Different branches and different versions. Sometimes there are regressions between new versions. Sometimes the fixes are pushed in certain branches and not others. They are generally provided for stability and compatibilities sake. If you find a version that works for your particular game. You should be able to keep it around and run your game safe and stable unless something on the game gets updated. But outside that you should probably try to run with whatever the latest stable is.
Just to add to this a bit with some visual context, you can visit proton’s github page and look at their releases to see the improvements valve has made to each version.
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/releases
This can help put what Eldritch said into practice.
If you are having issues playing a game you can visit https://www.protondb.com/ and search for your game. Here you will be able to find what versions of proton others are using. Look for people with similar setups and match the version of proton that works for them.
Thanks for this!
But what about Experimental? Is it just a beta of some other release?
It’s basically Valve’s testing center for an eventual stable release. Not everything makes it in to stable, but a lot does. Valve also works very closely with CrossOver (who develops WINE, which Proton is based on).
EDIT: CrossOver is the product that Codeweavers produce. That is essentially the proprietary upstream of WINE. That code trickles down to the open source WINE and Proton projects.
Thank you for this! I had JUST been wondering about the distinct differences. Really good timing.
Yeah as someone new to Linux gaming this filled in some key blanks for me.
It’s nice to see an article that’s informative and brief!
