Playing SpellForce 1 on Linux
Posted: Sun 26. Apr 2026, 23:44
SpellForce 1 works quite well on Linux through Proton with a few adjustments.
I've tested Proton 10.0 (shipped through Steam) and GEProton 10-32.
I'm using the following launch options on Steam:
I've tested Proton 10.0 (shipped through Steam) and GEProton 10-32.
I'm using the following launch options on Steam:
Code: Select all
LD_PRELOAD="" gamescope -f -w 2560 -h 1440 --mangoapp --force-grab-cursor --mouse-sensitivity 2 -- gamemoderun %command%
- LD_PRELOAD="" prevents Steam from loading the Steam overlay library into the SpellForce process. This fixes an issue with frame stuttering starting after about 30 minutes. Simply turning off the overlay in Steam's settings does not fix the issue.
- I use gamescope to fix some issues related to windowing/fullscreen. You can likely install the "gamescope" package through your Linux distro's package manager.
- -f -w 2560 -h 1440 for fullscreen with my monitor's resolution.
- Completely optional: --mangoapp activates the MangoHud performance overlay. (Requires installing the mangohud package.)
- --force-grab-cursor --mouse-sensitivity 2 fixes an issue where RMB scroll and MMB rotation are extremely sensitive to tiny mouse movements. (E.g. right clicking immediately moves the camera to a corner of the map.) The exact sensitivity value is just my preference.
- I use GameMode to prevent my system from entering sleep while the game is running.
- I've only tested this on the default Steam version (i.e. 1.61). I haven't tested version 1.54 and/or mods.
- I've tested on Arch/CachyOS using KDE Plasma on modern AMD GPUs.
- I've played through most of the TOoD campaign. I've not tested any other game modes yet.