[SOLVED] Dreams in the Witch House demo - Linux mouse freeze

[rongel]

Hello!

A tricky Linux related question: One player reported that his mouse was frozen when playing the demo. The demo release was for Windows, but apparently he was able to run other AGS games through something called Proton. Here's the message:

Tried all three render modes (with OpenGL I can see and move my system cursor while the games one is still stuck in the middle of the screen), windowed mode and the setting that locks the mouse cursor to the window.
To no avail.

I'm running the game through Proton under Linux btw, so as long as no others have this problem…

I could run all my other AGS based games fine though, no such problem.

This is the first time I've heard of this problem. As the demo is made for Windows and I don't have access to Linux, it's difficult for me to offer any assistance. This is a long shot, but does anybody have similar experiences, or could offer any advice? Thanks!

Edit: Marked as solved!

[heltenjon]

Maybe a too obvious solution: Is the problem solved if you supply a Linux build? (The editor can do that for you, as I'm sure you know.)

[rongel]

Maybe a too obvious solution: Is the problem solved if you supply a Linux build? (The editor can do that for you, as I'm sure you know.)

Yes, I thought of giving him the Linux build directly. I didn't release the Linux version in the Steam (yet), because nobody has tested it, and I don't know anything about Linux. But that might be a good solution, also that way I would get my first Linux tester

[Crimson Wizard]

When he/she sais that "I could run all my other AGS based games fine though, no such problem." do they also use Proton?

If so, then you might need to find out what are the differences of your game. For instance, do you use any script commands that move the mouse cursor?
Do you have any code that tests for a operating system in your script?

[Mandle]

do they also use Proton?

I think it says in their quote at top of page that they were using Proton.

[Dualnames]

He needs to edit acsetup.cfg and set the resolution properly. I've had someone report that with Technobabylon, depending on their desktop resolution, the default settings might not be good.

[rongel]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll get back to this issue this evening!

[rongel]

He needs to edit acsetup.cfg and set the resolution properly. I've had someone report that with Technobabylon, depending on their desktop resolution, the default settings might not be good.

So in Technobabylon, the wrong resolution setting caused mouse to freeze (when using Linux)? In this case, he has a standard 1920 x 1080 resolution, which should work with the default setting. I sent him my setup files for reference, but not sure if they are helpful.

For instance, do you use any script commands that move the mouse cursor?
Do you have any code that tests for a operating system in your script?

I'm fairly certain that the answer is no to both questions.

I also sent him the untested Linux build (which I didn't release yet in Steam), and it runs fine... except that when he loads a manual save, the game crashes. Weirdest thing is that the autosaves that the game makes work fine. My vague guess for the culprit would be the Steam integration files for Linux, maybe I placed them in wrong location or something.

It would be awesome if some technical guru with Linux could check my Linux build and see what's going on. I might post that later on in the recruitment section. Linux version is definetely something that I want later on.

Thanks for the assistance, as always!

[Crimson Wizard]

I also sent him the untested Linux build (which I didn't release yet in Steam), and it runs fine... except that when he loads a manual save, the game crashes

Crashes how, is there an error message?
Could you also clarify which version of AGS are you using?

[rongel]

Crashes how, is there an error message?
Could you also clarify which version of AGS are you using?

My version: AGS Editor .NET (Build 3.5.0.23)
v3.5.0, December 2019 (it's a bit older, but I'm hesitant to upgrade at this point)

This is what he said about the crash:

There is no actual error message, but running the DreamsintheWitchHouseDemo script in Terminal shows the following line after the crash.
Shutting down Allegro due to signal #11
Segmentation fault (core dumped)
"core dumped" might indicate that it possibly had dumped more information into a text file somewhere, but so far I couldn't make out where that might be.

[Hobbes]

Hiya! I recently switched my main PC over to Linux and downloaded your demo. And then came here straight from the Steam forums because I saw the issue posted there too.

I'm running Steam (I've tried Experimental & version 7.0.2 so far) and have exactly the same problem.

My Linux version is on kernel 5.17 (Manjaro distro). Intel i7-10700K   AMD Radeon 5700XT and 16GB Ram (playing on 4K resolution)

I'm happy to test this one out further with you, if you want.

I've just tried the following other AGS games on my Steam account:

- Pedro's Adventures in Spanish
- Perfect Tides
- Lamplight City
- Unavowed

All four of them have functioning, immediate mouse control. So something's up with Dreams in the Witch House... no clue what, though. But the game completely freezes and doesn't respond to anything.

If possible, as much as a native Linux version sounds like "fun", I think getting it to work on Steam/Proton is going to be easier for you in the long run? You won't need to provide a Linux version, but just one Windows version, so simpler on the updating-front.

I think eri0o is on Linux, and he's waaaaaay better at the technical stuff than I am, so maybe he can take a peek?

[eri0o]

I am stuck on Windows only and will be for two more weeks until I can be at my new place with all my computers again. 

[Crimson Wizard]

There is no actual error message, but running the DreamsintheWitchHouseDemo script in Terminal shows the following line after the crash.
Shutting down Allegro due to signal #11
Segmentation fault (core dumped)

That looks like a bad engine error.

My version: AGS Editor .NET (Build 3.5.0.23)
v3.5.0, December 2019 (it's a bit older, but I'm hesitant to upgrade at this point)

Ah, that's quite old. Please note that the latest patched version was 3.5.0.32 (which is 9 updates later), available here:
https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=59109.0
where some bugs could be fixed: you may look up for the "fixed crash" notes in the changes list to see if there's anything similar to your problem.

We also normally do not "support" more than 1 previous stable version, which is 3.5.1 at the moment, as it's difficult to go back in code history and check older versions for the small team we have.


I would actually recommend to update your game at least to the latest 3.5.0 patch. But regardless, something that you might do is to keep your main game in 3.5.0, but build the test version for linux in 3.5.1, or even 3.6.0 that has lots of improvement in contemporary system support. Just make a copy of a project, open it in 3.5.1/3.6.0 and build for Linux there. At least you'll see how it works.

[rongel]

I'm happy to test this one out further with you, if you want.

Thanks Hobbes! Yes, Linux help would be appreciated. I'm horribly busy this weekend, but will get back to this on Monday. I can send you a DM when I have new version to test.

I would actually recommend to update your game at least to the latest 3.5.0 patch. But regardless, something that you might do is to keep your main game in 3.5.0, but build the test version for linux in 3.5.1, or even 3.6.0 that has lots of improvement in contemporary system support. Just make a copy of a project, open it in 3.5.1/3.6.0 and build for Linux there. At least you'll see how it works.

Yes, this sounds like a good plan. I'll compile a new version of the demo with the patches and send it to Linux testers. Thanks!

I am stuck on Windows only and will be for two more weeks until I can be at my new place with all my computers again.

Let's hope the situation is solved by then eri0o! If not, you might be needed! 

[rongel]

I would actually recommend to update your game at least to the latest 3.5.0 patch. But regardless, something that you might do is to keep your main game in 3.5.0, but build the test version for linux in 3.5.1, or even 3.6.0 that has lots of improvement in contemporary system support. Just make a copy of a project, open it in 3.5.1/3.6.0 and build for Linux there. At least you'll see how it works.

I updated the engine to 3.5.1 and sent the new compiled game to a Linux Proton tester. And it seems to work just fine, no mouse freezing! Now the Linux version doesn't crash either when loading a manual save. So thanks again CW for the very helpful, and simple solution! And as a pleasant surprise, the save games from the previous versions didn't break, and I could load them just fine.

Need to do more testing, but it's looking pretty good. Now I'm wondering if I should update to 3.6.0 or am I pushing my luck...