The Linux Thread!

[POGtastic]

Well, I fixed it, and I'm not sure how. I tried monkeying around with the anti-aliasing and filtering settings, and it started rendering. Just to see if I could break it again, I started putting the settings back... and it's still good. Weird.

[skeevy]

Just thought I'd post that I changed from Mint 17 to Manjaro 8.10 and I'm loving KSP so much more with this distro hop. Even better, I'm using the open source radeon driver with Manjaro and kernel 3.16 and it feels about the same if not better than 14.9 fglrx on Mint 17 with a 3.15 kernel. Amazing how running the latest radeon driver on the latest Xorg brings good improvements.

IMHO, if you have a newer AMD GPU and are tired of Ubuntu, give Manjaro a shot. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

It also comes with Steam installed by default for all us Steam KSPers.

[Ledenko]

Disclaimer: I don't know a whole lot about Linux

I have a laptop with an Intel HD4000 gpu, is there any way to make it work smooth-ish? I tested it on a Win7 install which works very well, but I'd like to get it to work for reasons. I'm guessing Intel Linux GPU drivers simply aren't meant for this?

fake edit: I did try upgrading Mesa, it seems the framerate is a bit better but physics calculation is slow.

[skeevy]

Disclaimer: I don't know a whole lot about Linux

I have a laptop with an Intel HD4000 gpu, is there any way to make it work smooth-ish? I tested it on a Win7 install which works very well, but I'd like to get it to work for reasons. I'm guessing Intel Linux GPU drivers simply aren't meant for this?

fake edit: I did try upgrading Mesa, it seems the framerate is a bit better but physics calculation is slow.

Honestly, it depends on what distro you're running. The more up-to-date the distro, the better. Intel drivers are a combo of Xorg, Mesa, and Kernel parts, so all three need to be as up-to-date as possible for the best performance. For example, with Ubuntu 14.04 and my AMD R7 GPU, I had to use the FGLRX proprietary driver because I didn't have good success with the Radeon open source driver. Earlier this week I changed to Manjaro which has near bleeding-edge stuff; now I can use the Radeon driver with no issues and it's just as fast as my previous Ubuntu setup (ahem, technically Mint) with a proprietary driver.

Regardless of what ya do, those HD4000's aren't know to be the best on Linux, but with some reduced graphics settings and updating Xorg, Mesa, and Kernel as much as you can, you might get some better performance. Post your distro and specs if you need help updating those.

@sal_vager

Two things, 1) Would it be possible for the support section(s) to have some by-OS subsections? Like Windows Support, OSX Support, and Linux Support. It would make it a lot easier to find help and get assistance with operating system issues if we weren't all lumped into the same threads.

And 2) Just posting the updated ldd for 0.25 so post 2 can be updated (from Manjaro 8.10)

