4 ms·

Crazy how, thanks to Wine/Proton, Linux is now more compatible with old Windows games than Windows itself. There are a lot of games from the 90s and even the 0

Crazy how, thanks to Wine/Proton, Linux is now more compatible with old Windows games than Windows itself. There are a lot of games from the 90s and even the 00s that require jumping through a lot of hoops to run on Windows, but through Steam they're click-to-play on Linux.

jimbobthrowawy 10mo ago
Wine works on windows too. It's used by the shorthorn project to get software for newer versions of windows to run under XP.
- bigyabai 10mo ago
  Yep, for some games like Elden Ring it even fixes Windows-specific performance hiccups: https://youtu.be/vAooLiCy7rE https://youtu.be/vAooLiCy7rE
- cryptonector 10mo ago
  Whoa. Can it be used to run older software on newer Windows too?
  - account42 10mo ago
    GOG used to ship Wine ddraw.dll with some games although for this specific use case there are better options now (e.g. cnc-ddraw).
andsoitis 10mo ago
> There are a lot of games from the 90s and even the 00s that require jumping through a lot of hoops to run on Windows What are some examples?
- shakna 10mo ago
  Anything around DirectX 10 and older has issues with Windows, these days. One more popular example is Grid 2, another is Morrowind. Both crash on launch, unless you tweak a lot of things, and even then it won't always succeed. Need for Speed II: SE is "platinum" on Wine, and pretty much unable to be run at all on Windows 11.
  - tubs 10mo ago
    Isn’t this because the wine db has those tweaks pre configured?
    - Xirdus 10mo ago
      Windows used to be half operating system, half preconfigured compatibility tweaks for all kinds of applications. That's how it kept its backwards compatibility.
    - shakna 10mo ago
      More a case of DirectX radically changing how it worked [0]. [0] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/direct3darticles/dxgi-best-practices https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/direct3darti...
    - realusername 10mo ago
      It's because wine OS selector actually tries to match bug for bug the OS version you set but Window's one gave up after Windows 7.
  - shakna 10mo ago
    Sidenote: Whilst Morrowind is fine under Wine, there's a fantastic engine rebuild called OpenMW [0]. It runs on both Windows and Linux natively. Some of the memory limits are also lifted, which meant I have a few mods that weren't possible without hacks in the past [1]. [0] https://openmw.org/ https://openmw.org/ [1] https://morromod.netlify.app/ https://morromod.netlify.app/
    - account42 10mo ago
      Unfortunately the modding community is split because OpenMW only cares about supporting the original game and not the script extender ecosystem that modders have built around it.
- sgarland 10mo ago
  The last time I tried to run Tachyon: The Fringe was Windows 10, and it failed. IIRC I could launch it and play, but there was a non-zero chance that a FMV cutscene would cause it to freeze. I see there are guides on Steam forums on how to get it to run under Windows 11 [0], and they are quite involved for someone not overly familiar with computers outside of gaming. 0: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2934449449 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=29344...
- ntoskrnl_exe 10mo ago
  Pretty much all the Renderware based GTAs have issues these days that only community made patches can mitigate. A recent example is that in San Andreas, the seaplane never spawns if you're running Windows 11 24H2 or newer. All of it due to a bug that's always been in the game, but only the recent changes in Windows caused it to show up. If anybody's interested, you can read the investigation on it here: https://cookieplmonster.github.io/2025/04/23/gta-san-andreas-win11-24h2-bug/ https://cookieplmonster.github.io/2025/04/23/gta-san-andreas...
  - robotnikman 10mo ago
    I remember seeing a thread about that bug here on HN a while ago, that was a fun read.
- xtracto 10mo ago
