Finally a way to run E:D under Linux!

[John Rhys]

We all know the plea threads for FDev..."Please make a Linux Version" and so on. Most of us that run Linux also do Dual Boot. But at least for me personally, i always find myself starting to browse the net on Windows after i played or do other things on Windows i could and should do on Linux (cleaning up the HDDs for example or other stuff).

Wine still has problems with DotNetFX 3.5 and while Wine 3.0 finally brought DX11 over - DirectX isn't the only Problem.

There is another way though. VMWare 14 apparently had some pretty good work done with the rather "new" 3D Subsystem. So i thought, well: Let's give it a try, maybe it at least runs choppy and i can have some slide show. Downloaded VMWare Player 14, set up a quick and dirty Windows 10 install and gave the old trusty and tried "Heaven" Benchmark a try. And - wait, what? 80 FPS, DX9, Ultra. Couldn't believe it, fired up Elite...and boom.



Yes, Performance is a long way away from Windows (~ 70-80 FPS in a Station with quality on Ultra + Supersampling at 1.25). But, it's playable!

(After that i experimented a bit with Workstation and while you can edit every option via the *.vmx file and still use it in the Free VMWare Player, it's a lot more convenient to use the Workstation - hence the screenshot)


PS: I'm not sure if this is the right sub-forum. @Mods: Would you kindly move it to the right one, if it isn't?

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Thank you for testing this

Could you try landing and flying around planet? How's performance?

We have several ongoing threads mostly concentrating on Wine, GPU passtrough approaches

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/2920-Elite-Dangerous-for-Linux

 

[IndigoWyrd]

So the solution to running Elite on Linux is to run Elite on Windows in a Linux VM. Go figure....

 

[John Rhys]

Thank you for testing this

Could you try landing and flying around planet? How's performance?

We have several ongoing threads mostly concentrating on Wine, GPU passtrough approaches

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/2920-Elite-Dangerous-for-Linux

I know - i've read all of those Threads Wine simply doesn't work, GPU Passthrough isn't an option because i've got an NVMe Drive and i've "cheaped out" on the Board and so on...

Performance is actually not bad. Some strange stutters to absolute Zero Frames happen from time to time - i'm going to try it a bit more extensive in a bit.

Also, haven't tried planetary landings yet.

 

[BirdWisdom]

If Linus supported my mob and Graphic card I have supported it "but the end I want my pc without someone watching me" PC = Personal Computer

 

[John Rhys]

I know - i've read all of those Threads Wine simply doesn't work, GPU Passthrough isn't an option because i've got an NVMe Drive and i've "cheaped out" on the Board and so on...

Performance is actually not bad. Some strange stutters to absolute Zero Frames happen from time to time - i'm going to try it a bit more extensive in a bit.

Also, haven't tried planetary landings yet.

Right. Tried that. Doesn't work. Elite thinks the VRam is 4 Megabyte, so it completely bugs out and doesn't want to run Horizons properly and i get "Exclusion Zone Hit!" (although it shows everywhere that i'm running Horizons...). I also noticed some weird glitches around the sun...trying to figure out, why it's only 4 MB and how i can get it to show more.

If Linus supported my mob and Graphic card I have supported it "but the end I want my pc without someone watching me" PC = Personal Computer

Uh...what? Could you try that again please? I have no idea what you tried to say with that sentence...

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

For video memory see if you can set it manually in params of VM machine

 

[BirdWisdom]

Right. Tried that. Doesn't work. Elite thinks the VRam is 4 Megabyte, so it completely bugs out and doesn't want to run Horizons properly and i get "Exclusion Zone Hit!" (although it shows everywhere that i'm running Horizons...). I also noticed some weird glitches around the sun...trying to figure out, why it's only 4 MB and how i can get it to show more.



Uh...what? Could you try that again please? I have no idea what you tried to say with that sentence...

because Windows 10 watching me

 

[John Rhys]

For video memory see if you can set it manually in params of VM machine

I did - it shows up as "extended" Memory, but not actual VRAM

because Windows 10 watching me

Ahh. Edit the hosts file Then W10 isn't watching (until Microsoft decides to overwrite the Hosts file AGAIN...one of the reasons i use Linux)

 

[BirdWisdom]

I did - it shows up as "extended" Memory, but not actual VRAM



Ahh. Edit the hosts file Then W10 isn't watching (until Microsoft decides to overwrite the Hosts file AGAIN...one of the reasons i use Linux)

So true like the both big updates wish I had Linus but make it count when it comes to Graphics card and mobo ?

