If DXVK cannot create a swap chain and crashes...

[Zeckma]

Posting this here as I believe this is the best place I can post to instead of a github issue. Might make a YT video about everything in the future, unsure.

TLDR; If DXVK crashes with 3D games and dumps a log in the app directory (apptitle_dxgi.log) and ends with "err: failed to create swap chain" and D3D cannot create device, perhaps also unable to create surface, it's extremely possible you have two graphics cards and you need to use the discrete card (or if you have two discrete cards, it's best to remove one as I don't know how to accommodate this).

I should start by saying that I am using Linux From Scratch as it is a special interest of mine, wanting to use it as a daily driver instead of Arch Linux, despite not wanting to touch Gentoo. LFS is basically taking a bunch of packages and compiling from source to make a system, therefore being really minimal if you don't install everything from Beyond Linux From Scratch. Starting the journey to get Steam to work with LFS took many hours from my life that I will never get back and requires solutions that require in turn that you read a bunch of wikis and forums, hell even mailing lists, just to fix an obscure problem. This DXVK problem was one such issue. I will probably release guides in the future to solve the problems I faced but I wanna talk about this one here right now.

DXVK as I'm sure pretty much all of you know is a part of Proton that in simple terms converts DirectX commands to Vulkan API. This is an alternative to WineD3D, which converts DirectX to OpenGL API. So what is the error? Simply put, most 2D games do not have this problem as they mostly use OpenGL in the first place, but 3D however... DirectX is most often used, and whenever DXVK is put to use, the program can crash and not boot up at all, depending on your setup. For me, DXVK was yelling at me in Skyrim's folder (the game I was testing DXVK on) through SkyrimSE_dxgi.log: "err: cannot create swap chain" and D3D cannot create a device. Scrubbing through the log file, I noticed a problem, it was trying to load my GPU that was not in use, instead of my GPU that I was using. I have two Nvidia GPUs with the proprietary driver on them both. Usually, most posts talking about this is an issue with integrated and discrete GPUs, not two distinct discrete graphics cards, even both Nvidia for that matter.

After trying my best to solve it manually, I became a mad woman and took out the GPU that wasn't being used. Sure enough, DXVK finally worked and Skyrim booted without errors. I would like to note that the Proton logs themselves were way too complicated and didn't offer any good info that I desperately needed, but rather DXVK logs posted in the app's folder. Hopefully the algorithms may help show this post to those in need.

Good luck, Soldier.

[Aoi Blue]

You are using Linux From Scratch for something other than a research system.

I mean, it is a GREAT research system, but there are some good source-built distros that offer just as much freedom with a fraction of the hassle.

Edit; As a note, by word of mouth relay, if you want something with the benefits of LSF with the stability and support of a distro, go for Arch. I have enough friends who use Arch Linux.

Gentoo is also the same concept, but I've heard it is more geared for servers. (I hear it is GREAT for servers, honestly.)

[Zeckma]

Yeah, I'm aware. It's why I mentioned Gentoo but I ran into issues with Gentoo like masking errors and Steam with Layman was way too much of a mess for me to fix. Besides, I like being the package manager instead of Portage or Pacman. There's a sense of satisfaction knowing exactly what my packages are, what they do, while also having that comfort of gaming. In reality, I believe there probably has only been 5 people that attempted this, and were one of the people that got through it. I might take a lot of the Steam analytics they do every month.

[Aoi Blue]

Originally posted by Zeckma:

Yeah, I'm aware. It's why I mentioned Gentoo but I ran into issues with Gentoo like masking errors and Steam with Layman was way too much of a mess for me to fix. Besides, I like being the package manager instead of Portage or Pacman. There's a sense of satisfaction knowing exactly what my packages are, what they do, while also having that comfort of gaming. In reality, I believe there probably has only been 5 people that attempted this, and were one of the people that got through it. I might take a lot of the Steam analytics they do every month.

I have word of mouth recommendations of Arch from my friends for you then.

I know who their advice of "Arch is awesome if you want a completely custom system" is for without them telling me.

[Zeckma]

Originally posted by Aoi Blue:

Originally posted by Zeckma:

Yeah, I'm aware. It's why I mentioned Gentoo but I ran into issues with Gentoo like masking errors and Steam with Layman was way too much of a mess for me to fix. Besides, I like being the package manager instead of Portage or Pacman. There's a sense of satisfaction knowing exactly what my packages are, what they do, while also having that comfort of gaming. In reality, I believe there probably has only been 5 people that attempted this, and were one of the people that got through it. I might take a lot of the Steam analytics they do every month.

I have word of mouth recommendations of Arch from my friends for you then.

I know who their advice of "Arch is awesome if you want a completely custom system" is for without them telling me.

I have daily drove Arch for over a year and tried Gentoo on my off time, so I know how they work and stuff, but Gentoo and Arch aren't completely custom. LFS is as custom as you can go before literally turning into Terry A. Davis (RIP), which I might do in the future (making my own system-level apps like booting and logging). I don't wanna debate whether LFS is good or not and what I should be using compared to what I want to be using, again LFS is a special interest of mine, but yeah I love LFS and have tried those minimal "custom" distros, just find LFS to be a better match for me.