Ghost Recon Guide

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Jul 10, 2015.

  • by booman, Jul 10, 2015 at 1:29 PM
  • booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    ghost84.jpg

    The original Ghost Recon is the first tactical first person shooter where you can move your team in real-time as you track terrorist movement and rescue the hostages. With the expansion packs installed you have dozens of maps, equipment, classes and weapons. Play in team with AI support in singleplayer or cooperative with friends.

    ghost85.jpg

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

    Note: This guide applies to the GOG version of Ghost Recon. Other versions may require additional steps.

    Tips & Specs:

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

    Mint 17 64-bit
    PlayOnLinux: 4.2.8
    Wine: 1.6.2

    Wine Installation

    Click Tools
    Select "Manage Wine Versions"
    wine01.png

    Look for the Wine Version: 1.6.2
    Note: Try using stable Wine 1.8 and 1.8-staging

    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 1.6.2 is installed and you can close this window

    Setup PlayOnLinux

    Launch PlayOnLinux
    Click Install
    ghost01.png

    Click "Install a non-listed program"
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    Click Next

    Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
    Click Next
    ghost04.png

    Name your virtual drive: ghostrecon
    Click Next
    ghost05.png

    Check all three options:
    • Use another version of wine
    • Configure Wine
    • Install some libraries
    Click Next
    ghost06.png

    Select Wine 1.6.2
    Click Next
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    Select "32-bits windows installation"
    Click Next
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    Wine Configuration

    Applications Tab
    Windows version: Windows 7
    Click Apply
    ghost09.png

    Graphics Tab
    Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
    Check "Emulate a virtual desktop"
    Desktop size: 1024x768
    Click OK
    ghost10.png

    Installing Packages (Libraries, Components, DLL's)

    Check the following packages:
    • POL_Install_corefonts
    • POL_Install_d3dx9
    • POL_Install_gdiplus
    • POL_Install_tahoma
    Click Next
    ghost11.png

    Note: All packages will automatically download and install

    Click Browse

    Select "setup_tom_clancys_ghost_recon_2.0.0.6.exe"
    Click Open
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    Click Next again

    Installing Ghost Recon

    Check "Yes, I have read and accept EULA"
    Click Options
    Uncheck "Create desktop icons"
    Click Install
    ghost15.png

    Click Exit
    ghost16.png

    PlayOnLinux Shortcut

    Select "GhostRecon.exe"
    Click Next
    ghost17.png

    Name your shortcut: Ghost Recon
    Click Next
    ghost18.png

    Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
    Click Next
    ghost19.png

    PlayOnLinux Configure

    Select Ghost Recon
    Click Configure
    ghost20.png

    General Tab
    Wine version: 1.6.2
    ghost21.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
    ghost22.png

    Close Configure

    Launching Ghost Recon

    Select Ghost Recon
    Click Run
    ghost23.png

    Note: Click Debug to see errors and bugs

    Optimization

    Ghost Recon is old enough to run on any laptop, netbook and desktop.
    Click Options
    ghost24.png

    Click Graphics Tab

    Adjust:
    • Resolutions
    • Z-Buffer Depth
    • Effects Detail
    • Shadows
    • Human Shadows
    • Tree Model Detail
    • Character Model Detail
    • Map Texture Detail
    • Character Texture Detail
    • Effects Texture Detail
    • Mipmap Textures
    • Compress Textures
    • Character Smoothing
    Click Accept
    ghost25.png

    Installing Expansion Packs

    Unfortunately the CD ROM's do not recognize the GOG installation of Ghost Recon.
    So you will need to install the expansion packs in Windows or in a virtual Windows setup.
    I was able to grab the files from my Windows partition

    Locate the "Mods" folder in the GOG Ghost Recon program folder in Windows and PlayOnLinux
    Windows:
    Code:
    C:\GOG Games\Ghost Recon\Mods
    Linux:
    Code:
    /home/username/Desktop/wineprefix/ghostrecon/drive_c/GOG Games/Ghost Recon/Mods
    Copy the Mp1 & Mp2 folder from Windows
    Past over the folders in PlayOnLinux
    Check "Apply this action to all files"
    Click Merge
    ghost26.png

    Check "Apply this action to all files"
    Click Replace
    ghost27.png

    Wait while it copies the expansion packs
    ghost28.png

    Now you can launch Ghost Recon again
    Click Options
    ghost29.png

    Click Mods Tab
    Activate/deactivate the expansion packs
    Click Accept
    ghost30.png

    Conclusion:
    Ghost Recon and the expansion packs ran perfectly! No graphical artifact or performance bugs at all. Such a classic game and easy to install on multiple computers with the DRM Free GOG version.

    Video Gameplay:


    Screens:
    ghost80.jpg

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    ghost86.jpg

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    ghost89.jpg
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2016
    mrdeathjr28 likes this.

Comments

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Jul 10, 2015.

  1. mrdeathjr28
    Very good game, pionner of many actual tactical shooters and good guide as always

    :)
  2. Marlhin
    I have always asked myself, how do you know which libraries, components and DLLs you need to install when creating a guide?
  3. booman
    The initial test is always without libraries to see if Wine can handle the game, but sometimes I get in the habit of always added corefonts, d3dx9 and tahoma.
    Those almost always work without fail.

    If you want to know for sure which libraries a game needs there are a few places you can check:
    • support/redist - Most games have a folder on the CD/DVD or in the game folder called support or redist. These usually have some executables like DotNet.exe, Direct3D.exe, VisualC+.exe among others.
    • Installation - Almost all Steam games install the libraries upon first launch. Take not of white libraries and then delete the game, re-download, install libraries, then launch again.
    • Research - Last, you can always search online. Searching for specifications alone isn't enough because they usually don't give you all the dotnet, vcrun libraries that are required. This is because most computers already have them installed.
    • AppDB - Go to WineHQ.org and search for your game. Almost every game is in the database and someone has tested it or commented on what it needs to run.
  4. booman
    Yes, Ghost Recon is truly a classic and I love how smoothly it runs. Brings back all the nostalgia of playing during lunch breaks back in 2003.
    mrdeathjr28 likes this.

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