A Better Method to Manage WINE programs?

Bazzite
1

I had to tangle with Bazzite for a few hours to get it working; but this is me posing a question if there is a better method of doing this.

I have a game I want to install and the game is Asheron’s Call. It’s a dead MMORPG with a passionate fan base so big that they still post tutorial videos how to do quests on Youtube since every quest is left unmarked since day one the game became available. (You had to interact with the community and the world to figure out the quests and it’s a feature no NEWER MMORPG’s take advantage of, not even RuneScape)

To get Asheron’s Call to work properly, you need to install 2 program’s and replace a set of files in the game’s root folder. The first program is just installing the client; which is easy to do with Wine and Bazzite’s pre-fix. The second program is the ThwargLauncher and it’s here I ran into issues as I ran to install it, but it did not launch or run the game client to connect to a server.

Being a beginner and discovering that wine put both in their own “boxed” environment to run the program’s as separate, I had to painstakingly move the files from the launcher’s “box” into the client’s “box” and learned quickly how to change the Wine Prefix to aim at the Modded Launcher to get it to run.

But dealing with this and Bazzite; I got to ask if there is an easier way to direct WINE or any of the prefix install’s to the original folders I install a Windows Application, especially a game, to install into THAT folder/directory and NOT HAVE IT create a new directory or boxed environment FOR THAT app? Because it feels like it’s creating more bloat and I have a few classic titles to install which range from patches to upgrade’s and there are other Windows Applications that have this type of setup.

2

I also find it a little messy, but I do what your doing using Protontricks, I just add the games “exe” to Steam, select a Proton version, run it once, then fire up Protontricks, you will see that game in the list, select it, and install what you need, this will make sure everything is done in the same sandbox folder for that game.

I agree on bloat, this is not a Bazzite thing, but the way Wine and Proton work, every game will get its own install of VB or VC, Direct X etc, every game that needs additional software to run will have its own copy in its sandbox environment, its really messy, but I think its needed unfortunately.

Also if its game that needs installing, I just add the installer execute to Steam, select a Proton version, run it, install it, then delete the installer from Steam, the add the Games “exe” to Steam.

I avoid using tools like Lutris and Bottles, and all the other software that people say make it easier to install things, I find they just complicate everything, all you need is Steam, and Protontricks to do 99% of everything, even for installing Windows programs., all of your sandboxed folders are kept in a Steam folder called compatdata found here ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/

Each folder is in this super easy to understand random number format, but Protontricks will show you what game/program is linked to each folder, also, if you want to backup your save data, easiest and quickest way is just backup this entire folder.

I’m sure there is a better way or a different way to do what I do, but this works for me.

3

I get that; but I’m wanting a solution that does not involve Steam or Lutris or any of the other’s.

I would pick this as a solution as I do like Steam, but I want a solution that move’s away from it or we could end up in a Monoculture of distribution which could be threatened to be thrown out at someone’s beck and call…. Example being, like the MasterCard and Visa issue trying to de-bank Steam for having adult titles because of an activist group out in Austrailia who are trying to become the next Jack Thompson on steroids attempting to ban one of the biggest entertainment platforms known to man since the movie theater before that got sanitized… I guess I’m saying, while the current solution might be the best one, it does not mean it will last and with the censorship and such going after Steam to attack from different vectors from payment to just straight up banning and removing content, especially if that content is removed and there is no REFUND for it; I’d rather want a method that does not rely on Valve, especially if Gabe is planning to retire or hand the reigns of the company over to someone else.

You can’t do that ‘debanking’ thing in the USA thanks to Trump signing an EO and hopefully it will become a permanent law that can’t be removed in the years to come, but I still would like a bit more of a proper solution. I understand if that’s how Proton, WineTricks or any of them work; but you think anyone in the FOSS or open source communities who worked with Windows before working on Linux would have seen something like this coming and developed a method or methods to remove not only the bloat; but to cater to the type of program I described above WITHOUT using Steam.

4

I’m sure there is a way, someone else may know, but all of this has been made as easy as it is because of Valve pushing it forwards, I agree, we need a much cleaner simpler independent system, I find other solutions like Bottles far more complicated than they need to be, my current approach works for me, but yes it would be nice if there was a clean open platform to handle it properly, unfortunately I’m not a software engineer, so I cant help, I’m a hardware dude and a software tester/breaker :slight_smile:

5

This is what Lutris is for, it’s a waste of everyone’s time to not be using it.

6

Lutris does not help nor has it worked for my situation with Asheron’s Call; I tried that earlier and it still failed.

I had to treat this another way around without using Lutris; plus I got other Windows Applications and software outside of games that I don’t think would work very well with Lutris.

7

Personal opinion, I’m not a fan of Lutris, this program has wasted more of my time than anything else when it comes to gaming on Linux, I almost dropped the idea because of Lutris, since I stopped using it to try and install or setup games, my experience has been better, easier and faster to setup games the way I mentioned above, I prefer to play the game, not stuff about with a million options wondering if its the correct way to do it.

I suppose if you’re installing games from a store front that it supports, then yes its not bad, certainly not the one click wonder Steam is, but still okay, just doesn’t fit my use case, as I only buy on Steam, and I have a massive collection of offline games.

2 Likes
8

This guy get’s it.

MY collection of games ranges from Steam to physical mediums and I will admit I might be one of the few people left on planet earth with a CD drive and the appropriate drivers built into my Rig to RUN THESE MEDIUMS!!!… That and I still got Windows-Based software I like using that isn’t available on Bazzite or the Free Market of Bazaar such as Smith Micro’s Anime Studio 9 or Sampletude… Which to be fair, I haven’t checked that one to see if they have a Linux build or not.