Halo Combat Evolved is the first installment of the Halo series developed by Gearbox and Bungie. Defend earth as Master Chief against an alien race called Covenant. Utilize an arsenal of weapons including alien guns and vehicles. Experience intense battles in many different environments from Earth to Covenant spaceships.



Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Halo Combat Evolved in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

Note: This guide applies to the Retail version of Halo Combat Evolved. 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"


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


Click Next

Downloading Wine


Extracting

Downloading Gecko


Installed


Wine 1.6.2 is installed and you can close this window

PlayOnLinux Setup

Launch PlayOnLinux
Click Install


Click "Install a non-listed program"


Click Next

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


Name your virtual drive: halo
Click Next


Check all three options:

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

Click Next


Select Wine 1.6.2
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 desktop"
Desktop size: 1024x768
Click OK


PlayOnLinux Packages (Components, Libraries, DLL's)

Check the following:

• POL_Install_corefonts
• POL_Install_d3dx9
• POL_Install_mfc42
• POL_Install_tahoma

Click Next


Note: All packages will automatically download and install

Installing Halo Combat Evolved
Select "Select another file"
Click Next


Click Browse

Navigate to your Halo CD ROM
Select "Setup.Exe"
Click Open


Click Next

Error
You may get a "PlayOnLinux has encountered an error" pop-up
Just click "Cancel"


Click Install


Enter Key
Click Next


Click Next

Uncheck:

• Create Desktop Icon
• Insall for All Users
• Install GameSpy Arcade

click Install


When the installation is finished, click the "X"


PlayOnLinux Shortcut

Select "halo.exe"
Click Next


Name your shortcut: Halo Combat Evolved
Click Next


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


PlayOnLinux Configuration

Select "Halo Combat Evolved"
Click Configure


General Tab
Wine version: 1.6.2


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


Close Configure

Launching Halo Combat Evolved

Select "Halo Combat Evolved"
Click Run


Click "I Accept"


Optimization

Click Settings


Create a name for your profile


Click Video Setup
Click OK


Adjust:

• Resolution
• Refresh Rate
• Framerate
• Specular
• Shadows
• Decals
• Particles
• Texture Quality
• Gamma

Click OK


Rule of Thumb
High settings = More detail, lower frame rate
Low settings = Less detail, higher frame rates

No CD Patch

Search online for: halo 1.09 patch
I found it on GamersHell.com
http://www.gamershell.com/download_53008.shtml

Download the patch
Save it to a folder on the desktop

Back to PlayOnLinux
Click "Halo Combat Evolved"
Click Configure


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


Go to the folder on your desktop
Select "patch_109.exe"
Click Open


Updating


Confirmation
Click OK


Close Configure
Now you can remove the CD ROM from the drive and play Halo Combat Evolved without it.


Conclusion:
Halo Combat Evolved runs perfectly in PlayOnLinux on my GeForce 550 Ti. I'm actually quite impressed with the quality and resolution. Everything works smoothly from saving and loading to controls and interaction.

Gameplay Video:


Screenshots: