ARMA2/OA/CO/Demo/Free/TOH on WINE/Linux!

[LkFp 10]

I don't know when, since I didn't try Wined arma for a while, but current Mesa git + LLVM git does fix all shader problems. :) No more TGSI->GLSL translation problems are being reported, all textures blinking stopped. Game however run noticeable slower now and there are some new graphical glitches like black textures, some circular texture distortion when looking down at soldier feet. And blinking trees at the distance. I will make a video as soon as I'll get my recording stuff working after openSUSE upgrade. Anyway, this is a huge advancement IMO.

[Kindling 1]

Fortybot: Good luck with that! Drive corruption can be a dangerous beast. You might want to check the SMART data of your drive(s) (use the Disk Utility) to make sure that it's not a chronic failure due to hardware age or failure. If not, I'd suggest looking at doing an ATA Secure Erase or even zeroing the drive multiple times with DBAN - this should 'teach' your disk's firmware about any damaged sectors. And, of course, always keep backups of anything important.

LkFp: That's very interesting, as it sounds like similar issues to the bug tickets I linked in the main post that were observed under the AMD proprietary fglrx module. This would suggest that Mesa/Gallium is catching up! It'd be great if you could provide some screenshots or videos and perhaps compare the results with those in the bug reports.

[szegedin 1]

I see this is an old thread but it was really useful to me so I figured no harm in a bump...

I am following Kindling's instructions to install the ARMA2/OA demo using playonlinux.

When I get to the point of selecting the ARMA install file to run, amazingly it works in the sense that the game runs. I can play or at least initially check it out. The game starts itself in the installation process.

However, the instillation process does not complete, and when I exit the game, it is not installed. What am I doing wrong?

Any help greatly appreciated. I'm at a noob-to-intermediate level with linux. I'm running ubuntu 12.04; follwed the instruction to use wine 1.5.13 on the install. Computer is something like core 2 duo 2.0ghz /3gig ddr2 / radeon gt610. Anything else to figure it out I can provide.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Kindling 1]

I see this is an old thread but it was really useful to me so I figured no harm in a bump...

I am following Kindling's instructions to install the ARMA2/OA demo using playonlinux.

When I get to the point of selecting the ARMA install file to run, amazingly it works in the sense that the game runs. I can play or at least initially check it out. The game starts itself in the installation process.

However, the instillation process does not complete, and when I exit the game, it is not installed. What am I doing wrong?

Any help greatly appreciated. I'm at a noob-to-intermediate level with linux. I'm running ubuntu 12.04; follwed the instruction to use wine 1.5.13 on the install. Computer is something like core 2 duo 2.0ghz /3gig ddr2 / radeon gt610. Anything else to figure it out I can provide.

Anyone have any ideas?

Hi,

This isn't really an old thread - you might have missed this, but there's 11 pages and the last post was yesterday. :)

I'm not entirely sure what you mean - do you mean that you can install the ARMA II: OA demo via Steam but it doesn't show in the games list after installation? Or do you get any kind of installation error? Can you run everything in a terminal ('cd .wine/drive_c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Steam/ && wine Steam.exe' for example) and provide the output around the time that the installation fails?

[szegedin 1]

Hi,

This isn't really an old thread - you might have missed this, but there's 11 pages and the last post was yesterday. :)

I'm not entirely sure what you mean - do you mean that you can install the ARMA II: OA demo via Steam but it doesn't show in the games list after installation? Or do you get any kind of installation error? Can you run everything in a terminal ('cd .wine/drive_c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Steam/ && wine Steam.exe' for example) and provide the output around the time that the installation fails?

you're right, my bad.

I copied over the ARMA installation folder from C: under wine to my desktop (which I had downloaded from Steam) because when I went to point it to the install file folder, .wine is hidden so I can't point to it. This is my noob workaround, and may be part of the problem.

WHen the installation runs, the game starts running and when I quit from the game, the installation process disappears with no error message, and the game does not show up in the list.

So should I be running Steam from the terminal, or the ARMA installer....?

[Kindling 1]

Ah, that should be an easy fix. Try opening a terminal and type:

mv "~/Desktop/[ARMA 2 OA Demo folder name]" "~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Steam/SteamApps/"

(eg. mv "~/Desktop/Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead Demo" "~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Steam/SteamApps/"

This is assuming a WoW64 prefix, which you would have if your Linux installation is 64bit. If the distro is 32bit or you have a 32bit WINE prefix (ie. 'ls ~/.wine/drive_c' doesn't show the 'Program Files (x86)' folder), replace 'Program Files (x86)' with 'Program Files'. Once this is done, close and re-open Steam then right click the ARMA 2 Operation Arrowhead Demo game then 'Properties', 'Local Files' and 'Verify integrity of game cache' and it should fix any further issues. Of course, make sure to open Steam under WINE and not the Linux version (Help -> System Information should list a Windows variant under 'Operating System Information' and not your distro name).

