2.5 on Linux

sturge24

Dalayan Beginner
A quick note: I know nothing about making a post look nice. For those who can, please feel free to dress this up a bit.
For those familiar with Linux, the Wine version from apt, winetricks, and mono all will not work. Neither will the DirectX implementation built into Wine. The rest of this guide will be written in such a way (I hope) that those unfamiliar with Linux would be able to get SoD 2.5 running.
This guide assumes you have an existing EQ folder, the 2.5 patcher, and the directx_Jun2010_redist.exe installer.

Finally got it working. Here's how I did it:

I started with LinuxMint 17.2 KDE edition.

Install Wine from WineHQ.com - http://wiki.winehq.org/Ubuntu
Install PlayOnLinux from the Software Manager
Install 'cabextract' from the Software Manager
Install 'ttf-mscorefonts-installer' from the Software Manager

Download DirectX9.0c

Open PlayOnLinux
Click 'Configure'
On the 'General' tab, click 'New"
Click 'Next'
Select '32 bits windows installation' and click 'Next'
Select 'System' and click 'Next"
Name your virtual drive. I called mine 'sod' and will reference it as that from now on. Click 'Next'
PlayOnLinux and Wine will set up your new virtual drive.

Still in the PlayOnLinux configuration window, select the 'Wine' tab and click on 'Configure Wine'
The Wine configuration window will open.
On the 'Applications' tab, change the Windows version to Windows 7
Click 'Apply' if available, then click 'OK'

In the PlayOnLinux configuration window, switch to the 'Install components' tab and install 'dotnet40'
When this completes, close the configuration window.

Now open your Home folder. Click the 'Show Hidden Files' button at the top of the window.
Navigate to '.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/sod/drive_c'
Note the '.' preceding PlayOnLinux.
Copy the following to this location:
Your EQ folder
sodpatcher.exe
directx_Jun2010_redist.exe
Also, while your here, create a new folder titled "directx"

Back to PlayOnLinux-
Click 'Install a program'
Click 'Install a non-listed program'
Click 'Next'
Select 'Edit or update an existing application'
Click 'Next'
Check 'Show virtual drives'
Select the virtual drive you created earlier, in my case 'sod'
Click 'Next'
Ignore this screen, click 'Next'
Select '32 bits windows installation'
Click 'Next'
Click 'Browse'
Navigate to 'PlayOnLinux's virtual drives/sod/drive_c
Select sodpatcher.exe and click 'open'
Click 'Next'
If Wine produces an error about not having access to drive z:\ ignore it
Select sodpatcher.exe for the shortcut and click 'Next'

If all has gone well, you should now have sodpatcher listed in the main PlayOnLinux window. We're not done yet, but we're getting close.

In PlayOnLinux still, click 'Install a program'
Click 'Install a non-listed program'
Click 'Next'
Select 'Edit or update an existing program'
Click 'Next'
Check 'Show virtual drives'
Select 'sod' and click 'Next'
Ignore this screen and click 'Next'
Select '32 bits windows installation' and click 'Next'
Click 'Browse'
Navigate to 'PlayOnLinux's virtual drives/sod/drive_c
Select directx_Jun2010_redist.exe and click 'Open'
Follow the instructions to decompress the directx files into the 'directx' folder you created earlier.
When complete, do not create a shortcut.

In PlayOnLinux still, click 'Install a program'
Click 'Install a non-listed program'
Click 'Next'
Select 'Edit or update an existing program'
Click 'Next'
Check 'Show virtual drives'
Select 'sod' and click 'Next'
Ignore this screen and click 'Next'
Select '32 bits windows installation' and click 'Next'
Click 'Browse'
Navigate to 'PlayOnLinux's virtual drives/sod/drive_c/directx'
Select 'DXSETUP.exe' and click 'Next'
Again, there's no need to create a shortcut.

