Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Guide to Playing on Linux (Steam Deck)

October 15, 2022 Helena Stamatina 0

Guide to Playing Darktide on Linux

If there are any other Linux users out there, I hope we can use this post as a troubleshooting or general experience sharing for any Darktide Betas on Linux and potentially Steam Deck users, until full release. I am by no means a Linux wizard, I’ve just read enough about getting Vermintide 2 working and have decent troubleshooting skills.

Darktide the game runs on Linux (including Steam Deck!), however, the launcher has issues we’ll have to work around in order to move past it, as well as some other odds and ends. I have played many matches without much issue. I highly suspect this is what the deal will be upon release of the full game, as well.

Please understand that this is heavily dependant upon order of operations, so please do not skip any steps below.

My Specs

I can’t guarantee you’ll have a similar experience as I have if yours differ greatly.

  • Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS
  • AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU
  • AMD Radeon RX 5700 GPU (Mesa 22.0.5, standard from distro)
  • Flatpak Steam
  • GE-Proton7-37

Issue #1

Easy Anti-Cheat. You need this to play. Let’s make sure it’s installed specifically for Proton’s use.

  • Launch Steam.
  • Click Library tab at top.
  • Click the dropdown above the search bar (Probably says Games) and checkmark Tools.
  • In the search bar, type Proton EasyAntiCheat Runtime
  • Click on it below in the results and click Install on the right.
  • Wait for install to complete.
  • Click the dropdown again and uncheck Tools. Proceed to Issue 2.

Issue #2

Microsoft Edge WebView2. This serves as a foreground for the launcher where Fatshark puts pretty pictures and videos with news. It doesn’t work on Linux. We can remove it entirely from the equation and here’s how. Again, do not skip any steps.

  • Have Darktide installed and run it once to go through the first install script.
  • Quit Steam.
  • Delete your prefix entirely for the game by going to path/to/your/SteamLibrary/steamapps/compatdata/ and deleting the folder named 2156210 — that is the Darktide beta’s official App ID in Steam and how it’s represented in this folder. A prefix is essentially a faked Windows environment and we need to start this one over. See Additional Notes below if you’re unsure of where your Steam files are.
  • Go to path/to/your/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Warhammer 40,000 Darktide Playtest/launcher and rename the file MicrosoftEdgeWebview2Setup.exe to something else. I chose MicrosoftEdgeWebview2Setup.exe.backup
  • Launch Steam and run the game again. It will go through first install steps and get to the launcher, but it still won’t work. We still need this step for Proton to generate a new prefix without Edge WebView2. Proceed to Issue 3.

Issue #3

The launcher now launches, but I can’t press anything! This is because there’s a dialog box about detecting hardware and choosing some user settings that you need to click through before the launcher is clickable. This window won’t appear on Linux for some reason, so the launcher remains unclickable.

We will circumvent this by dropping a file into the newly created prefix that was generated by the last step in Issue 2. This file is simply a user settings file that would’ve been created when the game launches for the first time — I generated it by running the game on a Windows install.

