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!