Help:Installing/Linux (Proton)

The whole installation process is relatively easy and can be done under 10 minutes.

Prerequisites

You will need:

• A working Steam install
• ProtonTricks

Installing ProtonTricks

To install ProtonTricks on Arch (as root):

   yay -S protontricks

To Install ProtonTricks on Ubuntu/Mint and similar (as root):

  apt install protontricks

Ensure you have access to the "protontricks" command from the terminal.

Installing KSA via Steam Proton

• Download the Windows KSA installer setup_ksa here
• Open Steam
• On the bottom-left, click on "Add a game", then select "Add a Non-Steam Game..."
• In the new Window, click "Browse" then select the setup_ksa executable.
• Click on "Add selected program"
• The setup_ksa is now in your Steam library, search and found it.
• Right click on the "game" title (the Steam shortcut) and select "Properties..."
• Under "Compatibility", select "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool", then select Proton 10.0-3 (please check if this parameter is still here once selected, you may have to select it twice)
• Launch the installer by clicking "Play" as if you were lauching a game.
• In the installer, select "Install for all users (recommended)" ("Install for me only" does not work and just give the error "internal error: Failed to expand shell folder constant autopf")
• Click Next, Next, Install (leave all default values)
• Once installed, tick the "Play KSA" checkbox and validate.
• A window will ask you to download .NET 10.0 Desktop, click "No".

Copy the KSA installation directory

In a terminal, get the Steam AppID of the setup_ksa "game" you have installed:

   protontricks -l | grep setup_ksa_

Search for the installation directory, it must be in a place like (replace <AppID> with the number you have found):

   "${HOME}/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/<AppID>/pfx/dosdevices/C:/Program Files/Kitten Space Agency"

If Steam has been installed via flatpak, it may be something like this:

   "${HOME}/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/data/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/<AppID>/pfx/dosdevices/C:/Program Files/Kitten Space Agency"

Alternatively, if you want to search at both locations without having to copy the AppID, you can use find in a terminal

   find ${HOME}/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/ ${HOME}/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/data/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/ -type d -exec bash -c '[ -f "{}/KSA.exe" ] && echo "{}"' \; 2>/dev/null

Copy this folder where you want the final game files to be (for example, ~/Games/).

In Steam, you can now delete the "installer game": right-click on the setup_ksa shortcut, select "Manage", then "Remove non-steam game from your library".

Create a Steam Shortcut for KSA

• Add a new non-Steam game as previously, but this time choose the KSA.exe binary in the "Kitten Space Agency" folder you've copied previously
• Select Proton 10 as previously for this new non-steam game
• Launch the game by clicking "Play", it will not work but do it anyway (refuse the download of .NET Desktop 10 again)

Setup Proton KSA WinePrefix and install .NET Desktop 10

Open a terminal (with your unprivileged user, no need to be root), and paste, one line at a time:

   ksa_steam_appid="$(protontricks -l |grep KSA.exe | awk -F'[()]' '{print $2}')"
   protontricks "${ksa_steam_appid}" settings win10
   protontricks "${ksa_steam_appid}" dotnetdesktop10

• The first line will get the game Steam AppID for KSA and save it to the variable ksa_steam_appid
• The second line will set the Windows 10 compatibility to the KSA WinePrefix, using the variable ksa_steam_appid
• The third line will download and install .NET Desktop 10 inside the KSA WinePrefix, using the variable ksa_steam_appid

You will see some warnings in the terminal output when using ProtonTricks, nothing to worry about, just ignore them.

Follow the .NET Desktop 10 installation process (it will be presented twice, for x86 then for x64, just follow it twice).

KSA should now run successfully.

(Optional) Rename and add images to the KSA Steam Shortcut

Rename the Steam Shortcut: Right click on the "game" title (the Steam shortcut) and select "Properties...", in "Shortcut" tab, you can rename KSA.exe (use "Kitten Space Agency" for example).

Download an image to be used as an icon (256x256 pixel, jpg or png), and click the square at the left from where you have renamed the shortcut to select this image. You can use this:

You can customize all other images for the game by right-clicking on the shortcut, in the "Customize" Tab.