Missing runtime libraries for video playback

[w-culhane]

I've noticed that in many games, cutscenes are replaced with a test pattern (e.g. the startup video in GRIP).

It looks like the relevant section of the log is:

(wine:56731): GStreamer-WARNING **: 09:44:40.376: Failed to load plugin '/home/user/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/UMU-Proton-9.0-3.2/files/lib64/gstreamer-1.0/libgstlibav.so': libavfilter.so.7: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

(wine:56731): GStreamer-WARNING **: 09:44:40.415: Failed to load plugin '/home/user/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/UMU-Proton-9.0-3.2/files/lib/gstreamer-1.0/libgstlibav.so': /home/user/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/UMU-Proton-9.0-3.2/files/lib/gstreamer-1.0/libgstlibav.so: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32

However, the linked libavfilter.so.7 exists on my system (along with all the rest of the linked libraries):

 $ ldd /home/user/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/UMU-Proton-9.0-3.2/files/lib64/gstreamer-1.0/libgstlibav.so
        linux-vdso.so.1 (0x000079c970474000)
        libavfilter.so.7 => /usr/lib/libavfilter.so.7 (0x000079c96fe00000)
        <snip>

It seems that libavfilter.so.7 (and possibly some other libraries GStreamer links against) aren't included with the runtime and the included Proton fails to play some videos without them.

I am using the latest umu-launcher, Proton and Steam Runtime on Arch Linux:

umu-launcher version 1.1.4 (3.13.1 (main, Dec  4 2024, 18:05:56) [GCC 14.2.1 20240910])
UMU-Proton is up to date
steamrt is up to date

[R1kaB3rN]

The file libavfilter.so.7 being missing is currently expected for both UMU-Proton and official Proton builds, and umu-launcher can't do anything about that. It's also expected for that file to not be included in the Steam Linux Runtime (sniper) either. However, it is included in GE-Proton builds so I would suggest using that for cases you encounter the test pattern.

I will say though, building other multimedia libraries to help with in-game media playback is something that will be possible once we start customizing the runtime. That way users, can maintain using a stable Proton build instead of switching to GE-Proton whenever they encounter the test pattern.

[loathingKernel]

The file libavfilter.so.7 being missing is currently expected for both UMU-Proton

There is also the option of UMU-Proton shipping it, the same way it is made available in Proton-GE. Steam has the fallback of "Shader Pre-Caching" for decoding unsupported formats for the official Protons, which is not available to umu-launcher.

I will say though, building other multimedia libraries to help with in-game media playback is something that will be possible #4.

This is not an option, because the libraries bundled with a Proton build take priority https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/blob/proton_9.0/proton#L1376-L1381 over the ones in the runtime. So the Proton build should be modified to not bundle the gstreamer libraries (in effect making it unusable with Steam) or ship a modified proton script. On the other hand, this also means that modifying the runtime won't help with Valve's Protons work, as their bundled gstreamer doesn't support the necessary codecs anyway.

[GloriousEggroll]

This is a limitation of Valve's proton and subsequently UMU-Proton as it is based off of Valve's. If you want extra codec support for video playback as mentioned use GE-Proton.