ian.pickworth
Published
I started on the current Proton-8 version, and this played perfectly (including the Anti Cheat). I thought I'd give GE version 9 a go, and the game played with that without issue as well.
Installs and plays with latest Proton
I found that the display flashed a lot when the graphics setttings were on high. Reducing the settings (Quality and Anti Aliasing) to as low as available mostly solved the flashing. It was still quite annoying when displaying the map of the Greece coastline area.
After playing for a while, the game would show a black display, followed by a "Fatal Error" pop-up when transitioning from one area to another (e.g. from a cellar to the outside world). The "workaround" was to save the game and exit to desktop whenever a transition was about to be made. Often, restarting after such a save and exit would show the black screen followed by "Fatal error" pop-up. I feel it is highly likely that this is an issue with te game, rather than Proton.
On occasion, the "interaction" button stopped working (so "A" on my xbox controller clone). This is not a controller issue, the mapped keyboard key ('F' I think) did not work either, and all other motion and attack controls were working. "Fix" is to save and exit, and then restart. Seems like a game bug.
Besides the issues I listed, this game plays very well. The issues don't get in the way of enjoyment, especially if you remember to save and exit whenever leaving and area - then all your progress is safe when you restart.
Installs and plays fine, just need to get controller configured
As others have reported, after starting the game, you have to use a mouse to set up a controller before it is recognised. Create a profile, go to Options->Cutomise Controls and click on controller. Then use the mouse to click the arrow unit (XBox 360 for windows) shows up. Click on Back to leave the options screen. At that point a few pushes on the controller d-pad, and the controller is recognized.
Using the Steam overlay, and Steam input options, the game starts fine, and after controller is set in options, it pays fine with my Stadia controller (which behaves like an XBox 360 clone).
Steam overlay is needed to exit the game (it has no "Exit game option"). To leave, just bring up the Steam overlay, and select the End Game option.
Installs and plays without and issues
Smooth gameplay, works great on linux with latest Proton.
Plays great out the box, stuttering when entering a new area
As others have noted, the game stutters and occasionally freezes for a short time when new areas are entered. The cause appears to be the pre-caching, which causes heavy disk usage. My solution was just to wait until the disk light stopped flashing before proceeding.
The only issue is the occasional stuttering and freezing that others have noted. Solution is simple - just wait a bit until it's smooth again. Never happened to me in a fight, although you need to be careful in intermediate areas where you can fall off.
Out of the box install and play
Installs and plays exactly as expected. No issues. The game does not have an off-line option. Since I wanted to play off-line, I found that installing a mod caused the software to go offline when the game starts.
Installs and plays out of the box
Steam Cloud saves are not supported. Gameplay is smooth and flawless. Can't fault it.
Install and plays perfectly
To the question "Would a typical gamer enjoy playing this game" - well... it's Dark Souls, so if you like having your ass handed to you on a regular basis - then yes :-)
The game installer will try and install Microsotf DirectX components - it will either fail, or say it's works - but it hasn't. When starting the game, the menu screens look like a bad Jackson Pollock copy.
The solution is to use winetricks (or protontricks) to install the following Microsoft components: d3dx9 d3dcompiler_42 d3dcompiler_43 d3dcompiler_46 d3dcompiler_47 (you may need to dereference a Proton prefix to allow the installsto work).
After that, the menu screens display correctly.
During cutscenes, for me any music did not play. The speech was all fine, and all audion in gameplay was fine - just the in the cutscenes no music.
The game says it uses Steam websync, but the game is configured incorrectly. The Path configured for save files is '%WinMyDocuments%/My Games/Darksiders' but the path the game uses is '%WinMyDocuments%/My Games/Darksiders/{Steam3AccountID}/' This means that the save files do not make it to the Steam cloud, so you may wish to make local backups.
Having fixed the DirectX menu issue, the game crashed when I started a new game. The problem is that my 16 core CPU is too much for this software. The environment variable "WINE_CPU_TOPOLOGY=2:0,1" solves this problem - by limiting the number of cores it uses to 2. I experimented up to 14, and got a hard fail with 15 cores. So, it looks like limiing it to 14 cores will be OK, but as far as I could see it doesn't need more than 2.
As outlined above, tinkering is needed to get this game running. DIrectX components via winetricks/protontricks, and limiting the number of cores the game uses via an environment variable setting. In addition - the game save files are not copied to the Steam cloud, since they are in the wrong place. For me, cutscenes had no music audio - but voice audio was fine. In gameplay audio is perfect.
With that said, the game plays very well, with no issues that get in the way of enjoying it once the initial tinkering is done.
Installs and plays out of the box
I found two issues, which I believe are not Linux specific:
If you deal a very large amount of damage (end game build for example) the game crashes if damage number display is set on. The solution is to set it off in the hgame options.
On NG+, I reached level 30 during the cutscene in the Crystal Spire (just before earth mission starts). The game crashed when the cutscene ended. The only "solution" I found was to go and farm myself to level 30 elsewhere, and then return.
Enjoyable game, plays very well. The issues I noted have been discussed online, and are not specific to the Linux version. In that sense, it plays just as it does under windows.
