Linux Support (Beta)

Ask here if you experience technical problems with X4: Foundations.

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CBJ
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Linux Support (Beta)

Post by CBJ » Mon, 25. Feb 19, 18:00

Linux (Beta) support thread

Please attach savegames for almost any issue, it'll help a lot. In case you can't or don't want to include it in the forum post, my email address is: tim13on ( on ) egosoft.com, of course remove the 13 and ( on ) is @ (hope not too many spam bots figure that out);p

Generic information:

Installation prerequisites:
If you purchased the game through GOG, you must make sure that you have installed the Vulkan runtime on your system. If the runtime is missing, the game won't start. For further details, take a look at this troubleshooting page.

Cloud-sync between Windows and Linux is not supported.
Savegames are by default stored in a hidden folder ".config/EgoSoft/X4/<number>/save/" in your home directory, where <number> is your steam user id, the files are save_001.xml.gz, save_002.xml.gz etc.
Windows savegames should be two-way compatible however you'll need to copy them manually, if there are any issues please report a bug.

System and driver compatibility:
There is and will only be a 64bit version.
Steam is required to run the game.
Currently we only support SteamOS and Ubuntu 18.04.
At the moment only the proprietary driver from nvidia and the open-source mesa/radv amd drivers are supported.

Joystick/Controller setup:
If the game doesn't detect your device, make sure your user account is part of the "input" usergroup. e.g. sudo usermod -a -G input <USERNAME>; then exit and re-login

Controllers:
If you have a relatively common xbox-like controller it should work fine out-of-the-box. Please report a bug if that's not the case.

Joysticks:
First go to Settings, Controls, Load Profile and select "Default - Joystick".
After that you will need to setup button mappings (mainly in Controls, Space), as the default will most likely not fit your joystick.
If the default axis configuration is incorrect you can remap them the same way as buttons.
To invert an axis search for "Invert Axes" in the Controls menu in the "Controller / Joystick" sub-section.

Known issues and missing features:
  • Long game launch time (window/screen may be black during this so please give it a few minutes)
  • Joystick/controller hot-plug issues
  • Graphical glitches on lockboxes and jumpgates on radv
Bugreporting:

Please attach screenshots & savegames for almost any issue, it'll help a lot. In case you can't or don't want to include it in the forum post, my email address is: tim13on ( on ) egosoft.com, of course remove the 13 and ( on ) is @ (hope not too many spam bots figure that out);p

If you notice anything "pink/blue/green" the best thing to do is give us a screenshot & savegame.
If you notice something looking ugly it would help a lot if you can verify it's linux specific first, then give us a screenshot & savegame.

To get a debug game log (in desktop mode) please:
  • Completely close steam
  • Open a terminal/console
  • Type in: steam -console
  • Steam should now run and redirect all of its output to that terminal/console window.
  • Launch X4 from steam, you should get output from the game to that terminal window.
Build history:
2019-02-26 - Version: 2.0 - 334398 Lin 8

tricecold
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by tricecold » Mon, 25. Feb 19, 22:23

Awaiting patch. Thnx for this.
TR 1950X - GTX 970

lazy_banana
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by lazy_banana » Mon, 25. Feb 19, 22:48

What distributions will be supported?
Will the minimum system requirements be different?
Will you guys make a post describing your experience with porting the game to Linux? Answering questions like what were the biggest causes of issues (ecosystem fragmentation, video drivers, compatibility issues between libraries or distributions), how much did the use of Vulkan ease this process, what would you change in the development process for version 1.0 to make porting the game to Linux easier. I bet the Linux community would like to know.

Gwarrio
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by Gwarrio » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 01:25

Looking forward to this!

sintri
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by sintri » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 02:15

Can I play this on wine?

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preludelinux
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by preludelinux » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 06:06

Looking forward to it , continues to wait patiently
System Specs "Main System / Secondary System"
  • Linux Mint 19
  • AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950x / Core i7 4770k
  • 64 GB Ram / 32 GB Ram
  • 2X Nvidia GTX 1080 "4k + 1080P" / AMD RX Vega 64 "1080P"
  • KVM / Qemu Pci Passthrough 8 Core 16GB Ram Nvidia GTX 1080

Eton
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by Eton » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 10:34

Super!! I'm wading for beta!

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Juggernaut93
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by Juggernaut93 » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 10:58

sintri wrote:
Tue, 26. Feb 19, 02:15
Can I play this on wine?
This will be a native port, no need for Wine.

CBJ
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by CBJ » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 11:07

lazy_banana wrote:
Mon, 25. Feb 19, 22:48
Will you guys make a post describing your experience with porting the game to Linux? Answering questions like what were the biggest causes of issues (ecosystem fragmentation, video drivers, compatibility issues between libraries or distributions), how much did the use of Vulkan ease this process, what would you change in the development process for version 1.0 to make porting the game to Linux easier. I bet the Linux community would like to know.
Actually it was a relatively painless process this time around. We had basically already done what was required to ensure that our general code-base would work for a Linux build several years ago when we were porting XR, and we had already done the work on the Vulkan side itself for XRVR. I'm sure different libraries and distributions will continue to be an issue, as they always are with Linux, but our specialist is very familiar with dealing with such matters.

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MakerLinux
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by MakerLinux » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 11:08

Eager to try it. Will buy the game as soon as the beta is out.
Brazilian Linux-only user living in Poland, https://steamcommunity.com/id/patolinux on Steam. PC I use for playing: Ryzen 7 7800X3D with 64 GB 6GHz DDR5 CL30, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, ArchLinux
Controllers: steam controller via Steam Input or HOTAS set: TSaitek X52 Pro + MFD F-16 + G29 pedals.
VR headset: Valve Index & Meta Quest 2. My other PC: Steam Deck OLD with nReal AIR AR headset

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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by _JD_ » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 14:20

YYYEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

segmentationfault
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by segmentationfault » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 14:44

Great news! Timon did an awesome work with X:R port so I don't have worries with X4.
You had a bug tracker in use for X:R testing, I assume it is not making a return this time?

timon37
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by timon37 » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 15:40

segmentationfault wrote:
Tue, 26. Feb 19, 14:44
so I don't have worries with X4.
You had a bug tracker in use for X:R testing, I assume it is not making a return this time?
I have worries;p There's always reasons to worry, and it's not called a "beta" just for coolness factor;)
But hopefully it all goes reasonably well:)

Regarding the bug tracker: "we'll see".

ironwill
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by ironwill » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 15:50

Ahem ... why is the Linux version linked against kerberos and libssh2 libs?

timon37
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by timon37 » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 16:04

Short answer because of the network code.

ironwill
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by ironwill » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 16:21

timon37 wrote:
Tue, 26. Feb 19, 16:04
Short answer because of the network code.
Kerberos and libssh2 are libs mainly made for remote and auth stuff, working as a wrapper around console mechanisms. I myself wrote a lot of projects using these. They are quite hard to use outside that purpose, lets say for plain data transfer. It's so much easier to spawn secure sockets using open-/libressl and use that for data transfers. And the ssl libs are linked too, so asking why libssh2/kerberos is used gets a bit more urgend. I'm asking because I'm a developer in this field for 20+ years now and damn well aware what can be done using this stuff.

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Brianetta
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by Brianetta » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 16:49

The network features of the game authenticate against your account on this forum. Presumably, these libs are required to do that. Kerberos allows the game to get a ticket and stay logged in, while ssh can do whatever ssl does, considering that it's all self-certified.
PGP fingerprint: FA3D CA2F 38D3 BA69 87E1 D52E C204 FB5C 430A 0BFA

timon37
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by timon37 » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 16:52

Those are possibly not needed, but stuff's normally compiled and linked with minimal changes/configuration. I'll take a look into it, when I get a chance. Similarly our ffmpeg could be slimmed down a lot.

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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by d3drocks » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 16:54

CBJ wrote:
Mon, 25. Feb 19, 18:00
Steam is required to run the game.
Will this be a requirement for the final release? You are selling X4 on GOG (which i prefer as it is DRM free). will a Linux version be available there? Steam is simply not an option for me.

CBJ
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Re: Linux Support (Beta)

Post by CBJ » Tue, 26. Feb 19, 17:00

The final Linux version will also be released on GOG, but we will not be making Beta versions available there for Linux.

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