Moving to Linux

[Riderocket]

With all the drama that's happening with Microsoft, Ive decided to move to Linux, (my laptop is currently on Ubuntu 24.04) however... The only thing stopping me from switching my Desktop is IL-2, I can't get it working in Linux.

 

Has anyone got IL-2 Working on Ubuntu with working VR? (Quest 3)

 

[BMA_FlyingShark]

Correct me if I'm wrong but as far as I know, the only platform Il-2 will run on is Windows (7 and later).

 

Have a nice day.

 

Edited August 8, 2024 by FlyingShark

[Riderocket]

3 minutes ago, FlyingShark said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but as far as I know, the only platform Il-2 will run on is Windows (7 and later).

 

Have a nice day.

 

It is possible to use wine, but i couldn't get it running

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

4 minutes ago, Riderocket said:

It is possible to use wine, but i couldn't get it running

Dual boot? Never going to work well or at all.

[=/WoVi/=kirumovka]

ProtonDB has a few methods but I couldnt get any of them working on fed 39

[HazMatt]

I'm heading down the same path. I use Linux Mint on my laptop and non-gaming computers. I'm actually typing this on Linux.

 

That said. It seems that the best bet to getting IL2 running on Linux (and the path that I plan to pursue) is to Use Steam OS with proton (or whatever it's called) that Steam uses that is like Play on Linux (which I used to use back in the day to play WoW and other windows games) I don't know if PoL is still supported.

 

I'm guessing since the game is available on Steam that the Steam OS may be the best place to start.

 

I haven't had time to mess with it yet and I suspect the biggest problem would be the VR. I think the first step would be to try to get SteamVR working on SteamOS if that is possible and then go from there.

 

If I get some free time I'll try to work on getting this working and maybe we can work together to get this figured out as I'm sure there are more who would like to do this if we could come up with a roadmap.

 

 

[Riderocket]

after installing steam play then il-2 i get this error message when launching the game

 

55 minutes ago, Riderocket said:

after installing steam play then il-2 i get this error message when launching the game

 

nvm i fixed it, i just reinstalled the d3dcompiler_47.dll file and it works now xD

 

Regarding SteamVR, it does in fact work on Linux, and you can use ALVR to stream Quest 3 to Steam. But it needs some fine tuning to get the picture quality any good. Which I'm working on now

Edited August 9, 2024 by Riderocket

[HazMatt]

8 hours ago, Riderocket said:

after installing steam play then il-2 i get this error message when launching the game

 

nvm i fixed it, i just reinstalled the d3dcompiler_47.dll file and it works now xD

 

Regarding SteamVR, it does in fact work on Linux, and you can use ALVR to stream Quest 3 to Steam. But it needs some fine tuning to get the picture quality any good. Which I'm working on now

Very nice! Thanks for sharing. I would never have guessed that reinstalling the d3dcompiler_47.dll  would fix that error. Good stuff!

 

I'm heading down this patch soon as I have 4 computers that don't meet the 7th gen cpu requirements for windows 11 but have at least 16 gb of ram and cards like 1070 so they are plenty capable to still running many games.

[Riderocket]

I have everything working except my Honeycomb Bravo Throttle, some of the buttons and switches don't register in IL-2, but on jstest It shows up fine.

Edited August 10, 2024 by Riderocket

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

Anyone ever get vr working?

[Riderocket]

On 2/2/2025 at 5:52 PM, 356thFS_Drewm3i-VR said:

Anyone ever get vr working?

Yes using ALVR

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

19 hours ago, Riderocket said:

Yes using ALVR

How's the performance/resolution compared to Windows 11? 

[Riderocket]

7 hours ago, 356thFS_Drewm3i-VR said:

How's the performance/resolution compared to Windows 11? 

It needs alot of tweaking to get running good

[prying]

Ive given using both the Quest 2 and a HP G2 a go using Monado through Envision and was able to get IL2 to work using steams proton.  

[jokerBR]

Boldly running where no IL-2 has run before. I really wonder about performance/compatibility issues with so many software layers adding lag and potential conflicts in the long run... dual boot with a stripped out windows seems a lot simpler (and performant), but for the sake of science, I'm following this thread with curiosity. 
My gaming machine still runs on Win10, and being ancient, it will not take advantage of new gaming features on Win11 like Direct Storage, so no point in upgrading. I'm fine with this, games don't need fancy OSs, but nevertheless, this "project" is nice because running things where they aren't supposed to is always enticing. Kind of "hacking". 🙂

[Riderocket]

i got il-2 running in Ubuntu in WiVRn VR with Quest 3 and all the devices working correctly

 

first i used protontricks 307960 d3dcompiler_43 d3dcompiler_47 d3dx11_43 xinput dinput (to bypass the shaders error)

 

then i gave all my devices read and write permissions (because il2 wasn't using sudo, and the game couldn't read the rudder pedals without it) using "chmod -R 777 ./" inside the /dev/input folder

 

run the command "WINEPREFIX=/home/USER/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/307960/pfx wine control" and enabled the devices.

 

Use the launch command:

SDL_JOYSTICK_HIDAPI=0 gamemoderun %command%

Edited October 17 by Riderocket
Update

[fraggg]

I have followed this thread closely, as my Reverb G2 failed recently. I replaced it with a Quest 3 and took the opportunity to try moving to Linux full time. I've got IL-2 working through ALVR, and it seems to work pretty well. I didn't have to UDEV rules. Can't seem to get WiVrn working though.

 

Has anyone running IL-2 on a Quest 3 in Linux managed to get XRNeckSafer or VRNeckSafer working? VRNeckSafer refuses to install. The XR version can run through wine (not proton) and I can manage to assign buttons, but it doesn't rotate my view at all. I can put up with out a rotation program if I have to but this makes playing IL-2 a bit less convenient.

[TWC_Bulldog]

HI Anyone have a noddy guide to get IL2 running on Zorin (Ubuntu) I have just installed Zorin and Steam from the software store runs but I run IL2 outside steam, can I just run the exe or will it crash the system. Also never dabbled in Linux ever this is my first time, so be gentle.. Not using VR just a normal setup with monitor etc

 

 

Edited October 16 by TWC_Bulldog

[Riderocket]

1 hour ago, TWC_Bulldog said:

HI Anyone have a noddy guide to get IL2 running on Zorin (Ubuntu) I have just installed Zorin and Steam from the software store runs but I run IL2 outside steam, can I just run the exe or will it crash the system. Also never dabbled in Linux ever this is my first time, so be gentle.. Not using VR just a normal setup with monitor etc

 

 

If you want to run the standalone exe, the best way is to use lutris, (click on add game, then search , just search for great battles and install the launcher and it'll download all the prerequisites)

On 7/5/2025 at 10:35 PM, fraggg said:

I have followed this thread closely, as my Reverb G2 failed recently. I replaced it with a Quest 3 and took the opportunity to try moving to Linux full time. I've got IL-2 working through ALVR, and it seems to work pretty well. I didn't have to UDEV rules. Can't seem to get WiVrn working though.

 

Has anyone running IL-2 on a Quest 3 in Linux managed to get XRNeckSafer or VRNeckSafer working? VRNeckSafer refuses to install. The XR version can run through wine (not proton) and I can manage to assign buttons, but it doesn't rotate my view at all. I can put up with out a rotation program if I have to but this makes playing IL-2 a bit less convenient.

Use WiVRn for the VR, works way better then ALVR, as for neck safer, I haven't tried it but I could look into it fro you 

Edited October 16 by Riderocket

[TWC_Bulldog]

Awesome, I have it up and running now just to get my HOTAS installed. Thanks a mil....