You shouldn't need to run any type of installer - Steam should simply open the game. If you do have any problems, run Steam from the terminal and it will show a log of all the behind-the-scenes info that may be useful to debug the issue.

[szegedin 1]

Of course, make sure to open Steam under WINE and not the Linux version (Help -> System Information should list a Windows variant under 'Operating System Information' and not your distro name).

You shouldn't need to run any type of installer - Steam should simply open the game. If you do have any problems, run Steam from the terminal and it will show a log of all the behind-the-scenes info that may be useful to debug the issue.

Okay, check, followed your instructions, but I get the same problem I had run into earlier, where it loads up the Main Menu, and clicking on the buttons does nothing, and that's where it stands.

As you guessed, I had installed Linux Steam and found that it wouldn't give me ARMA, so I installed Steam under Wine.

Now running Steam through the terminal, I get this (sorry if I'm not offsetting it correctly):

Running Steam on ubuntu 12.04 32-bit

STEAM_RUNTIME is enabled automatically

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1361807486_client)

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1361807486_client)

unlinked 0 orphaned pipes

GLib-GIO-Message: Using the 'memory' GSettings backend. Your settings will not be saved or shared with other applications.

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1361807486_client)

[0318/204918:WARNING:proxy_service.cc(646)] PAC support disabled because there is no system implementation

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1361807486_client)

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1361807486_client)

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1361807486_client)

PulseAudio connect failed (used only for Mic Volume Control) with error: Access denied

Process 5363 created /szegedin-ValveIPCSharedObjects3

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1361807486_client)

Generating new string page texture 2: 48x256, total string texture memory is 49.15 KB

Generating new string page texture 3: 256x256, total string texture memory is 311.30 KB

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1361807486_client)

Generating new string page texture 14: 384x256, total string texture memory is 704.51 KB

Generating new string page texture 15: 64x256, total string texture memory is 770.05 KB

Generating new string page texture 16: 128x256, total string texture memory is 901.12 KB

AL lib: pulseaudio.c:612: Context did not connect: Access denied

Does this mean anything to you? PulseAudio getting me messed up? I thought I already removed it...

Should note that when I check my settings in Steam it says Windows XP and Wine 1.4

??

Edited March 19, 2013 by szegedin

[Kindling 1]

Sorry, I'm a little confused - this looks like a log from the Linux version of Steam. Note 'Running Steam on ubuntu 12.04 32-bit' and a message talking about GLib (a GNOME library). You may also wish to note that WINE doesn't use PulseAudio (unless Ubuntu patches it on their end? They don't as far as I know.) - it relies on OSS or ALSA for sound. I'd imagine the 'Access Denied' error simply means that it can't contact the PulseAudio server (which is not running because it's removed from the system). Furthermore, removing PulseAudio was often recommended in it's formative days due to the complications it often caused but this is no longer the case, as it's the framework that provides the ability to have multiple applications play sounds at the same time and is much improved over the mess that was initially adopted. It's also part of the Ubuntu provided desktop - you'll have a fairly hard time getting support from the Ubuntu community if you're altering the 'packaged experience' so drastically.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the current discussion, but as an aside I'd recommend that if you are interested in all of the gloriously disparate and disjointed components that make for a full Linux desktop, you look at setting up an ArchLinux VM to play with. I'd hope to save you from the frustrating 'trial by fire' that many of us Linux users - hobbyists and professionals alike - have endured when we realize just how much we can customize our systems - there's nothing worse than ending up with a problematic production system, too bloodied and broken to update yet comfortably customized enough that you have no motivation to reinstall. :)

So, what happens when you 'cd ".wine/drive_c/Program Files/Steam"' and 'wine Steam.exe' in the terminal? The mouse issue sounds like a lack of rawinput - this was a patch integrated into WINE in version 1.5.13. Since you're running WINE 1.4, this feature will not be available to you and you won't be able to use the mouse.

