Welcome to this comprehensive tutorial that will guide Steam Deck users in effortlessly installing and running Ubisoft Connect.
Enter Desktop Mode: Press the Steam button, select “Power,” and then choose “Switch To Desktop.”
Access the App Store: If you don’t have a web browser installed, open the App Store by clicking the blue bag icon located on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Look for a browser under the “Internet” section and install it.
On-Screen Keyboard Shortcut: You can bring up the on-screen keyboard at any time by pressing “Steam + X.”
Download Ubisoft Connect: Visit the Ubisoft website in your internet browser and download the Ubisoft Connect installer (a .exe file).
SteamOS v3 can run .exe files through its compatibility layer, Proton.
Adding the Installer to Steam:
- Navigate to your File Explorer and go to the Downloads folder.
- Find the Ubisoft Connect .exe file, right-click on it (use the L2 button), and select “Add to Steam.”
Configure Proton for Ubisoft Connect Installer:
- In Desktop Mode, open the Steam App.
- Locate the newly added UbisoftConnectInstaller.exe, open its settings, go to properties, and set the Force compatibility to “Proton Experimental.”
Run the Installer via Steam:
- Launch the installer directly from Steam. Choose a memorable path for your non-Steam games, such as “deck/g,” with “deck” being the default home folder.
Installing Ubisoft Connect
- Complete the Installation: Once installed, navigate to the “g” folder within your home directory. Inside the Ubisoft Launcher folder, you should find UbisoftConnect.exe.
- Repeat the Addition and Configuration Steps:
- Right-click on UbisoftConnect.exe, add it to Steam, and configure Steam to use the Proton layer for running it.
Before running Ubisoft Connect, it’s important to set the correct input layout in Steam, as the default gamepad input might cause issues. Press on the gamepad button in Steam’s settings and select the “Web Browser” template, then apply with “X.”
Accessing Ubisoft Connect: Now, you can run Ubisoft Connect, log in to your Ubisoft account, and start downloading games. It’s recommended to remain in Desktop Mode for installation processes.
Dealing with Typing Difficulties: If typing credentials is challenging with the on-screen keyboard (Steam + X), consider running Ubisoft Connect in Game Mode for easier input.
Note: If you do not configure Steam to use the Proton layer, attempting to play .exe files will result in no action, as SteamOS (Linux) cannot natively run these files.
Installing Your Game: After logging into Ubisoft Connect, download your desired game. For illustration, let’s use “The Lost Crown Prince of Persia.” Ensure the installation folder is within “Deck/G/UbisoftLauncher/…”
Adding the Game to Steam: Locate the .exe file for your game within the UbisoftLauncher/Games directory (eg. TheLostCrown.exe). Right-click on the file, add it to Steam, and set it to run using Proton.
Now, you might be under the impression that this is the end of the road, and you can effortlessly launch Prince of Persia directly from the Game Mode. Unfortunately, that’s not the case just yet.
The reason behind this lies in the fact that TheLostCrown.exe (Prince of Persia’s executable file) requires Ubisoft Connect to function, thus preventing you from enjoying the game directly from the Game Mode.
Understanding Proton’s Isolation: Due to how Proton works, game executables like TheLostCrown.exe are isolated from Ubisoft Connect, preventing direct launch.
Initially, adding a third-party game or application to Steam creates a sandboxed environment within a specific folder path: /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata. Note that .local is hidden by default. To access it, switch to Desktop Mode, navigate to your Home folder, and enable the viewing of hidden files and folders using the menu on the right.
Within the mentioned path, you will find numerous folders labeled with numbers, each representing a different Steam application. To identify which folder corresponds to which game or application, you can use a tool called ProtonTricks. ProtonTricks will show you the numeric ID associated with each Steam game or application.
For example, Ubisoft Connect might be in a folder named “12345”, and “TheLostCrown” in “67890”. Our goal is to direct “TheLostCrown” to use the contents of Ubisoft Connect’s folder. However, simply copying the contents from “12345” to “67890” won’t work due to regular updates Ubisoft Connect receives.
The solution involves using a symbolic link, a feature in Linux that acts as a reference to another directory. It allows applications to treat the link as if it were the actual folder, without distinguishing between the two.
Creating a Symbolic Link:
Rename or delete the “67890” folder (e.g., rename to “67890_old”). This action temporarily breaks the Steam instance for “TheLostCrown”.
Create a symbolic link named “67890” pointing to the “12345” folder. This can be done by selecting the “12345” folder, slightly moving it while holding the selection until you see a small green plus icon, then releasing and choosing “Link Here” from the overlay. You’ll be prompted to name the new folder; name it “67890” in this example.
Now, you should be able to run TheLostCrown.exe directly from Steam without opening Ubisoft Connect separately. Additionally, you can customize your third-party game’s logo and covers by right-clicking on the game in Steam (preferably in Desktop Mode) to select new images, enhancing your Steam library’s appearance.
For game covers you can use the website: steamGridDb.com