Any fellow Linux users on here?

[UFO]

Ok. I got OneDrive and Steam working.

Now I try to use Epic Games with Heroic Games Launcher, which seems to work fine except that the mouse cursor is ridiculously small.

I don't think it is a game related issue, as it is that size also for the Wine Configuration window, which I open from the game's Wine-tab by clicking Winecfg-button. I can scale "screen resolution" from Graphics-tab (in Wine Configuration) to get a text and the configuration window to a readable size, but this doesn't seem to change the mouse cursor size.

I found out that I could use Gamescope-option with "enables upscaling" and "enable force grab cursor" ticked on, with additional option "--cursor-scale-height", but then the frame rate drops and the mouse turns to sluggish and the game don't always even react to mouse clicks.

Any tips?

 

[Outdated]

Go into System Settings in your Programs menu and check the mouse settings in there. You can change the size or even the style of your mouse along with a whole host of other settings.

 

[UFO]

Mouse cursor is fine in Linux, it is Wine that creates too small Windows-style cursor for Windows-programs run with the Wine.

I have tried few tricks that ChatGPT suggested from environment variables to Wine's Windows-registry entries but they didn't work. I am not entirely sure if I even used correct registry keys.

The games that override Windows cursor with their own seem to work. I could notice same problem in Steam-games that does not use a cursor graphics of their own.

I'll think I go and read the Wine documentation...

 

[Outdated]

I haven't witnessed the problem myself but I don't use Steam or any other platform of that type because I never play online. So I've just got the Gog versions of games installed directly in wine, and so far all of those have their own cursors.

 

[Judge]

Mouse cursor is fine in Linux, it is Wine that creates too small Windows-style cursor for Windows-programs run with the Wine.

I have tried few tricks that ChatGPT suggested from environment variables to Wine's Windows-registry entries but they didn't work. I am not entirely sure if I even used correct registry keys.

The games that override Windows cursor with their own seem to work. I could notice same problem in Steam-games that does not use a cursor graphics of their own.

I'll think I go and read the Wine documentation...

You might use the terminal to go into winecfg and adjust the resolution like so:

To fix the small cursor issue in Wine, try adjusting the cursor size by accessing the "graphics" tab and changing the screen resolution to 120 DPI.

 

[UFO]

Already tried the "screen resolution".

But it seems that the Heroic Games Launcher uses some customized Wine-GE. I tried to run the game with Wine of my own installation (using command line WINEPREFIX=~/Games/Heroic/Prefixes/default/xxxx wine xxxx.exe) and suddenly mouse cursor was the right size

I am just going to spend some time researching if I can force Heroic Games Launcher to use my Wine instead of its own. If that fails, I just create a start script of my own to run every game I install from Epic Games Store.

 

[Outdated]

But it seems that the Heroic Games Launcher uses....

You seem to be making sense of it very well for a first time user. Congratulations on a job well done.

 

[UFO]

Problem solved: https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=443925

It wasn't Wine (or Proton, which uses Wine and which should be used as Heroic Games Launcher has deprecated use of Wine-GE). It was Flatpak, that didn't inherit themes correctly. Quote from the linked page:

To get the cursor theme to match I did this:

1. create a directory named default inside $HOME/.local/share/icons/; you can do this with the file manager or you can run mkdir -p $HOME/.local/share/icons/default in the terminal
2. create a text file named index.theme inside the $HOME/.local/share/icons/default directory
3. and write inside the file the following lines:
   Code:
   [icon theme]<br>Inherits=Bibata-Modern-Classic
   (of course if you are using another theme just write the name of that theme instead of Bibata-Modern-Classic)

I noticed, that standard-Wine used same cursor graphics as Linux did, so I suspected that perhaps it was an access rights problem (Wine, launched from Heroic, couldn't load resources from the Linux-system for some reason). However, using Flatseal to give an access to cursor icons folders (for Flatpak-installed programs) didn't help. Then I found above mentioned webpage...

You seem to be making sense of it very well for a first time user. Congratulations on a job well done.

Thank you. Now my eyes hurt, and I feel exhausted of all this googling and reading.

 

[tkcartoonist]

Thank you. Now my eyes hurt, and I feel exhausted of all this googling and reading.

Welcome to the world of Linux (and BSD, I might add).

 

[Judge]

Thank you. Now my eyes hurt, and I feel exhausted of all this googling and reading.

"Problem solved".

In the end, that's all that really matters when it comes to Linux. Well done.

 

[UFO]

Aaand after that Epic Game Train Valley 2 began hanging. But that I solved by unchecking "Enable Fsync". According to ChatGPT, Unity-engine has this quirk. Now I have managed to run the game several hours without glitches. Yay!

Next, I'm going to test Steam by playing Cities Skylines, but before that The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit run just fine.

I have to admit: thirty years ago fiddling with command line and assigning drivers to memory areas was fun, but now it is... not fun but somehow intriguing.

If I don't encounter any problems during my summer's gaming streak, I suppose I can abandon bloatware-Windows for good. My last straw was that I began to be fed with commercial notifications, and found after last updates several programs that I don't remember been installing (I am retired, I don't need LinkedIn).

 

[Outdated]

If I don't encounter any problems during my summer's gaming streak, I suppose I can abandon bloatware-Windows for good. My last straw was that I began to be fed with commercial notifications, and found after last updates several programs that I don't remember been installing (I am retired, I don't need LinkedIn).

