Linux problems/solutions please post them here

[thunderchero]

First thing I would suggest would be redownload and reinstall.

In the past the error you are getting was due to something was preventing the silent command prompt from running (this adds mod file to the base files)

you can also read this post and try to run the bat file manually
viewtopic.php?p=48681#p48681

note; the command prompt could be blocked for many different reasons examples;

anti virus software
protected drive location
bat file blocked by OS
unable to read registry to find location of stbof.res

[MAniX]

Posting SOLUTION from other forum page

Example:
Currently running under the v2.0 Delta Quad mod, normal difficulty, turn 90 noticed issue with subjugated Qo'nos, then with other owned planets. Has been replicated under Vanilla and RIF mods, irrespective of race chosen. Usually happens around 80-90 turns in.

Delta Quad mod is released "as is" and from your crash log it is missing a file. (over 10 years and first report of issue)

to fix issue extract the fun.tga and rename funw.tga and re-add file to stbof.res with UE

SOLVED
Absolute legend, thunderchero, thank you!! - Yes, on reload of game, Praxis system queue now seems editable without crash. I will test further in this game (no issues at turn 137 so far) and others to ensure no additional system faults and will also keep an eye out on the other mods to see if this error repeats out on anything or does anything that is an issue on Linux.

Not at all suprised in this error not being seen in 10 years - just my kind of luck. I have owned a copy of BOTF since 1999 (about a month after launch), but spent the rest of 1999 trying to get it to run consistently on a shaky intel 486DX2 processer running 66MHz overclocked to 90MHz and some 12mb mismatched RAM. My woes have never really changed since then - every few years I return to the game and have to battle to get it to work in new environments!

Solution in full for reference (based on Linux but may also be relevant on other OS's):
- using UE (under Linux), for anyone in future, download the UE from the forum and extract to a folder outside the PlayOnLInux folder
- run using

Code: Select all

java -jar UE.jar

- my above code is a Linux specific command line execution to run UE (MS windows can run as executable or with bat file at command line), if you need Java on Debian based systems (should be as standard) try

Code: Select all

sudo apt install default-jre

- you can verify java install before and after with

Code: Select all

java --version

- click Open in UE, and nav to stbof.res
- click Edit > Other > Files. Search and Extract fun.tga,
- rename extracted fun.tga to funw.tga in file explorer of choice,
- in UE, click Add, and save (compiles), on Exit, updates file and made changes to trek.exe.

Also, for future users of PlayOnLInux and specifically using BOTF under Ubuntu 20.04 and 21.10, I have noted in a prev post about the OpenGL 32bit drivers needed to resolve or error will be a fatal crash with screen resizing to resolution but not loading game (system will need force reboot in that case FYI). Movie on start can cause crashes so I also removed from stbof.ini to improve loading.

Resolve the known 32bit driver issue for OpenGL by installing libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 [reference: OpenGL 32bit error PlayOnLinux]

Hopefully some of the above will assist future resolutions and thanks to all for the welcome to the forum and assistance.

[29BQ]

EDIT: Solution: Use Lutris to run BOTF simply. It works on Steamdeck. viewtopic.php?p=56717#p56717 for more info

I received a steamdeck, and I love it so much! My primary PC is dead, so I will wait for a better computer this fall. I will use my steamdeck as a temporary PC replacement. I tried other games, and it turns out to be pretty good!

Now, I like to try getting my fav game, BOTF to run on my steamdeck. I used to a program calling "bottles" to install BOTF All in One installer 2.0.0, and it went so well. I started up and got the black screen, but I can see the mouse cursor. I tried a stbof.ini workaround: MOVIEON=OFF and SOUNDON=OFF. They don't work. Please advise? Any suggestion?

Thanks a lot!

29BQ

[thunderchero]

no idea how steamdeck works or what it uses to run games.

did you install dxwnd? if so did you try to run trek.exe directly?

I doubt if others here will be much help, you might want to contact steamdeck or a steamdeck forum.

[29BQ]

Sorry for a late response.

I am told to try using lutris to run BOTF, and it works! HOWEVER, I can't get the game to actual fullscreen. I am trying to find a workaround.

Steamdeck uses SteamOS, which is a Linux distribution developed by Valve and based on the Arch Linux distribution with a KDE Plasma 5 desktop.

[Vulcan59]

Steamdeck can run Windows games through Proton, which is based on wine. Someone in the Steamdeck forum on reddit was able to get BOTF working on Steamdeck. I'm planning to get one myself, but I posted this in case anyone else is looking for an answer to the Steamdeck question!

[Dom103]

Managed to install the game on Steam Deck using Lutris. When attempting to run (both vanilla end ECM) via DxWnd I get the intro movie perfectly as expected. When the movie finishes the main menu appears... except it doesn't. The menu music plays and as I move my cursor around it slowly uncovers the menu screen. Almost acting like an eraser in MS Paint. Any ideas?

