[Module 22] Linux OS

hotfrostworm

My neighbor told me about mod 22 hitting the streets this weekend. I don't have plans to do any testing in Linux OS this week, but I will check back with this thread next weekend. I know there is very little community intrest in running games in Linux OS here. For those few players needing to run it under WINE, will be back to post my findings.

Do the developers have any plans to upgrade / upgdate graphics and audio in this module?

I am informed (thus far) this is only a mechanics change.

Cryptic Studios doesn't support alternate OS, they officially recommend you run it under Windows.

However if you are new to Neverwinter online or any of Cryptic Studios other games and currently run Linux OS;

• WINE HQ has an application database and forum for general assistance.
  
• Play on Linux has a Neverwinter forum thread here.
  
• Steam users are offered Proton (Neverwinter unlisted?)
  

I primarily work with WINE 6.0.1 and have found it works well with only one minor issue. It was working fully at 100% prior to the module 18, Infernal Decent. This issue is not a reflection on the decision of the developer to make changes to their code. WINE is an opensource project funded and worked on by common people in the Linux community. This means it takes a while to cover all the issues. Bugs need to be reported in official channels and then one of us code monkeys have to get to work on repairing the issue. This assumes we can discover what changes caused the issue in the first place.

I highly recommend using; CodeWeavers as they offer a paid commercial version with support. Otherwise WINE is free to install and use from a variety of sources. I currently test only WINE and do not use Play on Linux, Proton, or other variants. My focus is audio and video, but I can and have expanded my research in other areas.

Critical Update
As I was patching the game just now, I was greeted by this tiny pop up box.

This will not affect WINE, the configuration utility (winecfg) can 'mock' Windows 10 OS. Wine just defaults as Windows 7. However if you are still using Windows 7 64bit, it might be a good time to think about upgrading or moving into Linux OS.


Thanks for taking the time to read, I will be back next week with my report.

plan009

I switch between Linux and Win and am trying to get more moved to Linux, so I use Wine. For Neverwinter, I find PlayOnLinux and Q4Wine work better than Steam. I tried PlayOnLinux last night and was using Wine 6.0 set for Win7 for NW and I got that same upgrade message, so I changed it to Win10. Live worked fine, but Preview (Mimic) kept crashing after character select, so I moved to Wine 6.17 and Preview works fine, now.

Hope my short report gives you a head start on your testing, which I’ll be interested to see.

hotfrostworm

Thanks for the head up @plan009 . Apparently, I am going to have to use wine-staging version instead. WineHQ only offers 6.0.2 at stable. I know POL offers multiple versions and even some custom compiled versions to run specific games. I don't mind the challenge, Wine-staging has me at 7.0-rc1.

If I were a game developer, I wouldn't eliminate my Windows 7 user group, so quickly, and without good cause. Just because Windows 7 has "expired" is a poor reason to place a brick on the program. I can see a gentle warning such as;
Windows 7 is no longer supported by our game, please considering upgrading as any issues you experience will not be supported by our company. But it is obvious they plan to place a OS filter on the game in mid February.

plan009

I only tried 6.0 then jumped to the highest non-staging one POL offered and it worked, so I was happy. POL doesn’t offer 6.0.2 (just tried 6.0.1 and 6.1, same crash and 6.1 had some graphical glitches on the char select screen).

Agreed about Win7. At least it’s not as bad as iOS about that. I’m constantly annoyed that even simple programs that *should* be able to run on any version *require* a version within the last year or two because Apple makes it hard to support older versions (not counting ending 32 bit support). “Yes, you need to upgrade to run something with less features than Notepad”, lol.

hotfrostworm

As William Shakespeare once said, Oh fudge nuggets! I am going to have to use the 6.17 from the POL library to see anything at all. WINE 7.0-staging is not working for either one. They both crash right after the red dragon loading screen, I very briefly glimpse the character loading screen.

Developers: This right here is what I am talking about above. I have to submit a bug report to WineHQ Bugzilla, hoping they can "psychically guess" what Cryptic developers changed at this point. It isn't like we can ask, they just will not respond, or tell us, they are not allowed to tell us. At this point, it appears Neverwinter Online will end up on WineHQ garbage list, in the application database come January, when module 22 goes live.

Sadly, I seldom see programs quickly rise from the garbage list because the majority of fixes to WINE is the global bugs affecting the vast majority of games. My area of expertise is audio and video through the DirectX plugins. I doubt I will find the solution for this on my end, but I will ask the people working on POL what the differences are between 6.0.1 and 6.17. Maybe I can work it out from the reverse end.

plan009

Thanks for doing what you can to keep this running on Wine. Hoping it helps figure out differences, I looked for the lowest version above 6.0 on POL that worked. Interestingly, 6.0 staging worked, so I stopped there on the staging versions. For the regular version, 6.14 was the lowest that worked. Since there were only two more to go, I tried them and 6.16 also works.

So, 6.0 staging, 6.14, 6.16 and 6.17 work on POL.

hotfrostworm

Late yesterday, I logged in to get patches and found 30 days free VIP. Thank you.

I asked players if anyone was using Linux OS, I found one using Manjaro with pre-installed Steam and Proton. This was on the dragon shard and not on mimic the preview.

Today there was some micro patch and now my 6.0.2 set to Windows 10 cannot access the game at all on both dragon and mimic.

