What is Steam Linux Runtime?

[olho_arregalado]

Hello.

I've been looking all over the web for some clarification but it was no use.

I've read that Steam Linux Runtime - Soldier runs games on a container that tries to be the same for every Linux distro. But my question is how does it compare to Proton? I am currently running all my games with the latest Proton but I wanted to know if I'm missing anything by not using Steam Linux Runtime.

Thanks for your time. I'm using Ubuntu 20.04 by the way.

[dirk.dierickx]

proton is an 'emulation' layer for windows games.
steam linux runtime is a set of native linux libraries.

[+|A.O|+]

It seems to be a set of libs used to compile games on.

It seeks to provide a compatible way for Game creators to make Steam-hosted games.
The compilation is supposed to be done within a docker provided by valve, but there's other techniques too.

It is definitely not proton since the products of steam runtime (i.e. game installation) wouldn't need an emulator (Proton is just a python script wrapping a software emulator called wine).

[olho_arregalado]

Originally posted by dirk.dierickx:

proton is an 'emulation' layer for windows games.
steam linux runtime is a set of native linux libraries.

Originally posted by catbox:

its also steam's answer to prolong game compatibility as distributions continue to drop older support.
ie: i386

its a basic set of libraries for games to run on, instead of the system libraries
which is why its on the steamplay tab. and you can run a game with that runtime selected

You are saying that Steam Linux Runtime is what valve uses to run games that are native in Linux? Like Hlaf-Life and Hollow Knight? And proton is used to run non-native games? If that's so Steam must interchange them when needed because I am using proton but I also play native Linux games. I thought it was using proton to do all that.

[+|A.O|+]

Proton is not used to play native Linux games, and if you are forcefully using a a windows copy to run via proton then you're kinda doing a moot job.

[Marlock]

@Tarquinio Verde

Yes, that's exactly it.

There are plenty of games on steam that have a native linux version available (all those with the SteamOS icon on the store, which used to be a penguin icon but foolishness struck them and they changed it... )

Proton is only for windows-exclusives (or to force-use the windows version of a game even when it has a native linux version).

Both the steam linux runtimes and proton are called into use by the steam launcher only when needed by a specific game.

And you can even have multiple versions of Proton coexisting to be able to select the ine that works best for a specific game.

[olho_arregalado]

@Marlock

So what I select in the dropdown menu in the Setting / Steam Play tab will be forced on all the titles? Or it will just be forced on games not native to Linux?

[+|A.O|+]

I don't suppose that "force use of steam play" would override a native linux game. I am playing Last epoch's native linux build, no proton/wine visible there.

[Marlock]

IIRC the global setting (Steam > Settings) won't force linux native titles to use proton, but the game-specific setting (Steam > Library > Game > Properties) definitely does have that ability (I use it with Dicey Dungeons, which has a native linux version but on my PC only the Proton version launches correctly

[olho_arregalado]

Originally posted by Marlock:

IIRC the global setting (Steam > Settings) won't force linux native titles to use proton, but the game-specific setting (Steam > Library > Game > Properties) definitely does have that ability (I use it with Dicey Dungeons, which has a native linux version but on my PC only the Proton version launches correctly

Yeah you're right, in the Steam > Settings the dropdown menu is only applied to titles that are supported by Steam Play. I guess what I found weird was the option to use Steam Linux Runtime to run games that aren't supported by Steam Play. Because if Steam Linux Runtime is what Steam play uses then it look a bit redundant. Or maybe I'm not getting the full picture

[Marlock]

There is one bit missing from the picture that may help you piece this design quirk together:

Valve calls the entire framework for compatibility layers "Steam Play".

Not all compatibility layers are for windows games, though the most prominent official layer (Proton) is there for that exact purpose.

They also made it possible for us to provide custom layers... and some folks jumped at the oportunity, making custom forks of DOSBox (for DOS games), ScummVM (for 2D click-and-play games like Curse of Monkey Island) and other opensource alternate game engines which can use game resources from an original game. These forks do more or less what proton did to Wine (integrating steam achievements, cloud sync for saves, steam controller and overlay integration, etc).

Steam Runtimes wasn't seen by Valve exactly as a compatibility layer... first because it exists before "Steam Play" was invented... second, because it includes a base set of libs for games to be able to use Steam features consistently everywhere (including a windows version of the Steam Runtimes on Steam on Windows), plus a standard version of basic libs any executable needs, to avoid issues between distros with different versions of said libs, etc.

What put Steam Linux Runtimes in the list of compatibility layers was a more recent development (internally called Pressure Vessel) where Valve learned to use Linux namespaces to run a native linux game in a dedicated sandboxed space which provides a complete set of those Steam Linux Runtime libs in the sandbox...

...and to use this for a game they just added the stuff to Steam's Steam Play framework, which already supported offering multiple compatibility layers of varied nature for any game including linux native ones.

They could have used "Pressure Vessel 1.0" instead of Steam Linux Runtimes" in the droplist, or "namespaces 1.0"... maybe it would avoid a couple mixups... but what's inside the bottle is the runtimes and that is what needs more care with versioning control, etc.

[Marlock]

Pinned topic about Namespaces / Pressure Vessel / Steam Linux Runtime
https://steamcommunity.com/app/221410/discussions/0/1638675549018366706/