Multiplayer on Linux under Proton - SOLVED

[Eeve]

Wondering if there is any work-around for players on Linux (in my case Ubuntu) to get the game working for multiplayer? Or plans from the developers to address online connectivity issues.

In order to boot up the game at all I have to switch to an older version of Proton (7.x). In that case single player works just fine so far.

However if I try to host a multiplayer world or join one, I get the popup message in-game:

"Failed To Connect
Unable to connect to online services. Please try again later."

I've been trying this off and on for over a month now.

- I checked all my firewall settings, the game should be able to reach out to the servers.
- I've tried every version of proton and tried the settings other people have mentioned on protondb.com.
- I tried launching via the Heroic game launcher.

Something is wrong with the game or server-side and it won't let Linux players connect.

We had bought two copies to play with my husband (he's on Windows) but this is a no-go and we refunded his copy, but for me it was too late. {sad panda} :(

[Eeve]

Also it's frustrating that I seem to have to connect to the developer's servers. Direct peer-to-peer multiplayer when it's just a couple of players - pick one to be the host - would solve this problem and not leave those of us who've paid for the game, at the mercy of 3rd party servers for what isn't an MMO or persistent world game.

[Eeve]

Latest update that included the Dedicated Servers 1.0 update has not included a fix for this problem. About to just give up.

[RPG Gamer Man]

There might be a place that can help you. In the community forum, there is a forum that is dedicated specifically for linux software. I suggest asking there, and make sure to explain you asked here and nobody could help you here.

Here is the link for it:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/221410/discussions/


Good luck!

[Brother Cadfael]

I just tested the online functionality. On the default proton version I got the same failed to connect message when trying to host online. After switching to the proton hotfix it gave me an invite code and started up without an issue. Didn't have someone to try and connect to me though. This is on Kubuntu 24.04

[Eeve]

I have bent myself into a pretzel to get the game to even launch under anything other than Proton 7.0-6 and nothing else works. So later Proton versions may have patched this, but I'm stuck. Maybe I'll have to shelve this for a few years until I get a new PC and update my distro version.

[Brother Cadfael]

I don't know if you'll find this useful or not, but I tried out a few different proton versions. On hotfix and experimental it launched and online worked. On 7, 8 and 9 it would launch, but online didn't work. On Glorious Eggroll 9-25 it was crashing on launch. No launch options used on any of them. Kubuntu 24.04 with an AMD CPU and GPU.

[Toad]

> In order to boot up the game at all I have to switch to an older version of Proton (7.x).

I don't have to do this at all. Default Proton. Single player and multi player work, except for once in a while crashes.

Have not tried connecting to a dedicated server game.

OpenSUSE Tumbleweed
AMD Ryzen 9
Radeon RX 6700 XT

[MansLaughter]

Originally posted by Brother Cadfael:

I don't know if you'll find this useful or not, but I tried out a few different proton versions. On hotfix and experimental it launched and online worked. On 7, 8 and 9 it would launch, but online didn't work. On Glorious Eggroll 9-25 it was crashing on launch. No launch options used on any of them. Kubuntu 24.04 with an AMD CPU and GPU.

Both proton experimental and experimental [bleeding-edge] run the game without any issues on my end. No warnings about connection or any of that jazz. I am able to host a game and generate an invite code, but I don't know anyone else that plays this so I can't verify that MP works.

If the game is crashing on launch, try deleting all of the "LOGO" videos from /steamapps/common/The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria™/Moria/Content/Movies. I was having an issue where the game would hang on launch with GE-proton9-25 trying to play an intro video that just would not cooperate and that fixed it.

That likely means that, for whatever reason, the video decoder is broken in-game with GE-proton and ALL videos will freak out when played. Either that or it is just a thing on my end.

Manjaro 6.13.3-1 with 570 nvidia drivers on Wayland.

Originally posted by Eeve:

I have bent myself into a pretzel to get the game to even launch under anything other than Proton 7.0-6 and nothing else works. So later Proton versions may have patched this, but I'm stuck. Maybe I'll have to shelve this for a few years until I get a new PC and update my distro version.

What cpu and gpu are you trying to run the game with? If proton 7 works but nothing past that point, then your gpu might not support newer versions of Vulkan. I think proton 7 is the last version of proton to support Vulkan 1.2. Do you have issues in any other games?

You could try running "vulkaninfo | less" in terminal to see what version you are currently running. Now, proton 7 causing network issues? I have absolutely zero clue as to why that would be happening.

[Eeve]

Tried removing the logo videos only and then all videos and that unfortunately didn't solve it. The intro videos do play without problems on Proton 7.

Vulkan Instance Version: 1.2.131
AMD - Ryzen 5 3600
Nvidia Geforce 3060
Nvidia Driver 545-open

Hm... I assume Vulkan comes with the Nvidia drivers. But I also don't see why that would cause networking issues unless it's the downgrade of Proton.

Don't have problems with many other games. Baldur's Gate 3, Icarus, ARK, and many more all ran perfectly.

