VCMI requires data from original Heroes 3: Shadow of Death or Complete editions. Data from native Linux version made by LOKI will not work.
Up-to-date releases can be found in our PPA here: https://launchpad.net/~vcmi/+archive/ubuntu/ppa
To install VCMI from PPA use:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:vcmi/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install vcmi
We also provide latest, unstable builds mostly suitable for testing here: https://launchpad.net/~vcmi/+archive/ubuntu/vcmi-latest
In order to install from this PPA use:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:vcmi/vcmi-latest
sudo apt update
sudo apt install vcmi
VCMI stable builds available in "multiverse" repository. Learn how to enable it in Ubuntu wiki. Once enabled, you can install VCMI using Ubuntu Store or in terminal using following commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install vcmi
Note that version available in Ubuntu is outdated. Install via PPA is preferred.
Stable VCMI version is available in "contrib" repository. Learn how to enable it in Debian wiki. To install VCMI from repository:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install vcmi
Stable VCMI version is available in RPM Fusion repository. Learn how to enable it in wiki. To install VCMI from repository:
sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install vcmi
Latest public release build can be installed via Flatpak.
Depending on your distribution, you may need to install flatpak itself. You can find guide for your distribution here: https://www.flatpak.org/setup/ Once you have flatpak, you can install VCMI package which can be found here: https://flathub.org/apps/details/eu.vcmi.VCMI
For other distributions, VCMI can be installed from 3rd-party repositories listed below. Note that these repositories are not supported by vcmi team and may not be up to date.
- Archlinux vcmi vcmi-git
- openSUSE 1 Click Install
If you are interested in providing builds for other distributions, please let us know.
Please check following developer guide: How to build VCMI (Linux)
To install VCMI you will need Heroes III: Shadow of Death or Complete edition.
Recommended for non-Flatpak installs.
To install Heroes 3 data using automated script you need any of:
- Offline Installer downloaded from gog.com (both .exe and .bin files are required)
- Directory with preinstalled game
- One or two CD's or CD images
Run the script using options appropriate to your input files:
vcmibuilder --cd1 /path/to/iso/or/cd --cd2 /path/to/second/cd
vcmibuilder --gog /path/to/gog.com/installer.exe
vcmibuilder --data /path/to/h3/data
You should use only one of these commands.
On flatpak install, it's also possible to run the script, but any path seems to be interpreted from within the Flatpak sandbox:
flatpak run --command=vcmibuilder eu.vcmi.VCMI --data /path/to/h3/data`
Download both files for the "offline backup game installers" and extract them using innoextract tool
You can select both downloaded files in launcher to extract automatically.
Alternatively you can use the classic way:
innoextract --output-dir=~/Downloads/HoMM3 "setup_heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_4.0_(28740).exe"
(note that installer file name might be different)
Once innoextract completes, start VCMI Launcher and choose to place existing files. Select the ~/Downloads/HoMM3 directory. Once placing is complete, you can delete both offline installer files as well as ~/Downloads/HoMM3.
Copy "Data", "Maps" and "Mp3" from Heroes III to $HOME/.local/share/vcmi/
Or, in case of flatpak install to $HOME/.var/app/eu.vcmi.VCMI/data/vcmi/
On some distributions $XDG_DATA_HOME could differ so instead you may need to use: $XDG_DATA_HOME/vcmi/
VCMI should be available via desktop environment menu or launcher (Games/Strategy/VCMI)
To start the game type in console: vcmilauncher
Or, to start game directly avoiding Launcher: vcmiclient
Please report any issues with packages according to Bug Reporting Guidelines