I am typing this after having done a fresh reinstall of Zorin OS 17 Pro. Wine seems to have regressed somehow. A game I had no problem installing through Wine before suddenly disappears when installing it this time (after a fresh, unadulterated install of Zorin and a default Wine install through Zorin's Windows App Support software center link). (To be clear, the installer just disappears into nothingness after starting it - no folders or files are even registered in the .wine folder, etc., from any portion of the game's install process.) The game is "The Ball," and I also just tried installing GOG's version of Crysis (which is rated on WineHQ as a "platinum" title for the GOG version specifically), and it just doesn't start up.
The game installs, yes, but the game doesn't run at all. I have successfully installed two other games (Mirror's Edge and Prodeus); these run A-OK. And now much to my surprise, one of the games (on a fresh reinstall of Zorin and Wine) doesn't work anymore. Before, the same game (The Ball) would install perfectly even after several reinstalls of Zorin (unrelated reasons), but this time?Won't even install. Crysis won't start at all. Has something changed on the back end that may be affecting this performance? Did Zorin release a system update that might've affected this? Did Zorin remove anything from their Wine repository? I did try installing "The Ball" via Bottles, and it worked perfectly. (Side note: My install of Zorin OS 17 Pro is 100% up-to-date as of the time of this posting.)
This is interesting to me because I have had similar issues using Steam with Proton. Other uses have also started threads commenting the same.
I do not use or have Wine installed by itself, however Steam with Proton uses Wine.
So while many of not install Wine, when we run Steam with Proton, it installs Wine for use.
This thread makes me wonder if this issue of games quietly not launching is due to an issue with Wine, rather than with Steam.
Which may add up if Steam using Proton "upgraded" to which Wine they use recently.
So this one thread opens up possibilities for the many threads started on Steam launching issues.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this seems to be a Recent thing. In several years before that, there were no reports of games quietly just failing to launch.
Thanks for replying, Aravisian. In any case, I think it'd be worthwhile for the Zorin Group to investigate further. After all, they do promote Windows app compatibility as a major feature of Zorin OS, so this mysterious issue may have a "ripple effect" for other non-gaming applications that Zorin users depend on (or need Wine to work with in Zorin OS). This is a recent thing (last month, I was able to install "The Ball" without any problems, for example, and now I can't - what changed?), so if the Zorin Group investigates, they shouldn't have too far to go in looking back.
Note that Windows App Support is based on an older stable Wine in general. Many users then post or start threads saying, "Why is Zorin using this old thing? I want new."
Do you need new?
"I don't know, I just want it. It is new and therefor, must be good."
I understand. I'm actually OK with Zorin using the version they have for Wine (8.02). At least it's not as bad as Linux Mint's version of Wine (through Mint's software center, which is at 6.03, I believe). I don't want "new." I just want what works.
What was working last month by default no longer works without any intervention on my end, so it's gotta be something in the back end that's changed. For that, investigation (and potential intervention) needs to happen by the Zorin Group.
UPDATE: What the ... ? I just tried installing Prince of Persia from GOG (a game I had installed before), and the installer ran only to disappear. Now I know something's up. The game installed fine on an earlier installation of Zorin OS 17 Pro, but now? Nope. What's going on ... ?EDIT:Reminder - this is on a fresh install of Zorin OS 17 Pro. Up-to-date. No weird under-the-hood customizations or anything like that ...
ANOTHER UPDATE: Out of frustration and exasperation with Wine (and in a few respects, with Zorin OS itself as a result of trying to fix the Wine issue - I tried deleting a few folders that made sense to me but ended up messing up my install completely - wouldn't have had to do that if Wine was still working) on Zorin, I have switched back to Linux Mint - for now. Installed Wine on Mint. "The Ball" installed fine, like it did before on Mint using a default installation. Don't know why or how it stopped installing on Zorin OS using a default installation. Everything works on Mint, despite their using an older flavor of Wine (6.03). I will give Zorin OS Pro another shot when version 17.1 comes out, at which point hopefully the bugs (e.g., certain apps not working right "out of the box" using the general release ISO, like Cheese or VLC, thereby forcing the user to delete them and re-download different packages for them just to get them to function correctly) will be quashed, and current changes have been permanently incorporated into actual releases of the OS (e.g., centering windows - that's doable after a system update, but can't be done "out of the box"; I do appreciate Zorin Group listening about that one, though - that's for sure). Hopefully by then, the Wine issues I've (and presumably other folks, since I used everything in their default state) inexplicably encountered will be resolved.
@Omnimaxus, it is not required that you be a daily Zorin OS user to make use of this forum (though we generally can be helpful for Zorin OS issues). Feel free to continue to contribute. Several of our regular members use other distros.
Your experiences and yes, your aggravations, with Zorin OS are helpful feedback. From noting and locating bugs, package issues or package variants to improving the UI experience and software experience.
Zorin OS 17 is cutting new ground in a lot of ways. It has some stark departures from previous editions. Hopefully, with all the feedback everyone provides, Zorin OS can meet expectations and needs.
I am still on 16.3, myself. It is stable, follows my standards for GnuLinux and I am awaiting to see what Zorin OS 17 Lite offers.
Wine-related update: Installed Zorin 17 OS Core in VirtualBox. Installed Windows App Support. Did not install system updates when prompted. Tried to install "The Ball" (which did install just fine earlier on Zorin OS), but the installer disappeared. Same result. Very interesting. This leaves Wine itself as the remaining suspect in all of this.Did Zorin Group make changes to the back end of their repository for Wine? That's the only thing I can think of. It's very odd for a game or whatever not to install anymore after having installed just fine multiple times in the past.