docs: update SWBF2 guide with direct-exe bypass and Origin registry spoof

Revised approach: skip link2ea:// and EA App account requirement entirely.
Launch starwarsbattlefrontii.exe directly via the wrapper, spoof Origin
registry entries so the game's built-in launcher check passes. Documents
what doesn't work and why (msiexec/bwrap/EA account issues).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01D8ckUJQtj1pH8jtAddBDZs

docs/SWBF2-2017-wolf-setup.md

@@ -9,11 +9,13 @@
 ## Why this is hard
 
 SWBF2 (2017) is an EA game. EA mandated their **EA App** launcher for all EA Steam titles.
-On launch, SWBF2 calls `ShellExecuteW("link2ea://launchgame/1237950?platform=steam&theme=swbfii")`.
+On launch, Steam passes `link2ea://launchgame/1237950?platform=steam&theme=swbfii` as the
-GE-Proton's `steam.exe` intercepts that URL, finds `Link2EA.exe` from the EA Desktop install, and
+"executable" to GE-Proton. The game binary itself also checks for Origin/EA App in the
-hands off to the EA App which then launches the actual game.
+registry before starting.
 
-Without EA Desktop installed in the Wine prefix, the game exits immediately.
+EA App requires an EA account login, and ea.com/signup has been unreliable. The workaround
+here **bypasses EA App entirely**: launch the game executable directly and spoof the Origin
+registry entries so the game thinks its launcher is installed.
 
 ---
 
@@ -35,214 +37,213 @@ Only Steam itself can properly launch programs through sniper+GE-Proton.
 
 ---
 
-## Solution: Steam launch wrapper
+## Solution overview
 
-Use SWBF2's **Steam launch options** to intercept the launch, run a helper script,
+1. Intercept the Steam launch with a wrapper script (via launch options)
-then pass control back to Steam's real launch chain.
+2. Spoof Origin registry entries so SWBF2 thinks its launcher is present
+3. Skip link2ea:// entirely — launch `starwarsbattlefrontii.exe` directly
 
-Steam passes all its args to the wrapper as `$@`:
+No EA account needed. No EA App login needed.
-```
-steam-launch-wrapper -- reaper SteamLaunch AppId=1237950 -- <sniper> --verb=waitforexitandrun -- <proton> waitforexitandrun <game>
-```
-
-The wrapper runs msiexec (or anything else) inside the full sniper+GE-Proton environment
-that Steam set up, then `exec "$@"` to hand off to the game.
 
 ---
 
 ## Step-by-step
 
-### 1. Lock localconfig.vdf against Steam overwriting it
+### 1. Find the WolfSteam container name and Steam user ID
-
-Steam uses atomic rename (write temp + rename) when saving config.
-`chmod 444` on the file is bypassed. Lock the **directory** instead:
 
 ```bash
-WOLF_CONTAINER="WolfSteam_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"   # docker ps to find exact name
+WOLF_CONTAINER=$(docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep Wolf)
-CONFIG_DIR="/home/retro/.steam/steam/userdata/XXXXXXXXX/config"
+echo "$WOLF_CONTAINER"
 
-# Find container name
+STEAM_UID=$(docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" ls /home/retro/.steam/steam/userdata/)
-docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep Wolf
+echo "$STEAM_UID"
 
-# Find Steam user ID
+CONFIG_DIR="/home/retro/.steam/steam/userdata/$STEAM_UID/config"
-docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" ls /home/retro/.steam/steam/userdata/
+```
 
+### 2. Lock localconfig.vdf against Steam overwriting it
+
+Steam uses atomic rename (write temp + rename) when saving config.
+`chmod 444` on the file is bypassed by the rename. Lock the **directory** instead:
+
+```bash
 docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" chmod 555 "$CONFIG_DIR"
 ```
 
-### 2. Set SWBF2 launch options
+### 3. Set SWBF2 launch options in localconfig.vdf
 
-Edit localconfig.vdf **while Steam is not running** (or kill Steam first):
+Kill Steam first so it flushes and releases the file, then edit:
 
 ```bash
-CONFIG_FILE="$CONFIG_DIR/localconfig.vdf"
-
-# Kill Steam so it flushes and stops watching
 docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" pkill -f steam.sh || true
 sleep 3
 
-# Edit — find the LaunchOptions line for AppID 1237950
+CONFIG_FILE="$CONFIG_DIR/localconfig.vdf"
-# Add before it if missing:
+
-docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" bash -c "
+# The file needs a LaunchOptions entry under AppID 1237950.
-  sed -i '/\"1237950\"/,/}/ s/\"LaunchOptions\"\s*\"[^\"]*\"/\"LaunchOptions\"\t\t\"STEAM_UNIX_SOCKET=\/tmp\/steam.sock \/home\/retro\/ea_install.sh %command%\"/' '$CONFIG_FILE'
+# Find the block and add/replace LaunchOptions:
-"
+docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" grep -A5 '"1237950"' "$CONFIG_FILE"
-# Or if LaunchOptions key doesn't exist yet, add it manually.
+# If LaunchOptions is missing, add it manually to the 1237950 block:
-# Verify:
+#   "LaunchOptions"   "STEAM_UNIX_SOCKET=/tmp/steam.sock /home/retro/ea_install.sh %command%"
-docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" grep -A5 '"1237950"' "$CONFIG_FILE" | grep LaunchOptions
 ```
 
