Need help gaming on Linux

[SpaceRazor]

I have linux mint installed. I have been using it for a couple of years now but I have only recently started gaming on my newest PC after switching from windows 10 to linux mint. I have a valve index and it worked flawlessly out of the gate for a several weeks. I stopped gaming for a few weeks and now I can't get a single game to open. The only changes I have made is using sudo apt update and upgrade, nothing exotic. I have a 3090 installed and I inititally installed the properitary drivers. The best guess I can come up with some update borked my system, but I don't even know where to begin. Basically every game I try to launch reports a failure due to Direct X11 not being installed or working properly. Any ideas? I really want to get back to gaming ASAP for myself and going into summer vacation for my son. I have also recently ran into issues launching fallout 4 on my steam deck which is what prompted me to try playing on my desktop after several weeks of not playing games on the desktop. I would love to figure out what I can do on both platforms but I am mainly concerned with the desktop and VR at the moment. I can always bootup cave story or something on the steam deck if I need to kill some time. Any help would be appreciated as I am at a total loss. Thanks in advance.

[1human]

3 minutes ago, SpaceRazor said:

I have linux mint installed. I have been using it for a couple of years now but I have only recently started gaming on my newest PC after switching from windows 10 to linux mint. I have a valve index and it worked flawlessly out of the gate for a several weeks. I stopped gaming for a few weeks and now I can't get a single game to open. The only changes I have made is using sudo apt update and upgrade, nothing exotic. I have a 3090 installed and I inititally installed the properitary drivers. The best guess I can come up with some update borked my system, but I don't even know where to begin. Basically every game I try to launch reports a failure due to Direct X11 not being installed or working properly. Any ideas? I really want to get back to gaming ASAP for myself and going into summer vacation for my son. I have also recently ran into issues launching fallout 4 on my steam deck which is what prompted me to try playing on my desktop after several weeks of not playing games on the desktop. I would love to figure out what I can do on both platforms but I am mainly concerned with the desktop and VR at the moment. I can always bootup cave story or something on the steam deck if I need to kill some time. Any help would be appreciated as I am at a total loss. Thanks in advance.

I assume you're using steam to run games.
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command% -- add this line to the launch options in the game you're trying to run to see if that fixes anything (right click the game - properties)

 

 

If that doesn't work then try reinstalling steam entirely and then turn on proton again (Settings - Compatibility - Run other titles with...)

This will reinstall proton completely and will hopefully fix the DX11 errors you're getting.

[SpaceRazor]

On 5/29/2025 at 8:57 PM, 1human said:

I assume you're using steam to run games.
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command% -- add this line to the launch options in the game you're trying to run to see if that fixes anything (right click the game - properties)

 

 

If that doesn't work then try reinstalling steam entirely and then turn on proton again (Settings - Compatibility - Run other titles with...)

This will reinstall proton completely and will hopefully fix the DX11 errors you're getting.

I added that line to my launch options and that moved the ball forward a little. Before adding that line, I would get the splash screen where I could click play, options, settings, or exit. When I clicked play, it would stop the app entirely and I would end up back to steam. After adding that line, I could click play on the splash screen and then the game would actually launch this time. I can see the black and white Please Stand By intro to Fallout 4 and I actually get to the game menu where I can choose between new game, load etc. I navigate to the same game I want to launch and when I press enter to confirm, I get dumped back to steam again and back to square one.

 

The weird thing is, this is the same behavior as the steam deck. When launching on the steam deck, I can get to the same in-game menu and when I try to load a saved game, it closes the game. I think I am going to see what happens if I select new game instead. Maybe my saved game is corrupted?

[SpaceRazor]

1 minute ago, SpaceRazor said:

... think I am going to see what happens if I select new game instead. Maybe my saved game is corrupted?

Oddly enough, I WAS able to start a new game! I exited during the character customization to come make this comment, but it looks like it may be working. I will follow up with updates as time allows.

 

Thanks for your help!

[SpaceRazor]

My saga continues. I moved on to a different title and adding this line did not help on Ark: Survival Evolved. When I click the green Play button on steam, it turns blue and launch options appear. I have tried selecting Play Ark: Survival Evolved, Play ARK: No BattlEye AntiCheat, Unofficial Servers Only, and Reset Game Resolution. All three option kick me back to Steam and the game page has a green Play button again.

 

Regardless of how this plays out, getting Fallout 4 back up and running for my son is a major win in my book.

[1human]

On 6/3/2025 at 8:56 AM, SpaceRazor said:

My saga continues. I moved on to a different title and adding this line did not help on Ark: Survival Evolved. When I click the green Play button on steam, it turns blue and launch options appear. I have tried selecting Play Ark: Survival Evolved, Play ARK: No BattlEye AntiCheat, Unofficial Servers Only, and Reset Game Resolution. All three option kick me back to Steam and the game page has a green Play button again.

 

Regardless of how this plays out, getting Fallout 4 back up and running for my son is a major win in my book.

That may be game-specific, try to launch other games and see if it's only Ark that's having problems