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Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn Guide

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Aug 15, 2014.

  • by booman, Aug 15, 2014 at 1:46 PM
  • booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    Battle the Kilrathi in open space, fight in skirmishes or full-scale fleet battles and complete missions for the Terran Confederation to save Earth.

    commander82.png

    commander84.png

    Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

    Note: This guide applies to the Downloaded version of Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn. 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: 4.2.4
    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

    Download Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn

    Go to: http://www.gamershell.com/download_87172.shtml
    Or other mirrors: Darkest Dawn
    Click Download
    wcommand01.png

    Navigate to your Desktop
    Click Save
    wcommand02.png

    Note: You will need to extract the game files to your desktop

    PlayOnLinux Setup

    Launch PlayOnLinux
    Click Install
    wcommand03.png

    Click "install a non-listed program"
    wcommand04.png

    Click Next

    Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
    Click Next
    wcommand06.png

    Name your virtual drive: wingcommander
    Click Next
    wcommand07.png

    Check all three options:
    • Use another version of Wine
    • Configure Wine
    • Install some libraries

    Click Next
    wcommand08.png

    Select Wine 1.6.2
    Click Next
    wcommand09.png

    Select "32 bits windows installation"
    Click Next
    wcommand11.png

    Wine Configuration

    Applications Tab
    Windows version: Windows 7
    Click Apply
    wcommand12.png

    Graphics Tab
    Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
    Check "Emulate a virtual desktop"
    Desktop size: 1024x768
    Click OK
    wcommand13.png

    Installing Packages (Libraries, Components, DLL's)

    Check the following:
    • POL_Install_corefonts
    • POL_Install_d3dx9
    • POL_Install_dotnet20
    • POL_Install_gdiplus
    • POL_Install_tahoma
    Click Next

    Note: All libraries will automatically download and install

    Installing Wing Commander

    Click Browse
    wcommand14.png

    Navigate to your Desktop
    Select darkest-dawn-setup.exe"
    Click Open
    wcommand15.png

    Click Next

    Click Next
    wcommand17.png

    Click Next
    wcommand18.png

    Check "I agree to these terms..."
    click Next
    wcommand19.png

    Click Install
    wcommand20.png

    Installing...
    wcommand21.png

    Leave "Install OpenAL" checked
    Click Finish
    wcommand22.png

    Open AL Installation
    Click OK
    wcommand23.png

    Complete
    Click OK

    PlayOnLinux Shortcut

    Select "wcsaga_sse2.exe"
    Click Next
    wcommand25.png

    Name your shortcut: Wing Commander Saga
    Click Next
    wcommand26.png

    Click Next

    PlayOnLinux Configure

    Back to PlayOnLinux
    Select Wing Commander Saga
    Click Configure
    wcommand27.png

    General Tab
    Wine Version: 1.6.2
    Note: Click the + to download other versions of Wine
    Note: Click the down-arrow to select other versions of Wine
    wcommand28.png

    Display Tab
    Video Memory size: Select the amount of memory your video card/chip uses
    wcommand29.png

    Wing Commander Resolution

    Wine Tab
    Click Registry Editor
    wcommand30.png

    Go To: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Volition/WingCommanderSaga
    wcommand31.png

    Right-click and select: New, String Value
    wcommand32.png

    Name it: VideocardFs2open

    Double-click VideocardFs2open

    Value data: OGL -(1920x1080)x32bit
    Click OK
    wcommand33.png

    Note: Enter the resolution to match your Linux desktop

    The entry should appear like this
    wcommand34.png

    Close the Registry

    Wine Tab
    Click Windows Reboot
    wcommand30.png

    Close Configure

    Launching Wing Commander Saga

    Back to PlayOnLinux
    Select Wing Commander Saga
    Click Run
    wcommand35.png

    Note: Click debug to see console errors and bugs

    Click Options
    wcommand36.png

    Click detail
    wcommand37.png

    Adjust Model, Nebula, textures, particles, impact effects, shield effects, stars, lighting, planets, weapon extras
    Click Accept
    wcommand38.png

    Conclusion:
    Wing Commander Saga: Darkest Dawn runs great in PlayOnLinux with my GeForece 550 Ti. Once you get past setting the fullscreen resolution in the registry, everything looks beautiful. I'm also pleased with the mouse integration. Very professional for a free game.

    Screenshots:
    commander80.png

    commander81.png

    commander83.png

    commander85.png

    commander86.png
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2016

Comments

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Aug 15, 2014.

  1. mrdeathjr28
    Good guide as always and good game too

    :)
  2. unixjedi
    I see that this guide was written over four years ago, but maybe someone might still have an answer. I have followed the guide to the letter, but when I get ready to make changes to the registry, there is no

    Code:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Volition/WingCommanderSaga
    I have removed and re-did this install from beginning to end, but each time, there is Volition/WingCommanderSaga to make any changes. Is there anyway to create a Volition/WingCommanderSaga directory in order to add the key?
  3. booman
    Hmm, strange... so you don't see a Volition folder?
    Yes you can create it, but if its not there, it probably didn't install correctly.
    Can you play it in the original resolution? 800x600
    Maybe the game has to be launched one time for the Volition folder to populate.

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