-### 3. Write the EA install wrapper
+The launch option value must be:
+```
+STEAM_UNIX_SOCKET=/tmp/steam.sock /home/retro/ea_install.sh %command%
+```
 
-The wrapper runs `msiexec /a` (administrative install — no custom actions) to extract
+### 4. Write the Origin registry spoof
-EA Desktop files, then execs the real game:
+
+SWBF2's binary checks for Origin in the registry before starting. Spoof it by writing
+directly to Wine's system.reg (plain text file — no Wine needed):
+
+```bash
+SYSREG="/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/system.reg"
+TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
+
+docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" bash -c "cat >> '$SYSREG' << 'REGEOF'
+
+[Software\\\\Origin] $TIMESTAMP
+\"ClientPath\"=\"C:\\\\\\\\Program Files\\\\\\\\Electronic Arts\\\\\\\\EA Desktop\\\\\\\\EA Desktop\\\\\\\\EADesktop.exe\"
+\"InstallDir\"=\"C:\\\\\\\\Program Files\\\\\\\\Electronic Arts\\\\\\\\EA Desktop\\\\\\\\EA Desktop\\\\\\\\\"
+
+[Software\\\\Wow6432Node\\\\Origin] $TIMESTAMP
+\"ClientPath\"=\"C:\\\\\\\\Program Files\\\\\\\\Electronic Arts\\\\\\\\EA Desktop\\\\\\\\EA Desktop\\\\\\\\EADesktop.exe\"
+\"InstallDir\"=\"C:\\\\\\\\Program Files\\\\\\\\Electronic Arts\\\\\\\\EA Desktop\\\\\\\\EA Desktop\\\\\\\\\"
+REGEOF"
+
+# Verify
+docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" grep -A3 'Software\\\\Origin' "$SYSREG"
+```
+
+### 5. Write the launch wrapper
+
+The wrapper receives Steam's full launch chain as `$@` (args 1–11 are the
+sniper+GE-Proton preamble, arg 12 is normally `link2ea://...`). Replace the last
+arg with the actual game executable:
 
 ```bash
 cat > /tmp/ea_install.sh << 'EOF'
 #!/bin/bash
-echo "=== ea_install.sh called $(date) ===" >> /tmp/ea_install.log
+echo "=== launch $(date) ===" >> /tmp/ea_install.log
-echo "Args: $@" >> /tmp/ea_install.log
+GAME_EXE="/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/STAR WARS Battlefront II/starwarsbattlefrontii.exe"
-"$1" "$2" "$3" "$4" "$5" "$6" "$7" "$8" "$9" "${10}" "${11}" \
+exec "$1" "$2" "$3" "$4" "$5" "$6" "$7" "$8" "$9" "${10}" "${11}" "$GAME_EXE"
-    msiexec /i "C:\\ea_app.msi" /qn \
-    TARGETDIR="C:\\Program Files\\Electronic Arts" \
-    /l*v "C:\\msi_admin.log" \
-    >> /tmp/ea_install.log 2>&1
-echo "MSI exit: $?" >> /tmp/ea_install.log
-exec "$@"
 EOF
 chmod +x /tmp/ea_install.sh
 docker cp /tmp/ea_install.sh "$WOLF_CONTAINER":/home/retro/ea_install.sh
 ```
 
-### 4. Get the EA App MSI
+### 6. Launch SWBF2 in Moonlight
 
-The MSI ships inside SWBF2's game files. Copy it into the Wine prefix:
+Steam → wrapper → `starwarsbattlefrontii.exe` runs directly inside sniper+GE-Proton.
+The game checks Origin registry, finds the spoofed entries, and starts.
+
+You may see Vulkan shader compilation prompts on first launch — these can be skipped;
+the game will still proceed (shaders compile lazily or are skipped).
+
+### 7. Restore clean state (after confirmed working)
 
 ```bash
-MSI_SRC="/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/STAR WARS Battlefront II/__Installer/Origin/redist/internal/EAappInstaller.exe"
+# Restore directory to writable so Steam can save normally
-# EAappInstaller.exe is a WiX Burn bootstrapper — the real MSI is buried inside.
+docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" chmod 755 "$CONFIG_DIR"
-# Easier: use the MSI that gets extracted to the Wine prefix during a first launch attempt:
+
-MSI_IN_PREFIX="/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/ea_app.msi"
+# Remove LaunchOptions for 1237950 from localconfig.vdf while Steam is stopped
 ```
 
-The MSI appears in the Wine prefix (`drive_c/ea_app.msi`, ~227 MB) after SWBF2 is launched
+---
-once — GE-Proton's protonfixes or steam.exe drops it there.
 
-### 5. Extract EA Desktop files on the host (bypassing Wine custom actions)
+## Background: what Steam actually passes to the wrapper
 
-The MSI's `JunoConfigureRegistry` custom action fails in Wine (it tries to set registry
+```
-ACLs via `SetSecurityDescriptorSddlForm` which Wine doesn't support). This causes
+$1  = /path/to/steam-launch-wrapper
-MSI rollback and removes all installed files. Bypass it by extracting on Linux:
+$2  = --
+$3  = /path/to/reaper
+$4  = SteamLaunch
+$5  = AppId=1237950
+$6  = --
+$7  = /path/to/SteamLinuxRuntime_sniper/_v2-entry-point
+$8  = --verb=waitforexitandrun
+$9  = --
+$10 = /path/to/GE-Proton10-34/proton
+$11 = waitforexitandrun
+$12 = link2ea://launchgame/1237950?platform=steam&theme=swbfii  ← we replace this
+```
 
+---
+
+## What doesn't work (and why)
+
+### Running msiexec / Wine via docker exec
+`docker exec` carries Linux capabilities that break bwrap. Any attempt to run
+Proton/wine64 outside Steam's own launch chain gets:
+```
+setting up uid map: Permission denied
+```
+
+### Running the EA App MSI through Wine (INST-14-1603)
+The MSI's `JunoConfigureRegistry` .NET custom action uses `SetSecurityDescriptorSddlForm`
+to set registry ACLs. Wine doesn't support this — the action returns 0 (failure),
+causing the entire install to roll back. `DISABLEROLLBACK=1` doesn't help because
+MSI logs the product as already-registered from the first attempt, causing subsequent
+runs to produce an empty log and exit.
+
+### link2ea:// approach with EA account
+EA App requires an EA account linked to your Steam account. `ea.com/signup` is
+unreliable. Even with an account, EA Desktop must be installed in the Wine prefix
+(see msiextract bypass below if needed). Bypassing the game exe directly is simpler.
+
+### msiextract bypass (if EA App files are needed for something else)
+If you need EA Desktop files in the prefix for another reason:
 ```bash
-# Copy MSI out of container
+# Copy MSI out of container (appears in drive_c after first launch attempt)
 docker cp "$WOLF_CONTAINER:/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/ea_app.msi" \
     /tmp/ea_app.msi
 
-# Extract (msitools package)
+# Extract on host (bypasses JunoConfigureRegistry entirely)
 sudo apt-get install -y msitools
 mkdir -p /tmp/ea_app_extracted
 msiextract -C /tmp/ea_app_extracted /tmp/ea_app.msi
-```
 
-### 6. Copy EA Desktop into the Wine prefix
-
-The MSI installs to `C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\EA Desktop\` with a versioned
-subdirectory (`14.2.0.3345`) and a symlink `EA Desktop -> 14.2.0.3345`.
-
-The normal MSI install creates that symlink via `JunoSetupSymlinkMode`. After a
-failed install + rollback, the symlink may remain but the versioned dir is gone.
-
-```bash
 PFXBASE="/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts/EA Desktop"
-
-# Remove any broken symlink
 docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" bash -c "
   [ -L '$PFXBASE/EA Desktop' ] && rm '$PFXBASE/EA Desktop'
   mkdir -p '$PFXBASE/14.2.0.3345'
   ln -s 14.2.0.3345 '$PFXBASE/EA Desktop'
 "
-
-# Copy extracted files into versioned directory
 docker cp "/tmp/ea_app_extracted/Electronic Arts/EA Desktop/EA Desktop/." \
     "$WOLF_CONTAINER:$PFXBASE/14.2.0.3345/"
-
-# Verify
-docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" find "$PFXBASE" -name "Link2EA.exe"
-```
-
-Expected output:
-```
-/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts/EA Desktop/14.2.0.3345/Link2EA.exe
-```
-
-### 7. Switch wrapper to pass-through and launch
-
-Once EA Desktop files are in place, update the wrapper to just exec the game:
-
-```bash
-cat > /tmp/ea_passthrough.sh << 'EOF'
-#!/bin/bash
-echo "=== launch $(date) ===" >> /tmp/ea_install.log
-exec "$@"
-EOF
-chmod +x /tmp/ea_passthrough.sh
-docker cp /tmp/ea_passthrough.sh "$WOLF_CONTAINER":/home/retro/ea_install.sh
-```
-
-Launch SWBF2 in Moonlight. Steam → GE-Proton → SWBF2 → link2ea:// → steam.exe
-finds Link2EA.exe → EA App launches → SWBF2 loads.
-
-### 8. EA account login (one-time)
-
-On first launch, EA Desktop will show a login screen. Log in with your EA account.
-Credentials are cached; subsequent launches skip login.
-
-### 9. Restore clean state
-
-After EA Desktop is confirmed working, remove the launch wrapper:
-
-```bash
-# Restore directory to writable
-docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" chmod 755 "$CONFIG_DIR"
-
-# Remove LaunchOptions from localconfig.vdf
-# (edit the file while Steam is stopped, remove the LaunchOptions line for 1237950)
 ```
 
