Linux Mint 19.1

[Martos777]

Hi, I am trying to run P99 on Linux Mint 19.1 from an USB stick on my Dell 7490. Linux and all application's run fine beside p99. I can start p99, but it takes extremly long to get into the game. I think it is the eqclient.ini. Can some linux user give me his working configuration ? Thanks in advance

[loramin]

When you say:
I can start p99, but it takes extremly long to get into the game.

Can you be more specific? The reason I ask is that I haven't heard of eqclient.ini being a problem for Linux specifically. However, what I have encountered is a problem where the server select screen only has the P99 servers (or any others) once in a blue moon, so you have to keep trying to login until you get lucky and see them.

That problem I used to be able to fix with the P99 middleman d (https://github.com/Zaela/p99-login-middlemand) script. It might still work for you. However a few months (maybe even years now) back Rogean changed something, and since then I've needed a VPN to make things work on Linux.

If the script doesn't help, get a free trial of a VPN (I think most will work; personally I use Private Internet Access). If it works you've found a fix and it will only cost $5-$10 a month (while also letting you download bit torrents without your ISP getting mad).

If not ... post back :)

[Martos777]

Hi, its like I said - all takes extremly long even on 640x480, as if I would try to play on a rasperry pi ! I will try your config and come back here. Just in case it wouldn't work - NordVPN is fine ?

[loramin]

NordVPN is fine ?

I don't know them specifically, but probably.

However, if you're able to see the server at the server select screen it's probably a different error. P99 Middleman D or a VPN still might help though; both are easy enough to try and so probably worth a shot.

Honestly it sounds like it might be a graphics issue to me. Make sure you have the latest graphics drivers installed, and try switching to the proprietary driver for your graphics card (eg. the Nvidia or ATI one if you have Nvidia/ATI) instead of the open source one (unless you're already using the proprietary one, in which case try the open source).

[Martos777]

ts a normal business laptop with an onboard graphic card "intel HD graphic 4000".
I think you are right - its prolly something with this graphic card and the drivers.
VPN and the thing with the "Server Select" didn't help me. I will try harder :confused:

Update: I tried on a completly different Lenovo business notebook with Nvidia graphiccard.
Same shit - looks like its a Linux Mint 19.1 bug.

[Arkophat]

Hi there,

You may want to try and install on local hard drive.

This issue could very much be related to the fact your using a USB stick as a DD.

Bandwith is subpar on usb compared to SATA, not even talking about NVMe.

Let us know how things goes.



Barkophat Speedster
Bard from <Les irreductibles>

[loramin]

ts a normal business laptop with an onboard graphic card "intel HD graphic 4000".
I think you are right - its prolly something with this graphic card and the drivers.
VPN and the thing with the "Server Select" didn't help me. I will try harder :confused:

Update: I tried on a completly different Lenovo business notebook with Nvidia graphiccard.
Same shit - looks like its a Linux Mint 19.1 bug.

On Linux Mint there is a program "Driver Manager", available form the start menu. If you go in there you should see a bunch of options for different drivers. For instance, I'm using "nvidia-390", but there's also newer ones like "nvidia-396", "nvidia-410", nvidia-415" amd "nvidia-418". There's also older ones (eg. "nvidia-340") and an open source one ("xserver-xorg-video-noveau").

Because I have onboard Intel graphics also I have a separate section for those, but it's only option is "Intel-microencode" (selected) and "do not use this device" (not selected) so I don't mess with that one. I'm pretty sure the OS uses the Intel graphics for normal operation (so it doesn't have to use the power-intense Nvidia graphics then) and switches to the Nvidia graphics for games. Here's more info on that if you think you need to adjust things because your computer is using the wrong card: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA_Optimus

If you play with the Nvidia options ... well, it will take awhile, as each option requires installing new drivers and restarting your computer. But if you try enough (maybe start with nvidia-390 if you have it as an option), hopefully one of them will work for you.

Personally I remember it taking me awhile, and I had to install various corresponding packages to make certain options show up, but I checked my package manager and I don't have any such packages installed now (though I still see the options) so hopefully the program has improved and you'll just have all the options without having to install the corresponding "nvidia-somenumber" packages first (but you might).

Good luck.

[Benanov]

I've got a relatively new machine (with a dog slow hard disk) in it, and it takes a good 10 minutes to load the game. My framerate is utter crap in the character creation screen. I was thinking it was just EQ. That's how EQ was back then, what would have changed? LOL

Yes I'm using the nvidia drivers (I hate nvidia so much, but it's the box I have available).

I'll make a separate post.

[Benanov]

Forgoing separate post for now.

I figured out why my framerate was crap.

taskset sees each CPU in a hyperthreading pair as a distinct CPU. Assigning EQ to only one of those makes it lag like crazy.

taskset -c 2 -> LAG

taskset -c 2,3 -> PERFORMANCE

[Martos777]

Benanov - you are my hero - the taskset thing solved it !

[Martos777]

I followed the thread
https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14125
So I started the program with:
taskset -c 0 padsp wine eqgame.exe patchme 2>/dev/null

The right thing would have been:
taskset -c 1-3 padsp wine eqgame.exe patchme 2>/dev/null

[CodyF86]

Also the latest staging branch of WINE works amazing with the Everquest client, if you are on a debian system install it.

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
sudo apt-key add winehq.key
sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-staging

[Benanov]

I followed the thread
https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14125
So I started the program with:
taskset -c 0 padsp wine eqgame.exe patchme 2>/dev/null

The right thing would have been:
taskset -c 1-3 padsp wine eqgame.exe patchme 2>/dev/null

1-3 would get you CPU 1, CPU 2, and CPU 3. A small amount of overkill, but that will work.

My system has CPUs 0 - 7. Each 'pair' (0,1), (2,3), (4,5), (6,7) is a physical core, because Intel's Hyperthreading is basically using one CPU and 'splitting' it when it can. This is not perfect, and there are times where one CPU will stall the other out because they both want to do the same operation.

HT came out long after EQ did. So my taskset arguments are to assign EQ to one physical core (the 2,3 pair) instead of one virtual core (where 2 can be 'interrupted' by the OS putting a task on 3).

From Wikipedia:

In addition to requiring simultaneous multithreading (SMT) support in the operating system, hyper-threading can be properly utilized only with an operating system specifically optimized for it.[5] Furthermore, Intel recommends HTT to be disabled when using operating systems unaware of this hardware feature.

While EQ isn't an 'operating system' it was written before HT was a thing. HT came out with P4's and I was running EQ on a P2. That's why I tell taskset to give it the pair - and since EQ is a CPU hog, the OS doesn't try to schedule anything else on that one.

[loramin]

Also the latest staging branch of WINE works amazing with the Everquest client, if you are on a debian system install it.

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
sudo apt-key add winehq.key
sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-staging

Normally I don't use "bleeding edge" libraries, but you talked me into it ;)

One note: you might need a sudo apt-get update in between the last two commands:


sudo apt-key add winehq.key
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-staging