.exe compatibility layer?
Andrew Mclaughlin 
Is there a piece of software that will let me run .exe files as soon as I install the program, without having to go through a complicated process like Wine or PlayOnLinux makes me do? I would like to run Terraria on my Ubuntu system and I was hoping that there would be a simple way to do this.
11 Answer
Is there a piece of software that will let me run .exe files as soon as I install the program
Natively? That is called WINE or the add-on to it called PlayOnLinux.
without having to go through a complicated process like Wine or PlayOnLinux makes me do?
No, that is what WINE was created for. PlayOnLinux is difficult and peculiar but I can not say it is complicated. In general PlayOnLinux requires you to follow specific instructions to the letter.
I would like to run Terraria on my Ubuntu system and I was hoping that there would be a simple way to do this.
The simplest and most efficient way to play this is either over a dual boot system or using a Virtual Machine with a Windows installed in it. The only downside to a VM: it will be a bit slower.
If you really want this to run natively: it seems Terraria runs on Steam with wine. Installation:
Install wine and winetricks. Install Steam from the Website. This will update Steam and exit at 26%, Start Steam: This will update steam completely. After this, log in.
cd ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Steam wine Steam.exeDownload Terraria and install. This will install XNA Redist as well. Exit Steam.Start Terraria manually with wine
cd .wine/drive_c/Program Files/Steam/steamapps/common/terraria wine Terraria.exeThis will tell you that you need Mono for Windows.
Install Mono 2.10 and 2.8 via winetricks. People have reported there is no need to install xact and xinput. If you run into trouble after this point, install them and see if it fixes the problem you have.
Start Terraria.exe again. (With wine and mono). You will be told that it can’t find Microsoft.Xna.Framework.
Install .NET 4 from the Full Installer from here!
wine dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exeIf you get a message that .NET is already installed, use regedit to remove this Node: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4 Then return to Step 9 above.
Copy .NET 4 Files to Terraria directory
cd .wine/drive_c/Program Files/Steam/steamapps/common/terraria cp ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/ .Start steam and run Terraria
Untested. Good luck with this and you will get it working natively but I still would suggest to keep away from WINE/POL and to prefer the dual boot method or to use a Virtual Machine.
