The Sims

I had to run the game with the `-skip_intro` option to get to the loading screen, otherwise it hangs on a black screen indefinitely and can't be killed. Works great otherwise.

wine Sims.exe -skip_intro

wine version: 8.3
distro: arch linux
wineprefix: 32-bit windows xp
no-cd cracked Sims.exe

You have to run the sims installer (can't just copy the game files) under the wineprefix you intend to use. If you delete the wineprefix you'll have to reinstall the game. Otherwise you'll get an error about having installed the expansion packs in the wrong order.

The Sims 1 starts with MIDI sound for the background, but I haven't found any way for Wine to handle it either on Linux or Mac OS; the game crashes at startup because no MIDI devices are to be found.
Is there a working recommendation?

Sorry guys I have typed an extensive step-by-step installation guide on how to get Sims 1 working on Wine, but unfortunately a few people in the Linux community like Alexsandr Oleynikov (with the backing of Luke Horwell, one trying to cover the backs of each other...) that think that information is not useful for you. People that think that you do not deserve to have that information, they can simply remove it and deny it from being posted.
Sorry guys, I've tried. The text that I typed is forever lost, thanks a lot. Very "useful" attitude from them.

I am sorry that it wasn't possible to recover your test report in full (partial snippet gist.github.com/tannisroot/1ee1b1be83d6b0f002c0ef84e0a7721b), but like I said before, it violated WineHQ policies regarding third party backends and usage of outdated versions.
But don't worry, usage of dgvoodoo2 in combination with the original Sims has been documented before, I made a Reddit post and a video about this a few years ago (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2elGldbhrGo), and there's also the installer for Lutris that makes use of it, even though it's not really needed anymore now that Wined3d is fixed with this game.

I have posted a new wine report above but Alexandr Oleynikov removed it. The other maintainer, Bartosz Kosiorek, had approved the post minutes before, thanking me for the detailed installation instructions and said it was very helpful. Is there a way for us to contest decisions from administrators that abuse their power and remove volunteer collaborations without reasonable justifications? And not only that, this person not only removed my post, the person undid the approval given by the other. Can one simply delete Wine App Db collaborations like that? This can set a dangerous precedent. I don't know if this Alexandr person is fit for the position he occupies here. Better give space for others that will be more capable of reasonable judgement.

All that text that I have wrote contained the installation instructions is lost?
Can you salvage me a copy of the text that I have wrote?

This is one of the many ways how Linux individuals discourage and shun off volunteers that could contribute with valuable information. The Linux community is not place for useless counterproductive bureaucracy.
This is not the 1st time a Wine App Db entry is denied of approval, and I will not stay silent about this anymore. You want noise? I can make lots of noise too. Let's see who's louder.

The deletion of the report is justified as Wine's AppDB does not consider DXVK a valid workaround. This is stated in the submission guidelines here (specifically section 1.8):
wiki.winehq.org/AppDB_Test_Results_Guidelines

Everyone "monitoring" this game (including me) receives comments/actions as e-mail notifications. The original report seems to be there at:
appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=8696&iTestingId=110624

If you do resubmit, the report shouldn't declare "everything works" but rather, "not under vanilla Wine, but playable by following additional comments", and the result rating should reflect that (Bronze - I can't see the originally submitted rating). AppDB is supposed to be for unmodified (or a -staging version of) Wine.

For the record, I've seen Alexandr's efforts towards helping us run other Sims titles, so it is unfair to accuse them of abusing privileges when none was observed.

Hi, I am very sorry that your test result has been removed, but it was for very valid reasons:
1) It used a Wine version (4.1.) that was very, very outdated, and reports of old versions aren't allowed.
2) An unsupported third-party d3d backend (dgvoodoo2) was used in it. You can only use wined3d when submitting test reports.
I am not sure why it was approved by the other maintainer, he must have overlooked those problems.
I am not a fan of some of the rules either, especially #2, since it also prohibits use of DXVK, but I am not in charge of these policies.
If you're still interested in testing, I highly suggest you try the game with never versions of Wine, such as 6.9, it requires no third party d3d backends and works pretty much straight out of the box, even the intros (as long as you have 32-bit gst-libav installed), and maybe make a new report. And if there's something wrong with it too, we can work it out until it meets the AppDB criteria.

Let it be documented for everyone that detailed step-by-step installation procedure can't be posted here for all to see because of Alexandr and other people in the Linux community that think inside their heads that they have power over the community and they can decide, without any kind of checks or second opinion, what they consider "useful" information for the rest of the community. Linux is all about SHARING data, sharing knowledge, sharing information, not withholding others like this and preventing volunteers from collaborating.

Let it also be noted here that the WineHQ forums also have censorship problems, my replies that I've posted for threads do not appear there, even after all the hassle of creating a 2nd separate user account just for it. All your messages in the forums will have to go through "admin approval" and they can simply be denied.

I don't think these kinds of attitudes are fit for what the Linux community represents. Unfortunately, we see these kinds of things happening more and more.
I'm not Nostradamus, but I predict next step for the near future is preventing comments from being posted in this page too, they will seek for a way to have complete control over the comment sections as well.

It took much more time from them to type these ellaborate replies justifying their actions than the time it would take for them to simply approve the App Db contribution and simply let the information being shared anyway.
The level of incompetence and self-importante you would expect from some corrupt country government office full of bureaucracy. Not something you would expect from a community suposed to be built by volunteers and voluntarist spirit.

I gave you valid reasons for the removal of your test report. Why are you trying to create big drama out of this and make this look like some kind of conspiracy against free speech? It's certainly not, I can assure you.
And I am very sorry that your complete text was lost and I apologize for not saving it before removal, but I managed to recover it partially from my emails: gist.github.com/tannisroot/1ee1b1be83d6b0f002c0ef84e0a7721b

Did you have to change the color depth to 16 in xorg.conf? Please state so if you did.

No, that is not needed.
Game doesn't need 32-bit prefix either, stock 64-bit works.
You just need to install Vulkan (Dxvk) in your machine and use dgVoodoo2 inside of Wine, so that the game will render correctly.
I just submitted an extensive step-by-step report with all the required steps, just waiting for the admins to approve it.

I have just posted a detailed comment above.
The new report data I just wrote for this game, containing detailed installation instructions, was simply denied and removed from the page. There must be a way for us to contest that decision and avoid losing all the text. I'm not typing all that again.

By the way, that is not the first time this happens. It's not the first time I have an App Db report entry removed for no reason. This is how some of these bad apples in the Linux community hamper and prevent volunteers from contributing with the Linux environment. This is not a place for bureaucracy.