Here is the context... I'm on Ubuntu 19.10 with Nvidia driver 440.59 (GTX 1660 Super). I've been trying to play Witcher 3 on Gnome/KDE/Cinnamon desktop and had a lot of tearing/stuttering issues. I tried the usual "Force Full Composition Pipeline" and it kind of worked (there is still some micro stuttering), but If I try to activate the in-game Vsync, I'm back to square one. Thing is, there is no fps cap and my GPU fans tends to skyrocket, without Vsync.

So... This week, I discovered a workaround... Just creating the xorg.conf file (via the nvidia control panel), without the "Force Full Composition Pipeline" option seems to solve my issue... After that, in-game Vsync works great, comparable to when I run my games in the SteamOS-compositor.

Does it makes sense? Is this a placebo effect? :)

Do you have G-Sync, or compatible monitor(s)?

Here is the context... I'm on Ubuntu 19.10 with Nvidia driver 440.59 (GTX 1660 Super). I've been trying to play Witcher 3 on Gnome/KDE/Cinnamon desktop and had a lot of tearing/stuttering issues. I tried the usual "Force Full Composition Pipeline" and it kind of worked (there is still some micro stuttering), but If I try to activate the in-game Vsync, I'm back to square one. Thing is, there is no fps cap and my GPU fans tends to skyrocket, without Vsync.

So... This week, I discovered a workaround... Just creating the xorg.conf file (via the nvidia control panel), without the "Force Full Composition Pipeline" option seems to solve my issue... After that, in-game Vsync works great, comparable to when I run my games in the SteamOS-compositor.

Does it makes sense? Is this a placebo effect? :)

Do you have G-Sync, or compatible monitor(s)?

Nope! It's connected to my 4 years old Panasonic HD TV.

https://www.polygon.com/2020/3/12/21176479/cd-projekt-red-next-game-cyberpunk-witcher

We can always hope...

Just some nice screenshots - on the mountain path to Fornhala




Last edited by Shmerl on 16 Mar 2020 at 1:32 pm UTC

I like that road. It's very unique, with harsh weather and it seems so desolate.

It seems to work, but the sound is crackling in the intro movies (the game itself seems to be fine so far), such as before the main menu and when starting new game or after finishing training in the beginning of the game. Tried the Steam version and the GOG version in Lutris (installed manually like here https://forums.lutris.net/t/very-brief-tutorial-on-manually-installing-a-game-in-lutris/2028 ) with different Wine and Proton versions, PulseAudio latency and restart options.
Anyone else having this issue?

Here is the recording where you should be able to hear that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxLDM8A0WjM

PulseAudio configs: https://gist.github.com/AlexP11223/dd52dba1fb6b859ab5de4080487e6a2f
Tried to remove my custom settings from daemon.conf, no effects.

PopOS 19.10, Intel 9900k, Nvidia 1080.

Last edited by AlexP on 28 Mar 2020 at 10:35 pm UTC

Likely a hardware related bug. Try a different audio card for a test.

Last edited by Shmerl on 29 Mar 2020 at 12:24 am UTC

How could it be a hw bug if other people can hear it in the recording?

If the bug is in your kernel audio driver (ALSA), then it will be in your recording too, so not sure what's the question. Testing it with another audio card can confirm that it's not a Wine / faudio issue. If it happens with any card you try, it could be something on the higher level.

These kind of problems happen with some hardware, and there is no good userspace fix for it.

Last edited by Shmerl on 29 Mar 2020 at 5:03 pm UTC

Just exploring some wilderness areas on Spikeroog


Exploring the Skellige sea:

A lonely uncrewed longship





Last edited by Shmerl on 31 Mar 2020 at 2:59 am UTC

The mysterious Billerud Isle in Skellige archipelago










Last edited by Shmerl on 31 Mar 2020 at 3:42 am UTC

If the bug is in your kernel audio driver (ALSA), then it will be in your recording too, so not sure what's the question. Testing it with another audio card can confirm that it's not a Wine / faudio issue. If it happens with any card you try, it could be something on the higher level.

These kind of problems happen with some hardware, and there is no good userspace fix for it.

Tried another USB sound card, the same issue. :(

Tried another USB sound card, the same issue. :(

Then it could be Wine related. What is your Wine and faudio versions? Also, may be your PulseAudio is CPU starved?

What is your Wine and faudio versions?

Not sure about FAudio, I tried different Lutris Wine and Proton versions, 4.12-5.4.

Also, may be your PulseAudio is CPU starved?

Probably not, the CPU is 9900k and the issue is only in the pre-rendered movies like when starting the game, which are probably not very CPU consuming.

Last edited by AlexP on 31 Mar 2020 at 10:03 pm UTC

Check if you even have faudio in the system and that it's recent enough.

In the system? As I understand it's included in Proton or Lutris Wine builds.

Last edited by AlexP on 1 Apr 2020 at 5:06 pm UTC

No, faudio is a system library. For example, for me in Debian testing:

dpkg --list | grep faudio

ii  libfaudio0:amd64  19.12-1  amd64  XAudio sound processing reimplementation - library
ii  libfaudio0:i386   19.12-1  i386   XAudio sound processing reimplementation - library

It's behind the current release, but works OK.

Last edited by Shmerl on 1 Apr 2020 at 5:09 pm UTC

https://forum.level1techs.com/t/faudio-for-dummies-ubuntu-based-distros/144345

Proton releases come with FAudio already so it is OOTB ready for games that use XAudio.

https://github.com/lutris/lutris/wiki/Wine-Builds

Includes a lot of patches and improvements from Proton, including fshack, esync, faudio

the system one is
dpkg --list | grep faudio
ii  libfaudio0:amd64 19.07-1 amd64 XAudio
but I think it's not used unless you somehow force it.

Last edited by AlexP on 1 Apr 2020 at 5:14 pm UTC

I'm not using Proton or Lutris, I'm using WineHQ builds of Wine. They are using system faudio straight. Not sure what happens in other cases, faudio can also be built statically, so it's possible for Wine to ship with it.

19.07 is pretty old though. Try installing a newer version.

Last edited by Shmerl on 1 Apr 2020 at 5:19 pm UTC