SS2 Installation Guide for Linux

[664bc9efdb928JML]

This guide will show you how to install and setup SS2 with essential mods for a good first time experience under the Linux operating system.
In the beginning this were my notes for myself to look up when installing SS2 on a friends computer. For other installation questions refer to the SS2 Technical FAQ

1: Steam download SS2 and move it from "/home/USERNAME/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SS2/support/systemshock2/drive_c/Program Files/SystemShock2" out of the reach of Steam and to something more pleasant like "/home/USERNAME/games/SS2".
(if you want the german version you can set the language to german BEFORE you start the download. SS2Tool will automatically detect the language and download the Vollständige Deutsche Übersetzung. If you forgot, you can always download it from it's respective mod page)

2: Download latest SS2Tool, copy to where shock2.exe is (for me “/home/USERNAME/games/SS2", set Wine (winecfg) to Windows 7(!)

3: Run SS2Tool: default location (where it is), clean install, perfect mode.

4: Run the now there installed ss2bmm.exe file (blue mod manager) and check where the mod directory is: open mods folder (for me: “/home/USERNAME/games/SS2/DMM”) - so for me the folder is in the same directory as the shock2.exe

5: Extract mods into the DMM directory, they should now show up in the SS2 Blue Mod Manager 1.15!

[If you're using Vurts Mods: Create Folders with fitting names for Vurts Mods (e.g. Black Egg for obj of Blackegg)]

6: Give them the correct order in the Modmanager (refer to the Newbie modding guide and/or my modlist further down and the respective mod pages).

7: Collect the unused .zip and .7z files in another folder, leave it inactive

8: Start the game, enjoy.


The mods can be found here.
Below you will find a picture of my modlist that works well. If you are not a german speaker, just leave out the two Deutsch mods.


Troubleshooting:
*The console will not open. This is a Wine issue. Refer to the respective topic for a workaround.
*MOTHER of all guides will help you find your way around.
*SS2 Troubleshooting Guide in the SS2 Technical FAQ can be very helpful.


Tested with:
OS: Linux Mint 17.3 and 18.1 Cinnamon 64-bit
Kernel: 3.16.0-38-generic, and 4.4
Wine version: 19.0.1 (1.6.x or newer) set to Windows 7 (!!)

//Moderator please feel free to correct the mistakes that I made and edit to a more understandable guide.

[664bc9efdbbaaKolya]

Thanks for this write up, I'm sure Linux users will appreciate it. For now I'll sticky it here, along with the other guides. In the long run I would like to integrate it into the SS2Technical FAQ, since the instructions largely overlap and some are not Linux specific.

//Done.

[664bc9efdc084JML]

[...] In the long run I would like to integrate it into the SS2Technical FAQ, since the instructions largely overlap and some are not Linux specific.

Please do so. That's what I also thought. It is at the same time a recommended first-time/closely vanilla build of SS2 that I would've appreciated. Maybe you/we could do something like this.

[664bc9efdc24bnatanprog]

Thanks for the guide!

worked perfectly 

[664bc9efdc3faphillippi2]

If you are having trouble running SS2Tool, be aware of your WINE version. The compatibility is very particular; some WINE versions do work while others don't. In my experience, it's best to install SS2 through PlayOnLinux, because that will install the correct WINE version (independent of your distributions WINE install), which you can then use to run SS2Tool to update the game. I believe that the WINE version that POL recommends is 3.0

Note that the newest WINE version can be used to play SS2. The main issue is the incompatibility between SS2Tool and specific versions of WINE.

[664bc9efdc5b5confused123]

When I run the mod manager on ubuntu 20.04 using a 32 bit wine prefix into which the game was installed, and so was ss2tool, I am unable to click "ok" on the window to select the game directory. I try do so by first changing to the directory itself, after which I call wine on the mod binary with the appropriate wine prefix provided.

