I moved to Linux Mint fairly recently but still dual boot for a couple of programs that require Windows. I avoid Windows when I can but I like to play The Sims 4 and want to play it on Linux so I tried to install it on Steam (I own it on EA but it’s free on Steam right now and I haven’t been able to get Bottles to run the EA app without EA crashing before starting) but the EA app just blanks out when I run it. My EA account is linked to Steam (checked on EA’s website to confirm that they’re linked) and I can’t find any other reason for this issue online. Any ideas? Thanks!
Edit: tried again after relinking my EA and Steam accounts and waiting a while to let it boot and so far nothing. Looking at Steam, it seems like it stopped at loading “Microsoft DirectX” so I’ll have to go from there.
You must log in or register to comment.
I think you might be crossing the streams a little…
- WINE is the base open source software that allows you to run Windows applications / games on Linux
- Steam Proton is its own fork of WINE that has additional changes contributed from CodeWeavers, Valve, and other developers as well as integrating packages / libs like DXVK.
- Steam is a Proton management sandbox which allows you to run multiple different Proton prefixes / environments
- Lutris is a WINE or Proton management sandbox which allows you to run multiple different WINE / Proton environments with a gaming focus
- Bottles is a WINE or Proton management sandbox which allows you to run multiple different WINE / Proton environments with a general focus
To get the best compatibility, and run Sims 4 from Steam, you need to
- Run Steam natively on your Linux computer which loads a Proton environment that will run the EA app and kick off Sims 4
Do not use Bottles or Lutris; they’re not necessary and might only cause problems.
According to ProtonDB, if you already linked your EA account, you might need to downgrade to Proton 8.0-2 to get Sims 4 to work…
Thanks for the really detailed explanation! This is a really nice overview for me.
I’ll try again to run the game on Steam on a few versions of Proton. If that doesn’t work, I might try relinking my accounts as another commenter suggested.
Here you can see how ppl run this game, there is even a user claiming you have to first link your ea account and then launch the game to pass the blank screen.
I looked through these yesterday and I’ve tried several of these fixes with no luck. Is WINE a prerequisite to running The Sims 4 off of Steam (given that I’m using Proton for all Steam games)?
What I would try in your situation (I don’t have the game so I can just give ideas):
Firstly I would try to wait a lot of time after I click on play, idk 10 minutes (because of some ppl comments on proton db I’m inclining to believe this blank screen wait until some shader compilation.
Then I would relink my ea account with steam (if it is possible, usually is, unlink and then link again).
Then I would try to run it on 8.0-2 and 7.0x In order.
Then would I close steam and delete the wineprefix, (wineprefix is a C: disk emulation where wine will run this program) on steam folder there is a compatdata folder, inside it you should find the Id of your game, it is the number in the URL of the game in steam store.
Also, I would reboot my system if I had a recent update in the last two sessions, idk why but when I update me endevour sometimes I feel the next session a little unstable until I reboot two times.
This is what I can think of right now
I’ll see if any of these steps work. Thanks for all of the possible troubleshooting steps! I’ll update you on the results.
You might have just had bad timing - the release notes for Proton 8.0-4 mention
Fixed EA Desktop having a blank log-in window after its recent update.
It’s currently a test release so should be out shortly, but if you want to use it immediately there’s some info on enabling it early at https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/09/proton-80-4-is-now-in-testing-with-a-release-candidate/
You may want to look into Lutris. They’ve done a lot of work on bringing windows games to Linux, and basically do a lot of the heavy lifting for you.
It will also link to your Steam, EA, Origen, Cog etc accounts and do the same for games there as well.
I’ve been trying to stick with Steam because Steam has been such a pleasant experience for me (besides some issues with NVIDIA but that’s not Steam’s fault) but I might have to take a look at Lutris if none of the other fixes work. Thanks for the recommendation, though!
Maybe you could run a virtual Windows machine on Linux if Steam Proton doesn’t work?
