The Witcher Guide

Discussion in 'Guides' started by Daerandin, Jan 21, 2014.

  • by Daerandin, Jan 21, 2014 at 12:13 AM
  • Daerandin

    Daerandin Well-Known Member

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    This game was the first release from a rather unknown Polish developer, and quickly became a favorite among RPG fans worldwide. There is a maturity to the story and characters that makes it very easy to truly live yourself into the world as you play. The developer gained the hearts of fans even further be releasing the Enhanced Edition of the game, which was available as a free patch for those who had already purchased the game.

    title.png

    This guide will explain how to install the DRM-free digital edition available on GOG.com

    Tips & Specs

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

    Arch Linux 64-bit
    PlayOnLinux 4.2.2
    Wine 1.7.9

    Downloading from GOG

    GOG games can be downloaded on Linux by using a web browser, just make sure the "GOG.com Downloader mode" is OFF

    witcher_dl01.png

    Or you can use the lgogdownloader, which is my personal preferred choice. It is a very useful program for downloading GOG games. There is no graphical interface for it, but it is very fast and provides error free downloads.

    For some Linux distros it may be found in community repositories or similar community provided packages. Installation and usage instructions are located here: lgogdownloader

    On first use, you must log in by opening a terminal and using the command:

    lgogdownloader --login

    You will be prompted for your gog.com account email and password, which you must type in correctly before you can use lgogdownloader to download games.

    To list all games you own, type:

    lgogdownloader --list

    If you only want to see specific games you own, for example any games with 'witcher' in the name, then type:

    lgogdownloader --list | grep witcher

    witcher_dl02.png

    To download The Witcher with no extras and no cover artwork, just the actual installer:

    lgogdownloader --download --game the_witcher$ --no-extras --no-cover --directory /path/to/folder

    Note the $ sign I put on the end of the game name. If I had just typed "the_witcher" then it would download both the first and the second game (provided you own both), since the_withcer_2 also contains "the_witcher" in the name. However, by typing the full game name is it appears with the --list command, and ending it with the $ sign ensures you only download that one specific game.

    Setup PlayOnLinux

    Launch PlayOnLinux and select 'Tools' and 'Manage Wine versions'

    In the new window that appears, scroll through the 'Available Wine versions' box to find '1.7.9' and click on the right pointing arrow to install it, now it will be visible under 'Installed Wine versions' on the right side
    If you have a 64-bits system, make sure you have selected the 'Wine versions (x86)' tab above

    witcher_01.png

    Just close the window. Back at the main PlayOnLinux window, select 'Install'

    Click on 'Install a non-listed program'

    witcher_02.png

    Select 'Install a program in a new virtual drive' and click next

    witcher_03.png

    Name the the virtual drive "witcher" and click next

    witcher_04.png

    Select "Use another version of Wine", "Configure Wine" and "Install some libraries" before you click next

    witcher_05.png

    On the wine selection window, select 1.7.9 and click next. Make sure you select '32-bits window installation' if you are on a 64-bit system

    witcher_06.png

    When the wine configuration window appear, select the 'Graphics' tab, and click the checkbox for all four options. Make sure that you set the resolution to your desktop resolution. My desktop is at 1920 x 1080, so I set that for the wine virtual desktop resolution.

    witcher_07.png

    Note: Even though the language is Norwegian in my screenshot, the layout will look the same for you

    When you come to the selection of libraries to install, select two libraries:

    POL_Install_dxfullsetup
    POL_Install_gdiplus

    The click Next

    When you are asked to select an installer, click on Cancel

    witcher_08.png

    The virtual drive is set up properly now, and we have to perform some additional steps for the GOG installer to work properly. Certain GOG installers that take a long time to install, tend to encounter certain errors during the installation procedure, but there is a method to workaround this.

    Now you should move all the files for the GOG installer into the virtual drive. The virtual drive can be found by opening your home folder, then navigate to:

    PlayOnLinux's virtual drives --> witcher --> drive_c

    Here you could simply create a new folder and name it the_witcher, then either copy or move the GOG installer files here.

    witcher_10.png

    Back at the main PlayOnLinux window, click on "Configure", it does not matter what game shortcut is selected so don't worry about that.

    On the left side, find the virtual drive you just set up, it will be named "witcher", when you find it, select it. Then click on "Make a new shortcut from this virtual drive"

    witcher_11.png

    Select the GOG installer

    witcher_12.png

    Just let it name the shortcut with the default name, then select "I don't want to make another shortcut", now make sure you select the new shortcut on the left side, this make the "Arguments" box available, where you should type:

    /nogui

    witcher_13.png

    Note: It is possible to install the game without using the /nogui argument for the installer, however you may encounter problems if installing normally so you should do it this way.

    Check my screenshot to make sure you got it correct. Once again, it is important that you have selected the proper shortcut on the left side. Now you can close the configuration window, and start your shortcut back at the main PlayOnLinux window

    Installing the Game

    witcher_14.png

    The game installer is pretty straightforward, just click next, and make sure to agree to UELA when you come to that step. When you are asked to select components for install, make sure "Full" is selected.

    witcher_15.png

    When the installation is done, exit the installer

    witcher_16.png

    Now make sure the GOG installer shortcut is selected in the main PlayOnLinux window, then click on "Configure". Click on the "Display" tab, here you should change three things.

    Set GLSL support to "disabled"

    Set Video memory size the the memory size of your GPU

    Lastly set Offscreen rendering mode to "fbo"

    witcher_17.png

    Now select the "General" tab and click on "Make a new shortcut from this virtual drive", now select "launcher.exe" and name the shortcut "The Witcher", then select "I don't want to make another shortcut"

    witcher_19.png

    Close the configuration window. On the main PlayOnLinux window, select the GOG installer shortcut, and click on "Remove" to delete this shortcut which is not needed anymore

    witcher_20.png

    You can delete the GOG installer files from the virtual drive now if you wish, since they serve no purpose remaining there and only take up space.

