Please Note: This is copied from Reddit's r/TheSims2Help's Playing on Linux Wiki page. Any linked headings will be linked back to the Reddit Wiki. In line links should denote where they go (reddit, lemmy, tumbler) anything not mentioned is probably another off reddit guide or .exe file. Most if not all content contained below was created by the Reddit r/Sims2Help team and all credit for this guide goes to them.

Part two can be found here: Linux (continued): Lutris & Wine

1. Options and Obtaining the Game

::: spoiler 1.1) Notes

Bottles is a user-friendly manager for Wine that lets you create isolated environments called bottles and auto installs the dependencies such as DXVK.
Lutris is a game launcher which supports Wine and Proton as well as Native Linux games. You can use install scripts (.yaml) or install directly from a setup executable
Steam is a store and a launcher that uses Proton automatically for Windows games, it tries to handle everything for you behind the scenes
- Proton is a custom version of Wine made by Valve (Owner of Steam)
Wine translates Windows API calls to the Linux equivalent so you can run Windows executable files (.exe)

I will detail installing the game, both with and without the EA App, and running the programs BodyShop, Clean Installer, SimPE, and Hoodchecker for each of the 4 options above.

In terms of ease of install, if you have a Steam account or are willing to create one or are using a Steam Deck, then Steam is an extremely easy method to get the game and all associated programs running on Linux. You do not need to purchase the game on Steam for this method to work, you can use a downloaded version of the game (such as the UC download linked in the Download TS2 section of our wiki.

If you don’t want to use Steam, Bottles and Lutris are both very easy methods to set up the game. Lutris may require more fiddling to figure out the correct dependencies for some programs outside the game itself and I also experienced more errors with it (for example, winetricks continuously refused to open after being opened and closed once, saying it was still running but not actually showing up!). However, Lutris does have a nice UI and is integrated with other game stores so you may prefer to use it, and the game itself works perfectly with it.

Wine by itself is the most awkward and least recommended method for running the game on Linux. While it is possible to get the game running this way, it requires the most management and handling of dependencies of all the methods.

Regardless of which method you chose, you will be able to play the game and use the 4 mentioned programs with it, though your install experience may vary slightly depending on your distro. These instructions were written with Ubuntu in mind though equivalent commands for other distros can be easily found online. :::

::: spoiler 1.2) Steam Deck

If you're looking to run Sims 2 on a Steamdeck you can check out this video tutorial on Youtube. :::

::: spoiler 1.3) Prerequisites

- GPU Drivers

Before starting, make sure you have the correct drivers for your GPU. How to do this depends on which distro you're using - if you search "download [AMD|Intel|Nvidia] drivers for [distro]" you should find helpful information on this. This GitHub repo provides the required commands to get the drivers for many distros and this repository also offers the proprietary GPU drivers for Nvidia.

- Getting the Game

You can download the Sims 2 Ultimate Collection using the link in the Download TS2 section of the wiki. You will need a torrent client to download the game - Deluge and qBittorrent are both available on Linux as well so you can use the same torrrent client links from that section to get one for your distro. Once the game is downloaded, extract the rar archive and then you are ready to proceed with installing using one of the options below.

You can also use the UC from the EA App or the Legacy Collection from the EA App or Steam, or any other repack. You just need to have the games files and/or a setup installer. :::

