Since many of us can't afford the $60 price tag of Battlefield 4, but we can still try Battlefield 2 in Linux for almost nothing. Specially if you already own it.

I will walk you through this Step-by-Step guide on how to install and configure Battlefield 2 in order to run it with the optimum settings like you could in Windows.





Tips & Specs:

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

Mint 17 64-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.2.5
Wine: 1.7.31

Wine Installation

Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"


Look for the Wine Version: 1.7.31
Note: Try using stable Wine 1.8 and 1.8-staging

Select it
Click the arrow pointing to the right


Click Next

Downloading Wine


Extracting

Downloading Gecko


Installed


Wine 1.7.31 is installed and you can close this window

Initial Setup

If you have the retail edition with 5 CD ROMs, each disk needs to be copied to a folder on the desktop.
When asked to over-write a file, just click Skip.
This way we can install the entired game right from the desktop

PlayOnLinux Setup

Launch PlayOnLinux
click Install


Click "Install a non-listed program"


Click Next

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


Name the virtual drive: battlefield2
Click Next


Check all three options:

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

Click Next


Select Wine 1.7.31
Click Next


Select "32 bits windows installation"
Click Next


Wine Configuration

Applications Tab
Windows Version: Windows 7
Click Apply


Graphics Tab
Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
Check "Emulate a virtual drive"
Desktop size: 1024x768
Click OK


Installing Packages (Components, DLL's, Libraries)

Check the following:

• POL_Install_corefonts
• POL_Install_d3dx9
• POL_Install_tahoma

Click Next


Note: All packages will automatically download and install

Installing Battlefield 2

Click Browse


Navigate to your desktop where you copied all of the CD ROM files
Select "Setup.exe"
Click Open


Click Next again

Click OK

Warning "this game has only been tested in WinXP(32bit)"
Click OK

Click Next

Enter Key for Battlefield 2
Click Next

Enter Key for Battlefield 2: Special Forces
Click Next

Click Next

Click Next

Click Next

Select "I accept the terms..."
Click Next

Select "I accept the terms..." again
Click Next again

Click Install

BattleCommo
Click Save settings

Program Error
You might get an error with the BattleCommo
Just Click "Close"


Check "No, install GameSpy Arcade later"
Click Next


Click "Register Later"


Uncheck "View the README file"
Uncheck "Create desktop shortcuts"
Click Finish


PlayOnLinux Shortcut

Select "BF2.exe"
Click Next


Name your shortcut: Battlefield 2
Click Next


Click Next again...

PlayOnLinux Configure

Back to PlayOnLinux
Select Battlefield 2
Click Configure


General Tab
Wine verions: 1.7.31
battlefield36.png

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

Important
At this point, Battlefield 2 is ready to play, but you will need to keep the Play Disk in the drive. If you patch up the game you not only get a CD ROM free game, but you also get the rest of the expansion packs.

Battlefield 2 1.41 patch

Download the 1.41 patch and save to your desktop

Miscellaneous Tab
Click "Run a .exe file in this virtual drive"


Navigate to you Desktop
Select "BF2_Patch_1.41.exe"
Click Open


Select Language
Click Next

Click Next

Click Install

Installation Complete
Click OK

Click Finish

Battlefield 2 1.5 patch

Download the 1.5 patch and save to your Desktop

Miscellaneous Tab
Click "Run a .exe file in this virtual drive"


Navigate to you Desktop
Select "BF2_Patch_1.5.exe"
Click Open


Select Language
Click Next

Click Next

Click Install

Installation Complete
Click Finish

Launching Battlefield 2

Select Battlefield 2
Click Run


Note: Click debug to see errors and bugs

Please be patient, it may take up to 3 minutes for the EA logo to appear.
It isn't crashing, but certainly taking a long time to launch.

Optimization

Click Options
Click Video

Select a resolution to match your Linux desktop

Note: The game will play fullscreen when you set the resolution to match the Linux desktop resollution. If you change the Linux desktop resolution later, Battlefield 2 will crash. You will need to set the resolution in the Video.con located in your /home Battlefield 2/Profiles
If you have folders default, 0001 and 0002, just set the resolution in all three Video.con files.

Select a Quality preset, or adjust settings to your liking...

The game will require a restart after you adjust video settings. When you load a level after making video changes, it will have to optimize shaders and it takes an extra 10 minutes or so.
This is typical in Windows as well.

I also had problems with resolution crashing the game. The virtual desktop is critical but the resolution of it isn't. Just make sure the game has the proper resolution to match your Linux desktop, if not, follow the previous instructions to manually set the Battlefield 2 resolutions.

Rule of thumb:
High settings = More detail, lower frame rates
Low settings = Less detail, higher frame rates

Conclusion:
The only bugs I experienced is some flickering black spots on the ground and the resolution crash. both are absolutely tolerable because Battlefield 2 runs beautifully. You will no longer be able to play online because the EA servers do not exist, but you can play LAN parties and offline cooperative.

The flickering black shader bug is now fixed!

Download updated shader ".fx" files

1. Download a new "shaders_client.zip"
2. Navigate to the mods directory C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\
3. Rename shaders_client.zip (or delete at your own risk)
4. Copy new shaders_client.zip to the same directory
5. Delete the Battlefield 2 cache folder: Documents\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2
6. Launch Battlefield 2 and run a simple singleplayer level to recompile shaders

Gameplay Video:


Screenshots: