OP Wiki

Client & PC setup

Practical notes for running the Perpetuum client.

The rules first

Multi-boxing (several clients controlling several characters) is allowed within limits. Fair-play rules to know before you do it:

  • No automation or multi-client control software — ever.
  • No more than 5 simultaneously active accounts.
  • No accounts registered with fake, invalid or unreachable email addresses — the address must be one you own.

Violations can mean an immediate, permanent ban.

Windows: multiple clients

  1. Install the Perpetuum Steam client.
  2. Check that the game folder contains a steam_appid.txt whose content is 223410.
  3. Copy the entire Perpetuum folder once per additional client.
  4. Run Perpetuum.exe in each copy (optionally add the copies to Steam as non-Steam games).

Disk space: Layers.gbf and Perpetuum.gbf are large and identical in every copy — make them symbolic links (mklink) or shortcuts so they are stored once.

Linux: multiple clients

Each client copy needs a different Proton version, or it refuses to run:

  1. Install Steam and Perpetuum as usual; verify steam_appid.txt (223410).
  2. Copy the Perpetuum folder per client.
  3. While logged into Steam, install several recent Proton versions (via Steam, by hand, or GloriousEggroll builds).
  4. Add each copy to Steam as a non-Steam game pointing at its Perpetuum.exe.
  5. Force a different Proton version per copy in its launch options.
  6. Start the real Steam app first, then launch the copies.

Troubleshooting:

  • Selecting a Proton version does not install it — you have to launch the game once with it selected.
  • If the real Steam app won't start, start it in Safe mode first.
  • Since Proton 5.0, DirectX 9/12 emulation runs on Vulkan. No Vulkan-capable GPU? Add PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command% to each copy's launch options.
  • Empty text box with a red warning: install libfreetype6:i386 (Debian/Ubuntu-based distros).

UI scaling

The client uses a fixed-pixel UI with no dynamic scaling. Workarounds:

  • Low-resolution fullscreen — go fullscreen at a lower resolution than your display and let the UI stretch to fill it (windowed and borderless modes always use the native resolution). Lowering the display's own resolution does the same.
  • UI scaler apps — e.g. Lossless Scaler (Steam, Windows): run the client windowed at your base size, set a custom scale ratio in the scaler, trigger the scaling and focus the client window. Expect the usual smoothness-vs-text crispness trade-off.
  • OS magnifier — the Windows Magnifier (or equivalent) for the occasional close read.

Launching without admin rights

  1. Copy the client files out of the Steam folder to a writable location.
  2. Create a Perpetuum.bat there containing cmd /min /C "set __COMPAT_LAYER=RUNASINVOKER && start Perpetuum.exe".
  3. Launch through the batch file.