HCE on Linux?

[c2039jdx]

This probably has been asked before, but afaik not after the release of HCE Pro: any chance of a native Linux build? Since you use apparently Qt, it is probably only one recompile and packaging as a Deb or snap, right? .... would make things much more comfortable than running a dedicated VM....

[SedarPL]

HCE for Linux, that would be great!

[mrudolf]

HCE for Linux, that would be great!

It works on Linux (I use it myself). Alas, due to the nature of Linux, releasing a commercial version is not very likely. The demand is very low and building for each distribution requires a lot of work.

[c2039jdx]

thanks for the feedback. Indeed, Linux desktop users are probably low in number - but on the other hand technically often savy, so you might be getting in-depth bug-reports and feedback. Maybe that could be some motivation?

From my experience, packaging either as Snap or Flatpack significantly reduces the packaging effort. Both of them are widely supported nowadays on every distro...

[mattchess]

Just in case anyone was wondering, HCE Pro appears to be working very well on LINUX using GE Proton in SteamOS (Arch Linux). I have it running on my Steam Deck. I've tested the books (local and online), opening databases, database searches, analysis, playing a game, and analysis/blunder checking a game with both Hiarcs and Stockfish engines. The only issue I have run into is board sounds playing too many times/repeatedly. So, I turned the board sounds off. I am happy to be able to use it sitting on the couch or in bed in a handheld PC

[mrudolf]

We will probably consider native Linux version again at some point, but I am not too optimistic.

[GoneBallistics]

HCE for Linux, that would be great!

It works on Linux (I use it myself). Alas, due to the nature of Linux, releasing a commercial version is not very likely. The demand is very low and building for each distribution requires a lot of work.

Could you produce a list of the steps required to have it correctly set up and running?
No guarantee implied, of course.

[mrudolf]

Could you produce a list of the steps required to have it correctly set up and running?
No guarantee implied, of course.

Among other things, we would need to check different distributions and do extensive testing of license activation (this is tricky on Linux, as the OS configurations can be different).

[mattchess]

HCE for Linux, that would be great!

It works on Linux (I use it myself). Alas, due to the nature of Linux, releasing a commercial version is not very likely. The demand is very low and building for each distribution requires a lot of work.

Could you produce a list of the steps required to have it correctly set up and running?
No guarantee implied, of course.

It will depend on what version of Linux you are using. In SteamOS this is what I did to get it running on my Steam Deck (runs in desktop mode or in console mode):

1) Download the installer
2) Add the installer to Steam
3) Change the properties and under compatibility force it to use GE Proton 7-47 (note: you first need to install ProtonUp-QT from the software discovery center, which will allow you to make GE Proton 7-47 available from within steam as a compatibility option)
4) Run the installer (from within Steam) to install the software
5) Remove the installer from Steam and delete it
6) Go to the folder where your Steam OS installed the software. For me it is:

/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/

Now the tricky part is that all the folders are coded numerically so you need to find the most recently created folder and navigate to the application (.exe) and add that to Steam. It will be somewhere similar to this:

/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/4151439730/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/HIARCS Chess/HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro/ChessExplorerPro.exe

where your string of numbers will vary in the folder name after compatdata

Then in steam go change the properties for the .exe to force it to use GE Proton 7-47 under compatibility. That worked for me.

Installing it on a regular Linux distro would be different and will vary depending on what version of Linux you are using. Afraid I don't have a lot to add regarding that. I suspect you can run it using Wine.

[GoneBallistics]

It will depend on what version of Linux you are using. In SteamOS this is what I did to get it running on my Steam Deck (runs in desktop mode or in console mode):

Thanks a lot, this is exactly what I had in mind.
There's a lot of things to try, but now I have an idea about how to get started.

[dear_sirs]

I have had success using Proton Experimental via Steam to install and run HCE. Of course I will note that I would love to have HCE on Linux to avoid the kludgy install and poor font rendering with this method.

[schadfield]

I can get HCE running using wine but after a while the license check fails.

[mrudolf]

I can get HCE running using wine but after a while the license check fails.

It happens on my Linux-compiled version too. My guess is that the license check is probably affected by kernel upgrade or network change. We will look into it in the future, but it may be difficult to fix given that the app does not know it runs on Linux.

Does re-entering license helps for some time (it does here)?

[schadfield]

It can be difficult getting the license to take a second time. Maybe I need to clean up some registry entries first?