this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2025
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Linux Gaming

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So anyway, any beginner tips?

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[–] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 87 points 1 month ago (4 children)

You've chosen an immutable distro based on rpm-ostree. If you want to install a program/application/app then flatpak is the way.
Heroic Launcher works great for installing GOG/Epic games but if you want to install a game or other program from an offline installer then I still fall back to Lutris.

For more in-depth read up on rpm-ostree and flatpak

[–] MudMan@fedia.io 21 points 1 month ago

Yeeeah, for a fresh Bazzite install I'd agree that "swap Lutris for Heroic" is solid advice.

In Bazzite flatpak is the way so much that you will open Discover and only see flatpak, so if this was really, really beginner tips I'd suggest not learning what any of that means for as long as possible and just relying on Discover for your apps until you hit a roadbump. This guy seems well informed enough that is not a problem, but hey.

I'm also mildly annoyed that ujust is important enough to still need that terminal splash screen but not enough to be baked into the config tools by default in GUI. So weird.

That's either another thing you should try not to learn about if everything works fine out of the box or something you really should look into if it doesn't, and that's not great.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 month ago

Also worth checking out all of the pre-made "ujust" recipes.

Just type "ujust" in the terminal for a list. Tons of useful shit.

[–] entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 month ago

Meh, I've found that Heroic works just fine for most offline installers. YMMV of course.

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[–] ada@piefed.blahaj.zone 47 points 1 month ago

The best tip I can give you is to get rid of windows, and, well, you've already done that :)

[–] cRazi_man@europe.pub 44 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Use alternativeto.net .... not necessarily for just Windows programs alternatives; but it is also great for looking at popular utilities for any task in Linux.

Some programs I use a lot were not suggested anywhere else (e.g. Pluma as a basic text editor and Pinta for basic image editing).

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 6 points 1 month ago

alternativeto.net

They also have the best tech/software blog I've ever seen

[–] Gutek8134@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Nice, thanks!

[–] Sabin10@lemmy.world 35 points 1 month ago (5 children)

A lot of games are going to work without you having to do anything and some will need some tinkering. In that case, https://www.protondb.com/ will be your best friend, telling you exactly what you need to do to get things running.

That being said, some games simply can't be run under Linux. They might work in the future as compatibility improves but some won't. If it's an issue for you, you might want to dual boot windows as a workaround.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Personally, I recommend quitting Windows cold-turkey and not dual-booting at all. If a game genuinely doesn't work without dual-booting, you don't need it. No game is so important that it's worth compromising your security, privacy, and property rights over.

[–] BURN@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Unfortunately some of us need windows for more than games, and there aren’t Linux alternatives

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This 100%. Give up Windows and never look back, you will not regret it.

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[–] puppycat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 1 month ago

but dont dual boot on the same drive! get a second SSD or something because windows is a big bully and always wants to screw stuff up

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

Funnily, sometimes the pirate version of a game works whilst the official one does not...

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[–] esteemedtogami@lemmy.zip 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

+1 for Bazzite! I converted last year, and have never had to go back. My tip would be to make good use of ProtonUp-QT that should have come with Bazzite by default. Use it to get Proton GE which in my experience has been the best compatibility layer for Steam games. You can also batch update with that tool so that when a new version of GE comes out, you can set games en masse to the new version.

[–] Gutek8134@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

I'm using GNOME, so I have ProtonPlus

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My best advice is:

You should never blindly copy and paste commands form the Internet into your terminal.

But...

If your hardware is old and proprietary (designed for Windows), you might someday need to copy and paste a command from the Internet into your terminal.

Joking aside, the key is to try to understand what it does, first.

And feel free to ask the community for help if you need it.

Edit: Nevermind. Your choice of immutable distro makes it less likely you'll need this advice. Nice.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 18 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Nice! I recently tried KDE Plasma and I’ve been really impressed not just with the polish but with the look and feel that still kind of reminds me of Windows without being Windows.

[–] Gutek8134@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've seen Plasma, Xfce, and GNOME. I like the last one the most, so I'm using it on all of my systems.

[–] chunkystyles@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 month ago

I can't stand GNOME, but I understand that other people like it.

[–] AldinTheMage@ttrpg.network 5 points 1 month ago

Love me some Plasma. I'm still running the default styles after over a year as well. It's just nice.

I really should spend some time experimenting with customizations though

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[–] cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Execute "ujust" and marvel at what's possible right out of the box. If you used KDE check out some simple tips on how to configure cool windows effects. A little wobble makes all the difference. Browse the apps you can install, there are some pretty neat things in there you probably never heard of before.

And don't forget: once you got the things you want working, let the system fade into the background. No need to constantly tinker with your distribution unless you enjoy it.

[–] Gutek8134@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I'm using GNOME because I like it more

And yeah, system fading into the background is the end goal

[–] Steamymoomilk@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Yes gnome > KDE

This is a hill i will die on

[–] RichieRich@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (4 children)

⚔️ You just started a war. 😂 KDE > Gnome. 🤭

I can't get excited about the Gnome interface. It somehow works in such an unfamiliar way. What is the advantage supposed to be?

[–] Gutek8134@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

I've had to use it in vocational school, and after a few months I started to like it over Windows interface. Later on I've touched Xfce and seen people around me use KDE, but still prefer GNOME. I've got no idea why.

[–] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

I respect GNOME for it's simplicity, but prefer KDE for the chaos.

[–] 0xD@infosec.pub 4 points 1 month ago

Completely agree. I find GNOME just annoying, ugly, and in some places inconsistent.

KDE/i3/Sway 4evarr!

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[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I totally agree - distro hoppers who complain about the "nightmare" of finding the right distro are living in a hell of their own making.

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[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Mess around until it breaks. It's fun.
Also checkout "ricing linux." (There is a unixporn community here that can help you)

[–] pfr@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I did the same a few months ago. Installed bazzite just like you. Then installed fedora 42 workstation over it one week later.

While it's designed to be plug and play, I found bazzite frustrating. But then again, I'm a Linux vet and I'm a tinkerer. I like to customise system configuration files. Immutable distros just weren't for me.

But if you're happy then that's all that matters. Happy gaming!

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Bazzite allows for tinkering just fine, it's just different so you have to be willing to put a little time in to learn how ostree works, for example.

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[–] Little8Lost@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Less a specific linux tip but look into Ventoy, it can carry multiple bootable ISOs and its just useful (reduces the amount of ISO Sticks to 1)

[–] puppycat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 month ago

ventoy is awesome, my tip for OP is to always have a live usb in case of emergencies. you can just install ventoy onto a USB and drag and drop your bazzite ISO but having a live stick you can plug in and boot from at any moment is 100% a life saver. whether you broke something or you just wanna troubleshoot (think windows safe mode but better) you'll be glad you kept that USB lying around :)

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[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 1 month ago

Welcome in from the cold. We have hot cocoa and blankets.

[–] velummortis@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Obligatory fastfetch is right there post

[–] Gutek8134@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Neofetch came preinstalled, so I've used it

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[–] Contramuffin@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You can blindly download and install things from the internet on Windows, you can't in Linux. If you try, it'll be confusing at best, destructive at worst. If you want to install something, best to look for it in your GUI software manager (the "app store")

If you're up for the challenge (it's extremely tedious to set up, partially thanks to its horrid instructions), you can try installing winapps. It'll save you a lot of time with running Windows programs

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

This is not totally true. Deb packages will just activate the package manager and will mimic the feel of installing something on windows.

[–] Gutek8134@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Bazzite is based on fedora atomic, which means I don't get debs and have to deal with flatpak, brew and distrobox

Okay, I kinda do get debs through the last one... I think. I've never used db before, my experience comes mostly from Ubuntu and Pop_OS!

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[–] HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 4 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

So, this one is a bit controversial but, when something doesn't work try running it from terminal.

Unlike windows, Linux doesn't tend to do "pop up errors". Running in terminal gives these alerts, and can often give you a hint as to why it isn't working - be it a missing library, a permission error, or something internal you can quickly search. Usually, someone has a fix!

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