2. Installing TS2 via Steam

::: spoiler 2.1) Install as a non-Steam Game

Install Steam and run it.
Click Games tab at top and Add a non-Steam game to my Library.
Click browse in the bottom left of the window, navigate to where you have the Sims 2 Repack setup exe and select it.
Click add selected programs.
Go to your Library tab and right click on the newly added exe, click properties.
Click compatibility tab, check the force box and select Proton Experimental from the dropdown -> you may want to try Proton GE if you're having issues.
Close properties window and click Play button in Steam.
Steam may need to download some dependencies for Proton Experimental or whichever you chose, wait until it's finished and then the Sims 2 Installer will appear.
Click through the install (Default options are fine) and once the install completes, close the installer.
Next you need to locate where the prefix is stored. Use the command find ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata -type f -iname "Sims2RPC.exe" 2>/dev/null to get the exact path to the Sims2RPC.exe (you can also use Sims2EP9.exe in the command instead if not using RPC). Prefixes are typically created under ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/<appid>/pfx/
Right click on the exe in your steam library again. Click properties and paste in the path you just got from the command in the Target box. Ensure you keep the quotation marks around it or it will fail to launch. The path will look like "/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2772910551/pfx/drive_c/MagiPacks/The Sims 2/Fun with Pets/SP9/TSBin/Sims2EP9.exe" (set to Sims2RPC.exe instead of Sims2EP9.exe to use RPC). In the "Start in" box, paste the exact same path up to the TSBin, i.e. "/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2772910551/pfx/drive_c/MagiPacks/The Sims 2/Fun with Pets/SP9/TSBin".
Close properties and press Play in Steam; the game should now launch normally.
You can rename the game in your library in properties under Shortcut in the top box (e.g. change the name The Sims 2_Repack_v5_Setup.exe to The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection). You can also change the icon used here by clicking the black box to the left of the text. Under the Customisation tab you can further modify the artwork so the game looks like a regular game in your library.
To run in windowed mode, open properties for the game in Steam and add -w in the launch options box. Or you can run RPCSettings.exe (by changing the Target to this exe) and change to windowed mode in there. You can also modify other settings in here. After saving, you can revert back to using the regular Sims2RPC.exe in the target so that you don't have to go through settings every time.
Once you've located the game the first time, you can click the Browse button from then on if you prefer to select in a GUI rather than typing the path. However, it's important to note that if you do this, it will NOT include quotation marks around the target or "start in" box so the game/program will fail to launch. Make sure to add back quotation marks around the entire path (i.e. target should start and end with it) - this is always required where a path or argument to a program contains spaces. :::

::: spoiler 2.2) Install Legacy Collection Purchased from Steam

I don't own the Legacy Collection on Steam, however, the install should be straight forward as you are basically skipping the install steps. You possibly still need to change the Proton version by following steps 5 and 6 above. :::

::: spoiler 2.3) Install using EA App via Steam

Download Windows EA App installer.
Add EA app installer as a non-Steam game (click browse, locate + add the executable, same steps 2 - 4 as above).
Change Proton version to experimental (might have to select it twice in the drop down, I found it reverted to another version the first selection every time) - follow steps 5 and 6 above to do this.
Press play in steam and EA app installer will run; click through the install.
Once installed, it shows the EA App log in screen. Log in and you'll see your normal EA app library
Close EA app / press blue stop button in Steam.
Right click on the EA App in Steam, click properties and change target to "/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/4007406707/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts/EA Desktop/13.680.0.6193/EA Desktop/EADesktop.exe" (click browse for the right file as your prefix number in compatdata will be different). Make sure to add quotation marks at start and end due to spaces in the path. For "start in" change to "/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/4007406707/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts/EA Desktop/13.680.0.6193/EA Desktop" (i.e. the same as the Target but without the exe at the end). Again be sure to include quotation marks.
Press the blue play button on EA App in Steam again & wait for it to open.
Locate Sims 2 in your library and install it.
Press play and you can play as normal. If it freezes during launch just kill it with Steam blue stop button and launch again - this happened occasionally but the game was fine once opened.
If you want to have a separate entry for the Sims 2 so you don't have to launch EA app first, click add non steam game, browse to the Sims 2 install location inside the prefix which will look this assuming you kept the default install location for the game: "/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/4007406707/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/EA Games/The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection/Fun with Pets/SP9/TSBin/Sims2EP9.exe" and set target and start in values as explained above - don't forget quotation marks (selecting via Browse will not add them).
Click Properties on the new Sims 2 entry in Steam, select Force Proton and use the same version as you used for the EA app. Add this for launch options in Shortcut tab which sets the same prefix as EA app (make sure you use your actual path with your username and prefix id under compatdata). STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/4007406707" %command%
Press the blue play button to launch the game - it'll take a few seconds as it still has to launch the EA app first. You can use a noCD/cracked exe to avoid the EA App having to run, and you can also use RPC this way.