[MansLaughter]

Originally posted by Eeve:

Tried removing the logo videos only and then all videos and that unfortunately didn't solve it. The intro videos do play without problems on Proton 7.

Vulkan Instance Version: 1.2.131
AMD - Ryzen 5 3600
Nvidia Geforce 3060
Nvidia Driver 545-open

Hm... I assume Vulkan comes with the Nvidia drivers. But I also don't see why that would cause networking issues unless it's the downgrade of Proton.

Don't have problems with many other games. Baldur's Gate 3, Icarus, ARK, and many more all ran perfectly.

So, that explains why proton 7 is the only one that works. If you haven't told BG3 or ARK to explicitly use a version of proton then they should automatically select the appropriate one. An easy test would be to force a game you know runs to use something like proton hotfix or experimental. Something newer than 7, anyway.

That 3060[vulkan.gpuinfo.org] should support vulkan 1.4 (I do see some 1.3s on Ubuntu, tho) at minimum, unless it is a weird custom or neutered laptop chip. Nvidia drivers are rough on Linux. AMD and intel users definitely have it better/easier in that regard.

You said you are using Ubuntu, right? Do you know what release? It is usually something like Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and a code name like "Jammy Jellyfish". You can also type

lsb_release -a

into terminal and it should tell you. The only reason I ask is that I think, from what I've read, Ubuntu likes to lock things behind releases. I am not super familiar with Ubuntu, so please take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. If all else fails, hit up the "Additional Drivers" utility and see if there is anything newer for your card.

I can confirm that proton7 also gives me networking errors. I am assuming that the game is doing something network-wise that proton7 doesn't know how to deal with.

I don't know if any of this is helping or just making things worse, but my intentions are good.

Also, please forgive me if you know how to do all of this already. I come from a tech support background (Windows mostly) and it is ingrained in me to assume the person on the other end has absolutely no idea what they are doing. It is not personal and I apologize if I have come across poorly.

[Eeve]

Originally posted by MansLaughter:

So, that explains why proton 7 is the only one that works. If you haven't told BG3 or ARK to explicitly use a version of proton then they should automatically select the appropriate one. An easy test would be to force a game you know runs to use something like proton hotfix or experimental. Something newer than 7, anyway.

...

Also, please forgive me if you know how to do all of this already. I come from a tech support background (Windows mostly) and it is ingrained in me to assume the person on the other end has absolutely no idea what they are doing. It is not personal and I apologize if I have come across poorly.

I'm on Ubuntu 20.04. This was a PC I built a few years ago to be my main development machine (I'm a web developer) and gaming was an important but secondary consideration. Also graphics cards were in short supply thank to crypto and I got the best I could get my hands on without going broke. I have no plans to upgrade any time soon... the machine isn't old enough and I've had absolute mayhem trying to upgrade Ubuntu in-place so 20.04 it shall be (got the extended support) for the time being. I'd have to redo a lot of my painstaking configuration for work and uuugh I'm just not into facing that... yet. LOL (I know you weren't suggesting an upgrade... just venting my own frustration.)

Don't worry, I didn't take this as condescending in any way, I love when people go into lots of detail like this. Even if it's info I already know, it's good to sanity check my assumptions. I appreciate the feedback though. I'll see what I can find re new drivers, etc.

I didn't realise that not setting a specific Proton version means that it will choose one - I thought that meant it would be using the latest. Good to know this tip! Guess I'm not benefiting from Proton updates as much as I thought I've been.

[Eeve]

Upgraded to the 560 version of the NVIDIA drivers and that didn't seem to come with an update to Vulkan like I though it would. Don't think it's officially supported for Ubuntu 20.04. I'll look into getting it another way.

[Eeve]

Yup got Vulkan 1.3.x now. Same deal.

Siiigh.

[Eeve]

Originally posted by MansLaughter:

I don't know if any of this is helping or just making things worse, but my intentions are good.

OMG IT'S WORKING!!!

I don't know which combo of changes did it, but thank you x1000 @MansLaughter for getting the ball rolling.

What I did for anyone else who lands here:

- Updated my Nvidia Drivers to the latest one available (under "Additional Drivers"). Currently 560. Reboot.
- Updated Vulkan from vulkan.lunarg.com and got the latest version that they have a build for Ubuntu 20.04. (Vulkan 1.3.280). Reboot.
- Moved any video file with the word 'logo' in the name, from the directory: /home/myuser/.steam/debian-installation/steamapps/common/The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria™/Moria/Content/Movies/.
- Used the Glorious Eggroll version of Proton 9-25 and switched to that.
- Launch options "-dx11".

Don't know if all of these steps or just some were the magic bullet, but I'll take it.

DLC Page in the game works now, and I can start the steps of hosting a game. Will have to get my husband to re-buy the game and see how it goes.

Progress!!

(Will add my tinker report to ProtonDB once I confirm we can actually play.)

[Eeve]

That's a beautiful sight.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3434831586