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Hair/fur has artifacts as well as objects at a distance
The steamdeck might not have sufficient capability to play this game well
There was a slight loss of frames in some places. However, the same loss is in the game on windows
When loading a save frequently, an error sometimes pops up
I managed to complete this game almost without encountering problems related to Linux. If you like detective stories, you might like it.
Excellent experience after the update
As of game update on Steam released Tue, January 16 2024 (Frogwares version). The game is stable and performance is now much better out of the box without workarounds. But with default Proton cut-scene videos were missing, with Proton experimental the videos work.
gamemoderun WINE_CPU_TOPOLOGY=3:0,1,2 %command%
FrameRateLimit=120.000000
Seemed to be locked at a low framerate before editing a config file
Locked at a low FPS until I edited GameUserSettings.ini
Poor performance out of the box, limiting CPU cores and enabling gamemode increased performance to acceptable levels.
gamemoderun WINE_CPU_TOPOLOGY=3:0,1,2 %command%
Performance does not scale with resolution or graphic settings, also game performs worse with more CPU cores.
Game seems to crash sometimes during launch with more than 4 CPU cores enabled.
Out of the box I get around 15fps on my setup with all settings maxed at 1440p. Lowering resolution or graphic settings did nothing to improve the performance. Instead I had to restrict CPU core usage, sweet spot was 3 cores. That improved the performance to between 30-60fps. Enabling more or less CPU cores than that the performance just gets worse (I did pay attention to not using ecores)
The launch option is for limiting CPU cores and enabling gamemode. For gamemode to work you need to have it installed on your Linux distro. On Fedora it can can be installed using the command "sudo dnf install gamemode".
Unplayable - extreme low fps(1-3)
Regardless of the proton version game stutters, low fps
Performance leaves a lot to be desired but the game itself is quite enjoyable if you can put up with some roughness
gamemoderun %command%
Certain models don't load properly and some vistas have graphical anomalies
Starting out my save did get deleted when I switched from standard Proton to Proton GE, although it hasn't happened since moving distro it is something to be wary of if you're further into the game.
The game has an occasional freeze for several frames when shooting enemies with a shotgun from time to time, it can make combat a little sluggish.
The Sinking City is a fun and interesting game that's unfortunately marred with performance problems and bugs which seemingly affect all platforms. But if you're willing to put up with some of that then I think you will enjoy it if you're in the mood for a slow paced detective thriller with survival horror elements, set in the Cthulhu mythos.
I recommend not using the standard Proton as performance is significantly worse than using Proton GE. You will still experience some stutters and rough frames but it is generally much more playable and very stable as I've experienced no crashes.
I use GE Proton. With it its perfect.
gamemoderun %command%
1 to 4 FPS once in-game.
This game runs flawlessly on Windows, but sadly won't play over 4 fps in Linux. I have tried multiple versions of Proton, and numerous Launch Options.
[UPDATE] I confirm that with Proton-6.21-GE-2 the prerendered cut-scene do work! I played the whole game with vanilla Proton 6.3-8, without any other problems, BUT the prerendered cut-scenes. With Proton-6.21-GE-2 the cut scenes DO seem to work, although I have tested the throughout the game.
Can't recommend the game, beacause of the cut-scenes. Nevertheless, I played the game about 30 hours and had a really nice expirience.
the pre-rendered cut scenes won't play
If you are patient and don't mid the wired colors that are displayed instead of the cut scenes, for some second, in a handful points throughout the game, you will be fine. The whole story telling is presented in-game, so you loose non of the story; but looses some of the gloomy mood of the game.
gamemoderun %command%
Once the game begins, the game drops to 1-3 FPS. However, when pausing with the menu open, it increases FPS to 20-35 FPS. Running this game in Windows runs perfectly fine. Originally, I played this game without issues on this same computer using the same OS. But my original M.2 SSD died, so I had to reinstall. Now I cannot play this game. I have tested multiple versions of Proton to try and improve the issue, but it suffers from the same problem every time.
For working cut scenes I suggest using Proton 6.21-GE-2
Glorious Eggroll 6.21
I was able to run the game with two Steam-provided versions: Experimental and 6.3-8. The game would launch normally and when I'd start a new game - it'd block when the intro movie was supposed to be shown. I waited, tried to skip it, but no dice. I tested with few other GE versions (6.4, 6.15, 6.20) but neither one even launched the game.
At the time of writing this, 6.21 (the hotfix patch) is the newest GE release; that one launched the game and it all works fine.
Some movies (like the initial splash screen) don't play in current proton (6.3-6). If you change to a proton that has mfplat (Microsoft Foundations Platform libraries) enabled, like the latest Proton-GE, they work. But that's not a big deal. Even without the movies, the game is fully playable with no issues.
