Game fixes
(can't edit my post but for Planetside 2 the launch option is actually --disable-gpu not --disable_gpu, oops)
ok so here's what happened, sry if it's lots to unpack
I think the crashes were coming from the same issue described here, I had a "version of Steam" that was initially started with LSI on. I removed Steam and LSI, deleted my entire /.local/share/Steam folder and the home /.steam folder, reinstalled Steam, made sure LSI was disabled, then started it up.
Planetside 2 now runs fine, those crashes aren't happening. It could probably also be attributed to me not alt-tabbing this time and being more "careful", but I was able to play for a solid 10 mins or so before quitting so I'm 90% sure it was LSI.
So I joined a game (on Indar I think it was) and yeah I see what you mean, it doesn't perform very well, but it's tolerable IMO. I think it was also this way when I recorded the video. I don't usually check my framerate because once I do I can't unsee it and I don't focus on the game so I guess I didn't notice.
When I started I set it to medium settings, and again got 150+ fps in the hub but the moment I warped to a zone it dipped down to a range of 40 - 60. Even on the lowest settings. Weirdly, it performs the exact same maxing it out.
Screenshots here with Steam's frame counter up left. They both perform the same, the scene in the screenshot is just a little different hence the different rates.
Lowest settings:
Max settings:
Weird how changing the setting has no affect on performance, Halo Infinite is the same. So it isn't just you, I guess that update did some things but at least it's still playable, I wonder how it performs on Windows with the decade update?
Thank you for looking into it!
Could you check your CPU utilization when you get significantly low fps? Because on Solus my CPU went to almost 100% when the fps dropped vs. 50% average on Windows (with spikes to 70-80% on huge fights).
Your RX580 should be capable to run the game on 60+ fps with most settings maxed out.
One thing that hits hard are shadows. Turning them off gives you a huge fps increase in large battles.
I tried the lowest available graphics settings with shadows turned off, but still horrible drops on medium+ fights with extremely high CPU usage.
Apex Legends stutter fix
Just wanted to share this in case we have any Apex players. On all distros, there are some GPUs (such as my RX580) that for some reason stutter uncontrollably for the first 5 matches or so while the shaders take forever to compile. If you aren't willing to just put up with it, there's a way to get it smooth right away. The community have contributed a compilation of their compiled shaders into one big file, that you can replace with the slow one Apex comes with. I'm impatient so I've done this multiple times on both Solus and my Steam Deck, it always works great and immediately feels like night & day.
- (First I would launch Apex at least once.)
- Download the .dxvk-cache file here https://github.com/bcook254/apex-legends-cache and place it in
~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/shadercache/1172470/DXVK_state_cache/
.
That's it.
The GitHub also includes instructions including a single curl command to download and place it in its proper directory, so you can probably try that if you want, but I prefer to do it manually.
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obs-vkcapture (Game Capture) on Solus
This is for those who may be interested in gameplay recordings. A few updates ago we got the great little OBS plugin in our repos obs-vkcapture. It's basically the Game Capture plugin available on Windows brought over to Linux. It is much more performance efficient than the usual Window Capture, and it can capture any fullscreen window as long as the source is selected in OBS and the launch option is in Steam, so no more having to alt-tab from your game to select the game's window in OBS Window Capture. Just press the hotkey to record that's it.
To install and use it:
- sudo eopkg install obs-vkcapture obs-vkcapture-32bit
- Open OBS, select and add the "Game Capture" source
- Put launch option in Steam game:
obs-gamecapture gamemoderun %command%
- Launch game, press your OBS record hotkey.
Here it is in action:
notes
(I put gamemoderun in there because I use gamemode to disable the compositor but this is optional. You could just use obs-gamecapture %command%.)
(As an alternative to the OBS hotkey, you can just click the system tray icon and click "Start Recording", that's what I did when I used GNOME Wayland where hotkeys aren't a thing.)
(Battlefield V is the only game I'm aware of where you may have to go in and select the BFV.exe window under Game Capture, because for some reason it thinks Origin is also a full screen app, so sometimes it records that instead.)
(This also works with non-Steam games you add to steam, for example I can install the open source games Sauerbraten or Urban Terror and record those as well. Just add the same launch option and it'll work as any other Steam game.)
aaaand just like that. After today's update. Not one steam game will launch. I love this distro but it isn't worth it, I'm not bothering to find the problem.
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odat4 How does the spelling error on the website affect your gaming experience on Solus?
Red Orchestra 2/Rising Storm
Since Rising Storm 2 is borked on Linux I resorted to the predecessor, Red Orchestra 2 / Rising Storm 1. Works out the box with Proton, but like many of these older UE3 games, it has very annoying things like frame smoothing and a tunnel vision default max FOV. I have to do this on Windows as well. Here's what I do to get it performing smooth and increase the FOV.
- Install and run the game at least once, and configure your initial video and input settings. When the game closes it applies your settings to the ini files which we will be editing so make sure it's how you want.
- To increase the FOV edit the PlayerFOV line in
/home/user/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/35450/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/My Games/RedOrchestra2/ROGame/ROGame.ini
(default is 75, I suggest 85 - 90) - To disable framesmoothing, ctrl+f "smooth" and set the bSmoothFrameRate lines to FALSE in
/home/user/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/35450/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/My Games/RedOrchestra2/ROGame/ROEngine.ini
it appears twice, change them both. It also provides a minimum and maximum framerate underneath the option, I have a 144hz monitor so I change the minimum to 60fps and maximum to 144. - Set both ROGame.ini and ROEngine.ini to read only. If not, anytime you change any setting, it will revert the FOV and frame smoothing back.
The population is low but I've played for 49 hours now and always see players online, although it's just a few servers. It fills empty slots with bots so there's always something to shoot at and achievements to go after.
Fun game, give it a try if theater / period shooters are your thing.
I'd like to apologize for my attitude previously. I was both odat4 and tyleringo, I don't have access to the accounts anymore because I changed the email and passwords to something I don't know. I guess I do this in an effort to burn the bridge to solidify my decisions, it's a problem. My only explanation is that I'm BP-II, I'm sorry it's embarrassing.
But I love Solus and will continue to try to passively contribute even if that means just sharing my "game fixes" and interacting with the community.
[deleted]
- Edited
tylermason The reason why you can't access the accounts is most probably that either they got suspended or removed (as you requested).
https://discuss.getsol.us/d/9058-spelling-error-on-website/2
tylermason guess I do this in an effort to burn the bridge to solidify my decisions, it's a problem
Yeah I remember and I'm embarrassed but I'd prefer to own up to being an idiot than to cause confusion
Staudley & co. have done much for me so it would be unfair to let it go without explanation
[deleted]
tylermason Well, changed behavior is always the best apology.
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Here's a guide to running XCOM Enemy Unknown / Enemy Within with Long War mod + Long War Rebalanced mod on Steam Proton.
There are 2 versions of XCOM in Steam, the windows version and the linux version.
I installed the Windows version.
This guide is meant for the Windows version of XCOM on Steam.
- Ensure you are running the latest version of Steam.
- Install XCOM Enemy Unknown (Windows version) with all addons (includes Enemy Within).
- Run XCOM Enemy Within at least once, you can exit the game once you successfully reach the main menu
- Download "Long War v1.0" from Nexusmods
- Download "Long War Rebalanced" from Nexusmods
- Steam ---> Add New Non-Steam Game
- Select Long War.exe as the non-steam game
- Right click on Long War on the Steam entry in your game library
- Set it to use the latest Steam Proton version (v8.0 as of now)
- Run the Long War entry
- you should see the windows-based installer pop up
- The installation link provided to you is most likely NOT the correct path
- Change the path to Z:/...[yourusername]/steam/steamapps/compatdata/.../xcom/XEW
- Proceed with Long War installation
- Run the game again, ensure Long War is installed by checking that there is a button called "Long War"
- Exit the game
- Follow the "Long War Rebalanced" installation instructions provided by the zipfile
- Now run the game again.
- If everything is successfully installed, you will see "Long War Rebalanced" when starting a new game.
- Enjoy one of the best tactical games ever made, made even better with two complementary mods
Here's another guide to running Stalker Anomaly mod on Steam Proton
Anomaly mod is available on their ModDB page.
It is totally free of charge, and not purchasable on Steam or anywhere else.
For this guide, you will need to install Protontricks, and ensure you have an unzipping tool already installed (such as 7zip)
- Ensure you are running the latest version of Steam.