Note that the EA App prefix may break when the app updates. You'll likely need to reinstall it if this happens. :::

::: spoiler 2.4) Troubleshooting / View Logs If you're having issues getting the game to install or run via Steam, add PROTON_LOG=1 %command% to the launch options and when you press start, ~/steam-.log will be created in home to help with debugging. :::

3. Steam: Running Related Programs.

::: spoiler 3.1) Intro To run any Sims 2 related program with the game installed via Steam, you have to run the program inside the same prefix. The program will launch much like on Windows. There are some more detailed instructions for several common programs below, but these instructions are generally applicable to running any Sims 2 related program. Note that some other programs may require you to install additional dependencies in the prefix.

There are 2 ways to run related programs in Steam. You can either change the 'Start In' and 'Target' properties for The Sims 2 entry in Steam each time you want to run another program, or you can create different entries in Steam for each program (e.g. The Sims 2, SimPE, BodyShop will all show as separate games in the library) using a special launch option which allows you to avoid changing the properties every time you want to run another program. :::

::: spoiler 3.2) Other Programs in same prefix with separate Steam entry

In Steam, click Games tab at top and Add a non-Steam game to my Library.
Click browse in the bottom left of the window, navigate to where you have the program's exe and select it.
Click add selected programs.
Go to your Library tab and right click on the newly added exe, click properties.
Add this to launch options, making sure that you use the actual path to your prefix ID for the Sims 2 (or the EA App if using it) STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH=~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/<ID> %command% e.g. STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2772910551" %command%. By default, Steam will create a new compatdata folder for this new shortcut which you don’t want to use because the program needs access to the Sims 2 files. This launch option allows that to happen.
Click compatibility tab, check the force box and select the same Proton version as you use for the Sims 2 (or the EA App if using that).
Close properties window and click Play button in Steam to launch the program.

Note the paths for the program in target and start in do not have to be inside the prefix folder but can still run within the prefix and access the files in there as long as the launch option is set. :::

::: spoiler 3.3) BodyShop You can follow the instructions above to create a separate Steam entry for BodyShop. Or you can right click on The Sims 2 game (or EA App) in Steam, click Properties and change Target to the path for CSBin/BodyShopLauncher.exe (or CSBin/TS2BodyShop.exe) instead of TSBin/Sims2EP9.exe and change Start In to the path up to CSBin. :::

::: spoiler 3.4) Hoodchecker Download the Hoodchecker and extract it from the zip archive, which will result in a folder containing the HoodChecker.exe.

You can follow the instructions above to create a separate Steam entry for Hoodchecker. Or you can right click on The Sims 2 game (or EA App) in Steam, click Properties and change Target to the path for Hoodchecker, which will look like "/home/<user-name>/Downloads/MTS_Mootilda_1236080_HoodChecker/HoodChecker.exe" and start in "/home/<user-name>/Downloads/MTS_Mootilda_1236080_HoodChecker". Then press the blue play button to run the program. :::

::: spoiler 3.5) SimPE Download SimPE - I recommend using the no-install version, i.e. the download without Installer in the name, in this case SimPe_0_77_69.zip. Unzip it and you’ll see the SimPE.exe file inside the folder.

You can follow the instructions above to create a separate Steam entry for SimPE. Or you can right click on The Sims 2 game (or EA App) in Steam, click Properties and change Target to the path for Hoodchecker, which will look like "/home/<user-name>/Downloads/SimPe_0_77_69/SimPe.exe" and start in "/home/<user-name>/Downloads/SimPe_0_77_69". Then press the blue play button to run the program. Note that you need to right click instead of left click on resources in the top right tree in order to see them in the plugin view below. :::

::: spoiler 3.6) Clean installer Download the Sims2Pack Clean Installer - I recommend using the no-install version, i.e. the download called Sims2PackInstaller_NoInstall.zip. Unzip it and you’ll see the Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe inside the folder.

You can follow the instructions above to create a separate Steam entry for Clean Installer. Or you can right click on The Sims 2 game (or EA App) in Steam, click Properties and change Target to the path for Hoodchecker, which will look like "/home/<user-name>/Downloads/MTS_Mootilda_1164470_Sims2PackInstaller_NoInstall/Sims2Pack Clean Installer/Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe" and start in "/home/<user-name>/Downloads/MTS_Mootilda_1164470_Sims2PackInstaller_NoInstall/Sims2Pack Clean Installer". Then press the blue play button to run the program.

Note that this not how you install sims2pack files, the program does not function this way on any OS which many players find confusing. To install a sims2pack file, you have to "open with" the Clean Installer. On Windows that's done via the 'open with' context menu option or by setting up a file association so you can double click the sims2pack file to install with the Clean Pack installer automatically.

How to do this on Linux is detailed below. :::

::: spoiler 3.7) Installing .sims2pack files by double clicking In terminal, run the commands

cd  /home/<user-name>/.local/share/applications/
nano CleanInstaller.desktop

Copy and paste the following into the file - make sure that you enter your actual user name wherever <user-name> is used, and make sure to change the Proton version used if yours is not Proton - Experimental. Also make sure that the ID under compatdata in the path is set to the actual prefix ID you have for the game.

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=CleanInstaller
Exec=env WINEPREFIX="/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/4007406707/pfx" "/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Proton - Experimental/files/bin/wine" "/home/<user-name>/Downloads/MTS_Mootilda_1164470_Sims2PackInstaller_NoInstall/Sims2Pack Clean Installer/Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe" %U
MimeType=application/x-Sims2Pack;
Categories=Game;

You may need to make the file executable for it to show up in the context menu

chmod +x /home/<user-name>/.local/share/applications/CleanInstaller.desktop

You can now right click on a .sims2pack, choose "Open with" and select "CleanInstaller" in the window that pops up (note that my example image has a bunch of these because I created one for each Linux install method! You only need one) - make sure to click the toggle at the bottom to "always use for this file type" which will then allow you to double click to install sims2pack files in future. Neither the Clean Installer itself nor the .sims2pack files need to be located within the prefix itself with this method. :::

::: spoiler 3.8) Clean Installer Launch Options If you want to pass arguments to clean installer such as an individual .sims2pack file or a folder using -f, make sure to use the Windows-absolute path rather than Linux or it will not work when using the STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH argument.

For example, use

STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2772910551" %command% -f C:/Sims2Tools/lots

STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2772910551" %command% -f C:\\Sims2Tools\\lots

but not

STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2772910551" %command% -f "/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2772910551/pfx/drive_c/Sims2Tools/lots"

STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/<user-name>/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2772910551" %command% -f /home/<user-name>/Downloads/Sims2Tools/lots" because you will get a Sims2Pack Clean Installer Error "There is nothing in this folder to install". :::

4. Installing via Bottles

::: spoiler 4.1) Installing Bottles on Ubuntu Use the commands

sudo apt install flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub com.usebottles.bottles

You'll see this during install:

"Note that the directories '/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share' '/home/<user-name>/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share' are not in the search path set by the XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable, so applications installed by Flatpak may not appear on your desktop until the session is restarted."

To start it after install use flatpak run com.usebottles.bottles or log out and log back in (note this will close all your open apps) if you want to access it from the apps menu by searching Bottles (it will be available this way after that first time you log back in). :::

::: spoiler 4.2) Install TS2 via Bottles

When Bottles opens, it'll install some dependencies on first launch such as DXVK. Wait until it finishes then click Bottles tab at the top and click Create New Bottle.
Name it The Sims 2 (or whatever you want) and select Gaming as the profile so it's optimised for games. Leave runner as default, soda-9.0-1 at time of writing. You can leave the Bottle directory on default or change it if you want to store the bottle's data (which will include the game's install + save folder, where you put mods/hoods/etc.) somewhere else. Then click create and wait for it to be ready.
Once the bottle is ready, click on it and it will show you the details of the bottle.
Click Browse button beside Browse C:/ drive. Drag the The_Sims_2_Repack_v5 folder (extracted not the rar archive) from wherever you downloaded it to into the bottle's drive - this is important as the installer will not run if located outside the bottle.
Click run executable back on the Bottles app. In the window that appears, double click drive_c, then double click The_Sims_2_Repack_v5 and finally select the The Sims2_Repack_v5_Setup.exe + click run.
This will bring up the installer just like in Windows - note that the installer will not appear if you do not move the repack folder into the Bottle as in step 5 above (i.e. you cannot run the installer from outside the Bottle).
Click through the installer - don't select DXVK or GRM as these are not required.
Once installed, you should be able to just click the play button beside Sims2RPC to launch.
If you want to add a shortcut to the other executables in Bottles such as RPC Settings or BodyShop, click Add Shortcuts back in Bottles and navigate to /home/<user-name>/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/the-sims-2/drive_c/MagiPacks/The Sims 2/Fun with Pets/SP9/TSBin and select Sims2RPCSettings.exe. Use Sims2RPCSettings if you want to change windowed mode or modify other settings.
You can repeat step 10 to add shorcuts for the non RPC exe (Sims2EP9.exe or Sims2EP9RPC.exe) and BodyShop (instead of TSBin, it's in CSBin and the exe is either TS2BodyShop.exe or BodyShopLauncher.exe if you installed the widescreen launcher for BodyShop, which also comes as part of the MagiPack repack. If you have both of these executables you should use the launcher one as it makes some changes to the UI for wide screen which may not work well with the regular launcher). Note that BodyShop can take some time to launch and this is normal, even on Windows. :::

