About
Fallout 2 by Black Isle Studios (1998) expands on the original with a larger
world, deeper reactivity, more companions, and a darker comedic tone. Set 80 years
after Fallout 1, you play the Chosen One seeking the Garden of Eden Creation Kit to
save your village. The Restoration Project Unofficial (RPU) mod is the definitive
version, restoring cut content and fixing bugs. Runs well on Steam Deck via Proton —
launch fallout2.exe, force the bundled ddraw.dll override, and set SingleCore=0 to
avoid Proton slowdowns. No Proton version lock required.
Identity
Launch
- Binary
- fallout2.exe
- Options
- WINEDLLOVERRIDES="ddraw.dll=n,b" %command%
- Needs files
- none beyond the binary
Proton
- Version
- GE-Proton
- Winetricks
- —
- ProtonDB
- ProtonDB Gold runs perfectly after tweaks
⚙ Setup notes
Launch executable
Launch fallout2.exe (NOT fallout2HR.exe / the "fallout2 launcher" wrapper). On the
Steam release the High-Res patch and the sfall engine patch are already bundled; the
GOG release ships sfall as well. ProtonDB reports the game as Gold / very playable
once the ddraw override and the SingleCore fix below are applied.
CRITICAL: ddraw.dll override (do not skip)
sfall and the Restoration Project both inject through a bundled ddraw.dll in the game
folder. Proton's built-in ddraw will shadow it unless you force the native one. Set
this launch option (already pre-filled in this recipe):
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="ddraw.dll=n,b" %command%
Without it, sfall/RPU and the high-resolution patch will NOT load and the game may
crash or run at the wrong resolution. (Per the RPU official Linux install docs.)
CRITICAL: fix the world-map / New Reno slowdown
By default sfall sets SingleCore=1, which is correct on Windows but causes severe
slowdowns under Proton (world map crawls; some areas like New Reno can drop toward
1 fps). Edit ddraw.ini in the game directory and change:
SingleCore=1 -> SingleCore=0
Optionally also set ProcessorIdle=1. This is the single most important performance
tweak on Deck.
Proton version
No hard version lock (unlike Fallout 1). GE-Proton latest or recent Valve Proton both
work. Fallout 1's invisible-cursor bug does not affect Fallout 2.
Restoration Project Unofficial (RPU) — Highly Recommended
RPU restores cut content, fixes hundreds of bugs, bundles an up-to-date sfall + the
high-res patch, and is widely considered the definitive way to play Fallout 2.
- Project: https://github.com/BGforgeNet/Fallout2_Restoration_Project
- Must be installed on a CLEAN/vanilla copy, then start a NEW game.
- Windows/GOG install: download rpu_v*.exe from Releases and point it at the game dir.
- Linux/Deck install: download rpu_v*.zip, extract it into the (lowercased) game dir,
then run rpu-install.sh. The same ddraw.dll override above is required for it to apply.
- Tune resolution/brightness etc. in the resulting ddraw.ini / mods/rpu.ini.
Resolution
The high-res patch / sfall lets you set a native Deck resolution. Either pick it in the
in-game options or set resolution in ddraw.ini (e.g. 1280x800 for the Deck LCD).
Controller
Fallout 2 has no native gamepad support — it is mouse-and-keyboard. Use Steam Input:
map the right trackpad as a precision mouse, right trackpad click = left mouse button,
and bind the keyboard actions you need. Community "Fallout 2" layouts exist in Steam.
Performance / battery
Tiny system requirements; once SingleCore=0 is set it runs smoothly with low TDP and
gets long battery life.
Known quirks
- Intro movies may stutter or fail on some Proton versions; press Escape to skip.
- If the window is the wrong size, adjust resolution in ddraw.ini.
- Auto-saves are infrequent — quick-save often.
The one thing to know
- Launch fallout2.exe (not the fallout2HR launcher wrapper).
- REQUIRED launch option: WINEDLLOVERRIDES="ddraw.dll=n,b" %command% — otherwise sfall / the
high-res patch / RPU will not load and the game may crash or use the wrong resolution.
- REQUIRED perf fix: edit ddraw.ini and set SingleCore=0 (default 1 causes severe Proton
slowdowns, e.g. world map and New Reno crawling toward 1 fps).
- No Proton version lock needed (unlike Fallout 1); GE-Proton latest works fine.
- RPU mod is strongly recommended but optional: it installs via rpu_v*.exe (Windows/GOG) or
rpu-install.sh after extracting rpu_v*.zip (Linux/Deck); install on a clean copy + start a new game.
- No native controller support; configure right trackpad as mouse via Steam Input.
- Intro videos may stutter — press Escape to skip safely.
- Save frequently; the engine does not auto-save often.
Community guides
Write-ups and threads from people who got this (or a similar) game running. deckport links to them — it doesn't reproduce them.
Get the artwork
deckport never hosts game images. Open this game on SteamGridDB, pick
the cover / hero / logo / icon you like, and drop them into the
game folder under .deckport-art/ before you push it to the
Deck. The importer files them under the right names automatically.
Run it on your Deck
Two files: the one-time importer (deckport.py) in your
Deck's home folder, and this game's install helper. Copy the game
into ~/Games and run the helper with Steam closed — it
writes the recipe (binary, launch options, Proton version)
and registers the shortcut with artwork.