Ghost Recon on Ubuntu Linux

[Zeealex]

Operation Fenris rant

Windows 7 is slowly driving me to the point where i want to smash up the PC, creating textures and saving them into a folder that doesn't exist in explorer if i can somehow stop the white screen in ubuntu, i'll do everything in there. but for now. it's down.

but i see what you mean.

i think i'll leave the texturing out, or ask someone else, GIMP doesn't have a plugin if i remember correctly. and photoshop is only on one PC.

even dad has clicked on that since having to use windows, i'm not as cheery as normal but it's other things too

even Igor is an issue, i save something, and then when i transfer it to a windows PC all the saved work, has vanished and it's yet again, back to square one, yet they use EXACTLY the same zip compression.

all i get is not responding not responding not responding time and time again. i sort of feel sorry for you guys. but i will carry on as soon as one of the XP installation Phantom 4550 PC is running again or ubuntu is fixed. might just be a case of switching to ubuntu classic

(@person who edited the title, i was already on ubuntu, i just needed to find a way of getting GR to work on ubuntu )

Edited May 26, 2011 by Zeealex
Posts split into a worthy topic

[ApexMods]

It shouldn't be that difficult, really. Here's what I suggest:

00. Have your Windows XP, Ghost Recon, and Photoshop CS2 disks ready and make sure your PC is connected to your network (for internet access) before you begin

01. Download a fresh copy of the Ubuntu 11.04 Desktop i386 iso

02. Burn that iso to a CD/DVD

03. Boot from the Ubuntu CD/DVD and do a clean install (formatting the HD prior to installation)

04. Use Ubuntu's Update Manager to get it up-to-date

05. In Ubuntu Software Center search for "VirtualBox" and install VirtualBox OSE

06. Launch VirtualBox OSE and create a new Windows XP virtual machine with the New VM Wizard (using default settings for now)

07. Adjust the VM's settings for as much RAM and video memory as your system can spare, and enable 2D/3D video acceleration

08. Launch the VM, insert your Windows XP disk when asked and install Windows inside the VM (again default settings for now)

09. Upon completion go to Windows Start Menu > Run, type "msconfig" (without quotes) and hit enter

10. Go to the BOOT.INI tab, click the "SAFEBOOT" check box, click OK and confirm system reboot (Windows will now restart)

11. Log into your default user account and then switch to Ubuntu

12. From the Devices menu in VirtualBox select "Install Guest Additions" and allow them to be downloaded

13. Install the Guest Additions incl. Direct 3D support (click the check box)

14. Upon completion go to Windows Start Menu > Run, type "msconfig" (without quotes) and hit enter

15. In the General tab, click "Normal Startup", then OK and confirm system reboot (Windows will now restart)

16. Insert your Ghost Recon disk and install the best game ever in the Windows VM

17. Install Photoshop in the Windows VM

18. Shut down windows and in VirtualBox right-click the Windows VM and select "Show in File Manager"

19. Right-click the *.vdi file, select "Compress" and hit "Create" (the virtual disk image will now be archived)

Done and ready to mod.

The last step creates an archive of a 'virgin' installation, so if anything goes wrong in the future just delete the broken vdi and extract the archive to get a fresh start.

Here's a screenshot of Ghost Recon running in a Windows XP VM inside an Ubuntu 11.04 VM on my Mac OS X host:

[Zeealex]

thank you so much Apex. i have a live disk so i dont think the download ubuntu applies. i'll back up and get started

[Zeealex]

well, my out of business moments lasted five minutes, not only is GR now working fine in Natty Narwhal (through virtualbox), but my CPU fan came for my old PC happy days, i think with the superior processing power on the old PC compared to the infected laptop and to be honest the infected G-1 (runs like its ancient) i'll be doing any modding on there, transferring it to a PC with internet connection, then uploading it, still be a while before an updated version is posted, for the exact reason you gave just need to find an optical mouse that doesn't cut off mid game now

and my wireless dongle

Edited May 25, 2011 by Zeealex

[ApexMods]

The mouse problems you describe can be fixed by disabling mouse integration in VirtualBox. With the guest system booted, open the "Machine" menu and select "Disable Mouse Integration". You will then have to click into the VM's screen to activate the mouse and use the assigned host key (default is Right Ctrl IIRC) to switch it back.

[Zeealex]

thanks for the help, that fixed one mouse, i'm now able to play a full game on Natty Narwhal i also have a problematic mouse on my desktop, it cuts off after about 5, 10 minutes, thank god for command prompts though, i was able to open the command line, type quit, push cntrl alt delete, then alt, move a few spaces across to shut down then selected turn off.

it was quite funny actually, i'll mooch the Gigabyte Ghost from the G-1 conveniently named and reliable

Edited May 26, 2011 by Zeealex

[Giampi]

I gave up trying to use GR on a dedicated (old) laptop as in the end I never switch it on (booting XP instead of my trusty Ubuntu is honestly a torture that is beyond my capabilities of old man).

Now however it doesn't seem I can run GR on a virtual system as GR always CTD although I use the procedure described by Tinker above. I tend to believe I dedicated few resources at my virtual machine but can't find any valid solution or compromise. Can anybody help me please?

Thanks

[ApexMods]

Make sure to enable video acceleration. Sounds like that might be the culprit here.

[Zeealex]

i found out installing the ubuntu vid card drivers fixed numerous issues as well as a very long and complex install of DirectX 9.0c and then using it in wine

also helped numerous problems, may be beneficial to some ubuntu users along the way, and might help you too Giampi, not sure though.

[Giampi]

It was simply a problem of video acceleration. I feel stupid or, better, old

However now it seems that the mouse pointed inside GR windows doesn't behave properly, it jumps for one side to the other making the functionality impossible. Any hint?

In the meanwhile it appears that latest wine version (1.3.36) runs GR and Igor flawless although I'm experiencing sound issues (not needed for scripting anyway)

[Giampi]

Problem solved

Back to modding

[Rocky]

Glad you got it fixed

[RileyFletcher_01]

Problem solved

Back to modding

What are you working on? An upcoming mod?

EDIT

Just noticed your new year resolution to complete the EDF mod. Looks neat.

Edited January 11, 2012 by rileyfletcher_01

[101459]

Though it may be a bit more work to get going, running Ghost Recon under Wine rather then an emulator may give you performance and render capability more approaching the native capability of Windows 'on bare metal'. Both Ghost Recon (AppDb link), and Photoshop (AppDB link) have been tested under Wine, and anecdotal reports with newer Linux versions and builds of Wine are even better. I for example have run Ghost Recon 1.4 under Wine on Gentoo and had a flawless experience -- though I did not play all the missions.

[101459]

And yet another way to get Ghost Recon and Windows Applications running directly on Linux via software abstraction rather then emulation is Game Tree Linux which used to be called Cedega and was commercial software based on Wine developed by Transgaming.The advantage Cedega/GTLoffers is a more polished and user friendly interface for getting games up and running, it was a commercial product (now free with registration) where its Developer/Publisher went after compatibility issues on the most popular games and software, and of course there's some proprietary performance enhancements.

I've not tried GTL but I have tried Cedega and it was very easy to get up and running; Red Orchestra for example ran just as fast on Linux under Cedega as it did on windows for me. The advantages and disadvantages are just like Wine; more performance then under emulation (sometimes near native), vastly faster disk i/o performance as it is native -- and on the downside some more compatibility issues as you move higher on the DirectX food chain, and some things like PunkBuster just won't fly at all.

Unfortunately the original Cedega page is gone, which had an even more elaborate database of games and applications and how to handle issues then Wine HQ, and the new Game Tree Linux site requires registration, being logged in to navigate and is quite obtuse; but once registered, go to this link and you can download RPM installers for 32 and 64-bit installer RPM and TGZ binary packages for Gentoo, Debian, Ubuntu, Slackware and Red Hat... It appears the latest packages have not been updated in four or so months but the end result should be easier to install and use then Wine for anyone wanting to give this a whirl.