****Hey! My gf wanted to try out Trackmania since I've been getting into it. However we can't get it to run on her steam deck at all.

For reference here's how I did it on my deck: Install trackmania from the store. On first launch it briefly says "running instant script: ubisoft connect" or similar. Then Ubi starts, i logged in, done. Now anytime I launch TM, ubi pops up briefly, takes care of things and runs the game.

However, on her deck, the instant script runs, then she's greeted with an old-school windows error box from TM informing her that it needs Ubi connect.

We've tried all kinds of trickey like installing Ubi as a non steam app, changing proton versions, changing the proton context, reinstalling, deleting compat data for a clean slate...

Most guides online are old enough to not mention the instant script.

If anyone has an idea of what might be going on, I'd greatly appreciate any pointers.

EDIT: sorry for the rambly post here's a quick clarification I wanted a decentralized/open source variant of something like NordVPN etc.

Crypto-based options I found: Sentinel, Mysterium , Orchid All of those are on the Blockchain and use their own coins as a payment system, both to pay usage fees and to pay out node-hosts. Not sure if that's my jam.

I tried to use the search and came up short - so point me elsewhere if there's already a discussion.

Let me preface this by saying I'm pretty green when it comes to a lot of the deeper aspects of FOSS privacy tools. Meaning that i'm probably more clueless about this topic than I realise.

Had a bit of a shower thought moment earlier and googled if decentralized VPNs are an option for the occasional torrent.
Did a bit of a google and came up with a couple of options, seemingly all tied into a blockchain with their own coin for payments - either using or hosting a node.

I'm a bit allergic to cryptobros and their blockchain-everything-mentality but I suppose it's not a terrible system for the usecase?

So are there people on here who have hands-on experience with this? Is it a valid tool for safer browsing and torrenting?

Are there any obvious alternatives I should look into?

Are there any obvious risks I'm not aware of?

Is the concept flawed altogether?

Basically Title.

Been to Wacken recently and a friend and I were discussing what could be seen as the biggest name in metal currently.
Since we're "old", we could only come up with yesteryears titans.

Are there any more recent names that currently dominate the industry? Get played on day to day radio like our childhood bands did?