F-ZERO GLINUX Version 0.9 — Linux & Windows, Unlock Everything

Windows zip updated (2026-10-25): this is a fix release of the Windows download. It fixes "Start in fullscreen" not being applied, a thin white border in fullscreen, and the game-image browser not showing other drives (D:, E: …) or not opening when OneDrive has moved the Documents folder. Folder and file names with special characters (å, ö, …) now work too. If you downloaded the Windows zip earlier, please download it again. The Linux AppImage and Flatpak are unchanged.

F-ZERO GLINUX 0.9 is the first release for Linux and Windows, and the first with unlockable content built into the launcher.

New: Unlock everything (no button codes)

Open CHEATS & UNLOCKS in the launcher and switch on Unlock Everything & Max Tickets (99,999). Everything is applied automatically when the game starts:

• 99,999 tickets to spend in the F-Zero Shop.
• All cups, including the AX Cup and its tracks.
• Every machine, including the AX machines and Dark Schneider.
• All 15 Gold Parts from the hidden shop codes discovered in 2026 (see below for how to build the Gold machines).
• Sounds of MUTE CITY and Sounds of BIG BLUE for sale under F-Zero Shop > Items (99 tickets). Press Z when choosing a Mute City or Big Blue course to race with the remix. The normal music isn't replaced.

Where are Thunderstorm, El Dorado, Bahamut, Chrono Symphony and Gladiator?

• Those are machine names. They were complete custom machines handed out at Japanese events. The game has no item with those names, so you'll never see them in a list.
• What the shop sells are the three parts that make up each machine. They use ordinary part names and are the only parts priced at 15 tickets:

To build	Buy this Body	Cockpit	Booster
Thunderstorm	Rage Knight	Hyper Stream	Velocity -J
El Dorado	Metal Shell	Round Disk	Shuttle -M2
Chrono Symphony	Blood Raven	Maximum Star	Crown -77
Bahamut	Mad Bull	Crazy Buffalo	Mars -EX
Gladiator	Galaxy Falcon	Rush Cyclone	Hornet -FX

To get Thunderstorm, for example:

1. Buy Rage Knight, Hyper Stream and Velocity -J in F-Zero Shop → Custom Parts.
2. Go to Customize → Garage, build a machine from those three parts, and name it Thunderstorm.

The launcher still lists the original shop button codes. The Gold Parts codes now work with a single controller; they used to need four.

Unlocks are written to your memory card the next time the game saves, so they stay even after you turn the switch off. Back up your save first if you want to keep an untouched one.

New: Windows (10/11, x64)

• Portable zip: unpack it anywhere and run F-ZERO GLINUX.exe. There's no installer, and the Visual C++ runtime is included.
• Same launcher as on Linux: artwork, gamepad navigation, graphics settings, mods and the cheats switch.
• Direct3D 11 is the default graphics backend. Vulkan and Direct3D 12 can be picked in the launcher.
• Escape opens the Quit dialog, like on Linux (not working yet on Windows). F11 toggles fullscreen. The keyboard works without a gamepad.
• The app has its own icon. Saves go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\fzero-glinux.
• The build isn't code-signed. If SmartScreen warns you, choose More info → Run anyway.
• The first start compiles shaders, which can take a few minutes on slow GPUs.

Improvements on all platforms

• Much faster startup. The game files' checksum is cached between launches, so starting a game no longer re-reads 1.4 GB each time.
• In the Quit dialog, No is selected straight away, so Enter or gamepad A responds without pressing a direction first.

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux, AppImage (glibc 2.35+)	F-ZERO-GLINUX-0.9-glibc2.35-x86_64.AppImage, smoke-tested on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04, Debian 12 and Fedora 40. Make it executable and run it.
Linux, Flatpak	F-ZERO-GLINUX-0.9-x86_64.flatpak. Install with flatpak install --user F-ZERO-GLINUX-0.9-x86_64.flatpak
Windows 10/11 x64	F-ZERO-GLINUX-0.9-windows-x64.zip. Unpack it and run F-ZERO GLINUX.exe

Each file has a .sha256 checksum next to it.

Known limitations

• Windows: online play, physical gamepads and sound output haven't been tested yet. The game window shows Dolphin's File/View menu bar.
• Online play is still split screen, VS Battle only, up to 4 players.

Bring your own F-ZERO GX USA (GFZE01) ISO or RVZ. WIP: issues may occur.

