Universal Sandbox 2 v32.2 for Linux no longer supported.

[GreyGeek]

I last ran Universe Sandbox^2 on April 5, 2023. When I tried to run it again a couple days ago I got the error msg "Invalid Platform" and couldn't run it, either on line or locally.
I posted a review asking what happened. Here is their response::

bshapiroalbert [developer] Posted: Jul 26 @ 3:49pm Update 32.3, was our last with a native Linux version of Universe Sandbox. Future Linux versions of Universe Sandbox on Steam will be powered by Valve’s Proton, software built into Steam that allows Windows games to run on Linux.

We know this may be disappointing, but after internal testing and user feedback, we have found that playing Universe Sandbox through Proton on Linux machines provides a better overall experience.

Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the Steam platform, we can no longer provide access to older native Linux versions. If you need access to the last Linux native version (Update 32.3), please contact us.

You can read more about our decision on our blog
https://universesandbox.com/blog/2023/07/future-of-universe-sandbox-on-linux/

We are actively working with Valve to update the launch settings so that Universe Sandbox will automatically launch on Linux through Proton in the future.

If you are not aware of what Proton is then you can read about it here.

On my Steam account I was not given a link that allowed me to install Proton and move on to the latest version of US^2.
I suspect that if I even if ask them for access to the 32.2 version and get it that I will not be able to update patches and subsequent user contributed models.

If you want to move on to Proton you can learn how here.

[claydoh]

On my Steam account I was not given a link that allowed me to install Proton

Proton is included with Steam out of the box.

What you will need to do to replace to the native Windows version is go into your game's properties >> Compatibility, and check the box.
Here is one of my games installed as a native Linux port:


After that, you will see a dropdown, where you can even select a specific version.
You can see that I also have third-party customized versions of Proton installed, You can ignore those, I need to clear out some of them lol.




This will cause Steam to re-download the game, using the latest version.

What I can't safely attest to is what happens with your existing game data.
I am almost positive that I did convert one game, Metro Exodus, from its native game port to use Proton, but it has been so long and I have played it enough from scratch that I can't tell for sure . I may have reinstalled the game at some point as well, so I may be wrong.

I am going to guess that the games' devs would have info on what files/dirs to save, and where to put them afterwards, if this is necessary.
I am switching my Deus Ex game to the windows version to see what happens. The games and game data are usually separate.
I will report back later.

There are a fair number of games with native Linux versions or ports that are reported to work better in Proton than natively.

**LATER**
Ok, this one specific game did not lose any saved games - they are still there, with thumbnails, but the game won't load any of them, not even new ones past video intro content. So it isn't the saved content.

[GreyGeek]

Ya, I forgot to add that bit to my post. In my case I had to right mouse on the US^2 icon and choose properties. From there I clicked on the penguin icon and it deactivated and caused the INSTALL button to appear. The install was faultless and US^2 played smoothly.

That was the last application I had to install to bring my Debian Bookworm up to what I had running on Kubuntu.

[Schwarzer Kater]

Time for cake!

[oldgeek]

Thanks for the information. I also had the same problem and I tried the same thing but it wouldn't initialize, due to a graphics card problem, I suppose (4 GB Nvidia GT 730 using the Linux 470 driver). I'll probably have to get in touch with them to see what's wrong.

[GreyGeek]

My GPU is the Intel Iris Xe. It has 2GB of dedicated RAM but borrows more from the system RAM if it needs it. Running the Linux version of US^2 I'd always get a warning about the GPU not being powerful enough, but US^2 always ran smoothing. Under Proton (which is also a WINE app) I don't get a warning and US^2 runs smoothly as well.

[oldgeek]

My US ran smoothly until recently, and I suppose that's when they dropped Linux support. I went to Properties and chose Compatibility, where a menu for Proton versions popped up. I didn't see any penguin icon, though. I chose version 8.0-3 and it started downloading some files, and when it was over I tried the new version and got the error message (couldn't start Graphics Engine). So here I am. I haven't been able to get any help from Steam, they sent me to the makers of the game, but clicking on the customer support site does nothing.

[oldgeek]

Just in case anyone reads this, I wrote to Universe Sandbox Support and they suggested that I use Proton 7.0-6, as my driver does not support the Vulkan version in 8.0-3. I tried that, and it worked fine.