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Darwin Project no longer works in Steam Play, due to Easy Anti-Cheat

By - | Views: 30,082

After spending a good few hours enjoying the Battle Royale game Darwin Project [Steam] on Linux thanks to Steam Play, it has come to an abrupt end.

I wrote about it working only recently in December. Much to my surprise, it only really needed a quick manual adjustment to pick the region you wish to matchmake in. Then it worked pretty much like any other game, exactly what Steam Play is supposed to do and I was happy.

Sadly, the game has recently updated and the game is now unplayable due to Easy Anti-Cheat. It will allow you into a game and then very quickly kick you back to the main menu with this message:

While Steam Play is an interesting attempt to help with the circular issues surrounding Linux gaming, with not enough games being here for more people to seriously consider it and not enough users for a lot of game developers to also seriously consider it, multiplayer games like this will continue to be a sore spot.

I'm not about to say anything like "native Linux games or bust" here, that's not the point. Quite a few Linux games have multiplayer that's locked down to Linux only or Linux and Mac only too. Sure they work but that's still not great either. However, this should serve as a little reminder that at least with a game that's supported, you wouldn't expect to suddenly not be able to play as is the case here.

Perhaps, to help with things like this Valve could have a section on their store that tells people what anti-cheat solutions are used? It’s not a huge ask, they already do something very similar for DRM measures like this shot for RESIDENT EVIL 7 biohazard:

At least if they did this for systems like Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye, it might help Linux gamers using Steam Play make some more informed decisions on their purchases. It would help cut down frustration for both players and developers.

I still personally remain rather bullish about the future of Steam Play, warts and all. Multiplayer titles are going to remain the big barrier, which I am hoping a solution will one day be found for those developers that will not do a supported Linux version. EAC and BattlEye both support Linux and there's Linux games using them, so perhaps they can eventually do something about it directly in collaboration with Valve somehow. For single-player titles, I imagine most of the issues can be worked around easily enough given enough time.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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44 comments
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massatt212 Jan 12, 2019
EAC aka Epic Games lol
Code Artisan Jan 12, 2019
i am surprised that easyanticheat does support Linux since it needs to operate at the kernel level.
pb Jan 12, 2019
Quoting: massatt212EAC aka Epic Games lol

Nah, they're an independent company based in the fatherland of Linux, a.k.a. Suomi.


Last edited by pb on 12 January 2019 at 11:34 pm UTC
einherjar Jan 12, 2019
Hmm, sad. Without Multiplayer Games working Cross-Plattform, Linux is o Nogo for nearly every gamer....


Last edited by einherjar on 12 January 2019 at 11:41 pm UTC
massatt212 Jan 13, 2019
Quoting: pb
Quoting: massatt212EAC aka Epic Games lol

Nah, they're an independent company based in the fatherland of Linux, a.k.a. Suomi.

last time i check Epic Bought that Company
https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/epic-games-acquires-kamu-1202971927/
tony1ab Jan 13, 2019
Remember Soul Calibur 6 had a similar issue with multiplayer games and it was fixed.
Email them. Tell your problem. Say it in the forums. They should fix it.
KuJo Jan 13, 2019
This is the same as with the game SCUM. Also ran flawlessly at first. And then EAC was installed and the show was over.
Scoopta Jan 13, 2019
Quoting: Code Artisani am surprised that easyanticheat does support Linux since it needs to operate at the kernel level.
Just because the windows version runs in kernel space means nothing for the Linux version.
Yupy Jan 13, 2019
I messaged EAC 2 months ago about Steam Proton their reply was:

Hello Romeo,

Thank you for contacting us!
Steam Proton is currently not supported by Easy Anti-Cheat. We're looking into possible future support however and will notify the players if and when that happens. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

If there's something else you need assistance with, let us know.
Despite the trouble have a fantastic day!


Also a reply from Scavangers Studio about supporting Linux on Darwin Project:

Hey there, thanks for reaching out to us! A lot of us on the team would like to, but this is not currently planned. Write back if you have more questions! 
Eike Jan 13, 2019
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Quoting: einherjarHmm, sad. Without Multiplayer Games working Cross-Plattform, Linux is o Nogo for nearly every gamer....

I'd bet that most players aren't playing online multiplayer to begin with. (I read even Call of Duty has more offline than online players.)
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