GOG added a hotfix for the software mode

No, hardware rendering is working. But I am only getting good performance the very first time I run it after switching the mode to Windows Vista. I am using vanilla Wine. I will try again later today with the same settings you have in your dxcfg.ini. Where are the settings for disabling esnyc/fsync?

Also I haven't installed any mods or patches - just using the basic GOG download.

If you are using vanilla wine you shouldn't have esync/fsync. If you use lutris you can disable them in the game configuration of lutris, on the tab of runner options.

I keep seeing the same behavior. Whenever I switch between Windows Vista and XP, it works like magic the first time, but from the second launch onwards it's terrrible.

I did not get that, could you explain how (where) to do that ?

In winecfg. You can create an application-specific setting for the mgsi.exe file by using 'Add Application' on the 'Applications' tab. Then under 'Libraries', add a new entry for 'ddraw' and choose 'native then builtin', which tells it to use the ddraw.dll file in the game folder first.

Thanks for the help !
I did that (and set the windows version to XP) and now the game works perfectly fine !

Now to MGS2...

Glad I could help! So, it works for you, even if you quit and re-launch the game? You're using Proton and DXVK? What is DXVK? Where do I get that?

I don't think I have DXVK or winetricks installed, so that might be part of my problem?

I'm using vanilla Wine, rather than Lutris. But I will try installing DXVK and see if it helps.

So you created inside an application option. Maybe trying setting the overwrite in the default config can help you with your problem? Set another wineprefix if you fear that it can break things.

No, it didn't help. I created a new Wine prefix and re-installed the game as well. If anything, it's worse. I'm not getting any joy, even if I cycle the Windows versions.

Seems like a pile of garbage :-(

I also tried it in Proton via Steam - no luck there either.

I'm having a lot of trouble with MGS2 too (Wine 5.7, OS X 10.14.6/10.11.6). I've tried following the instructions on the AppDB page for it, but the closest I've ever gotten was getting the Konami title screen up, before getting stuck on a black screen.

MGS1 seems to work okay; the game seemed to hang on cutscenes involve the CODEC, but after setting ddraw.dll to "Native, Builtin", it seemed to fix these problems.

Strange... I have been playing and i beat 3 bosses and it plays well. Also i play with dxvk and fsync and it works well. There are a few problems of frame passing but nothing serious.
For reference i'm on Manjaro using a RX 580.

Yes, it is very bizarre that I seem to be the only one who is having problems running MGS 1. Other Windows games seem to run in Wine just fine for me. For example, KOTOR and Oblivion recently.

I am using a variant of Arch Linux on a very typical Dell desktop PC with an NVidia GTX 1050 GPU.

I tried installing DXVK in my Wine prefix, but if anything it made things worse. In fact, it seems to have screwed up my prefix for the other games I have on there, so I had to make a new one. None of the games I tried seem to run well with DXVK.

I have posted on the WineHQ forum as well, to see if anyone there has any suggestions. I will keep trying different things and I'll post again if I figure anything out.