Aurora Features Requests Discussion

Hey fellas. Been a lifetime member for what feels like a lifetime now, and I recently moved to Linux (CachyOS / Arch).

Been using Aurora since it came out and I love it. But I'd love to see official Linux support for it. When I say official, I don't necessarily mean native, though that would be great (get it on the AUR!). What I mean is, you can use a variety of different techniques to get it running on Linux - such as:

- Make it available on Flatpak or AUR (this is the native option)
- Make it as an appimage (also a native option)
- Include official instructions on how to get it running using Wine, Proton, or a launcher with Proton built in (such as Faugus Launcher)

Many more people are starting to tell MicroSlop to go pound sand and are switching to Linux. It's just better in every way at this point - it's free, it's a LOT more accessible, it's faster (in many cases, especially with CachyOS) and it's what most servers already run on anyway.

Having a way to officially support Linux users would make me, and I am sure many other people, very happy.

linux is only supported with the steam deck tool.

Kinda feels bad that people who choose Linux have to pay more, especially when at TIer 7 we've already spent hundreds.

This is a one-time purchase. That said, this is optional you can use Aurora on Linux without this option, but you’ll have to set up the program yourself.

We cannot offer official support for Linux because there isn’t "just one" Linux. There are hundreds or even thousands of different Linux distributions. They all differ from one another. If we were to start officially supporting one distro, the following would happen: A user comes along and says they use a different distro and would like support for that one as well. We’re already seeing this with the SDT. A tool exclusively for Steam Deck what happens? People also use it on their desktop distributions and then complain that it doesn’t work even though they spent money on it. And the whole thing is difficult because it’s not a standalone app that we just have to compile for Linux and then it runs automatically. Instead, it depends on the Steam installation. Steam can be installed on Linux in different ways, in different paths, which vary across different distros. Unlike on Windows, there’s no way to read this path. You have to handle it manually. To put it simply: It’s incredibly complicated and prone to errors. That’s why we can only provide official support for the Steam Deck. And anyone who installs it on Linux just has to figure it out themselves. This isn’t Windows with a double-click - run - works.

I understand that. Really, I do. And you're right, it would be impossible to cater to ALL those people. It wouldn't be reasonable to ask you guys to do that, even if the app was paid, which it is.

However.... CH chose to offer an app for Linux, because that's what SteamOS is based on. Thus, at a bare minimum, official support should exist for a Debian install of the app, whether on SteamDeck or Desktop, because SteamOS is based on Debian. Further, when the new Steam Machine launches later this year, it too will have SteamOS, which is still based on Debian. People will now have a SteamDeck environment on their desktops (not just Steam Machines) and that's a perfectly reasonable justification to offer official support for it.

As for the people using Fedora, Arch, or whatever else, they'll have to figure out how to adapt it to their systems, or switch to SteamOS.

But given how many people are going to start installing SteamOS this year, and not just on their decks, I'd ask you guys to reconsider and offer official support, at least for that.

You wouldn't be making exceptions, you wouldn't be showing favouritism, you wouldn't be supporting hundreds of distros. You'd be supporting your app on the one distro it was meant to run on - and anyone reasonable would understand that.

I'd also like to add that I did end up purchasing it. And I installed it on CachyOS, based on Arch. And it seems to be working.

Yes, we do support SteamOS with the SDT. And it should work on SteamOS regardless of the device (handheld, desktop PC etc). This is our official "Linux" support. But we dont call it like that as people make the false assumption it would work on any Linux then.

I get your point, but I wouldn't read too much into it lol, you can't fix stupidity, ignorance or entitlement - it's not your fault that people demand unreasonable things I think as long as you guys keep doing stuff that makes most of your users happy, you'll be good I haven't been a member for YEARS just by coincidence :P

Thanks for all the info. If I did ever need help with the SDT, where would I go for that (assuming I would only be getting help on how to solve the issue on the only distro it was meant to run on)?