Issue report: Can't install any games

[Tinche]

I open Steam, go to my Library, pick an available Linux game (f.e. Limbo), click Install:

* a pop-up appears with the text 'You are about to install Limbo.' I click 'next'.
* the pop up changes to display two check boxes ('Create start menu shortcut to LIMBO' and 'Create desktop shortcut to LIMBO') - I uncheck both - and the text 'All files for this game will now be downloaded through Steam'. I click 'next'.
* The pop up cycles through several configurations, too fast for me to see anything, and finishes with saying: ''Steam is now downloading LIMBO. You can track the progress of this download in the Steam Downloads view. You can safely exit ... (bla bla)." I click 'finish'.

Now the Library shows the game as installed, and offers me a 'Play' button. The 'Downloads' view is empty. After pressing 'Play' Steam tells me: 'Failed to start game: invalid app config.' Also, a shortcut to the game shows up in the Dash.

Note: I haven't actually restarted my system since installing Steam. Is this a problem? Also, please add a 'copy to clipboard' button to the system information dialog. :)

System information:

Processor Information:
Vendor: AuthenticAMD
Speed: 2800 Mhz
6 logical processors
6 physical processors
HyperThreading: Unsupported
FCMOV: Supported
SSE2: Supported
SSE3: Supported
SSSE3: Supported
SSE4a: Supported
SSE41: Unsupported
SSE42: Unsupported

Network Information:
Network Speed:

Operating System Version:
Ubuntu 12.10 (64 bit)
Kernel Name: Linux
Kernel Version: 3.5.0-18-generic
X Server vendor: The X.Org Foundation
X Server release: 11300000

Video Card:
Driver: NVIDIA Corporation GeForce GTX 460 SE/PCIe/SSE2

Driver Version: 4.2.0 NVIDIA 304.43
Desktop Color Depth: 24 bits per pixel
Monitor Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
VendorID: 0x10de
DeviceID: 0xe23
Number of Monitors: 1
Number of Logical Video Cards: 1
Primary Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Desktop Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Primary Display Size: 20,91" x 11,77" (23,98" diag)
53,1cm x 29,9cm (60,9cm diag)
Primary Bus: PCI Express 16x
Primary VRAM: 767 MB
Supported MSAA Modes: 2x 4x 8x 16x

Sound card:
Audio device: Realtek ALC892

Memory:
RAM: 7982 Mb

Miscellaneous:
UI Language: English
LANG: hr_HR.UTF-8
Microphone: Not set
Total Hard Disk Space Available: 54444 Mb
Largest Free Hard Disk Block: 3989 Mb

Installed software:

[Tinche]

After playing around some more, some games work, some don't.

Don't work: Psychonauts, Limbo, Braid.

Work: Space Pirates and Zombies, Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery EP, Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

I've found that if the 'Install game...' popup displays the disk space available, disk space required and estimated download time information, the download will work.

[Letalis Sonus]

There are simply still a lot of games that don't have a Linux client on the servers, yet, despite being tagged as available for Linux.
Aquaria, Osmos and World of Goo already work as well, WoG seems to have some issues with Quantal's libSDL, though.

[Tinche]

That's interesting. But I'd still consider it a bug that these games are offered for download in the first place. If this is a known issue it should probably be noted in the one of the pinned threads, no?

[aka]

There is an unofficial Reddit thread about these:
http://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/12qs6z/steam_for_linux_its_here_deb_in_the_link/

[Frank]

There is a support article specifically for this. If the game is not on this list, it is not configured for Steam for Linux. Unfortunately, this is a bug on the Steam store side and we are working on a fix.
You can also find a complete list of Linux games by clicking Store (in the Steam client) and then the Linux tab on the far right. There are currently 26 games listed.