Fallout 3 Guide

Fallout 3 is an immersive Post Apocalyptic Role Playing Game where humanity struggles to survive in a radioactive, mutated wasteland of the United States. Following suite with Bethseda's previous Elder Scrolls titles, they explore a Sci-Fi genre and upgrade the same engine used in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion while retaining our favorite Role Playing aspects to keep us playing for 100's of hours.

Naturally I wanted to see if Fallout 3 would run in Linux. Follow my guide and lets see if it will run for you as well...

Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Fallout 3 in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

Note: This guide applies to the Retail version of Fallout 3. Other versions may require additional steps.

Tips & Specs:

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained

Mint 16 32-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.2.2
Wine: 1.7.15

Installing Wine

Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"

Look for the Wine Version: 1.7.15
Note: Try using stable Wine 1.8 and 1.8-staging

Select it
Click the arrow pointing to the right

Click Next

Downloading Wine

Extracting

Downloading Gecko

Installed

Also try newer Wine 1.7.28 for better results

Wine 1.7.15 is installed and you can close this window

PlayOnLinux Setup

Launch PlayOnLinux
click Install

Click "Install a non-listed program"

Click Next

Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
Click Next

Name your virtual drive: fallout3
Click Next

Check all three options:

• Use another version of Wine
• Configure Wine
• Install some libraries

Click Next

Select Wine 1.7.15 (or newer 1.7.28)
Click Next

Note: If you are running a 64-bit system, PlayOnLinux will prompt if you want to use a 64-bit or 32-bit virtual drive.
Always select 32-bit virtual drive.

Configure Wine

Applications Tab
Windows Verion: Windows 7
Click Apply

Graphics Tab
Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
Check "Emulate a virtual desktop"
Desktop Size: 1024x768
Click OK

Installing Packages

Check the following packages:

• POL_Install_corefonts
• POL_Install_cc580
• POL_Install_dxfullsetup
• POL_Install_msvc80
• POL_Install_quartz
• POL_Install_vcrun2005

Click Next

Installing Fallout 3

Click "Select another file"
Click Next

Click Browse

Navigate to your Retail DVD
Select "Setup.exe"
Click Open

Click Next


Click Next


Check "I accept the terms of the license agreement"
Click Next


Click Next


Click Install


Installing


Uncheck both options
Click Finish

PlayOnLinux Shortcut

Select "FalloutLauncher.exe"
Click Next

Name your shortcut: Fallout 3
Click Next

Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
Click Next

Configure PlayOnLinux

Back to PlayOnLinux
Click Configure

General Tab
Wine Version: 1.7.15
Note: Click the + to download other versions of Wine. Click the down-arrow to select other versions of Wine

Display Tab
Direct Draw Renderer: opengl
Video memory size: The amount of memory on your video card
Offscreen rendering mode: fbo

Installing Patch

Go to: Fallout 3 1.7 English Patch

Download 1.7 patch
Save it on your Desktop
Click Save

Back to PlayOnLinux Configure

Miscellaneous Tab
Click "Run a .exe file in this virtual drive"

Navigate to your desktop
Select "Fallout3_1.7_English_US.exe
Click Open

Click OK

Installing

Note: When the patch is done the Fallout 3 Launcher will automatically launch

First Launch

Hardware Detect

Click Options

Select Aspect Ratio

Select Resolution
Note: Select the same resolution as your Linux desktop for the game to appear full-screen
Click OK

Click Play and the game should crash.

Windows Live dll

Go to: http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?xlive
Click "Download zip-file"

Navigate to your desktop
Click Save

Double-click the zip file and open in Archive Manager

Select xlive.dll
Click Extract

Navigate to: /home/username/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/fallout3/drive_c/windows/system32/
Note: enter your "login" in place of "username"
Click Extract

If it asks to overwrite, click Yes

Launch Fallout 3

Back to PlayOnLinux
Select Fallout 3
Click Run

Fallout 3 Launcher
Click Play

Optimization

Click Settings

Click Display

Use the slider to gain performance in Fallout 3
Slide right to increase view of objects
Slide left to decrease view of objects

Conclusion:
Fallout 3 ran pretty smoothly on my GeForce 550 Ti. A few stutters here and there and "touchy" mouse behavior in the dialog boxes. But really good frame rates outside in the streaming world of Fallout. Experiment with newer versions of Wine 1.7.28

IMPORTANT!
If Fallout 3 crashes every once in a while, its because of the in-game music. Go to the Fallout 3 game folder and rename the music folder. This will disable in-game music, but will also protect your game from crashing.

 

Fallout 3 is running very nicely! I installed it and continued from my save game in about 15 minutes. I am getting that crash you spoke of. So I'm renaming the music folder.

 

Fallout 3 is running very nicely! I installed it and continued from my save game in about 15 minutes. I am getting that crash you spoke of. So I'm renaming the music folder.

