how to run it on steam deck for dummies

[VALKYRIE✯toe✯Suckler]

its me,im the dummie, halp ples
:'\

[LEANIJA]

I had problems getting this to run on Desktop Linux; but people here:

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/7559

and here: https://www.protondb.com/app/2741560

gave some tips, and I think I figured it out, and just retraced the steps on both Desktop Linux and SteamDeck

1. Install game, launch it once so it builds the Proton/Wine data (called "prefix")
2. Go into game settings, set it to Proton 8, and set launch parameters "-r800x600 -intro:off" (-r800x600 was a resolution that worked on the Deck, on Desktop I used 1280x1024, for example. Intro:off disables the intro which crashes on Proton 8)

3. Now go to Desktop mode and open KDE Discover.

4. Search for Protontricks and install it

5. Launch Protontricks; if you have SC3000 installed on an SD card, it will ask you to give it permssions to access the SC card first (which is done in Konsole). Otherwise you will directly see a list of your installed games, select SC3000

6. Now, in Protontricks, "Select the default wineprefix", then "run winecfg", which will run the Wine Config for that specific Wineprefix. Go to the Tab "Graphics" and tick the box "Emulate a virtual desktop. Set the desktop size to the same resolution as in the Steam Sc3000 launch parameters, in this case we've used 800x600. Click OK.

7. Back in Protonticks, select "Change settings", which will open a list of Winetricks settings. Scroll down to "renderer=gdi". Tick that box, click OK. Then just exit out of Protontricks until youre back on the desktop - you should be good to go; launch the game. It should open in a window and be functional.

8. Now you should be able to run the game and switch back to gaming mode and play it there as well.

I hope this works for you as well, it IS a bit tinkery but I went through it twice now, on my Desktop Linux system and the Deck, and it worked both times, so I hope it will work for you, and others, too.

[with_maltodextrin]

To just get it running with no faffing about:

1. Install the game as normal on your Steam Deck
   
2. Choose the cog button on the game page in your library
   
3. Choose Properties...
   
4. Go to the Compatibility tab on the left
   
5. Check the box for Force the use of a specific Steam play compatibility tool
   
6. Change the version in the box below it to Proton 5.13-6

That's all it takes to get it to run for me without changing start parameters, resolution settings, etc.
Newer versions of Proton (including newest ProtonGE) all seem to stop updating the screen after getting to the main menu and starting a new city.

[with_maltodextrin]

For better battery life on Steam Deck:

1. Press the ... button to open the Steam overlay menu while running the game
   
2. Choose the lightning bolt icon on the left to open the Performance menu
   
3. Set Use per-game profile - do not skip this step or all other games on your Steam Deck will be forced to be slow until you turn off the TDP limit manually
   
4. Scroll down and turn on TDP Limit
   
5. Set the number to 3 watts - yes, 3 watts is enough

SimCity 3000 will use 100% of your CPU while running, like many older games do.
The TDP limit just means it'll still use 100% of CPU, but your forced-to-be-power-sipping CPU is still plenty fast for a game old enough to drink.

I ran SC3000 on a 486DX66 running at 66MHz when it was released. The 1400MHz of the Steam Deck in forced 3 watt TDP mode is so much faster than that it's not even comparable. (granted the 486 didn't run it well, but I was able to play it for hours just the same)

[ugafan]

Trying to run Proton 5.13-6, but stuck at screen Running install script (Microsoft DirectX)

[LEANIJA]

Originally posted by with_maltodextrin:

To just get it running with no faffing about:

1. Install the game as normal on your Steam Deck
   
2. Choose the cog button on the game page in your library
   
3. Choose Properties...
   
4. Go to the Compatibility tab on the left
   
5. Check the box for Force the use of a specific Steam play compatibility tool
   
6. Change the version in the box below it to Proton 5.13-6

That's all it takes to get it to run for me without changing start parameters, resolution settings, etc.
Newer versions of Proton (including newest ProtonGE) all seem to stop updating the screen after getting to the main menu and starting a new city.

I tried Proton 5 as well but that didnt work for me.

[with_maltodextrin]

Hmm. My SD is modded in several ways, and I obviously went through a bunch of different versions of Proton while trying to get it to work.
On a stock SD I'll see if it works with 5.13-6 initially, or if perhaps the game needs to be launched by one of the other versions I tried along the way down to 5.13-6 first.

