Alice: Madness Returns (19680)

[BLaDZer]

System:    Host: blad-pc Kernel: 4.18.3-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Xfce 4.12.4 
           Distro: Manjaro Linux 
CPU:       Topology: 6-Core model: AMD FX-6100 bits: 64 type: MCP L2 cache: 2048 KiB 
           Speed: 1541 MHz min/max: 1400/3300 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1554 2: 1806 3: 1527 4: 1529 
           5: 1535 6: 1529 
Graphics:  Card-1: AMD Pitcairn PRO [Radeon HD 7850 / R7 265 / R9 270 1024SP] driver: amdgpu v: kernel 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.1 driver: amdgpu unloaded: modesetting 
           resolution: 1360x768~60Hz 
           OpenGL: 
           renderer: AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series (PITCAIRN DRM 3.26.0 4.18.3-1-MANJARO LLVM 6.0.1) 
           v: 4.5 Mesa 18.1.6

1. EA Games activation passed only after second try (bug?)
2. Music crackling sometimes
3. After playing a few minutes got a crash crash.log

[Rosuav]

I've heard the crackling music in vanilla Wine too. That may not be a Proton issue.

[ghost]

I had to spam the button to pass the EA activation.

No crashes in 3-5 minutes.

[kisak-valve]

Origin: Alice Madness Returns workaround

Issue transferred from https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/2635. @bendat78 posted on 2019-05-04T09:19:01:

Compatibility Report

• Name of the game with compatibility issues: Origin: Alice Madness Returns
• Steam AppID of the game: -

System Information

• GPU: RX 560
• Driver/LLVM version: Mesa 19.1.0-dev (git-801c5f3319)
• Kernel version: 5.1.0-050100rc7-generic / Ubuntu 18.04.2
• Proton version: 4.2-3
• Origin version: 10.5.38.25027 - 0

I confirm:

• [x] that I haven't found an existing compatibility report for this game.
• [x] that I have checked whether there are updates for my system available.

Reproduction + Workaround on Ubuntu 18.04.2

1. Installing Origin

• Download: https://download.dm.origin.com/origin/live/OriginSetup.exe
• Create a directory for Origin and copy the setupfile there
• edit /etc/systemd/user.conf and /etc/systemd/system.conf so the line reads DefaultLimitNOFILE=1024:1048576
• reboot
• verify with ulimit -Hn should be 1048576
• Open a shell and run while true; do inotifywait Origin; chmod u+w Origin; done in it (Origin being the directory you copied the setup file to) this keeps all files in that directory writable while the installer tries to create them read-only and then tries to write them :)
• Use Steam to run OriginSetup.exe by adding it as a non-steam game, choose Proton 4.2-3
• Run the installer through steam
• Choose the directory you created (and running the above shell for) as target for the installer
• Installing might not work at once, you might have to restart (kill steam, origin and wine processes before you try again)
• After installation change the properties of OriginSetup in Steam to run Origin.exe instead

2. Run Origin from within Steam (remember me on login seems to be the best bet to start Origin reliably) (btw: no need for running the shell anymore)
3. Download Alice
4. Start Alice
5. Enjoy

[Rosuav]

@bendat78, can you recall what your previous limit was before making this change? On my Debian Stretch, the default limit is already 1048576.

[bendat78]

@Rosuav Before it was 4096 on my Ubuntu 18.04.2, which gave me out file handles errors https://github.com/zfigura/wine/blob/esync/README.esync

[bendat78]

@Rosuav Also keep in mind this workaround does not apply to the steam version of Alice but the one on Origin, which might be different in itself. (i.e. mirrors edge on Origin doesn't work with this workaround and the steam version doesnt require it)

[shoober420]

Compatibility Report

• Name of the game with compatibility issues: Alice: Madness Returns
• Steam AppID of the game: https://steamdb.info/app/19680/

System Information

• GPU: GTX 760
• Driver/LLVM version: NVIDIA 440.44
• Kernel version: 5.4.15
• https://gist.github.com/shoober420/1215c40214cf70e1fabb760b5bd2a341
• Proton version: 4.11-15

LOG: steam-19680.log

Symptoms

Times out after selecting "Create account" at EA login screen

UPDATE:

LOG2: steam-19680.log

After trying again and letting it sit after clicking "Create account", I finally got an error message.

[ipr]

With Proton 7.0 game works for me. I think it doesn't use Origin any more.

[Managor]

Game lags for me whenever I move the mouse

[opal1974]

There is a graphical problem in the first level - the effect where you shrink, the screen goes black except for text, making it unplayable. As soon as you get out of that mode, it goes back to normal but you cant see what you're doing when youre in 'shrunk' mode.

EDIT: adding protonlog

steam-19680.log

[kisak-valve]

Alice: Madness Returns (19680)

Issue transferred from https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/6019. @DavidinCT posted on 2022-07-21T12:30:35:

Compatibility Report

• Name of the game with compatibility issues:
• Steam AppID of the game:

System Information

• GPU:
• Driver/LLVM version:
• Kernel version:
• Link to full system information report as Gist:
• Proton version:

I confirm:

• [x] that I haven't found an existing compatibility report for this game.
• [x] that I have checked whether there are updates for my system available.

