Welcome to a Ubuntu Linux and Counter-Strike 1.6 mini-howto
Last updated: 2006-02-26
Software that I used
1) Ubuntu Linux 5.10 (Breezy Badger)
2) Wine 0.9.8
3) Steam 3 (Current version: 2006-02-26) and Steam 3 Friends Beta
4) Counter-Strike 1.6
5) Sound driver: OSS.
6) Kernel: 2.6.15
Hardware that I used
ATX Green moderboard I915P chipset PCI Express with support for RAID 0 och 1.
Intel Pentium 4 3,4GHz Prescott.
nVidia GeForce 68000 GT, NV45 Ultra 256mb PCI Express, DVI, TV-OUT.
1024MB DDR RAM / 400MHz
500GB S-ATA (7200 rpm) (2x250GB)
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS PCI
DVD-recorder (DVD+RW/R, -RW/R (4/2,4/8/16/10/40x)), DVD-reader(DVD16x)) - Dual layer
6 USB 2.0, -1 Seriell, -2 Firewire IEEE 1394
What I did to get it to work
1) Installed Ubuntu Linux 5.10 (Breeze Badger).
2) Installed
Nvidia graphic drivers and settings. Screenshot
3) I followed a linuX-gamers.net howto on the
subject but later on I found out that all that needed to be done, where
found on the winhq site,
explained in a much easier manner..
4) I created a launch script, 99% ripped from from the linuX-gamers
howto:
----------------snipp here----------------
#!/bin/bash
cd ~/.wine/drive_c/Valve/Steam/
wine Steam.exe -fullscreen -width 1024 -height 768 -applaunch 10 -heapsize 512000 &
----------------snipp here----------------
-applaunch 10 makes the script start Counter-Strike 1.6, -heapsize is how much memory that should be allocated.
Tweak the -heapsize value to fit your RAM memory size. I found that 512 mb is ok for me, I have 1024 mb in total RAM.
5) I then made a chmod a+x name_of_launcher_script and
started up Counter-Strike 1.6, entered the game gfx setup, made sure OpenGL
was running.
6) I then googled for information about correct cl_cmdrate, rate, cl_updaterate settings in Counter-Strike, made some changes and then started playing.
The result (800x600 @ 85 hz and OpenGL): Screenshot 1, Screenshot 2, Screenshot 3, Screenshot 4.
Steam Friends beta
There is now a beta of Steam 3 out for download. This version may resolve Steam UI issues you might have.
Aswell the Friends function is back - and works great! To get the Steam Friends beta, check out this page:
Steam Friends Beta. Remeber
that you need to supply the extra launch switches every time you start up Steam, else Steam will roll back
to the public stable version, wich also might be useful if you encounter problems with the beta.
Screenshots of Steam 3 Friends beta: Screenshot 1, Screenshot 2
Known bugs
3) Steam and Counter-Strike crash & fix!
When running default kernel 2.6.12-10-686 I'm experiencing extreme high CPU usage and crash to desktop when launching Counter-Strike.
The problem appears both using the Steam 3 beta and regular Steam 3. The problem does not appear when using kernel 2.6.15.
Using Kernel 2.6.15 I experience some FPS loss, putting me between 50-90 FPS. I'm not sure why this is. I don't remember experiencing this
when first upgrade to 2.6.15, so I think this is due to a Steam update. Other than that Steam and Counter-Strike works without any problems.
Use the instructions below to compile kernel 2.6.15 for Ubuntu Linux.
Howto compile your kernel in Ubuntu Linux:
Follow the instructions found here but change every instance of 2.6.14 to 2.6.15!
Dont forget to re-install your graphics driver after recompiling!
Read more about that for Nvidia, here.
2) Steam freezing bug & fix!
Bug resolved in the newest Steam update! No need to upgrade your kernel any more!
Wine Bug 4131 freezes/halts Steam.
It appeared between the 22th and 23rd of December 2005 and seems to be affecting all versions of Wine upto 0.9.7.
You may verify this by just starting Steam with 'wine Steam.exe'. After a minute or so Steam starts to freeze.
Freezes durates acouple of seconds to a minute, making gaming impossible. This problem affects all run in Steam.
Upgrading to Kernel 2.6.15> resolves the bug!
Read more below. Information taken from Ubuntuforums.org thread, found here.
Howto compile your kernel in Ubuntu Linux:
Follow the instructions found here but change every instance of 2.6.14 to 2.6.15!
Dont forget to re-install your graphics driver after recompiling!
Read more about that for Nvidia, here.
1) Wine 0.9.4 crash bug & fix!
Wine Bug 4129 crashes Steam in version 0.9.4.
Click in the link above for patching information, or just upgrade to 0.9.5.
Goto hacka.net