Beam is a sci-fi platform puzzle game where you control a pressurized metal sphere. This sphere can travel across light beams to progress through the ship by modifying their properties. Beams can be used in different ways to solve puzzles and reach areas of the ship.



Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Beam in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

Note: This guide applies to the itch.io demo version of Beam. Other versions may require additional steps.

Tips & Specs:

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained

Mint 19 64-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.3.4
Wine: 4.0
DXVK: 1.0.1

Wine Installation

Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"



Look for the Wine Version: 4.0
Select it
Click the arrow pointing to the right



Click Next

Downloading Wine



Extracting

Installed



Click (amd64) Tab
Select 4.0
Click the arrow pointing to the right



Downloading Wine 64-bit



Installed



Wine 4.0 32-bit and 64-bit is installed, you can close this window

Download Beam on itch.io
https://binaryimpact.itch.io/beam
Save to your Desktop

PlayOnLinux Setup

Launch PlayOnLinux
Click Install



Click "Install a non-listed program"



Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
Click Next



Name the virtual drive: beam
Click Next



Check the following:

• Use another version of Wine
• Configure Wine
• Install some libraries

Click Next



Select Wine 4.0
Click Next



Select "64 bits windows installation"
Click Next



Wine Configuration

Applications Tab
Windows version: Windows 7



Libraries Tab
Type the following:

• d3dx10
• d3dx10_1
• d3dx10core
• d3dx11
• dxgi

Select each one and click Edit
Change to: Native (Windows)
Click Apply



Graphics Tab
Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
Click OK



PlayOnLinux Packages (DLLs, Libraries, Components)

Check the following:

• POL_Install_corefonts
• POL_Install_d3dx10
• POL_Install_d3dx11
• POL_Install_d3dx9
• POL_Install_tahoma

Click Next



Note: All packages should automatically download and install

Do not Click Browse
Beam demo does not have an installer
Click Cancel



Open Beam_Demo.zip with Archive Manager
Click Extract



Navigate to the Programs Folder in your beam virtual drive
Full Path:

Code:

/home/username/wineprefix/beam/drive_c/Program Files/

Click the New Folder icon
Type: beam
Click Create



Click Extract



DXVK

Prepare your Linux for DXVK

Download DXVK 1.0.1
https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases/tag/v1.0.1
Save to your Desktop

Extract and Open the directory
Copy all the DLLs in x64 folder



Paste the DLLs in the Beam folder you created earlier
Full path:

Code:

/home/username/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/beam/drive_c/Program Files/beam

PlayOnLinux Configure

Back to PlayOnLinux
Click Configure



General Tab
Click "Make a new shortcut from this virtual drive"



Select "Beam.exe"
Click Next



Name the shortcut: Beam
Click Next



Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
Click Next



General Tab
Wine version: 4.0



Note: Click the + to download other versions of Wine. Click the down-arrow to select other versions of Wine

Display Tab
Video memory size: Enter the amount of memory your video card/chip uses



Close Configure

Select "Beam"
Click Run



Note: Click debug to see errors and bugs

Unity Launcher
Adjust resolution and Quality
Click Play



Conclusion:
Beam demo ran perfectly the first time I tested it because of DXVK. I was able to load the demo levels and play without any performance issues and the controls were very responsive.

Gameplay Video:


Screenshots: