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This guide gives mostly step-by-step instructions, useful tips and advice on running Yuri's Revenge, the Map Editor and indirectly Tiberian Sun on Linux. These guides all assume you are using the cncnet client, either officially or on a mod

Bottles Instructions: Intended for usage on the Dotnet 4.5 (?) Client, which YR is currently moving away from and TS still uses.

I find bottles seems to give me the most reliable result on my many re-installs, find information about it here: https://usebottles.com and download it to your OS. Most guides seem to recommend using Flatpack for the download, which may help if you are experiencing issues, but I have tested on he non-flatpack version and had no further issues

Create new --> Application In Settings:

  • Runner: Soda
  • DXVK/VKD3D : Disabled (my system does not support vulkan, but you can probably leave this on enabled)///CHECK END OF DOCUMENT
  • LatencyFleX : Disabled
  • Windows Version: Windows 10

Config 1:

Dll Overrides: (Assume :Native, then Builtin, unless specified otherwise)

  • ddraw as a DLL Override MANUALLY ENTERED

Installed Dependencies:

  • arial32/times32/courie32 (installed by default for applications in bottles)
  • Mono (Wine Mono)

Config 2:

Dll Overrides: (Assume :Native, then Builtin, unless specified otherwise)

  • *ddraw through the cnc-ddraw dependency (do not manually add check the next step for details)

Installed Dependencies:

  • arial32/times32/courie32 (installed by default for applications in bottles)
  • Mono (Wine Mono)
  • THEN install CnC-DDraw as a dependency

Doesn't work on the exe in the main folder? Go into the /Resources folder and try the 3 client...exes inside there, chances are one will work. In my experience the ogl build is the most reliable.

FA2SP with a Dark Theme

A Word of warning: there are a LOT of windows themes out there, i tried a few on my previous install and some seemed to work but most were a little dodgy (Some panels didn't change, some didn't sit nicely, some were too sharp....). You can change themes using winecfg through the terminal (better yet through a wineprefix) I believe this only works on recently patched Fa2s, using https://github.com/secsome/FA2sp, but i have not tested on older editors ///CHECK END OF DOCUMENT Mental Omega 3.3.6, RR 2.2.13 and any mod which has not been updated since 2020 will not have this patch. I found this gist (below) which on my system seems to provide a fully functioning dark theme based on Breeze, guidance for usage is included. As i run KDE Plasma this worked fairly well for me, matching the theme i used. Gist: https://gist.github.com/Zeinok/ceaf6ff204792dde0ae31e0199d89398 Breeze Theme Screenshot I seem to recall https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/n8hf6v/make_wine_look_like_windows_10/ working as well, but this was a while back and i am unable to confirm so.

Winetricks instructions: Intended for usage on the Dotnet 7+ client, but should work on the older client.

  • Install wine (Ideally a recent one, personally i have tested the above on wine-8.14 on Arch Linux), through your package manager.
  • Install winetricks for greater control over individual prefixes (just do it)

Run winetricks (winetricks in your command line), and you Should have a screen similar to Winetricks First Menu . While you can complete the next steps globally, i highly recommend making a new wineprefix for CnC, and so I will in this guide.

--> Create new wineprefix

  • 64 Architecture
  • Name it whatever you like, keep it suitable and ideally without spaces If you are prompted to install wine mono, do so if you ever intend to run the Dotnet 4.5 client. I did so when i tested this guide on the 7+ dotnet client, and i have had no side effects.

--> Install a windows DLL or component

  • Search for cnc_ddraw, tick the box and select ok to download it.

Alright, you have your prefix set up, now lets use it. Depending on which client(s) you intend to run, do the following:

Dotnet 4.5 Client: Winetricks

  • find your main mod directory, then the resources folder, right click and open in terminal, or find your way there using the cd directory command
  • Run WINEPREFIX([1] wine client(ogl/dx/xna.exe [1] Means the absolute path to the wineprefix you just made, which can be found from the Browse Files selection in Winetricks and then copying the entire path it provides you in the top of your file explorer into [1]
  • hope it works, check the logs in the terminal for details, **but try all 3 exes **

e.g.:

○ → WINEPREFIX="/home/username_goes_here/.local/share/wineprefixes/CnCNet_Winetricks/" wine clientogl

Dotnet 7+ Client: Winetricks

  • Navigate to the main folder of the mod/game, and look for a launcher bash script. Names will vary E.G., in RotE, it is REClient.sh in the beta, and i believe CnCNet YR's is YRLauncher.sh (unverified)
  • Try executing it, if nothing happens go into the terminal and type bash script_name

You should be able to start the game at this point, however it may have poor fps and various graphical glitches. If you go into the Resources/Compatability/Unix folder of the game/mod, there should be a gamemd.sh script or something similar. Consider this as [2].sh. Edit this with a text editor, using the some information from [1] a bit above this line.