Now you should be able to open PlayOnLinux and start the sodpatcher from there by selecting it and clicking 'Run"

If this fails anywhere throughout this process for not having internet access, you may need to install lib32nss-mdns or uninstall libnss-mdns from the Software Manager. This is a known quirk that occurs rarely and only with AMD processors, or so I understand.
If it still fails for this reason, open your file manager and navigate to /etc/hosts. Open as root. You will see:

127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 [your host name]
[Several lines for IPv6]

If you dont see anything else, you'll need to add a line just below the two 127.0.0.1 lines. Make it look like this:

127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 [your host name]
192.168.0.23 Hydra

Replace the '192.168.0.23' with your computer's IP address, and replace 'Hydra' with your host name.
To find your info, I'm afraid I'll finally have to as you to open a terminal.
Open your terminal and enter 'ifconfig' and press 'Enter'
Beside 'eth0', on the second line, find 'inet addr:xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx'
This is your IP address.
Now type 'hostname'
The result is your hostname
[Several lines for IPv6]

Now reboot and open PlayOnLinux from your Application Launcher. Select 'sodpatcher' and click 'Run'
 
Step 1: Getting Linux
Get your Linux distro of choice (I use Ubuntu 14.04 LTS) -- many versions will be workable, some steps may need adjustment. Run your software updates/all that other stuff you do when setting up a new OS.

Step 2: Necessary Downloads
  • 2.5 Patcher
  • EQ Installer (from Daybreak -- you'll also have to have an account registered to run the installer, they're free)
  • Install Wine -- open up your terminal and do the following (you can copy/paste these sudo lines)
    1. If your system is 64 bit, enable 32 bit architecture (skip if your system is 32 bit):
      sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
    2. Add the repository:
      sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wine/wine-builds
    3. Update packages:
      sudo apt-get update
    4. Then install:
      sudo apt-get install --install-recommends winehq-devel
  • Install PlayOnLinux
    sudo apt-get install playonlinux
  • Install ttf-mscorefonts-installer -- note to accept the EULA you need to use tab and space to agree to the terms.
    sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer
  • Install cabextract
    sudo apt-get install cabextract
Step 3: Setting up your Virtual Drive
  1. Open PlayOnLinux
  2. Click Configure
  3. Click New
  4. Chose 32-bit Installation
  5. Chose System version of Wine (we already took care of installing the Wine packages you need)
  6. Name your virtual drive (mine is named Shards)
Step 4: Configuring your Virtual Drive
  1. In the Configuration Panel of PlayOnLinux selected the virtual drive you just set up
  2. Click the Wine tab and choose Configure Wine
  3. Under the Graphics tab, click "Emulate Virtual Desktop" and put in the resolution you prefer.
  4. Under the Applications tab, change your Windows version to Windows 7, apply, and return to the Configuration Panel
  5. Click the Install Components tab
  6. Install dotnet40
  7. Install dxfullsetup
  8. Install d3dx11
  9. Install dinput8
Step 5a: Installing Everquest (from scratch)
  1. In the Configuration Panel click the Miscellaneous tab
  2. Select "Run a .exe file in this virtual drive"
  3. Find your EQ_setup.exe and run it
  4. Set up your SoD directory (I use C:/Program Files/Shards of Dalaya/EQ Client)
  5. Skip the DirectX installer (click cancel)
  6. The EQ patcher/installer should run at this point, put in your Daybreak Games info and get the game installed (if the installer isn't accessing the internet more likely than not you are missing the 32-bit libnss-mdns -- here is a list of the terminal commands to fix this for a variety of Linux distros)
Step 5b: Installing Everquest (by transferring a prior install)
  1. In the Configuration Panel click the Miscellaneous tab
  2. Select "Open virtual drive's directory"
  3. Set up your SoD directory (I use C:/Program Files/Shards of Dalaya/EQ Client)
  4. Copy your old install (2.0 or 2.5) into there
Step 6: Patching to SoD 2.5
  1. In the Configuration Panel click the Miscellaneous tab
  2. Select "Open virtual drive's directory"
  3. Move your 2.5 patcher onto the virtual drive (I park mine in C:/Program Files/Shards of Dalaya)
  4. Go back to the Configuration Panel, click the General tab
  5. Select "Make a new shortcut from this virtual drive"
  6. Select your sodpatcher (this will create a shortcut to the patcher on your desktop)
  7. Once the EQ Installer has finished downloading the client....
  8. Run the patcher using the shortcut you just created (if you copied over a prior install and the patcher isn't accessing the internet, more likely than not you are missing the 32-bit libnss-mdns -- here is a list of the terminal commands to fix this for a variety of Linux distros)
  9. Point the patcher to the correct directory (for me this is home/user/PlayOnLinux's virtual drives/Shards/drive_c/Program Files/Shards of Dalaya/EQ Client), select repatch all
Step 7: Play SoD
  1. For two-boxing I recommend copying the virtual drive and simply running two completely separate instances.
Known Bugs
  • Custom zone names don't show up correctly (on load screen and zoning screens) -- FIXED by installing dinput8
  • NPCs won't accept stacked items -- FIXED by installing dinput8
  • Some sound cards will cause crashes -- disable sound box on patcher prevents these, more appropriate drivers probably will fix these.
  • May fail to enter fullscreen if refresh rate isn't specified -- you can add the refresh rate manually to eqclient.ini e.g., "FullscreenRefreshRate=60" where 60 is the appropriate rate for your graphics setup.
  • The /petition command isn't functional (it opens up the in game browser as if it ignored anything written past /petition) -- /guidehelp should be used instead to petition -- FIXED by installing dinput8
 
