in the machine, where you can create a Windows System Image as a backup before fiddling around.
 
I know of at least two decent game development apps that run natively on M$ CrashOS, Linux, and Mac, and you can port the games from them to all of those plus Android, ios, and HTML. Those would be GDevelop5 (which you can also use from anything with a standards compliant web browser to develop games) and Godot3 (I don't know if it runs over HTML ... haven't heard/read anyone mentioning anything about that, so probably just the three above). IMHO, both are worth checking out. Oh, and they're open source and you don't have to pay to publish your games (unless you publish them on Steam, then Steam is going to charge you that $100 per game that I've heard about).
 
I have only tested some of my steam collection in Suyimazu. I have tested very few in linux-steam-utils as well. But here are the games that I have tested and are working in Suyimazu.

This is not a complete list. I'm still testing. Will post my test data to the Suyimazu wiki soon. Hope this helps!

8infinity
Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne
Airscape: The Fall of Gravity
Alien: Isolation
Aliens vs. Predator
America's Army: Proving Grounds
Ballistic Overkill
Batman Arkham Knight
BattleTime
Black Mesa
Blockstorm
Caveman World: Mountains of Unga Boonga
Chesster
Color Syndrome
Crash Drive 2
CrazyCars3D
Day of Defeat
Dead Island Definitive Edition
Deadfall Adventures
Defend The Highlands
Dispersio
Distance
The Dolls
DOOM 2016
The Dweller
Dying Light
Gunscape
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Half-Life: Blue Shift
Half-Life: C.A.G.E.D.
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Half-Life: Source
HardCube
Hitman: Codename 47
Hitman 2
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Hitman: Contracts
Hitman: Absolution
Jelly Killer
Job the Leprechaun
Killing Floor
Kona
Krautscape
The Last NightMary
Left 4 Dead 2
LEGO Batman The Videogame
LEGO Batman 2 : DC Super Heroes
LEGO Batman 3 : Beyond Gothan
Life Goes On
Lifeless Planet
Linea, the games
Lines X
Masky
Metro 2033 Redux
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition
Metro: Last Light Redux
Millie
Neighbours from Hell
Neon Space
NEON STRUCT
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
Our Wonderful World
Outlast
PAC-MAN 256
Pixel Boy and the Ever Expanding Dungeon
Portal
Portal 2
POSTAL 2
Qbike:Crypto Motocycles
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball
Rochard
Rocket League
Shadow Warrior
Shadow Warrior Classic Redux
SHOWTIME 2073
Shut Eye
Silent Storm
SkyTime
SnakEscape
Sparkle ZERO
Spin Rush
Spirits of Xanadu
Splatter - Zombiecalypse Now
State of Anarchy Complete: Master of Mayhem
Survivor Squad
Team Fortress Classic
Team Fortress 2
Teddy Floppy Ear : Kayaking
Toki Tori
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell : Chaos Theory
Vengeance
Verde Station
Verdun
Viscera Cleanup Detail:Shadow Warrior
WayOut
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
World of Guns:Gun Disassembly
Wrecked
Zombillie
 
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