To update to WINE 1.5, simply install the latest version of WINE from the WINE Team PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install wine1.5

The game should now work fine and you'll hopefully have it in your Steam library - I'll update the main post with the PPA instructions. :)

Edited March 20, 2013 by Kindling
fixing links

[szegedin 1]

Praise Jesus! It (pretty much) works! I'm in awe of you guys who know all this shit off the top of your head.

Now I just gotta figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing in Takistan. I am looking up another steep learning curve.

Couple minor glitches:

1. What is that thing where when the mouse pointer goes off the side of the Wine window it stops working for the Wine app?

2. In Steam, my menus are "blanked out" now, the words don't appear, but I managed to remember where the games option was.

Also, what is a good place to start with dialing down the video settings in ARMA to get less lag? I do like how a low framerate blurs instead of stutters, though. Very organic looking.

re : PulseAudio :

It's also part of the Ubuntu provided desktop - you'll have a fairly hard time getting support from the Ubuntu community if you're altering the 'packaged experience' so drastically.

You can imagine that for me, I don't know the difference between a "drastic alteration" of the package and a tweak! I know what I know, and I don't know what I don't know, you know?

Parenthetically, I have to say the thing I love about Linux is that I feel free to just type anything into the terminal that some dude on the internet suggested in a forum, because if I mess up the OS I don't really give a toss. I'll have it re-install in an hour, in contrast with Windows where you really lose, and it takes forever and a pint of blood to reinstall. Maybe just now with getting this game installed am I reaching a point where I'm "invested" in my setup.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the current discussion, but as an aside I'd recommend that if you are interested in all of the gloriously disparate and disjointed components that make for a full Linux desktop, you look at setting up an ArchLinux VM to play with. I'd hope to save you from the frustrating 'trial by fire' that many of us Linux users - hobbyists and professionals alike - have endured when we realize just how much we can customize our systems - there's nothing worse than ending up with a problematic production system, too bloodied and broken to update yet comfortably customized enough that you have no motivation to reinstall. :)

Thanks I will check that out. I think it says a lot that guys like me are even using Ubuntu -- I have a lot of other stuff going on in life and not a lot of time to invest in learning it, but it basically works for me and it's always satisfying to triumph over your adversities when things go tits up.

Can't thank you enough for all the help bro.

[Kindling 1]

Glad we're up and running!

Couple minor glitches:

1. What is that thing where when the mouse pointer goes off the side of the Wine window it stops working for the Wine app?

2. In Steam, my menus are "blanked out" now, the words don't appear, but I managed to remember where the games option was.

1. I've mostly used fullscreen mode, personally, but I believe that it's possible to alter the way that WINE treats the mouse - try each of these options:

winetricks mwo=force
winetricks mwo=enabled
winetricks mwo=disabled

I'm not entirely sure that they work with rawinput, but they're certainly worth trying. Another option is the 'Allow DirectX apps to stop the mouse leaving the window' in the 'Graphics' tab of 'winecfg' - this may achieve the desired effect.

2. This should be fixable by going into the WINE configuration app ('winecfg' in a terminal), choosing the 'Libraries' tab and adding 'dwrite' then setting it to 'disabled' or by always launching Steam with the '-no-dwrite' launch option. You can read more about potential Steam issues on WINE on the excellent WineHQ AppDB.

Also, what is a good place to start with dialing down the video settings in ARMA to get less lag? I do like how a low framerate blurs instead of stutters, though. Very organic looking.

There is a lot of information available on this! Google search for 'arma 2 tweaking guide' and you'll find lots of different tweaks for configuration files (research each option before you apply it :)). In addition to these, there are startup parameters that you can edit by right-clicking the game in Steam and selecting 'Properties' then 'Launch Options'. One particular option worth looking at is the -malloc one which allows you to specify a memory allocator - I've not done extensive research into this under WINE, and it can affect your performance quite drastically. It's worth trying different combinations (one step at a time) to optimize your gameplay to be as smooth as possible (Maximum FPS isn't everything - a stable 30fps is much better than an average 50fps that jumps all over the place :)). I believe that the first step, generally, is to look at disabling 'VSync' and dialing down object detail.

re : PulseAudio :

You can imagine that for me, I don't know the difference between a "drastic alteration" of the package and a tweak! I know what I know, and I don't know what I don't know, you know?

Parenthetically, I have to say the thing I love about Linux is that I feel free to just type anything into the terminal that some dude on the internet suggested in a forum, because if I mess up the OS I don't really give a toss. I'll have it re-install in an hour, in contrast with Windows where you really lose, and it takes forever and a pint of blood to reinstall. Maybe just now with getting this game installed am I reaching a point where I'm "invested" in my setup.

