I just wanted to share a method I found for dual-logging on a dual-monitor system, in case anyone runs into a similar problem.
Background
I just got a new PC, and slapped a fresh installation of Ubuntu on it. I've been running AO under Linux for a while, but I'd have to boot into Windows when I needed to dual-log (my old PC was a bit too slow to run a single AO instance smoothly under wine, let alone two). With my ATI card, I wasn't able to render 3D accelerated apps to different screens, which would've been nice. Anywho.
System
- Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackelope" (in beta, still)
- NVidia GTX 260 with the proprietary NVidia driver.
- Twinview to get multi-monitor support. My xorg.conf was generated by the NVidia-settings app that comes with the proprietary driver (System->Administration->NVidia X Server Settings or just nvidia-settings from a terminal).
- Wine 1.1.18
- ies4linux, and using ~/.ies4linux/ie6/ as my WINEPREFIX (see the end of http://forum.winehq.org/viewtopic.php?t=846
That's all of the relevant stuff that I can think of atm.
Issues
Twinview works by hiding the dual-monitor details from X. In my case of 2 * 1280x1024 screens, running xrandr reports only one resolution mode, 2560x1024. If I try to start AO in windowed mode, it kinda runs, but eventually stops working and wine reports a "no matching mode" error. The only mode that AO sees is 2560x1024.
Running AO windowed inside a 1280x1024 virtual desktop (virtual desktops can be set up in winecfg) works great for a single instance, but you end up with two AO instances on top of eachother if you try to dual. If you try to size your virtual desktop to the same size as Twinview's resolution, AO will open up in a 2560x2048 window.
Solutions
What worked for me is opening each AO instance in it's own virtual desktop, This can be done using
Code:
cd ~/.ies4linux/ie6/drive_c/Program\ Files/Funcom/Anarchy\ Online/
env WINEPREFIX="~/.ies4linux/ie6/" wine explorer /desktop=DesktopTitle,1280x1024 Anarchy.exe
This creates a virtual desktop with the name "DesktopTitle" and resolution 1280x1024. The name of each AO instance must be unique, or they'll open in the same virtual desktop. To avoid having to type all of that crap in, I wrote a quickie bash script:
Code:
#!/bin/bash
export WINEPREFIX="/home/nick/.ies4linux/ie6/"
cd /home/nick/.ies4linux/ie6/drive_c/Program\ Files/Funcom/Anarchy\ Online/
`wine explorer /desktop=AnarchyOnline$1,1280x1024 Client.exe`
It appends the first command line argument to the title, so to create multiple AO instances you just have to call "./AOLaunch.sh 1", "./AOLaunch.sh 2", etc. Using gnome, the virtual desktops can be repositioned by holding ALT (by default) and dragging.
Conclusion
That works for me but, as with most WINE workarounds/fixes, it depends heavily on your hardware and installation. I also can't guarantee that it's the best solution, but it's the best that I've worked out so far. Feel free to PM me with questions, and I can try to clarify or point you to some references.