  • (Force) Quit the game and Steam.
  • Copy the output provided below exactly how it is from the format-free box it’s in and paste it into an empty file. Save this file as user_settings.config
adapter_index = 0
aspect_ratio = -1
borderless_fullscreen = false
fullscreen = true
fullscreen_output = 0
gamma = 0.05
graphics_quality = "custom"
language_id = "en"
master_render_settings = {
	ambient_occlusion_quality = "low"
	anti_aliasing_solution = 2
	dlss = 0
	dof_quality = "off"
	fsr = 0
	graphics_quality = "low"
	lens_flare_quality = "off"
	light_quality = "low"
	mesh_quality = "low"
	particle_quality = "low"
	ray_tracing_quality = "off"
	ssr_quality = "off"
	texture_quality = "low"
	volumetric_fog_quality = "low"
}
max_worker_threads = 9
performance_settings = {
	decal_lifetime = 10
	max_blood_decals = 15
	max_impact_decals = 15
	max_ragdolls = 5
}
render_settings = {
	ao_enabled = true
	baked_ddgi = false
	bloom_enabled = true
	cacao_downsampled = false
	cacao_quality = 4
	cached_local_lights_shadow_atlas_size = [
		1024
		1024
	]
	decals_enabled = true
	display_noise_enabled = true
	dlss_enabled = false
	dlss_g_enabled = false
	dof_enabled = false
	dof_high_quality = false
	dxr = false
	fsr_enabled = false
	fsr_quality = 0
	fxaa_enabled = false
	gamma = 2.2
	hdr_rgb_format = "R11G11B10F"
	lens_flares_enabled = false
	lens_quality_color_fringe_enabled = true
	lens_quality_distortion_enabled = true
	lens_quality_enabled = false
	light_shafts_enabled = false
	local_lights_max_dynamic_shadow_distance = 50
	local_lights_max_non_shadow_casting_distance = 0
	local_lights_max_static_shadow_distance = 100
	local_lights_shadow_atlas_size = [
		512
		512
	]
	local_lights_shadow_map_filter_quality = "low"
	local_lights_shadows_enabled = true
	lod_object_multiplier = 1
	lod_scatter_density = 0.25
	motion_blur_enabled = false
	nv_framerate_cap = 0
	nv_low_latency_boost = false
	nv_low_latency_markers = true
	nv_low_latency_mode = false
	outline_enabled = true
	particles_capacity_multiplier = 1
	particles_simulation_lod = 1
	rough_transparency_enabled = false
	rt_checkerboard_reflections = true
	rt_particle_reflections_enabled = true
	rt_reflections_enabled = true
	rt_transparent_reflections_enabled = true
	rtxgi_enabled = true
	rtxgi_scale = 1
	sharpen_enabled = false
	skin_material_enabled = false
	ssr_enabled = false
	ssr_high_quality = false
	static_sun_shadow_map_size = [
		2048
		2048
	]
	static_sun_shadows = true
	sun_flare_enabled = false
	sun_shadow_map_filter_quality = "low"
	sun_shadow_map_size = [
		4
		4
	]
	sun_shadows = false
	taa_enabled = true
	ui_bloom_enabled = false
	upscaling_enabled = false
	upscaling_mode = "none"
	upscaling_quality = "performance"
	vertical_fov = 65
	volumetric_data_size = [
		80
		64
		96
	]
	volumetric_extrapolation_high_quality = false
	volumetric_extrapolation_volumetric_shadows = false
	volumetric_lighting_local_lights = false
	volumetric_reprojection_amount = 0.875
	volumetric_volumes_enabled = true
	world_interaction_size = [
		512
		512
	]
	world_space_motion_vectors = true
}
screen_mode = "fullscreen"
screen_resolution = [
	1920
	1080
]
sound = {
}
sound_settings = {
}
texture_settings = {
	"content/texture_categories/character_bc" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/character_bca" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/character_bcm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/character_hm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/character_mask" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/character_mask2" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/character_nm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/character_orm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/environment_bc" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/environment_bca" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/environment_hm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/environment_nm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/environment_orm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/weapon_bc" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/weapon_bca" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/weapon_hm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/weapon_mask" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/weapon_nm" = 2
	"content/texture_categories/weapon_orm" = 2
}
threads = {
}
vsync = false
  • Move this file to: …/SteamLibrary/steamapps/compatdata/2156210/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Roaming/Fatshark/Darktide
  • Launch Steam and launch the game.
  • The Play button should be clickable and should launch into the game. The Settings button will be broken and will freeze the launcher again because it opens a new window that won’t appear in Linux. Do not click Settings.
  • Enjoy the game. Change your graphics settings to whatever you wish and they’ll overwrite what’s in the user settings file just fine.

Additional Notes

  • If you’re not sure where your Steam Library path is, right-click the game in Steam, then click Properties>Local Files>Browse. It will open up in a file browser and you can partially copy-paste or navigate to the paths I’ve supplied above.
  • I have also disabled the Steam Overlay while in-game. It doesn’t work so I figured why make it even try (for now). To do this, right-click the game in Steam, click Properties, then uncheck, “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game”
  • Sometimes, the game fails to launch and stays at a black screen. (Force) Quit Steam entirely and re-launch. I’ve even logged out and in to get it working again. Don’t know why, but this just be how it do.
  • Sometimes, some textures or models disappear in levels or on weapons, though this is happening less the more I play.

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Helena Stamatina
About Helena Stamatina 1784 Articles
My first game was Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot (PlayStation) back in 1996. And since then gaming has been my main hobby. I turned my passion for gaming into a job by starting my first geek blog in 2009. When I’m not working on the site, I play mostly on my PlayStation. But I also love outdoor activities and especially skiing.

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