Installs and plays out of the box
Just used the latest Proton (9-2 at time of writiing). My Stadia controller was recognised and functions perfectly.
Windows version installs and plays flawlessly
As a rule, I prefer playing the Windows version of a game using Proton, rather than the Linux native version if there is one. For this game, the windows version plays without any issue.
Install and Play - no problems
On the first click of the play button the Steam client works away at installing several MS components, and then the Larian Launcher appears. I skipped the login request, and started the game. Using mouse and keyboard the game works as expected, no issues. Using default graphics settings.
Installs and plays fine - with occasional controller recogognition problem
The audio was VERY soft. Couldn't find a way to solve this.
During cut scenes, there was a lot of flashing, as in going dark and then bright again. This was reduced if I lowered the graphics settings.
This seemed to be down to using the Steam input overlay. Disabling that allowed the controller to be recognised.
The use of the EA launcher truley adds nothing, and on occasion it would not start properly, and hence just hang there. Restarting and retrying usually got things going.
Also as a result of the EA launcher, Steam web sync for savefile is not available. Saves to the EA network 'may' work, but no way of knowing, so annoying.
When launched, the game displayed a window stating that the anti cheat software could not be run. This was a hard stop - no way of ignoring it. Since I do not wish to play online, the following changes fixed it (in the main game directory - where the exe's are): Rename start_protected_game.exe to start_protected_game.exe.bak Rename eldenring.exe to start_protected_game.exe After that, the game started, and complained that irregularities had been discovered, so started in off-line mode. I then changed the system option to start in off-line mode, and the complaint went away.
I have no fix for playing online - if that is your thing this fix will not work for you.
Need to change .exe names to get it to stat. Otherwise flawless off-line gameplay.
As others have reported, audio does not work out of the box, in that the intro sounds work, but in game sound doesn't. Fixed with this launch option: WINEDLLOVERRIDES="xaudio2_7=n,b" %command%
Occasionally the game would freeze up, requiring a restart. Seemed to be linked to the length of time played (more likely the longer played - smells like a memory leak).
Annoying little problem: when you get an achievement, the little pop up showing the achievement covers the health bars, and never goes away. Only way I found to make it go is to completely exit the game, and restart.
I played through the whole main story, and the two DLC additions - really enjoyed it. Small annoyances mentioned - but easily got around. Gameplay was smooth and predictable at all times. I still got my ass handed to me on a regular basis but that is my problem, not the games :-)
Game works as intended, no issues
with Steam Input enabled, the game did not recognise any of my controllers. I disabled Steam Input, and the controller was then recognised, and functioned correctly.
The game played perfectly, I saw no performance issues at all.
Installs and runs on Proton without any issues
I wanted to use the Windows (Proton) version, since I wanted to use WeMod with the game. Both worked flawlessly.
Install and play - just works
I have done one complete play through. The framrate was steady at 60 FPS throughout. I experienced no stuttering, or any form of odd behaviour. The game did not crash once. Got a strong "Dark Souls" vibe while playing - very enjoyable.
Out of the box install and play
Installs and plays exactly as expected. No issues. Using Steam Input, my bluetooth connected Stadia controller was recognised, with buttons mapped correctly.
Using mangohud with this game causes severe graphical degregation, in the form of lots of white dots appearing whenever things move. It makes it unplayable.
Not starting mangohud yields a perfectly playable experience.
My graphics card is at the very lower end of the minimum requirements for the game, I am assuming that is what causes the issue with mangohud.
When using mangohud as described elsewhere. Just startting game with no tinkering yields good graphics.
My experience is with the latest patched game at this point - i.e. 1.5 It is perfectly playable with no tinkering on my hardware.
Just install and run - works with no further tweaks
XFCE4 panels would sometimes remain visible after game went fullscreen
Installs and plays out of the box
Using the current stable Proton which is 8.0-2 at time of report. Game installed OK, and ran without any tinkering. Using Steam Overlay, game recognised my Stadia controller as an X-Box clone correctly. Gameplay is smooth and responsive, no stuttering or pauses.
The Proton version I used was Proton 7.0-4 (newsest at time of report) Works as expected without any tinkering. Besides having to choose a suitable resolution everything "just works".
Runs out of the box - with Steam Input disabled. No problems.
My XBOX One controller was not recognised to start with. I disabled Steam Input, and that fixed the problem - controller recognised.
Works out the box on latest Proton
Game installs and plays without issue. I noticed that it struggled to keep 60FPS, but based on other forums, this is not a Linux issue - and my hardware is not very powerful.
I had to go into the controller settings menu to get the correct button mapping for my Stadia controller. I guess I'm lucky that there was one mapping that matched xbox controller buttons (dafault was for Nintendo I think)
Videos. Whether they play is hit or miss. The ones that do not play ever are when I end a mission, and am possessed by someones spirit. Also, no tutorial video will play. Otherwise - hit or miss, but mostly the game is playable so far without the cut scense, since you can go and read a summary in the hut menu.
The main issue here is video playback. Other reports mention it as well. Given it is probably a codec/software issue - It would be nice if we could work out what is needed to make the videos play (aside, I've even seen this mentioned on Windows forums).
