Launcher gives empty black box on Linux Mint 20.3 Worked earlier today

[bucketofsquid]

System info:
System: Kernel: 5.4.0-97-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 5.2.7
wm: muffin dm: LightDM Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal
Machine: Type: Desktop System: Dell product: XPS 8900 v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 3
serial: <filter>
Mobo: Dell model: 0XJ8C4 v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI [Legacy]: Dell v: 2.1.3
date: 01/20/2016
CPU: Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-6700 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Skylake-S
rev: 3 L2 cache: 8192 KiB
flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 54398
Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/4000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800
5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800
Graphics: Device-1: NVIDIA GK208B [GeForce GT 730] vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 460.91.03
bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1287
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: nvidia
unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GT 730/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 460.91.03 direct render: Yes
Audio: Device-1: Intel 100 Series/C230 Series Family HD Audio vendor: Dell
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:a170
Device-2: NVIDIA GK208 HDMI/DP Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:0e0f
Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-97-generic
Network: Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-V vendor: Dell driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: f000
bus ID: 00:1f.6 chip ID: 8086:15b8
IF: enp0s31f6 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Intel Wireless 3165 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 02:00.0
chip ID: 8086:3165
IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives: Local Storage: total: 931.51 GiB used: 110.76 GiB (11.9%)
ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST1000DM003-1SB102 size: 931.51 GiB
speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter>
RAID: Hardware-1: Intel SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0 bus ID: 00:17.0
chip ID: 8086.2822
Partition: ID-1: / size: 915.89 GiB used: 110.76 GiB (12.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 43.5 C mobo: 29.8 C gpu: nvidia temp: 38 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 40%
Repos: Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
1: deb http: //packages.linuxmint.com una main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
2: deb http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
3: deb http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
4: deb http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
5: deb http: //security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
6: deb http: //archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/steam.list
1: deb [arch=amd64,i386] https: //repo.steampowered.com/steam/ stable steam
2: deb-src [arch=amd64,i386] https: //repo.steampowered.com/steam/ stable steam
Info: Processes: 284 Uptime: 14m Memory: 7.71 GiB used: 3.50 GiB (45.4%) Init: systemd v: 245
runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 7/9 Client: Unknown python3.8 client
inxi: 3.0.38


I'm using steam. I select EU4 and click Play. In the first pop-up I click play EU4. The second pop-up says Preparing to launch EU4. Both boxes disappear after I click and then I get a black rectangle that appears and then just sits there. I have rebooted the machine multiple times and done a clean reinstall of EU4.

What do I need to do to fix this? It ran fine a couple of hours before. I made no changes.

 

[bucketofsquid]

Further info: I did a restart this morning, Did the usual start of EU4, It actually started. Then at the menu screen a window about the changes in the latest update appeared. It had a close button that I clicked. My display settings changed to something odd and the computer froze. after killing the process I did a restart. Now I get the grey box like it is loading. There is the Paradox logo and the spinning open circle. After about 10 minutes I clicked the stop button in steam and it closed. Elsewhere in the forum I found a thread that suggested trying other Paradox games so I tried Stellaris. It did the exact same thing. That implies a steam launcher problem. Is there somewhere else I should post this?

 

[AndrewT]

In your title the launcher gives the black box, but here:

In the first pop-up I click play EU4. The second pop-up says Preparing to launch EU4. Both boxes disappear after I click and then I get a black rectangle that appears and then just sits there.

It sounds more like the black box is the game itself. Can you clarify that for us please?

There is a known issue with the launcher showing as a black box when you use nVidia Prime render offload. Is that in play here?

Do these games run okay if you launch them manually from a command line, which bypasses the launcher?

 

[bucketofsquid]

It sounds more like the black box is the game itself. Can you clarify that for us please?

Sorry, I'm a little fuzzy on terminology. I think it may be the game but Stellaris does the same.

There is a known issue with the launcher showing as a black box when you use nVidia Prime render offload. Is that in play here?

How do I check that? I have no clue.

Do these games run okay if you launch them manually from a command line, which bypasses the launcher?

Again I'm going to have to look like an idiot. I don't know how to run them from the command line. Do I need to open a command prompt and enter the path to the .exe?

 

[bucketofsquid]

I drilled down in the file system to /home/my_username/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Europa Universalis IV/eu4
eu4 does not have an .exe extension but doing open on it started the game as normal with all dlc. It didn't have any of my settings but I could change those.

 

[AndrewT]

FYI .exe is a Windows thing only. Linux executables have no standard filename extension, often none at all.


I don't know anything about nVidia Prime Render Offload except what I read here:

[Launcher 2021.1 Linux] Launcher interface appears completely black when used with NVIDIA Prime Render Offload

My launcher just updated, and the launcher interface appears completely black. It is still functional, but you just can't see everything. You can launch the game, close the launcher etc. just fine if you know where the buttons are. But it is...

forum.paradoxplaza.com

Whether it is set that way by default in Mint, or would be something you'd manually enable, I have n idea. But it is a known reason for the launcher to show up black under Linux.

 

[bucketofsquid]

OK thank you. I'll ask on the Linux Mint forums and see what they say.

 

[bucketofsquid]

After reading several Linux forum posts I realized they all start with opening driver manager and seeing what is selected. So the fix was simple and should work for Linux Mint and Ubuntu. It didn't actually have anything to do with nVidia Prime so this won't solve problems with that.

1. Open Driver Manager.
For me it only showed nVidia drivers since that is the only proprietary driver I use.

2. Select the latest nVidia driver. (mine had selected 1 version old)

3. Click Apply Changes. I had to wait 10 to 15 minutes but my machine is a bit older.

4. When it says to restart (or reboot) to apply changes click Restart (or Reboot) in Device Manager.

5. When it comes back up, start steam and run EU4 as normal.


Thank you for the help AndrewT. I was pretty lost without your help.