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For developing surposes I am using Linux to manage all my freelancer installs and I thought maybe a little guide would be good for any Freelancer Linux users
(See a very detailed version of this guide with images and in english / german here:
Installing Freelancer on Linux with Lutris or Bottles | Flathack Help Center)
The most reliable approach is to keep vanilla Freelancer and every major mod in separate Wine environments instead of mixing everything into one setup.
That means: one clean base installation for vanilla Freelancer, then one separate environment for Discovery, another one for Crossfire, and so on. This makes troubleshooting much easier and prevents savegame, registry, and multiplayer profile conflicts.
Best practice: Keep one clean vanilla install, then create one separate Lutris prefix or Bottles bottle for each mod such as Discovery or Crossfire.
Before you start
- Make sure you have your Freelancer installer or installed game files ready.
- Do not start with a heavily modified old Wine prefix if you can avoid it.
- If possible, keep a backup of a clean Freelancer installation before installing mods.
- Test every major step once before moving to the next one.
1. Install Lutris or Bottles
- Install either Lutris or Bottles.
- Lutris is very useful if you want to manage several game entries side by side.
- Bottles is a good alternative if you prefer isolated self-contained bottles.
- It is best to use a separate Wine environment for each Freelancer installation.
- Do not reuse the same prefix or bottle for every mod unless you really know you want them mixed together.
Quick setup idea
- Create one entry or bottle for Freelancer Vanilla.
- Create another one for Discovery.
- Create another one for Crossfire or any other large mod.
- Give each entry a clear name so you always know which environment belongs to which install.
2. Install vanilla Freelancer
- Always start with a clean vanilla installation.
- When creating the first Lutris entry or Bottles setup, point it to the original setup.exe first.
- Run the installer through that environment and complete the installation.
- After installation, change the linked executable from setup.exe to the real Freelancer game EXE.
- Launch the game once and verify that everything works.
- Check that menus, saves, and the first game start work correctly.
- Keep this installation as your backup base if possible.
- If you want to use HD files, widescreen fixes, or custom launchers later, first confirm that the plain vanilla install already runs.
Why this matters
If vanilla Freelancer already works in its own environment, then later problems are much easier to trace. You will know whether an issue comes from the base game, a mod, a dependency, or a launcher setting.
3. Install mods separately
- Create a separate Lutris installation or a separate bottle for each major mod.
- Examples: Vanilla Freelancer, Discovery, Crossfire.
- For a mod installation, point the environment to the mod installer EXE first.
- Run the mod installer inside the correct vanilla-based prefix or bottle.
- After the mod installation is finished, switch the linked executable to the mod's actual game EXE or launcher EXE.
- Install the mod only after the base Freelancer install works.
- Launch the mod once directly from Lutris or Bottles and verify that it starts.
- This keeps saves, registry data, and dependencies cleanly separated.
- If one mod breaks, your other Freelancer installs stay untouched.
Simple EXE workflow
- Step 1: link setup.exe for the base game install
- Step 2: after installation, link the real Freelancer.exe or final game EXE
- Step 3: for a mod, temporarily link the mod installer EXE
- Step 4: after the mod install finishes, change the link again to the mod's real start EXE
Recommended structure
- Vanilla Freelancer → own prefix or bottle
- Discovery → own prefix or bottle
- Crossfire → own prefix or bottle
- Any other major mod → own prefix or bottle
4. Install important dependencies
Depending on the installation, also add these inside the matching Wine environment:
- directplay
- dotnet40
Where to install them
- In Lutris, install them inside the game's Wine prefix, usually via Winetricks.
- In Bottles, install them in the Dependencies section of the matching bottle.
- If you have three different Freelancer installs, you may need to install dependencies in all three environments separately.
- Do not assume that one dependency install automatically applies to all other prefixes or bottles.
What these dependencies are for
- directplay is important for older Windows game components used by Freelancer.
- dotnet40 may be needed for tools, launchers, or additional Windows-side helper software around the game.
5. Use FL Atlas Launcher
With FL Atlas Launcher (Download for Linux and Windows here)you can:
- manage multiple Freelancer installations
- set the correct EXE path and prefix path for each installation
- autodetect bottles and lutris installs
- manage separate MPIDs for different mods or servers within wine prefixes in bottles and lutris
- keep launcher settings for Lutris and Bottles installations in one place
This is especially helpful if you switch between different Freelancer servers, keep separate multiplayer identities, or want a cleaner overview of several mod installations.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Installing multiple major mods into the same prefix or bottle.
- Skipping the vanilla test and only discovering problems after several extra tweaks.
- Forgetting to install dependencies in the correct environment.
- Losing track of which EXE or prefix belongs to which Freelancer installation.
- Using the same MPID everywhere when you actually want separate multiplayer identities.
Recommendation: Keep one installation per mod. This avoids many problems with registry data, savegames, multiplayer profiles, and broken dependency setups.
