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GOG version installed through Lutris. Apart from the missing music that can be fixed, it works great.
By default, the music did not play. I had to start fluidsynth alongside the game to fix it:
fluidsynth -is -a pulseaudio ~/Games/system-shock/SystemShock_MusicAugmentationProject.sf2
You can get the sf2 file here: https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=12023.0
Sadly the music is missing. It wont work
without music it doesnt feel like the full System Shock experience in my opinion, but the game runs well in other aspects.
I use Proton Experimental as the default choice for my entire library. Game worked 100% immediately after install. No issues.
I made tweaks that many users already mentioned above, that restores music and 60 fps
UI scaling is available in the in-game settings. You can also use the magnifier (Steam + L1), but I encountered a problem where I couldn't move the magnified zone, so I just stick with a bigger UI
I was getting constant crashes (reboots even) after exiting the elevator on level 2. I tried almost everything to fix it, including reverting the sound and FPS fixes, but nothing helped
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libcurl.so.4 flatpak run org.rncbc.qsynth & %command% ; killall -9 qsynth
Disabled gyro, removed "2" sub-command from the X button (not sure why it was there in the first place?), some other minor edits.
Some text is really small by default, fixed by setting the HUD X and HUD Y scale to 2 in the settings.
Music is totally missing by default. Follow this guide in it's entirety to not only restore audio, but also make the game run smoother: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2809933598
I recommend tracking down and using the soundfont "Chorium Rev A", it sounds great with the OST imo.
Fixed by following the Steam guide linked above.
Steam Cloud not supported, saves will likely disappear upon uninstall.
Significant stuttering sometimes, no idea why, mostly seems to happen when I'm traversing quickly but that might just be confirmation bias. Using Proton 5.13-6 and switching to Vulkan in-game seems to help but I'll have to do some more testing.
The remake is easily the better experience overall (it also runs great on the Deck) but it's still cool to see where the series began.
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libcurl.so.4 flatpak run org.rncbc.qsynth & %command% ; killall -9 qsynth
Changed L3 to Middle Mouse Click, removed "2" sub-command from the X button, some other minor edits.
60hz/60fps cap so there's no stuttering (the game physics only seem to update at 60fps).
Most text doesn't scale properly to the Deck's 1280x800 resolution, so it's a bit small. A resolution such as 640x400 (preferable so you still get chunky pixels) makes the text appear slightly distorted. I ended up just sticking with 800p since it's not that bad.
Music is totally missing by default. Follow this guide in it's entirety to not only restore audio, but also make the game run smoother: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2809933598
I recommend tracking down and using the soundfont "Chorium Rev A", it sounds great with the OST imo.
Fixed by following the Steam guide linked above.
Steam Cloud not supported, saves will likely disappear upon uninstall.
Occasional persistent Stuttering that disappears upon restart of the game. Might be fixed by switching to Vulkan. Game physics are capped to 30fps on the latest patch, fixed by replacing the exe with an older one via the instructions outlined in the Steam guide above.
The remake is easily the better experience (it also runs great on the Deck) but it's still cool to see where the series began.
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libcurl.so.4 flatpak run org.rncbc.qsynth & %command% ; killall -9 qsynth
Music doesn't work by default.
Just follow the method explained here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2809933598
Much better method than the other ones suggested here in my opinion!
fluidsynth -is -a pulseaudio ~/Music/WeedsGM4.sf2 & %command% ; killall -9 fluidsynth
TDP can go down as low as 6W
follow the instructions by user Xanarkan, in addition to his steps, double check that the .sf2 file you download and move to your Music directory has the same filename as written in the launch command (so change it to: WeedsGM4.sf2), as when I downloaded it it was a different name
Brilliant game after tweaking. no music audio unless you do steps mentioned by user Xanarkan (also check my notes on audio in this report). also used a few mods mentioned by user TheGameSquid over on the PC tab of this ProtonDB page; from those, mouse fix and BetterLogs mod are highly recommended.
Установил Fluidsynth чтобы музыка в формате midi проигрывалась. Больше проблем не наблюдалось. Игра полностью проходима.
Runs really well on Linux, but requires you apply a bunch of fixes first. Otherwise it's unpleasant to play.
fluidsynth -is -a pulseaudio ~/Music/Soundfonts/SystemShock_MusicAugmentationProject.sf2 & %command% ; pkill -9 "fluidsynth"
The Windows version of this game relies on Windows MIDI capabilities, so on Linux you have to provide your own. Fluidsynth will do just fine and is actually much more pleasant to use. See below for more info.
The mouse input is very unpleasant, but can be fixed by dropping a new version of SDL2 in the prefix. This is an issue on Windows as well. See below for more info.
Movement was very strange. After looking into it online, it appears movement is locked to 30 fps. This is essentially unplayable. However, you can downgrade the version to fix this. This is also an issue on Windows. See below for more info.
I did encounter a few crashes in the first half hour or so, but none afterwards.