Symptoms

Reproduction

---

@DavidinCT commented on 2022-07-21T12:35:43:

I have been playing this game on Proton. The game runs and with the right controls (SteamDeck) it seems to run really good. The issue in the game you shrink to get in small places, on a Windows PC or Xbox, it will show like a bubble background(with a sound like hiccups).

On Proton this shows just a black screen making these parts un-passable. This makes the game unplayable as there are parts in the game that YOU NEED to get small to pass. You can play to point but can not pass...

This was installed off a retail CD.

---

@DavidinCT commented on 2022-07-21T13:59:05:

I found more info on this, I have not tested this but, I will... It might be a work-around...

https://steamcommunity.com/app/19680/discussions/0/3417683648802408868/

I got this to stop by disabling post processing in the video settings. Hopefully that helps #

---

@opal1974 commented on 2022-07-23T16:24:16:

I already reported this, and this entry is a duplicate:

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/522

6019 should be merged with 522

[mavispuford]

Can confirm that turning off post processing fixes the black screen issue, but then the game doesn't look as pretty. And it's a bit too tedious to open the menu, go to graphics settings, then enable/disable post processing, so i just leave it off at all times. 😟

[ruineka]

Ran into the same issue today.

[Blisto91]

Thanks for the reports. Should be fixed upstream in dxvk soon. Edit: It is now

[mavispuford]

@Blisto91 So the fix did make the black screen go away for chapters 1 and 2, but it's back in chapter 3 unfortunately. If it helps, I have the zipped "AliceGame' folder which contains a checkpoint in chapter 3. You just have to wait a few seconds, then push L to go small and you'll see it.

AliceGame.zip

The contents of the zip file go here: /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/19680/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/My Games/Alice Madness Returns/

The important folder is "Checkpoints" but I figured I would include the game config files too in case they are relevant.

Thanks for all your hard work on this!

[Blisto91]

Thanks for the report again and for providing a save, i will check it out. This is on proton experimental right?

Thank the dxvk devs not me. I just try help testing and providing logs and such 🙂

[mavispuford]

Oh wow, I just checked and force compatibility was unchecked, so it would have been the latest stable version. There must have been some kind of partial fix in there.

I did just switch to experimental and it looks like it's resolved. Thanks for pointing that out!

[Blisto91]

Hehe good to hear.

[eyeonus]

The game crashes for me on Steam Deck at the completion of the first Radula Room in chapter 3. I go in, correctly answer "Dreams" to the riddle, collect the paint pot, then it does the zoom in to Alice's eye thing and I'm dumped back to Steam.

The deck is on whatever the current stable branch version is as of this writing, and the game is using the default settings (i.e., it does not have a specific Proton version being forced).

I transferred the save game to my Win box and played past that point without any crash, so I don't think it is a problem within the game itself. I have attached the same folder @mavispuford did above, in case that helps. If you load the game from this save file, you will be standing directly outside the problematic Radula Room.

AliceGame.tar.gz

[kisak-valve]

Hello @eyeonus, please add PROTON_LOG=1 %command% to the game's launch options, reproduce the game crash, and attach the generated $HOME/steam-$APPID.log to this issue report as a file. (Proton logs compress well if needed.)

[eyeonus]

Here you are:

steam-19680.log

[kisak-valve]

Thanks, I think the log hints at a null pointer access violation related to APEX Framework and the game's main thread.

[eyeonus]

All I can say is, it's not the first time the game has crashed on exiting a Radula Room, but it is the first time it's crashed on every exit consistently, so hopefully the info I've provided helps to figure out the issue.

[eyeonus]

Game consistently displays keyboard glyphs in all tutorial windows, which is not noted in the game details.

Please list "This game sometimes shows mouse, keyboard, or non-Steam-Deck controller icons" to the compatibility notes.

[CookieDoodle]

Compatibility Report

• Name of the game with compatibility issues: Alice: Madness Returns
• Steam AppID of the game: 19680

System Information

• Steam Deck: Steam OS Stable Channel v3.4.4
• Driver/LLVM version: 4.6, Mesa 22.2.0 (git-17e5312102)
• Kernel version: 5.13.0-valve36-1-neptune
• Link to full system information report as Gist
• Proton version: ??? / Default Proton

I confirm:

• [X] that I haven't found an existing compatibility report for this game.
• [X] that I have checked whether there are updates for my system available.

Symptoms

A:MR when installed on a Micro SD card doesn't create the necessary folder structure to save your game. Manually creating the folder structure inside Proton compatdata/pfx fixes the issue.

Correct path: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Alice Madness Returns\AliceGame\CheckPoint\

Reproduction

Launch game. Try to save.

[Managor]

Are the blinding glares and flickers in the first wonderland level a game issue or a dxvk issue? It is not pleasant to look at.

[Managor]

This is footage on the Deck: https://youtu.be/_5rX4HQkyXo Proton version does not matter. Happened on 7.0-6 and experimental. The flickers only happen on the Deck. On my desktop neither GTX 1060 or RX 5700 causes these flickers.

[Managor]

Alright, the issue was most likely caused by leftover DLLs. Reinstall removed the flickers.