Fallout 3 DVD and Steam version. Including all 5 DLCs or Game of the Year Edition.
When adding test results please specify video card and driver version you are using.
Follow the guide located below the bug list for installation instructions!
Application Details:
Version: | 1.7 and GOTY |
License: | Retail |
URL: | http://fallout.bethsoft.com/ |
Votes: | 140 |
Latest Rating: | Platinum |
Latest Wine Version Tested: | 9.7 |
Maintainers: About Maintainership
What works
Most things, the game runs and runs fairly well. For my computer on account of older hardware I had to disable water shaders to get it to run. I do use winetricks installation of native DLLS
What does not
Audio w/out patch. I used a patch to revert audio to 1.1.37. Background music is still missing as is music on pipboy radio. Speech on radio is present as is music on radio through eyebots or radios found in game. VATS and dialog were incredibly slow, and vats often showed all 0% chances until I patched with workaround patch found in bug 16816.
Workarounds
What was not tested
Finishing the game.
Hardware tested
Graphics:
Additional Comments
I used a different install of wine 1.1.38. Not the version it says I used.
Operating system | Test date | Wine version | Installs? | Runs? | Used Workaround? | Rating | Submitter | ||
Show | Fedora Silverblue 39 | Apr 29 2024 | 9.7 | Yes | Yes | No | Platinum | Alex Arnold | |
Show | Manjaro Linux 21.3 | Jul 07 2022 | 7.11 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Bronze | Bob Niemöller | |
Show | Linux Mint 20.2 "Uma" | Nov 25 2021 | 6.0.2 | Yes | Yes | No | Silver | Muhibbi J | |
Show | Linux Mint 19.1 "Tessa" | Feb 17 2019 | 4.0-staging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Silver | adamhm | |
Show | Ubuntu 18.10 "Cosmic" amd64 (+variants like Kubuntu) | Feb 01 2019 | 4.0-staging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Gold | Jacopo |
Bug # | Description | Status | Resolution | Other apps affected |
23532 | Provide offline implementation of Games For Windows Live (GFWL) 'xlive.dll' -> 'XLiveless' (Fallout 3, Batman, GTA IV) | REOPENED | View | |
30639 | Audio stuttering and performance drops in Star Wolves 3 | STAGED | View | |
37508 | Some Bethesda games sometimes freeze during gameplay | UNCONFIRMED | View | |
43075 | Fallout 3 crashes un Ultra settings at 1440p: err:d3d:resource_init Failed to allocate system memory | UNCONFIRMED | View | |
43105 | Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Skyrim crash when the Steam overlay is opened on macOS | UNCONFIRMED | View | |
43477 | Fallout 3 crashes after a short time | UNCONFIRMED | View | |
56676 | native wayland resolution conflicts with 32bit games on wow64 grabs input | UNCONFIRMED | View | |
56748 | Quartz errors on fallout 3 when using Apple silicon | NEEDINFO | View | |
56756 | Support the asahi gpu driver | NEEDINFO | View | |
57207 | Fallout 3: Regression spams console with errors | UNCONFIRMED | View |
Last updated 2014-07-21 by Jonas Jelten
Fallout 3 GOTY installation guide
This guide works with a completely fresh 64bit (x86_64) wineprefix.
DO NOT SET WINEARCH=win32
The guide was created using wine-1.5.17 on Funtoo GNU/Linux x86_64.
It should also work on other GNU/Linux distributions.
32bit x86 will probably not be supported.
This means: I assume you are under x86_64 (aka 64 bit system)
==> You have to install x86 libraries for Fallout, as it is a 32-bit game
And so on, you get the point. Refer to your distribution FAQ or forum for help and support installing x86 libraries on x86_64.
Look at the test results/bugs below for version changes affecting Fallout 3.
== DVD/Steam version
== Overview of installation steps
== About this guide
The following text block is a shell command. You have to execute them with your terminal (xterm, gnome-terminal, urxvt, ...).
Search on the web or ask in the forums if you need help.
echo "This is shell code, execute it in a terminal!"
== Create a fresh wineprefix
This guide assumes you create a fresh wineprefix.
export WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-fallout3
Make sure the wineprefix is set correctly all the time you execute wine and fallout-related commands!
echo $WINEPREFIX
== Configure this wineprefix
Now we create a new "Windows installation" and customize its behaviour.
winecfg
== Install fonts
DVD version: skip this step.
cd /tmp && wget http://cdn.steampowered.com/download/SteamInstall.msi && msiexec /i SteamInstall.msi
cd $WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Steam && wine Steam.exe -no-dwrite
wine /mountpoint/of/game/dvd/setup.exe
curl http://www.dllbank.com/zip/m/msasn1.dll.zip | funzip > $WINEPREFIX/drive_c/windows/syswow64/msasn1.dll
wget -O /tmp/gfw.exe http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/5/8/55846E20-4A46-4EF8-B272-7F988BC9090A/gfwlivesetupmin.exe && wine /tmp/gfw.exe /nodotnet
== Run the Gamewine "$WINEPREFIX/.drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Bethesda Softworks/Fallout 3/FalloutLauncher.exe
cd "~/My Games/Fallout3/" && curl "http://pastebin.com/download.php?i=SVqfWG0K" | patch
== (optional) Install uncut patch
This patch replaces four game files, removes censorshit (whoops, typo), and also fixes some launch problems.
cd "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Steam/steamapps/common/Fallout 3 goty/" &&
wget -O - "http://home.stusta.mhn.de/~006619/fallout3uncut/fallout3uncut.tar.xz" | xz -d | tar vx
== Run/play the game
export WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-fallout3 && cd $WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Steam && wine Steam.exe -no-dwrite
#!/bin/bash
# Fallout 3 Steam launch script
export WINEPREFIX="~/.wine-fallout3"
cd "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Steam"
wine Steam.exe -no-dwrite
#!/bin/bash
# Fallout 3 DVD launch script
export WINEPREFIX="~/.wine-fallout3"
cd "$WINEPREFIX/.drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Bethesda Softworks/Fallout 3"
wine FalloutLauncher.exe
That's it, you should be able to play Fallout 3 now. Report problems at the comment section below.
I'm happy about any feedback improving/correcting this guide, so please leave a comment down below :-)
You should also submit test results so the game's wine-compatibility-rating is up to date and known for most distributions. Thanks!
_
How to get Fallout 3 working (DEPRECATED GUIDE)
This section is out of date. Try the steps from the Steam installation guide above first, but install from your DVD instead of Steam.
This guide was created for wine 1.2, the above guide is for newer versions!
Install Wine-1.1.33 or newer. It is strongly recommended that you install the latest version of wine (wine 1.2). The official information on Wine HQ will always be written for the latest version of wine.
Steps & Requirements:
Winetricks extras:
Open a Terminal
Download winetricks by typing :-
wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks
Install DirectX libraries and native comctl32.dll by typing :-
sh winetricks d3dx9 cc580
Install Directx9 and vcrun2005 winetricks packages by typing :-
sh winetricks directx9 vcrun2005
Game for Windows Live client:
Now we need to install the Games For Windows LIVE client, follow the steps below :-
Download msasn1.dll from the link - HERE
Extract the DLL files and copy them into your C:/windows/system32 folder of wine
Override msasn1.dll in Wine Configuration - Set as native.
Now download the installer for Games For Windows LIVE from the link - HERE
Note : If you experience issues during that installation of Games For Windows LIVE try changing your windows version to Windows 7 in your winecfg.
Now we need to install the Games For Windows LIVE program but without installing the .NET framework, to do this run the code below in Terminal :-
cd /where/you/downloaded/the/file
wine gfwlivesetupmin.exe /nodotnet
Now in the Libraries tab of your winecfg add xlive.dll as native.
The Games For Windows LIVE client has now been installed.
NOW INSTALL THE GAME FROM STEAM OR THE DISK
(Note: DISK 1 IF YOU HAVE GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION)
Now if your CPU has 2 or more cores then follow the steps below, if not then skip over this section.
If you have 2 or more cores, do the following :-
1) Open ~/My Games/Fallout3/FALLOUT.INI
2) Find bUseThreadedAI=0 and change it to bUseThreadedAI=1
3) Add iNumHWThreads=2 after bUseThreadedAI=1
4) Save file
If you downloaded the game from STEAM then it will already be the newest version and you will not need to patch or install the DLCs (if you own game of the year edition from STEAM). If you own a retail version then you will now need to patch the game. Follow the steps below :-
Make sure your Fallout 3 disk is in the tray (Disk 1 if you own Game Of The Year Edition)
Fallout 3 1.7 patch:
Download the latest patch from the links below depending on your location
US Patch (North America Only) - HERE
UK / EU / Rest of world patch - HERE
Run the patch with wine and it will install.