  Lemmings Revolutions. Apparently to run in something else that is not Windows 95/98/Me requires some unofficial .EXE patch that you could download from some shady website. The file is now nowehre to be found. It's a great game, unfortunately right now I am not able to play it anymore :( even though I have the original CD. Unfortunately, Wine is of no help here :( Also original Commandos games.
- forgotusername6 10mo ago
  Anything written with SafeDisk DRM e.g. medal of honor allied assault.
- chocochunks 10mo ago
  Red Alert 2. Then there's games like Dark Forces II that work but don't work with hardware rendering out of the box so they look like crap. I've also had games like Grid complain I didn't have enough VRAM (because I had more than 2GB), games that were tricky to get working because I used a 4K monitor (Sims 2, Crysis 2). And there's games where the original release is borked but a newer version on GoG is okay like Alpha Centauri.
  - andrekandre 10mo ago
    slightly off the main topic, but if you wanna run dark forces II with gpu acceleration and texture filtering etc, try out OpenJKDF2 i got this working on my linux install (on risc-v nonetheless!) with a compile and some small tweaks it works well (getting 100+fps with filtering and ssao etc) [0] https://github.com/shinyquagsire23/OpenJKDF2 https://github.com/shinyquagsire23/OpenJKDF2
- Delk 10mo ago
  I remember not getting Close Combat 2 (from 1997) running on Windows 10 some years ago but I did getting it running under Wine, albeit with some tweaks. Whether that was a Windows compatibility issue or potentially some display driver thing, I'm not sure. (90's Windows games may have used some DirectDraw features that just don't get that much attention nowadays, which I think may have been the issue, but my memory's a bit spotty.)
Verdex 10mo ago
My gaming PC isn't compatible with windows 11, so it was the first to get upgraded to Linux. Immediate and significant improvement in experience. Windows kept logging down the system trying to download a dozen different language versions of word (for which I didn't have a licence and didn't want regardless). Steam kept going into a crash restart cycle. Virus scanner was ... being difficult. Everything just works on Linux except some games on proton have some sound issues that I still need to work out.
- wffurr 10mo ago
  >> some sound issues Is this 1998? Linux is forever having sound issues. Why is sound so hard?
  - mikkupikku 10mo ago
    In some games I get a crackle in the audio which I don't get through any native application, nor some games run with proton. I don't know if that's what he means, but it hasn't bothered me enough to figure it out. I use bluetooth headphones anyway, I'm relatively insensitive to audio fidelity.
    - xobs 10mo ago
      If you run pw-top, you might see errors accumulating. This is usually due to an underrun from the game requesting an audio quantum that’s too low. The fix is: mkdir -p ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d && echo "context.properties = {default.clock.min-quantum = 1024}" | tee ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/pipewire.conf Basically, just force the quantum to be higher. Often it defaults to 64, which is around 1ms.
  - bmicraft 10mo ago
    To be fair, you can have sound issues on windows too. It's not usually on issue on linux anymore either though.
  - Verdex 10mo ago
    Linux sound is fine at least for me. The problem is running Windows games in proton. Sound will suddenly stop, then come back delayed. Apparently a known issue on some systems.
mainde 10mo ago
It kinda works both ways, just yesterday I tried to play the Linux native version of 8bit.runner and it didn't work, I had to install the Windows (beta) version and run it through proton.
- yjftsjthsd-h 10mo ago
  Funny story: I use Anki (the flashcard program), and I run it on my NixOS laptop. There is a NixOS/nixpkgs package for Anki. It doesn't work. You know how I run Anki, which has a native GNU/Linux version and even an actual nixpkgs package, on my GNU/Linux NixOS laptop? Yeah, I run AnkiDroid, the Android version, through Waydroid. Because the Android version works.
  - lametti 10mo ago
    Anki seems to be a habitual offender, I was never able to install it reproducibly and in an obvious way on several distros and always ended up building it from source.

