Some help needed on how to (correctly) use the new UMU system

[rossthom]

I use Bottles since several years now and the way I use it is by creating a new bottle for each game I install (I don't have that many games installed at once)

But now, I see the new system UMU is there and I try to understand it, but I can't find relevant information of how to use it within Bottles. I either find very generic info or hyper detailed info (for developpers), but I can't find a "simple" tutorial on how to (correctly) set it up on Bottles and manage my games with it.

I have to admit that the popup window that appears when I click "Install game" on the UMU section confuses me a bit and I'm not sure of how I should proceed.

How should I initially set it up?
How can I fine-tune game-specific configurations?
Can I migrate my games installed in their separate bottles "into" UMU or should I re-install them?

Hope someone can help me, i'll be glad to change my habits and modernize the way I manage my games on Bottles!

[tgeruzov]

The new UMU section is basically a separate game-management path from the traditional Bottles workflow.

For a new game, use Install Game, select the game from the database (or use the custom option), then choose the installer. Bottles creates a separate Proton prefix for it automatically.

For an already installed game, you don't necessarily have to reinstall it. The current UI has Use an Existing Executable: select the existing prefix, then select the game's .exe inside that prefix. Bottles keeps that prefix as an external/unmanaged prefix instead of creating a new one.

After adding the game, its settings let you change the Proton version, launch arguments, environment variables, working directory and dependencies. If the game exists in the UMU database, keeping the correct game/store ID also allows UMU to apply the matching protonfixes.

[rossthom]

OK, thank you for the precisions!
I think I'm assuming it's more complicated that it actually is...

[rossthom]

Well i'm sorry, but I still don't get it.

I have installed a game using the UMU installer. It worked, but I can't find the same options as I used to have on my "regular bottles" (for example, the "Feral mode" option). How can we manage such option on a game installed with UMU ?

Also, now that I have installed a game, I don't have the "Install a game" button anymore, so I don't know how I can install another game using UMU.

[tgeruzov]

You're right - I checked the current code, and my previous reply overstated how close the UMU UI is to regular Bottles.

For Feral GameMode specifically, there currently isn't an equivalent toggle for UMU games. In regular Bottles that option is handled by the normal Wine launch path, which prefixes the command with gamemoderun. UMU games use a separate launcher path, and that integration isn't present there at the moment.

For installing another UMU game, go to the Library and use the "Add to Library" tile, then choose "Add Windows Game". That opens the same UMU installer again.

The "Install Game" button on the main Bottles list is only shown when there are no UMU prefixes yet, which is why it disappeared after your first install.

So your assumption wasn't really the problem here - the UMU interface currently doesn't have full feature parity with regular Bottles, and the second install entry point is in a different place.

[rossthom]

OK, thank you for your precisions :-)

So I think I'll wait a bit before fully switching to UMU and will follow the evolutions.