Steam Deck/Linux — Remove Black Bars/Ultrawide patch

Ace Combat 7 does not natively support the 16:10 aspect ratio used by the Steam Deck, leading to black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. However, this issue can be resolved using a tool created by massimilianodelliubaldini[github.com], which modifies the game executable to support a custom aspect ratio.

I developed a script which will automatically patch the game for you (with as few user interaction as possible).

While this patch works well, you may notice minor HUD cutoffs. It is primarily noticeable on mission completion screen, but overall it is very minor, and does not affect the gameplay.

If you are comfortable with Linux, feel free to directly go to the Github repo[github.com] with less hand-holding documentation.

You can use this automation on any other Linux distros as well.
Script will automatically pick up your resolution, just make sure protontricks[github.com] is installed.

• Hold the Power Button for 3 seconds.
  
• Select Switch to Desktop from the menu.
  
• Navigate in Desktop Mode using track pads for mouse movement, and triggers for right and left click.

• In Desktop Mode, click the Start/Deck icon (bottom-left corner).
  
• Navigate to System → Konsole.
  

In the Konsole, copy and paste the following commands: (Use Left Trigger (L2) → copy/paste).
You can paste all commands at once. After pasting click [A] button for enter.
This will automatically download all required components and begin the installation. During installation, you will need to perform one manual step:

• When prompted, click the [...] button near Select file to Unpack.
  
• In the Explorer window:

1. Click My Computer.
   
2. Open the drive G:
   
3. Select the Ace7Game.exe file and click Open.

• Click Unpack File in Steamless, and wait for the message:
  "Successfully unpacked file."
  
• Close the Steamless window when finished.

The script will complete the rest of the process automatically.

For some reason, after installing the patch, the game only runs properly with an older version of Proton.

Once back in Gaming Mode, follow these steps to adjust the game’s compatibility settings:

1. Open the game properties by clicking the cog icon on the game’s screen:
   
2. Go to Compatibility settings and enable "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool".
   
3. From the dropdown, select Proton 8.0-5.
   

That should be it.
Game is running perfectly on the Steam Deck.

Once again, thanks to the original developer of the fix, and people who contributed.
Tested on the latest patch from Nov15 2022 (Tested on 24/12/2025)

Please note that might trigger the anticheat in the multiplayer, so stick to the single player.

If you want to remove the temporary installer files after everything is working, you can run the cleanup script.

How to run cleanup:
Start the Konsole again and run:

To uninstall this fix, just verify the games content from the properties of the game → Installed Files → Verify this game's files are installed correctly
And delete d3d11.dll file from