Overview
This guide lists a few things you might want to tune when running the game on Linux with Proton. Additionally, it explains how to run OBSE under Proton.Some basic knowledge of the Linux console commands is required for parts of the guide.
Introduction
So you’ve installed Oblivion on your Linux distro thanks to Valve’s new Steam Play feature. The game started up just fine, but something isn’t working as well as you were hoping for.
This guide lists a few common problems and solutions.
The commands provided in this guide are intended for Ubuntu. If you’re on a Mac or using a different Linux distro, you will have to change them accordingly.
And remember, if something isn’t broken for you, don’t try to fix it!
The game runs at a very low framerate or crashes immediately
Make sure you have libmpg123 installed
Source: ProtonDB[www.protondb.com].
Also, try an older Proton version
For instance, the game may work on 4.2-9 but will crash on 5.0-4. To achieve that, right-click the game in your library, choose “Properties”, click “Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool” and choose the Proton version you want to use (my current suggestion would be 4.2-9 but YMMV).
The game experiences micro-stuttering during combat
By micro-stuttering I mean the game freezing for a split second every time you hit or kill an enemy, or perform any other interaction with the game world.
To fix that, you need to install the native quartz library.
- First, install protontricks[github.com].
- Then, run the following line:
$ protontricks 22330 quartz
I see minor graphical glitches
You may want to play around with the in-game settings to fix those.
- If the image looks too bright for no reason, disable HDR in the launcher menu.
- If shadows on characters look messy, disable character shadows in the in-game options menu.
I want to install mods that need OBSE!
Update from June 2021: Apparently there’s an OBSE fork called xOBSE that works smoothly on Linux. Try it first before applying the fix I’ve described below.
The latest OBSE v21 currently does not play nice with Proton. I expect that to be fixed soon, either on Proton’s or OBSE’s side. Meanwhile, you can use the following workaround that patches OBSE to become compatible. Note that some mods were reported to be partially broken with this set-up, so if you’ve come across such mod, tough luck.
- Save the following installation script[yadi.sk] into the game’s main directory (“Oblivion”).
- Open the console and navigate into the game’s directory.
- Make the script executable:
$ chmod +x ./install_obse.sh
- Run it:
$ ./install_obse.sh
- If successful, the game will run with OBSE on the next launch.
- Alternatively, you can patch the game manually. See instructions here. (Do that only if you really know what you’re doing!)
My problem wasn’t listed or the proposed solution didn’t work 🙁
There are two online sources you should check. Both of them may have the right fix for your situation.
- First, check the game’s entry[www.protondb.com] in ProtonDB, the unofficial Steam Play/Proton compatibility database.
- Second, check Wine’s application database[appdb.winehq.org]. Wine is the Windows compatibility layer that Steam Play/Proton are based on.