jimbobthrowawy 10mo ago

Wine works on windows too. It's used by the shorthorn project to get software for newer versions of windows to run under XP.

bigyabai 10mo ago
Yep, for some games like Elden Ring it even fixes Windows-specific performance hiccups: https://youtu.be/vAooLiCy7rE https://youtu.be/vAooLiCy7rE
cryptonector 10mo ago
Whoa. Can it be used to run older software on newer Windows too?
- account42 10mo ago
  GOG used to ship Wine ddraw.dll with some games although for this specific use case there are better options now (e.g. cnc-ddraw).

andsoitis 10mo ago

> There are a lot of games from the 90s and even the 00s that require jumping through a lot of hoops to run on Windows What are some examples?

shakna 10mo ago
Anything around DirectX 10 and older has issues with Windows, these days. One more popular example is Grid 2, another is Morrowind. Both crash on launch, unless you tweak a lot of things, and even then it won't always succeed. Need for Speed II: SE is "platinum" on Wine, and pretty much unable to be run at all on Windows 11.
- tubs 10mo ago
  Isn’t this because the wine db has those tweaks pre configured?
  - Xirdus 10mo ago
    Windows used to be half operating system, half preconfigured compatibility tweaks for all kinds of applications. That's how it kept its backwards compatibility.
  - shakna 10mo ago
    More a case of DirectX radically changing how it worked [0]. [0] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/direct3darticles/dxgi-best-practices https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/direct3darti...
  - realusername 10mo ago
    It's because wine OS selector actually tries to match bug for bug the OS version you set but Window's one gave up after Windows 7.
- shakna 10mo ago
  Sidenote: Whilst Morrowind is fine under Wine, there's a fantastic engine rebuild called OpenMW [0]. It runs on both Windows and Linux natively. Some of the memory limits are also lifted, which meant I have a few mods that weren't possible without hacks in the past [1]. [0] https://openmw.org/ https://openmw.org/ [1] https://morromod.netlify.app/ https://morromod.netlify.app/
  - account42 10mo ago
    Unfortunately the modding community is split because OpenMW only cares about supporting the original game and not the script extender ecosystem that modders have built around it.
sgarland 10mo ago
The last time I tried to run Tachyon: The Fringe was Windows 10, and it failed. IIRC I could launch it and play, but there was a non-zero chance that a FMV cutscene would cause it to freeze. I see there are guides on Steam forums on how to get it to run under Windows 11 [0], and they are quite involved for someone not overly familiar with computers outside of gaming. 0: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2934449449 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=29344...
ntoskrnl_exe 10mo ago
Pretty much all the Renderware based GTAs have issues these days that only community made patches can mitigate. A recent example is that in San Andreas, the seaplane never spawns if you're running Windows 11 24H2 or newer. All of it due to a bug that's always been in the game, but only the recent changes in Windows caused it to show up. If anybody's interested, you can read the investigation on it here: https://cookieplmonster.github.io/2025/04/23/gta-san-andreas-win11-24h2-bug/ https://cookieplmonster.github.io/2025/04/23/gta-san-andreas...
- robotnikman 10mo ago
  I remember seeing a thread about that bug here on HN a while ago, that was a fun read.
xtracto 10mo ago
Lemmings Revolutions. Apparently to run in something else that is not Windows 95/98/Me requires some unofficial .EXE patch that you could download from some shady website. The file is now nowehre to be found. It's a great game, unfortunately right now I am not able to play it anymore :( even though I have the original CD. Unfortunately, Wine is of no help here :( Also original Commandos games.
forgotusername6 10mo ago
Anything written with SafeDisk DRM e.g. medal of honor allied assault.
chocochunks 10mo ago
Red Alert 2. Then there's games like Dark Forces II that work but don't work with hardware rendering out of the box so they look like crap. I've also had games like Grid complain I didn't have enough VRAM (because I had more than 2GB), games that were tricky to get working because I used a 4K monitor (Sims 2, Crysis 2). And there's games where the original release is borked but a newer version on GoG is okay like Alpha Centauri.
- andrekandre 10mo ago
  slightly off the main topic, but if you wanna run dark forces II with gpu acceleration and texture filtering etc, try out OpenJKDF2 i got this working on my linux install (on risc-v nonetheless!) with a compile and some small tweaks it works well (getting 100+fps with filtering and ssao etc) [0] https://github.com/shinyquagsire23/OpenJKDF2 https://github.com/shinyquagsire23/OpenJKDF2
Delk 10mo ago
I remember not getting Close Combat 2 (from 1997) running on Windows 10 some years ago but I did getting it running under Wine, albeit with some tweaks. Whether that was a Windows compatibility issue or potentially some display driver thing, I'm not sure. (90's Windows games may have used some DirectDraw features that just don't get that much attention nowadays, which I think may have been the issue, but my memory's a bit spotty.)

Verdex 10mo ago

My gaming PC isn't compatible with windows 11, so it was the first to get upgraded to Linux. Immediate and significant improvement in experience. Windows kept logging down the system trying to download a dozen different language versions of word (for which I didn't have a licence and didn't want regardless). Steam kept going into a crash restart cycle. Virus scanner was ... being difficult. Everything just works on Linux except some games on proton have some sound issues that I still need to work out.

wffurr 10mo ago
>> some sound issues Is this 1998? Linux is forever having sound issues. Why is sound so hard?
- mikkupikku 10mo ago
  In some games I get a crackle in the audio which I don't get through any native application, nor some games run with proton. I don't know if that's what he means, but it hasn't bothered me enough to figure it out. I use bluetooth headphones anyway, I'm relatively insensitive to audio fidelity.
  - xobs 10mo ago
    If you run pw-top, you might see errors accumulating. This is usually due to an underrun from the game requesting an audio quantum that’s too low. The fix is: mkdir -p ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d && echo "context.properties = {default.clock.min-quantum = 1024}" | tee ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/pipewire.conf Basically, just force the quantum to be higher. Often it defaults to 64, which is around 1ms.
- bmicraft 10mo ago
  To be fair, you can have sound issues on windows too. It's not usually on issue on linux anymore either though.
- Verdex 10mo ago
  Linux sound is fine at least for me. The problem is running Windows games in proton. Sound will suddenly stop, then come back delayed. Apparently a known issue on some systems.

mainde 10mo ago

It kinda works both ways, just yesterday I tried to play the Linux native version of 8bit.runner and it didn't work, I had to install the Windows (beta) version and run it through proton.

yjftsjthsd-h 10mo ago
Funny story: I use Anki (the flashcard program), and I run it on my NixOS laptop. There is a NixOS/nixpkgs package for Anki. It doesn't work. You know how I run Anki, which has a native GNU/Linux version and even an actual nixpkgs package, on my GNU/Linux NixOS laptop? Yeah, I run AnkiDroid, the Android version, through Waydroid. Because the Android version works.
- lametti 10mo ago
  Anki seems to be a habitual offender, I was never able to install it reproducibly and in an obvious way on several distros and always ended up building it from source.