Installing EVE on Linux

Guides

Introduction

With the exponential increase in computing and constant exposure to new software, chances are you've used, or at least heard of, Linux.

There are many flavors (types) of Linux out there, most of which are completely free and other which are very cheap (especially when compared to the $100+ for a single copy of Windoze).

Some Flavors

• CentOS
• Debian
• Fedora
• Gentoo
• Knoppix
• Kubuntu
• Linux Mint
• openSUSE
• Ubuntu

Why should I care?!

Let's be frank.

Microsoft Windows is a bloated pig that uses a sizable chunk of a computer's power just to run. This could directly take away from the performance of EVE or any other program (or programs) one may have running at a given time.

A very large amount of programs on Windows require one to pay for them, forcing students to either pay obscene amount of money or obtain them through covert means.

"All of the piracy, none of the scurvy . . ."

Most of the software available on Linux works just as well, if not better than their "Windoze" counterparts, but they're completely free and can be downloaded, updated, and installed anywhere one has an active internet connection. The bang-for-your-buck value here simply cannot be matched.

Examples of Windows/Linux software counterparts

• Photoshop (Cost: $192-$1000+)
  • - On Linux: Gimp ($0)
• Microsoft Office (Cost: $120-$210+)
  • - On Linux: OpenOffice.org ($0)
• Microsoft Internet Exploder (Cost: Your computer's well-being)
  • - On Linux: Firefox ($0)

There are many other reasons you should look into using Linux. As a student, I find it invaluable on my laptop, especially when I can do my homework on free software while my classmates a few seats over complain about how expensive software X was this semester. Silly newbs.

So come, impress your friends and join the PC Master Race: game on Linux!

Prerequisites

• Patience

One may consider purchasing a new hard drive (a small 20GB one will do) so that a Linux install won't interfere with your Windows installation.

If that is not an option, one will have to Dual-boot or install two Operating Systems (OSs) on a single disk, choosing which one to use when the machine is powered on.

People unfamiliar with Linux are highly recommended to use Ubuntu, as in my experience it is the most user-friendly and easiest to get into.

Installing Linux is beyond the scope of the current article, but may be added later for completion.

- Bl4cklisted

Installing Wine

Wine is an incredibly useful tool that emulates a Windows environment within a Linux installation.

Basically, it lets one install and run applications designed for Windows (in this case, EVE) in Linux.

For simplicity's sake, this walk-through will be done with Ubuntu 9.10.

Before we install Wine, open up your browser (if using Ubuntu, this will be Firefox) and go to this URL:

http://www.eveonline.com/download/?fallback=1&

to download the Windows offline version of EVE while we configure Wine in the meantime.

If this is your first Linux installation, you will first need to set up a root user (Linux-speak for Administrator). Open a terminal window (For Windows people, this is the Command Line) and type:

sudo passwd root

Hitting [Enter], it will ask you for your current user's password, and then for the password you'd like root to have:

blacklisted@ubuntu:/home/blacklisted# sudo passwd root
Enter new UNIX password: 
Retype new UNIX password: 
passwd: password updated successfully
blacklisted@ubuntu:/home/blacklisted# 

Note: As you're typing in the passwords, the passwords will NOT show up. This is normal.

Next, we'll need to update the repositories, which is a fancy name for the place in which Ubuntu downloads its software. Updating this ensures that you get the most current software when you're ready to download:

 sudo apt-get update

A lot of text will scroll up; you'll know when its done when the terminal allows you to type in commands again.

Now that the repositories are updated, we'll need to update this software that is currently installed on the system. This step is essential:

 sudo apt-get upgrade

This step may take significantly longer than the previous. This is similar to Windows Update as it may require a restart after its complete.

Once the update completes, we can then download Wine. The most current stable version at the time of this writing is 1.2, so you'd type:

 sudo apt-get install wine1.2

and hit [Enter]. This will download and install Wine in one easy step.

When it completes, type in:

 winecfg

and press [Enter]. This will open up a configuration window for Wine.

Click the Graphics tab and select Emulate a virtual desktop:

Also, set the desktop resolution to something smaller than your current settings. This can be readjusted later.

Unfortunately for us, Wine doesn't come with the fonts than EVE requires in order to run properly. For this, we need to download and install Winetricks:

 sudo wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks

After hitting [Enter] and waiting for the program to complete installing, type:

 sudo sh winetricks corefonts

This will install the required fonts.

Finally, the following will install Visual C++ files that the game will need for self-updating later:

sh winetricks corefonts vcrun2005sp1

If you followed this guide to the letter so far, the installer should be close to finishing now. Once it has finished downloading, mouse to the top left of the screen and click Places. Browse over to the folder you downloaded the installer to. Right-click the installer and choose Open with Wine. This will open the all-too-familiar Installation Wizard. Accept all defaults ("Next", "I agree", "Install"). Once it completes, uncheck the "Run EVE Online" box before clicking Finish.