Mac Asahi Linux and Proton on Mac.

[Colstan]

As @dada_dave has been diligently covering in this thread, the Asahi Linux team has been hard at work bringing 3D GPU acceleration to their operating system for the Mac. For those who just want a basic rundown on how this impacts the future of gaming on the Mac, Andrew Tsai has released a concise five minute video on the subject. He covers the progress that the Asahi team has made, the reasoning behind using FEX for emulation, and the chances of getting Proton up and running for DirectX compatibility to play Windows-only titles.



Obviously, there's a lot of work to be done before Mac users can start using Linux for gaming, but the Asahi team has made ludicrous progress in the time that they have been working on this project.

I always enjoy Andrew's videos, but if you've got the time, I think this is worth watching, because it could potentially be a Big Deal™ for Mac gamers in the future.

 

[dada_dave]

Good video

 

[Colstan]

Sometimes it's not what you say, but how you say it.

In her most recent stream, Asahi Lina answered the most important question: "Can it run Crysis?".

I timestamped the video to play the relevant segment.

 

[dada_dave]

As @dada_dave has been diligently covering in this thread, the Asahi Linux team has been hard at work bringing 3D GPU acceleration to their operating system for the Mac. For those who just want a basic rundown on how this impacts the future of gaming on the Mac, Andrew Tsai has released a concise five minute video on the subject. He covers the progress that the Asahi team has made, the reasoning behind using FEX for emulation, and the chances of getting Proton up and running for DirectX compatibility to play Windows-only titles.

Obviously, there's a lot of work to be done before Mac users can start using Linux for gaming, but the Asahi team has made ludicrous progress in the time that they have been working on this project.

I always enjoy Andrew's videos, but if you've got the time, I think this is worth watching, because it could potentially be a Big Deal™ for Mac gamers in the future.

Another video a little more general about Apple silicon’s approach (also covers Asahi and gaming) but I thought you in particular would like it:

 

[Colstan]

Another video a little more general about Apple silicon’s approach (also covers Asahi and gaming) but I thought you in particular would like it:

Thanks @dada_dave! I was away for the holidays, so I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner. I appreciate the video, and Quinn always does a great job over at Snazzy Labs. He doesn't post as often as some of the other Apple-focused content creators, but he always does a quality job, without clickbait nonsense. Quinn's video is probably the best summary that I've seen without being overly optimistic or sensationalistic.

I've spent the past few years hemming and hawing over potentially building a gaming PC, but I'm most intrigued by the progress that the Asahi Linux team is making. In just ten months, they've gone from rendering a triangle as a major achievement...

To now playing numerous older Windows-only Steam games. It's unlikely that Asahi Linux will ever play Proton compatible games as performant as a high-end gaming PC, but I don't need that capability. I'd be pleased to have access to a decent number of titles at playable speeds, and since the majority of the computer games I play are isometric turn-based RPGs, with essentially all of them having Mac native versions, I think Asahi Linux running Proton could be the supplemental solution that I've been looking for. It would certainly save me a lot of effort and $$$!

If the Asahi team can get Proton working, Asahi Linux will instantly vault over CrossOver and Parallels as the go to solution for Mac gamers who want to play Windows titles. It also doesn't hurt that it's a project based upon contributions, rather than yearly subscriptions.

I'm hoping that Asahi Lina continues to provide gaming updates, and I'll be most interested in seeing her team's progress in six months or so. It's already a massive achievement getting an Arch distro up and running, but the progress on graphics drivers has been phenomenal.

 

[Colstan]

Despite my pessimistic pontificating in another thread about the future of Apple Silicon, I'm not like the MacRumors crew, I give Apple heat because I want them to succeed. On the other hand, there are also reasons to be optimistic about Mac gaming, even if it doesn't involve native titles. Valve has just announced the release of Proton 8.0, calling it "our biggest rebase to date", with support for 18 more games, and requires Vulkan 1.3.