Indeed! That's the best thing about VMs - they're much more tightly integrated into Linux than they are Windows and therefore have much better performance. The great thing about having a VM is that you can install a distro that you're vaguely interested in, create a stable 'snapshot' and then do pretty much anything and revert it back in a few clicks! A great way to learn about the different roles of software components in a Linux system is to simply tear them out of the VM installation one by one and see what works and what doesn't. Procedurally destroying a system can be quite cathartic, too :). I agree that it's much easier and faster to install Linux than Windows, though, especially if you want to keep your files.

Thanks I will check that out. I think it says a lot that guys like me are even using Ubuntu -- I have a lot of other stuff going on in life and not a lot of time to invest in learning it, but it basically works for me and it's always satisfying to triumph over your adversities when things go tits up.

Can't thank you enough for all the help bro.

It's great to see people using Ubuntu, Fedora and all those other Linux distros - I'm always happy to help! :)

[szegedin 1]

winetricks mwo=force
winetricks mwo=enabled
winetricks mwo=disabled

Roger. That worked.

2. This should be fixable by going into the WINE configuration app ('winecfg' in a terminal), choosing the 'Libraries' tab and adding 'dwrite' then setting it to 'disabled' or by always launching Steam with the '-no-dwrite' launch option.

Roger. That worked.

There is a lot of information available on this! Google search for 'arma 2 tweaking guide' and you'll find lots of different tweaks for configuration files (research each option before you apply it :)). In addition to these, there are startup parameters that you can edit by right-clicking the game in Steam and selecting 'Properties' then 'Launch Options'. One particular option worth looking at is the -malloc one which allows you to specify a memory allocator - I've not done extensive research into this under WINE, and it can affect your performance quite drastically. It's worth trying different combinations (one step at a time) to optimize your gameplay to be as smooth as possible (Maximum FPS isn't everything - a stable 30fps is much better than an average 50fps that jumps all over the place :)). I believe that the first step, generally, is to look at disabling 'VSync' and dialing down object detail.

Roger. Will do that stuff. For me this is about seeing whether this is fun enough to occasion the next hardware upgrade, tho i'm amazed at how much i've gotten out of less than $300 worth for five years. Coming from flights sims, I'm having a ball training on the Blackhawk.

A great way to learn about the different roles of software components in a Linux system is to simply tear them out of the VM installation one by one and see what works and what doesn't.

Dig it. Will do that.

It's great to see people using Ubuntu, Fedora and all those other Linux distros - I'm always happy to help! :)

I just handed my 10 year-old nephew the guts of a 10 or 12 year old laptop that i ripped out and and mounted on a board with a plexiglass lid. I'm gonna set him up with slitaz or something on a memory stick and set him loose! He's been writing video games in Scratch so I thought I should evangelize him with linux. He'll probably blow my mind with what he figures out.

Catch you around on here.

[LkFp 10]

...

LkFp: That's very interesting, as it sounds like similar issues to the bug tickets I linked in the main post that were observed under the AMD proprietary fglrx module. This would suggest that Mesa/Gallium is catching up! It'd be great if you could provide some screenshots or videos and perhaps compare the results with those in the bug reports.

Unfortunately my ffmpeg still does not work with mesa git, but here are some pictures.

Note some missing textures like backpack in http://tinypic.com/r/2lbe005/6, I didn't manage to reproduce circular texture problem, instead I now see this on black rectangle on the ground http://tinypic.com/r/21amlck/6 which sometimes mysteriously disappear http://tinypic.com/r/117g0h2/6.

This is current mesa + llvm master (as of 3/23/2013) + non yet commited gallium hud from Marek Olsak (see those fancy graphs which will, hopefully, be part of Mesa). HUD has some problems as it is in its first review in ML, especially missing fonts. Interesting are top left = fps, middle left = cpu usage, bottom left = memory consumption)

[Kindling 1]

The black rectangle texture issue is similar to an effect seen in fglrx (ground textures turning blank and reappearing/disappearing) - it's great to see the OS drivers catching up to at least a similar level! You mentioned that FPS was lower, do you have any numbers? I'm not really sure of the scale of that graph.

[LkFp 10]

Ok, after little discussion and help from mesa devs I got fonts working. So for me it is around 9 FPS, and it feels like that indeed. Here are some new screenshots: snapshot5, snapshot6, snapshot7, and my current settings snapshot8.

[FortyBot 1]

Thanks for this tutorial; it has really helped me out. I now have the game running, but I have a problem: when I load any mission, the graphics are completely white, with occasional completely black props. I have tried adjusting settings, but nothing seems to work. However, when I restart the vid to apply settings, it restarts as normal, before fading to white again over the course of 1-2 seconds. I have googled for the issue, but I have not found anything on the topic. Has anyone here experienced the same problem? How should I go about troubleshooting this?

Ok, I am still having these symptoms, even after a complete reinstall (I am on f18 x86_64 now). I have installed all graphics driver updates, but nothing has changed. Does anyone have suggestions? The problem does not seem to be with the drivers, just and effect the game does that is reiterated too much...

[Kindling 1]

Sorry FortyBot, I've no idea what's causing the issue if it's not down to the drivers or some mesa issue. Maybe you can use WINE Debug Channels to track the problem down to a specific part of the rendering process and submit to Mesa/Wine as a bug.

[gareththomasnz 13]

Hey guys I dont know much about wine but followed instructions to setup Arma2 on playonlinux with wine

I cant get past the loader as it doesnt recognize the mouse

But just found this link

http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=6107;forum=1;msg=127264

this is a recent thread & looks like the solution - I didnt try it yet coz I dunno WTH I am doing

[Kindling 1]

Hey guys I dont know much about wine but followed instructions to setup Arma2 on playonlinux with wine

I cant get past the loader as it doesnt recognize the mouse

But just found this link

http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=6107;forum=1;msg=127264

this is a recent thread & looks like the solution - I didnt try it yet coz I dunno WTH I am doing

Yes, that'd work - I don't see why it doesn't recognize your mouse though - that advice no longer applies since rawinput is included with the latest versions of WINE.

In PlayOnLinux, try going to Configure button > (select your virtual drive) > General tab > Wine version and choosing wine-1.5.27-linux-amd64 instead of System or whatever version you have selected.

[gareththomasnz 13]

Yes, that'd work - I don't see why it doesn't recognize your mouse though - that advice no longer applies since rawinput is included with the latest versions of WINE.

In PlayOnLinux, try going to Configure button > (select your virtual drive) > General tab > Wine version and choosing wine-1.5.27-linux-amd64 instead of System or whatever version you have selected.

OK I have the latest wine installed 1.5.27 by POL

but on the configuration/general box it only has "SYSTEM" as an option - no others in the drop down

Upgrading system wine...

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install wine1.5

sudo apt-get install winetricks

not working as I'm using natty - will try alternative instal

Edited April 2, 2013 by gareththomasnz

[sthalik 10]

Do you have framerate issues on fglrx? If so, could you test my rejected GL_ATI_PINNED_MEMORY wine patch?

please pm if you wish to test...

[LkFp 10]

Little update: there were recently some changes in LLVM shader compiler backend for r600g radeon driver as one time Arma was completely unplayable with it (R600_LLVM=1), but current llvm+mesa git master works quite well. They even solved the big black rectangular shadow trailing player`s avatar. The biggest issues now seems to me incorrect LOD switching and poor texture loading performance. As even when I moved Arma to ssd, it does stutter when textures are being loaded. FPS performance wise it is still hopping around 10-15fps on AMD HD4850.

[sthalik 10]

Why use LLVM backend at all? Had problems with it all over... Why not use fglrx in the first place? Mesa has long way to go.

[LkFp 10]

I can't use fglrx as H4850 is supported only in legacy branch and I don't think legacy works with 3.8.x and upcoming 3.9 kernel which I'm switching to immediately after release. And to avoid shader compilation errors you have tu use LLVM based shader compiler. Stock shader compiler produces unusable graphics. And besides, in mesa/r600g I can do my changes to learn stuff. :)

[sthalik 10]

For users of Radeon 6XXX, any luck with Mesa branch sb-r600g-2 by vadimg? There have been many reports of success so far. Not with ArmA though.

If not for the GPU driver issues I'd be using Linux as my only operating system :(

[goroskob 10]

I can't use fglrx as H4850 is supported only in legacy branch and I don't think legacy works with 3.8.x and upcoming 3.9 kernel which I'm switching to immediately after release. And to avoid shader compilation errors you have tu use LLVM based shader compiler. Stock shader compiler produces unusable graphics. And besides, in mesa/r600g I can do my changes to learn stuff. :)

FGLRX Legacy works with kernel versions up to 3.10, but you have to apply some patches for that.