Tutorials: GameTree Linux - Part 3 - Debugging and crash logs

Alerts

Sometimes, a game just doesn't wanna run or install. And sometimes, it gives an error, which could help you identify the problem about running or installing the game. How? Well, when the game crashes, it usually gives an error, and GameTree Linux helps you showing "# new alerts", where # is a number.

Of course, you would like to know what kind of alert is. To do this, just click on alerts, and it will show you date, time, folder, name of the crashed process, and the message. Easy, huh?

Usually, as this test, an unhandled exception doesn't help you so much. So...

Let's use some logs!!!!

The first thing to do is enabling the debug mode. How to do this? Click on file -> Debug. Now you will see a new label called "debug", which will show you some useful options.

Debug flags let you choose what kind of parameters you would like to trace.

From http://wiki.winehq.org/DebugChannels:

+tid: prepends each log message with the ID of the thread it came from

+seh: logs Windows exceptions (Structured Exception Handling)

+relay: logs every function call in Wine builtin DLLs

I don't know what +ole means, so if anyone knows that, please tell me!

+ddraw logs every graphic parameter and it's useful for graphic issues.

Debug output let you choose if logging in a file or in a console, and defer tracing separates the parameters traced.

So, the log file should be like this:

If you have got some knowledge about logging and debugging, you should be able to understand what the problem is... I haven't got these knowledge, so i can only understand things like missing dlls and some other little things.

I don't like a GUI...

All right, you don't like a GUI, you're an old hardcore linux user, which use only the console to unhinge your operative system. GameTree Linux lets you do about everything from console.

Just open a terminal, and type "gametree --help".

As you can see, you can do about everything only typing "gametree <command> <parameters>". For example, i wanna show you how to run an installed game, which means you can see all the process in the terminal, just like the debug mode (of course, without the debug mode!).

Just type "gametree --run <folder> <shortcut>", which in this case are <folder>="Black & White 2" and <shortcut>="Black & White 2". The command will be "gametree --run "Black & White 2" "Black & White 2"".

And that's all. Remember, GameTree Linux is a pretty easy program, but only a few games will run easily without any issue.

Tutorials: GameTree Linux - Part 2 - Installing and playing a game

Nowgimmesomegames!

Alright, now let's see how to install a game and how to play it. I'm gonna show you how to install and play Max Payne, because it's one of the official supported games (and it also works very well). Remember, you can find the list of the official supported games at https://gametreelinux.com/games-list.

Installing the game

The first thing to do is click on "install a game" in the main window of GameTree Linux. Now you should see a window like this:

GameTree Linux will now try to guess the game you want to install, checking the CDs or the DVDs inserted in your devices. In any case, you can simply tell GameTree Linux that Max Payne is the game wanted, and it will automatically create a new folder (of course called Max Payne) for you. The next thing to do is select the installation file (normally there's a setup.exe or install.exe into the main folder of the CD or DVD). You can now select the OS you want to emulate.. There's no need to say that you must select Windows XP, even for the last decade's games.

You can also set a lot of advanced options (only for the installation process) like engines, scheduler, fullscreen or window, graphic options etc...

Alright, now you can simply run the installation process and hope that it will come successfully to an end. If you encounter some issues in the installation process, try changing engine (for example, for Max Payne, i had to use engine 7.3.3).

I installed the game... Now?

At the end of the installation process, GameTree Linux will create some shortcuts for you, and will put them into the folder created before.

Clicking on the shortcuts, you'll be able to do some useful things.

First of all, the label "notes" shows you some infos about the game you're running. This was supposed to work only for official supported games, since these notes were created by Transgaming itself to help you running the game.

The second label "shortcut" lets you change the paths to the applications, the shortcut icon and some other things like "command-line options" which means you can add options to your executable file (-fps, -opengl etc...).

The third and last label lets you change some of the main options like engine version, size of the game window, vertex and shader model etc... If you'd like to change all the settings (even the advanced options), you can simply do it clicking on the "advanced" button.

Yeah, but i want to apply a patch.. Can i do it?

Of course you can do it! The process is the same as the game installation, but you must set the path to the patch executable instead of the installation executable. If you're lucky, the patch will install automatically into the same folder as the game!

