Black screen when starting No Man's Sky after update to Ubuntu 21.04

makem · 07-19-2021, 08:23 AM

I was running Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and NMS loaded fine but was to slow to play.

I am using an Intel® UHD Graphics 750 integrated GPU until I can afford a dedicated GPU so thought upgrading would help.

I upgraded and found that when I start the game it appears to load correctly, no error messages. However, I am left with a blank screen apart from the pointer.

I cannot get out of this other than to shut down and restart the machine.

I have this information:

Processor (CPU): Intel® CoreTM i7 Eight Core Processor i7-11700K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache

Mobo: ASUS® TUF GAMING Z590-PLUS WIFI (LGA1200, USB 3.2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready

Graphics Card: INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)

Code:

makem@makem-pc:~$ lspci | grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Device 4c8a (rev 04)
makem@makem-pc:~$ find /dev -group video
/dev/fb0
/dev/dri/card0
makem@makem-pc:~$ glxinfo | grep -i vendor
server glx vendor string: SGI
client glx vendor string: Mesa Project and SGI
    Vendor: Intel (0x8086)
OpenGL vendor string: Intel
makem@makem-pc:~$ lsmod | grep "kms\|drm"
drm_kms_helper        245760  1 i915
cec                    53248  2 drm_kms_helper,i915
fb_sys_fops            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
syscopyarea            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
sysfillrect            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
sysimgblt              16384  1 drm_kms_helper
drm                   552960  20 drm_kms_helper,i915
makem@makem-pc:~$ cat /proc/cmdline
BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.11.0-22-generic root=UUID=97853106-9dde-4bb7-ada7-25e282956f9f ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
makem@makem-pc:~$ find /etc/modprobe.d/
/etc/modprobe.d/
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-modem.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/amd64-microcode-blacklist.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-rare-network.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/dkms.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/intel-microcode-blacklist.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-oss.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-firewire.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
makem@makem-pc:~$ cat /etc/modprobe.d/*kms*
# modprobe information used for DKMS modules
#
# This is a stub file, should be edited when needed,
# used by default by DKMS.
makem@makem-pc:~$ ls /etc/X11/xorg.conf
ls: cannot access '/etc/X11/xorg.conf': No such file or directory
makem@makem-pc:~$ glxinfo | grep -i "vendor\|rendering"
direct rendering: Yes
server glx vendor string: SGI
client glx vendor string: Mesa Project and SGI
    Vendor: Intel (0x8086)
OpenGL vendor string: Intel
makem@makem-pc:~$ grep LoadModule /var/log/Xorg.0.log
[     2.613] (II) LoadModule: "glx"
[     2.618] (II) LoadModule: "modesetting"
[     2.619] (II) LoadModule: "fbdev"
[     2.619] (II) LoadModule: "vesa"
[     2.629] (II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
[     2.629] (II) LoadModule: "glamoregl"
[     2.813] (II) LoadModule: "fb"
[     3.014] (II) LoadModule: "libinput"
makem@makem-pc:~$ sudo lshw -C display
[sudo] password for makem: 
  *-display                 
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: Intel Corporation
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 2
       bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
       logical name: /dev/fb0
       version: 04
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pciexpress msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom fb
       configuration: depth=32 driver=i915 latency=0 mode=1920x1080 visual=truecolor xres=1920 yres=1080
       resources: iomemory:600-5ff iomemory:400-3ff irq:159 memory:6000000000-6000ffffff memory:4000000000-400fffffff ioport:4000(size=64) memory:c0000-dffff
makem@makem-pc:~$

It is a driver/kernel problem?

Can anyone shed any light on this?

wpeckham · 07-19-2021, 09:27 AM

20.04 of what? The Linux kernel is at 5.14 RC2 I believe, so what is it that is at 20 that you are talking about?

You should always include the distribution, release, and DM (gnome, kde, fluxbox, etc) when asking a question about software and updates.
It also may be critical to know about the hardware involved.

makem · 07-19-2021, 09:39 AM

Sorry, Ubuntu 20.04 upgraded to Ubuntu 21.04

16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
512GB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 1500MB/sR |
1000MB/sW)
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT
PORTS

adeplus · 07-20-2021, 05:14 AM

Perhaps the difference is in the different graphical environment that version 21.04 has by default: the game may not work well on Wayland and may work better on Xorg.

Try logging in with Xorg instead of the Wayland environment.

This link explains how to do it.

igadoter · 07-20-2021, 05:28 AM

First of all update your wine version. Search winehq database for your game. Maybe others witnessed similar problems. And maybe they found solution. You may also try to run wine in emulate desktop mode - this means to play in window - but at least you should be safe from wide-system crash.

makem · 07-20-2021, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igadoter

First of all update your wine version. Search winehq database for your game. Maybe others witnessed similar problems. And maybe they found solution. You may also try to run wine in emulate desktop mode - this means to play in window - but at least you should be safe from wide-system crash.