Now the game will run, see below for how to install the DLCs.
IMPORTANT - To run the game, right click on the fallout3.exe in your C:/Program Files/Bestheda Softworks/Fallout 3 and select "Open with wine windows program loader". DO NOT run the game by using any desktop shortcut or wine menu entry or by the fallout launcher. Use the fallout launcher to set graphics and resolution etc. but don't use it to launch the game.
Install Fallout 3 DLCs
To install the DLCs, follow the steps below :-
If you have the Game Of The Year Edition from STEAM you will already have the DLCs and you are ready to go.
If you own a retail version insert your disk now (Disk 2 if you own the Game Of The Year Edition).
Run the disk's .exe with wine and the DLCs will install.
Note : Some people are finding that the DLCs don't activate when in game. This can be solved, see the DLC Fix section below.
This concludes the installation process for Fallout 3 with wine on Linux.
Troubleshooting/Fixes:
If you have any problems, see the FIX SECTION below for solutions to common issues or you can post a comment and we will get back to you.
DLC Fix
Note : This seems to be a problem with retail disks of the Game Of The Year Edition. The STEAM version should be fine.
Some people have difficulty in getting the DLCs to load. Normally you should receive a message after you have exited Vault 101. However, it seems that some people are not getting the message so the DLCs are not activating. This can be fixed by following the steps below :-
First open~/My Documents/My Games/Fallout3/FALLOUT.INI
Find the line bInvalidateOlderFiles and set it to 1.
Then open the fallout launcher (the .exe is in the same folder as the fallout3.exe) and click on DATA FILES and make sure that they are all selected. Click OK and then launch the game. The DLCs should load in after playing for a few minutes (you will have to have exited Vault 101).
Resolution FIX
Some people have a problem when starting Fallout 3. The menu is displayed but then crashes. This is because sometimes when the game alters your resolution it can break.
Solution 0: You can activate the virtual wine desktop
Solution 1: Set your
resolution in Linux to the game resolution manually before you launch
fallout3. Change it back to your normal Linux resolution when you
finish playing.
Radio / Music FIX
If VATS and Radio stations crash the game, and there is no ingame music, try this:
install quartz.dll with winetricks
Open winecfg, goto library settings, and configure:
quartz = builtin, then native
You can also try to install proprietary mp3 codecs: winetricks l3codecx
The corresponding wine bug: http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=31566
steamoverlay
Fallout’s mouse doesn’t seem to work correctly with either the mouse patch or these settings.
- The mouse patch: doesn’t work with Fallout’s 1.1.0.35 patch.
- bBackground Mouse -setting: setting it 1 DOES make menus
usable, but it’s quite a problem when you run this in windowed mode as
when you move enough the mouse, it goes outside the window... I have
dualhead so I need/want to run this windowed.
- MouseWarpOverride were thought to fix this problem with bBackground Mouse
-setting? Well, just gives problems here. Don’t set it. MIGHT be useful
if you have non-patched version. So you gan set to Direct3D registry
key MouseWarpOverride="enable" or MouseWarpOverride="force"
Updated (20th July 2010)
Note : If you experience issues during that installation of Games For Windows LIVE try changing your windows version to Windows 7 in your winecfg.
Patch 1.7 requires Games for Windows - Live 3.0 client. To install it follow these steps:
1) Download msasn1.dll from e.g. here
2) Override msasn1.dll in Wine Configuration. How to Override DLL
3) Download gfwlivesetupmin.exe from e.g. here
4) Install gfwlivesetupmin.exe but without .NET Framework
(wine gfwlivesetupmin.exe /nodotnet)
5) Only set xlive to native in Wine Configuration.
6) Download and install 1.7 patch for Fallout 3
Note:Should you have any issues running Fallout 3 because of 'xlive unimplemented function' errors, see the fix section above.
It has been reported that the game slows down dramatically when entering VATS or into a speech. The problem hits owners of GeForce 7xxx and older graphic cards. Proposed fixes are:
fix proposed by Bogdan:
fix proposed by Claudio: