Since a few weeks my Unity games are not working anymore on Steam (not flatpak) on Linux Mint.
I have tried Stick It to the Stickman, Olija and Dystopika. They all behave the same, with the audio starting playing fine, but still on a black screen. After that, nothing happens and even trying to switch window doesn’t work or is extremely slow, requiring a few minutes to have anything happening.
Adding the same games to another launcher (Heroic), makes them work a bit, but eventually they stop at some loading screen and remain there forever.
I am on the latest OS version, I have the latest proprietary drivers from Nvidia, I have tried switching Proton versions and my GOG Unity games all work fine on Heroic.
I don’t know if there are any logs I can submit, but I am all ears for any suggestions.
Can you tell me which Nvidia card you have? Your comment “since a few weeks” makes me wonder, were all working fine before?
If your other games in GOG work then you could try disabling the Steam Runtime environment. In my computer I would be using Steamtinkerlaunch for that, so you could try it.
Thanks, I will try.
After I posted I also tried Olija on my Ubuntu laptop and it works just fine, so it seems to be something with my machine.
I have an RTX 4060Ti, I tried looking for driver updates, but it is on the latest.
On the Steam forums though, they found I am on an old BIOS and a slightly older Linux kernel (6.8 instead of 6.14).
Could it be that?
Might as well be, are you in an older Linux Mint version? Although if the Heroic games are running fine there shouldn’t be a problem.
Btw, if you run steam from the terminal you can probably see if there are some errors reported when running the game.
You might also try running your game through gamescope that might work even faster.
Typically when (some) 3D games don’t work, I’ve found that 3D library support for one of the 32-bit or 64-bit binaries isn’t present — Steam relies on the systemwide libraries — and the game bails or tries to do software rendering. I’ve hit some other users on here who have had the same issue.
It looks like the full versions of those are all run through Proton, are Windows binaries, though there are Linux-native demo binaries.
I have Dystopika myself.
installs
$ file Dystopika.exe Dystopika.exe: PE32+ executable for MS Windows 6.00 (GUI), x86-64, 7 sections $So probably 64-bit.
There’s some environment variable that will force Proton to use the older Direct3D backend based on OpenGL (WineD3D) instead of Vulkan (DXVK). Let me see if I can find that.
searches
You want:
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%In the Steam launch properties for the game; that’ll force it to use OpenGL instead of Vulkan. Here, it will run with or without it. Does that magically make it work?
One useful tool for debugging 3D issues is
mangohud. If you stick it in the Steam launch properties before “%command%” and it can display anything at all, it’ll show an overlay showing which API (WineD3D or DXVK) is being used as well as what the rendering device being used is, which will let you know whether it’s trying to render using software or hardware. SoMANGOHUD_CONFIG=full mangohud %command%.On my system, Dystopika appears able to render in pure software (not at a great framerate, mind):
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 MANGOHUD_CONFIG=full mangohud %command%So I don’t know if it’d be falling back to software causing that. Rendering in software is listed in the mangohud overlay as being “llvmpipe”.
Another way to check that each path functions is to run the following programs, see if they display correctly and at a reasonable clip. They’re in the mesa-utils-bin:i386 and mesa-utils-bin:amd64 packages on Debian, so probably same for Mint:
$ glxgears.i386-linux-gnu $ glxgears.x86_64-linux-gnu $ vkgears.i386-linux-gnu $ vkgears.x86_64-linux-gnuThat’ll be a simple test of all of the OpenGL and Vulkan 32-bit and 64-bit interfaces.
Whether this fixes the OPs issue or not, this is a valuable post and my future self thanks you for making it as I’m sure I’ll hit similar problems eventually. And I thank you now!
Heroic has a log tab in the settings iirc. Also this same log is generated when running from the terminal. You can launch them from Wine or forks, or through
steam steam://launch/appid_goes_here/DialogI could start the games using steam steam://launch/appid_goes_here/Dialog, getting the same experience, but nothing was printed in the terminal and I cannot find any log files.
for Steam, you can right click the game, go to Properties, and under Launch Command, enter
PROTON_LOG=1 %command%, then run the game to have it generate a log file in you home folder that will have the appid in the filename.Are you running the games on the default Steam Proton version, or have you tried other versions, like GE-Proton/Proton-cachyOS?
I have tried experimental, hotfix and running them in Heroic uses GE, which may account for the slightly better experience.
Doing a fresh install on Steam on my Ubuntu laptop runs Olija no problem. I have no dedicated graphics on that laptop so running the others is pointless.
Hmm maybe there’s something off with a recent GPU driver update? If anything, maybe try an older version of Proton, like Proton-9.0-4. That should be one of the I think there was a minor update to Proton-10.0 at least a few weeks ago, maybe it’s not playing nice with something on your system? idk
you can exit steam entirely, launch steam from a terminal with the ‘steam’ command, then try to launch the game, tab out, and see what errors pop up in that terminal’s live feed of steam’s logs.
you can do the same with heroic, prolly. don’t think i remember ever having to, tho.
I did that. The games started in the same problematic way, but no logs appeared in the terminal. I also tried with /Dialog after the app ID.
