Google and Valve translated Steam delivery service for the Chrome OS platform to the beta stage -testing. The beta-release of Steam has already been proposed in the Chrome OS 108.0.5359.24 test assemblies (turns on through Chrome: // Flags#Enable-Borealis). The possibility of using Steam and the game applications offered in it is available for Chromebook production, ASUS, HP , Framework, IDEAPAD and LENOVO, equipped with at least CPU Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 and 8GB RAM (I5 / Ryzen 5 and 16GB RAM). Compared to previously proposed alpha releases in beta version, the number of supported ChromeBook is three times increased, the interface is simplified, productivity increased and improved compatibility with games (in List of proven games added 50 new games).
Supported the launch of games supplied for both Linux and Windows. When choosing a game, an attempt to launch Linux assembly of the game is primarily made, but if there is no Linux version, you can also install a Windows version, for the launch of which a layer of Proton, based on Wine, DXVK and VKD3D, will be used. Games are launched in a separate virtual machine with Linux-rising, the implementation of which is based on the subsystem croosvm , croosvm , Using KVM hypervisor.
Separate containers with programs (used by LXC) are launched inside the basic virtual machine, which can be installed as ordinary applications for Chrome OS. The installed Linux applications are launched by analogy with the Android applications in the Chrome OS with the display of the icons in the application panels. For the functioning of graphic applications, CROSVM provides built-in support for Wayland clients (Virtio-Wayland) with the main host of the composite server on the side of the main host of Sommelier . Supported both the launch of applications based on Wayland and ordinary X-programs (the XWayland layer is used).
The main changes in beta-proof:
- Added support for devices based on the CPU AMD Ryzen 5000 C and 12 generations of Intel Gen Core, the minimum requirements are reduced to CPU Intel Core i3 and AMD Ryzen 3.
- Added specific for different optimization and settings games.
- The consumption of disk space is reduced by changing the format of the cache of the shadeers. The preservation of the cache of the shaders between sessions is ensured.
- Added initial support DirectX 12.
- Added support Vulkan 1.3.
- The load on the processor in games using graphic API DirectX and Vulkan.
- Reduced control for the placement of games loaded from Steam. Previously, the place was allocated depending on the size of the installation files and did not take into account the contents that could be loaded directly from the game. Now an additional place can be distinguished dynamically.
- Optimization of scaling and drawing operations using GPU. Increased productivity in scaling the output for screens with very high resolution (QHD and UHD).