FAF on Linux

A set of scripts to automatically set up Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance with Forged Alliance Forever on Linux. Tested on Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch, should work on other distributions as well.

Setup instructions

Install prerequisites from your distribution's package manager:
- Debian and derivatives (Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, Linux Mint, etc):
  - Ensure i386 architecture is enabled: sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
  - sudo apt install git wget jq cabextract libxcomposite1:amd64 libxcomposite1:i386
- Fedora and Red Hat-based:
  - sudo dnf install git wget jq cabextract patch libXcomposite.x86_64 libXcomposite.i686
- Arch Linux and derivatives (Manjaro, EndeavourOS, etc):
  - sudo pacman -Syu git wget jq cabextract libxcomposite lib32-libxcomposite
- Other distributions:
  - Commands needed: git, wget, jq, cabextract, patch
  - Libraries needed:
    - Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of libXcomposite.so.1
Install Steam, then install Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance from Steam
- In Properties -> Compatibility, check "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool", and select "Proton Experimental"
- Start the game from Steam. This step is needed to download and unpack Proton Experimental.
- Note: the game may lag horribly or not even start. This is fine, as the rest of this guide should still work.
- If you want to play Forged Alliance on Steam, set PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 %command% in launch options. If you only wish to play on FAF, this step is not necessary.
Clone this repository

Open a terminal where the installation should be located, then run git clone https://github.com/FAForever/faf-linux
This will create a new folder named faf-linux, where the client will be installed.

Run ./setup.sh to set up the local wine prefix, the FAF client, java, and others
- Note: the script will install everything into the path where you cloned this repository. If you wish to move the installation later, edit the paths in common-env then re-run ./set-client-paths.sh and ./install-shortcut.sh.
Start the FAF client with ./run and log in
After logging in, close the FAF client and run ./set-client-paths.sh
To launch FAF, run ./run
If you wish to launch FAF without using the terminal, run ./install-shortcut.sh. FAF will show up as "Forged Alliance Forever" in your application launcher.

How to update after installation

Pull latest version of the scripts and version files (git pull)
Run ./update.sh perform to update necessary components automatically
The update script will not automatically remove old versions currently. If new versions work, old versions are safe to delete.

Manually updating individual components

The script ./update-component.sh is provided for convenient updating of certain parts. Generally you do not need to use this.

To update dxvk, run ./update-component.sh dxvk <new version>. Versions look like "1.9.3".
To update the FAF client, run ./update-component.sh faf-client <new version>. Versions look like "2021.10.0".
To update java, run ./update-component.sh java "<java url>".
- The FAF client (at time of writing) wants Java 17.
- Java URL is currently https://github.com/adoptium/temurin17-binaries/releases/download/jdk-17.0.5%2B8/OpenJDK17U-jdk_x64_linux_hotspot_17.0.5_8.tar.gz
- These may change in the future. Check the versions file for current working URLs.

Help, it doesn't work!

Please ping @iczero#8740 on the FAF Discord guild, channel #linux-support.

Weird issues and other nonsense

Mouse cursor stuck, can't click things in lobby: quit out of the game and the FAF client, run ./run-offline, click past the intro videos until you get to the main menu, exit the game, then try starting a game from FAF again
Forged Alliance minimizes itself on Alt-Tab: run ./launchwrapper winecfg, go to "Graphics", then check the "Emulate a virtual desktop" box. Note: This may cause everything to break. If it does, just run winecfg again and uncheck the box.
- Warning: as of 2022-10-24, this does cause everything to break. You have been warned.
- Gamescope is an alternative, see below
Game crashes with "Unable to create Direct3D", logs have wine error "Application requires child window rendering": libXcomposite is missing or failed to initialize, try installing libxcomposite or libXcomposite from package manager (the 32-bit version as well)
- on Debian and derivatives (including Ubuntu), install libxcomposite:amd64 and libxcomposite:i386
- on Fedora and Red Hat derivatives, install libXcomposite and libXcomposite.i686
- on Arch and derivatives, install libxcomposite and lib32-libxcomposite
- see https://github.com/ValveSoftware/wine/blob/46a904624f1c3f62df806e9f0bff2bfda6bdf727/dlls/winex11.drv/vulkan.c#L276, https://github.com/ValveSoftware/wine/blob/46a904624f1c3f62df806e9f0bff2bfda6bdf727/dlls/winex11.drv/x11drv_main.c#L501
FAF client crashes on launch with massively enormous error message, at the bottom it says something along the lines of "cannot use an unresolved DNS server address" chances are there's something in your /etc/resolv.conf that netty does not understand (for example, scoped IPv6 addresses). Install systemd-resolved if possible.
Install script errors in dxvk, game is rendered wrong: the dxvk install script currently has issues with spaces. Move faf-linux to a path without spaces, then try again. There is an open PR for this.
If you encounter strange display issues, consider using gamescope. In common-env, set use_gamescope="1" (or add that line if it does not already exist)
Mod selector in client doesn't work: this has been fixed by a recent commit, however it only takes effect on new installations. To fix the problem without a reinstall, find game_data_path in common-env, then replace Local Settings/Application Data with AppData/Local.

Why should you use this

Years of my own suffering have culminated in this massive pile of hacks
I will literally fix your issues with you over discord because I have no life
I suck at faf so I literally spend more time maintaining these scripts than playing faf

Wondertan / faf-linux