Steam games failing to run

unfortunately · 13 July 2023 17:44

This last major update was really rough on me. I’m just a normal person so it took many hours of work, but I think I have fixed most of the stuff that was broken… except for my Steam games. Steam itself didn’t even want to start after the update, but I’ve gotten it to the point where it starts every time. However, while the Steam client (Beta version, in case that’s relevant) starts, many games don’t, even games that were starting and working just fine before the update.

I’m told this is the place to go for this kind of issue.

I’ll try to be as thorough as possible with the logs, providing one for each step of the process.

First, I start Steam.

steam.sh[11901]: Running Steam on manjarolinux 23.0.0 64-bit
steam.sh[11901]: STEAM_RUNTIME is enabled automatically
setup.sh[11975]: Steam runtime environment up-to-date!
steam.sh[11901]: Steam client's requirements are satisfied
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] Startup - updater built Jul 10 2023 23:58:24
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] Startup - Steam Client launched with: '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam'
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] Opted in to client beta 'publicbeta' via beta file
You are in the 'publicbeta' client beta.
07/13 13:12:54 Init: Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1689034492)/tid(12047)
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] Loading cached metrics from disk (/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/package/steam_client_metrics.bin)
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] Using the following download hosts for Public, Realm steamglobal
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] 1. https://client-update.akamai.steamstatic.com, /, Realm 'steamglobal', weight was 1000, source = 'update_hosts_cached.vdf'
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] 2. https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com, /client/, Realm 'steamglobal', weight was 1, source = 'update_hosts_cached.vdf'
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] 3. http://media.steampowered.com, /client/, Realm 'steamglobal', weight was 1, source = 'baked in'
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] Verifying installation...
[2023-07-13 13:12:54] Verification complete
Loaded SDL version 3.0.0-1782-g214d5daa3
/usr/share/themes/Vertex-Maia-Dark/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:1218: error: unexpected identifier 'direction', expected character '}'
XRRGetOutputInfo Workaround: initialized with override: 0 real: 0xf0426db0
XRRGetCrtcInfo Workaround: initialized with override: 0 real: 0xf0425500
GetWin32Stats: display was not open yet, good
GetWin32Stats: display was not open yet, good
steamwebhelper.sh[12056]: Runtime for steamwebhelper: defaulting to /home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steam-runtime-heavy
steamwebhelper.sh[12056]: glibc >= 2.34, partially disabling sandbox until CEF supports clone3()
CAppInfoCacheReadFromDiskThread took 53 milliseconds to initialize
Failed to init SteamVR because it isn't installed
local (potentially out of sync) copy of roaming config loaded - 9316 bytes.
BRefreshApplicationsInLibrary 1: 0ms
roaming config store loaded successfully - 9316 bytes.
migrating temporary roaming config store
System startup time: 3.85 seconds
BuildCompleteAppOverviewChange: 376 apps
RegisterForAppOverview 1: 15ms
RegisterForAppOverview 2: 15ms
ExecCommandLine: "'/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam'"

Sometimes this happens:

[2023-07-13 13:14:55] Background update loop checking for update. . .
[2023-07-13 13:14:55] Checking for available updates...
[2023-07-13 13:14:55] Downloading manifest: https://client-update.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam_client_publicbeta_ubuntu12?t=2884695362
[2023-07-13 13:14:55] Manifest download: send request
[2023-07-13 13:14:55] Manifest download: waiting for download to finish
[2023-07-13 13:14:56] Manifest download: finished
[2023-07-13 13:14:56] Download skipped: /steam_client_publicbeta_ubuntu12?t=2884695362 version 1689034492, installed version 1689034492, existing pending version 0
[2023-07-13 13:14:56] Nothing to do
CAPIJobRequestUserStats - Server response failed 2

Then I try to start a game (or in this case, its launcher):

GameAction [AppID 500810, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to ProcessingInstallScript with ""
GameAction [AppID 500810, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to SynchronizingControllerConfig with ""
GameAction [AppID 500810, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to SiteLicenseSeatCheckout with ""
GameAction [AppID 500810, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to CreatingProcess with ""
GameAction [AppID 500810, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp waiting for user response to CreatingProcess ""
GameAction [AppID 500810, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp continues with user response "CreatingProcess"
/bin/sh\0-c\0/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/reaper SteamLaunch AppId=500810 -- /home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam-launch-wrapper -- '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Arcanum/SierraLauncher.exe'\0
Game process added : AppID 500810 "/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/reaper SteamLaunch AppId=500810 -- /home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam-launch-wrapper -- '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Arcanum/SierraLauncher.exe'", ProcID 12620, IP 0.0.0.0:0
chdir "/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Arcanum"
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
GameAction [AppID 500810, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to WaitingGameWindow with ""
GameAction [AppID 500810, ActionID 1] : LaunchApp changed task to Completed with ""
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
0084:fixme:hid:handle_IRP_MN_QUERY_ID Unhandled type 00000005
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
0084:fixme:hid:handle_IRP_MN_QUERY_ID Unhandled type 00000005
0084:fixme:hid:handle_IRP_MN_QUERY_ID Unhandled type 00000005
0084:fixme:hid:handle_IRP_MN_QUERY_ID Unhandled type 00000005
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ThreadGetProcessExitCode: no such process 12628
ThreadGetProcessExitCode: no such process 12625
ThreadGetProcessExitCode: no such process 12622

I’m told all the ELFCLASS errors are normal, apparently it tries using both 32 and 64 bit versions but discards whichever one is inappropriate.

