Steam Linux Usage Drops Lower... Below 0.9%

[pete910]

So, I guess you're using a Nvidia GPU?

Borderlands 2 is utter crap on Linux with AMD.
According to an Aspyr employee it's clearly an issue with AMD's Catalyst.
AMD is informed but so far nothing changed.

So in my case, I bought Borderlands 2 to play it on Linux,
but ended up playing it on Windows...

This is not how you convince people to use Linux for gaming.
Yeah, it's anecdotal ... but still.

Don't know what card you are using but BL2 and TPS run sweet on mine (290x)

I will add though since the 15.5s release fps has gone from 70+ @ 1440p to 145 +

[anth]

Borderlands 2 is utter crap on Linux with AMD ... 's Catalyst

I'm running that on an R9 270 at 1080p and occasionally the frame rate will dip briefly when entering a new area but for the most part it is solidly at the 60FPS limit of my display. That is with the open source driver, I've not tried the proprietary driver in over a year so can't comment on that.

most linux users still dual boot

In a thread where much of the discussion is about the accuracy of a survey a statement like that really needs evidence to back it up.

My gaming rig only runs Linux, unless the Android phone I occasionally play on when out somehow counts. I know others who either run Linux exclusively or sometimes use it to host VMs for other OSes, but am not aware of any of those people dual booting. I'm sure it happens though, and of course anecdote is not evidence.

HD 7970M, lowest settings ... Silky smooth 24 FPS at times

That mobile GPU shouldn't be much slower than my desktop R9 270 so getting a fraction of the performance at lower settings suggests something is wrong. What driver are you using and when was it last updated? Perhaps the mobile GPU drivers have a bug, perhaps it is being throttled for thermal or battery issues, I don't know.

[damvcoool]

So, I guess you're using a Nvidia GPU?

Yes, altho I used to consider myself a fan of AMD but seeing how Nvidia seems to have the upper hand most of the time (performance and Game experience over all) i am now an Nvidia/Intel Guy for performance, i still recommend AMD for the Regular Joe/Jane who only does Facebook, Skype, and DOTA2.

[haagch]

I've been playing Borderlands 2 on Linux with AMD just great with high settings and 1080p. But I haven't been using the Catalyst drivers, I have been using the open source drivers. (I also have a 7950, which is about the sweet spot for OS drivers).

Anyway, ymmv. Just sharing my anecdote.

HD 7970M, lowest settings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKC0p7Zol7s
Silky smooth 24 FPS at times.

[Dedale]

The crackpot theories from people who struggle to understand statistics are funny. But i believe it is not too far fetched to imagine GTA V has played a role in the lower proportion of linux steam gamers. I wonder how are counted people who answer several times their survey on different Oses.

[murraytony]

I've been playing Borderlands 2 on Linux with AMD just great with high settings and 1080p. But I haven't been using the Catalyst drivers, I have been using the open source drivers. (I also have a 7950, which is about the sweet spot for OS drivers).

Anyway, ymmv. Just sharing my anecdote.

So, I guess you're using a Nvidia GPU?

Borderlands 2 is utter crap on Linux with AMD.
According to an Aspyr employee it's clearly an issue with AMD's Catalyst.
AMD is informed but so far nothing changed.

[finalzone]

I finally got a survey from Steam. From what I understand, it is more about data gathering to improve support.

[klaphark]

[offtopic]

After the upgrade from Ubuntu 14.10 to 15.04, X stopped working on my NVidia card. Solution: get screwdriver, remove NVidia card, use intel integrated graphics. Stopped playing games since. I wouldn't be surprised if that bug hit more people. Unfortuntely no numbers to back that up.
I did file a bug (1454817 in launchpad): if you experience the same, please acknowledge so that it gets fixed faster...

NVidia cards work fine although not always out-of-the-box (especially true if you have a Kepler series card or newer).

Solution:
- Boot with -nomodeset kernel parameter
- Uninstall or blacklist nouveau
- Download the latest proprietary nvidia drivers and give it execution permissions (chmod +x NVIDIA....run)
- Switch to tty (CTRL+ALT+F1) and login.
- Stop the lightdm service (sudo service lightdm stop)
- Install the drivers (sudo ,/NVIDIA....run). I advise you to enable DKMS so you don't have to manually reinstall everytime the kernel is updated.
- After completing the installation start the lightdm service and off you go!
[/offtopic]

Sad to see the usage is dropping. Steam is pretty solid for me in Ubuntu 15.04. The biggest problem I run into when using Steam on Linux (and makes me bootup Windows) isn't related to Steam itself but to games performing much worse than their Windows counterpart. A good example is Cities Skylines; in Windows it runs a solid 60fps while Ubuntu averages 20-30 fps with the same quality settings. It's probably due to the Unity 3D engine not being fully optimized for OpenGL which is a shame because a lot of games depend on it. I Hope Vulkan will enable developers to bring the overall game performance/experience on-par with Window so Linux and OSX users are no longer treated as second-class citizens.

[Passso]

Haha I've been surveyed maybe 6 times in the past 2 years. In fact I was just inquired yesterday.

Keep in mind - these surveys ONLY come up whenever you sign into Steam. If you keep your computer and Steam on for days at a time, you're greatly reducing your chances of ever being asked. I sign on steam on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day. So I'm much more likely to be asked.

I run Steam from start every day and never saw the survey at all. I see my friends regularly get it, I do not even know if this survey is a legend on Linux...
Maybe Valve does not need it for Linux, but I really doubt about this!

[adakite]

What about the absolute number of Linux players ? If the Steam community increases but with a faster increase on the Windows side, this will end up with a lower Linux %. Although the absolute number of Linux users could also potentially increase as well. % is not the only metric to look at.