#!/bin/sh

export WINEPREFIX=[1]

wineconsole Resources/Compatibility/Unix/[2].bat &
BACK_PID=$!
wait $BACK_PID

Be warned, most mod updaters Will Override This File - Back it up to save you confusion later on

Try launching the game again, and it should be a bit smoother. You may still notice some major artefacts/glitches when using the esc menu and returning to the game. Go into the client options and try all of the renderers in there, and hopefully (as with windows) one runs like a charm. For me, most tend to work (Default/CnC-DDraw), but TS-DDraw GDI fixes the esc menu breaking and lets me enter/exit between my game and other applications as i please.

The above applies to all of the solutions for playing YR on Linux, assuming you use the cncnet client Lutris should be a possible alternative but i do not use it so i can't offer any advice on it, but it should be a similar method to Bottles

Compatability and Troubleshooting Advice

if your game works fine but upon connecting to cncnet (if your using the dotnet4.5 client, or an immediate desync in the dotnet 7 client) wine crashes, follow these instructions, you may need to modify the path if you are using bottles https://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#Failed_to_use_ICMP_.28network_ping.29.2C_this_requires_special_permissions

Getting an error complaining about permissions? chmod +x All of the exes in the game/mod folder. For the later client, i found this fixed a permissions issue when i did it on the script [2].sh Also check you as a non-root user actually have access to the files and folders

if you get an error message, especially while attempting to run the dotnet7 client (specifically the client, not the game), complaining something similar to "dotnet not a known command" or "dotnet unrecognised script", then you need to install dotnet 7. Check https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/.NET#Installation for further details

As a general word of advice, if there is a known and trusted fix for x issue in y location, then it's alternative will likely work in linux Do Not run wine as root however, this will cause more consequences than it will ever fix. Administrator-related fixes tend to be as a result of permissions being incorrect. make sure to open the mod or game's folder and check everything has both read and write permissions, and make sure you apply any fixes to subfolders and subfiles too. Also check the chmod fix.

If your having an issue with a specific mod, i advise looking at their discord and asking for help there, just don't ask in another mod's support channel.

Note: Although i have covered most of the basics, I am unable to test and approve everything myself. Parts may not work 100% consistently, and i only have EndeavourOS (Arch) to test on, and i am testing on an old PC meaning that i am unable to test some new possibilities, such as combining vkd3d and cnc-ddraw. Any support from experienced users to expand this guide, such as tests with vulkan and certain graphical alterations would be greatly appreciated.

External Sources

I have looked around into other guides for running CnC games on linux. There are quite a mix of methods, some requiring snap, some lutris and some just being general guidelines.
a generic Linux Gaming post summarising all of the CnC Games https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/mtixee/a_linux_users_guide_to_command_conquer/
Advice on using CnCnet YR with linux, marginally outdated due to a change in client, but it is a useful reference https://www.speich.net/articles/en/2021/12/19/how-to-install-the-cncnet-client-on-linux/
Snap Package Github for CnCnet YR] - https://github.com/mmtrt/cncra2yr
When looking at Linux tutorials, you will find a lot of outdated sources. This is important because:

  • Wine has improved significantly in the past few years, especially with enhancements from proton due to the steam deck
  • Anything that uses packages can become unmaintained and quickly out of date, or is broken in dependency hell
  • Linux distributions can change and drop out of favour, or the guide may advise on dependencies that no longer exist E.g. a guide may specify wine 4.5, when 8.xx is the current latest. Generally, use the latest wine where possible.
  • Sadly most of the CnC games are not on steam, but if they are then check https://www.protondb.com for how well they run on linux from people's experiences, including computer specs and comments. wineHQ's application databse https://appdb.winehq.org is fairly limited, often outdated, but may be worth a check. Same applies to CrossOver https://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility