GenLauncher-Linux

This is a based off of GenLauncher. Tested on Windows 10 and Ubuntu.

Why migrate this to Rust?

1. The original is writen in .NET Framework, which generally isn't suppport on Linux
2. I comtemplated migrated .NET Framwork to .NET Core, but .NET Core isn't support on BSD, which is a goal
3. A Systems language is a better language for this kind of tool, as the code base dropped from ~100k loc to ~20k loc.
4. I have limited time to support this and LLMs can provide more trustworthy outputs for rust.

Install

1. Grab a binary from the releases
2. Move the binary into the Generals folder
3. run executable (Linux users may need to chmod +x binary)

You don't have to launch the vanilla game first, as GenLauncher-Linux will create the options.ini file if it doesn't exist.

If you're having issues running the game, check protondb and configure the compatability mode of the game to use the newest version of proton. I used experimental on ubuntu26.

Differences from the original

• lock file rather than a mutex, so it works the same on Windows/Linux.
• .rar extraction uses 7-Zip, unrar or unar if one is installed (on PATH, or in 7-Zip's or WinRAR's default folder on Windows). .zip and .7z need nothing.
• Add mod from files understands downloaded archives. Pick the .zip/.rar/.7z as downloaded (e.g. from ModDB): the name and version are suggested from the file name, wrapper folders are stepped through, a full-game repack is reduced to the files the mod actually changes, and you are asked afterwards whether to delete the archive.
• No self-update
• No advertising card
• Modded executable. Use modded exe files [default] now downloads the repository's ModdedExe and runs it.
• With Install and autoupdate Gentool on [default], each game launch checks gentool.net and installs or updates GenTool's d3d8.dll in the game folder. With it off, d3d8.dll is moved aside for the run.

Known issues and their workarounds

• Steam edition sometimes gets error "Failed to fetch Steam App Name!". Make sure Use modded exe files is on.

• With more than one monitor, the game can ignore the mouse. This is due to how Wine runs the virtual desktop

• If the game is running, GenLauncher will refuse to close by design to prevent any race condition from the lock file.

Releases

bumping version in Cargo.toml triggers the release.yml CI

Build and run

cargo run --release

On Windows, build.rs generates the .exe icon from assets/icon.png and embeds it with the version from Cargo.toml.

Tests

cargo test

On Linux, one more drives a whole launch through a stand-in wine script: mod linking into differently-cased folders, the environment Wine receives, waiting for game.dat, and restoring the folder. It claims the process-wide game folder, so run it on its own (CI does):

cargo test proton_launch_end_to_end -- --ignored

General Network usage:

Action	What
Start-up	the repository index and the manifests/logos of mods you already have
Adding a mod	that mod's manifest and its patch/addon manifests
Installing	the mod's files, from its S3 bucket or its share link
Installing (S3 only)	one SNTP query to time.windows.com, to warn about a skewed clock
Launching with GenTool on	the gentool.net front page, and GenTool itself when it is missing or outdated
Launching Zero Hour with "Use modded exe files" on	the repository's modded executable, once
Launching with Vulkan on	the Vulkan layer, if the repository has a newer one