Shadows of the Empire was a catalyst for Lucasarts future games like Battlefront I & II, Dark Forces Outcast, Force Unleashed and many more. Play as Dash Rendar in a backstory between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Primarily a 3rd person shooter... but also includes some vehicular combat like a jetpack, swoop bike and snowspeeder.
Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Shadows of the Empire in Linux with PlayOnLinux.
Note: This guide applies to the GOG version of Shadows of the Empire. Other versions may require additional steps.
Tips & Specs:
To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained
Mint 18.2 64-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.2.12
Wine: 2.15-staging
Wine Installation
Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"
Look for the Wine Version: 2.15-staging
Select it
Click the arrow pointing to the right
Click Next
Downloading Wine
Extracting
Downloading Gecko
Installed
Wine 2.15-staging is installed and you can close this window
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: shadowsempire
Click Next
Check all three options:
- Use another version of Wine
- Configure Wine
- Install some libraries
Select Wine 2.15-staging
Click Next
Wine Configuration
Applications Tab
Windows version: Windows XP
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 (DLL's, Libraries, Components)
Check the following:
- POL_Install_corefonts
- POL_Install_d3dx9
- POL_Install_tahoma
Note: All packages should automatically download and install
Click Browse
Select "setup_sw_shadows_of_the_empire_2.2.0.11.exe"
Click Open
Click Next again...
Click Options
Check "Yes, I have read and accept EULA"
Uncheck "Create desktop icon"
Click Install
Click OK on all errors
They will not affect the installation...
Click Exit
PlayOnLinux Shortcut
Select "Shadows.exe"
Click Next
Name the shortcut: Shadows of the Empire
Click Next
Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
Click Next
PlayOnLinux Configure
Select "Shadows of the Empire"
Click Configure
General Tab
Wine version: 2.15-staging
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 "Shadows of the Empire"
Click Run
Note: Click debug to see errors and bugs
Shadows of the Empire Configure
Display Device: DirectDraw HAL
3D Device: RGB Direct3D emulation
Display Mode: Set resolution for fullscreen
Create new player
Click Play
Conclusion:
At first I had a lot of problems with "stable" Wine 2.0.2 and setting the 3D Device to Wine, but after finally testing with "staging" version everything ran really well. I sometimes get a random crash but I was still able to play through several levels without issues on my GeForce GTX 1060.
Gameplay Video:
Screenshots:
