Valve Steam downloads going crazy under Linux, specially last few days!

If it actually worked like that then there wouldn’t be any problem. I greatly appreciate everything Valve has done with regards to gaming on Linux but there’s something broken with pre-shader cache downloads and it’s been like that for years (as the github issue I linked previously shows). A game like Borderlands 2 will do a ~1GB pre-shader cache update every time I launch Steam, regardless if anything else was updated.

1 Like

Yep becaus there are multiple issues about shader pre-caching feature (I participated in multiple of them, like the one linked above). It never was perfect there always has been issues with the download (on and off, sometimes only on specific games).

On Google.

I just joind the club now…

Even if my hopes are not high for a fix, more participants are better i guess.

Graphics Pipeline Library was only implemented in the Vulkan driver, but not DirectX.

For AMD and Intel users:

Use mesa version 23.2+ that enables it by default.
If you want to enable it manually, set the environment variable RADV_PERFTEST=gpl for AMD GPU,
ANV_GPL=true for Intel GPU.

For Nivida users:

Use DXVK that is an implementation for DirectX 9, 10 and 11 over Vulkan.
PS: I’m no longer an Nvidia user and don’t know much about Nvidia.

Note: Not all games support Vulkan, for example “Destiny 2” on Steam.
The reason is: You will be banned when playing Destiny 2 on Linux. It is for Windows only and refuses Vulkan support. :facepalm:


The yt-video shows you the comparison between default and GPL. You will notice some stutterings without GPL.

1 Like

Where is this setting? I’ve been searching high and low for it.

Steam Settings, Download.

But on Linux we use VULKAN with Proton, right?

To be honest I don’t see a difference currently, I only played Hunt Showdown though the past two days, after disabling it and removing the shader cache files, with NVIDIA latest drivers

Im using a nvidia 2080Ti…
DXVK is needed in this case for Steam Proton?

I try to stay away from Mesa because im a little bid worried that Mesa could lead to additional problem on Release Updates.

Im not sure if thats true but when im not wrong, what about DXVK, could i run into unbootable system, because of this package?

Yes, Vulkan support (version 1.3) is built into Proton.

Yes!
Proton does not directly support native DirectX without using Vulkan on Linux.
If you want to play Windows games on Linux, you need DXVK in Proton to provide DirectX compatibility on Linux by translating DirectX graphics calls into Vulkan graphics calls.
There is no Proton without Vulkan.

Finally, thanks!

I had a little differend feeling after i played yesterday Deep Rock Galactic, i had small frame dips while gaming.

Anyways, I think i found a workaround now… after i disabled the pre-shader caching, i just reactivated the shader caching again and the endless downloads stopped after that. I started Steam a few times now and no big downloads since then.

Edit (from 20.01.24): Additional info… before enable Pre Shader Caching again, first delete the Shadercache Subfolder’s in “/SteamLibrary/steamapps/shadercache/” helps to reduce the Downloads.

This maybe needs to be repeated after time… its only a mediocre workaround, but better than nothing :frowning:

1 Like

Interesting. That may have solved it for me too but I’ll give it a couple of days before I’m sure…

Settings → Downloads → Shader Pre-Caching off. Restart Steam. Turn it back on (everything gets downloaded for installed games which was 2GB in total for me). Restart Steam. No further downloads - and hopefully it stays that way until there are actual updates required.

It is a band aid at best, the feature has issues, on and off, since multiple years. At least if you feel it solves the issue for you, keep it that way.

I have not noticed any performance differences but
Cyberpunk 2077 with Shader Pre-Cache


and
Cyberpunk 2077 without Shader Pre-Cache

Pay attention to the light cone of the motorbike’s headlight

Are you talking about the missing red (environment) light at the ceilin?

Since when is shader pre-cache for visuals? :face_with_spiral_eyes:

I always thought its for performance only.

I think at this point, only steam can fix it… so a workaround is better than nothing in this case.

