gaming

EA Sports NHL Hockey 2022 – the puck and bug all inclusive

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As a follower of the NHL series on the PC, I bought a PS4 a few years ago, to continue the series. I still don’t understand why EA isn’t bringing out NHL for the PC alongside FIFA. The assumption is that ice hockey is not very widespread in our latitudes. The game itself is really entertaining. After a long period of abstinence, I decided two weeks ago to invest in NHL 2022. One reason for this was the new engine called “Frostbite” and a few additional extras. My last NHL hockey on PS4 was Versoin 2018.

After a few simple adjustments to the controls, I started (as always) with an NHL season. As a team, it had to be the Pittsburgh Penguins (my standard).

The puck and the players whiz across the field. The effects are crisp, the moderator a bit monotonous, but still not bad.

I am struggling to follow the course of the game. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea after all that I set the game speed (realism) to rather high. A few passes (from the opponent) later it rattles. I’m 0: 1 behind. Damn!

There is no giving up! Suddenly I have the feeling of the “underdog” … I still have to turn the match!

After a breakaway, a faked shot and a cross pass in front of the goal, my center (Crosby) hammers the puck into the net. Out of sheer euphoria, sitting in front of the monitor, I clench my fist and think to myself: “yes, lets go!”

Synching …

I watch the repetition, which is played automatically … The Pittsburgh logo appears … at the top right it says “Synching …” and still “Synching” …

In the background I can tell that the game is already going on, as the commentator happily comments how my opponent scores the next goal without me even noticing anything! WTF! Feels like a hundred – gamepad keystrokes later, I give up annoyed and choke the console off.

Research and Conclusion

Ultimately, I tried my trusted search engine and discovered that NHL Hockey 2022 has a bug that has still not been fixed. How the hell (sorry) can EA fail to notice such a bug? Have the ladies and gentlemen there ever heard of quality control? So I’ve now spent around EUR 60 on a game that I can’t play because it has a massive bug.

Running World of Tanks with Debian GNU Linux & Lutris

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Many Windows games now also run under “Linux” thanks to Steam & Proton. Since I definitely want to “get away” from MS Windows at home, but can also be called a gamer, some of my games are quite important to me. In addition to many other activities, I occasionally need a game or two to “come down” after a stressful day at work.

Apart from that, it would be a shame if many of the games you bought could no longer be used. As such, many of the games work very well on Steam 4 Linux & Proton. (I will probably write a separate article on this).

Steam says “No!”

I have been indulging in this MMO game for 7 years now. From this it becomes clear that I probably already have a few rounds “under my belt” and have already researched and bought a lot in the game. You could almost think that all I have to do now is get “good at the game”. But that’s a different story ?

So far I tried unsuccessfully to get WoT to work via Steam. Basically, it always failed because WoT (and thus Wargaming) relied on their own launcher, the Wargaming Game Center. When starting WoT via Steam, it was criticized that the game center is not installed, although the necessary .EXE file has been downloaded.

Finally I gave up WoT on Steam under Linux.

Regardless, as it is not possible to link a not steam-wot-account to Steam! (If you ran WoT outside of Steam and you would like to switch to Steam, you have to start your tanking-career all over again!)

Requirements for WoT on Linux

Distribution

In terms of distribution, I use Debian Bookworm (testing). I added contrib and non-free to the Debian repository (/etc/apt/sources.list).
I’m sure that the distribution doesn’t make the difference, since you have to access additional “non-Debian” repos either way.

Important: The commands (below) are to be executed in the console. It is necessary to work with the superuser “root”!

Installation of Nvidia drivers (for NVIDIA-Card-owners)

It is important, that you use the mostly latest NVIDIA-Driver. At the time writing this, this was:

Installation of the necessary kernel headers and compiler tools

  • apt-get install linux-headers – $ (uname -r)
  • apt-get install build essential

Download the appropriate driver from www.nvidia.com. Then use the console to switch to the directory in which you downloaded the driver and make it executable:

  • chmod + x NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-470.74.run
  • Note: The driver name can vary!

Note: If you have a different graphics card, you must of course install the appropriate driver for you!

Reboot (without GUI) and start NVIDIA driver installation

  • systemctl set-default multi-user.target
  • reboot
  • Change to the directory in which the download is located
  • Call ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-470.74.run (Attention: Driver name can vary!)

The installation process now starts in the console. Please install the 32-bit libraries in any case (answer the query with “YES”). Overwrite existing files with the files of the installer and also start nvidia-xconfig.

