How to run Resident Evil 3 (1999) SourceNext/GOG with Classic Rebirth and Seamless HD Project on Linux systems

After many, many months, if not years, trying to get the full classic trilogy of Resident Evil titles on PC working on Linux with both the Classic Rebirth and the Seamless HD Project mods, today, it is now a reality, and we can finally play the last remaining title that was yet to be compatible with Linux fully working with HD mods, in this case, with Seamless HD Project (SHDP).

Huge thanks to user Dario from WineHQ/GitHub for being able to make a workaround to make RE3 Classic Rebirth+Seamless HD Project work on Linux machines, his full report and workaround can be found here:
https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/issues/4431#issuecomment-2727071152
This workaround can me changed to work with Heroic Launcher (as I did), and even Steam with the game added as a non-Steam game as well, but for full details, check below,

Here's a step by step guide on how to accomplish it. I lack proper images or screenshots of the process since I did it as a casual thing yesterday on my own.
Do note that I made all the testing and process originally on a Steam Deck (other Linux systems might work similarly too), so steps might vary for Windows users:
  1. [Steam Deck] Download and install the Heroic Launcher and link your GOG account to it.
  2. [Other Linux distros] You can use Heroic Launcher on them, or you can use any other launcher of your liking, be it Bottles or Lutris, even plain Wine/Proton should work, just remember that you need to have DXVK 2.5.3 installed in order for this to work! (Older versions of DXVK haven't been tested, but it's possible they could work). Proton 9.0 (Beta) is known to work with RE3+HD, but you can also use Proton GE 9.25 for this.
  3. Install Resident Evil 3 (1999) from GOG/SourceNext in your system
  4. [Steam Deck] Once RE3 is installed, go to the game's "Settings", and go to the "Advanced" option. Here under environment variables, add the following:
    WINEDLLOVERRIDES="ddraw,dinput8,libwebp,xaudio2_9=n,b"
  5. [Steam Deck] If you are instead running the RE3 EXE directly on Steam as a non-Steam game, then inside Steam settings for the game add the following line under "Launch Options":
    WINEDLLOVERRIDES="ddraw,dinput8,libwebp,xaudio2_9=n,b" %command%
  6. If you're using a method that doesn't involve Steam, Lutris or Bottles, download DXVK from the official GitHub repository. read the instructions properly for its installation. If you find it too cumbersome, go with Heroic Launcher, Steam (as a non-Steam game and changing its Proton to 9.0 or GE) or Bottles to run the game. Lutris might work, but I wasn't able to get it running, but it could probably work by forcing Proton GE 9.25.
  7. In the case of using Heroic Launcher, you need to change the default Proton version to Proton 9.0 (Beta) or use a version Proton GE inside the game configuration, then the game will launch properly with SHDP. Using Proton Experimental won't work!
  8. For Bottles, refer to the following issue report on either GitHub or WineHQ to install the game properly and run it with SHDP on Linux.

  9. If you're using the GOG version of the game, you'll need to download the "Unofficial SourceNext 1.1.0 Conversion Patch for RE3 Windows 95-98" mod from NexusMods (Archived link), otherwise, skip this step. Read the instructions on how to apply it properly over your GOG installation.
  10. Download the RE3 SHDP mod
  11. Download the ZIP file attached to this post named "RE3-Linux.zip". It's very important that you download this file, as this contains the patched bio3hd.asi file that will make RE3 work properly with the HD mod!
  12. Extract the contents of the SHDP mod into the main folder of RE3 (should be a simple "hires" folder)
  13. Extract the ZIP from this post into the main folder of RE3 (the one with the main executable of the game called RE3Launcher.exe for the GOG version). It should prompt you to overwrite the files and folders, do so and overwrite all files. If you didn't get an overwrite prompt, the files were not copied in the proper folder.
  14. Inside the game's installation folder, copy both the "ddraw.dll" file and the "RE3Launcher.exe" file. Rename the copies to "ddrawR.dll" and "RE3LauncherR.exe". This just so you can have a backup of the original files and are able to launch into the original GOG release if desired later on.
  15. Download the Resident Evil 3 Classic Rebith patch, as well as the SourceNext 1.1.0 official patch.
  16. Extract both patches, and copy over the "ddraw.dll" file from the Classic Rebirth patch over to the game's installation folder (should prompt to overwrite), and for the SourceNext 1.1.0 update patch, rename the file you extract from the "bh3 1.10.zip" file from "BIOHAZARD(R) 3 PC.exe" to "RE3Launcher.exe" and copy it over to the game's installation folder and replace the existing file. Also copy over the rest of the files in the ZIP to the main folder of RE3, these being the MERCENARIES.exe and the rofs4.dat file, but rename it to Rofs4.dat with a capital R, or else you'd have a duplicate in Linux systems of said file, replace it accordingly.
  17. Once all files are copied over, try to launch the game (or through Steam if on Steam Deck). It should open up the Classic Rebirth configuration/settings window.
    Enable or disable whichever options you desire (enable "Univocal outfit names" for testing). Check the game works with Classic Rebirth installed.
    The "Force 240p Backgrounds" should always be disabled if you want the HD mods to work on Steam Deck!
  18. The game should launch properly if the setup was done correctly. Get in game, go into new game, and check if you get different names for the costumes, if you do, then you got Classic Rebirth working properly for RE3.

  19. Once the game has launched successfully with Classic Rebirth, make sure that whichever method you use to run the game has DXVK enabled, or else the HD mod (SHDP) WON'T WORK.
  20. In case you have issue with the game not opening up, or nothing happens when you launch the game, make sure you're forcing a specific Proton version, Proton GE can work for this instance, and possibly Proton Experimental or any official Proton version starting from 9, 10 or above, but these haven't been tested properly.

    This has been tested on a Steam Deck and confirmed as working by myself and others, and other Linux distro can run under the same methods.
    If you get the screen of the game in a small square at the top left of the window, then that's a clear indication that you're missing DXVK or the proper Proton version to make it work.
    For RE3 to work with HD, we require DXVK version 2.5.3. Only Proton 9.0 Beta has it, but you can also use Proton GE 9.25 in case you don't have Proton 9 installed.
Now if you want to apply other Quality of Life mods, follow these next steps:
  • For the High Quality Sound Mod by Reza Molaee or RE3 vX HD mod (with audio) by VidraXs:
    Download the package and extract all its contents into a separate folder. However, for Linux or Steam Deck users, be absolutely sure that each of the files and folders match the naming convention that the GOG installation uses, it is absolutely important that the folders and files match letter by letter, since Linux systems and the Steam Deck are case sensitive when it comes to file/folder names, and even the slightest of change in an upper or lower case letter will create a second file or folder if they don't match.
    Once you have checked/modified the files and folders and they match precisely, copy-paste the contents into the game's installation folder.

  • For the RE:Enhanced FMV pack Mod by SonicB00M:
    Download the package, extract the files and copy them over to the game's installation folder. You should be prompted to overwrite.
    Thanks to SonicBoom's recent work, the Japanese subtitles that were present in a couple of cutscenes have been properly removed, so you can enjoy the full FMVs with the best upscaling possible without any subtitles interrupting the scene.
    As far as I'm aware, this pack doesn't have any case sensitive issues for users on Linux / Steam Deck, but double check to be sure.
If setup correctly, then you will have the RE3 GOG modified to use the SourceNext EXE, with the unlockables from the GOG added into the SourceNext one by default, and also with full Classic Rebirth, HQ audio and Seamless HD Project installed into it as well for the ultimate RE3 experience.
 

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In that case I'd recommend grabbing biorand first, and then start replacing files over it. Like Classic Rebirth and then the HD specific DLL files.

One other thing, if biorand has additional DLLs compared to the ones I provide, then you most likely will need to also add those to the Wine DLL Overrides command in order for it to work properly.

Can you clarify exactly? Normally Classic Rebirth is packaged right in with Biorand and there's even a version with Seamless HD also built right into it. Did you have any specific examples/suggestions to start, including whatever files you were suggesting to replace earlier?

As far as I know, Biorand doesn't use any dll files not already needed for Classic Rebirth/Seamless HD.

Again, seems weird the vanilla version works just fine with your files but that this doesn't transfer over to the Biorand seed.
 
Can you clarify exactly? Normally Classic Rebirth is packaged right in with Biorand and there's even a version with Seamless HD also built right into it. Did you have any specific examples/suggestions to start, including whatever files you were suggesting to replace earlier?

As far as I know, Biorand doesn't use any dll files not already needed for Classic Rebirth/Seamless HD.

Again, seems weird the vanilla version works just fine with your files but that this doesn't transfer over to the Biorand seed.
Can you share a picture of your biorand setup with all the files that are present alongside the EXE file?
 
Can you share a picture of your biorand setup with all the files that are present alongside the EXE file?

Sure. I'll post a picture of the biorand setup as well as the re3 folder content, just in case.

20260106_165036.jpg
20260106_165213.jpg
 
Last edited by RagahRagah,
I think the problem might be that biorand seems to be the one calling RE3, and from what I know, biorand has launch options for either one of the three RE games.
I have never used biorand before, or any randomizer at that, never liked them, but if it works like I think it does then you might either create specific biorand launch options for one of each RE title, or, if biorand modifies the game assets, then you can try launching biorand separately and then launching RE3 on its own with the Linux-specific launch arguments.

Here's a video I found of someone running RE2 through biorand on Steam Deck, however I think he doesn't use SHDP, but you could try applying the launch options to see if it boots RE3 proper:
 
I think the problem might be that biorand seems to be the one calling RE3, and from what I know, biorand has launch options for either one of the three RE games.
I have never used biorand before, or any randomizer at that, never liked them, but if it works like I think it does then you might either create specific biorand launch options for one of each RE title, or, if biorand modifies the game assets, then you can try launching biorand separately and then launching RE3 on its own with the Linux-specific launch arguments.

Here's a video I found of someone running RE2 through biorand on Steam Deck, however I think he doesn't use SHDP, but you could try applying the launch options to see if it boots RE3 proper:


Yeah, unfortunately we're well past that. The date on this video surprises me as this info is anciently outdated. Biorand doesn't need Lutris anymore (although could it hide a key for making RE3 playable in this intance? It's possible but Lutris tech details are beyond my knowledge) and RE2 is actually the eaaiest to run of the 3, and there are actually a lot more dll overrides than what is listed here to make the games run in HD, which I do have knowldge of. The dinput8 file is the most crucial for getting to run in HD, without that override it simply won't happen in Biorand either.

But I'm hoping just by getting this out in the open (and hopefully getting some word of mouth, especially if you can out it out there) that maybe this one can be remedied someday as well. I'm reallly surprised if I'm the first one to bring it up, maybe just because not enough people know about the work you did to get this working in HD on the Deck in the first place. LMK if you think of anything else, either way I appreciate the time.
 
Yeah, unfortunately we're well past that. The date on this video surprises me as this info is anciently outdated. Biorand doesn't need Lutris anymore (although could it hide a key for making RE3 playable in this intance? It's possible but Lutris tech details are beyond my knowledge) and RE2 is actually the eaaiest to run of the 3, and there are actually a lot more dll overrides than what is listed here to make the games run in HD, which I do have knowldge of. The dinput8 file is the most crucial for getting to run in HD, without that override it simply won't happen in Biorand either.

But I'm hoping just by getting this out in the open (and hopefully getting some word of mouth, especially if you can out it out there) that maybe this one can be remedied someday as well. I'm reallly surprised if I'm the first one to bring it up, maybe just because not enough people know about the work you did to get this working in HD on the Deck in the first place. LMK if you think of anything else, either way I appreciate the time.

So out of all the RE games, only RE3 is the one that doesn't work with biorand right now?
What overrides are you using for RE2 to work with biorand? That could help knowing which might be missing from RE3.
(At some point I think dinput8 got swapped with dsound for RE3, I'd have to check).
 
So out of all the RE games, only RE3 is the one that doesn't work with biorand right now?
What overrides are you using for RE2 to work with biorand? That could help knowing which might be missing from RE3.
(At some point I think dinput8 got swapped with dsound for RE3, I'd have to check).

