Installing Bioshock 2 with Wine

[Pandorabox]

Since it is only a month away from the release of Bioshock:Infinite, I was currently going to play Bioshock and Bioshock 2 again so that I can refresh my memory with the Bioshock franchise. I have both of the games in their official CD formats. Yet it was with my desktop with Windows XP that I played the games previously, and this is the first time ever I install Bioshock series with Wine.

So before the installation, I first checked Wine database in order to know how perfectly Wine supports the games. I discovered that Wine's support level when it comes to Bioshock 1 was Platinum. So I was really glad that I can play Bioshock 1 on Wine without getting tripped over by bugs.

However, when I searched for Bioshock 2, I was shocked to know that Wine's support level when it comes to Bioshock 2 is Garbage. I looked further into it so that I could know what the specific problem is, and it was written that it is yet impossible to even INSTALL Bioshock 2 with Wine. Well... if it is even impossible to install the game, then there is no surprise in that the support level for the game is Garbage, is it?

Yet I just cannot understand the reason why Bioshock 2 is not supported with Wine even at this point, while its prequel is supported perfectly with Platinum standard. I bet that there are many proficient programmers out there who will fix whatever the problem there is with Bioshock 2, and make the game supportable with Wine... and I also bet that the demand for playing Bioshock 2 must have been quite high.. so... what exactly happened here? Why can't we even install the game in the first place? Aren't both Bioshock 1 and Bioshock 2 installed by exe. files? (more specifically, exe. files created by the same company named 2K Games.)

I wish someone will answer my question as soon as possible. I also want to know whether there is any way to install Bioshock 2 with Wine, if possible. In addition, I would be SUPER-glad if someone WOULD KINDLY fix the current problem with Bioshock 2 so that everyone could play it with Wine. Thanks.

p.s: Please don't tell me to use the Boot Camp just to play Bioshock 2. I strongly oppose the idea of dividing my hard drive into two pieces, and I am also much sick of the extremely slow booting speed of Windows OS. I do not want to bear such atrocities just to play a game.

p.s.2: I wish, this March, when Bioshock:Infinite comes out, someone will immediately actualize the game with Wine, with the support level of Platinum

[dimesio]

it was written that it is yet impossible to even INSTALL Bioshock 2 with Wine.

Where did you see that? All the test reports I see in the Bioshock 2 AppDB entry say it installs. The problem is that it doesn't start.

There is one gold test report; try the workarounds mentioned in it. There are also various workarounds mentioned in the comments section on that page, and in http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=26269.

[Pandorabox]

Ah, alright. It was my mistake to say that the game cannot be INSTALLED while the truth is that the game cannot be LAUNCHED. Forgive me for the misunderstanding.

Yet, I think it should be noticed that the AppDB entry for Bioshock 2 does not state anything about the workaround mentioned in the Gold test report. With the first glimpse, I couldn't do anything else but to conclude that the support level for Bioshock 2 is Garbage, and it is because the game cannot be launched.

Why don't we change the support level stated for Bioshock 2 into "Gold" and put the workaround into the Additional Comments? I think that will solve the possible misunderstanding from the first glimpse on the AppDB entry. Just with the first glimpse, it looks as if there is no possible way to launch and play the game.

[dimesio]

The AppDB is not a collection of "supported" apps and the ratings are not a "support level." The AppDB is simply a place for users to report their experiences, good or bad, with various apps and games in Wine. Each user selects a rating based on his/her experience; the overall rating is calculated based on the most recent test reports. The garbage ratings for Bioshock 2 are valid for the users who selected it, and the overall garbage rating is correct based on the majority of test submissions having that rating.

As for putting the workarounds in a howto, that is the maintainer's choice. You can apply to be a maintainer and write one yourself if you wish.

[dj--alex]

i hear installing this version especially xlive.dll patched wine from Bioshock 2 and Resident Evil 5
can solve problem
https://github.com/tizbac/wine/

but i think why developers not add this very useful patch. even if create problem, it maybe add patch with optional winetrick mode.

[Bully Bull]

Games for Windows Live is dead!!!!
I think this is a good news
some games publishers now bring No GFWL patches
for Bioshock 2 look here
http://support.2k.com/entries/27230976- ... -Questions
I hope that other publisher will follow.

[D.Cent]

Yeah, so far it seems to run, at least a bit...

In singleplayer, the game runs out of video memory with GL_OUT_OF_MEMORY errors after a short time (trying an old wine version 1.5.12 seems to work though - EDIT: no, I was wrong, it didn't help...).
In multiplayer, the mouse cannot me moved which makes handling the menu impossible - everything else seems to work - if you have any idea how to fix this, please report here: http://forum.winehq.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19902