Playing the game

The game has been installed. The patch has been applied. All the shortcuts have been set and all the options set as well. Now it's time to play the game (Does anyone said Motorhead?)! Click on the game executable shortcut twice, or click on the shortcut and then "run". If the game is compatible, if you got some luck, the game will run! And if you also checked "activate Cedega HUD" (i suppose Transgaming staff forgot to change the name there -_-), it should be looking like... This!

Well... Is that all?

No! The last thing i want to show you is how simply create new folders and new shortcuts. Go to the folders window, click on "edit" and then on "add folder". Set the name of the folder and... Ta-dah! You did it!

Of course you don't need this if you're going to install a new game, since the program let you create the folder into the installation process itself. Use this function only if you want to create a new shortcut to a program/game already installed in your system or a game which doesn't need installation.

To create a new shortcut, right-click on the new folder, and then on "new shortcut". Set the name, and create it.

All you have to do now is to set manually the paths to the executable, the icon, and all the other options.

That's all. Now stay tuned for the next, and last, tutorial, which will show you how to activate the debug mode and how to see the crash logs!

Tutorials: GameTree Linux - Part 1 - Installation & Configuration

What are we talking about?

GameTree Linux is the natural prosecution of a project called "Cedega" which is a linux gaming platform, supporting officially a restricted number of games. Actually, GameTree Linux is, as today, Cedega itself, being the same program with another name. Transgaming team promised to improve the client, but they are now concentrated on improving their GameTree TV system (see http://gametreetv.com/ for more info).

Well, now tell me about its features!

All right! GameTree Linux features improved graphic settings (it supports shader and vertex model 3.0) and supports directx and opengl without any trick. It has a beautiful and simple GUI.

As i said, GameTree Linux supports officially (which means you should never have issues running and playing those games) some games (see https://gametreelinux.com/games-list for the complete list), but since some games update frequently (for instance World of Warcraft), and the program doesn't update since a lot of months, there could be some problems right now running or playing some of these games.

I want it! Where can i download it?

You can download it checking out its official site (https://gametreelinux.com/), registering for free, logging in, going into "GameTree Linux Dev Center" section, choosing your distro (it supports now all Debian-based systems, all Fedora-based systems, Gentoo, Slackware and some other distros) and downloading the right package.

Yay! I installed it... So now?

Fine. The first thing GameTree Linux will do when you run it, is download the latest engines, some fonts and the compatibility list of all supported games. Done? Fine. Now, the next thing to do is run the diagnostics to see if your system can handle GameTree Linux. Do it clicking on "Run Diagnostics" in the main window.

I suppose you will pass all the tests, since this test just wanna tell you if you can run the program, not the games. Let's analyze now some useful options.

Setting the program

Under Settings -> General, you can set some general options like the default engine, the default windows version, the resolution (only if you wanna run games in a window), and some useful tricks. I suggest you to leave all the options as default, unless you wanna play in a window, or activate the Cedega HUD (if you wanna check how much RAM is used and the FPS count of the game you're running).

Under Settings -> Graphics, you can set all graphic options. Again, i suggest you to leave all the options as default, unless you wanna do some tests or you encounter some graphical issues in the game you're running.

Under Settings -> Audio, you can set all sound options. In my experience, i encountered a lot of issues making the sound work ingame. If you also encounter the same issues, try putting "default" in both "CTL Device" and "PCM Device" instead of "hw" and "plug:dmix". I will never suggest you to use OSS, since is an old sound devices, not used anymore.

Under Settings -> Joysticks... Well, it's simple. You can set your joysticks! Just click on "Detect" and the program will find your device that you can test, clicking on it.

Advanced options

Under Settings -> Membership, you can handle your membership to let GameTree Linux download the newest updates for you automatically. And, of course, if you navigate under a Proxy, you can set it here.

Under Settings -> Engines, there's something you will always deal with. This indispensable section let you download and install older engines, that will help you testing some old games which require old engines in order to work. Simply click on "Install engine", select the engine you want to download, and let the program download and install it for you.

Under Settings -> System, you can check your PC specs, copy it on a clipboard or making the program detect them again for you if you change something in your PC.