As stated at the top, this requires some fixes in order to work properly. In order to get (IMO) the definitive experience, please note the following steps:
- Mouse input issues: Grab the latest Windows x64 .dll of SDL2 from Github: https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/releases. Simply drop it right next to the game's .exe and overwrite the old one.
- No music playing: Grab the Soundfont listed here for enhanced music: https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=12023.0. Next, install Fluidsynth on your system. Then, change the launch options to:
fluidsynth -is -a pulseaudio ~/Music/Soundfonts/SystemShock_MusicAugmentationProject.sf2 & %command% ; pkill -9 "fluidsynth". If you happen to use ALSA instead, usefluidsynth -is -a alsa. - Movement capped at 30 fps: The game used to have movement at 60fps, but this was changed later on because it causes a bug with enemeny movement. The fps cap is way worse than whatever bug it causes, so just downgrade your version. Open the Steam console (google to find out how) and issue the following command:
download_depot 410710 410712 1653668208125100915. This will download that depot to~/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steamapps/content/app_410710/depot_410712. Copy thesekhmet_64.exefrom there and overwrite the one in~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SS1Ewith it. You now have fluid movement again and won't throw up when moving around Citadel Station! - Text does not match speech: Download the "Proper Text Mod" here: https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=802.0. Follow the instructions and drop the
propertextfolder in~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/410710/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Roaming/Nightdive Studios/System Shock EE/mods.
This should fix all the game's issues and give you the most pleasant experience. I also recommend you take a look at the game's keybindings and set some more sensible configuration, as it's a little weird by default. You probably also want to switch to the Vulkan renderer.
fluidsynth -is -a pulseaudio /usr/share/soundfonts/FluidR3_GM.sf2 & gamemoderun %command% ; killall -9 fluidsynth
Music is missing. If you are using Arch Linux you can install fluidsynth and soundfont-fluid packages through pacman and then add paste the launch parameters. Gamemoderun is optional.
Lag while moving the camera fast. Fixed by updating SDL2.dll file from the game directory with one provided by the devs https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/releases
fluidsynth -is -a pulseaudio ~/Music/WeedsGM4.sf2 & %command% ; killall -9 fluidsynth
To get the game to play perfectly you need to do 3 things as others have noted before:
- Update SDL2.dll to fix mouse input issue
- Install fluidsynth and run with game to play in game music
- Downgrade game to version 1.2.14 to remove microstutter issues
Be sure to check the community guides Fixing the Microstutter issues & Steam Deck: Get Music Working and Other Fixes for more in depth instructions.
After getting MIDI working and fixing the SDL2.dll issue the game is very enjoyable with minimal issues.
The biggest issue I had was with the audio specifically the music. In order to have music you need to have a MIDI synthesizer. I was able to get it working with FluidSynth after quite a bit of tinkering.
The first thing you have to do is install fluidsynth and a soundfont I used sountfont-fluid. Then you have to edit the config file: /etc/conf.d/fluidsynth I added the fluid soundfonts by adding the line: SOUND_FONT=/usr/share/soundfonts/FluidR3_GM.sf2
In order to finally get the music working I figured out I needed to add this line to the config file as well:
OTHER_OPTS='-a pulseaudio -m alsa_seq -r 48000 -o audio.periods=2 -o audio.period-size=1024'
Every time I moved the mouse the whole game would lag and was unusable I was able to fix it by replacing SDL2.dll in the game folder with a newer version from: https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/releases
Every time I moved the mouse the whole game would lag and was unusable I was able to fix it by replacing SDL2.dll in the game folder with a newer version from: https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/releases
If you are using pulseaudio instead of alsa it seems to have issues unless you set the driver to pulseaudio with -a pulseaudio. I also originally had sound crackling when running the game until I added -o audio.periods=2 -o audio.period-size=1024 I did not see any documentation about this in the standard installation of FluidSynth. It seems from some testing I performed that increasing audio.period-size reduced the crackling but it could have some audio skipping until you also reduce audio.periods to 2 which is the minimum. I didn't notice any skipping or problems after that.
fluidsynth -is -a pulseaudio ~/Music/WeedsGM4.sf2 & %command% ; killall -9 fluidsynth
No music
If you move the game from one storage to another, you'll loose your saved game.
Out of the box you'll have no music. You will have to go into Desktop Mode and then open the "Konsole".
Type that command: "steamos-readonly disable"
If you didn't already do it before, you'll have to set a password for the "deck" user using this command: "passwd".
"sudo pacman-key --init" "sudo pacman-key -u" "sudo pacman-key --populate" "sudo pacman -S fluidsynth" "steamos-readonly enable"
Go on this website to download the SoundFount you need to have in-game music: http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=500 Download and extract the .sf2 into your /home/music folder.
This is the launch option you'll have to put in Steam. fluidsynth -is -a pulseaudio ~/Music/WeedsGM4.sf2 & %command% ; killall -9 fluidsynth
To Fix:
You'll need both a realtime midi synthesizer and a soundfont.
Note: you may already have these installed so be sure to check! I installed FluidSynth and FluidR3.
