We’ve [had] DXVK and VKD3D-Proton for various versions of Direct3D on Linux, but now it seems we’re also getting Direct3D 7 as well.
From the GitHub page the developer describes how it works:
A Vulkan-based translation layer for Direct3D 7, which allows running 3D applications on Linux using Wine. It uses DXVK’s d3d9 backend as well as Wine’s ddraw implementation (or the windows native ddraw) and acts as a proxy between the two, providing a minimal d3d7-on-d3d9 implementation. The project is currently in its early days. Expect most things to run, but not necessarily correctly or optimally.
Awesome. I keep saying that one of the big gaps in Linux compatibility is older games. Most recent stuff runs without a problem, but stuff from the late '90s and early 2000s often still doesn’t work.
Plus, that stuff often doesn’t work in modern Windows, either, so if they worked in Linux they’d be Linux-exclusive.