[thunderchero]

Any ideas?

with this configuration first thing I would question would be do you need DxWnd? Dxwnd is used to correct a "Windows" issue, you are not on windows.

but what you describe is a rendering issue. if not using DxWnd does not work you might try adjusting setting in DxWnd but no idea what setting would be needed to be changed.

[Vulcan59]

I have been able to successfully install BOTF using your installer on Steam Deck. I got nowhere using Lutris or Bottles, so I went a different way. You don't need Lutris or Bottles at all. You do need DxWnd, as Proton on Steam Deck is emulating Windows. If anyone is interested, I can outline how I did it.

Spoiler alert: the key to making this work is to find where the BOTF .ink file (the BOTF icon you'd double-click to start the game in a typical Windows setup), copy that file's location, and use it as your target when you set up the game to run in Steam. You can then run BOTF in gaming mode on the Deck. You can also get DxWnd to run in Steam Deck (if you want to modify any settings), but for this, your target needs to be the DxWnd (fullscreen) .exe file. You need to run it in Desktop mode, not in gaming mode, so you can see all the options and save your changes.

[Dom103]

Thanks both for the help and for giving me hope! I will report back...

[Vulcan59]

If you want an alternate method for setting up BOTF on Steam Deck, you can try this out. Let me know if anything is missing or incorrect.

How to Install Birth of the Federation on your Steam Deck

1) Put your Steam Deck in desktop mode.
2) Using Firefox (or whatever browser you have), download the installer for BOTF from the kind folks here at Armada Fleet Command. It should end up in the Downloads folder of Dolphin (or whatever file browser you have) on your Steam Deck. It will be BOTF_All_in_One_2.0.0.zip.
3) Extract the .zip file in the Downloads folder. That will give you BOTF_All_in_One_2.0.0.exe.
4) Click the Steam icon to open Steam. Select Library. At the bottom left of the Library window, choose Add a Game, then Add a non-Steam Game. On the bottom of that window, choose Browse. Be sure File Type at the bottom of that window is set to All Files. Navigate to the Downloads folder. Select the BOTF exe file. Click Open, then Add Selected Programs.
5) Scroll down the list of games on the left side of Library until you find one that has the name of your BOTF exe file. Click it to bring up its window. On the right side of the window, click the gear icon, then Properties, then choose Compatibility on the left side of that window.
6) Click the space to the left of the sentence beginning “Force the use of a specific…”
7) Select a Proton version from the drop-down menu. I have found that BOTF works fine on Proton 7.0-4 and Proton Experimental.
Close all windows and go to Gaming Mode.
9) Find the BOTF…exe “game” you’ve just created in your Library.
10) Open the window and click Play. The installation process begins. You’ll need to make a few selections but that will be clear to you as it goes. Follow the instructions given on the download page. Make sure, when that window appears, that you select at least Birth of the Federation and DxWnd to be installed. You can install any other mods you want, but you need these first two!!!
11) When the installation is complete, exit and return to Desktop Mode.
12) Open your file manager and select the Home folder.
13) Find and click on the .local folder. Make sure your file manager is set to “Show Hidden Files” if you don’t find the .local folder.
14) Then, click on the following folders: share, Steam, steamapps, and compatdata. You should be at /home/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata. You may see several folders here, each one with a long number as its name. In your file manager commands, select Sort by date modified, newest first. The folders will rearrange themselves. The first folder should be the one where BOTF has been installed.
15) Click that first folder. The click the following folders, pfx, drive_c, users, Public, and Desktop.
16) You should see two .lnk files here, Birth of the Federation.lnk and DxWnd Fullscreen.lnk. If you had installed BOTF on a Windows PC and we navigated to this point, we’d be looking at the desktop icons that you’d click to run either app. Right-click the BOTF.lnk icon. Click Properties. Then click the Permissions tab. Turn on "is executable". Click "OK" at the bottom of the window. Close the window.
17) Right-click the BOTF .lnk icon again and then click “Copy location”.
18) Open Steam, then Library, and then find the BOTF…exe “game” on the left. Click it.
19) Select that gear icon on the right, then Properties.
20) Delete what’s there under Target and then paste the location you just copied. Be sure to put quotation marks on both ends of that location.
21) Delete what’s there under Start In and paste the location again. In this case, delete /Birth of the Federation.lnk from the end, and put quotation marks on either end of what’s left.
22) Change the name, under Shortcut, to Birth of the Federation.
23) Close everything and return to Gaming Mode
24) Find your new Birth of the Federation game. Select it.
25) Click the controller icon.
26) Choose as your current layout Keyboard (WASD) and Mouse.
27) Back out of that, and click Play.
28) If I’ve written this correctly, and you have followed it correctly, you should have a fully operational BOTF game booting up for you! If this doesn’t work, and you know you’ve followed the directions, let me know. I may have missed something.

Enjoy Birth of the Federation on Steam Deck!!!

You can also have DxWnd run on Steam Deck. Let me know if you're interested!

