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Fable III Guide

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Jan 27, 2017.

  • by booman, Jan 27, 2017 at 12:37 PM
  • booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    fablethree110.jpg

    As the third installment of the Fable series, you can play as the Prince or Princess to save the Kingdom from your evil brother. Play mini-games to earn coins, explore forests, caves, dungeons and even bandit camps. Quests range from typical go-get-me-this-item and save us from the zombie boss, to silly re-enacting ghost plays. There is always something to do in Fable III.

    fablethree97.jpg

    Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Fable III in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

    Note: This guide applies to the Retail DVD version of Fable III. Other versions may require additional steps.

    Tips & Specs:

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

    Mint 17.3 64-bit
    PlayOnLinux: 4.2.10
    Wine: 1.8.5

    Wine Installation

    Click Tools
    Select "Manage Wine Versions"
    wine01.png

    Look for the Wine Version: 1.8.5
    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 1.8.5 is installed and you can close this window

    Launch PlayOnLinux
    Click Install
    fablethree01.png

    Click "Install a non-listed program"
    fablethree02.png

    Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
    Click Next
    fablethree03.png

    Name the virtual drive: fable3
    Click Next
    fablethree04.png

    Check all three options:
    • Use another version of Wine
    • Configure Wine
    • Install some libraries
    Click Next
    fablethree05.png

    Select Wine 1.8.5
    Click Next
    fablethree06.png

    Select "32 bits windows installation"
    Click Next
    fablethree08.png

    Wine Configuration

    Applications Tab
    Windows version: Windows XP
    fablethree09.png

    Note: It is important to leave Windows XP as the default. Otherwise GFWL activation will not initiate at first launch.

    Graphics Tab
    Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
    Check "Emulate a virtual desktop"
    Desktop size: 1024x768
    Click OK
    fablethree10.png

    PlayOnLinux Packages (DLL's, Libraries, Components)

    Check the following:
    • POL_Install_corefonts
    • POL_Install_d3dx9
    • POL_Install_msxml3
    • POL_Install_tahoma
    • POL_Install_vcrun2008
    • POL_Install_vcrun2010
    Click Next
    fablethree11.png

    Note: All packages will automatically download and install

    Installing Fable III

    Select "Select another file"
    Click Next
    fablethree12.png

    Click Browse

    Navigate to your DVD
    Select "Setup.exe"
    Click Open
    fablethree14.png

    Click Next again...

    Click "Custom Install"
    fablethree16.png

    Uncheck Shortcuts
    Click Next
    fablethree17.png

    Click Accept
    fablethree18.png

    Enter KEY
    Click Next
    fablethree19.png

    Click Finish
    fablethree20.png

    PlayOnLinux Shortcut

    Select "FableLauncher.exe"
    Click Next
    fablethree21.png

    Name the shortcut: Fable III
    Click Next
    fablethree22.png

    Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
    Click Next
    fablethree23.png

    PlayOnLinux Configure

    Select Fable III
    Click Configure
    fablethree24.png

    General Tab
    Wine version: 1.8.5
    fablethree25.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: Enter the amount of memory your video card/chip uses
    fablethree26.png

    Close Configure

    Games For Windows Live Work-around

    Before we launch Fable III, we have a work-around for GFWL since the service no longer exists.

    Go to: http://timeslip.users.sourceforge.net/
    Click: GFWL remover (0.11)
    Save to your Desktop

    Open with Archive Manager
    Click Extract
    Navigate to:
    Code:
    /home/username/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/fable3/drive_c/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Fable III/
    Click Extract
    fablethree29.png

    Note: This will extract an xlive.dll that will override GFWL, but the game will still need to activate

    Launching Fable III

    Select Fable III
    Click Run
    fablethree27.png

    Note: Click debug to see errors and bugs

    GFWL Activation

    Click Continue
    fablethree30.png

    Click Next
    fablethree31.png

    Click Activate
    fablethree32.png

    Click Start
    fablethree33.png

    Optimization

    Rule of Thumb:
    High settings = More detail, lower frame rates
    Low settings = less detail, higher frame rates

    Before you can change in-game options, you will need to start the game up to the character select screen.

    Click Options
    fablethree34.png

    Click "Game Settings"
    fablethree35.png

    Adjust:
    • Aspect Ratio
    • Screen Resolution
    • Full Screen Mode
    • Gamma
    • Vertical Sync
    Click Accept
    fablethree36.png

    Detail Settings

    Adjust:
    • Model Detail
    • Landscape Detail
    • Effects Detail
    • Tree Detail
    • Texture Quality
    • Shadow Quality
    • Water Quality
    • Draw Distance
    Click Back
    Click Accept
    fablethree37.png

    Blur and other options

    To further improve the game performance you can manually adjust some features.

    Go To:
    Code:
    /home/username/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/fable3/drive_c/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Fable III/
    Open VideoOptionsConfig.xml
    fablethree38.png

    There is a nasty blur with animation in-game
    Reduce blur at these three lines
    Try setting them all at zero
    Save and make read-only (otherwise the game will reset the values)
    fablethree39.png

    Conclusion:
    Once I realized that Windows XP had to be initially set in order to activate the game, it ran perfectly. There is a nasty blur effect that looks really bad, but it can be adjusted. Also, I noticed an outdoor pillar asset that would appear as black squares. Otherwise, my GeForce GTX 950 handled the game really well.

    Gameplay Video:


    Screenshots:
    fablethree82.jpg

    fablethree113.jpg

    fablethree109.jpg

    fablethree108.jpg

    fablethree106.jpg

    fablethree103.jpg

    fablethree101.jpg

    fablethree100.jpg

Comments

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Jan 27, 2017.

  1. mrdeathjr28
    Very good game and good screens too

    :)

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