::: spoiler 4.3) Install TS2 via Bottles using the EA App

When Bottles opens, it'll install some dependencies on first launch such as DXVK. Wait until it finishes then click the hamburger menu in the top left and click Preferences.
Click Runners tab and install ge-proton10-34 (image shows wine-ge-proton8-26 installing but you actually need 10-34). Feel free to try other versions. At the time of writing, the EA App would not work with soda-9.0-1 and wine-ge-proton8-26 (it either failed to install or lunch). It would launch with the sys wine runner but the Sims 2 then would not launch with that runner. Wait for the runner to install and then close preferences.
Click Bottles tab at the top and click Create New Bottle.
Name it EA App (or whatever you want) and select Gaming as the profile so it's optimised for games. Select ge-proton10-34 as the runner. You can leave the Bottle directory on default or change it if you want to store the bottle's data (which will include the game's install + save folder, where you put mods/hoods/etc.) somewhere else. Then click create and wait for it to be ready.
Once the bottle is ready, click on it and it will show you the details of the bottle. Click Intall Programs under the Programs section and click Install beside EA Launcher.
This will bring up the EA App Installer. Complete the install and login to the EA App when it's finished.
Locate The Sims 2 in your library and click install.
Once the game is installed, you can click play in the EA app and it will run as normal.
If you want to add a shortcut to the game in Bottles to avoid manually launching the EA App each time you play, click Add Shortcuts back in Bottles and navigate to /home/<user-name>/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/EA-App/drive_c/Program Files/EA Games/The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection/Fun with Pets/SP9/TSBin and select Sims2EP9.exe.
You can repeat step 9 to add a shorcut for BodyShop but instead of TSBin, it's in CSBin and the exe is either TS2BodyShop.exe or BodyShopLauncher.exe if you installed the widescreen launcher for BodyShop. If you have both of these executables you should use the launcher one as it makes some changes to the UI for wide screen which may not work well with the regular launcher.
You can click the 3 dots beside the Sims2EP9, select 'Change Launch Options' and add -w in command arguments to run the game in windowed mode. :::

::: spoiler 4.4) General Notes Under Options/Settings, make sure discrete graphics is enabled so the game can use your dedicated GPU.

I left my bottle using Windows 10 but it'd probably be the same for Windows 11. :::

5. Bottles: Running Related Programs

::: spoiler 5.1) Intro To run any Sims 2 related program with the game installed via Bottles, you have to run the program inside the same Bottles which translates to copying the program's folder to the C drive in the bottle. This will be at a location like /home/<user-name>/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/the-sims-2/drive_c/ where "the-sims-2" is the name of the bottle in lower case with spaces replaced by hyphens.

Once the program is in there, you can click "Add a Shortcut" in Bottles to add shortcuts to the executables so you don't have to locate the program each time you want to run it.

Note that I used the no install versions for all programs demonstrated here, the installer versions may work differently. :::

::: spoiler 5.2) BodyShop How to make a shortcut for BodyShop is explained in step 10 of the install instructions. There's no special handling for BodyShop as the program is already part of the game's files so it is already in the Bottle's C drive. :::

::: spoiler 5.3) Hoodchecker Download the Hoodchecker and extract it from the zip archive, which will result in a folder containing the HoodChecker.exe. Move/copy this folder to the C drive of the bottle which looks like /home/<user-name>/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/the-sims-2/drive_c/ - you can put it in a subfolder in here if you prefer or just leave it in drive_c, it doesn't matter.