For FluidSynth to run in-game it will need to be run as an ALSA daemon
You will need to change the FluidSynth config file (/etc/conf.d/fluidsynth) and add your soundfont, so the top uncommented line should look like this: SOUND_FONT=/usr/share/soundfonts/FluidR3_GM.sf2
Note: The config file path may be different, just have a google for it
After that you will need to start and enable fluidsynth.service
Note: If you get Unit fluidsynth.service not found, it may be because you are using the pulseaudio driver, so try running it as user (systemctl --user [start or enable] fluidsynth.service).
Constant stuttering and hitches
To Fix:
Install the newer dll file from here: https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/releases/tag/release-2.24.0
Note: the one to grab (or at least the one that worked for me) was the win32-x64.zip file.
Unzip and then copy and paste that in the SS1EE file in your steam folder and make sure to overwrite the old file
That should make the game run much more smoothly.
If your game still stutters I would recommend going in-game and fiddling around with the video options, namely using the correct aspect-ratio and refresh rate, swapping out the rendering engine (Vulkan worked for me), and potentially turning off V-sync/
It does require some not insignificant tinkering but it's definitely possible to get it to run well without too much hassle.
Install Fluidsynth to have music
Installing latest SDL2.dll fixed this issue. Get it from here
Game ran slow to the point where it wasn't enjoyable to play. Switching to older Proton version solved this.
Couldn't get the music working with neither timidity nor fluidsync (couldn't get past some errors)
issue worked out by changing the dll file below
In order to get music I installed fluidsynth. By running fluidsynth -s /path/to/soundfont.sf2 -d -a pulseaudio I had music working.
Laggy mouse can be fixed by downloading the latest SDL2.dll and replacing it in the game files. You can download the dll from https://www.libsdl.org/download-2.0.php
Playable with Proton 6.3-8, but music is missing and save data is deleted when the game is uninstalled.
Lost when uninstalling
Install fluidsynth and then add the following Steam launch options in properties systemctl --user start fluidsynth; %command%; pkill -15 fluidsynth
Without fluidsynch or some form of midi server, there is no music. These launch options ensure that fluidsyth is only run when running the game.
Had to change SDL2.dll for the one from Quake port by Nightdive to solve a problem with stutters
Install a MIDI backend for music (Timidity as an example), otherwise it's perfect
Without changing the file you get huge stutters whenever you move the mouse, change SDL2.dll and the problem will be solved
Some text is a bit small on screen
looking around was jerky and made the game not really playable.
Use Vulkan for better performance.
Game will crash upon closing.
Either use Timidity or Fluidsynth (go to audio settings and select a different audio device).
To get music working (Debian and systemd-enabled derivatives)
sudo apt install fluidsynth
cp /etc/default/fluidsynth ~/.config/
Edit ~/.config/fluidsynth to be
# Mandatory parameters (uncomment and edit)
SOUND_FONT=/usr/share/sounds/sf3/default-GM.sf3
# Additional optional parameters (may be useful, see 'man fluidsynth' for further info)
OTHER_OPTS='-a pulseaudio'
Start fluidsynth:
systemctl --user start fluidsynth
To run fluidsynth automatically on logon:
systemctl --user enable fluidsynth
Use Proton 4.x, otherwise you'll get the mouse polling issue (game freezes every time you move the mouse).
Works after installing fluidsynth
Sometimes freezes on exit, need to kill the process
Currently unplayable
No music
Mouse lag is so big that it's impossible to use.
Very large fps drops, upon any inputs.
Music is missing
Mouse moving causes lagging
Works mostly out of the box, but to get the music working:
sudo pacman -S soundfont-fluid
and then prior to running the game, start in the background:
fluidsynth --audio-driver=alsa /usr/share/soundfonts/FluidR3_GM.sf2
(thanks @Aqualiteking)
When closing the game it almost always freezes and alt-tabbing becomes impossible. To close it manually I switch to another console with ctrl+alt+f6, run htop, find the process that starts with Z: and send it signal 9 SIGKILL
Mouse is bunk, needs tinkering for midis
Needs manual installation of a midi device
The mouse lagged the whole game, but only when it was moving; every single button besides moving around the mouse worked perfectly fine
Works out of the box without Music
Music replay require disable pipewire.socket service with systemctl --user stop pipewire.socket and enable fluidsynth service with systemctl --user start fluidsynth before running the game in steam or stock wine (tested with wine-staging 5.20). Used soundfont was WeedsGM3.sf2 but works with FluidR3 too.
Frequent stuttering and missing music
Music is missing without installing a seperate midi player.
Game frequently stutters
Ambient music is missing
Game would not start without the PROTON_USE_WINED3D11=1 %command% trick in the Steam launch options.
#Easy fix to get the music working.
Open up terminal and install fluidsynth.
sudo apt-get install fluidsynth
Before you play the game run the following command in terminal.
fluidsynth --audio-driver=alsa /usr/share/sounds/sf2/FluidR3_GM.sf2
This has to be done manually every time before you play the game.
Same as a yer ago: "Error ....\source\rhi\d3d11\rhiContextD3D11.cpp Line:75" . I don't know how to improve on that. Sorry
