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Roblox intentionally blocking Linux with Wine in their new update

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It seems the days of using workarounds to play Roblox on Linux may be coming to an abrupt end, with the upcoming launch of their new client blocking Linux intentionally.

This new client appears to be undergoing testing, and users quickly noticed it wasn't working under the Wine compatibility layer on Linux. It seems the issue comes from Byfron, software for anti-cheat and anti-tamper that joined up officially with Roblox back in October 2022.

In reply to the forum post, a staff member for Roblox mentioned it is intentionally blocking:

Hello Jrelvas, Unfortunately this block was intentional. With the Windows 64-bit client launch we made the conscious decision to block the use of Wine. We came to this decision due to a combination of security and compatibility concerns. As a Linux user I am sure you understand the challenges of the Windows ecosystem. Wine is not officially supported but we are committed to working towards compatibility where possible. Unfortunately, I cannot provide a specific timeline for this support. However, I assure you that it remains a priority for our team.

It seems it may not be forever, going by what they said above and below as this new 64bit client is undergoing intense testing right now as they gather feedback, bug reports and crash logs. In a follow-up post, another staff member mentioned:

Thank you for your well thought out post. First and most importantly, we are not trying to punish the use of Wine.
Our Windows 64-bit client is in some regards quite different from the 32-bit client. We are currently gathering telemetry to analyze and hopefully fix existing issues and prevent future ones from popping up. For this process to work, it is of utmost importance to collect data from the [intended] target operating system. You will also find that we blocked the usage of VMs for the very same reason.

I hope this clarifies some of the thought process behind the blocking of Wine. As MrEaker mentioned before, Wine remains a priority for our team, and we are certainly not deaf to the voices of our community.

And they seem to have no plans to block Wine use at all with Roblox Studio.

You might be wondering why they can't simply filter out the unwanted Wine results, since they obviously detect it just fine. Another few posts from the Roblox staff attempted to clear it up, as they mentioned their client will crash "compromised processes intentionally" and since they're going through so many thousands of crash logs, it would be quite a nuisance to add more to it. Sounds like it's complicated in many parts.

If / when they issue an update that does allow Wine players on Linux back in, I'll let you know.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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38 comments
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tpau Apr 22, 2023
This seems to be a case for wine-stagings option to hide wine specific exports.
Another round of cat and mice
pb Apr 22, 2023
> As a Linux user I am sure you understand the challenges of the Windows ecosystem.

Am I ignorant or does that sentence make no sense?
Eike Apr 22, 2023
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Quoting: pb> As a Linux user I am sure you understand the challenges of the Windows ecosystem.

Am I ignorant or does that sentence make no sense?

I take it as "You're probably Linux user because Windows is... suboptimal." Which is fun to read, but not fun enough to make Linux users wanting to play the game happy.
Ardje Apr 22, 2023
Quoting: EikeI take it as "You're probably Linux user because Windows is... suboptimal." Which is fun to read, but not fun enough to make Linux users wanting to play the game happy.

Exactly. Windows is a crime to have to program for. There are so fucking insane many possibilities to have it go wrong. And it has a lot to do with layers upon layers of compatibility of a fucked up OS API.
As roger rabbit said:
Let me count the official ways I can perform a write to a file, or even open.

To be clear: I was at a crossroads 25 years ago: Let windows NT into my life or not. I gave it a fair chance, even at the highest of the FUD wars.
Today the only real purpose in my life is to get rid of windows systems in favor of more service, happiness and less costs for the clients.
These days any windows server release still can not do network wise what any linux system could already do 25 years ago. It really is tragic that it does not progress and still knows how to get money out of people.
The only real in windows progress does not come from Microsoft, but from AMD, NVIDIA and Valve as they keep the gaming on windows alive, and that's about the only thing that keeps windows into households, and with the big amount of lobbying and "I know that OS" keeps it in the offices.

Ah shit, I still went full rant again. Sorry.
1xok Apr 22, 2023
It is sad that the children only find Windows and MacOS, if they can still get their hands on a desktop computer at all.

As far as possible, I equip all the children in my area with Linux computers (including Steam Deck). Modified Minecraft in particular runs much better on it than on Windows or MacOS.
legluondunet Apr 22, 2023
Developers don't want Linux users to play his game, just don't play his game and advertise it.
His game is not important, we have today enough games to play on Linux for more that a human life.
Pengling Apr 22, 2023
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Quoting: legluondunetDevelopers don't want Linux users to play his game, just don't play his game and advertise it.
His game is not important, we have today enough games to play on Linux for more that a human life.
That's true for us in the older crowd, but for the younger set games like this are a big deal, and it'd certainly be good if they can play them on the OS of choice used by the older crowd in their lives.
wvstolzing Apr 22, 2023
Quoting: ArdjeTo be clear: I was at a crossroads 25 years ago: Let windows NT into my life or not. I gave it a fair chance, even at the highest of the FUD wars.
Today the only real purpose in my life is to get rid of windows systems in favor of more service, happiness and less costs for the clients.

As a non-pro who has recently felt the pain of trying to compile a couple of lua packages on windows, I wholeheartedly agree.

(Oh, and WSL2 is a scam; & useless in general.)
elmapul Apr 22, 2023
Quoting: ArdjeThese days any windows server release still can not do network wise what any linux system could already do 25 years ago.
can you be more specific?
it lack support for some api/protocol?
JSVRamirez Apr 22, 2023
Quoting: legluondunetDevelopers don't want Linux users to play his game, just don't play his game and advertise it.
His game is not important, we have today enough games to play on Linux for more that a human life.

I think you underestimate the potency of peer pressure in 10-year-olds. My daughter has a Windows partition on her laptop, JUST so she can play Roblox. We managed lockdown and remote learning, even over Microsoft Teams, in Linux, but Roblox forced it.
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