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Another help me choose a distro (lemmy.ml)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Hi, as many others I am looking to switch to linux before microsoft kills win 10. I read a lot of advice online for distros, but my main needs are not really discussed. I need a distro that runs well for game dev specifically unreal engine 5.4-6.

I am currently aiming to try mint, as it has been recommended to be stable and i already dabbled a little bit with Ubuntu on my laptop.

I am not afraid of some tech journey, but even though arch seems the coolest, with Wayland, kde, hyperland customization, i am not confident enough to use it for work. I heard it can completely crash your system if your a noob.

So in essence i need something stable that is relatively easy to use and has great ue5 and gaming perf. Thanks in advance for all the help.

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[–] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

I don't recommend Bazzite. I'm far from an expert (I've only used Mint), but I see a lot of people recommending Bazzite. You should definitely test on Bazzite, but it's immutable and so that'll probably cause a lot of issues. I'd recommend strongly against Bazzite for gamedev.

I think basically any major distro will work (Ubuntu, Mint, OpenSUSE, Arch). You'll probably need to run the software in bottles, so if it supports bottles then it should work for your needs. Only go with Arch if you're willing to sign up for some extra work.

Be sure to make backups. That way it won't matter if you brick your OS.

EDIT: It supports Linux, I was on the wrong page. It explicitly supports Red Hat (Fedora) and Rocky Linux, OpenSUSE is similar to them, so go with one of those three I guess.

EDIT 2: They recommend Ubuntu. Test on Ubuntu and Rocky. I'd go with Rocky just because I hate Ubuntu (on an emotional level, I don't think they're evil or anything).

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    You’ll probably need to run the software in bottles

    nope, unreal engine 5 has a native linux version

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    I thought you need to launch it through the Epic Games launcher, and that does not support Linux?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)
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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Oh I see, when you go straight to the Epic Games Store page it doesn't have a download for Linux and doesn't even say Linux is supported.

    But that link says Red Hat Linux 8 or Rocky Linux 8, so OP should probably use Fedora or Rocky. Rocky's a bit of a no-name though so forum support might be lacking.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago*

    when a particular distro is recommended almost every time it just means "this is what we have actually tested it on" so as long as your distro has the correct packages/versions available there is a very good chance it will work even when not recommended

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    I am using bazzite for gamedev and it is AWESOME.

    It is immutable but ships with distrobox and boxbuddy, which lets you easily create linux containers with mutable systems (i.e. I am currently developing on a fedora container with Qt Creator, for example) and you can install your packages in that terminal.

    No chances of breaking your main OS.

    I set up my instance like follows:

    Boxbuddy -> New distrobox container -> Fedora -> Give it a name.

    Wait for the installation (should be about 300MB IIRC).

    In the start menu you will now be able to run your instance's terminal (search for your instance name).

    sudo dnf install qt-creator

    Back in boxbuddy, in my instance I selected "show installed gui applications", selected Qt Creator -> Add to applications menu.

    Qt Creator then shows up in the start menu (search for either Qt Creator, or your instance name).

    It will run in the container, but has full access to your home directory for development.

    I could then install all my other required packages from the same terminal that I installed qt-creator from.

    Easy peasy.

    Disclaimer: Typing from my phone. The instructions may not be exactly like I said, but those are the steps.

    No terminal magic is needed in Bazzite to make this work.

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