    You can now play the game from the shortcut called "The Witcher", and it should be set to your desktop resolution by default when you first start it. You maybe want to go into advanced options to set some graphics options. Turning off anti-aliasing is a good way to improve performance, and on high resolutions there is not much point to it. I can play the game with all settings on maximum on my Asus laptop with Nvidia Geforce GTX 670 MX, just anti-aliasing off.

    This is a truly great game, and it runs very very well on Linux.

    Screenshots

    witcher_22.png witcher_23.png
    witcher_24.png witcher_25.png
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2014
    Daerandin, Jan 21, 2014
    #1
    • Categories:

Comments

Discussion in 'Guides' started by Daerandin, Jan 21, 2014.

  1. booman
    Very nice Guide!
    I played The Witcher for a good 10 hours or so and completed a bunch of objectives and made it to a few cities.
    I honestly gave it a good trial and was unsatisfied.
    I really felt disconnected with the character and found myself wandering in circles having a hard time finding an objective.
    Basically, I got frustrated. It was a fun game and has entertainment value, but I was already spoiled with Elder Scrolls games.
    booman, Jan 21, 2014
    #2
  2. Daerandin
    Haha, we all have different preference. I enjoyed the Elder Scrolls games, but much prefer the world and gameplay of both Witcher games, not to mention the characters.
    Daerandin, Jan 21, 2014
    #3
  3. booman
    For some reason I felt disconnected with the fighting because you click the mouse in timed-patterns to link combos.... which is kinda cool like Tekken and Killer Instinct, but I felt like the computer was doing all the fighting for me.
    I had the same feeling with Game of Thrones. You can load up the move by clicking or pressing keys, but the computer would do the fighting.
    Oh and Neverwinter Nights too....something about that technique... it turns me off.
    booman, Jan 21, 2014
    #4
  4. Daerandin
    I know some people were very turned off by the combat mechanics. I play the game in over-the-shoulder view, so that makes it easier to immerse yourself into the game. When you start you can choose either to just play with mouse (isometric) or with keyboard and mouse (ots), but you can also switch after having started.

    The Witcher 2 changed this, in that you have full control over your fighting. Meaning you don't simply click to start an series of attacks, but how you click affect what kind of attacks they are.

    Neverwinter Nights is more similar to the old Baldur's Gate and Icewine Dale, but I think I'm too fond of old games because even though it plays almost identical to the old games I still prefer the old games.

    What I find most enjoyable with The Witcher is the characters, and the mood of the game.
    Daerandin, Jan 21, 2014
    #5
  5. booman
    I agree! The environments, characters and overall tone of the game was pretty cool.
    Thats why I kept playing.
    It rare that I get turned off by a game, so I'll have to try it again in the future
    booman, Jan 21, 2014
    #6
  6. Kurohone
    Well, hello, I have pretty much followed the guide, all was going good until I got to run the game, it started, everything look well, but when I started a new game I have a bug, the characters doesn't appear, I can only see their eyes, teeth and shoulders, any ideas? I have a Nvidia GT520 running the last propietary drivers in Manjaro Linux.
    Kurohone, Sep 20, 2016
    #7
  7. booman
    Interesting... I was told recently that missing textures like this is due to Nvidia flipping. Check your Nvidia settings and make sure flipping is turned on
    1. Open up nvidia-settings.
    2. Go to the "OpenGL settings" menu and make sure that "Allow flipping" is checked.
    3. Next, go to "PowerMizer" and in "Preferred Mode" set it to "Prefer Maximum Performance"
    booman, Sep 20, 2016
    #8
  8. Daerandin
    This is an old issue with The Witcher which was still present when I wrote this guide. However, newer wine versions should have fixed this problem. I suggest using a much newer wine version than then one mentioned in this guide, either 1.8.4 or one of the newer 1.9 versions.

    This particular issues should not be related to nvidia flipping, as it is a known issue with The Witcher, but like I said, newer Wine versions is supposed to have fixed this.
    Daerandin, Sep 21, 2016
    #9
  9. booman
    Ah, thanks Daerandin, I should have mentioned Wine versions as well.
    booman, Sep 21, 2016
    #10
  10. ssj2songohan
    Installed today with with PlayOnLinux BuildInScript ....
    GOG-Version
    Installer works fine. At the end some Errors which do NOT abort the installer. Just accept them with "OK"-Button.

    Running the game with POL-Installer-Settings you will have some lost textures, mentioned in http://gamersonlinux.com/forum/threads/the-witcher-guide.517/#post-14460

    If these Textures are loaded or not, you can see in the Title Screen if there
    are birds flying (everything works) or
    are no birds flying (textures are missing) ...

    Wine Configuration: (set by POL-Installer)
    Code:
    Win Ver: Windows XP
Libraries:
 - d3dx9_36 (native,builtin)
 - d3dx9_43 (native,builtin)
 - gpiplus (native)
    Change Settings:
    Code:
    General:
- Wine version: 1.8.4
Display:
- GLSL: enabled
- Direct Draw Renderer: opengl
- Video Memory Size: "your video memory size"
- Offscreen rendering mode: fbo
- Render target mode lock: default
- Multisampling: default
- Strict Draw Ordering: Default

Wine Configuration:
Graphics:
 - Emulate a virtual desktop: ... x ... (your screen size)
    ssj2songohan, Dec 7, 2017
    #11

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