🎮 Old Feral Linux port (Tomb Raider 2013) won't launch on a modern Debian/Ubuntu from Steam? Here's a fix.
THE PROBLEM
The Steam Linux Runtime (soldier) container today only ships the new libicu63, but the game wants the old libicu51 + libssl1.0.0. These packages are gone from current Debian/Ubuntu repos. Even after adding them, the game binary still looks for libraries in the wrong place.
THE FIX
libicu51 and libssl1.0.0 (i386) .deb packages are available from repo.vitexsoftware.com – install from there, no digging through old ISOs or building from source needed.
STEPS
1. Install libicu51 and libssl1.0.0 (i386) from repo.vitexsoftware.com.
2. Copy the .so files into:
~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamLinuxRuntime_soldier/soldier_platform_*/files/lib/i386-linux-gnu/
3. KEY STEP: pressure-vessel (the container runtime) doesn't build /usr by live-scanning the directory — it follows the usr-mtree.txt.gz manifest next to soldier_platform_*. New files with no entry (path, mode, mtime, sha256) in that manifest get ignored when the container is assembled, even though they physically exist.
4. Add entries to the mtree (a gzipped text file), regenerate files/etc/ld.so.cache via chroot+ldconfig, and update its entry in the manifest too.
5. The game install (steamapps/common/<Game>/lib/) is often missing symlinks – the binary has RPATH $ORIGIN/../lib, but the libraries live in lib/i686/. Add symlinks lib/*.so -> i686/*.so.
After this the game launches normally straight from Steam, no need to switch to Proton. Works generally for old Feral ports that today's Steam Runtime has "outrun."
#Linux #Steam #SteamDeck #Debian #Gaming #TombRaider #Proton
Vitex
npub1ft…8kz3v
2026-08-18 03:18:44 UTC
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2026-08-18 03:18:44 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "🎮 Old Feral Linux port (Tomb Raider 2013) won't launch on a modern Debian/Ubuntu from Steam? Here's a fix.\n\nTHE PROBLEM\nThe Steam Linux Runtime (soldier) container today only ships the new libicu63, but the game wants the old libicu51 + libssl1.0.0. These packages are gone from current Debian/Ubuntu repos. Even after adding them, the game binary still looks for libraries in the wrong place.\n\nTHE FIX\nlibicu51 and libssl1.0.0 (i386) .deb packages are available from repo.vitexsoftware.com – install from there, no digging through old ISOs or building from source needed.\n\nSTEPS\n\n1. Install libicu51 and libssl1.0.0 (i386) from repo.vitexsoftware.com.\n2. Copy the .so files into:\n~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamLinuxRuntime_soldier/soldier_platform_*/files/lib/i386-linux-gnu/\n3. KEY STEP: pressure-vessel (the container runtime) doesn't build /usr by live-scanning the directory — it follows the usr-mtree.txt.gz manifest next to soldier_platform_*. New files with no entry (path, mode, mtime, sha256) in that manifest get ignored when the container is assembled, even though they physically exist.\n4. Add entries to the mtree (a gzipped text file), regenerate files/etc/ld.so.cache via chroot+ldconfig, and update its entry in the manifest too.\n5. The game install (steamapps/common/\u003cGame\u003e/lib/) is often missing symlinks – the binary has RPATH $ORIGIN/../lib, but the libraries live in lib/i686/. Add symlinks lib/*.so -\u003e i686/*.so.\n\nAfter this the game launches normally straight from Steam, no need to switch to Proton. Works generally for old Feral ports that today's Steam Runtime has \"outrun.\"\n\n#Linux #Steam #SteamDeck #Debian #Gaming #TombRaider #Proton",
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