Linux Distro-Hopping Adventures!

[Crabcore]

I'm on a bit of a kick here, so I thought this might be a fun game - (anyone) recommend us (also anyone) some distros, we'll try them out and report our experience back.

If you've ever wondered if program X runs on OS Y, maybe we can help one another figure out what seems to work / what seems like it might crash. I've got a lot in store for this, so I'm hoping this can coexist with the other Linux thread in a more personalized (for the enduser) sort of fashion! Especially since Linux is gaining in popularity lately

 

[JayLapointe]

I'm on a bit of a kick here, so I thought this might be a fun game - (anyone) recommend us (also anyone) some distros, we'll try them out and report our experience back.

If you've ever wondered if program X runs on OS Y, maybe we can help one another figure out what seems to work / what seems like it might crash. I've got a lot in store for this, so I'm hoping this can coexist with the other Linux thread in a more personalized (for the enduser) sort of fashion! Especially since Linux is gaining in popularity lately

Going to watch this thread as I've been looking to jump back into playing with Linux. I've done a few dual boots through the years with Ubuntu/Gnome distro's. But honesty haven't touched it in about 5 years. Maybe try out the latest current Ubuntu and let us know . I'd be particularly interested in using WINE to run windows games through the linux desktop. If I could fully work that out I'd probably switch over and rarely ever go back to Win.

 

[velociraptor]

I have recently fallen in love with Elementary OS. It is so darn good.

 

[Judge]

From my own experience in distro-hopping, it was never a matter of what distro ran which specific software. More a case of whether or not a 12 years old hardware platform could run what distro. Equally whether or not you are really talking about gaming is where it gets more complicated.

With Arch-based distros, I couldn't seem to get any of them to run properly on my 12-year old computer, while all the ones that were Ubuntu/Debian-based seemed to run fine. On the computer I built last year, I've run Ubuntu-based distros Mint 22.3, Pop!OS22.04, and Zorin OS17 without incident.

The most critical single program I ran on all of them was Windows-based Photoshop 5.5 (1999) that is dependent on Wine. And Wine versions 7,8,9 and 10 all ran Photoshop without incident. A bit comical given that Windows 7 and 10 ran Photoshop with a few glitches. Though I recently ran into problems running Photoshop 5.5 on Wine version 11, which I was able to roll back to version 9.

I've tried to run my late 90s and early 2000s Windows games through Wine, without any success so far. However that's without the aid of Steam, or Proton or Lutris. I know people have had better success with some games under Wine, but those developed much later than the early 2000s.

And there's a lot of buzz out there claiming that distros like Bazzite, Nobara and Pop!OS that may play Windows games easier. But then I've also seen similar claims for Ubuntu and Mint.

@Outdated can likely elaborate more succinctly about Windows games he plays using Wine.

 

[Judge]

More recent developments as far as new distros go, would be Pop!OS Cosmic which is now out, as well as Zorin OS19 which may further solve many issues connected with Wine to make the installation and execution of Windows programs/games much easier.

Pop!OS Cosmic I haven't tried yet. I'm a bit skeptical about how versatile it may be as it was rewritten in Rust, and appears to have completely bypassed the use of Gnome. So it may not be nearly as customizable as before. I've enjoyed being able to hack Pop!OS22.04 visually, but that version officially expires next year.

And ZorinOS19 is still in development, though I may still install Zorin OS18 just to play with it.

Meanwhile I must say, I always seem to go full circle in distro-hopping, only to surmise that Linux Mint 22.3 continues to improve and remain quite stable. I run it on both my latest computer I built last year as well as the one that's more than 12 years old without incident. Not to mention that I have finally been able to customize Mint's GUI to the max, making it more Mac-like in appearance. With a transparent panel above, and a transparent dock below.

My only beef with all Linux distros seemed to be confined to the hack I must implement to obtain sound to my external speakers through my motherboard's rear jack through the use of Alta-Tools-GUI and a program in it called "Jack Retask" and altering three files pertaining to Intel sound. Works fine on all the Ubuntu-based distros I have tried, even in the case of Mint 22 which migrated to using Pipewire for sound.

 

[Angular Chap]

Here’s a recommendation that might be useful and fun to try and experiment with:

AntiX

The reason I recommend this distro is because of how easy it is to create a highly customised bootable live USB, or just a highly customised system in general.