In Bottles, click the Run Executable button in the Sims 2 bottle and navigate to the folder containing Hoodchecker.exe in drive_c. Select this executable to run the program just like on Windows. Use the "Add a shortcut" option in Bottles to avoid having to find this executable each time you want to use it. :::

::: spoiler 5.4) SimPE Download SimPE - I recommend using the no-install version, i.e. the download without Installer in the name, in this case SimPe_0_77_69.zip. Unzip it and you’ll see the SimPE.exe file inside the folder.

In Bottles, click the Run Executable button in the Sims 2 bottle and navigate to the folder containing SimPE.exe in drive_c. Select this executable to run the program just like on Windows. Use the "Add a shortcut" option in Bottles to avoid having to find this executable each time you want to use it.

Note that for some reason, Plugin view will show as empty unless you middle or right click the resource (instead of left click like on Windows). :::

::: spoiler 5.5) Clean installer Download the Sims2Pack Clean Installer - I recommend using the no-install version, i.e. the download called Sims2PackInstaller_NoInstall.zip. Unzip it and you’ll see the Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe inside the folder.

Update the save game path for the program by opening the S2PCI.ini file in this folder and modifying the SaveGamePath like so:

SaveGamePath="/home/<user-name>/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/the-sims-2/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2""

Make sure to actually put in your user name, bottle name, and that the save game folder is correct (The Sims 2 is correct for the MagiPack repack).

In Bottles, click the Run Executable button in the Sims 2 bottle and navigate to the folder containing Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe in drive_c. Select this executable to run the program just like on Windows. Use the "Add a shortcut" option in Bottles to avoid having to find this executable each time you want to use it.

How to do this on Linux is detailed below. :::

::: spoiler 5.6) Installing .sims2pack files by double clicking In terminal, run the commands below one at a time, pressing enter in between each one. Make sure that you enter your actual user name wherever <user-name> is used.

cd  /home/<user-name>/.local/share/applications/

nano CleanInstaller.desktop

Copy and paste the following into the file - make sure that you enter your actual user name wherever <user-name> is used, and make sure to change the bottle name if yours is not the-sims-2. Also note you probably need to use a different command under exec if you didn't install bottles via flatpak.

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=CleanInstaller
Exec=flatpak run --command=bash com.usebottles.bottles -c 'wine "/home/<user-name>/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/the-sims-2/drive_c/MTS_Mootilda_1164470_Sims2PackInstaller_NoInstall/Sims2Pack Clean Installer/Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe" "$@"' dummy %U
Terminal=false
Categories=Game;
MimeType=application/x-sims2pack;

You may need to make the file executable for it to show up in the context menu

chmod +x /home/<user-name>/.local/share/applications/CleanInstaller.desktop

However, with Bottles the file must be in the Bottle (i.e. put it somewhere in/under the drive_c folder) for double click install to work with this method. :::

::: spoiler 5.7) Limitations with the EA App / TM Symbol in the proper UC If you install the game via the EA App, double click to 'open with' for Clean Installer works fine (though clean installer and any sims2pack files must be physically inside drive_c prefix of the EA App) with one issue if you're using the Ultimate Collection. The UC from the EA App contains a TM symbol in the name and there's no way to get the Clean Installer to recognise this folder via Bottles.

On Windows, Clean Installer auto finds the correct UC folder with hardcoded TM symbol but on Linux, the folder it defaults to is incorrect and is just The Sims 2. When you set the correct folder with TM symbol "/home/<user-name>/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/EA-App/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/EA Games/The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection" the symbol will show up incorrectly in the app and so it will install in a different folder under EA Games with the messed up name (The Simsâ„¢ 2 Ultimate Collection).

You can copy the files to the correct Teleport folder under the UC folder with the TM but you would have to do this every time you install files via the Clean Installer. To resolve this permanently you can remove the TM symbol from the registry in the prefix. In Bottles with EA App bottle open, scroll down to Tools section and click Registry Editor, then follow comment #8 in this thread to remove the TM symbol. :::

-> Continue to Part 2, Linux: Lutris & Wine ->

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Playing TS2 On Linux: Steam & Bottles [Wiki]