UnknownUnknown
Playing the game in fullscreen only really works with a 4:3 resolution (e.g. 1440×1080), as using a 16:9 resolution on a 16:9 screen will result in parts of the image being cut off at the top and bottom. Considering its age, I neither consider this a game nor a Proton issue.
The game not detecting the controller is not really the game's fault. It's from 1999, and the controller is designed for an Xbox One.
Do note that most menus, especially the main menu and station menus, can only be navigated with the keyboard (i.e. arrow keys, enter, and escape) or a suitable joystick.
Game performs poorly when aliens' avatars are shown and animated. Dropping to below 30 FPS is not uncommon.
%command% & sh -c 'until xdotool windowactivete $(xdotool search "X - Beyond the Frontier"); do sleep 1; done; xdotool key RETURN'
Works great out of the box
For the settings menu, mouse controls didn't work, but the keyboard works fine. Just use Tab, Space, Arrow Keys, and Enter to navigate and change options.
Absolutely unplayable
Test pattern where I think you're supposed to see the person you're talking to
Fullscreen is glitchy, sometimes locks up on alt-tab, only a 4:3 aspect ratio really works (probably not a Proton issue given the age of the game)
Menus are painfully difficult to interact with. Keyboard works, but badly. If you forget for a moment and try to use the mouse, you'll probably make the game lock up - this is something that happens whenever you look at it funny. Joystick is detected in the game settings, but doesn't respond in any way.
PROTON_DXVK_ASYNC=0 PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 DXVK_FEATURE_LEVEL=9_3 PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 WINEDLLOVERRIDES="msvcr80=b,builtin" PROTON_NO_D3D11=1 %command% & sleep 6; xdotool key RETURN
I was facing an error during startup of the game which stated "Error opening video. Check your display settings! Further Information can be found in the manual or readme.txt". After some troubleshooting, I discovered that the error was caused by the game's resolution output. To resolve this issue, I forced the game's resolution to be 1024x768, which allowed the game to bypass the error and start successfully.
As the game was originally designed for keyboard and mouse, my controller was not functioning while playing. However, I was able to download a controller template created by the community and successfully configure my controller to work with the game.
Note that this game is quite old and uses DirectX 9.0c, so compatibility is important for it to run properly. Attempting to launch the game without any modifications will result in the Steam logo spinning continuously and the game failing to start. To fix this, you will need to add the following launch option: "%command% & sleep 6; xdotool key RETURN". Once this issue is resolved, you may encounter a "Error opening video. Check your display settings! Further Information can be found in the manual or readme.txt" message. To address this, you must force the game resolution to 1024x768. Additionally, the game was originally designed to be played using a keyboard and mouse, so using a controller may require some tinkering. In my case, I had to download a community-provided controller template to map the keyboard and mouse buttons to the controller. It's worth noting that the graphics in this game are from a previous era and not as advanced as today's AAA games.
In Game Mode, it will get stuck at the spinning Steam logo. In Desktop Mode, you will at least get to the launcher, but upon starting the game you'll get a black screen. Hovering over the game icon in the panel it will show an error message:
"Error opening video. Check your display settings! Further information can be found in the manual or readme.txt!"
Since it works with zero tinkering on my desktop PC (also a Ryzen CPU but Nvidia graphics) I believe it a Steam Deck specific issue, maybe concerning the APU and or drivers.
Just testing the game, not really playing it, there are no issues at all. Music and sound also plays correclty.
To make 32-bit textures work:
- at start game press F11 then options menu appear
- select by TAB/DOWN keys textures "5: 32 bit ..." + mode 1280x1024x32 (4:3 aspect) + multitexture + gamma=0 and then save options
- exit game
- start game with new textures
Crashes during communcating pilot video showing
Textures overbright and need to set gamma to 0 so game picture became dark.
Played GOG version with Proton 6.3-8 and graphics tinkering.
Finally the sound(music, speech) is working
And tabbing is possible now :)
Won't get past clicking the Steam's Play button.
Once the Steam "Play" button gets clicked, the "Preparing to Launch" Steam pop-up shows up and disappears so fast you won't be able to read it.
I tried a custom Proton-6.4GE-1 that has reported a success before. I also tried all Proton versions going backwards to latest Proton 4. Neither of them work.
I'm using Pop_OS! 20.10. The GPU is AMD Radeon HD 8870M. Adding this information as the generated one from Steam's System Info is not very accurate.
Proton 6.4 GE
Widescreen resolutions get cropped, but it didn't affect me too much on 16:10
Sometimes freezes when it plays a video (docking, talking)
Playable but not a fun time trying to use any UI.
Couldn't click on option dialog menus, had to use tab/arrow key to navigate and space to toggle tick boxes.
Without speech and music, I feel like the game experience is degraded beyond the point of being easily enjoyed.
Music and speech completely missing. Intro silent.. However, unlike other people who have tried this game, sound effects appear to be working perfectly for me.
This game only supports 4:3 aspect ratio but will try to launch in widescreen if available, leading to the top and bottom of the screen being cropped. However, this is a known issue that also applies in Windows.
Dont use ALT+TAB or you will get a black screen while the game still plays on.. Just FX, no music nor voices. Therefore.. unplayable. Anything else works fine, flying, graphics without issues, docking, etc.
Unknown(< 1 hour with Proton)No voice or music, wintricks solution from forum or running with lsi dosnt work. No voice renders game unplayable for me.
Unknown(< 1 hour with Proton)
No voices or music. Problem could not be solved with Proton+Winetricks.
UnknownOptions Menu sometimes need alt-tab and should run with 4:3 resolution
UnknownUnknownOptions might need an alt+tab to get focus (click on it wont work)
Unknown
