VerifiedShow Details
Unknown
-vulkan
Lighting was off in some maps, adding -vulkan fixes it
-vulkan
One crash when starting a new game, it was fixed by adding "-vulkan" to the launch options.
Another crash, or more like a freeze, was in chamber 18 after knocking down the last turret. I don't know what happened, but after reloading the save file that freeze never appeared again and I could keep playing till the end.
-vulkan -novid
Without any tweaks the game will crash during the chamber 0 intro cutscene. the game does not crash in other places and this can be easily fixed by adding -vulkan in the launch options.
Also added -novid to skip the intro video.
Initally unable to start playing the game after the main menu
-vulkan
The game would crash after starting a new game. No major issues, other than slight rare audio issues + no music in credits.
Game launches but crashes after menu without -vulkan, those using SteamDeck=1 launch options might have this as a better alternative.
-vulkan
Played from beginning to end with -vulkan, no issues after that.
-vulkan
With the -vulkan launch option Portal works fine, but without it, the game crashed with the error: "failed to lock index buffer in CMeshDX8::LockIndexBuffer"
The game is a mixed bag sometimes the native version just works fine but then there is an update and the game breaks.
not every menu is usable with a controller
when i load a level i need to enter the pause menu before moving, or the game just crashes :/ this bug was added with the 27.june update...
Deleting save files is not supported in the Steam Deck's variant of the UI used in Portal.
To delete a save file in Portal you'll want to add -nogamepadui to your launch options momentarily to access the desktop version of the UI.
Launch options are required to start the game from the beginning, and are still highly recommended otherwise
-vulkan
Setting the launch options to -vulkan or SteamDeck=1 %command% is required to start the game from the beginning, otherwise the game will crash upon loading the level. If the player loads farther into the game, the game will be playable, however there will be noticable graphical artifacts such as nonessential geometry disappearing and reappearing.
Note that setting the launch options to SteamDeck=1 %command% will remove your ability to delete save files, due to the feature being missing in the Steam Deck's variant of the UI used in Portal. However, SteamDeck=1 %command% -nogamepadui will cause your game to act the same as if there were no launch options at all. This still might be useful since the game still won't act irregularly in the main menu, but instability will still occur in-game.
Set launch options: -vulkan
Game crashes on level load, Proton GE fixes it
SteamDeck=1 %command%
Noticable screen tearing while in fullscreen
Running natively without SteamDeck=1 causes crash on starting new game.
Running the game with steam linux runtime causes the game to crash/freeze when starting a new game. The fix for this issue was to switch to proton experimental and after that the game works like a charm.
SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland %command% -vulkan
Problems typical for a Wayland tiling window manager and a multi-monitor setup with a scaled display.
Using GLIBC_TUNABLES=glibc.rtld.execstack=2 caused visual artifacts in elevators, visual clipping, random stutters, and increased input sensitivity.
SteamDeck=1 %command%
The game is crashing and won't start, but somehow it works if you set the PC to be a Steam Deck in the startup options.
SteamDeck=1 %command%
You need to pretend to the game that your PC is a Steam Deck because it won't work otherwise. It crashes and/or freezes as soon as you get ingame
SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland GLIBC_TUNABLES=glibc.rtld.execstack=2 %command%
I confirm that GLIBC_TUNABLES is needed to run the native version of the game. If using Wayland, then SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland is also recommended, as the game starts up a bit more smoothly with it, otherwise the experience is pretty similar as with Xwayland (and neither has a proper game icon in the taskbar).
The performance is equally good as with Proton, but native version seems to have a bit fancier/nicer graphics (especially reflections), also fonts look MUCH better on native, especially for subtitles. Play native if you can imo. I didn't get any stutters apart from a few small hitches right after loading the game (shader precompiling?). The default graphics settings seem to be set a bit more accurately than with Proton, also there's an option to set on which screen the game should appear.
The report below mine suggested using extra vars to set "mesa" and "zink", but I don't think that's needed or recommended if you don't use Nvidia. On AMD, I prefer using built-in native OpenGL drivers.
SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland GLIBC_TUNABLES=glibc.rtld.execstack=2 __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=mesa MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=zink GALLIUM_DRIVER=zink %command%
Does not launch without the GLIBC_TUNABLES part. All the other stuff is for native wayland.
Switched crouch to B
Had to run the Proton version because the native version wouldn't start. Works fine under proton.
La versión nativa derechamente no funciona; al usar Proton el juego funciona a la perfección.
Al instalar la versión nativa del videojuego este no inicia a pesar de verificar los archivos. En cambio, al usar Proton no hubo ningún problema.
I had to use the proton version because the native linux version did not start
I had to use the proton version because the native linux version did not start
lag and slowness
I had to use the proton version because the native linux version did not start
I had to use the proton version because the native linux version did not start
every now and then it stutters, especially when portals get created
IT FUCKING SUCKS
Download and play
The native version works perfectly well.
Source Engine games tend to run better when forcing the use of Proton. FPS drops are common in the native version.
The font on the main menu and loading screen is replaced with what appears to be Times New Roman.
Lag spikes often happened
Tinkering isn't needed for it but I reccommend it. Lag spikes happened often but it stops after the map is fully loaded!
The First Portal is a cool game/tech demo that was the steping stone for Portal 2 which is the best game that I've played.
It is possible to 100% this Portal on linux.
Native works perfectly
This game is an absolute timeless classic. Masterpiece
Native support and works right out of the box.
Portal works right out of the box because it has native support. In a worse scenario, you can run the Windows version with Proton or Wine, but I haven't dealt with that issue.