[29BQ]

If you want an alternate method for setting up BOTF on Steam Deck, you can try this out. Let me know if anything is missing or incorrect.

How to Install Birth of the Federation on your Steam Deck

1) Put your Steam Deck in desktop mode.
2) Using Firefox (or whatever browser you have), download the installer for BOTF from the kind folks here at Armada Fleet Command. It should end up in the Downloads folder of Dolphin (or whatever file browser you have) on your Steam Deck. It will be BOTF_All_in_One_2.0.0.zip.
3) Extract the .zip file in the Downloads folder. That will give you BOTF_All_in_One_2.0.0.exe.
4) Click the Steam icon to open Steam. Select Library. At the bottom left of the Library window, choose Add a Game, then Add a non-Steam Game. On the bottom of that window, choose Browse. Be sure File Type at the bottom of that window is set to All Files. Navigate to the Downloads folder. Select the BOTF exe file. Click Open, then Add Selected Programs.
5) Scroll down the list of games on the left side of Library until you find one that has the name of your BOTF exe file. Click it to bring up its window. On the right side of the window, click the gear icon, then Properties, then choose Compatibility on the left side of that window.
6) Click the space to the left of the sentence beginning “Force the use of a specific…”
7) Select a Proton version from the drop-down menu. I have found that BOTF works fine on Proton 7.0-4 and Proton Experimental.
Close all windows and go to Gaming Mode.
9) Find the BOTF…exe “game” you’ve just created in your Library.
10) Open the window and click Play. The installation process begins. You’ll need to make a few selections but that will be clear to you as it goes. Follow the instructions given on the download page. Make sure, when that window appears, that you select at least Birth of the Federation and DxWnd to be installed. You can install any other mods you want, but you need these first two!!!
11) When the installation is complete, exit and return to Desktop Mode.
12) Open your file manager and select the Home folder.
13) Find and click on the .local folder. Make sure your file manager is set to “Show Hidden Files” if you don’t find the .local folder.
14) Then, click on the following folders: share, Steam, steamapps, and compatdata. You should be at /home/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata. You may see several folders here, each one with a long number as its name. In your file manager commands, select Sort by date modified, newest first. The folders will rearrange themselves. The first folder should be the one where BOTF has been installed.
15) Click that first folder. The click the following folders, pfx, drive_c, users, Public, and Desktop.
16) You should see two .lnk files here, Birth of the Federation.lnk and DxWnd Fullscreen.lnk. If you had installed BOTF on a Windows PC and we navigated to this point, we’d be looking at the desktop icons that you’d click to run either app. Right-click the BOTF.lnk icon. Click Properties. Then click the Permissions tab. Turn on "is executable". Click "OK" at the bottom of the window. Close the window.
17) Right-click the BOTF .lnk icon again and then click “Copy location”.
18) Open Steam, then Library, and then find the BOTF…exe “game” on the left. Click it.
19) Select that gear icon on the right, then Properties.
20) Delete what’s there under Target and then paste the location you just copied. Be sure to put quotation marks on both ends of that location.
21) Delete what’s there under Start In and paste the location again. In this case, delete /Birth of the Federation.lnk from the end, and put quotation marks on either end of what’s left.
22) Change the name, under Shortcut, to Birth of the Federation.
23) Close everything and return to Gaming Mode
24) Find your new Birth of the Federation game. Select it.
25) Click the controller icon.
26) Choose as your current layout Keyboard (WASD) and Mouse.
27) Back out of that, and click Play.
28) If I’ve written this correctly, and you have followed it correctly, you should have a fully operational BOTF game booting up for you! If this doesn’t work, and you know you’ve followed the directions, let me know. I may have missed something.

Enjoy Birth of the Federation on Steam Deck!!!

You can also have DxWnd run on Steam Deck. Let me know if you're interested!

I reset my steam deck, so I like to install botf again. It is BOTF 2.0.3 version. For some reasons, it no longer works?! I followed your instructions carefully twice. It doesn't work anymore. Maybe that steamdeck update just borked it? Can you please confirm this? Thanks!

[thunderchero]

I reset my steam deck, so I like to install botf again. It is BOTF 2.0.3 version. For some reasons, it no longer works?! I followed your instructions carefully twice. It doesn't work anymore. Maybe that steamdeck update just borked it? Can you please confirm this? Thanks!

you might want to try to remove the dxwnd proxy files if you are starting with dxwnd gui

Fullscreen proxy uses these 3 files
dxwnd.dll (main proxy file, same file for fullscreen and windowed modes)
dxwnd.dxw (configuration file with settings, different file for fullscreen and windowed modes)
winmm.dll (this is the fullscreen proxy file, different file for windowed modes)

Windowed proxy uses these 3 files
dxwnd.dll (main proxy file, same file for fullscreen and windowed modes)
dxwnd.dxw (configuration file with settings, different file settings for fullscreen and windowed modes)
ddraw.dll (this is the windowed proxy file, different file for fullscreen modes)