Dear Esther is the most graphically beautiful game made in the source engine.
Who is the narrator?
Who is your character on this remote island?
How can such a beautiful place exist?
Explore an abandoned island and cave systems with poetic narration and admire the exquisite landscapes.
Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Dear Esther in Linux with PlayOnLinux.
Note: This guide applies to the Steam version of Dear Esther. Other versions may require additional steps.
Tips & Specs:
Try SteamPlay before using this guide as Valve now uses a fork of Wine called Proton and should run most Windows games.
To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained
Mint 18.3 64-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.2.12
Wine: 2.0.3
Wine Installation
Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"
Look for the Wine Version: 2.0.3
Select it
Click the arrow pointing to the right
Click Next
Downloading Wine
Extracting
Downloading Gecko
Installed
Wine 2.0.3 is installed and you can close this window
Downloading Steam
Go To: http://www.steampowered.com
Click Install Steam
Do not click "Install Steam Now"
It will automatically install Linux Steam
Select Windows Steam instead
click "Windows" under the green button
Navigate to your desktop
Click Save
PlayOnLinux Setup
Launch PlayOnLinux
Click Install
Click "install a non-listed program"
Click Next
Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
Click Next
Name your virtual drive: dearesther
No spaces
Click Next
Check all three options:
- Use another version of Wine
- Configure Wine
- Install some libraries
Select Wine 2.0.3
Click Next
Select "32 bits windows installation"
Click Next
Configure Wine
Applications Tab
Windows Version: Windows 7
Click Apply
Graphics Tab
Check: Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows
Check: Emulate a virtual desktop
Desktop size: 1024x768
Click Ok
PlayOnLinux Packages (Libraries, Components, DLL's)
Check the following libraries:
- POL_Install_corefonts
- POL_Install_d3dx9
- POL_Install_tahoma
Note: All packages will automatically download and install
Installing Steam
Click Browse
Navigate to your desktop
Select: SteamSetup.exe
Click Open
Click Next
Click Next
Check: I accept the license...
Click Next
Click Next
Click Next
Click Install
Click Finish
Updating Steam
Click the "X" to close Steam login
PlayOnLinux Shortcut
Select Steam.exe
Click Next
Name your shortcut: Dear Esther
Click Next
Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
Click Next
PlayOnLinux Configure
Back to PlayOnLinux
Click Configure
General Tab
Arguments: -no-dwrite -no-cef-sandbox
This fixes any missing font problems and the Store problem (Windows needs to be set as Windows XP)
Note: Click the + to download other versions of Wine. Click the down-arrow to select other versions of wine
Display Tab
Video Memory Size: Select the size of Memory your video card/chip uses
Close Configure
Launching Steam
Select Dear Esther
Click Run
Note: Click debug to see errors and bugs
Click "Login to existing account"
Login
Go to your Steam Library
Find Dear Esther
Click Install
Uncheck "Create desktop shortcut"
Uncheck "Create start menu shortcut"
Click Next
Click Finish
Wait for Dear Esther to download
Click Play
Optimization
Click Options
Click Video
Adjust:
- Brightness
- Aspect Ratio
- Resolution
- Display Mode
- Laptop Power Savings
- Detail Foliage
- Detail Foliage Draw Distance
- Field of view
Note: Click Advanced for more settings
Rule of thumb:
High settings = More detail, lower frame rates
Low settings = Less detail, higher frame rates
Conclusion:
Initially I tested the native Linux version from Humble Bundle and there were always dependencies missing. I spent over an hour trying to find the right libraries, install them or link to newer one's and it was too confusing. Some of these older libraries are no longer supported and are very difficult to setup. So I decided to try it in PlayOnLinux and it worked perfectly in a 32-bit virtual drive. No problems and great performance.
Gameplay Video:
Screenshots:
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