With Seamless HD, yes. You can use Biorand launcher just like Classic Rebirth where you can play with any other mod or the vanilla version as well. Your work on RE3 finally made playing it on Deck with SHD, but something about the way the seed is generated is treating it like it isn't.

RE1 used to have some sort of DirectX problem someone helped solve a while back and the Biorand seeds run just fine with whatever settings were used to fix it (I do remember dgvoodoo was what was used).

The full command for all the possible overrides I have been using for a long time (which you have to use for the entirety of Biorand as a single program) are as follows:

WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d9,d3dcompiler_47,ddraw,dinput8,dsound,libwebp,xaudio2_9=n,b" %command%
 
With Seamless HD, yes. You can use Biorand launcher just like Classic Rebirth where you can play with any other mod or the vanilla version as well. Your work on RE3 finally made playing it on Deck with SHD, but something about the way the seed is generated is treating it like it isn't.

RE1 used to have some sort of DirectX problem someone helped solve a while back and the Biorand seeds run just fine with whatever settings were used to fix it (I do remember dgvoodoo was what was used).

The full command for all the possible overrides I have been using for a long time (which you have to use for the entirety of Biorand as a single program) are as follows:

WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d9,d3dcompiler_47,ddraw,dinput8,dsound,libwebp,xaudio2_9=n,b" %command%
Yeah RE1 does require dgVoodoo to work with SDHP, and the overrides seem correct.
What happens exactly when you try to run RE3? Does it launch but throws an error? Or a graphical glitch?
 
Yeah RE1 does require dgVoodoo to work with SDHP, and the overrides seem correct.
What happens exactly when you try to run RE3? Does it launch but throws an error? Or a graphical glitch?

When running as the generated Biorand seed it starts exactly as it appeared before your fix: compressed to a small squared section of the screen and with lots of gameplay glitches.
 
When running as the generated Biorand seed it starts exactly as it appeared before your fix: compressed to a small squared section of the screen and with lots of gameplay glitches.
Then it's no doubt one of two things:
  1. Make sure you grabbed the bio3hd-Linux.asi, rename it to bio3hd.asi and put it in the same folder as your main RE3 EXE.
  2. You're launching the game with something that doesn't support the specific DXVK version required to make the above Linux-specific ASI work properly. I don't recall what's the specific DXVK version needed, but I know any version of Proton 9.0 has it, so try launching the game with Proton 9.0 or any Proton 9 version that your Linux distro / Steam allows, I think it was 9.0.3 or close to it.
 
Then it's no doubt one of two things:
  1. Make sure you grabbed the bio3hd-Linux.asi, rename it to bio3hd.asi and put it in the same folder as your main RE3 EXE.
  2. You're launching the game with something that doesn't support the specific DXVK version required to make the above Linux-specific ASI work properly. I don't recall what's the specific DXVK version needed, but I know any version of Proton 9.0 has it, so try launching the game with Proton 9.0 or any Proton 9 version that your Linux distro / Steam allows, I think it was 9.0.3 or close to it.

1. That has been the case from the get-go; it was the very first thing I did, which we can assume is why the vanilla game still works in Biorand, and can probably assume this is not at all the problem. But I'll also double-check.

2. This I can try and will get back to you. I believe so far I tested with Protons, Experimental and GE9 with no luck.
Post automatically merged:

Then it's no doubt one of two things:
  1. Make sure you grabbed the bio3hd-Linux.asi, rename it to bio3hd.asi and put it in the same folder as your main RE3 EXE.
  2. You're launching the game with something that doesn't support the specific DXVK version required to make the above Linux-specific ASI work properly. I don't recall what's the specific DXVK version needed, but I know any version of Proton 9.0 has it, so try launching the game with Proton 9.0 or any Proton 9 version that your Linux distro / Steam allows, I think it was 9.0.3 or close to it.

Sorry but after rereading this, I'm a little bit confused.

1. I actually misread this initially. With the setup I had all I needed to do was download your zip folder that had the four files, and that was all I needed to get RE3HD running. And as I've indicated, it's still does as long as I'm just playing the vanilla game, but for some reason the files aren't doing anything for the Biorand seed. But this time you mentioned a Linux file to rename; the folder you provided doesn't have a file that needs to be renamed and I didn't see another download so I'm actually not sure what file you're referring me to download or where to get it from at the moment. Sorry if I missed it.