For disgrace wine not supports in good way mp3 and another formats

For example:

wma is not correctly supported and give crash in ford racing 2 and others

mpeg video sequences also not be good supported and affect various games: blood rayne series, resident evil 4, chaos legion, street racing syndicate, some videos on starwars republic commando and many other games

And this situation occurs with other formats too

 

I have been able to play Windows Media files by installing Windows Media Play 9 or 10, but I know that it doesn't cover everything.
You would think if VLC can play any codec, Wine would be able to do it as well.

 

Great ! This time, I could install and start playing the game ! The game is (for now since I'm into the vault) flying, graphics maxed out !

The only issue, I cannot switch to real fullscreen (I'm on ubuntu unity). The unity bars (side dock and top bar) still visible. I don't know if a trick exists.

Thanks for this guide. I found a good way to use these guides : I'm reading the guide on the laptop, and follow the guide on my gaming machine. It's easier and I'm sure to not forget any step.

I'll try to google if a trick exists for real fullscreen. I'll also see if I can reuse my Xbox360 save on the pc version of the game.


EDIT : by the way, I'm using Fallout3 "game of the year edition" french DVD version. Original game of course, bought in the "games for windows LIVE" collection.

 

Awesome! I could run on maxed out settings as well. Even the water looks nice too.
As for fullscreen, did you set the virtual desktop in Wine Configuration?
Try setting it as 1920x1080 or even try turning it off. As long as the game resolution matches your Linux desktop, it should be fullscreen.

 

I solved the fullscreen problem removing the virtual desktop setting on the wine configuration. Now it's working !

The only problem I didn't solved for now is how I could use my xbox controller. For now it doesn't seem to be recognized by the game.

 

Perfect! Runs as good as in Windows. Too bad there aren't any shadows... it would look even cooler. I looked up some shadow mods and there are a few, but don't know if it works in Wine or not???

Controllers is a whole other issue. I've messed with them before, but by now, they should be working great... now that SteamOS is out and everything.

I'll have to re-visit it again...

 

My xbox controller is working perfectly on native games, and steam games. But it's the first wine game I try to play with the controller, and it seems to not be recognized by the game.

I also have to see if I can reuse my saved game from the xbox360. I checked the files I saved, there is diferent text files...I'll have to make a search. I'm quite far in the game (around 20hours I'd say). But in the worst case, I'll do another character. Bad, wicked evil thief, even nastier than the first character I had. And liar.

 

I was going to say that too! My Logitech controller worked fine in native games but not in Wine games. I havn't tried it in a while but maybe the newer versions of Wine have increased compatability?
I'm testing Lego Indiana Jones 2 today, so I'll try my controller again.

Let me know if your save game works...

 