I found the 6.17 source on WineHQ and I am presently compiling it. I don't know when (or if) WineHQ plans to make this a stable release. I only hope those people over at Steam are on their toes with Proton. I don't know what micro patched today, but it completely ended any access to Neverwinter via the current WINE 6.0.2 stable. Keeping my fingers crossed for this to still work with 6.17.

Update: I may have broke the old Wine install, I will attempt to purge WINE and start over. I should have something ready by tonight.

hotfrostworm

I think I got it set for the weekend now. I am running both 6.0.2 and 6.17 fully functional for Neverwinter, I can't say 100% for sure about all the other games on my system.

Who knows, maybe there will be a whole 3 to 4 people on Preview testing Linux OS this weekend?

blargskull

Are you getting better than 20 fps? I can't imagine you can do better than a Windows gaming rig. Are you just looking for glitches or are you going to test various hardware outputs?

hotfrostworm

I have been testing module 22 off and on today. I ran into one issue, I have this old HP i5 that blew it's GPU card. I took the time to test motherboard GPU and it didn't look that bad. The joker above me knows I am not here doing hardware comparisons, frame rates, or showing off the new game mechanics. Later I will do some more tests using a HP i3 I have an old passive 2 GB card in that one. A decent modern rig can get 100 fps with the right GPU installed.

Anyone considering shopping for a Linux OS to run games, should check out the following distributions.
I told everyone above, Manjaro Linux comes with Steam pre-installed and is a good system. However there are some others.

Sparky Linux has a version called GameOver, it comes with Lutris, Wine, Play on Linux, Steam, and a variety of gaming software. Sparky Linux build is optimized for gaming. Drauger OS is another... however it is much more difficult to install for the novice user. I personally recommend either Lubuntu or Xubuntu, then take your time installing Play on Linux as WineHQ currently is only offering 6.0.2, as discussed above, it is not working for Neverwinter. I have no knowledge to the status of Proton for Steam or Lutris. Right now Preview of module 22 is working for WINE 6.17.

If you already have Linux OS on your machine, you can check the version of WINE by opening a terminal window. At the prompt type, wine --version and it should return the version installed or tell you the command needed to install wine on your system. The same can be done with Play on Linux, at the terminal prompt type, playonlinux --version and it will return with PlayOnLinux 4.3.4 or instructions to install the application.


I am currently processing some videos I recorded now and will return to post them here on Sunday evening.

merendemacaco

I am using Proton on steam for NW (pretty sure it is 6.3x at this point), though I have a multilib Wine-staging 6.23 available on system (I use it for another game). I haven't tried the upcoming release. The only annoying issue I see is the chat server cutting out now and then. Graphically I get a bit of tearing and FPS isn't great but I am running a weak graphics card so I can live with it. Unfortunately my buying rule of 2x as fast for same price as previous card which served me well in the past doesn't work well in the age of inflation and cryptomining.

plan009

Tested Preview on Steam with the latest Proton 6.3-8 and Proton Experimental, they both worked fine.

hotfrostworm

https://youtu.be/E3rbuu2u5RY

@plan009 and @merendemacaco#2613 thanks for confirming they are up to the challenge.

With all the idiots and fools buying up GPUs at stupid prices for cryptomining, it could be sometime before we see normal prices in the market again. I got my RMA number and sending this smoked GPU back tomorrow for a replacement. Meanwhile I have the 2 GB MSI passive GPU working.

I will be posting more videos later.

hotfrostworm

I got the wild notion to burn a Live ISO of Sparky 7: Gameover Edition, then try it out with my installed Neverwinter.

https://youtu.be/JU5vauNGYYw

Personally I expected it not to work, the results on an old machine with only 2.0 USB was surprising. Not only are you able to test the Linux OS, I was able to put it to practical use. Just imagine what it could do on a better machine.

Notice: I once had a client who called me up telling me that Linux OS I gave him to install wasn't working. He said, "Every time I boot I have to set everything up all over again!". I went to his house and found this man was running it off the USB thumb drive for almost a week. I went ahead and installed it, I honestly thought he would know how to install it himself. This was a nice "acid test". Keeping a stick around will keep you from getting locked out of your Windows OS should the boot ever fail.

moonlight

Hello, not sure if this forum page gets any updates still about Linux OS. but I was hoping to get some advice here, I am currently wanting to try out a Linux OS and want to play Neverwinter on it but not sure if it's still supported? I am using windows 10 I have a gtx 1060 intel i5 3570k 32 gb ram those specs should be good enough to run under Linux?

plasticbat

moonlight#8241 said:

Hello, not sure if this forum page gets any updates still about Linux OS. but I was hoping to get some advice here, I am currently wanting to try out a Linux OS and want to play Neverwinter on it but not sure if it's still supported? I am using windows 10 I have a gtx 1060 intel i5 3570k 32 gb ram those specs should be good enough to run under Linux?

It was never supported by Cryptic. Some players made/make it works. So, try it yourself to see if that works. You may (most likely) need to twist it to make it works.

In addition, this is preview forum. The version involves/involved is not the life version.

moonlight

Thank you @plasticbat ! I am wanting to try out a Linux distro called Pop OS I love the looks of it and would love to play Neverwinter on it, I have done alittle bit of researching and apparently there is a is a program for being able to play Windows games called Lutris? from what I have seen it does work Just needs alittle tweaking with the Graphics settings because it auto sets everything to the max Graphics and wanna be able to turn them down alittle.