Linux does take a little bit of getting used to and you're bound to come across a few niggly little issues here and there but I think overall you'll be happy with your new system.

And when it comes to issues with particular games the Linux community in the Steam Forums is also a valuable resource.

 

[Judge]

If I don't encounter any problems during my summer's gaming streak, I suppose I can abandon bloatware-Windows for good. My last straw was that I began to be fed with commercial notifications, and found after last updates several programs that I don't remember been installing (I am retired, I don't need LinkedIn).

For what it's worth, I think you easily passed the most critical test one can take in transitioning from Windows to Linux. - You persevered in finding an answer to your Linux-related problem.

The bad news? While problems may not arise from general usage of a Linux distro, odds are that at some point a user must seek an answer from the Internet. In fact it's inevitable.

The good news? You will find the answer you are looking for, but it may take a few sources to ultimately get the results you are looking for.

If one is inquisitive about such things, it's more than likely to help them to become proficient with Linux faster than they may realize.

 

[Crabcore]

Man, Zorin is awesome. Coming from the Windows world, at least.

I know it's just Ubuntu underneath, and I'm not always using a GUI since CLI tools are so vast, but whenever I switch over to GUI-based apps, having them function in a near-identical way that I'm used to is really a no-hiccup experience. Plus, I love the way it looks out of the box - I'm aware that all of this is fully-customizable in pretty much every other distro, but the fact that it feels very plug-and-play is really smooth.

The app store feels really robust, too. Looks like a combination of snaps, flatpaks and the regular Ubuntu repository all in one. Being able to flick through a bunch of really useful software is more fun than I thought it would be - especially with the loads of pipewire interfaces and circuit / microcontroller simulation tools.

I know the 'pro' features aren't anything special, but I'd seriously consider supporting a distro like this (along with the digital audio workstation, Reaper, as a small side note). Might be the snappiest Linux experience I've ever had in my life.

Pear OS looks like a sort of contender to this new trend, but going for a more Mac-look? I have no experience with Apple products, but I'd really be interested to see how all of the QOL stuff is over there, too. This really brings the fun and life back into the hobby, at least for me.

 

[UFO]

In gaming, the frame rate improved slightly when moving from Windows to Linux. Stability is still an occasional problem with Heroic Games Launcher, but I haven't noticed any problems with Steam games yet (thought I haven't spent several hours with Steam yet).

I don't know what I expected. Whatever server "sudo apt install xxx"-command works with, it offers me to download only such versions that are approved by Linux distribution creators as stable and reliable, not latest versions. Which is very understandable, but leaves some software hopelessly outdated, and requires some work, which at worst case scenario seem to mean downloading and compiling latest experimental versions from GitHub's source code. And then there are, of course, dependency problems of installed libraries. I thought I got rid of that (and Unix-command prompts) when I left software business

However, the most annoying thing in Linux is Lenovo's TrackPoint-support: Sometimes Linux just decides that I am beating left mouse button when I am just trying to move the mouse cursor with that little red rubber dot in middle of my keyboard... Tried all kind of tricks that ChatGPT and Google searches offered, but most of suggested settings don't even exist . Pretty sure that the problem would be fixed if I get a proper mouse.

Actually, I probably should buy a whole new laptop as I really, really, hate Lenovo: I have had three Lenovos over the years and two or three other brands, and Lenovo is the only one that I remember having always some issues. Current issue is that I don't buy a mouse because my current Thinkpad's USB is a little bit broken and it burns cheap mouses in a year or two...

My journey continues...

 

[Outdated]

I don't know what I expected. Whatever server "sudo apt install xxx"-command works with, it offers me to download only such versions that are approved by Linux distribution creators as stable and reliable, not latest versions.

This is usually the biggest difference between different distros, what they've got available in their repositories and how up to date their systems are.

A tool I find much more useful than the modern graphical apps is Synaptic Package Manager. In there you get to see every package available in the repository all laid out in an easy to read list, along with various different ways to filter the list or search for packages.

sudo apt install synaptic

Which is very understandable, but leaves some software hopelessly outdated, and requires some work, which at worst case scenario seem to mean downloading and compiling latest experimental versions from GitHub's source code. And then there are, of course, dependency problems of installed libraries.

Sometimes I've had to do this too but I try to avoid it most of the time because different program's dependencies can interfere with each other.

However, the most annoying thing in Linux is Lenovo's TrackPoint-support: Sometimes Linux just decides that I am beating left mouse button when I am just trying to move the mouse cursor with that little red rubber dot in middle of my keyboard...

I've had a similar problem with the track pads that a lot of laptops have and it frustrates the hell out of me. Yes, buying a real mouse and disabling the track pad fixes all those issues. I was never quite sure though whether the fault was with the track pad's software or if it was me touching it by accident while typing.

Actually, I probably should buy a whole new laptop as I really, really, hate Lenovo: I have had three Lenovos over the years and two or three other brands, and Lenovo is the only one that I remember having always some issues. Current issue is that I don't buy a mouse because my current Thinkpad's USB is a little bit broken and it burns cheap mouses in a year or two...

Asus seem to dominate the cheaper end of the laptop market these days, not sure about gaming laptops though, I only ever use the laptop for comms when I travel.