 

[TWC_Bulldog]

Thanks for the setup instructions for Linux. IL2 is running and I can get to use my HOTAS, Just below entry level Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X this has been what I have used in Windows 10. It does work in LINUX BUT... the throttle only goes up to half throttle and I have tried to delete the .../DATA/UINPUT: devices.txt file however there is no change. When I try to use the IL2 setup to detect the throttle in setup it does not recognise it., but if I fly it does work but only to half throttle. I used the JSCAL to calibrate and the joystick functions perfectly in the JSTest. any of you LINUX boffins have a quick fix for me (here's hoping and looking at you Riderocket :-) )

 

Edited October 18 by TWC_Bulldog

[Riderocket]

1 hour ago, TWC_Bulldog said:

Thanks for the setup instructions for Linux. IL2 is running and I can get to use my HOTAS, Just below entry level Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X this has been what I have used in Windows 10. It does work in LINUX BUT... the throttle only goes up to half throttle and I have tried to delete the .../DATA/UINPUT: devices.txt file however there is no change. When I try to use the IL2 setup to detect the throttle in setup it does not recognise it., but if I fly it does work but only to half throttle. I used the JSCAL to calibrate and the joystick functions perfectly in the JSTest. any of you LINUX boffins have a quick fix for me (here's hoping and looking at you Riderocket :-) )

 

have you tried the command "WINEPREFIX=/home/USER/Games/il-2-sturmovik-great-battles wine control" (or wherever il-2 prefix is located) and checking under game controllers

then DInput, if the throttle is working

 

if the throttle shows up in the xinput area you have to override it

 

 

if the throttle doesn't show up in the list then you have to add a rule inside the /etc/udev/rules.d folder

 

first use the "lsusb" command to find the name, vendorid and productid for the throttle:

 

add a file at /etc/udev/rules.d/01-throttle.rules with the rule:

KERNEL=="event[0-9]*", SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{name}=="Saitek PLC Pro Flight Rudder Pedals", TAG+="uaccess"

then

add a file at /etc/udev/rules.d/70-throttle.rules with the rule:

ATTRS{idVendor}=="06a3", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0763", MODE="0660", TAG+="uaccess"

of course replacing the correct name, and ids

 

here are my rules

udev rules.7zip

then to reload udev rules on Ubuntu, run "sudo udevadm control --reload-rules" to load the new rules, then use "sudo udevadm trigger" to apply the rules to existing devices without rebooting.

Edited October 18 by Riderocket

[TWC_Bulldog]

Thanks Riderocket. So it all looks like it is fine, but when I move the throttle, the Z axis only goes to there where it is in the picture, it should go right down to the end of the field. Also it does not appear in the XInput.

[Riderocket]

8 hours ago, TWC_Bulldog said:

 

Thanks Riderocket. So it all looks like it is fine, but when I move the throttle, the Z axis only goes to there where it is in the picture, it should go right down to the end of the field. Also it does not appear in the XInput.

the fact that jstest works but the wine controls doesn't means its a problem with wine. Maybe if you try adding the udev rules to see if that fixes it?

Edited October 19 by Riderocket

[fraggg]

On 10/16/2025 at 3:48 PM, Riderocket said:

If you want to run the standalone exe, the best way is to use lutris, (click on add game, then search , just search for great battles and install the launcher and it'll download all the prerequisites)

Use WiVRn for the VR, works way better then ALVR, as for neck safer, I haven't tried it but I could look into it fro you 

 

I'd absolutely use WiVRn for IL-2. The problem is, there is no equivalent of XRNeckSafer that will work with it. It doesn't detect any OpenXR layers when I try running it through Proton or WINE. It has to be installed through a .msi file, I think it runs a powershell script on installation. There's a DLL file and a JSON file that it's supposed to use to register an OpenXR layer but none of this works via WINE or Proton. I tried using chatgpt to see if it could help write a Linux program to do this, but it essentially led me down a dead end and then told me it was impossible. Without a necksafer program to make it easier to look behind me, I'm not going to use OpenXR. The same is true for DCS, I can actually get it to run through OpenXR, but no working necksafer program. Do you have any ideas on how to get something working?

 

Also Elite: Dangerous won't work properly through WiVRn. It runs and then crashes after about 1 minute in VR. I get a small error message popup saying that "an error" has occurred, with no details whatsoever of what the error is. Looking through the WiVRn github issues, the folder where the log files should be doesn't exist for me.