Of course every distro can do this, but I keep going back to AntiX for just how easy it is. I could start with Arch, Gentoo or even LFS and build up, or start with Ubuntu and trim down. I’ve done all that in the past and had fun, but it was inconvenient.

With AntiX, there are 4 pre-made .isos available, from minimal to full, so you can start with minimal and build up, or start with full and trim down. Then just run the .iso creator and have your own live system .iso ready to write to a USB drive. Its Debian based, so good support and package availability.

 

[Outdated]

I'm on a bit of a kick here, so I thought this might be a fun game - (anyone) recommend us (also anyone) some distros, we'll try them out and report our experience back.

If I was still into programming I'd still be using Fedora because of how up to date all it's libraries are, my only issue with Fedora is that there's no long term service version so you have to keep upgrading your system at least every 18 months.

For simple ease and convenience with gaming I use Ubuntu, but I can't stand their default desktop environment (Ubiquity) and install Cinnamon instead. You can also download a version that has Cinnamon preinstalled now.

@Outdated can likely elaborate more succinctly about Windows games he plays using Wine.

I got pretty good at working with Wine and have no trouble with most games but there's always one here or there that will give you unlimited grief. Games made before around 2005 are especially problematic and anything later than around 2010 is less likely to have any problems.

The trick with Wine is to make WinePrefixes (fake windows drives) to suit specific eras in programming. I run 3 different prefixes, one for the Win98 era, one for the WinXP era and one for Win7 and later.

 

[Judge]

Here’s a recommendation that might be useful and fun to try and experiment with:

AntiX

The reason I recommend this distro is because of how easy it is to create a highly customised bootable live USB, or just a highly customised system in general.

Of course every distro can do this, but I keep going back to AntiX for just how easy it is. I could start with Arch, Gentoo or even LFS and build up, or start with Ubuntu and trim down. I’ve done all that in the past and had fun, but it was inconvenient.

With AntiX, there are 4 pre-made .isos available, from minimal to full, so you can start with minimal and build up, or start with full and trim down. Then just run the .iso creator and have your own live system .iso ready to write to a USB drive. Its Debian based, so good support and package availability.

Interesting. I have to admit, with distros like Mint and Pop!OS I have had to learn some not always easy way to customize my GUI. Though I do adore the fact that all Linux interfaces are capable of customization one can only dream of with Windows 11.

 

[Judge]

Games made before around 2005 are especially problematic and anything later than around 2010 is less likely to have any problems.

Yep.

And all the games I have running on Windows XP on my legacy computer are all 2003 or earlier. Also most of them are only capable of rendering at 4:3 aspect ratio as opposed to 16:9.

I just need to motivate myself towards Steam to get that ball rolling. Though the few Linux-based games I have run great. Open Arena, Billiards, simple stuff like that in the repository.

 

[Outdated]

Also most of them are only capable of rendering at 4:3 aspect ratio as opposed to 16:9.

Yep. I got used to seeing them stretched to fit my monitor.

Though the few Linux-based games I have run great. Open Arena, Billiards, simple stuff like that in the repository.

There's more than just simple games in there.

0 AD is one I play often, a war strategy game a little similar to the old Age of Empires but with a much better game engine and far better graphics.

Widelands is another one I play quite often, a Linux equivalent of the Civilisation series of games.

 

[Outdated]

And all the games I have running on Windows XP on my legacy computer are all 2003 or earlier.

An example of a Wine prefix for Win98 games. This will create a 32 bit prefix in your home folder called .wineWin98, and naturally in order to do this you must also have the 32 bit version of Wine installed. Except for the last one with a bogus example path you can just use the mouse to copy and paste these commands in to a terminal.

First, creating that prefix:

WINEARCH=win32 WINEPREFIX=~/.wineWin98 winecfg

When the Wine configuration tool opens set the Windows Version to Win98. Then you need to use WineTricks to install necessary windows components but it’s crucial that you install only the components that will work with programs from that era, and of course that WineTricks is looking at the correct wine prefix.

env WINEPREFIX=~/.wineWin98 winetricks

In WineTricks you need to install these specific versions of components:

Corefonts
d3dx9_36
dotnet40
vcrun2003
vb5run

That’s it, those and nothing else.

