Total War: SHOGUN 2 Native Linux Fix Guide

This repository contains two ways to get the native Linux version of Total War: SHOGUN 2 working again on modern Ubuntu-based distributions:

Automatic script method (recommended) — one command, mostly automated.
Manual method — step-by-step build instructions for people who want full control.

Tested on:

Linux Mint 22.1 / 22.3
Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04
Should work on most Ubuntu-based distributions

What this fixes

Modern Linux systems break the old native SHOGUN 2 build for several reasons:

W^X kernel enforcement (mprotect issue)
Missing old OpenSSL libraries
Missing old libcurl symbols
Removed GConf libraries
glibc 2.34+ dlopen compatibility issues

This repository rebuilds/provides the missing compatibility pieces.

MULTIPLAYER WILL NOT WORK !!!!

Because the game depends on OpenSSL 1.0.2:

SEGA servers require modern TLS support that OpenSSL 1.0.2 does not have.

Single-player works. If you want multiplayer just use Proton

This is not the best way to play the game , i did this out of curiosity.

Requirements

Before using either method:

Steam must be installed as the native .deb version (NOT Flatpak)

Also:

SHOGUN 2 must be installed with linux-pre-2022-update
In Steam → right click game → Properties → Game Versions & Betas
Select:

linux-pre-2022-update

And:

Compatibility tab → make sure Proton / Steam Play is off!

Method 1 — Automatic Script (Recommended)

The easiest method.

The script:

installs required packages
builds all compatibility libraries
copies required game files
prints the correct Steam launch options

Step 1 — Download or clone the repository

git clone <YOUR_REPO_URL>
cd <YOUR_REPO_NAME>

Or simply download the files manually.

Step 2 — Make the script executable

chmod +x shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh

Step 3 — Run the script

./shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh

The script will:

Build libc_mprotect.so
Build OpenSSL 1.0.2
Build libcurl 7.40
Build a libgconf compatibility stub
Install required 32-bit packages
Copy private_symbol_hack.so
Print the exact Steam launch option to paste

Script phases

You can also run specific phases manually.

Phase 1 — W^X fix

./shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh --phase 1

Phase 2 — OpenSSL + libcurl + GConf

./shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh --phase 2

Phase 3 — Dependencies + private_symbol_hack

./shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh --phase 3

Phase 4 — Print launch options

./shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh --phase 4

Useful script commands

Show installation status

./shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh --status

Diagnose launch failures

./shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh --diagnose

Preview actions without changing anything

./shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh --dry-run

Final Steam setup

After the script finishes:

Launch Options

Paste the line printed by the script.

Launch the game

Make sure Steam is running
Click Play
The Feral launcher should appear
Click PLAY

Method 2 — Full Manual Guide

Use this if you dont trust me :(

Tested on Linux Mint 22.1/22.3 and Ubuntu 22.04/24.04.

Step 1 — install build tools and 32-bit libraries

sudo apt install gcc gcc-multilib make wget perl pkg-config build-essential \
  libgl1-mesa-dri:i386 libgl1:i386 libc6:i386 \
  libopenal1:i386 libnss3:i386 libnspr4:i386 \
  libsdl2-ttf-2.0-0:i386 libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0:i386 \
  libxss1:i386 libxtst6:i386

Ubuntu 22.04

sudo apt install libgtk2.0-0:i386

Ubuntu 24.04 / Mint 22

sudo apt install libgtk2.0-0t64:i386

NVIDIA users

Find your driver version:

nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv,noheader

Example:

595.71.05

Install the matching 32-bit GL package:

sudo apt install libnvidia-gl-595:i386

Step 2 — create working directories

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/src

Step 3 — build libc_mprotect.so

Modern kernels block writable+executable memory. SHOGUN 2 still expects it.

Create the source:

cat > ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/src/libc_mprotect.c << 'EOF'
#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <sys/mman.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
int mprotect(void *addr, size_t len, int prot) {
    if (prot == PROT_EXEC) prot |= PROT_READ;
    return syscall(__NR_mprotect, addr, len, prot);
}
EOF

Compile:

gcc -m32 -shared -fPIC -O2 \
    -o ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/libc_mprotect.so \
    ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/src/libc_mprotect.c

Verify:

file ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/libc_mprotect.so

Expected:

ELF 32-bit LSB shared object, Intel 80386

Step 4 — build OpenSSL 1.0.2u

The game needs old sonames:

libssl.so.37
libcrypto.so.36

These no longer exist on modern Ubuntu.

Download:

cd ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/src

wget -O openssl-1.0.2u.tar.gz \
    https://ftp.nluug.nl/security/openssl/openssl-1.0.2u.tar.gz

Extract:

tar -xzf openssl-1.0.2u.tar.gz
cd openssl-1.0.2u

Configure:

./Configure linux-elf shared no-asm \
    --prefix="$HOME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/openssl-install" \
    --openssldir="$HOME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/openssl-install/ssl" \
    -Wl,-rpath="$HOME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32" \
    -Wl,-z,noexecstack

Build:

make depend

make -j$(nproc) \
    CFLAG="-Wno-error -fPIC -m32 -DOPENSSL_PIC -DOPENSSL_THREADS -D_REENTRANT -DDSO_DLFCN -DHAVE_DLFCN_H -DL_ENDIAN -O3 -Wall"

Copy libraries:

cp -P libssl.so* libcrypto.so* ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/

Create old soname symlinks:

cd ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32
ln -sf libssl.so.1.0.0 libssl.so.37
ln -sf libcrypto.so.1.0.0 libcrypto.so.36