GAme installs and runs without any issues on latest Proton
This is an update on my previous report. With a new, clean prefix (/compatdata/1325200/pfx) all of the videos play correctly, including the first boss in the Tendu's Disciple DLC.
The video playback issue I reported previously was due to the installation of dotnet48 in the game prefix. I used this to allow WeMod to run - but having it present caused the video playback issue.
I was not able to determine what in dotnet48 caused the video playback issues. If you wish to use WeMod (or similar mod engine) with the game, I fund a workaround for the Tendu's Disciple boss fight : Progress up to the rest before the boss with WeMod. After saving, delete the prefix, and start the game - which creates a clean prefix. Proceed until after the boss cutscene. If you die after that, the game does not replay the boss video, so you can re-install WeMod and proceed to finish the game.
Installs and runs on Proton-9
I used the Windows version of the game because I wanted to use WeMod with it. All installs fine on Proton-9 (beta at time of writing). WeMod table is out of date, so only a few "cheats" work, but that is not a Proton issue. Overall gameplay was flawless, no stuttering, hitches or other annoyances.
Install and play with no issues
It just works. No problems at all.
I played through with some mods from Nexus, the following is what I did, may help someone who wishes to do the same:
Download the Sekiro Mod engine from Nexus.
Create a folder called mods (lower case) in the Sekiro game folder
Copy the files dinput8.dll and modengine.ini from the download into the Sekiro game folder.
Edit modengine.ini and change the line that contains \mods to /mods (i.e. change Windows file seperator to Linux flie seperator).
Finally, place the following in the game Launch Options:
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="dinput8=n,b" %command%
When you download a mod for Sekiro, they are usually distributed with the correct structure starting from the mods folder.
e.g. param->gameparam->gameparam.parambnd.dcx
In this case, copy the structure from param into your mods folder. When the game starts, the mod should be active.
With no startup parameters, the game starts, and gets to the screen asking to accept the trial terms. At that point, it will not accept any inputs (keyboard, mouse or controller - nothing responds).
I then tried PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 %command% The game started, and I could get into gameplay, but it was VERY jerky, frequent stops and lip sync was very bad.
Next try was PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 %command% Seemed OK until I started gameplay, at which point all I got was a blank screen. All the "text" type displays, and splash screens were visible, just nothing for game images.
Next try was VK_ICD_FILENAMES="/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/radeon_icd.x86_64.json" %command% (from one of the posts here - the path and filename will vary on your distro). This looked very promising, in that all the graphics were fast and smooth, but the game crashed as soon as it got into the main game play sequence.
Finally, this worked: VK_ICD_FILENAMES="/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/radeon_icd.x86_64.json" PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 %command% Intro scenes were smooth, no lags. Game play was OK, with occasional hiccups at save points. I set graphics to lowest, didn't stop lags. It's playable, but not ideal.
My Vulkan installation is at version 1.1.106
Recognition of the xbox 360 controller was sporadic, with the game giving keyboard suggestions until I pressed a gamepad key, at which point they changed. But reverted back to keyboard again soon after. I set the Steam controller option to off.
Installs and plays out of the box
The game is resource intensive. I noticed my fans working hard, and temperatures on GPU and CPU were in the 60-70C range. Framerates dropped off 60FPS quite regularly - the in game setting to limit them to 30FPS had no effect. However, gameplay was not effected, it played well.
Install and play - perfect
I just selected the latest Proton version, clicked install, and then clicked play. No problems at all, and gameplay and graphics better than I remember from when last I played this (but that was on a PS3!).
Installs and plays out of the box
I did two play throughs for 100% achievement, and the game did not glitch or stutter once.
Using wemod-launcher, which installs WeMod and uses winetricks to adjust the environments and install dotnet 4.8. See https://github.com/DaniAsh551/wemod-launcher for full instructions.
I thought I'd put in a report to show that the game works with WeMod, since it is somewhat difficult, and more people may enjoy it with a little "help" :-)
The game works fine with just the latest Proton as well, if you like suffering.
Installs and plays well out of the box
The audio would occasionally stutter. This seemed more prevalent during the early game. It was not bad enough to degrade the experience.
Besides the occasional audio stuttering, this game played really well using the latest Proton 9.
Plays out the box with Proton 8.0-2
After clicking play, I was presented with the CD Project Red launcher, which offerd a choice between DirectX 11 or 12. I have played with both, and on my hardware cannot see any difference between them. Game starts from the launcher and plays perfectly. I'm using a Stadia controller, which is an Xbox controller clone - no issues, all prompts are for the correct buttons. No lag, stuttering, or any issues. Gameplay is smooth and enjoyable.
Does not support gamepad - probably not news to most people :-) Otherwise - out of the box works fine.
I have a USB xbox one controller, which is always plugged in. This worked fine - no issues. With no startup parameters the game starts OK. I have to go thorough a PC style pop up to get started, and have to type my password every time to log in (it's a pain not a bug!). However, the voice sound does not work, only background sound. To get all sound working I used this startup string: WINEDLLOVERRIDES="xaudio2_7=n,b" %command% With that, everything is fine, my poor game playing ability notwitstanding :-)
