OK – So even though it completes the download to ~/.local/… it ends up doing the install to ~/.wine… meaning it makes no difference where the installation files are downloaded. And, I would still have to launch Steam under WINE to play it. Once installed, there’s no difference between your method and what would’ve happened had you allowed Steam under WINE to finish the download.
LGC may want to correct that on their next show because they clearly thought and said that Steam for Linux would try to launch the application using WINE so that simply side-stepping the block on downloading Windows games basically removed all restrictions. But that’s not what happens at all. As you’ve pointed out and was also pointed out by LGC, the main benefit is to be able to run other online games in Steam for Linux while the Windows game finishes downloading.
I have not developed the confidence with any multiplayer games to be interested in actually playing them online yet, and also have plenty of games to spend my time learning, so that the problem you are solving doesn’t exist for me.
I had hoped that even if the game didn’t play under Steam for Linux, it would at least be installed to the correct location for Steam for Linux so that some tweaking could make it run. But I see that’s not the case and there’s no difference between downloading your way or the usual way under WINE.
