Hey there!
I’m a solo dev working on a sci-fi grand strategy game (I didn’t manage to find if self-promo is allowed so I’ll keep the name for myself).
I was updating my planning and started to think: since my game will be published on Steam, it will be playable on Linux using Compatibility Mode even if I don’t specifically target Linux itself. I myself play on an Ubuntu and this allows me to play almost every Windows game (old ones are more capricious, but recent ones are ok).
So I’m wondering, is there really an advantage to have native Linux support nowadays? As a solo dev, the thing I lack the most is time. The days/weeks/months it would take me to add it and fix all the probable bugs it entails could be used to improve the game itself or add features instead for example.
On a more general note, what do you other Linux players expect from a Linux game?
Native is always better, but Proton (what’s used by steam OS to run windows games) has worked for me for every title I’ve tried (even some small indie titles)… Sometimes graphics settings can be inconsistent, but I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet if you’re using an established engine it will just work with Proton
That is my experience too, I guess some Linux builds are just poorly optimized in comparison to the Windows ones.
Valve’s engineers did a wonderful job with Proton honestly