Proton update gets 18 more Windows games running on Linux, including Chex Quest HD

Valve dev calls Proton 8.0 release "our biggest rebase to date."

arstechnica.com

If Asahi Linux continues to mature at the rate that it has, then perhaps Proton support will be a decent way to run Windows-only titles on Apple Silicon Macs. It'll never be as performant as a dedicated gaming PC, but for many gamers, it doesn't need to be.

 

[dada_dave]

Despite my pessimistic pontificating in another thread about the future of Apple Silicon, I'm not like the MacRumors crew, I give Apple heat because I want them to succeed. On the other hand, there are also reasons to be optimistic about Mac gaming, even if it doesn't involve native titles. Valve has just announced the release of Proton 8.0, calling it "our biggest rebase to date", with support for 18 more games, and requires Vulkan 1.3.

Proton update gets 18 more Windows games running on Linux, including Chex Quest HD

Valve dev calls Proton 8.0 release "our biggest rebase to date."

arstechnica.com

If Asahi Linux continues to mature at the rate that it has, then perhaps Proton support will be a decent way to run Windows-only titles on Apple Silicon Macs. It'll never be as performant as a dedicated gaming PC, but for many gamers, it doesn't need to be.

I really like both of these projects, but I wouldn’t count the Crossover/Wine project for Mac out either (Proton is based on their work and I believe Crossover devs support it or they were at least)

 

[Colstan]

I really like both of these projects, but I wouldn’t count the Crossover/Wine project for Mac out either (Proton is based on their work and I believe Crossover devs support it or they were at least)

I give CodeWeavers a huge amount of credit for what they have done with CrossOver, and while a lot of folks bitch about what is essentially a yearly subscription, their contributions to WINE are significant and ongoing. Still, they face substantial challenges with running Windows-only games on Apple Silicon. They've yet to get DirectX 12 working in CrossOver, although they have mentioned that they are working on it. I spent some time dabbling with CrossOver and Parallels, but neither solution seems to be a viable for more intensive titles, and are mainly useful for older or less demanding games. For my needs, I have simply deemed them insufficient, at this moment in time. Perhaps that will change. For the time being, I'm more interested in the Asahi Linux project, because it removes a number of obstacles that the other projects face when running on Apple Silicon Macs. It's great that there are multiple teams working on different projects, but I think Asahi Linux currently shines the brightest.

 

[dada_dave]

I give CodeWeavers a huge amount of credit for what they have done with CrossOver, and while a lot of folks bitch about what is essentially a yearly subscription, their contributions to WINE are significant and ongoing. Still, they face substantial challenges with running Windows-only games on Apple Silicon. They've yet to get DirectX 12 working in CrossOver, although they have mentioned that they are working on it. I spent some time dabbling with CrossOver and Parallels, but neither solution seems to be a viable for more intensive titles, and are mainly useful for older or less demanding games. For my needs, I have simply deemed them insufficient, at this moment in time. Perhaps that will change. For the time being, I'm more interested in the Asahi Linux project, because it removes a number of obstacles that the other projects face when running on Apple Silicon Macs. It's great that there are multiple teams working on different projects, but I think Asahi Linux currently shines the brightest.

Absolutely

 

[diamond.g]

I am still confused about how Proton can support DX12 titles, but Crossover/Wine cannot (specifically looking at Forspoken).

 

[throAU]

If Asahi Linux continues to mature at the rate that it has, then perhaps Proton support will be a decent way to run Windows-only titles on Apple Silicon Macs. It'll never be as performant as a dedicated gaming PC, but for many gamers, it doesn't need to be.

I'd gladly give up 30% performance to not run windows.

In fact, I'm already considering the same by going Mac+PS5 only vs. refreshing my PC next time around. I don't need an overpowered PC for work so much any more (cloud vs. on Prem vm lab stuff) and if the Mac (Or Linux) can finally handle the flight simulators I want (DCS World) I'll be off of Windows pretty promptly.

 

[amonduin]

I generally play older strategy games - I would rather use CrossOver than Parallels but some things, like Supreme Commander Forged Alliance Forever, Sins of A Solar Empire 2, don't work, so I end up keeping parallels installed much to my disappointment.