The 20th Anniversary Update pretty much broke the game for me on Steam Deck

[Juke Nukem]

(I decided to edit my thread, rather than opening a new one in the ever growing sea of HL2 discussions. You can still read the original at the bottom.)

It's getting stranger by the minute. To sum it all up:

• By default, the game seems to be working fine on the Deck's internal display (both on the desktop and in Gaming Mode)
  
• It works on my external display while connected in Gaming Mode, but then it can only run in the Deck's native resolution, 1280x800
  
• If I force a specific compatibility tool (tried it with Proton-7.0rc6-GE-1), then it works from the desktop as well
  
• However, it still displays the main menu interface optimized for controllers, even while trying to play it with a keyboard + mouse (the Deck is always - essentially - a controller, but can the old desktop interface be forced somehow?)

It also displays graphical anomalies. I haven't played for long because of them, but when I turn (quickly or slowly, it doesn't matter), the edges on most objects seem to "flicker". It's not the classical case of screen tearing, looks more like scan lines. (Actually, it's even more noticeable with v-sync turned on.) I tried to make a video of it, but it's barely noticeable there, which I don't understand. In live play it is grating. Anyway, a tried it with a few different settings. Initially, everything was set to its highest and I gradually lowered the options I felt might affect it (shaders, v-sync, anti-aliasing, filtering etc.), but I have neither the time nor the patience to try every possible combinations. Especially since everything was working just fine before the update. I tried disabling game recording, because that's also something new since last time, to no effect. I limited the refresh rate to 60 FPS. It can be the specific Proton I use, but there are also many versions of it and the game doesn't even start with the default one.

As I mentioned, it's on Steam Deck / SteamOS, in itself and on a FullHD monitor connected by HDMI cable via the official Dock. Has anybody experienced similar behavior? Does any of you have a solution / workaround / suggestion or heard / know about an update intended to fix all known issues to be in the pipeline?

Before I forget: I tried it on my laptop running Linux Mint with a fresh install, worked fine there (using the old desktop main menu interface). I wanted to play this game on its 20th anniversary independently of the new update and I've been unable to properly enjoy it these past 3 days because of it. Is sad.

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Original thread:

I'd like to say in advance that in principle I'm very happy for this update, because I like to replay HL2 from time to time and any small tweaks - no matter how small - can help keep it in its best possible shape.

That being said, Today's update literally made the game unplayable for me. First it didn't start properly (Valve logo --> black screen --> back to desktop), then I couldn't uninstall neither HL2, nor any of its Episodes ("Failed to uninstall due to missing shared content", whatever that might mean), so I simply deleted the HL2 folder, verified the integrity of the files, re-downloaded them all (so, in a way, I managed to reinstall the game after all) and now it doesn't start at all: "Failed to start game with shared content. Please update these games first: 220"

The game ID 220 is for Half-Life 2, but all of its files were downloaded again and re-verifying them nets the result "All 11700 files successfully validated", so it should - at least in theory - be the latest version. I still cannot uninstall it. Tried to restore the deleted folder, same result.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Forgot to mention this was on Deck / SteamOS. After trying the method marked as solution and with some tinkering (see my latest post in the thread) I finally managed to make them work, although it could've been just dumb luck.

Edit 2: Now, it's really strange. They're working fine on the Deck's built-in display (both docked and used as a handheld), but refuse to do so on the external monitor. That's only partially true, in Gaming Mode it works there as well, but cannot go higher than the built-in display's native resolution, 1280x800. It's probably worth a separate thread, though, as it seems to be a Deck-specific issue.

[Agugu #KillTF2]

the update ♥♥♥♥♥♥ with ravenholm and I can't pass the phase

[Frabbi01]

I have a black screen here too. I see the Valve logo and the music plays. Then I can hear the background menu sounds, but the screen is black. I can alt tab out and back in, but it doesn't help.