Reboot into the GUI

  • systemctl set-default graphical.target
  • reboot

Lutris and Wine

It is important to include additional package sources. These are:

Wine  (/etc/apt/sources.list.d/wine.list)

  • deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/debian/ bookworm main

Apart from that, the architecture i386 has to be activated:

  • dpkg -add-architecture i386

And import the winehq key (apt):

  • wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
    apt-key add winehq.key

Finally, wine has to be installed

I am going for the most current release possible and therefore install “wine-staging”.

  • apt-get update
  • apt-get install wine-staging

Lutris (/etc/apt/sources.list.d/lutris.list)

Additional package sources must also be added for Lutris:

  • deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/strycore/Debian_11/ ./

Import key (apt)

  • wget -q https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/strycore/Debian_11/Release.key -O-
    apt-key add –

Now we are installing lutris

  • apt-get update
  • apt-get install lutris

Version check

lutris:
Installed: 0.5.9.1
Installation candidate: 0.5.9.1
Version table:
*** 0.5.9.1 500
500 http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/strycore/Debian_11 ./ Packages
100 / var / lib / dpkg / status

wine:
wine staging:
Installed: 6.19 ~ bookworm-1
Installation candidate: 6.19 ~ bookworm-1
Version table:
*** 6.19 ~ bookworm-1 500
500 https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/debian bookworm / main amd64 packages
100 / var / lib / dpkg / status

nvidia driver:
Type: Proprietary
Version 470.74
Source: www.nvidia.com

Start Lutris – install World of Tanks

I already had World of Tanks installed on Windows. My first thought was to copy the WoT directory onto my “Linux disk” in the directory structure of Wine. Then “install” the Wargaming Game Center in Lutris and after starting the Wargaming Game Center simply specify the directory in which WoT is located (import game). However, this project turned out to be problematic because an error message appeared when trying to import the game into the WGGC. Basically this was: “The specified file is not a directory” – although I had selected a directory.

Note: The Lutris Games (Wine) are usually located in the home directory of the logged in user. The directory itself is hidden.

Just to illustrate: I tried to copy WOT into the directory /home/gestl/.wine/drive_c/wot and then integrate it (without downloading) into the game center. Unfortunately, as mentioned, this did NOT work.

The solution

First download the World of Tanks installer (Gamecenter): https://eu.wargaming.net/de/games/wot

Then just start Lutris and add the downloaded file “manually” using the plus symbol (top left), choosing Wine as the starter.

Below you can see that I’m adding the installer (which I downloaded) via Lutris:

Then save, run the installer via Lutris and click on “INSTALL”.

WoT is usually installed in the directory: / home / <user> /.wine/drive_c/Games/World_of_Tanks_EU.

If you have already downloaded WoT under Windows

If you have already installed WoT on a Windows disk, you can shorten the download under Linux. Let the game center start the download of WoT and run it briefly so that the corresponding directories are created. Then you cancel the download and copy the contents of the WoT directory from Windows into the folder in which “Linux-WoT” is located. You just overwrite existing files.

Add World of Tanks Starter to Lutris

The WoT launcher can also be added manually to Lutris after downloading (or copying). The file is called: /home/user/.wine/drive_c/Games/World_of_Tanks_EU/wgc_api.exe.

Then your lutris should look like this. In my case the wgc_api.exe is hidden in the “Button” World of Tanks GC:

The start of WoT

If everything went well, the game center should now start, your login into the same should be successful and WoT should start.

Additional Information – Gamecenter interferes start of WoT

Since some updates of WoT, you may notice, that the game itself runs into a blackscreen when starting it via the WoT – Gamecenter. If so, use Lutris and add the executable of WoT directly bypassing the Gamecenter. Just use the Gamecenter if you get informed, that you need to update WoT. I also noticed, that WoT is not starting (even if you use the WoT executable) if the Gamecenter runs in the background. So make sure the Gamecenter is closed, before you go for a WoT-session!

The gaming platforms Steam-Proton Wine and Lutris

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Bye, bye Windows – will Windows be important for gamers in the future

As some of the readers of my blog may have noticed, I want to get rid of the “Windows from Redmond” aka Windows in my private environment for good. Since I am also a “gamer”, it was quite difficult for me due to the lack of “Linux support” from the game developers. But there is definitely improvement in sight!

In my opinion, Steam has set a few levers in motion, not least because of the development of the Steamdeck, to teach the “penguin to play” (keyword: Steam / Proton). Apart from that, there is also Lutris, who in the team with Wine provides a tool to install Windows games under Linux and make them run. The trick is that with Lutris you don’t necessarily have to worry about the configuration (of Wine). Many games run out-of-the-box.

Pay attention to “Linux compatibility” when purchasing Steam

Optimal conditions for playing under Linux can be created by making sure when purchasing the game that it can run natively under Linux (Linux is supported as a platform).