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I followed these steps for Linux Mint 17.3 Mate, and as of this posting, the installation works great! I copied my SoD 2.5 folder over from Windows to my Linux install, so I did not install while within Linux. I have not tested how the game performs yet, but I can confirm that I was able to reach my selection of game characters with no problem.

Edit:
After successfully loading one player character in the Warrens zone, the game crashes after about 30 seconds. Repeated attempts had the same results. The textures for the environment looked odd. Changing video size worked properly.

Edit 2:
Apparently, re-booting the system took care of the stability issue. I experimented with two different player characters, and both worked for at least 5 minutes.

Edit 3:
I experienced crashes with a Wizard character in the Warrens. Putting a check mark for "Disable Sound" in the SoD Patcher before loading the game seemed to stop the crashing. My sound card is integrated with my computer's main board, so that might be the issue.
 
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Awesome walk thru ~~ Thanks ~
Installed smooth using 5a) on ubuntu 16.04
play seems lil slow but definately doable,
crashed with alt-enter but power thru ~
thanks
 
As a summary, I roughly followed Haenir's directions, used Wine 1.8 Stable, and turned Texture Quality in Options to "Medium." This was a fresh install with Linux Mint 17.3, MATE.

On my previous attempts in a prior posting, I had been using Wine 1.8 Staging. One problem with that was the lack of a PulseAudio driver. I also endured several crashes, since to my understanding, the Staging branch can be worse than the Development branch. Similar to Wine 1.8 Staging, there was a lack of the audio driver with Wine 1.7 Stable.

I did try Wine 1.9.6 Development this time, but I couldn't reach the "Character Select" screen. However, I believe that had to do with the Texture Quality being set to High. Tinkering with the Options, I was able to get a resolution of 1024 x 768 with audio. I haven't done significant testing while in game with a character, but it looks clean so far.
 
Two things I will focus on: (1) getting Alt + Enter to work for Fullscreen and (2) making it easier to switch between applications. I tried these under Linux Mint 17.3.


(1)

The 2.5 client may have trouble discovering your Refresh Rate. This will prevent you from going Fullscreen. I think this happens when the Refresh Rate is blank when changing the Video Mode. In "eqclient.ini", you will need to set "FullscreenRefreshRate" under "[VideoMode]" to something other than zero, perhaps 30 or 60. I suggest making a copy of your "eqclient.ini" file and rename it "eqclient.ini.old" or whatever before making adjustments. The following is what I had to use:

Code:
[VideoMode]
FullscreenBitsPerPixel=32
WindowedHeight=900
FullscreenRefreshRate=60
Height=900
WindowedWidth=1600
WidthWindowed=1600
Width=1600
HeightWindowed=900

After that, Alt + Enter should work for you.


(2)

If your Linux distribution is like mine, then switching between software things can get messy. For this, the Wine configuration window helps. Just enable "Emulate a virtual desktop" and put in your desired resolution.

When switching applications, I have to Minimize everything first through CTRL + Alt + D, and then, I can choose the window that deserves my attention. A benefit is better than none.

