# proton

Steam began providing direct linux support for gaming.

In the process they forked Wine and began adding, and back-porting, significant improvements.

Most importantly, the project is open source!


## [Glorious Eggroll](https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom)

This person has created an excellent fork of proton, allowing custom modifications and patches specific to popular games.

You should almost always favor GE builds.


## [protondb](protondb.com)

A third party website for people to add, review, and provide supplemental instructions for games they've played or that have not worked.

Basically the answer to [winehq](https://www.winehq.org/).


## non-steam games

You can add and run non-steam games using steam and set them up to run with proton!

This process is a bit convoluted:

1. Create a directory inside `~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common` for your game to be installed in.
2. Add an executable (eg. the installer) to that directory.
3. Add a game in steam, specify the proton version, and then select that installer to run it.
4. During the installation set the path to be the `~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common` directory you setup for the game; during installation this will also create a high numbered directory in `~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata`, which will change anytime you modify the target of the steam app.
5. Change the executable to the correct one after the installer is complete (_this will rename the game in steams library_).
6. You can add an icon to the application if you have one.

_These instructions need some work due to how the proton/winepath directory creation works._


## launch options

Under `Set Launch Options` you can add various environment variables and common flags to improve performance.

A good standard string is:

	DXVK_HUD=fps PROTON_USE_VKD3D=1 %command% -USEALLAVAILABLECORES -high -vulkan

The `DXVK_HUD` option lets you add an entire graph or just the FPS to any game that uses DXVK.

The `PROTON_USE_VKD3D` enables DX12 in games that support it.

The `%command%` is required if you add anything, and is the command that will run the executable.

The flags `-USEALLAVAILABLECORES`, `-high`, and `-vulkan`, are randomly supported by various games, and thus your mileage may vary.

_Another option is to use `PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1`, which suggests using OpenGL instead of DXVK for DX10/DX11 games, which may provide better performance in select cases._