Today is 4k and 3d which is the source

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I did - it shows up as "extended" Memory, but not actual VRAM



Ahh. Edit the hosts file Then W10 isn't watching (until Microsoft decides to overwrite the Hosts file AGAIN...one of the reasons i use Linux)

Easy to prevent with a simple permissions change.

 

[T.H. Fox]

Right. Tried that. Doesn't work. Elite thinks the VRam is 4 Megabyte, so it completely bugs out and doesn't want to run Horizons properly and i get "Exclusion Zone Hit!" (although it shows everywhere that i'm running Horizons...). I also noticed some weird glitches around the sun...trying to figure out, why it's only 4 MB and how i can get it to show more.

Just tried it myself, and I get around 50-60FPS, though Horizons also flips out and says that the computer can't support terrain generation, so it looks like it can't quite handle that yet. Still, I'll keep poking at it to see if I find a solution.

 

[Cmdr Ultra]

You wacky Linux guys.

 

[Zeus Cubed]

Congratulations.

Can you share also your HW co figuration (cpu, video card, etc)

 

[zombieapocalypse]

So the solution to running Elite on Linux is to run Elite on Windows in a Linux VM. Go figure....

I do love the philosophy of switching to Linux to escape the evil that is Windows, but then running Windows programs through WINE and other solutions. That's partly why I stopped using Linux, because I was just running or trying to run Windows programs through it anyway.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I do love the philosophy of switching to Linux to escape the evil that is Windows, but then running Windows programs through WINE and other solutions. That's partly why I stopped using Linux, because I was just running or trying to run Windows programs through it anyway.

I have a couple Linux machines - one is a router for my render farm. One is a mail server. Neither uses a GUI, neither does anything more than their dedicated functions, and they run great. Could I do these same things in Windows? Sure, but then I'd have to buy even more licenses, and why buy something you don't need?

 

[RidingTheFlow]

I'd say the better way is to run Linux VM (where all of your "serious stuff" will live) under "lean" Windows host.

The outer Windows host is used just for games or other software which is windows only. While you can use Linux VM for majority of your surfing/work/etc.

This setup gives minimal headache with compatibility and performance due to Windows having direct path to hardware and Linux not actually needing it that much.

For added improvement you can also run Linux VM in seamless mode if your VM software supports it.

 

[zombieapocalypse]

I have a couple Linux machines - one is a router for my render farm. One is a mail server. Neither uses a GUI, neither does anything more than their dedicated functions, and they run great. Could I do these same things in Windows? Sure, but then I'd have to buy even more licenses, and why buy something you don't need?

I agree. I'm not saying Linux is bad. I used to run a couple of PCs on it and I still have my Raspberry Pi. But I just don't see the point of running Linux, then spending half your time running (or trying to run) Windows software through it, especially when it can sometimes be suboptimal. But it's a bit of a catch-22 situation. If more people used Linux, then more software developers would support it. But one of the things that puts a lot of people off using it, is having less software and driver support from the mainstream. Though obviously, things have improved massively in the last decade or so.

 

[T.H. Fox]

Congratulations.

Can you share also your HW co figuration (cpu, video card, etc)

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Six-Core Processor (1550 MHz)
Memory: 16059 MB
OS Version: Linux 4.13.0-36-generic #40~16.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Fri Feb 16 23:25:58 UTC 2018 x86_64
Graphics Card Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 1060 6GB/PCIe/SSE2

OpenGL Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 384.111

Motherboard's an MSI - don't remember the model offhand.

EDIT:
Just for additional info, I configured the Windows VM with four cores, 8GB of RAM, and 2GB of VRAM.

 

[the100thmonkey]

GPU Passthrough isn't an option because i've got an NVMe Drive and i've "cheaped out" on the Board and so on...

You don't need to pass through every PCI lane, though. unless you simply must have your windows install on your NVMe drive, that shouldn't be an issue. What am I missing here? I don't understand.