Community Forums - Unsupported Builds

It appears that using the supported install files for the steam client on a clean install of CXG now carries DX 9 into the bottle by default (Microsoft DirectX Runtime - Modern?). This means that most games capable of DX 9 also default to DX 9 mode and refuse to run for me. In particular, any time I attempt to run a semi-recent game I will briefly get a white screen followed by a silent (e.g. no error box pops up) crash to desktop. So far I've only been able to alleviate this by forcing games to run in DX 8 via command line args or config file editing.

Looking around it seems that I'm the first (or only) person to have this problem as I could find no other posts describing similar problems. Is DX 9 functioning for everyone else using CXG 9.0b4? What could be wrong with my system to break it?

FYI:
CXG 9.0b4
OSX 10.5.8
A1226 Santa Rosa MacBook Pro
Intel C2D 2.4 GHz
4 Gb Ram
Nvidia 8600M GT (technically DX 10 capable under Boot Camp Windows Vista/7)

I should also point out that even in DX8 mode games that used to function exceptionally well (HL 2 for instance) stutter constantly now to the point that it's barely worth playing them.

Also, as a secondary issue, installing games via steam no longer creates an app which allows me to launch the game directly.

First of all, CrossOver has a built-in Direct3D capability and has had for a while. Certainly CrossOver Games 8.x was DirectX 9 capable. Most games would have defaulted to DirectX 9 under CrossOver Games 8.x, too.

We have been installing Microsoft's DirectX as a dependency of Steam for a while, too.

Installing Microsoft's DirectX actually doesn't affect core graphics level used by most games, anyway. The core of Microsoft's Direct3D can't function under CrossOver, because it needs direct access to the hardware and intimate interaction with the actual Windows OS. That's why CrossOver has its own implementation of Direct3D.

We install Microsoft's DirectX for its other components, other than Direct3D.

Having got that out of the way, there is a known issue with your system. We've got a couple of nearly identical MacBook Pros here at the company. CrossOver Games 8.x has a workaround for a known crashing bug in the Leopard graphics drivers, but that workaround was accidentally disabled in CrossOver Games 9.0b4. We have since re-enabled it in internal builds. The fix will be in the next beta.

The next beta will also include some performance improvements. We're still working on more, beyond that.

Regarding the lack of a launcher mini-app for games installed via Steam, that's a good catch. Thanks for reporting that. The new version of Steam seems to have changed the way it's creating Start Menu shortcuts for its games. It used to create shortcut files with .lnk extensions. Now it appears to be creating "internet shortcut" files with .url extensions. These files, when opened, essentially open a URL. In this case, it's a "steam://" URL, which gets passed to Steam, and which Steam interprets as a request to run the particular game.

Our system for translating Start Menu shortcuts into the native desktop environment -- on the Mac, launcher mini-apps in the Programs folder/menu -- just doesn't know about these .url files. I've file this issue in our bug tracker.

Hi,

First up, the secondary issue you refer to here is fodder for a beta report..see;

http://www.codeweavers.com/beta/crossover/report/enter/

If you can't access that page (I see you're a customer and not an advocate), I would
send an email to info@codeweavers.com regarding this....unless of course it's related
to this posting from Ken...;

http://www.codeweavers.com/support/forums/general/?t=25;mhl=79590#msg79590

As for the directx thing...I agree - I'm not seeing any reports from others like this,
(although I thought a Steam install always pulled-in dx9..?...), but whatever...during
the incline to the CXG-9.0 release, I have been running/checking newer versions of directx
runtime with the hope such may be included in the CXG-9.0 release (some titles I have
need the newer version) -- in that regard, have a look at my posting in the following
thread (down near the bottom) about how to install the feb2010 directx redist..;

http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=6580;forum=1;mhl=79472;msg=78537

That may be worth a shot -- let us know how you get on if you try it.

Finally, this posting/discussion -really- belongs on the Beta forums, not here...see;

http://www.codeweavers.com/beta/crossover/forum/

Cheers!

edit: oops...Ken posted here while I was away from the keyboard.../me shoots self in foot

Thank-you both for the informative and cogent replies, I do appreciate them. Also, my apologies for my rashness and ignorance of the state of DX in CXG--I've been carrying the same bottles forward for a year and a half at this point and haven't actually installed steam into a bottle for quite some time. I only installed it again now in a bid to isolate the problem and try to find a workaround, leading me to DX 8 and subsequently my mis-informed accusations.

It seems I'll just have to wait for the next beta release to play steam games. Knowing a fix is in the works (or by the sound of it already implemented) is quite comforting though.

Oh, also, the two links provided by Don (noted below) are restricted and I don't have access--I'll simply trust that Ken submitted the relevant bug report as I haven't the access to them. Also, this seems to be the closest forum to a beta forum that I have permissions for so I'm not sure I could have done much better in properly filing it, sorry.

Thanks again for the prompt responses.

Artist Formally Known as Dot wrote:

http://www.codeweavers.com/beta/crossover/report/enter/

http://www.codeweavers.com/beta/crossover/forum/

Yeah, I suspected as much...only advocates have access there I think, and
no big deal posting here (this forum) in such instances- no apology needed,
I'm just a horrible pedant most of the time ;) As a customer however, you
can always use info@codeweavers.com as your main contact portal, which is
tantamount to filing a support ticket, entering a beta report, etcetera and
so on..ie; an email to that address will be filed in the 'right spot' even
if you otherwise can't access those areas...always handy to know, but rest
assured that Ken would've already lodged this issue in the bug-tracker..

Thanks also for clarifying the directx situation...had me a tad confused there
for a moment..<grin>...

Cheers!