Shadows Of The Empire Guide

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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.

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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"
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Look for the Wine Version: 2.15-staging
Select it
Click the arrow pointing to the right
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Click Next

Downloading Wine
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Extracting

Downloading Gecko
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Installed
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Wine 2.15-staging is installed and you can close this window

PlayOnLinux Setup

Launch PlayOnLinux
Click Install
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Click "Install a non-listed program"
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Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
Click Next
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Name the virtual drive: shadowsempire
Click Next
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Check all three options:
  • Use another version of Wine
  • Configure Wine
  • Install some libraries
Click Next
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Select Wine 2.15-staging
Click Next
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Wine Configuration

Applications Tab
Windows version: Windows XP
Click Apply
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Graphics Tab
Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
Check "Emulate a virtual desktop"
Desktop size: 1024x768
Click OK
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PlayOnLinux Packages (DLL's, Libraries, Components)

Check the following:
  • POL_Install_corefonts
  • POL_Install_d3dx9
  • POL_Install_tahoma
Click Next
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Note: All packages should automatically download and install

Click Browse
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Select "setup_sw_shadows_of_the_empire_2.2.0.11.exe"
Click Open
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Click Next again...

Click Options
Check "Yes, I have read and accept EULA"
Uncheck "Create desktop icon"
Click Install
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Click OK on all errors
They will not affect the installation...
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Click Exit
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PlayOnLinux Shortcut

Select "Shadows.exe"
Click Next
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Name the shortcut: Shadows of the Empire
Click Next
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Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
Click Next
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PlayOnLinux Configure

Select "Shadows of the Empire"
Click Configure
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General Tab
Wine version: 2.15-staging
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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
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Close Configure

Select "Shadows of the Empire"
Click Run
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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
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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:
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An oldie but a classic from my 20's
My friends had this game on their Nintendo 64's so I never really got to play it much
 
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