How do I run my game on Steam Deck? (crashes) - UPDATE: SOLVED

Hi. I've uploaded the build (made via Nw.js) of my game made on Construct 3 to Steam, everything works fine on PC, Windows. But then I tried turning the game on Steam Deck: the game starts to launch (steam deck loading-circle logo is shown) and after a few seconds the game just crashes with no error message and leads me back to starting a game Steam menu.

I've thought that the issue might be that I did not inclue Greenworks addon in it and did not use "Export for Steam" options while building for NW.js. So I've tried adding Greenworks-0.71.0 to the project and building the game with it. Then I added steam sdk files (steam_api64.dll and sdkencryptedappticket64.dll) to the build, as Greenworks plugin asks. I reuploaded the build to Steam and tried launching the game again on Steam Deck. Now the game does not crush, but loads it indefinitely (forever).

Please, anyone who has Steam Deck, reply if you had similar issues and especially if you know how to fix them. Thanks!

Additional data:

- Construct 3 Release r336 stable

- Greenworks-0.71.0

- Steam SDK 1.50

- Additional addons used in the project: Animate_Text, Csv2array, RimLight (don't think it's the addons fault though)

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UPDATE: If you have this issue look down on my next comments to see instructions on how to try to make your game work on Steam Deck.

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No offense, but reporting C3 issues throughout the past ~6 years of development has felt like pissing in the wind a lot of the time. It's pretty draining.

I'm planning to put a bounty on the issue eventually. While it would be nice if the Deck worked, it's not the primary focus.

One thing to note - it doesn't seem to be what is in the game that causes issues. The game simply does not launch at all. There's something before it even accesses the game code that's preventing it from opening.

Issue submitted

https://github.com/Scirra/Construct-bugs/issues/7034

Today, I will spend most of the time trying new ways to export it. Removing things, adding things, and seeing if I can pinpoint what causes it to crash / hang.

Thank you so much! Please, leave a message here if you find anything. So far I wasn't able to launch my game on Steam Deck =/

Issue submitted

https://github.com/Scirra/Construct-bugs/issues/7034

Today, I will spend most of the time trying new ways to export it. Removing things, adding things, and seeing if I can pinpoint what causes it to crash / hang.

UPDATE: managed to launch my game via a specific Linux build! It WORKS!

Here is what I did:

0) Download Greenworks addon for Construct 3, install it and put Greenworks object in your project Object types.

1) Make a build via NW.js exporter. Choose NW.js version v0.71.0 (Chromium 108), Linux64 as a target platform. Options on: Package assets, Compress final zip, Resizable window, Ignore GPU blacklist, Export for Steam (everything else - Window frame, Kiosk mode, Enable DevTools - off). Command line options - nothing.

2) Unpack the .zip build using WinRAR.

3) Download the Steam SDK 1.50 from here: partner.steamgames.com/downloads/list

4) Copy the libsteam_api.so from "sdk/redistributable_bin/linux64"

5) Copy the libsdkencryptedappticket.so from the "sdk/public/steam/lib/linux64"

6) Create steam_appid.txt file and put your Steam application number in it (only the number, nothing else)

7) Put all three files in the main build folder (near lib, locales and swiftshader folder). I did not figure out if libsteam_api.so and libsdkencryptedappticket.so need to go in the main build folder or in the "lib" folder, so I've put all three files in the "lib" folder of the build as well - just to be sure the files will be found by the game.

8) Make a new .zip file of the main game folder (not the upper-folder itself, but all the lib, locales and swiftshader folders and files to be on top of the zip archive)

9) Upload it to Steam. You may use a beta-branch for testing - it doesn't matter, just don't forget to enter your beta-code and use the correct branch if you're using your other branch.

10) In SteamWorks site go to App Admin > General Installation Settings. Make TWO different launch options - one for Windows (Executable ending with ".exe", Operating System > Windows), and a separate one for Linux + Steam OS (no file type there - only the game name, needs to be the same as the game name file in the game build folder).

11) In SteamWorks site go to App Admin > Application > General and tick "Supported Operating Systems" on both Windows AND Linux + Steam OS.

12) Don't forget to publish all the changes and delete your previous downloaded builds if you tested any. And do that every time you try and change anything.

If you have any additional questions - write to me, and I can check again all my steps again and maybe help to find out why it's working on my game and not yours.

Thanks for that

So I tried all of those things, but some of my settings ended up being slightly different. I couldn't package assets, for example. Eventually the game managed to launch, but I was stuck with a NW.JS screen. A bit more tinkering and the actual game launched, but then the gamepad controls were broken and nothing could be clicked / interacted with.

dop2000 suggested I try changing the way fullscreen was being called... and holy hell... that seems to have fixed it.

I must have spent days on this issue (literally). But it's working now. Just waiting for some other people to confirm before I get too excited, but this is the first time I've had it going on the Deck in a while (and without compatibility fixes).

Hopefully this thread helps others if they run into the same issue!

Thanks