Setting this up used to be a LOT of work, but i've condensed it down into a simple script!

First of all, install Rune Factory 5 and launch it at least once if you haven't already.

Then switch into desktop mode.

Open chrome or firefox, and then just go to this page[github.com] and click the little download icon at the top right (next to "raw"). Save it to your downloads folder.

Right click it, and click Properties. Go to the Permissions tab, and make sure "Is Executable" is checked. And then press OK.

Now right click the script again, and select Run In Konsole. From here just follow the prompts!

If you chose to install rf5fix, then once you're finished, head to your steam library and find Rune Factory 5 in the game list. Right click it, select Properties, then paste this into the Launch Options:

Close the properties window. Done!

Make sure you set the steam input controller settings (gamepad icon next to Launch) to "Gamepad with Joystick Trackpad" (under Templates). or really just any gamepad controller input layout you want that doesn't use keyboard keys.

Now just run the game and enjoy!

If you installed rf5fix, you'll see a console window pop up on first launch. It'll just do it's initial setup, which takes a little while. But after that, any time you launch the game, it'll be way quicker!

The rest of the guide will tell you how to do a manual install. You can skip all of that if you used the automated installer!

If you want a higher resolution, the steam deck's 16:10 aspect ratio, better framerate, better draw distance, and all that good stuff, then go ahead and install this. Unlike Goldberg, this part isn't risky and won't disable your achievements! If you just want this and don't care about controller icons, skip the goldberg section of this guide.

If you're not in Desktop mode, you'll have to switch into it.

Go to this page[github.com] and click on Releases, then download the latest one. right click Rune Factory 5 in your Steam Library and select Browse Local Files. Then find the zip file you downloaded and extract it's contents into the folder you just opened.

Now right click Rune Factory 5 in your steam library again, and select Properties. Paste this into Launch Options:

close the Properties window. Stay in desktop mode, and run the game. It should pop up a console looking window with all sorts of info. What it says is not really important, it just means the game's being patched! This will only happen on the first run. Once it's done doing it's thing and the game has loaded in, quit the game again.

Now in the rune factory 5 folder, there should be a BepinEx folder, with a config folder in it, and within it a file called RF5Fix.cfg . Just edit that to your taste, and save it.

Done! Now either move on to installing Goldberg, or skip it and just switch back to game mode and enjoy.

thanks to Kentun for their work in getting controller icons working.

To get controller icons to show up properly in Rune Factory 5, sadly, we need to hack the game in a very drastic way. Kentun's method uses a Steam Emulator called Goldberg, to essentially fool the game into thinking an Xbox controller is connected. Goldberg is normally used by pirates to crack steam protections, so this is a bit risky, and you'll have to consider whether the risk is worth it. Kentun also took the game's exe and removed the DRM for it, so that it would even run in Goldberg, so that's legally a bit of a gray area i suppose.. However, the zip doesn't contain any game assets, only the game's (very small) exe file, basically just a small launcher, so it should be fully legal? I can't guarantee how safe these patched files are, as i've taken these directly from Kentun's guide, and just removed the DLC from them (by blanking out the DLC.txt files). I've uploaded them to github (instead of YouTube like Kentun did), because that has way less of a chance of being taken down.

Note that Goldberg disables Steam Achievements in the game, but this is temporary. If you do a clean install of the game without goldberg, achievements will be working again.

If you just want to get a better framerate, resolution, and aspect ratio, but can live with having keyboard prompts instead of controller icons, you can skip the Goldberg section of this guide and just install only RF5fix. this is a lot safer and risk-free, but.. well.. you'll have to live with keyboard prompts!

Okay, so with the disclaimer done with, here's how to actually install this!

First, switch your steam deck over to desktop mode if you haven't already.

Go to this page[github.com], and download both the zip file and the .py file.

Go to your Steam Library, find Rune Factory 5, right click it, and select Browse Local Files. Once there, back up these files somewhere safe:

• Rune Factory 5.exe
  
• steam_api64.dll
  
• Rune Factory 5_data/Plugins/ (the entire folder)

Once you've got them safely backed up, find the zip file you downloaded earlier, and extract the contents into the rune factory 5 game folder (the one you opened by using Browse Local Files)

Run the game, and once it's fully loaded in, quit the game. This'll create all the files for the next step.

The next step was originally very complicated.... but i made it easy! Find the .py file you downloaded, right click it, go to the Permissions tab, and check "is executable", then click OK. Right click the .py file again, and select "Run in Konsole". That should detect your rune factory 5 install, and handle everything for you!

Once that's done, switch back to Game Mode and test your game. Now the controller icons should be working!

Phwew! what a pain, right? Having to install some sketchy patches, just to get controller icons working. And having to install some mods to get 16:10 aspect ratio and all that...

If only Marvelous would just fix the game? Probably not.. maybe we'll have better luck in Rune Factory 6

Enjoy your decked out Rune Factory 5!

oh, btw, you don't need to install Proton-GE anymore. the game works fine in default Proton.

(i certainly will enjoy never having to worry about reinstalls breaking this game again because i've got a guide published with files that will never be taken down and a simplified setup process)