GE-Proton 8-25 released, should fix a bunch of early 2000s games

First, I want to thank you for pointing out that FlatPaks and AppImages are a thing. Thank you.

I have no problem doing tinkering. None. I just need *documentation* on how to go about the tinkering.

(Seriously, the days where I'd spend months soaking up lots of documentation are as gone as when knowing how to post to a moderated newsgroup with no moderator was needed.)

... My big question after this, that I'm not certain of: Am I correct in thinking that just like snaps auto-update, App images do not (unless you add another package), and flat paks ... ???

Quoting: KeyBounce... My big question after this, that I'm not certain of: Am I correct in thinking that just like snaps auto-update, App images do not (unless you add another package), and flat paks ... ???

I think this is the most up-to-date video on the differences. The long story short is that snaps generally auto-updates (but they're working on making that not mandatory anymore I think), flatpak integrates well with GUI auto-updater but by default it doesn't auto-update (though it's easy to just have `flatpak upgrade -y` in crontab or systemd service to do so), and for AppImages you need a manager app like Gear Lever. I'd personally recommend Bauh which can install and manage all of Flatpak, Snaps, AppImage, and native packages (including AUR on Arch) altogether, though.

For Steam Flatpak, the main reading material would be this: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2615011323. For GUI apps, Flatpak is the generally favored solution as it integrates better with Portals and stuff, so permissions are generally more correct and can be more tweakable with Flatpak. Snaps is a more of "either it works correctly, or there's nothing you can do about it." Also, apps like Bottles generally favors and only tests for Flatpak.

For general documentation, I've found that https://itsfoss.com/, https://www.debugpoint.com/, and https://www.linuxuprising.com/ (as well as OMG Ubuntu if you're on *buntu I guess) are good for discovering news and new stuff, along with The Linux Experiment, Brodie Robertson, and This Week In Linux for videos. Of course, if you want something more specific, you'd usually go to Arch Wiki, with a side helping of maybe Gentoo Wiki, system76 documentation, and your own distro's documentation (although it's the fastest to just hop on to Discord).

Lastly, as a backup, there's always Distrobox or Conty that'd allow you access to AUR and stuff. And once you're more experienced (I'd say, if you're comfortable with manually installing AUR stuff instead of using a helper), you can hop on the Nix train and use Fleek to get started with Nix + Home-Manager which is very powerful (you can even manage Flatpak with it).


Last edited by fenglengshun on 26 November 2023 at 12:56 am UTC

Nothing wrong with third party solutions, especially if they make things easier for you.

I use AppImageLauncher. It integrates the AppImage file into the main menu, prompts to move the file to a default folder (Applications, but it can be changed) and I think it can even monitor for updates as well.

Quoting: dziadulewiczyou have to setup the system to handle AppImages, after that downloading each AppImage package one has to chmod it too for running.

Every distro I've used has needed no configuring beyond setting the file as executable. Some do this by default.

No need to CLI, most GUI file managers allow you to right click and set the file to executable via Properties these days.

Quoting: neolithI am going to play Crimson Skies again! On the Steam Deck - woohoo!

Well... apparently I am not going to do that - I cannot get the darn thing to run at all.
Just using Wine I am getting to the main menu, music is playing and I am getting what I have to assume is a missing texture replacement. When using any version of Proton the game won't even start.

Has anyone tried and had any more success of running Crimson Skies?

Quoting: neolithWell... apparently I am not going to do that - I cannot get the darn thing to run at all.
Just using Wine I am getting to the main menu, music is playing and I am getting what I have to assume is a missing texture replacement. When using any version of Proton the game won't even start.

Has anyone tried and had any more success of running Crimson Skies?

I'm getting the same behavior (intros play, music, but a white screen) using standard Wine 8.20.

I can get it to run using Proton 7 but I run Proton outside Steam without any containers so it uses my system libraries., otherwise I think it might choke on the intro videos and fail to launch? I'm not sure how non-Steam games work with the video conversion stuff.

The blank screen in the menu might be a Wine regression. I'll see if I can figure it out.

Quoting: neolithHas anyone tried and had any more success of running Crimson Skies?

It is indeed a regression. It's fixed in the upcoming Wine 8.22 release.

This is the fix in case you want to poke GE about it.

Unfortunately the game have other issues, it crashes after missions.

Quoting: whizseI'm getting the same behavior (intros play, music, but a white screen) using standard Wine 8.20.

I can get it to run using Proton 7 but I run Proton outside Steam without any containers so it uses my system libraries., otherwise I think it might choke on the intro videos and fail to launch? I'm not sure how non-Steam games work with the video conversion stuff.

The blank screen in the menu might be a Wine regression. I'll see if I can figure it out.

[...]

It is indeed a regression. It's fixed in the upcoming Wine 8.22 release.

This is the fix in case you want to poke GE about it.

Unfortunately the game have other issues, it crashes after missions.

Thanks for the info!

I forgot to add that I am not using the Steam version, I installed from disc. Maybe I am missing an update due to that, so I'll have to take a look and maybe tinker a bit more.

The crashes are a bummer though.