Playing Steam (Windows) Games Using PlayOnLinux
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- About
- Key files
- Community-made launcher files
- Set user passwords
- Install the required software
- Install Steam under the "steam" user with PlayOnLinux
- Install your games
- Adding your Steam-Wine games to SteamOS / BPM
- Demo test video
This guide will instruct you on how to play games using PlayOnLinux from the Steam (for Windows) client, using SteamOS. For some general PlayOnLinux information see any of the links below
This process entails several components:
- Debian sources
- PlayOnLinux
- A virtual desktop (from POL)
- Passing arguments to the virtual desktop to start the game under Steam (for Windows).
Note:
Please see AUTHORS.md for a list of contributions regarding this code. This could not have been done without them.
Any available Wine-POL game launchers can be found here under the launchers/wine-pol-launchers directory.
A list of scripts for PlayOnLinux itself can be found in this wiki entry.
Set the desktop user password:
passwd desktop
Set the steam user password:
sudo passwd steam
Be aware there is a more recent package, playonlinux-unstable which includes changes that fix the bottom cut-off buttons in the program, includes the Wine control panel, and more.
This assumes you have added Debian sources.
sudo apt-get install playonlinux x11-utils gksu
Now we will install a quick shortcut to making managing POL under the steam user easier
sudo cp SteamOS-Tools/cfgs/wine/Steam-POL.sh /usr/bin/Steam-POL
cp SteamOS-Tools/cfgs/wine/Steam-POL.desktop $HOME/Desktop
sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/Steam-POL
Start up Steam-POL on your desktop. You will notice that buttons are kind of "not right," with the scaling off. This is how SteamOS desktop mode is setup for television use. In POL, the first button on the left is usually "OK," with the second being "Cancel." If you wish to fix this (even temporarily), please see the Fixing SteamOS Desktop Font Scaling wiki page. On that page, you will see examples of each window. If you chose to do this, you will likely need to reboot to have the scaling take full effect.
- Click the + icon to Install
- Search for "steam"
- Double click the Steam entry to install
- Click Next (or the first button if your scaling is off) for each screen given
- During installing, this will install "1.7.53-steam-crossover_hack". We will change this later.
- At the end of the installation, choose not to run Steam
Many games run much better under Wine 1.8 (as of 20160102). The below instructions show you how to change the running version of Wine for Steam, under POL. Wine 1.9 is available as well to use. Your mileage may vary.
- Highlight Steam from POL
- Click the gear icon to congfigure
- Under the "Wine version" section on the General tab, click the + icon
- Chose the Wine 1.8 release on the left side pane, clicking the > arrow to install it.
- When installation is complete, close the window
- Back in the general tab, use the pull down tab for "Wine version" and choose 1.8
- You will get a warning, choose Yes
When you next start Steam under POL, it will upgrade the Wine bottle for use with this new version.
Install any games you wish to use under Steam for PlayOnLinux. I highly recommend at least launching the game once while still in Steam under POL. Make sure you also close Steam properly with Steam > Exit.
Replace "my_game" with the name of your game. I advise you not to use spaces. If you do, make sure to escape them with "" when editing (2nd line below)
sudo cp SteamOS-Tools/cfgs/wine/pol-game-launcher.skel /usr/bin/my_game
sudo nano /usr/bin/my_game
sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/my_game
The lines we need to edit are:
# Define some Wine variables for use in the script.
export WINEPREFIX="/home/steam/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/Steam"
export WINEDEBUG="-all"
WINEVERSION="$HOME/.PlayOnLinux/wine/linux-x86/VERSION_TMP"
# Define Steam location and game location here.
# NOTE: GAME_DIR is not used with current method. Possibly remove?
STEAM_DIR="$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Program Files/Steam"
GAME_APPID="GAME_ID"
GAME_DIR="GAME_DIR"
GAME_EXE="GAME_EXE"
All available versions are nested under /home/steam/.PlayOnLinux/wine
desktop@steamos:~$ ls /home/steam/.PlayOnLinux/wine/linux-x86/
1.7.53-steam_crossoverhack 1.8
Vist steamdb.info and search for your game. Take note of the AppID found.
This is not used right now, but typically falls under /home/steam/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/Steam/drive_c/Program\ Files/Steam/steamapps/common/
desktop@steamos:~$ ls /home/steam/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/Steam/drive_c/Program\ Files/Steam/steamapps/common/
Serious Sam HD The Second Encounter The Apogee Throwback Pack
Super Indie Karts
This will be what we want to specify the virtual desktop starts. Once you located your game on steamdb.info, click the AppID to visit the game page. From there, click on the configuration link, located on the left side. Note the game executable full name. If you have trouble with the exe, be sure check the output of htop and pgrep while testing the game in Desktop Mode under PlayOnLinux.
Below is one example of a completed launcher:
# Define some Wine variables for use in the script.
export WINEPREFIX="/home/steam/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/Steam"
export WINEDEBUG="-all"
WINEVERSION="$HOME/.PlayOnLinux/wine/linux-x86/1.8"
# Define Steam location and game location here.
# NOTE: GAME_DIR is not used with current method. Possibly remove?
STEAM_DIR="$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Program Files/Steam"
GAME_APPID="204340"
GAME_DIR="steamapps/common/Serious Sam 2/Bin"
GAME_EXE="Sam2.exe"
Copy a default desktop template file from SteamOS-Tools. be sure to replace "my_game" with the desired name. I advise not to use spaces, but hyphens "-" instead. You can always change the Name field below to suit your needs.
sudo cp SteamOS-Tools/cfgs/wine/Default.desktop /usr/share/applications/my_game.desktop
Per our example above, we would modify the desktop file as follows:
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Serious Sam 2
GenericName=Game
Type=Application
Exec=/usr/bin/ss2
Icon=playonlinux
Categories=Game;
The icon file can be a path to any artwork you wish to use. /r/steamgrid on Reddit is a fantastic resource for these images. Also, in a Google Image search, click the "Search Tools" tab and set the search size to exactly 460x215. This is the standard size for Steam images and you will be able to search for specific grid images much easier.
Ensure Steam under POL is closed properly, and exit POL. Click "Return to Steam." Navigate to Settings > Add Library Shortcut. Add your game.
Coming soon!
