Got the native Linux version of Total War: SHOGUN 2 working again on Ubuntu/Mint
Spent the last couple days trying to get the native Linux version of Total War: SHOGUN 2 working again and somehow actually managed it !!!
Turns out the port breaks on newer Ubuntu/Mint systems because of a bunch of old dependencies, OpenSSL issues, glibc changes, missing GConf libraries, memory protection stuff, etc. Took way more effort than I expected.
The fix basically rebuilds the old OpenSSL/libcurl stack the game expects, adds compatibility shims for removed libraries, patches the executable memory issue, and restores compatibility with newer glibc versions.
I ended up making both an automated script and a full manual guide explaining everything step by step. Tested it on Mint 22.3 and Ubuntu 24.04 and the game launches properly again.
Single-player works great now. Multiplayer still seems dead because the game relies on ancient OpenSSL.
If anyone else still randomly goes back to old native Linux ports from the Feral days, maybe this helps: https://github.com/TurnGui/Shogun2-Linux-Native-Fix