Yeah dito, i remove the solution marker if i see it again… hopefully it stays this way (atleast for a while).

You can have quick answers to many things, see:

User explain what are shaders in games

ChatGPT

Shaders are programs or scripts used in computer graphics, particularly in the context of game development, to control the visual appearance of objects and surfaces within a virtual environment. They play a crucial role in determining how light interacts with different elements in a scene, ultimately influencing the final image that is rendered on the screen.

There are different types of shaders, each serving a specific purpose:

  1. Vertex Shader: This shader operates on each vertex (corner point) of a 3D model. It is responsible for transforming the vertices from 3D space to 2D space, as well as performing other operations like skinning for character animations.
  2. Pixel Shader (Fragment Shader): Operating at the pixel level, this shader determines the color of each pixel on the screen. It calculates lighting, shading, and other visual effects to produce the final appearance of a surface.
  3. Geometry Shader: This shader processes entire primitives (such as triangles) and can create new vertices or discard existing ones. It’s less commonly used than vertex and pixel shaders, but it can be powerful for certain effects.
  4. Tessellation Shader: Introduced in more recent graphics APIs like DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4, tessellation shaders are used to dynamically increase or decrease the level of detail in a 3D model based on factors like distance from the camera.

Shaders are written in languages like GLSL (OpenGL Shading Language) or HLSL (High-Level Shading Language) and are executed on the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). They allow game developers to implement complex visual effects, simulate realistic lighting, shadows, reflections, and create visually stunning graphics. Shaders play a crucial role in achieving the desired artistic and realistic qualities of a game’s visual presentation, contributing significantly to the overall gaming experience.

To sum it up, Shader Pre Caching is for performance, because it compiles shaders for your hadware/drivers beforehand, instead of the first time you need the shader in the game. But this is a feature from Steam. The shaders are part of the game graphics.

1 Like

I grew up with all this shader infos as i was 12 years old while reading c’t, gamestar, pc games, pc action and so on.

But the point is, Pre-Shader caching isn’t a graphic option in a PC Game… its just a feature from Valve in his games launcher and i didn’t expected visual difference… I really wondering why he missed the red environment light, maybe it was because a later gametime or because he was closer to the ceiling and he only play the game with medium settings, so the light pops up because of his closer to the light source?

Edit:
Ahh you added the last info, and it looks we had the same thought.

He had an issue in game, it may be because of many things, like not clearing some caches, or the prefix, after disabling the Shader Pre Caching feature. Or maybe the shader didn’t compile yet, or at all. Maybe reloading the savegame would allow the shader to properly work.

1 Like

@weingeist It seems you don’t understand what the shader cache is and what it does. You failed to answer my question above and your screenshots have nothing to do with it.

This thread has run its course and very helpful, knowledgeable volunteers have answered appropriately.

@Kobold Please don’t mark your own post as the solution. That’s selfish. Obviously someone here provided the answer that helped you solve the issue.

I was doing it with a good reason, i also thinking the same that its selfish when i see it in other topics and it gave me a kind of bad taste on my tongue :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: but it was me which found the best workaround which comes close to a solution and which could help others to look for the answer.

Weingeist would be a person which hinted the download issue to the shader pre-caching thing first and it helped me to lead me to find this workaround but i don’t think it was a true solution to this issue… otherwise i would glad to mark his answer.

And im not sorry to found the best workaround that help others. If you don’t think so, then look at @MrLavender response.

Im also throwed Hearts/Like’s to everyone which gave a good response and try to help here (as i always do).

I don’t mind if @omano copy+paste the workaround and i will edit my solution answer and mark him… since he put the most blood and sweat in this topic.

but I think I have understood it

many others have already done so, but if you want me to tell you again personally, let me know

you weren’t there

@omano has more or less confirmed my statement. He tested it. I didn’t know that AMD also has GPL since Mesa 23.1 and I don’t know how well it works with AMD.