cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/227964
There used to be a time when Linux gaming was a tricky affair, filled with trial and error, obscure fixes, and things randomly breaking. Many gamers used to avoid gaming on the platform due to those issues.
Now? Things have changed dramatically. Tools like Wine, Proton, DXVK, etc. have taken Linux gaming to another level. Bottles is one of those handy tools helping make the experience that much easier for gamers.
Sadly, the project has hit a funding roadblock.
Hard Work Deserves Appreciation
The lead developer behind Bottles, Mirko Brombin, recently shared an update on the project’s current state. He points out that, while Bottles has sponsorships from companies like Linode, JetBrains, and Hyperbit, they are still facing funding shortages that make sustained development difficult.
Despite having over 3 million downloads on Flathub, the project receives only about €100 per month in donations, an amount easily overshadowed by the server costs alone.
That sounds concerning. 🫤
Mirko also brought attention to Bottles Next, a complete rewrite of the app designed to modernize the codebase and improve performance. He said that they are still working on it, and while it’s due sometime in the future, continued support from Bottles users will help the team focus on development and deliver a better product faster.
He further added:
I am actively working to find sponsorships, I am in contact with a possible funding that could allow us to accelerate development, to pay a small bonus to those working on Next, to give some breathing room to those who are contributing. But here too, it takes time. And that’s precisely why today I feel the need to speak openly.
We don’t want to make Wikipedia-style appeals, with the usual “just one euro each.” But it’s right that those who love Bottles know how things really are. If you want to see Next grow, if you want to see Bottles finally become what it’s meant to be, we invite you to consider supporting us. Even just a symbolic donation, even just a monthly subscription, if done by many, can become what we need to take the next step.
If you use Bottles and want to see it grow, even a small donation helps more than you might think. Supporting the project now means faster updates and a better experience down the line.
Suggested Read 📖
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Why not just use the Linux version directly?
The Linux native version does not work for me on Arch Linux. Maybe it’s a Wayland thing or something, I don’t really know, but it doesn’t work out of the box and I don’t even know where to begin troubleshooting it.
Not really your task, though. You are a paying customer and the developer needs to accommodate you, not the other way around. Easiest way should be that the developer provides a Flatpak version.
Linux doesn’t have a stable target to develop against, unless you happen to distribute your software via Steam and their Linux Runtime fits your needs.
Its easy to blame the developers, but its less easy to support a piece of software long term in a platform that is having a years long debate about which display protocol to use and if a program should be able to know the window position or not.
Which is why I prefer libre software anyway, somebody will fix it.
That’s an often repeated lie. https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/available-runtimes.html
Most flatpak runtimes only have 2 years or support, or in the case of the GNOME runtime 1 year lol.
So yeah you have a “stable” target for a few years at most, then the new runtime comes, breaks something and the project ends up using an EOL runtime, like OBS or more recently prusa slicer.
Nobody is forced to use Flatpaks. Which is great, because they suck.
Your personal bias against Flatpak is irrelevant to the lie that no stable development target exists.
It exists. That’s a fact, whether you like it or not doesn’t matter.
There’s no “Linux” stable environment. Flatpaks are third party.
That’s fundamentally different than developing for macOS or Windows.
I don’t care if you love Flatpaks, that’s your problem.
Sure, that’s great in theory, but the program is old and I’m not gonna contact the dev to fix up a more permanent version for a €15 software I got plenty of value out of on windows.
The point of me bringing this up was to say bottles didn’t work for this program and it was just working on windows 10/11 without issue.