So be sure to take a look at the system requirements in the Steam Shop the next time you buy. Ubuntu is usually listed there as a supported Linux distribution. That’s why you don’t have to smack Ubuntu for a long time. I use Debian Testing as a basis and it works perfectly.

Example: Steam – Systemrequirements in german  (SteamOS + Linux)

Steaminstallation with Debian GNU Linux

Since we are dependent on the software “Steam”, among other things, here are short installation instructions.

  • Add the branches contrib and non-free to the package sources in /etc/apt/sources.list
  • Run apt-get update
  • Activate multiarch (i386): dpkg –add-architecture i386
  • Run apt-get update
  • apt-get install steam
  • Start Steam, log in and check the options for Steam-Play

Only Windows supported?

It is perfectly clear that a lot of the games out there are still built exclusively for Windows. There is nothing nice to talk about! If your game is not running “out-of-the-box” with Steam / Proton it will be a bit more difficult. What options do you have?

Steam with “Glorious Eggroll / Proton” extension

The “Proton” compatibility layer is available in a wide variety of versions. Apart from the steam’s own developments, a resourceful programmer tries to make Proton “even more compatible”. The extension is called Glorious Eggroll and can be found on Github. Version 6.20-GE1 is currently available for download.

Installation takes place in a few simple steps:

  • Download the Proton * .tar.gz file via Github
  • Unzip the file in the folder: /home/<user>/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d, whereby the folder of the Glorious-Eggroll version must be in the folder compatibiltiytools.d.
  • In Steam itself (in the game properties) – Steam-Play select the desired Proton version
  • start Game

Note: There would also be the option in the Steamclient to store a fixed Proton version (including the GE) under your settings (Steam-Play). Unfortunately, there is a bug here. As soon as you select the GE version and then restart the Steam client, Steam “forgets” the setting again. I have therefore switched to selecting the Proton version per game (via game properties).

Bug: Global settings are not saved (the checkmark for Enable Steam Play for all other titles in combination with Proton-GE is “forgotten” after restarting Steam).

Lutris

I only use Lutris for “non-steam” games. In my case, I am using it for World of Tanks. If you rely on Lutris, you have to do some preliminary work. Apart from installing the packages for Lutris, Wine (in the most recent version possible) must also be installed. Detailed instructions can be found on WineHQ.

“Wine-staging” works very well for me, which is why I can recommend this version to you.

A short summary of World of Tanks & Lutris can be found here.

Hardware, driver and additional packages

What use is the best compatibility layer if the hardware does not play along? Probably little to nothing 😉

It is extremely important to have the latest (proprietary) graphics card driver installed. However, as long as all games are running, I don’t see any need to always be at the forefront with regard to graphics card drivers. In my experience, this often causes additional problems. The procedure: “Never change a running system” should therefore be used here. I can only speak for NVIDIA cards here and not for AMD.

NVIDIA

The NVIDIA driver can be obtained from their website.

Before the actual installation, some additional packages have to be installed (you may have to add contrib and non-free to your /etc/apt/sources.list):

  • apt-get install linux-headers – $ (uname -r) build-essential libglvnd-dev pkg-config

Please do not forget (if you have not already done so) to activate Multi-Arch (i386), as 32-bit libraries from Wine & Steam are also required:

  • dpkg –add-architecture i386
  • apt-get upgrade

To install the NVIDIA driver you have to be outside the GUI. I usually do this by pressing the “e” key for Edit in the Grub boot menu and adding the kernel parameter “single” (without quotation marks) to the very back of the line in the line that also contains “vmlinuz”. Finally, press F10 to start the boot process. The system now only boots into the console.

After entering the root password, change to the folder into which you previously downloaded the NVIDIA driver (with the extension .run) and make the file executable with the command:

  • chmod + x NVIDIA driver name.run

Finally you start the installation by calling:

  • ./NVIDIA-driver-name.run

It is important that the 32-bit libraries are also installed (there is a query here) and that the xorg.conf is adapted (there is also a query here).

 

Blacklisting of the nouveau-module

If you have installed the so-called “nouveau” driver for the Nvidia card, it may be necessary to carry out a blacklisting so that there are no collisions. For me, however, this was not necessary for any installation so far.

  • echo blacklist nouveau > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nvidia-nouveau.conf

Restart of the system

  • reboot

Conclusion

There is certainly still a long way to go before everything runs absolutely smoothly. But there is definitely a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. The development is going in the right direction. We, as end users, can support the development. When buying games, pay attention to “Linux compatibility” and use a Linux distribution if possible 😉