Exciting update from my side. It seems this community project has been quite successful so far. After checking with Ubuntu Budgie team members and friends, I had some very nice input on how to really make Ubuntu Budgie a gamer friendly distribution, with even more gaming related tools and clients. Many thanks to @GrindamN and Matt from Destination Linux Network.
@HellBringer419 @fossfreedom @bashfulrobot @GrindamN Please share your thoughts on the items below. I have been doing some digging around and see which ones are available for Ubuntu. Sharing my findings below here.
Game Clients:
-Heroic Game Launcher (Native Linux Epic Games Store Launcher)
https://github.com/Heroic-Games-Launcher/HeroicGamesLauncher
There is a .deb available for download, a debian apt repository, and a ppa. many options to choose here: https://github.com/Heroic-Games-Launcher/HeroicGamesLauncher#installation
-MiniGalaxy (Native GOG game Launcher)
https://sharkwouter.github.io/minigalaxy/
Available on ubuntu repositories: sudo apt install minigalaxy
Current version from ubuntu repositories is version 1.0.2-1 . There is also a debian package on github releases, which seems to be more up-to-date, version 1.1.0 . https://github.com/sharkwouter/minigalaxy/releases
Gaming Tools:
-GOverlay/Mangohud (think Linux version of FRAPS)
https://github.com/benjamimgois/goverlay
available on ubuntu repos sudo apt install goverlay
There is also a ppa created by Martin Wimpress that has up-to-date versions:
https://launchpad.net/~flexiondotorg/+archive/ubuntu/mangohud
-CoreCTL (harware Controller via Profiles)
https://gitlab.com/corectrl/corectrl
Available on this ppa https://launchpad.net/~ernstp/+archive/ubuntu/mesarcand then sudo apt install corectl
NOTE: This ppa also has updated mesa and other software that might be great for gaming but introduce instability. can we add extra warning?
-GreenwithEnvy (Tweak your Nvidia GPU)
Available via flathub. More info here. Better investigate if works well on laptops with nvidia-prime or only good for desktops with single disgrete GPU.https://gitlab.com/leinardi/gwe
-Piper (configure controller and mice)
available on ubuntu repos: sudo apt install ratbagd piper
There is also a ppa with daily builds for up-to-date features and devices: https://launchpad.net/~libratbag-piper/+archive/ubuntu/piper-libratbag-git
-Discord
Available via snap. recommend edge channel because when discord detects an update, it forces the client to update, and if cannot update. Discord won’t even launch. stable release of the snap might be a few days behind, which can make for a poor experience.
-Oversteer (configure gaming steering wheels)
https://github.com/berarma/oversteer It appears this one is packaged only for arch and gentoo. I could not find a debian/ubuntu repo with this software.
-OBS Studio (Streaming and screenrecording)
available both as snap, packaged with many plugins, or in ubuntu repositories. Either snap install obs-studio or sudo apt install obs-studio obs-plugins