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Bourbon 26 development journal · Part 4 of 10

Smart Play starts figuring out unfamiliar games

Reading game files before choosing a runtime.

By Mike Rodriguez2 min readDevelopment work: Sep 29 – 30, 2026Updated New

Up to this point, a good game profile did a lot of the work for Bourbon. The next step was helping when a game didn't have one. With 26.9.29.5, the Smart Play analyzer started reading the installed files and using that information to choose a setup to try.

It looked for the engine, graphics requirements and likely game executable without running the program during analysis. That's useful with games that include a launcher, prerequisite installer and several other executables. We want to start the actual game with an appropriate route, rather than guessing from the first EXE in the folder.

The release notes record tests including RuneScape: Dragonwilds on D3DMetal and Deep Rock Galactic through its game executable, avoiding a prerequisite installer that hung under Wine. They also list titles across several engines. That testing took place on an M5 MacBook Air; online play and a wider hardware matrix were still separate work.

Launch reporting improved alongside the analyzer. Bourbon waited for Steam to be ready, checked whether it received the request, and handled launchers that needed a sign-in. A fatal error window stopped counting as a successful game. Cancelling monitoring after a game started left the game and Steam running.

The following day's update fixed a Unity window offset with fullscreen defaults while preserving a user's windowed choice. It also corrected save synchronization through linked library paths; that fix had automated coverage, with a real external-library trial still outstanding in that record.

For me, this is where the analyzer became useful as a starting point for compatibility work. It could make a reasoned choice and recover from some failures. We still had to verify what the game actually did after launch.

Bourbon 26 development journal

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Live10 entries so farUpdated New (10 entries updated in the last 14 days)

  1. Part 1Bourbon 26: choosing the right way to playDevelopment work: Jul 31, 2026Updated , new
  2. Part 2When the menus work but the game world is blackDevelopment work: Aug 17, 2026Updated , new
  3. Part 3Making setup and repair less disruptiveDevelopment work: Aug 30 – Sep 6, 2026Updated , new
  4. Part 4Smart Play starts figuring out unfamiliar gamesDevelopment work: Sep 29 – 30, 2026Updated , new
  5. Part 5Activation, installers and knowing which program we launchedDevelopment work: Oct 2 – 8, 2026Updated , new
  6. Part 6Giving SteamOS its own place in BourbonDevelopment work: Oct 9 – 12, 2026Updated , new
  7. Part 7Keeping older tools and newer Steam clients in their own lanesDevelopment work: Oct 13 – 16, 2026Updated , new
  8. Part 8Native Steam integration and a library you can use from the couchDevelopment work: Oct 17 – 18, 2026Updated , new
  9. Part 9The audit that put saves and reset safety firstDevelopment work: Oct 19, 2026Updated , new
  10. Part 10Moving Bourbon safely, then making the verification fasterDevelopment work: Oct 19 – 20, 2026New

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