/usr/bin/emulationstation-wine

/usr/bin/emulationstation-wine

Overview

wrapper script for handling of wine, reading batocera config files and handling all game file types

Index

• _setupPrefix
• Handling of wine prefixes and saves
  • _libraryPrefix
  • _userPrefix
• Supported Actions
  • run
  • install
  • mkAutorun

_setupPrefix

Create wine prefix directory at location given. Does not re-create the prefix if the file ‘system.reg’ already exists in the given directory. Also exports given directory name as WINEPREFIX variable and calls _readWineAutorun as last step If the WINE_DISC environment variable is set after _readWineAutorun, the disc image will be mounted

Arguments

• $1 (directory): that should be initialised as prefix
• $2 (-): optional. one of

Handling of wine prefixes and saves

Dealing with wine for a (potentially) shared game library introduces 2 issues that have to be solved.

1. Save games: Wine is just an execution layer, it does not directly control how - and where - an application will save its data. Applications don’t do this in a uniform way. Save locations vary greatly, depending on the age of the game, targeted windows version also the frameworks in use. Some save in the user’s home, some in a direct subdirectory etc.
2. Wine enforces a certain file ownership policy. It normally is not possible to run the same prefix for 2 users.

emulationstation-wine will work around both limitations with the following approach:

1. There is a difference between a libraryPrefix and a userPrefix.
2. libraryPrefix: The game installations themselves, placed under the corresponding system’s rom directory.
3. userPrefix: These are based on library prefixes, but use fuse and overlay mounts to create user-specific directory structures when starting a game.

While the game runs, all of its writes go into the overlay. This overlay will be decoupled when it stops. With that, it becomes possible to update/modify the library prefix without invalidating user saves in the overlay.

This approach has its limits and can fail when a file exists in both the library and the save and is modified differently in both.

_libraryPrefix

This function is responsible for configuring an action that targets a library prefix This normally only means to set WINEPREFIX to the game’s directory under ROMS_ROOT_DIR/system/....

1. Library prefixes can be owned by a shared user or group in a shared rom directory. In that case, this method has to make sure that any command is actually executed by the owner of the group. Functions/commands that target library prefixes might need to ask for a user change or sudo privileges.
2. Library prefixes created by emulationstation-wine install will be isolated from the linux user’s home directory. This is an important measure the handle correct redirection and capturing of save games. Please do not directory create a library prefix manually without this step.

This is an internal function that can not be called from the outside. Mentioned for documentation reasons here

_userPrefix

This function sets up user prefixes from the given library rom prefix. As mentioned above, these are overlay-fs constructs (going from lowest to highest):

1. lower 1: The library prefix
2. lower 2: (optional) DXVK
3. upper: The user’s save directory for the game

After the game ended, the overlay fs will be deconstructed and the save directory converted back into a ‘clean’ directory structure without overlay fs meta informations. This makes it possible to allow modifications to the library prefix again.

This is an internal function that can not be called from the outside. Mentioned for documentation reasons here

Supported Actions

The following actions can be passed to emulationstation-wine. All of these functions take the same argument line format:
emulationstation-wine <function-name> <path/to/rom> [-cfg path/to/sourceable/wine/envconfig] [-- args for real executable]"

• -cfg is optional and usually an internal implementation detail
• -- and anything following it is optional and will be passed to the real *.exe that will be launched at the end

However, these functions run against different targets (=WINEPREFIX), as explained in the section about prefixes.

run

The main function: Start a game.
Targes user prefix, derived from the given library rom path.

install

Install a game. Asks a few questions to guide and improve automatic installation.

1. Creates a new library prefix from another library rom.
2. Installation source must be file/directory from the windows/windows_installers systems
3. Can handle setup exes, zip files, isos and plain copy

mkAutorun

This is a guided utility that can be used to create autorun.cmd files for wine applications.
Will automatically be started at the end of a new installation, but can also be triggered manually later on. Targets library prefixes.

If the autorun.cmd file shall be different for a user, it has to be patched manually.
Note: When changed manually for a user, changes in the file within the library prefix will NOT propagate to that user anymore.

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