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Forspoken needs desktop Linux to spoof being a Steam Deck to work

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Update 25/01/23: Valve are now forcing the spoofing of a Steam Deck server-side, so the workaround is no longer needed.


In a case of what the heck? Square Enix and Luminous Productions just released Forspoken, which works on Steam Deck but it won't run on desktop Linux without spoofing it being a Steam Deck. One of those moments where I had to blink a good few times, wipe my glasses and let out a big sigh. 

To run it on desktop Linux you can either load launch Steam directly with "-steamdeck" or by setting "SteamDeck=1 %command%" as a launch option for the game itself. No this isn't a joke. It's not entirely clear why but I'm not going to say the developer or publisher actively chose to block Linux desktop, it's more likely they just didn't think about what they were doing outside of letting it run on Steam Deck specifically (which runs SteamOS Linux).

Without that workaround, launching it on desktop Linux gives you this:


It "didn't be installed" on my Windows Linux.

But when launching with the workaround, well it's a different story. 

Doesn't exactly seem very stable either, it would completely crash if I picked a different overall graphics preset. Some individual graphics settings made it completely crash too. I also couldn't get it to go above 30FPS, with Vsync off and a limit set to 120FPS it just wanted to stay at 30FPS (and plenty below that).

Looks like a rough launch with it being Mixed on Steam so far and plenty of critic reviews have not been particularly kind on it either. At £64.99 it just doesn't seem worth the price.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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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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Praxach Jan 26, 2023
Quoting: tohur
Quoting: jordicoma
Quoting: tohurSteamDeck=1 only applies if you are using a Nvidia GPU I think as my game launches just fine without it. also highly suggest using gamemode with gamemoderun %command% . I got this thing included with the GPU I bought over the summer so if you do not own the game yet I would wait TBH for a sale or after some updates because the game is poorly optimized on PC as it runs like crap on both Linux and Windows for me
I have a rx6600xt and yesterday I tried the demo. It doesn't launch.
I'm sure with this parameter it uses dx11 or a version with less features with dx12 (wine can emulate/adapt many dx12 features but not all).
It's not worth it 80€ for a game. For me I think 60€ it's the maximum for a AAA game.
We are on a recession plus inflation and they are increasing the price.
For me it's a pass even if it were a native game.
Hope they fix it for the next update. It's not complicated to make a function if(linux) then, else other.

Funny considering I own a 6600 XT and do not need the SteamDeck=1 idk weird

I am assuming that it is related to having a Nvidia graphics card. I have a complete AMD system (R9 & 6700XT) and didn't need that command to get the game to launch. I have run in to all the other issues in the demo though.
slaapliedje Jan 26, 2023
This sounds like a case of them wanting that extra delicious Steam Deck sales, but didn't spend any time testing it on anything else. Sad, really. I'm hoping Hogwart's Legacy will just work on desktop Linux.
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