Not sure if anyones still watching this web page, but ill occasionally get to a screen where my windows are slightly distorted but i cant do anything after executing the fallout launcher. I tried fixing some of the errors by replacing the msasn1.dll file and setting it to native which got me to the point where it freezes the screen then i tried to reload the gdi32.dll and set it native which only makes wine crash now. heres the debug. itd be cool if we could figure this out.
debug file:
mented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:server_ioctl_file Unsupported ioctl 4d0008 (device=4d access=0 func=2 method=0)
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x2002c,00007f00),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x300d4,00007f00),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x300c6,00007f03),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x300b8,00007f01),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x300aa,00007f88),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x3009c,00007f86),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x3008e,00007f83),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x30080,00007f82),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x30072,00007f84),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x30064,00007f04),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x30056,00007f02),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x2002c,00007f00),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x80038,00007f00),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x80034,00007f03),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x20032,00007f01),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x20030,00007f88),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x400fe,00007f86),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x400f8,00007f83),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0xa00ec,00007f85),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x800e2,00007f82),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x300de,00007f84),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x300da,00007f04),stub!
fixme:cursor:SetSystemCursor (0x300d6,00007f02),stub!
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryInformationProcess (process=0xffffffff) Unimplemented information class: ProcessDeviceMap
fixme:ntdll:NtQuerySystemInformation info_class SYSTEM_HANDLE_INFORMATION
fixme:ntdll:NtQueryObject Unsupported information class 3
err:rpc:I_RpcGetBuffer no binding
fixme:msvcp:_Locinfo__Locinfo_ctor_cat_cstr (0x148f048 1 C) semi-stub
errle:CoInitializeEx Attempt to change threading model of this apartment from multi-threaded to apartment threaded
fixme:win:EnumDisplayDevicesW ((null),0,0x148f128,0x00000000), stub!
[09/12/14 16:14:54] - Running wine-1.7.15 winecfg (Working directory : /usr/share/playonlinux/python)
[09/12/14 18:49:04] - Running wine-1.7.15 winecfg (Working directory : /usr/share/playonlinux/python)
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:module:attach_process_dlls "comctl32.dll" failed to initialize, aborting
err:module:LdrInitializeThunk Main exe initialization for L"C:\\windows\\system32\\winecfg.exe" failed, status c0000005
[09/12/14 18:49:30] - Running wine-1.7.15 FalloutLauncher.exe (Working directory : /home/me/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/fallout3/drive_c/Program Files/Bethesda Softworks/Fallout 3)
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
wine: Unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver called at address 0x7bc539d0 (thread 0021), starting debugger...
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
err:moduleelayLoadFailureHook failed to delay load comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx
wine: Call from 0x7b83da99 to unimplemented function comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx, aborting
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
[09/12/14 18:49:53] - Running wine-1.7.15 wineboot (Working directory : /usr/share/playonlinux/python)
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
[09/12/14 18:50:00] - Running wine-1.7.15 FalloutLauncher.exe (Working directory : /home/me/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/fallout3/drive_c/Program Files/Bethesda Softworks/Fallout 3)
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
wine: Unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver called at address 0x7bc539d0 (thread 0021), starting debugger...
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
err:moduleelayLoadFailureHook failed to delay load comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx
wine: Call from 0x7b83da99 to unimplemented function comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx, aborting
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
[09/12/14 18:50:02] - Running wine-1.7.15 FalloutLauncher.exe (Working directory : /home/me/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/fallout3/drive_c/Program Files/Bethesda Softworks/Fallout 3)
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
wine: Unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver called at address 0x7bc539d0 (thread 0027), starting debugger...
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
err:moduleelayLoadFailureHook failed to delay load comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx
wine: Call from 0x7b83da99 to unimplemented function comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx, aborting
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
[09/12/14 18:50:09] - Running wine-1.7.15 FalloutLauncher.exe (Working directory : /home/me/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/fallout3/drive_c/Program Files/Bethesda Softworks/Fallout 3)
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
wine: Unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver called at address 0x7bc539d0 (thread 0021), starting debugger...
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
err:moduleelayLoadFailureHook failed to delay load comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx
wine: Call from 0x7b83da99 to unimplemented function comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx, aborting
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
err:module:attach_process_dlls "COMCTL32.dll" failed to initialize, aborting
err:module:LdrInitializeThunk Main exe initialization for L"C:\\Program Files\\Bethesda Softworks\\Fallout 3\\FalloutLauncher.exe" failed, status c0000005
[09/12/14 19:01:16] - Running wine-1.7.15 FalloutLauncher.exe (Working directory : /home/me/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/fallout3/drive_c/Program Files/Bethesda Softworks/Fallout 3)
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
wine: Unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver called at address 0x7bc539d0 (thread 0021), starting debugger...
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnSelectPalette in GDI32
err:graphicsalette_init cannot find pfnRealizePalette in GDI32
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
err:moduleelayLoadFailureHook failed to delay load comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx
wine: Call from 0x7b83da99 to unimplemented function comctl32.dll.InitCommonControlsEx, aborting
wine: Call from 0x7bc539d0 to unimplemented function gdi32.dll.__wine_set_display_driver, aborting
err:module:attach_process_dlls "COMCTL32.dll" failed to initialize, aborting
err:module:LdrInitializeThunk Main exe initialization for L"C:\\Program Files\\Bethesda Softworks\\Fallout 3\\FalloutLauncher.exe" failed, status c0000005

 

Yes, I still get notifications on our forum.
I see those GDI errors. What version of Wine are you using?
Also it errors GDI32, which probably means you either need Fallout 3 installed in a 32-bit virtual drive with 32-bit Wine or you need some 32-bit libraries in Linux.

 

Hi,
Today I reinstalled the game following the guide, and it didn't worked. So I changed the wine version to 1.7.22, and now the game launches.

Perhaps it's related to my graphic card driver (now 340.46 from ppa xorg edgers), since the guide was working for me a few months ago. I also changed my ubuntu version (now 14.04).

I'll keep you informed (I'm installing wine 1.7.28 last version to see if it works).

 

Actually it might be the new crypt32 changes in Wine that allow Games For Windows Live to work in PlayOnLinux.

Yes please report if 1.7.28 works as well. I can update the guide.

 

I played the game with wine 1.7.28 during about 2 hours without any problems. Game performance is great, even if I don't think antialiasing is working, even with nvidia settings set in override mode.

On ubuntu 14.04, to obtain fullscreen I desactivate virtual desktop in wine settings.


edit : I made a test to see if graphics would be diferent using nvidia settings override antialiasing mode, I don't see any difference, so I presume it doesn't work. Anyway, the game still really good looking with my gtx650 ti.

 

Awesome confirmation! Thanks for trying out the guide

 

Bad news, the game started bugging once I leaved the first town of the game. A lot of graphics glitches, and also impossible to use the sight (V key) because every part of the enemy was 0% chance to hit.

I will try another version of wine (since the 1.7.15 crashes the game on my pc). I already tried to disable gsgl, but with no success.

 

Not good. Can you post a debug?
I'm wondering if Wine has broken the game. At least you can launch it even though it requires Games For Windows Live.

 

I changed the wine version to 1.7.21 (version used in "platinum" wine appdb fallout 3), and it's working again, so far ! I played about 1hour and half without trouble.

 

I knew it! Thats awesome! Love testing with new versions of Wine.
Now if I can get Bioshock 2 to run without crashing

 

I own this on steam, so do I do it the same way through steam?