It turns out the game is running through a compatibility layers similar to Wine

May 23, 2014 18:33 GMT  ·  By

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition was just released on Steam for Linux by the developers from CD Projekt Red, but the some of the players are now disappointed because it turns out it’s not actually a native port.

Most of the games available on the Linux platform are working natively, which means that the games have been made to take advantage of this platform, without the need of another layer of compatibility between them.

This is exactly what happens when trying a Windows-only game through Wine, because this technology acts as a layer between the game and the operating system, removing the need to actually port the software. This method can save some time, but it has some drawbacks. For starters, the performance of games that don’t run natively is affected and all sorts of bugs that don’t usually manifest themselves start to pop up.

Users of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition noticed that their favorite title is actually using a technology called eON, which is somewhat similar to Wine.

“Virtual Programming can bring your Windows-based game to the Mac and Linux platforms. Apple-logoWe have an established and robust technology, known as eON, which was created from the ground up for gaming. It is a fully native implementation of essential Windows technologies (such as Direct3D), developed with support from our close relationships with Fortune 500 hardware and software technology companies.”

“Our technology allows us to be flexible with all games, providing a fully-optimised and native runtime for each game, giving the player the best available experience under Mac and Linux,” reads the entry on the website of Virtual Programming.

This is a company specialized in bringing games to the Mac platform, and later on it turned to porting Linux titles. The reason why The Witcher 2 uses this kind of solution can be easily guessed. Some of the technologies used are only available with Direct3D and there is no way than OpenGL can achieve the same effects, at least not without a huge amount of work.

This is also the reason why the game only runs on NVIDIA hardware, although the developers have promised that AMD support will be available soon.

Getting the game to run through a compatibility layer might not have been such a big issue if The Withcer 2 would run without any problems, but many users say the game is virtually unplayable.

We’ll keep you apprised on any developments on this subject.