[664bc9efdc811confused123]

For context, I get the following output. I thought the read permission lines might be the issue, but I chown -R the entire wine prefix to be owned by the current user

'''
cd wineprefix/drive_c/ss2/
WINEPREFIX=~/Games/system_shock_2/wineprefix/ wine ./ss2bmm.exe ./

MESA-INTEL: warning: Performance support disabled, consider sysctl dev.i915.perf_stream_paranoid=0

0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo (78, 0x101, 0021F600) semi-stub
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo flags 0x101 not implemented
00fc:fixme:kernelbase:AppPolicyGetThreadInitializationType FFFFFFFA, 0177FEF8
0080:fixme:imm:ImeSetActiveContext (0x4ba548, 0): stub
0080:fixme:imm:ImmReleaseContext (00010020, 004BA548): stub
0024:fixme:imm:ImeSetActiveContext (0x27a2a8, 1): stub
0024:fixme:imm:ImmReleaseContext (0001005A, 0027A2A8): stub
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo (3, 0x101, 0021EA40) semi-stub
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo flags 0x101 not implemented
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo (4, 0x101, 0021EA40) semi-stub
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo flags 0x101 not implemented
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo (8, 0x101, 0021EA40) semi-stub
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo flags 0x101 not implemented
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo (11, 0x101, 0021EA40) semi-stub
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo flags 0x101 not implemented
wine: Read access denied for device L"\\??\\Z:\\", FS volume label and serial are not available.
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo (6, 0x101, 0021EA40) semi-stub
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo flags 0x101 not implemented
wine: Read access denied for device L"\\??\\Z:\\", FS volume label and serial are not available.
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo (7, 0x101, 0021EA40) semi-stub
0024:fixme:shell:SHGetStockIconInfo flags 0x101 not implemented
wine: Read access denied for device L"\\??\\Z:\\", FS volume label and serial are not available.
0024:fixme:kernelbase:AppPolicyGetProcessTerminationMethod FFFFFFFA, 0021FEAC
'''

[664bc9efdc956confused123]

My wine version is
'''
wine --version
wine-7.0
'''

Perhaps that is the issue? I see comment above of certain wine versions being an issue.

[664bc9efdca86confused123]

Just for anyone interested, when I run ss2tool, it claims it doesn't recognise the version of the game (GOG installer installed), and says it wants to update. It deleted all of the ss2 files, which is why the mod manager isn't working...

[664bc9efdcc09voodoo47]

the standard response here is "patch up on a windows machine, move the now portable SS2 install to the linux machine".

[664bc9efdd0cbsarge945]

I have never had any problems running ss2tool on Linux

are you running it in the same wineprefix as the game?

I recommend installing the GOG version through Lutris as it will automatically setup the right WINE version, plus will let you easily run ss2tool inside the wine prefix

My usual setup is:

1. Install Lutris using your package manager
2. Install SS2 using the Gog installer mode within Lutris (although this works too with Steam/Proton, although I wouldn't recommend it)
3. Copy ss2tool.exe to the game folder
4. Use lutris "Run EXE inside wine prefix" option (at the bottom of the main window) to run ss2tool
5. Everything works as expected and the game patches/runs fine.

I have had a very stable setup on multiple distros using this setup. Let me know if you're still having problems.

I would recommend everyone try this, then if it works for everyone, adopt these steps as the official guide, since it's less technical, less prone to error, less steps, more distro agnostic, and overall a better experience than having to install/configure WINE manually, which is a pain even for experienced users.

[664bc9efdd241linux-guy]

The latest version of Wine on Ubuntu 20.04 is 5.0, whereas you installed 7.0 suggesting you installed it via other means. Check that you don't have a broken wine installation.

The error "MESA-INTEL: warning: Performance support disabled, consider sysctl dev.i915.perf_stream_paranoid=0" also indicates to me that you have Intel graphics but don't have the proper kernel module (i915) loaded. This is going to cause more problems than with just wine.

chown also shouldn't be necessary..unless you ran wine as root which is NOT recommended.

[664bc9efdd660also-confused]

I'm having the same issue as confused123. On running SS2Tool-v.6.1.1.8.exe, it says "Local game content version is unknown", then deletes most of the executables and data files in the directory, except for SHODAN.DIF and HYDRO2.DIF.

Running it through Lutris, as sarge945 suggested, does not help; the same issue as above happens.

linux-guyThis person is wrong on two counts. Ubuntu is known to distribute old versions software, and a more recent version of Wine is normal. It's also normal to get that warning from Mesa, and it can be safely ignored.