2. The method I went though didn't require the DVX stuff and The aforementioned vanilla version that I added your files to has always been working just fine with various versions of proton (I mainly use 10.03, GE 9.25 and Experimental). Ironically, at the moment I just tested the one you just recommended here (the 9.0) and it is the only one that Steam is actually telling me is failing as a compatibility tool (No version I have ever selected has ever failed to my recollection).

I don't know if this helps but I should probably mention that Resident Evil 3 is the only one that while I'm playing in Game mode, I actually have to use my finger on the touch screen to start the game because the cursor refuses to stay where I move it and always immediately restarts back at the top, when trying to move over different options and configure them. Might help to mention.
 
Last edited by RagahRagah,
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Sorry but after rereading this, I'm a little bit confused.

1. I actually misread this initially. With the setup I had all I needed to do was download your zip folder that had the four files, and that was all I needed to get RE3HD running. And as I've indicated, it's still does as long as I'm just playing the vanilla game, but for some reason the files aren't doing anything for the Biorand seed. But this time you mentioned a Linux file to rename; the folder you provided doesn't have a file that needs to be renamed and I didn't see another download so I'm actually not sure what file you're referring me to download or where to get it from at the moment. Sorry if I missed it.

2. The method I went though didn't require the DVX stuff and The aforementioned vanilla version that I added your files to has always been working just fine with various versions of proton (I mainly use 10.03, GE 9.25 and Experimental). Ironically, at the moment I just tested the one you just recommended here (the 9.0) and it is the only one that Steam is actually telling me is failing as a compatibility tool (No version I have ever selected has ever failed to my recollection).

I don't know if this helps but I should probably mention that Resident Evil 3 is the only one that while I'm playing in Game mode, I actually have to use my finger on the touch screen to start the game because the cursor refuses to stay where I move it and always immediately restarts back at the top, when trying to move over different options and configure them. Might help to mention.

1. Ah sorry, I was confused, since I do have an All-In-One pack where I have it named that way, but I also provide the Windows ASI. In the ZIP from the OP in here, the .asi file is the Linux one from the get-go, sorry about the confusion. The one from the ZIP is the right one to have for Linux, so we know for sure that's not the problem. IEven so, if you can, check the MD5 checksum of the ASI file, it should start with 07 to confirm it's the correct one.

2. So you were able to run the standalone RE3 HD with Proton 10, Proton Experiment and even some other versions of GE with it? From my tests a week ago, I only got it to work properly with Proton 9.0, any other Proton version, including 10 and Experimental, and none of them worked, they always showed the small window on the corner. For what it's worth, I run all the RE games through Heroic Launcher, since I got all of them from GOG. Maybe that could be an issue with compatibility somewhere.
 
1. Ah sorry, I was confused, since I do have an All-In-One pack where I have it named that way, but I also provide the Windows ASI. In the ZIP from the OP in here, the .asi file is the Linux one from the get-go, sorry about the confusion. The one from the ZIP is the right one to have for Linux, so we know for sure that's not the problem. IEven so, if you can, check the MD5 checksum of the ASI file, it should start with 07 to confirm it's the correct one.

2. So you were able to run the standalone RE3 HD with Proton 10, Proton Experiment and even some other versions of GE with it? From my tests a week ago, I only got it to work properly with Proton 9.0, any other Proton version, including 10 and Experimental, and none of them worked, they always showed the small window on the corner. For what it's worth, I run all the RE games through Heroic Launcher, since I got all of them from GOG. Maybe that could be an issue with compatibility somewhere.

So here is the interesting thing. No version of Proton got it running right. But get this: since I happen to like certain features of certain versions, I applied your patches to an older version of Biorand I still had and surprisingly it works!

Looking at the differences, There is no difference between the files in the RE3 folder for either version I have. The main Biorand folder, however, has differences. The one that works for some reason has an issue with the input (the second xinput column is greyed out in the launcher) and I can't skip cutscenes, but other than that the game works fine. (Maybe we can figure that issue out at another time)

So maybe this will help you! Here is the outdated (working) version main folder and the updated (not working) version main folder attached as labelled pics.


Make of this what you will, lol.
 

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So here is the interesting thing. No version of Proton got it running right. But get this: since I happen to like certain features of certain versions, I applied your patches to an older version of Biorand I still had and surprisingly it works!

Looking at the differences, There is no difference between the files in the RE3 folder for either version I have. The main Biorand folder, however, has differences. The one that works for some reason has an issue with the input (the second xinput column is greyed out in the launcher) and I can't skip cutscenes, but other than that the game works fine. (Maybe we can figure that issue out at another time)

So maybe this will help you! Here is the outdated (working) version main folder and the updated (not working) version main folder attached as labelled pics.


Make of this what you will, lol.

Oh what, so an older version of biorand worked just fine with the setup we were struggling with?
That's awful, then it's gotta be something on biorand's side, or maybe an issue with one of the DLLs related to inputs. Possibly dinput8, check if biorand is somehow using a dinput DLL somewhere, and if it does, then try renaming the dinput8 from RE3 (since that's the one that loads the HD stuff) to something else that's not being used, like dsound or something, and change the overrides to also reflect this by changing dinpu8 to dsound if you do the DLL renaming.
 
Oh what, so an older version of biorand worked just fine with the setup we were struggling with?
That's awful, then it's gotta be something on biorand's side, or maybe an issue with one of the DLLs related to inputs. Possibly dinput8, check if biorand is somehow using a dinput DLL somewhere, and if it does, then try renaming the dinput8 from RE3 (since that's the one that loads the HD stuff) to something else that's not being used, like dsound or something, and change the overrides to also reflect this by changing dinpu8 to dsound if you do the DLL renaming.

Yes. Tried multiple times today on the newest version to rewrite the files again with yours and keep thinking I've got it as the graphics work! But the game keeps crashing after gaining control and playing briefly and I have no idea why.

Not understanding what you're suggesting. I should try renaming some of the files?
 
Yes. Tried multiple times today on the newest version to rewrite the files again with yours and keep thinking I've got it as the graphics work! But the game keeps crashing after gaining control and playing briefly and I have no idea why.

Not understanding what you're suggesting. I should try renaming some of the files?
Yeah try doing that.
On Linux, files are case-sensitive, unlike Windows, so the files from my pack should match 1:1 in uppercase and lowercase with those from the original.
Also, make sure that you're not missing files from the original game, as crashes most likely are caused due to missing files from the SourceNext files.
 
Yeah try doing that.
On Linux, files are case-sensitive, unlike Windows, so the files from my pack should match 1:1 in uppercase and lowercase with those from the original.
Also, make sure that you're not missing files from the original game, as crashes most likely are caused due to missing files from the SourceNext files.

I'm thinking it was maybe a loose file. I decided to start from scratch and create a fresh batch from the the previous version and use the latest update and replace with your files. As of now it is working with bo problem! I'm thinking it just might have to do with the order of operations. Sorry for the time spent with this; I appreciate your help and all your work on this, and it feels really good to be be able to badically play everything RE in HD on the Deck now.
 
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I'm thinking it was maybe a loose file. I decided to start from scratch and create a fresh batch from the the previous version and use the latest update and replace with your files. As of now it is working with bo problem! I'm thinking it just might have to do with the order of operations. Sorry for the time spent with this; I appreciate your help and all your work on this, and it feels really good to be be able to badically play everything RE in HD on the Deck now.
Glad you got it working!
Enjoy the best version of RE3 :D
 
i followed this guide but the game has a weird bug where it is loacated on the upper left corner. it is in full screen but the game is in a tiny little window while they rest of the display is black
2026-04-07_18-36.png
 
Last edited by Anzhunoob,
i followed this guide but the game has a weird bug where it is loacated on the upper left corner. it is in full screen but the game is in a tiny little window while they rest of the display is blackView attachment 566830
You need the custom bio3hd asi file for Linux.
Also, make sure you're using Proton GE 9.25 as that one has the exact dxvk version required for it to work.
 

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