Gothic on Linux: Notes & Tips

Game Information

Title	Gothic
Year	2001
Developer	Piranha Bytes Software GmbH
Graphics API	DirectX 7
Audio API	DirectSound3D, DirectMusic

Runtime Environment

• Wine/Proton version: Proton 8.0-5 (Proton 9 causes Access Violation errors)
• Prefix architecture: 64-bit

Steam Setup

From the properties of the game in Betas, select the workshop release, this release support Steam Workshop.

Workshop Mods

The following mods were subscribed via Steam Workshop to enhance or fix Gothic 1 Classic:

• GRawInput
  • Improves input handling and mouse responsiveness.

• Toolkit
  • Provides modding tools and utilities for Gothic 1.

• Ninja
  • Adds stealth mechanics and gameplay enhancements.

• Gothic 1 Community Patch
  • Fixes bugs and improves stability with community-driven updates.

• Union – Patch for Gothic 1
  • Core engine patch required by many modern mods.

Steam Launch Options

WINEDLLOVERRIDES="ddraw,dinput,dxgi,d3d11,dsound=n,b" DXVK_FRAME_RATE=30 %command%

DXVK (DirectX to Vulkan)

• Proton 8.0-5 includes DXVK v2.3, which is outdated.
• Place updated DXVK files (d3d11.dll, dxgi.dll) into the game’s system folder.

Additional Notes

• Added dgVoodoo2 v2.8 libraries: ddraw.dll, d3dimm.dll

The Gothic 1 engine is based on DirectX 7, which is not natively supported by DXVK. To bridge this gap, dgVoodoo2 v2.8 was added to wrap legacy DirectX 7 calls into DirectX 11. This allows DXVK to intercept and translate the DirectX 11 API into Vulkan, enabling improved compatibility and performance on Linux systems. This layered approach (DirectX 7 → DirectX 11 via dgVoodoo2 → Vulkan via DXVK) ensures the game runs smoothly under Proton and benefits from modern graphics drivers and hardware acceleration.

Music

• Gothic 1 uses Microsoft DirectMusic for dynamic soundtrack playback.
• On Linux/Steam Deck, music will not play unless DirectMusic components (dmusic, dmloader, dmstyle, etc.) are installed via Protontricks.
• 3D spatial sound (EAX2) can be restored using DSOAL.
• Place dsound.dll and dsoal-aldrv.dll in the system/autorun folder.

Troubleshooting: Restoring EAX Sound

If Gothic reverts back to Miles Fast even after installing EAX restoration software, follow these steps:

1. Create a pre.load file
   1. In <path-to-game>/System/, create a new text file named pre.load.
   2. Add the line:dsound.dll
   3. Save the file.
2. Set sound provider
   1. Launch the game.
   2. Change the sound provider to Creative EAX 2.
   3. Quit and relaunch the game to confirm the setting persists.#SystemPack-specific fixes
   • Union (SystemPack 2.0): Place dsound.dll and dsound.ini in <path-to-game>/System/autorun.
   • Old SystemPack: Edit SystemPack.ini and change:FixMss=1toFixMss=0

• Note: SystemPack includes its own surround sound restoration (software-only). If FixMss=1, external EAX restoration software will not work.

Troubleshooting

DirectInput fix:

• dinput.dll converts DirectInput 1–7 to DirectInput 8.
• The bundled version is v1.0.16.0; newer versions are available on GitHub.

Did You Know?

• d3dimm.dll is part of Microsoft’s Direct3D Immediate Mode (DirectX 1–7 era).
• It allowed older Windows games to access 3D rendering functions before the modern retained-mode Direct3D pipeline was introduced.