KB1077 - How to play Age of Empires II using Linux

Created​
Verified​
Approved​
17th June 2012​
23th June 2012​
13th June 2012​
+chris@voobly​
+chris@voobly​
+chris@voobly​

How to play Age of Empires II using Linux​

Due to popular demand, we have revived our Linux article that explains how to play on Linux using Wine. This article explains how to configure OpenSUSE on your computer in order to play on Voobly. Unfortunately we don't have the resources to test this with other Linux distributions, so keep in mind, that this might not work when using Ubuntu or Arch Linux and that further configuration steps may be necessary in order to get this working.

Known Issues​

  • You cannot play in the New Player Lobby as people are frequently using this to bypass their existing NPL ban.
  • The setup explained in this article is not supported by Voobly, but works. Please review the list of supported operating systems.
  • Occasional crashes are normal and the game may become sluggish depending on your hardware.

First Steps​

  • Obtain OpenSUSE Tumbleweed from the official OpenSUSE website.
  • Install OpenSUSE on your hardware (no virtual machine) using the x86_64 ISO from their website.
  • Complete the installation of the operating system and boot OpenSUSE from your hard drive.
  • Before logging on with your username, switch from Wayland to X11.

Installing required Packages​

Open a new Konsole window and switch to root:
Bash:
su -

Let's first update our Operating System and install all available updates:
Bash:
zypper update

We now install Wine. This will upload many other packages and depending on your hardware, this may take up to 10 minutes:
Bash:
zypper install wine

If not already happened during the installation of Wine, also install WineTricks:
Bash:
zypper install winetricks

And of course we require the Microsoft Fonts, so we don't have the issue, that they are later missing on client and in game:
Bash:
zypper install fetchmsttfonts

Open a new Konsole window and run the following commands with your account:
Bash:
winetricks directplay
winetricks d3dx9
winetricks d3dx10
winetricks d3dx11
winetricks allfonts

Now we install both, the Voobly Client and Age of Empires II as explained in self-help articles below.
Please keep in mind, that Age of Empires II (2013), formerly known as AoE II HD is NOT supported in this article.
Open Wine configuration and set the operating system to Windows 10.
1713009851453.png

Now log onto client, run game diagnostics from menu Options > Game Diagnostics and apply any offered hotfixes:
1713009389193.png

and last but not least apply the recommended game room settings:
That's it!

Change Management​

Version​
Date Created​
Author​
Description​
1.0​
14th June 2012​
+chris@voobly​
Initial Release​
1.14th July 2013+chris@vooblyDebian GNU/Linux Update
1.223th July 2013+chris@vooblyDebian GNU/Linux Major Release
1.33rd October 2013+chris@vooblyPlayOnLinux Wine Staging
1.411th November 2013+chris@vooblyPlayOnLinux Wine Update
1.57th March 2015+chris@vooblyDebian GNU/Linux Major Release
1.629th May 2015+chris@vooblyClient Update
1.72nd August 2015+chris@vooblyDebian GNU/Linux rework
1.815th December 2015+chris@vooblyRemoved from public
2.013th April 2024+chris@vooblyOpenSUSE Initial Release
2.122th June 2024+chris@vooblyOpenSUSE article update
 
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