Finally I click on “Lauch” to attempt to start the game:

ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/MYUSERNAME/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64): ignored.
010c:fixme:ntdll:NtQuerySystemInformation info_class SYSTEM_PERFORMANCE_INFORMATION
010c:err:system:NtUserChangeDisplaySettings Changing L"\\\\.\\DISPLAY1" display settings returned -2.
ThreadGetProcessExitCode: no such process 12688

The screen flashes black for a fraction of a second and the game does not start.

Do any of these error messages point at a problem that is fixable?

I greatly appreciate any assistance. I’m at the end of my rope here.

Moderator edit: In the future, please use proper formatting: [HowTo] Post command output and file content as formatted text

leledumbo · 14 July 2023 10:05

Not your machine problem and nothing can be done from your side.

I think making report to Valve like this is a better way as this has multiple possibilities for the cause.

unfortunately · 14 July 2023 12:35

Ah, so it’s something that’s hard to diagnose? Even that sample thread ends without resolution, after more than six months being open. Sounds about right for my usual luck.

I hate making new accounts, but if it gives me even a small chance at saving me the trouble of changing OS, I think it’s worth trying. I’ll get started working on that report.

Thanks.

unfortunately · 14 July 2023 16:03

Um…

I was filling in the report and ran into two problems.

First, I couldn’t find the drop-down menu for selecting which Proton version to use globally. It seems to be gone.

Second, when I used the “PROTON_LOG=1 %command%” launch option, no log was generated. That’s when I asked myself… is Proton working? Is it even enabled?

So I went to one of the games that didn’t work and forced the use of Proton 8.0-2 (the one I used globally before) for that particular game. And the game started just fine. And a log was generated. Tried another game… same.

…did Steam just REMOVE global Proton settings, and they absolutely have to be set on a per-game basis now? Or did they disable them put them somewhere else that I haven’t found? What?

What is going on?

I’m relieved that my games work (at least they should, I’m gonna have to set Proton versions to all of them manually unless I find the global settings again), but deeply confused, and mildly angry. If they’re gonna disable compatibility like that they should make it abundantly clear. Maybe they just hid the change in the latest client update’s patch notes?

OK, I’m more than mildly angry now.

Well, I wouldn’t have discovered this without going through the report process, so… thanks for pointing me in that direction.

I’ll have to figure out this new system. I have no idea which of my games used Proton and which didn’t. I previously set it to use Proton whenever the game wasn’t natively Linux-compatible, and only once did I set a different Proton version for a specific game (it worked with an older vesion and not the newer one). I guess for now I’ll go through them all one by one.

Madness. Absolute madness.

weingeist · 14 July 2023 21:02

steam needs xdg-desktop-portal

michaldybczak · 14 July 2023 22:47

Sorry to hear, but the main thing on rolling release systems is to do backup (timeshift) before updating, so in case something happens, you can always roll back.

Fixing broken updates is way harder and may teach you something, but usually is a waste of time and may cause many hidden problems, like with Steam. This is frustrating to you and can take days to fix, if ever. It could be a simple fix or something complex.

Sorry, that my response is not helpful at the moment, but this is the classical “roll your eyes” when you see a newbie doing basic mistakes and then expect others to spend hours helping to fix some vague problem.

Still, maybe others have some idea and maybe this is a salvageable situation.

leledumbo · 15 July 2023 11:45

Option 3: they moved it.

unfortunately · 15 July 2023 13:52

Sorry to hear, but the main thing on rolling release systems is to do backup (timeshift) before updating, so in case something happens, you can always roll back.
Fixing broken updates is way harder and may teach you something, but usually is a waste of time and may cause many hidden problems

But… aren’t updates necessary? Won’t I have to apply them eventually anyway? I did roll back once before but it didn’t really do anything for me, eventually I had to update and manually apply all the fixes that were necessary anyway. And even if updates aren’t strictly speaking “broken”, they can be incomplete, like that gnome portal thing about a month back that made some programs wait a minute before starting. It was a very simple replacement but had to be done by hand.

I guess rolling back gives people online more time to find efficient fixes, but then maybe I should just wait a few days to update when a major update is pushed out. Easier than updating and then rolling back. I think I’m gonna go with that in the future.

Ah well. I knew Linux required some additional work, and I still think it’s worth it. Really, since there are no other usable operating systems on the market, the choice is between using Linux or not having a computer! So it’s very, very much worth it.

Option 3: they moved it.

Indeed, I realized yesterday evening that they had disabled my settings for this. I don’t know why, all my other settings were left untouched. Enabling that second option restored the drop down menu.

The client is still suffering from tons of issues, but that’s another story, and there too it’s all on Steam, not Manjaro! The issue that stopped Steam from starting was easily fixed.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction. I could have spent forever trying different things if I hadn’t noticed, thanks to filling that report, that Proton wasn’t even working. In the end that was all I needed. And now I’ll know to watch out for settings being changed behind my back in the future. I was taking my settings for granted and that was a mistake.

michaldybczak · 15 July 2023 14:53

You answered yourself ;).

To elaborate: updates can go wrong from various of reasons. Some update process may error out randomly, your system may brake the update forcibly, etc. In those cases, reverting and updating again should fix the issue. If the issue is upstream (from the update), this will give you time to find out what is going on. Oftentimes it’s only one package broken so you can re-apply the update and downgrade that one package. You will find out about it by reading Manjaro update announcements. In rare occasions, some fixed package is published, but that happens on unstable and testing branch. On a stable branch, most things should work. However, some rare hardware configurations may show up problems that nobody caught before. In that case, you can start topic and again, this usually comes down to downgrading some package.

Anyway, backup is a safety net. You will have a functional system all the time, even if the update goes wrong. You will apply this update at later time eventually, but typically when either you have a way to fix your issue or the fix is published. It saves a lot of time and nerves.