The following attached image hopefully helps:

Screenshot at 2016-07-26 06:38:06.png
 
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Anyone else experience these bugs / figured out fixes?
  • /petition such-and-such -- brings up web browser as if everything past /petition was ignored
  • zone names on char select / zoning screens show as EQ names
 
Anyone else experience these bugs / figured out fixes?
  • /petition such-and-such -- brings up web browser as if everything past /petition was ignored
  • zone names on char select / zoning screens show as EQ names

"/petition" seems not to work, but I have found that "/guid" (short for "/guidehelp") seems to work fine. I have the same issue with the zone names.
 
Anyone else experience these bugs / figured out fixes?
  • /petition such-and-such -- brings up web browser as if everything past /petition was ignored
  • zone names on char select / zoning screens show as EQ names
I still haven't worked out zone names, either. My hunch is that zone names are hard-coded somewhere and the SoD names are accomplished by DLL injection. Finding a solution for that is way, way out of my league.
When I asked a couple of devs about it, the response was that SoD is not supported under Linux. No matter what question I asked, the same answer was given. However it is they accomplish the zone name changes, they seem to wish to keep it close to the vest.
 
The quest for [A Gift for the Gruploks] is botched for me in Linux. On the third part requiring a turn-in of 5 Murk Leech Meat items, I can not in Linux. I copied my game files to my Windows 10 system. When I ran SoD in Windows, it worked just fine.
 
Found a fix for a couple of linux specific bugs (basically was an issue with dll injection). Green-texted the fix needed in my write up.
 
having issues here. when I try to run the patcher installer it crashes and I get this error
Error in POL_Wine
Wine seems to have crashed

If your program is running, just ignore this message




Step 5a: Installing Everquest (from scratch)

  1. In the Configuration Panel click the Miscellaneous tab
  2. Select "Run a .exe file in this virtual drive"
  3. Find your EQ_setup.exe and run it
  4. Set up your SoD directory (I use C:/Program Files/Shards of Dalaya/EQ Client)
  5. Skip the DirectX installer (click cancel)
  6. The EQ patcher/installer should run at this point, put in your Daybreak Games info and get the game installed (if the installer isn't accessing the internet more likely than not you are missing the 32-bit libnss-mdns -- here is a list of the terminal commands to fix this for a variety of Linux distros)


 
Is this still operational? Is it worth trying to get 2.5 running under Mint 18?
-----------------------
Completed install under 18.1 without any issues. I have noticed that the Character Load Screen shows old zone names(Felwithe instead of Athica). Will continue testing.
 
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Anyone currently running on Linux? Trying to install and I'm having dotnet issues with sodpatcher.exe (guessing the version of dotnet that was working when Haenir posted this no longer is correct for the patcher)

Edit: dotnet 4.6.1 works
Edit2: looks like the CPUAffinity settings for eqclient.ini aren't applying when run using the setup described in this thread --- use the taskset command -- e.g., taskset -cp 0,1,2,3 29027 -- in terminal instead to manually set affinity to multiple cores (game was cpu lagged otherwise)
 
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For those using Linux and trying to get the Steam version of Everquest downloaded -- here is how to force Steam to download the game past the OS restrictions Steam uses (alternatively try installing the Windows Steam client with wine). This method basically tricks Steam into believing Everquest is already installed, but in need of an update, which forces Steam to download the game.
  1. Find the AppID of the app you're trying to download. This can be easily done by going on SteamDB and searching for it. As of this posting the AppID for Everquest is 205710.
  2. Go to ~/.steam/steam/SteamApps or wherever your main SteamApps folder is.
  3. Create and open a new file called "appmanifest_APPID.acf", replace APPID with the actual AppID you found in Step 1.
  4. Copy and paste the following and replace APPID (the all-caps one) with the one you found in Step 1 and APPNAME with the folder name to download to:
    "AppState"
    {
    "AppID" "APPID"
    "Universe" "1"
    "installdir" "APPNAME"
    "StateFlags" "1026"
    }
  5. Save and restart Steam, once the game is downloaded you should find it in ~/.steam/steam/SteamApps/common/APPNAME
 
Its 2020 now, and much has changed both for Linux distributions and the game. I was wondering if anyone has any current guides that are up to date. I switched to Windows because I could not get Haenir's guide to work from Linux, and I really wanted to play. But I miss my Linux. Ran Pop Os, or Ubuntu mostly.
 
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