I reinstalled, verified the files, ran as admin, ran in low resolution, messed with the launch options under the properties menu, and ran in compatibility mode. No luck.

[Tonepoet]

The update notes from yesterday note this near the end:

The previous version of the game has been archived to a publicly visible Beta branch named "steam_legacy", with the description "Pre-20th Anniversary Build." If a mod or feature is behaving in an unexpected way, you may need to run this archived build until the issue is resolved in the default build.

Right click the game on your library, click libraries and in the sidebar there should be a betas tab to gain access to some of the previous builds. You should be able to figure it out from there.

[Juke Nukem]

Originally posted by Tonepoet:

The update notes from yesterday note this near the end:

The previous version of the game has been archived to a publicly visible Beta branch named "steam_legacy", with the description "Pre-20th Anniversary Build." If a mod or feature is behaving in an unexpected way, you may need to run this archived build until the issue is resolved in the default build.

Right click the game on your library, click libraries and in the sidebar there should be a betas tab to gain access to some of the previous builds. You should be able to figure it out from there.

Actually, I tried just that Yesterday evening, but it was already late so I didn't update my thread.

Anyway, first it didn't work (the legacy Episodes didn't even start, the button instantly changed back and HL2 threw me the same error message about needing to update application 220), but then - after turning the Deck back on a few hours later - suddenly the Episodes were magically fixed, I could start them both. HL2 was still broken, though. Then I switched back to the 20th Anniversary Edition, after that both HL2 and its Episodes started / continued working. (I haven't actually began a new game, but now at least I can properly navigate the main menu and all of the achievements synchronized as well.) I'm still unable to uninstall the latters.

[Juke Nukem]

Bumping, as I have updated the original thread, rather than creating a new one about the same issue.

[Pauly19]

I think I might be seeing the same issue on my Steam Deck. I played a good chunk through this game a year or so ago with no issues but with the new update I'm finding that turning the camera feels kind of juddery, although strafing feels normal. I've messed around with vsync, motion blur and framerate capping but can't seem to find a setup that feels good.

I'm very interested in the new developer commentary so going back to an earlier build would be a shame...

[GamerXT]

Do you use the Steam Deck for mobile reasons ? Or you simply like using a smaller screen ?

[Juke Nukem]

I'm using it partly for mobility reasons (that's the whole point of a handheld, you know) and when I have the opportunity to use it in a fixed location, I hook it up to a 22" FHD monitor (there's really no point to go beyond that with the Deck's hardware) via its Docking Station. I also became quite fond of SteamOS, hoping it will become available for desktops eventually.

[Juke Nukem]

Anyway, seems like I finally found a solution to all of my issues described above:

Proton: With the latest stable version (9.0-4 as of now) it seems to be functioning properly.

Main menu user interface: The "old" / traditional / desktop interface can be forced via the -nogamepadui launch option. It's only relevant on handheld PCs I believe, because they include a controller by default which cannot be turned off and the game automatically detects its presence. Sadly, this method also means that it will use the desktop UI in handheld mode as well, so long as the launch option is enabled. It would be nice to have a way to configure it from the game itself.

Screen tearing: I think it's also a problem specific to SteamOS, because I had to change the "Compositor" settings on the desktop. I had no idea about its presence - let alone functions - beforehand, but after some searching I stumbled upon this YouTube video explaining a fix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=123Rs44Zjxw

My current settings in it are:
Enable on startup
Don't allow applications to block compositing
Balance of latency and smoothness

Failed to uninstall due to missing shared content: Simply delete the HL2 game folder from steamapps/common and that of the Episodes / Lost Coast (if they're still present), then delete appmanifest_220.acf (for Half-Life 2), 340 (Lost Coast), 380 (Episode One) and 420 (Episode Two) from steamapps to also have them removed from the installed games list in your Library. You can then proceed to reinstall them - or rather just HL2, since it includes all the others now - normally. It's more of a workaround than a proper fix, but at least it works like a charm.