Now, to install programs specifically in that prefix you need to do so through the command line so that you can specify the use of that prefix. The easiest way to do this is to browse to the folder that has your program’s Setup.exe in it and open the terminal in there using the right click menu. This saves you from having to type out a lengthy and convoluted path in the command line.

env WINEPREFIX=~/.wineWin98 wine ./Setup.exe

Note that Linux is case sensitive and the installer’s name will have to be used exactly as it’s displayed in your file browser.

During program installation Do Not let your program install it’s own versions of DirectX and Microsoft Dot Net, etc, this will bugger up everything. Skip past that and force your program to use what is already installed.


When creating desktop shortcuts they also need the Environment reference to correctly access your program.

env WINEPREFIX=~/.wineWin98 wine path/to/program/executable

 

[Judge]

An example of a Wine prefix for Win98 games. This will create a 32 bit prefix in your home folder called .wineWin98, and naturally in order to do this you must also have the 32 bit version of Wine installed. Except for the last one with a bogus example path you can just use the mouse to copy and paste these commands in to a terminal.

First, creating that prefix:

When the Wine configuration tool opens set the Windows Version to Win98. Then you need to use WineTricks to install necessary windows components but it’s crucial that you install only the components that will work with programs from that era, and of course that WineTricks is looking at the correct wine prefix.

In WineTricks you need to install these specific versions of components:

Corefonts
d3dx9_36
dotnet40
vcrun2003
vb5run

That’s it, those and nothing else.

Now, to install programs specifically in that prefix you need to do so through the command line so that you can specify the use of that prefix. The easiest way to do this is to browse to the folder that has your program’s Setup.exe in it and open the terminal in there using the right click menu. This saves you from having to type out a lengthy and convoluted path in the command line.

Note that Linux is case sensitive and the installer’s name will have to be used exactly as it’s displayed in your file browser.

During program installation Do Not let your program install it’s own versions of DirectX and Microsoft Dot Net, etc, this will bugger up everything. Skip past that and force your program to use what is already installed.

When creating desktop shortcuts they also need the Environment reference to correctly access your program.

Thanks, however do you remember our most recent conversation on that issue?

None of that would proportionately accommodate the program to appear accurately given its aspect ratio displayed only in obsolete resolutions of the past.

To play a Windows game in Wine, I'd want it to render as accurately as does my 27 year old version of Photoshop 5.5. Which admittedly is a tall order. Which is why I'd prefer to play much more modern versions of simulations and games. If I want to play the ones I mentioned, I need only use my legacy computer with Windows XP.

And given the demise of Windows 11, I'm just not much in a mood for gaming any more. I'm so disillusioned by Microsoft that it's not a real priority or goal any more. I figure once I get around to using Steam, maybe I'll find something that works even better than only depending on Wine.

 

[Outdated]

None of that would proportionately accommodate the program to appear accurately given its aspect ratio displayed only in obsolete resolutions of the past.

Some older games have fanbase made patch files to get them to display in 16:9 but there's not many of them. Some games will also let you play in Windowed Mode instead of Full Screen, when you do this the aspect ratio will be correct but I find playing games in a window a little distracting.

Not sure it's exactly your cup of tea but I reckon you should have a look at 0 AD, the graphics are really good and the game interface is extremely well worked out and intuitive to use. It's the modern equivalent of playing with tin soldiers. The game's name is a date - year dot.

 

[Judge]

Some older games have fanbase made patch files to get them to display in 16:9 but there's not many of them. Some games will also let you play in Windowed Mode instead of Full Screen, when you do this the aspect ratio will be correct but I find playing games in a window a little distracting.

That's true, on rare occasion I've seen that. Just not with any of the games or simulations I was interested in. Unfortunately when it comes to gaming, I do have kind of a narrow preference of them. Another reason why I have become rather wishy-washy about gaming in general.

Plus as long as I can continue to customize a Linux GUI I'm good to go. A nice way to pass the time.

 

[Outdated]

And a big tip for people making custom Wine prefixes:

You only have to get it right once.

Once you've got a prefix running the programs you want copy it to another drive as a back up. But better still, you can just copy that same prefix in to any other Linux system and as long as wine is installed it'll run exactly how you set it up. If you copy that prefix to the same place every time, eg just in your home folder, then your working desktop shortcuts can also just be copied and pasted in to new systems.