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# Playing on Linux

Linux is not officially supported currently. However, you can get it working through Proton or Wine by following this guide. You should also be aware of some [common issues with Origin](https://github.com/lutris/docs/blob/master/Origin.md) before proceding.

## Installing

### Steam (Proton)

1. Download the latest version of Northstar from the [releases](https://github.com/R2Northstar/Northstar/releases) page
2. Extract all contents of the file to your Titanfall 2 folder ( Right click _Titanfall 2_ > Open _Properties_ > Click _Local Files_ > Click _Browse_ )
3. Rename _Titanfall2.exe_ to anything else ( for example _Titanfall2old.exe_ ), and rename _NorthstarLauncher.exe_ to _Titanfall2.exe_. Alternatively to renaming _NorthstarLauncher.exe_, you can create a symlink to make future Northstar updates easier. This can be done by executing the following in the Titanfall 2 directory:
> ln NorthstarLauncher.exe Titanfall2.exe

Now Steam will automatically launch Northstar when you hit play. Just launch the game through Steam and you should be greeted with a Northstar welcome message upon entering the main menu.

> **Note:** There is a current bug where the game would sometimes launch vanilla Titanfall 2 instead of Northstar. There is no universal fix for this, but people have reported changing Proton versions to _Proton 5.13_ or _Proton Experimental_ and deleting the Proton prefix folder (`Steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237970/`) could help resolve this issue. Using [Proton GE](https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom) has also been reported to resolve the issue.

> If you are still suffering from this bug, try running the game through Lutris. The bug doesn't seem to happen there

### Lutris (Wine)

1. If you don't already have the game downloaded, install the game [from here.](https://lutris.net/games/titanfall-2/) 
2. Download the latest version of Northstar from the [releases](https://github.com/R2Northstar/Northstar/releases) page
3. Extract all contents of the file to your Titanfall 2 folder

4. **If you have the game installed on Lutris:** right click _Titanfall 2_ > _Configure_ > _Game Options_ > Set _Executable path_ to _NorthstarLauncher.exe_
5. **Otherwise:** click the `+` button in the top left > set the name to whatever and _Runner_ to _Wine_ > click on _Game options_ > set _Executable path_ to _NorthstarLauncher.exe_ then save. 

> **If you're migrating from Steam:** Set _Wine prefix_ to `(your Steam directory)/steamapps/compatdata/1237970/pfx/`. This will save you the hassle of having to re-download Origin. 

Now just launch the game through Lutris and you should be greeted with a Northstar welcome message upon entering the main menu.

> **Note:** Origin might prompt you to log in and "set an installation folder for future downloads" on first launch. Just do those, close Origin, then launch the game again.

> You might feel the game is stuttering a lot in the first hour of playing. This is normal, it's just DXVK is compiling shaders. The more you play, the less you will stutter in the future. Someone on discord wrote [an in-depth guide](https://i.imgur.com/xzop1lQ.png) on good settings to help the shader cache **and a general performance boost by stopping Origin from writing unnecessary files**.\
> [Link to cache](https://github.com/Cervoxx/DXVKCACHE/raw/master/Titanfall2-cache.tar.xz)\
> [Link to Origin being slow discussion](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/4001#issuecomment-647014231)

## LatencyFleX
LatencyFleX is a Linux-only input latency reduction alternative to Nvidia Reflex that is supported by Northstar. Currently, LatencyFleX requires manual installation. A full install guide and current releases [can be found on their GitHub](https://github.com/ishitatsuyuki/LatencyFleX).

Northstar only requires the [Vulkan layer](https://github.com/ishitatsuyuki/LatencyFleX#latencyflex-vulkan-layer-essential) and [Wine extensions](https://github.com/ishitatsuyuki/LatencyFleX#latencyflex-wine-extensions-required-for-proton-reflex-integration) steps to be completed.

Once installed, LatencyFleX can be enabled by doing either of the following:

> **If you are using Steam:** Add the following to your Titanfall 2 launch options: `"LFX=1 %command%"`

> **If you are using Lutris:** Right click on Titanfall 2, click 'Configure', navigate to 'System Preferences' / 'System Options' / 'Environmental Variables', and use the following:

> Key: LFX  
Value: 1

Once in-game, LatencyFleX can be toggled off and on using the `"r_latencyflex"` console variable.

While playing with LatencyFleX, **VSync and Adaptive Super Sampling must be disabled**. If you wish to prevent tearing while using LatencyFleX, the following may be added to the end of `ns_startup_args.txt` in the root of your Titanfall 2 install:

> +fps_max_use_refresh 1


## Troubleshooting

### Blank console

This problem is caused due to missing fonts on your Titanfall 2 wine prefix, you will need [winetricks](https://github.com/Winetricks/winetricks) or [protontricks](https://github.com/Matoking/protontricks) depending on your installation. Follow these steps to install:

1. Close all Titanfall/Origin processes.
2. If you are using Lutris select your Titanfall 2 installation and click '▲' -> Winetricks. On Proton you can use `protontricks 1237970 --gui`
3. 'Select the default wineprefix' -> 'Install a font' -> Check the packages `lucida` and `arial`.
4. Click OK and wait for everything to install, if done correctly winetricks will popup again.
5. You can now close it and launch the game.

### Fullscreen issues

Running the game on fullscreen through Linux might lead to a black screen preventing you from launching the game. Edit your `ns_startup_args.txt` to include `-noborder -window` or edit `"setting.fullscreen"` and `"setting.nowindowborder"` at `<wineprefix>/drive_c/users/<username>/Documents/Respawn/Titanfall2/local/videoconfig.txt` to solve this.

For more info and proposed fixes, refer to [this issue thread on Github](https://github.com/R2Northstar/Northstar/issues/1)

### LatencyFleX issues

Some users have reported issues with enabling LatencyFleX. If you see `"Unable to load LatencyFleX library, LatencyFleX disabled."` in your logs, try adding `latencyflex_wine.dll` to your `bin/x64_retail` folder.