F-4 does not work on Linux

[vsTerminus]

Hi all - I realize that Linux is not officially supported but I'm hoping this can serve as a searchable place (Sorry Discord) for Linux users to maybe figure out how to get this plane working, and maybe Heatblur will be able to chime in with some extra info here and there.

 

Basically: Trying to slot into an F-4 crashes DCS on Linux. Affects single player and multiplayer. It's no trouble when other players fly one on the same server, but trying to load into one myself immediately crashes the game.

 

Attached is a dcs.log file but it doesn't really point me at anything specific. It seems to be loading the Heatblur DLLs OK, and I don't see any unique errors related to it.

 

I'm running DCS Standalone, launching via Lutris, and I've tried Proton 9.0 (and Exerimental), wine 9.9, wine-ge-8.22 and others, in both flatscreen and VR. Same results. I've tried adding WINEDLLOVERRIDES for the Heatblur DLL files, again no results. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the F-4, no results.

 

The F-14 works perfectly, along with every other module I own (which is the vast majority of them). I don't have much for mods, just the two planes (A-4 and Hercules) needed for Greyflag.

 

Anyway, often times when something doesn't work on Linux it's because of either missing dependencies (eg, a specific .NET version) or the UI framework used doesn't play nice with Wine (eg, MSEdge Webview2). I'm wondering if maybe Heatblur can provide some info on the frameworks and dependencies that might be needed by HeatblurUi.exe or other parts of the F4? Might give us something to go on because right now I'm just kind of randomly guessing at stuff.

 

Alternatively, if HB wants to provide files with enhanced logging enabled I'd be happy to give them a go. Would just love to be able to fly this thing because I don't have Windows anymore and I'm not planning to go back any time soon

 

(I know there is a thread on Discord already, but that's not searchable on the web. Anything that gets discovered there I will post here for visibility.)

2024-06-01_dcs.log

[aaronwhite]

I support this mission, if for no other reason than to happily have some VsTerminus tutorials on the F-4!

[vsTerminus]

After today's update the F-4 is now loading on Linux - At least for me.

I have tried wine-ge-8.22, wine-9.9, and proton-experimental, all three can load single player and multiplayer.

 

However, the Heablur UI does not seem to be working. I cannot open the Jester menu or the Crew Chief menu. Attached is a new dcs.log.

But hey, one step closer.

Again I'm assuming that there's probably a missing dependency for the UI that we just need to install, but without HB's help I'm not sure what that would be.

 

Edit:

I can see Wine trying to launch HeatblurUi.exe when I load a mission. Updating my vcruntime to 2022 did change the error popup I get (about wine failing to run the program) but didn't fix the problem.

Looks like it tries to start the UI a bunch of times before giving up. Causes some noticeable stuttering in the game when I first load in. Not seeing any helpful errors in my logs though.

 

 

2024-06-05_dcs.log

Edited June 5, 2024 by vsTerminus

[vsTerminus]

Update, another thread was opened about the UI not working and it turned out the author is also on Linux, so same issue.

As I posted over in that thread, I have a partial solution now. HeatblurUi is a Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) app, and those don't seem to play nice with wine. I did find some people claiming success using PortWine (now called PortProton), so I downloaded that and tried launching DCS with it.

PortProton ships with its own branded and modified Wine and Proton runners called PROTON_LG and WINE_LG. No luck with Proton, but WINE_LG seems to work fine and is able to load the HBUI.

 

Note: Because it's Wine and not Proton this will only work for the Standalone version (as Steam version requires Proton), and it will not work with SteamVR because seemingly only Proton can bridge apps so that they can see and use the hmd. Using Monado might be an option for VR, I haven't gotten to trying it yet.

 

Original post here

 

[vsTerminus]

It was shared with me on Discord by quebecd3ltatw0 that there is now a solution for Proton as well!

Include WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1 in your launch options.

I tested on Proton Experimental as well as UMU Proton 9 Beta 16 and it worked!

It did not work on system Wine 9.11, but that's fine. WINE_LG from PortProton continues to work if you don't want to use Proton for any reason.

Also I tested Proton Experimental in VR and it worked there too, which means as far as I'm concerned this one is "solved via workaround".

[Aries144]

I'd like to see more work on getting DCS running in Linux. Microsoft's views on privacy and individual rights are appalling. 

It feels a little like going back to the DOS days, where often new games required quite a bit of tweaking to get working.

Thanks for your efforts guys, it's appreciated.