[664bc9efdd9ccsarge945]

Running it through Lutris, as sarge945 suggested, does not help; the same issue as above happens.

Just making sure: You ran the ss2tool exe inside the lutris wineprefix by changing the game executable (or using the run application in wine prefix button), rather than installing the game via lutris, then just running ss2tool in the directory normally?

[664bc9efddf97sarge945]

I'm having the same issue as confused123. On running SS2Tool-v.6.1.1.8.exe, it says "Local game content version is unknown", then deletes most of the executables and data files in the directory, except for SHODAN.DIF and HYDRO2.DIF.

Running it through Lutris, as sarge945 suggested, does not help; the same issue as above happens.

I had this on one box, not on my current one. Sounds like it might be happening due to the way wine rsync works. Either way, it can be """fixed""" (not really a fix, though) by copying over a Windows-patched version. I will look into this more. Interestingly it didn't used to be an issue with older versions of ss2tool either, so maybe something was changed and it's making the Linux version not work in some cases.

We might need Kolya for help on this one.

Here's some other info I found.

https://blog.debiania.in.ua/posts/2017-04-13-fixing-rsync-connection-unexpectedly-closed.html

Could the server be closing the connection because of some difference in what it's expecting vs what it's getting?


EDIT:

Okay so I have narrowed this down to one possible issue. The version of rsync included in the latest ss2tool is somehow broken under wine, but only for certain files.

When I run the bundled rsync.exe in a wine cmd, I get the same problem

However, running exactly the same command in native rsync, it works just fine

[664bc9efde14ezbik]

hi i'm trying to get ss2tool to work on linux, but no dice.

i'm running arch linux with wine-8.12 (Staging) and the installer says it's downloading stuff, but nothing is happening no matter how much time passes. i installed rsync through the official arch repository, but it still didn't work and the wine logs don't point me in any direction.

[664bc9efde28azbik]

uhhh i reinstalled both the game and the ss2tool exec and it worked? sorry, but i'm not sure what made it work this time, will update if i can figure it out.

[664bc9efde7b8zbik]

zbik
so after it's done it's thing my game folder now looks like this with no executable. the mod manager doesn't work because there's no ss2.exe and it's instead located in the SS2ToolSyncBackup folder?? nothing about this makes sense and i can't wrap my head around it. i found a thread regarding the same issue, but it doesn't offer much in terms of answers https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=12261.0

[664bc9efde8e5sarge945]

I've actually already solved this, I just need to actually take some time to implement the solution in a way that kolya is happy with (since there are copyright implications).

For now your only option is to run ss2tool on Windows (wine doesn't cut it) and copy the files across.

[664bc9efdeb93zbik]

sarge945
sweet, thank you for the reply!

[664bc9efdef26daemonspudguy]

sarge945It sucks that @Kolya appears to have disappeared from the forums because SS2Tool is completely broken on Linux, you have a solution, but you can't release it because you need clearance from someone who appears to have been transported to another dimension.

[664bc9efdf346sarge945]

sarge945It sucks that @Kolya appears to have disappeared from the forums because SS2Tool is completely broken on Linux, you have a solution, but you can't release it because you need clearance from someone who appears to have been transported to another dimension.

It's not that I need clearance, it's that I was specifically denied clearance, so kolya not being around doesn't matter.

For the record, I completely understand his decision to not allow me to post my solution. There's legal implications and the last thing I want is for anyone to get into trouble.

I've been meaning to rehost everything, which shifts the legal burden onto me instead, but I put it off for a while after hitting a roadblock with rsync

[664bc9efdf55avoodoo47]

he did not, it's just that he only drops by every once in a while. I don't think he is planning to include linux compatibility, but lets ping him, @Kolya

[664bc9efdf6a9leviticus]

I managed to get SS2Tool to patch the GOG version correctly by running it with an older version of Wine on Lutris (specifically lutris-4.21-x86_64, you can download it under "Manage Versions" in the Wine runner, then add the SS2Tool's executable as a new game and run it with this version selected) then I just copied the folder to my standard Wine prefix and it worked flawlessly. It still said that the game version was unknown though.