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Dear Esther Guide

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Jan 14, 2018.

  • by booman, Jan 14, 2018 at 3:53 PM
  • booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    dearesther98.jpg

    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.

    dearesther80.jpg

    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"
    wine01.png

    Look for the Wine Version: 2.0.3
    Select it
    Click the arrow pointing to the right
    wine02.png

    Click Next

    Downloading Wine
    wine04.png

    Extracting

    Downloading Gecko
    wine05.png

    Installed
    wine06.png

    Wine 2.0.3 is installed and you can close this window

    Downloading Steam

    Go To: http://www.steampowered.com
    Click Install Steam
    dearesther01.png

    Do not click "Install Steam Now"
    It will automatically install Linux Steam
    Select Windows Steam instead
    click "Windows" under the green button
    dearesther02.png

    Navigate to your desktop
    Click Save
    dearesther03.png

    PlayOnLinux Setup

    Launch PlayOnLinux
    Click Install
    dearesther04.png

    Click "install a non-listed program"
    dearesther05.png

    Click Next

    Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
    Click Next
    dearesther06.png

    Name your virtual drive: dearesther
    No spaces
    Click Next
    dearesther07.png

    Check all three options:
    • Use another version of Wine
    • Configure Wine
    • Install some libraries
    Click Next
    dearesther08.png

    Select Wine 2.0.3
    Click Next
    dearesther09.png

    Select "32 bits windows installation"
    Click Next
    dearesther10.png

    Configure Wine

    Applications Tab
    Windows Version: Windows 7
    Click Apply
    dearesther11.png

    Graphics Tab
    Check: Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows
    Check: Emulate a virtual desktop
    Desktop size: 1024x768
    Click Ok
    dearesther12.png

    PlayOnLinux Packages (Libraries, Components, DLL's)

    Check the following libraries:
    • POL_Install_corefonts
    • POL_Install_d3dx9
    • POL_Install_tahoma
    Click Next
    dearesther13.png

    Note: All packages will automatically download and install

    Installing Steam

    Click Browse
    dearesther14.png

    Navigate to your desktop
    Select: SteamSetup.exe
    Click Open
    dearesther15.png

    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
    dearesther24.png

    PlayOnLinux Shortcut

    Select Steam.exe
    Click Next
    dearesther25.png

    Name your shortcut: Dear Esther
    Click Next
    dearesther26.png

    Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
    Click Next
    dearesther27.png

    PlayOnLinux Configure

    Back to PlayOnLinux
    Click Configure
    dearesther28.png

    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)
    dearesther29.png

    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
    dearesther30.png

    Close Configure

    Launching Steam

    Select Dear Esther
    Click Run
    dearesther31.png

    Note: Click debug to see errors and bugs

    Click "Login to existing account"
    dearesther32.png

    Login
    dearesther33.png

    Go to your Steam Library
    Find Dear Esther
    Click Install
    dearesther34.png

    Uncheck "Create desktop shortcut"
    Uncheck "Create start menu shortcut"
    Click Next
    dearesther35.png

    Click Finish
    Wait for Dear Esther to download
    dearesther36.png

    Click Play

    Optimization

    Click Options
    dearesther37.png

    Click Video
    dearesther38.png

    Adjust:
    • Brightness
    • Aspect Ratio
    • Resolution
    • Display Mode
    • Laptop Power Savings
    • Detail Foliage
    • Detail Foliage Draw Distance
    • Field of view
    Click Apply
    dearesther39.png

    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:
    dearesther84.jpg

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    dearesther89.jpg

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    dearesther103.jpg
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2019

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Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Jan 14, 2018.

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