F-ZERO GLINUX version 0.SteamDeck/Ubuntu/Bazzite

F-ZERO GLINUX — Portable Cross-Distribution Release

Release Name: F-ZERO GLINUX version 0.SteamDeck/Ubuntu/Bazzite

This release introduces native portable packaging built on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (glibc 2.35) with statically linked C++ runtime libraries and baseline x86-64 instructions. It resolves previous distribution incompatibilities and has been verified across major Linux distributions through automated CI smoke testing. (Please enjoy because I went up 2AM for this smoke-test)

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What's New & Highlights

1. Broad Cross-Distribution Support (glibc 2.35 & static C++ runtime)

• Portable baseline: Compiled targeting generic x86-64-baseline (compatible with any 64-bit x86 CPU, no AVX/AVX2 requirements).
• Static runtime linking: Both libstdc++ and libgcc are statically linked, preventing C++ ABI symbol errors (GLIBCXX_3.4.32 not found) on distributions with older GCC runtimes.
• Automated CI smoke test verified:
  • SteamOS 3 / Steam Deck (Tested & Verified)
  • Bazzite (Tested & Verified)
  • Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy) (Tested & Verified)
  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble) (Tested & Verified)
  • Debian 12 (Bookworm) (Tested & Verified)
  • Fedora 40+ (Tested & Verified)
  • Arch Linux / CachyOS / Manjaro (Tested & Verified)

2. Steam Deck & Gamepad Polish

• Responsive Analog Triggers: Trigger deadzone calibrated to 5.0% and threshold to 85.0% for responsive drifting and reliable spin attacks without hard pulls.
• Anti-Drift Stick Deadzones: Tuned 5.0% deadzones on Main Stick and C-Stick.
• Multi-Bound Z Button: Can now be triggered using RB, LB, or Back / Select (useful for Look Behind, cancel, and menu options).
• Gamepad In-Game Exit Hotkey: Added a gamepad confirmation popup (WMUserConfirmExit). Pressing the Guide button (Home / Xbox / PlayStation) or Start + Back / Select simultaneously pauses the game and prompts to confirm exit safely.
• On-Screen Virtual Keyboard: Automatic Steam virtual keyboard popup support via SDL_StartTextInput when entering Netplay fields on Steam Deck and SteamOS Game Mode.

3. Wayland & Graphics Integration

• Native Wayland support: Adaptive Wayland protocol bindings for modern and LTS compositors (xdg-shell, xdg-decoration, idle-inhibit).
• Display backend fallback: Explicit --wayland and --x11 selector flags in the launcher.
• Widescreen support: Automatic native 16:9 widescreen patch enabled on fresh saves (GFZE01.ini), while preserving existing save files.

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File Support & Installation Guide

File	Type	Target Environment	How to Run
F-ZERO-GLINUX-preview-20261023-glibc2.35-x86_64.AppImage	Standalone AppImage	Recommended for Steam Deck, Bazzite, Ubuntu 22.04/24.04, Debian 12, Fedora, Arch	Make executable (chmod +x) and run directly. If FUSE is not installed, use --appimage-extract-and-run.
F-ZERO-GLINUX-x86_64.flatpak	Single-file Flatpak bundle	Recommended for immutable OSes or systems needing complete desktop sandboxing	Install via flatpak install --user F-ZERO-GLINUX-x86_64.flatpak and run via flatpak run io.github.mabecgames.FZeroGLinux.
*.compatibility.txt	Compatibility Audit	Informational	Details the glibc ABI floor (2.35) and ELF dependency inventory.
*.sha256	Checksum verification	Integrity check	Verify with sha256sum -c *.sha256.

Note

No game ISO/RVZ or personal saves are included. Please provide your own USA GameCube game image (GFZE01) in the launcher.

F-ZERO GLINUX Version 0.Online&Mods

Online play

• PLAY ONLINE in the launcher: host a room and share its 4-word room code (for example FALCON-PICO-SAMURAI-ZERO); friends paste it to join. No IP addresses needed.
• Lobby with a copyable room code, your player number and a Close Room / Leave button.
• Keyboard fallback when no gamepad is connected.
• Online play uses Dolphin netplay: split screen for up to 4 players in VS Battle, no CPU racers, and the slowest machine sets the pace.

Mods

• New MODS section: Add mod folder… from anywhere. Texture packs and Dolphin graphics mods are detected automatically and can be switched on or off.
• Works with the F-ZERO GX HD texture pack (separate download).
• Visual mods also work in online play.

Launcher

• Sharper, easier-to-read text (Noto Sans Medium) in the launcher and the netplay lobby.

Downloads

• AppImage (portable, glibc 2.35+): F-ZERO-GLINUX-preview-20261023-glibc2.35-x86_64.AppImage, smoke-tested on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04, Debian 12 and Fedora 40. Make it executable and run it.
• Flatpak: flatpak install --user F-ZERO-GLINUX-p2p-mods-20261023-x86_64.flatpak

Bring your own F-ZERO GX USA (GFZE01) ISO or RVZ. WIP: issues may occur.

F-ZERO GLINUX version 0.notcompleteyet

AppImage for modern systems

Use Flatpak if you are on older distros/kernels

Game is fully playable.