Logs are probably in
~/.config/unity3d/. If not, check https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/No logs there nor in the directories shown on the Wiki.
Try this. Perplexity helped me to get some of these tipps.
Unity games on Steam failing with a black screen but audio playing on Linux Mint often stem from corrupted Proton prefixes, NVIDIA driver mismatches after recent updates, or hybrid graphics not properly utilizing the discrete GPU. Recent system changes around a few weeks ago likely triggered this, especially with proprietary NVIDIA drivers. GOG games working on Heroic points to a Steam/Proton-specific issue.
Generate Proton Logs
Enable logging to diagnose the exact failure. Right-click a game in Steam > Properties > Launch Options, add
PROTON_LOG=1 %command%, then launch the game. Logs save to~/steam-[appid].log(find appid in Properties); check the latest one for errors like DXVK/Vulkan issues or NVIDIA failures.[1][2]Reset Proton Prefix
Corrupted Wine/Proton prefixes cause black screens in Unity games. For each game: Properties > Installed Files > Browse > up two levels to
compatdata> delete the numbered folder (e.g., for Olija appid 1129200, delete1129200). Relaunch to rebuild.[3]Force NVIDIA GPU
Linux Mint may default to integrated graphics despite proprietary drivers. Right-click Steam/games in menu > Launch using Discrete Graphics. Or add to game launch options:
__NV_PRIME_RENDER_OFFLOAD=1 __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=nvidia %command%(OpenGL) or__NV_PRIME_RENDER_OFFLOAD=1 %command%(Vulkan/Proton).[4][5]Additional Fixes
- Disable Steam Overlay and try Proton-GE via ProtonUp-Qt (install from Flathub).[3]
- Run
steam --resetin terminal, then verify game files.[3] - Update NVIDIA via Driver Manager; reboot and test Proton Experimental.[4] Share Proton logs from affected games (e.g., Olija appid 1129200) for more targeted help. Heroic success suggests bypassing Steam’s prefix resolves it temporarily. [3][1]
Quellen: [1] How do you get Steam to output logs for Proton? https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/9ahd3k/how_do_you_get_steam_to_output_logs_for_proton/ [2] Proton FAQ https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/wiki/Proton-FAQ [3] Fix(es) for games not launching on Steam with Proton https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1kqevt6/fixes_for_games_not_launching_on_steam_with_proton/ [4] New to Linux Mint and most (but not all) games have a … https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1kzc236/new_to_linux_mint_and_most_but_not_all_games_have/ [5] Steam games won’t use Dedicated GPU https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/iqqqfr/steam_games_wont_use_dedicated_gpu/ [6] Steam Won’t Open On Linux Mint Cinnamon 21.2 Victoria … https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/9883 [7] Proton issues : r/linux_gaming https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1mqyy1f/proton_issues/ [8] Black sdl2 screen on many games. [Solved] :: Steam for Linux General Discussions https://steamcommunity.com/app/221410/discussions/0/558746995139908968/ [9] Black scrren while playing an unity game using lutris https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1cgtane/black_scrren_while_playing_an_unity_game_using/ [10] Steam (Proton) games launching to black screen after … https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/steam-proton-games-launching-to-black-screen-after-system-update/75345 [11] Steam won’t launch on Linux Mint. : r/linuxmint https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxmint/comments/15bxsx4/steam_wont_launch_on_linux_mint/ [12] Game Details for Dystopika https://www.protondb.com/app/2379910 [13] Black screen in games - Linux https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/black-screen-in-games/191079 [14] Proton, Nvidia, black screen but game running https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/proton-nvidia-black-screen-but-game-running/67604 [15] After remove game, proton prefix exist · Issue #7418 https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/7418 [16] Nvidia drivers are installed, but Steam games with Proton … https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/nvidia-drivers-are-installed-but-steam-games-with-proton-are-stuck-at-launch-when-gpu-is-used/191059 [17] Steam is just absolute struggle bus on linux mint https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1bbksd7/steam_is_just_absolute_struggle_bus_on_linux_mint/ [18] PSA: Don’t lose your saves - Steam removes proton prefix … https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1bs5dao/psa_dont_lose_your_saves_steam_removes_proton/ [19] Ultimate Linux Mint 22.2 Gaming Guide: Install the latest … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnREtvXfJXk [20] Proton games give black screen https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=272493 [21] Linux Mint - Steam and game constant crashes https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1nyqoe3/linux_mint_steam_and_game_constant_crashes/ [22] Hybrid Graphics on Linux Mint 20.1 https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxmint/comments/mpalf5/hybrid_graphics_on_linux_mint_201/ [23] Where does Proton log what it is doing? https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/uqc7t1/where_does_proton_log_what_it_is_doing/ [24] Proton fullscreen games flicker to black or have audio but … https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/qdaqbc/proton_fullscreen_games_flicker_to_black_or_have/ [25] How to see steam proton log? https://matiargs.com/garden/linux/how-to-see-steam-proton-log/ [26] Games not launching on primary monitor with Proton 9.0-1 … https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/7717?timeline_page=1 [27] Mint users: How do you get around the OS defaulting to onboard graphics for everything? https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1b6p1v4/mint_users_how
None of it worked.
