So I was looking around for a guide on getting SS1 up and running on Linux today between here and a few other places and couldn't find anything besides an old guide on TTLG that involved using qemu and installing win95 and running it like that.

Well, I got it working with music and with less hassle than I thought, so I figured I'd share what I learned for the benefit of anyone who may need it.

This was tested on Linux Mint 17, but should hypothetically work on Ubuntu or any distro that uses apt as it's package manager and has the packages I mention later on in its repositories.

So let's begin.

1) Naturally, we need a copy of SS1, however, if you want an easy time of configuring mouselook and the high-res video modes, we're going to want to use the Mobile version of SSP that Kolya posted. This is already patched with mouselook, etc, and needs no more diddling around with to get ready, unlike the normal packaging of SSP.

2) Since this is a DOS program, we're also going to need DOSBOX. Get this from apt:
sudo apt-get install dosbox
3) At this point, we technically could go ahead and play System Shock by loading up the copy of CDSHOCK.EXE that's in the ...dos/SSP/ directory of SSM. Go ahead and try it (no really, we need to run DOSBOX at least once before this process is over anyway so that we can auto-generate its config file)
dosbox path/to/SYSTEMSHOCK-Mobile\ for\ Android/dos/SSP/CDSHOCK.EXE
This should run the game, and it should be very playable, however, those catchy BGM mixes aren't there! To do this, we're going to have to install more software; specifically, something to handle MIDI playback!

4) We're going to go with a program called Timidity++. Timidity is a MIDI player that can also run as a daemon and enable applications like DOSBOX to stream MIDIs through it. In addition to Timidity, we're also going to install an application called pmidi, which will allow us to gather information we'll need later on for setting up configs. So fire up that terminal and...
sudo apt-get timidity pmidi
5) Great, we have a MIDI player now, but now we need a soundfont. Soundfonts are instrument sets that actually allow the MIDI player to produce sound. If Timidity were a guitarist, a soundfont is his guitar so to speak.
Anyway, there are several good soundfonts out there, but my personal preference is the WeedsGM3 soundfont, which can be downloaded here:
http://www.un4seen.com/download.php?extra/WeedsGM3
Note that the soundfont's maintainer packages WeedsGM3 in a weird self-extracting executable file, so you will need to use WINE to extract it. I assume you already have WINE, but if not, it can be installed via apt like any other application on most distros.

6) Once you've extracted WeedsGM3.sf2, we need to configure Timidity to use it. Using your favourite raw-text editor (gedit and nano will do here), open /etc/timidity/timidity.cfg (you will need root). Go to the line
source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfgand turn it into
soundfont /path/to/WeedsGM3.sf2
This should enable Timidity to use the WeedsGM3 soundfont!
At this point, we might as well turn Timidity on as well...
timidity -iA
7)Now that we have Timidity setup and running, we should get on to DOSBOX. First, we need some information, so open a terminal and enter
pmidi -lThis should tell us information about our MIDI devices. Specifically, look for TiMidity port 0 and take note of the "ratio" number displayed on the far left (it should be something like 128:0)

Now open up ~/.dosbox/dosbox-0.74.conf in a non-rooted editor. Look for
mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=
and change to

mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=alsa
midiconfig=128:0
8 ) Play System Shock with MIDI support and mouse look!

I'm not too hot on Linux sound systems in general... I got it working with the method listed in my OP. What does this missed step do and why is it needed?

(also, what distro?)

Hi there,
I wanna note SSP + Dosbox is not my choice of setting up SS1 on Linux. SSP is stuffed with tools to make it run on Windows, making it hard to figure what's actually needed. And Dosbox is way too slow to use the gorgeous HiRes modes.
I use a cdrom image, downloaded from archive.org, the brilliant xcdshock and the almost forgotten, but lightning fast DosEmu. And TiMidity.

Please don't recommend Fl*tpak

Flatpak and Snap both make working with Linux applications a LOT harder and are NOT recommended for novice Linux users (or just in general). You are guaranteed to run into problems that can't be solved easily because sandboxing (as a concept) doesn't work.

Either install it the "hard" way using your package manager (literally 1 command!), or use Lutris.

Sorry for derailing this thread and turning it into a Sandbox rant but it's imperative that sandboxing dies a horrible death before the cancer can spread any further and make Linux completely unusable as an OS.

If you REALLY must use sandboxing, use AppImage, it at least works for the most part and won't break everything.

I would also recommend using Shockolate instead of messing around with DOS shenanigans. SS:EE also runs in Linux, but that is hardly relevant since this thread is about playing the original version.

It's not one command - it requires that first you install the dependencies (one command), then add the repository (another command), then

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sudo apt update (ANOTHER command), and THEN, you can finally install it, through four commands.

Dosbox is in the official repos and the dependencies install automatically, so it's just

sudo apt update && sudo apt install dosbox
2 commands max, 1 line. Pretty good overall.

I won't fight your opinion on Flatpak, though - to each their own. HOWEVER - please note that your video you used as a source literally has "conspiracy theory" in the title.

You do realise that's essentially a joke, right?