- Download Anomaly mod latest version 1.5.1 + 1.5.2 from their official ModDB page
- Install Protontricks
- Unzip Anomaly 1.5.1 and unzip to a location of your choice
- Unzip Anomaly 1.5.2 and let it overwrite v1.5.1 as appropriate
- Steam ---> add a non-steam game, select anomalylauncher.exe
- Steam ---> add a non-steam game, select AnomalyDX11AVX.exe
- Set both entries above to use Steam Proton latest version (v.8.0 as of today)
- Run AnomalyLauncher, it should give a popup with the launcher shown
- Run the launcher after you tweak the settings to taste, the game should fail to run (will show vulkan errors)
- Run AnomalyDX11AVX, it should fail to run with the same errors as above (vulkan errors)
- Now run Protontricks, "select default wineprefix", "install a Windows DLL or component"
- Install the following : d3dcompiler_43, d3dcompiler_47, d3dx11_43, d3dx9_43, d3dx9, d3dx10
- After successfull installation of above components, you can exit Protontricks
- Now run AnomalyDX11AVX again, you should be able to see the Anomaly main menu
- Enjoy one of the best free FPS-RPG games ever made with deep lore
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Guide to running Ultima VII Part 2 Serpent Isle
This 1993 game is the one that inspired Larian Studios to make Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2.
I have the fondest memories of playing this and World of Xeen in my younger days.
Nostalgia is a powerful thing.
- Download and install Heroic Games Launcher (available on official Solus repo)
- Purchase "Ultima 7 - The Complete Edition" on GoG
- Install game on Heroic
- Go to /home/user/games/heroic/ultima7serpentisle and open up "dosboxSERPENT.conf" in Gedit
- Search for the line "xms=true", change it to FALSE
- Search for the line "umb=true", change it to FALSE
- Search for the line "joysticktype=auto", change it to FALSE
- Save your 3 changes and exit
- Within Heroic Launcher, specify the game to run on Proton 8.0, don't use WINE
- Before you click "Play Now", specify the dropdown list to "Launch Options"
I'll add something I've noticed myself
THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (REGULAR VERSION)
Issue: game doesn't recognize dedicated GPU despite it's drivers being installed via doflicky (Hardware Drivers app), launches into black screen then crashes
Solution: while installing GPU drivers check the "install 32 bit version". After that reboot and Skyrim's launcher should now recognize both GPU's and launch game normally
Guide to running Cyberpunk 2077 v2.0 (with Phantom Liberty)
Install game, set runner to Proton v8.x.x or Proton Experimental
Set Launcher Options : "VKD3D_CONFIG=dxr,dxr11 PROTON_HIDE_NVIDIA_GPU=0 PROTON_ENABLE_NVAPI=1 gamemoderun %command% --intro-skip -skipStartScreen --launcher-skip --nogamepad -dx12"
Note that the commands "VKD3D_CONFIG=dxr,dxr11 PROTON_HIDE_NVIDIA_GPU=0 PROTON_ENABLE_NVAPI=1" enables Nvidia 30xx users to use Raytracing in-game, at a somewhat substantial cost to FPS.
Game feels well-optimized, i have most settings on high and max (no Raytracing), game runs smoothly at perceived >60fps.
CP2077 is absolutely a towering achievement in world building and atmosphere. Very movie-like cyberpunk and intense set-pieces. Basically Deus Ex 1 + Blade Runner on steroids.
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Halo MCC (Hopefully for the last time)
Everything except for campaign coop works out of the box with Proton. I was finally able to play an entire campaign mission with a friend without desynchronization today by replacing the ucrtbase.dll file. Here are the commands to do so:
mkdir /tmp/ucrtbase
cd /tmp/ucrtbase
wget https://download.microsoft.com/download/9/3/F/93FCF1E7-E6A4-478B-96E7-D4B285925B00/vc_redist.x64.exe
cabextract vc_redist.x64.exe
cabextract a10
chmod u+w "[/path/to/steamapps]/compatdata/976730/pfx/drive_c/windows/system32/ucrtbase.dll"
yes | cp ucrtbase.dll "[/path/to/steamapps]/compatdata/976730/pfx/drive_c/windows/system32"
You will have to replace [/path/to/steamapps] with the path for your system. If you have it installed on a separate drive (like me) it will be in the folder on that drive.