[with_maltodextrin]

On my spouse's stock LCD Steam Deck, I purchased the game, installed it, changed compatibility to Proton 5.13-6, and then launched it for the first time. The install script step did take longer than I would expect, but did eventually complete and the game opened and works just fine on this very first launch, with absolutely nothing else having been done.
Did you folks maybe just not wait long enough for the install script step?

[R37ROG4M3R]

Originally posted by LEANIJA:

I had problems getting this to run on Desktop Linux; but people here:

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/7559

and here: https://www.protondb.com/app/2741560

gave some tips, and I think I figured it out, and just retraced the steps on both Desktop Linux and SteamDeck

1. Install game, launch it once so it builds the Proton/Wine data (called "prefix")
2. Go into game settings, set it to Proton 8, and set launch parameters "-r800x600 -intro:off" (-r800x600 was a resolution that worked on the Deck, on Desktop I used 1280x1024, for example. Intro:off disables the intro which crashes on Proton 8)

3. Now go to Desktop mode and open KDE Discover.

4. Search for Protontricks and install it

5. Launch Protontricks; if you have SC3000 installed on an SD card, it will ask you to give it permssions to access the SC card first (which is done in Konsole). Otherwise you will directly see a list of your installed games, select SC3000

6. Now, in Protontricks, "Select the default wineprefix", then "run winecfg", which will run the Wine Config for that specific Wineprefix. Go to the Tab "Graphics" and tick the box "Emulate a virtual desktop. Set the desktop size to the same resolution as in the Steam Sc3000 launch parameters, in this case we've used 800x600. Click OK.

7. Back in Protonticks, select "Change settings", which will open a list of Winetricks settings. Scroll down to "renderer=gdi". Tick that box, click OK. Then just exit out of Protontricks until youre back on the desktop - you should be good to go; launch the game. It should open in a window and be functional.

8. Now you should be able to run the game and switch back to gaming mode and play it there as well.

I hope this works for you as well, it IS a bit tinkery but I went through it twice now, on my Desktop Linux system and the Deck, and it worked both times, so I hope it will work for you, and others, too.

For me this solution works, thanks so much 😍

[Luca00]

Originally posted by with_maltodextrin:

To just get it running with no faffing about:

1. Install the game as normal on your Steam Deck
   
2. Choose the cog button on the game page in your library
   
3. Choose Properties...
   
4. Go to the Compatibility tab on the left
   
5. Check the box for Force the use of a specific Steam play compatibility tool
   
6. Change the version in the box below it to Proton 5.13-6

That's all it takes to get it to run for me without changing start parameters, resolution settings, etc.
Newer versions of Proton (including newest ProtonGE) all seem to stop updating the screen after getting to the main menu and starting a new city.

thx

[rootfs.ext2.gz]

I’ve put a guide here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3176719135

[LEANIJA]

Good to see it works for others as well, and nice to see that for some people even just running Proton 5 works out of the box.

In another thread someone pointed to GOGs modified .exe - https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/360018687573-Simcity-3000-Unlimited-widescreen-support?product=gog - that supports widescreen; and it works with this approach; however, resolution needs to be adjusted seeminly every launch; I havent managed to make it "stick". But it runs in 2560x1440 fullscreen for me now.

[nou 死神]

I have GOG version and that worked for me with wine when I run it with set env LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

[Malaise Forever]

So this version works with Proton 5.13-6 with no apparent issues except extremely fast scrolling (both mouse and num keys).

I didn't have any luck tweaking the frame limit or clock speeds in the SteamOS power settings.

Anybody know a way to throttle the scrolling that works with SteamOS/proton?

EDIT: somehow missed the post above about reducing TDP to 3w. That actually worked.
So you can easily run this game on the deck with proton 5.13-6 and the TDP reduced.

[Ussul w+m1]

yehh Have Linux and Steam deck.. I am gonna buy that. Thank you champs!

[Maciu]

Originally posted by Malaise Forever:

So this version works with Proton 5.13-6 with no apparent issues except extremely fast scrolling (both mouse and num keys).

I didn't have any luck tweaking the frame limit or clock speeds in the SteamOS power settings.

Anybody know a way to throttle the scrolling that works with SteamOS/proton?

EDIT: somehow missed the post above about reducing TDP to 3w. That actually worked.
So you can easily run this game on the deck with proton 5.13-6 and the TDP reduced.

The thing is that on Steam Deck game really works on Proton 5.13 without issues related to starting or loading a city but... only in Game Mode. The same config doesn't work with docked SD in desktop mode - city doesn't load. Tried messing with Protontricks but couldn't get the virtual desktop size right even with correct values. Maybe Valve will get some fixes in Proton Experimental. One can hope...