I don't use Wine.

makem · 07-20-2021, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adeplus

Perhaps the difference is in the different graphical environment that version 21.04 has by default: the game may not work well on Wayland and may work better on Xorg.

Try logging in with Xorg instead of the Wayland environment.

This link explains how to do it.

Thank you but I don't have a "bottom-right gear button"

I have a choice from the menu at the top right of either Xfce session or Xubuntu session.

I looked in settings after logging in and don't see any suitable options.

igadoter · 07-20-2021, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by makem

I don't use Wine.

So how do you play this game? I don't believe there is truly native Linux version. Just when you see game runs under Linux - it means wine is already shipped with game.

Edit: No matter. Whatever engine you are using just rethink option to update/reinstall that engine. After upgrade some dependencies can be broken. Say no backward compatibility with older library version. People pointing to Wayland can be right. It is still in heavy development. For lucky people it works - for unlucky it does not.

makem · 07-20-2021, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igadoter

So how do you play this game? I don't believe there is truly native Linux version. Just when you see game runs under Linux - it means wine is already shipped with game.

Edit: No matter. Whatever engine you are using just rethink option to update/reinstall that engine. After upgrade some dependencies can be broken. Say no backward compatibility with older library version. People pointing to Wayland can be right. It is still in heavy development. For lucky people it works - for unlucky it does not.

Ok, perhaps I am wrong about Wine because I play the game via Steam player and I am told Wine may be in that.

To play the game I was told to install Steam, then add the purchased game to Steam and play from there. It is then when I get the current problem.

When I first installed Steam and tried to play NMS I was then using Ubuntu 20.04 and had a number of errors because of which I decided to use a streaming service.

I kept trying to play every now and again with the same result for a number of weeks. Then out of the blue it worked and I was able to access the log in page to choose the game method. However is was so slow using the mouse it would be impossible to play the game and I gave up.

It was suggested that the gpu I was using may be to new for the current Ubuntu software and the I may need a later kernel. I took the easy way and upgraded to Ubuntu 21.04. I now get the black screen mentioned.

igadoter · 07-20-2021, 06:57 AM

Maybe you should report this issue to Steam.

makem · 07-20-2021, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igadoter

Maybe you should report this issue to Steam.

i will pursue it from Ubuntu end first.

igadoter · 07-20-2021, 08:15 AM

Well point that system as a whole works without issues. As I understand you didn't witness problems with other applications. System boots, you run desktop, firefox - whatever with no issues. For standalone version of wine I would suggest to update wine. But in the case of Steam - it better the first to consult with them.

adeplus · 07-20-2021, 10:48 AM

If you use Xubuntu it is likely that you are on X11 and not on Wayland.

I also play on Steam and have some Windows games with Proton. There is a page (Proton db) that informs about which version of Proton works best, or with which modifications.

Maybe you should update the Proton version to make NMS work better. Here they tell how to change version. I use different Proton versions for each game, depending on how the game behaves in each one.

makem · 07-20-2021, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adeplus

If you use Xubuntu it is likely that you are on X11 and not on Wayland.

I also play on Steam and have some Windows games with Proton. There is a page (Proton db) that informs about which version of Proton works best, or with which modifications.

Maybe you should update the Proton version to make NMS work better. Here they tell how to change version. I use different Proton versions for each game, depending on how the game behaves in each one.

Well done, at least I know I cannot lay the blame at Wayland. Unless if I was using Wayland maybe it would work?

Code:

makem@makem-pc:~$ echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
x11
makem@makem-pc:~$

I am using Proton 6.3-5 in Steam Play settings. I have tried an earlier version.

However, reading the page you referred to I find that under the compatibility tab it is set to Proton 4.11-3 for NMS and I can choose the same version as that in Steam Play from the list.

'Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool' which was 'checked' is overwriting the setting I am using in Steam Play. I will see if it works with the later Proton 6.3-5.

Thank you for the pointer.

Edit: Having made that change the game still starts with a black screen. Steam did load something which I assume was the later Proton.

makem · 07-20-2021, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igadoter

Maybe you should report this issue to Steam.

I have posted the problem in the Technical Support on Steam as it is not solved yet.

Well. I thought I had until I find I cannot post unless I deposit $5 in my wallet or buy same value!

snip>
New accounts are limited from using all of Steam's community features. You'll have access to all of Steam's features once you've spent $5.00 USD in the Steam store or added $5.00 USD to your Steam Wallet. Some of the features that you won't be able to access are: ....................
snip>

So I have to pay for Steam support, really!

I find:

snip>
When you first spend $5 on your account you will have to wait at least 1-2 day.
And do the Steam Quests(Badge) to get the "Steam Community" badge therefore, you also get two levels!
snip>

So I also need to have a Badge!