Step 5 — build libcurl 7.40

cd ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/src

wget -O curl-7.40.0.tar.gz https://curl.se/download/curl-7.40.0.tar.gz

tar -xzf curl-7.40.0.tar.gz
cd curl-7.40.0

Configure:

OPENSSL_SRC="$HOME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/src/openssl-1.0.2u"
LIB32="$HOME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32"

CFLAGS="-m32 -I$OPENSSL_SRC/include" \
LDFLAGS="-m32 -L$OPENSSL_SRC -Wl,-rpath=$LIB32" \
LIBS="-ldl" \
./configure \
    --prefix="$HOME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/curl-install" \
    --with-ssl="$OPENSSL_SRC" \
    --disable-static \
    --enable-shared \
    --host=i686-pc-linux-gnu

Build:

make -j$(nproc)

Copy libraries:

cp -P lib/.libs/libcurl.so* ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/

Step 6 — build libgconf stub

cat > ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/src/gconf_stub.c << 'EOF'
#include <stdlib.h>
void gconf_client_get_default(void) {}
void gconf_client_get_bool(void) {}
void gconf_client_get_string(void) {}
void gconf_client_get_int(void) {}
void gconf_client_get_list(void) {}
void gconf_client_get(void) {}
void gconf_client_set_bool(void) {}
void gconf_client_set_string(void) {}
void gconf_client_set_int(void) {}
void gconf_client_add_dir(void) {}
void gconf_client_remove_dir(void) {}
void gconf_client_notify_add(void) {}
void gconf_client_notify_remove(void) {}
void gconf_entry_get_key(void) {}
void gconf_entry_get_value(void) {}
void gconf_entry_free(void) {}
void gconf_value_free(void *val) { free(val); }
void gconf_value_get_bool(void) {}
void gconf_value_get_string(void) {}
void gconf_value_get_int(void) {}
void gconf_init(void) {}
void gconf_error_quark(void) {}
EOF

Compile:

gcc -m32 -shared -fPIC -O2 \
    -o ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/libgconf-2.so.4 \
    ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/src/gconf_stub.c

Step 7 — copy private_symbol_hack.so

cp ~/.steam/debian-installation/steamapps/common/"Total War SHOGUN 2"/lib/private_symbol_hack.so \
   ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/

Verify:

file ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/private_symbol_hack.so

Expected:

ELF 32-bit LSB shared object, Intel 80386

Step 8 — verify installed files

ls -la ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/

Expected files:

libc_mprotect.so
libcrypto.so -> libcrypto.so.1.0.0
libcrypto.so.1.0.0
libcrypto.so.36 -> libcrypto.so.1.0.0
libssl.so -> libssl.so.1.0.0
libssl.so.1.0.0
libssl.so.37 -> libssl.so.1.0.0
libcurl.so -> libcurl.so.4.3.0
libcurl.so.4 -> libcurl.so.4.3.0
libcurl.so.4.3.0
libgconf-2.so.4
private_symbol_hack.so

Step 9 — Steam launch options

In Steam:

Right click SHOGUN 2
Properties
General
Launch Options

Paste:

SteamAppId=34330 GameAppId=34330 GAME_LAUNCH_PREFIX="env LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32:../lib/i686" LD_PRELOAD="/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/private_symbol_hack.so:/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/libc_mprotect.so:/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/libcurl.so.4.3.0:/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/libssl.so.1.0.0:/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32/libcrypto.so.1.0.0" %command%

Or auto-generate the correct line:

LIB32="$HOME/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/lib32"

echo "SteamAppId=34330 GameAppId=34330 GAME_LAUNCH_PREFIX=\"env LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${LIB32}:../lib/i686\" LD_PRELOAD=\"${LIB32}/private_symbol_hack.so:${LIB32}/libc_mprotect.so:${LIB32}/libcurl.so.4.3.0:${LIB32}/libssl.so.1.0.0:${LIB32}/libcrypto.so.1.0.0\" %command%"

Step 10 — launch

Start Steam
Launch the game
The Feral launcher should appear
Click PLAY

If the game crashes:

tail -50 ~/.steam/debian-installation/logs/console_log.txt

Uninstall

rm -rf ~/.local/share/shogun2-native-fix/

Then remove the Steam launch option.

No system files are modified beyond installed apt packages.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
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LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh		shogun2-native-fix-v2.sh

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Total War: SHOGUN 2 Native Linux Fix Guide

What this fixes

MULTIPLAYER WILL NOT WORK !!!!

Requirements

Method 1 — Automatic Script (Recommended)

Step 1 — Download or clone the repository

Step 2 — Make the script executable

Step 3 — Run the script

Script phases

Phase 1 — W^X fix

Phase 2 — OpenSSL + libcurl + GConf

Phase 3 — Dependencies + private_symbol_hack

Phase 4 — Print launch options

Useful script commands

Show installation status

Diagnose launch failures

Preview actions without changing anything

Final Steam setup

Launch Options

Launch the game

Method 2 — Full Manual Guide

Step 1 — install build tools and 32-bit libraries

Ubuntu 22.04

Ubuntu 24.04 / Mint 22

NVIDIA users

Step 2 — create working directories

Step 3 — build libc_mprotect.so

Step 4 — build OpenSSL 1.0.2u

Step 5 — build libcurl 7.40

Step 6 — build libgconf stub

Step 7 — copy private_symbol_hack.so

Step 8 — verify installed files

Step 9 — Steam launch options

Step 10 — launch

Uninstall

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