How to run X-COM: UFO Defense on Linux

A simple guide showing you how to get X-COM up and running on Linux

Introduction

I realize that almost nobody will benefit from this guide, as Linux is a niche operating system. However, if my guide is able to help even one person not have to struggle to play XCOM on Linux, that will be enough to justify the creation of it.

The steps in this guide can also be applied to the Terror from the Deep expansion.

This guide assumes 3 things:

1. You use Linux in some capability
   
2. You use Proton to run non-Linux games onto your machine
   
3. You have X-COM installed on your computer

If you don't use Proton, you can enable it by going to the top of the Steam desktop client, selecting Steam, then Settings. A new window will appear. In the new window, select the Steam Play menu and checking both boxes. It should look like this:



If you aren't using Linux, why the hell are you even here?

Downloading the OpenXCOM port

What is OpenXCOM?

OpenXCOM is a modern sourceport for X-COM: UFO Defense and X-COM: Terror from the Deep. It is maintained on Github[github.com] and nightly builds are available on their website[openxcom.org]

Why do I need it?

The executable that comes packaged with the Steam version of X-COM (dosbox.exe) is prone to crashes on Linux in it's current configuration. While you could change the fullscreen value in the dosbox.conf file to false, you will still have laggy inputs and little to no mouse support.

Downloading the latest OpenXCOM build

To download OpenXCOM, simply go to the OpenXCOM website's git builds page[openxcom.org] and select a file. Make sure you download the WINDOWS version as a .zip. Once it has downloaded, unzip it to an easy to access folder.

Rearranging files

First, make sure the game will not update when you run it. To do this, right click the game on the library sidebar and click Properties > Updates > and click "Always keep this game updated" on the first drop-down menu

Now open the folder the game is in. This can be done by right-clicking the game on the library sidebar and clicking Manage > Browse local files. Inside should be 5 files and 5 folders as shown below:



The next step is to delete dosbox.exe. You can also delete any other folders or files that you want EXCEPT FOR THE XCOM FOLDER (or the TFD folder if you are following these steps for Terror from the Deep). This is where all the files for the actual X-COM game are, so make sure you do not delete it.



After you have deleted the files you want, go to the folder where you unzipped OpenXCOM and copy over the openxcom.exe file, as well as the common and standard folders.



Once the files have copied over, rename the existing XCOM folder to UFO and rename openxcom.exe to dosbox.exe. Once it is done, your folder should look like this:



(These steps also work for the Terror from the Deep expansion, except instead you must rename the TFD folder to TFTD)

You should now be able launch XCOM from your Library page like normal.

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I hope this guide was helpful. It is the first guide I have ever written for Steam. If you found it helpful, please rate it. Thank you for reading.

[unijorse]

true, but
a) dosbox linux does not add hours that way
b) openxcom is a really good port
i have been meaning to update this guide for ages, but i have a lot going on in my life at the moment

[evorster]

That is a great tutorial.

A simpler way to get this game to run on Linux would be to install dosbox from your package manager.

Then, open a terminal and go to the directory where steam stores the game files. You will see a dosbox.conf file there.
Then run dosbox.

Dosbox looks in the local directory for a config file first, and if it finds one, it will use it.

[unijorse]

i will probably not update this guide

[unijorse]

thank you, i have been behind on updating this guide but will get to it soon

[Warboy]

you can import saves from the original game by clicking the button at the lower left corner on the "Load Game" screen from the main menu. please note however that this will only import the geoscape, any battles in progress will be re-generated and start over.

[unijorse]

ah ok

[Ninja Monke]

My file was named openxcom.(I compiled openxcom extended from the github repo) It didn't have a file extension name. Steam doesn't check if it's a windows exe or linux binary just tries to execute it.

[unijorse]

but doesn't it end with .86_64?

[Ninja Monke]

Yes, you rename openxcom linux binary to dosbox.exe.

[unijorse]

wait, doesnt the steam launcher look for dosbox.exe?