 ---
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
-### "link2ea not found" / game exits in ~6 seconds
+### Game exits in ~6 seconds, no popup
-EA Desktop files are missing or in wrong path. Check:
+Check wrapper log inside container:
 ```bash
-docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" find \
+docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" bash -c "
-  "/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts" \
+  cat /tmp/ea_install.log | tail -20
-  -name "Link2EA.exe"
+  find /home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/ -name '*.log' \
+    -newer /tmp/ea_install.log 2>/dev/null | xargs tail -20 2>/dev/null
+"
+```
+
+### "Origin is not installed" popup
+Origin registry entries missing. Repeat step 4 and verify:
+```bash
+docker exec "$WOLF_CONTAINER" grep -A3 'Software\\\\Origin' \
+  '/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/system.reg'
 ```
 
 ### Wrapper never runs (Steam ignores launch options)
-Steam wrote config before chmod 555 was applied. Kill Steam, chmod 555 the directory,
+Steam wrote config before chmod 555 was applied. Kill Steam, verify chmod 555 is set
-then edit localconfig.vdf. Steam reads config fresh on startup.
+on the config directory, edit localconfig.vdf, then start Steam again.
-
-### INST-14-1603 error in EA App installer
-`JunoConfigureRegistry` .NET custom action returns 0 in Wine. This is a Wine limitation
-with registry ACL operations. Use the `msiextract` bypass (Step 5–6) instead of
-running the MSI through Wine.
-
-### msiexec DISABLEROLLBACK=1 produces empty log
-MSI detected a stale product registration from a previous failed install.
-Check: `grep -i C2622085 /home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/system.reg`
-If present, delete those registry keys then retry.
-
-### wine64 segfaults outside Steam (exit 139)
-GE-Proton10's wine64 requires the sniper runtime. Never call it directly from
-`docker exec` — always use Steam's launch chain via the wrapper approach.
 
 ### localconfig.vdf gets overwritten on Steam shutdown
-Steam uses atomic rename (temp file + rename into place). `chmod 444` on the file
+`chmod 555` on the directory (not the file) prevents the atomic rename Steam uses.
-is bypassed by the rename. Solution: `chmod 555` on the **directory** containing
+
-localconfig.vdf — this prevents new files being renamed into the directory.
+### wine64 segfaults outside Steam (exit 139)
+GE-Proton10's wine64 requires the sniper runtime. Never call it via `docker exec`.
 
 ---
 
@@ -251,9 +252,9 @@ localconfig.vdf — this prevents new files being renamed into the directory.
 | Path | Description |
 |------|-------------|
 | `/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/` | SWBF2 Wine prefix |
-| `/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/ea_app.msi` | EA App MSI (~227 MB) |
+| `/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/system.reg` | Wine HKLM registry (plain text) |
-| `/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts/EA Desktop/14.2.0.3345/` | EA Desktop files |
+| `/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/ea_app.msi` | EA App MSI (~227 MB, appears after first launch) |
-| `/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1237950/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts/EA Desktop/EA Desktop` | Symlink → `14.2.0.3345` |
+| `/home/retro/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/STAR WARS Battlefront II/starwarsbattlefrontii.exe` | Actual game binary |
 | `/home/retro/.steam/steam/userdata/<uid>/config/localconfig.vdf` | Steam per-user config (launch options) |
 | `/home/retro/ea_install.sh` | Launch wrapper script |
-| `/tmp/ea_install.log` | Wrapper log (inside container) |
+| `/tmp/ea_install.log` | Wrapper log (inside container, resets on container restart) |