64-bit then 32 bit...I prefer lazy * commands

[skeevy@nebula Kerbal Space Program]$ ldd ./K*4    linux-vdso.so.1 (0x00007ffff1bfc000)
    libdl.so.2 => /usr/lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00007f83fac12000)
    libpthread.so.0 => /usr/lib/libpthread.so.0 (0x00007f83fa9f6000)
    librt.so.1 => /usr/lib/librt.so.1 (0x00007f83fa7ee000)
    libGLU.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGLU.so.1 (0x00007f83fa56d000)
    libGL.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 (0x00007f83fa2d3000)
    libX11.so.6 => /usr/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00007f83f9f91000)
    libXext.so.6 => /usr/lib/libXext.so.6 (0x00007f83f9d7f000)
    libXcursor.so.1 => /usr/lib/libXcursor.so.1 (0x00007f83f9b74000)
    libXrandr.so.2 => /usr/lib/libXrandr.so.2 (0x00007f83f996a000)
    libm.so.6 => /usr/lib/libm.so.6 (0x00007f83f9665000)
    libgcc_s.so.1 => /usr/lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00007f83f944f000)
    libc.so.6 => /usr/lib/libc.so.6 (0x00007f83f90ac000)
    /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00007f83fae16000)
    libstdc++.so.6 => /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6 (0x00007f83f8d9d000)
    libexpat.so.1 => /usr/lib/libexpat.so.1 (0x00007f83f8b73000)
    libglapi.so.0 => /usr/lib/libglapi.so.0 (0x00007f83f8949000)
    libXdamage.so.1 => /usr/lib/libXdamage.so.1 (0x00007f83f8746000)
    libXfixes.so.3 => /usr/lib/libXfixes.so.3 (0x00007f83f8540000)
    libX11-xcb.so.1 => /usr/lib/libX11-xcb.so.1 (0x00007f83f833e000)
    libxcb-glx.so.0 => /usr/lib/libxcb-glx.so.0 (0x00007f83f8124000)
    libxcb-dri2.so.0 => /usr/lib/libxcb-dri2.so.0 (0x00007f83f7f1f000)
    libxcb-dri3.so.0 => /usr/lib/libxcb-dri3.so.0 (0x00007f83f7d1c000)
    libxcb-present.so.0 => /usr/lib/libxcb-present.so.0 (0x00007f83f7b19000)
    libxcb-randr.so.0 => /usr/lib/libxcb-randr.so.0 (0x00007f83f790b000)
    libxcb-xfixes.so.0 => /usr/lib/libxcb-xfixes.so.0 (0x00007f83f7703000)
    libxcb-render.so.0 => /usr/lib/libxcb-render.so.0 (0x00007f83f74f9000)
    libxcb-shape.so.0 => /usr/lib/libxcb-shape.so.0 (0x00007f83f72f5000)
    libxcb-sync.so.1 => /usr/lib/libxcb-sync.so.1 (0x00007f83f70ee000)
    libxcb.so.1 => /usr/lib/libxcb.so.1 (0x00007f83f6ecc000)
    libxshmfence.so.1 => /usr/lib/libxshmfence.so.1 (0x00007f83f6cc9000)
    libXxf86vm.so.1 => /usr/lib/libXxf86vm.so.1 (0x00007f83f6ac3000)
    libdrm.so.2 => /usr/lib/libdrm.so.2 (0x00007f83f68b6000)
    libXrender.so.1 => /usr/lib/libXrender.so.1 (0x00007f83f66ac000)
    libXau.so.6 => /usr/lib/libXau.so.6 (0x00007f83f64a8000)
    libXdmcp.so.6 => /usr/lib/libXdmcp.so.6 (0x00007f83f62a2000)
[skeevy@nebula Kerbal Space Program]$ ldd ./K*86
    linux-gate.so.1 (0xf7707000)
    libdl.so.2 => /usr/lib32/libdl.so.2 (0xf76d3000)
    libpthread.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libpthread.so.0 (0xf76b7000)
    librt.so.1 => /usr/lib32/librt.so.1 (0xf76ae000)
    libGLU.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libGLU.so.1 (0xf7628000)
    libGL.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libGL.so.1 (0xf757d000)
    libX11.so.6 => /usr/lib32/libX11.so.6 (0xf7446000)
    libXext.so.6 => /usr/lib32/libXext.so.6 (0xf7431000)
    libXcursor.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libXcursor.so.1 (0xf7426000)
    libXrandr.so.2 => /usr/lib32/libXrandr.so.2 (0xf741b000)
    libm.so.6 => /usr/lib32/libm.so.6 (0xf73cd000)
    libgcc_s.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libgcc_s.so.1 (0xf73b2000)
    libc.so.6 => /usr/lib32/libc.so.6 (0xf71fa000)
    /lib/ld-linux.so.2 (0xf770a000)
    libstdc++.so.6 => /usr/lib32/libstdc++.so.6 (0xf7104000)
    libexpat.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libexpat.so.1 (0xf70db000)
    libglapi.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libglapi.so.0 (0xf70c1000)
    libXdamage.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libXdamage.so.1 (0xf70bc000)
    libXfixes.so.3 => /usr/lib32/libXfixes.so.3 (0xf70b6000)
    libX11-xcb.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libX11-xcb.so.1 (0xf70b3000)
    libxcb-glx.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-glx.so.0 (0xf7098000)
    libxcb-dri2.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-dri2.so.0 (0xf7092000)
    libxcb-dri3.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-dri3.so.0 (0xf708d000)
    libxcb-present.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-present.so.0 (0xf7089000)
    libxcb-randr.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-randr.so.0 (0xf7079000)
    libxcb-xfixes.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-xfixes.so.0 (0xf7070000)
    libxcb-render.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-render.so.0 (0xf7065000)
    libxcb-shape.so.0 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-shape.so.0 (0xf705f000)
    libxcb-sync.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libxcb-sync.so.1 (0xf7057000)
    libxcb.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libxcb.so.1 (0xf7031000)
    libxshmfence.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libxshmfence.so.1 (0xf702e000)
    libXxf86vm.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libXxf86vm.so.1 (0xf7028000)
    libdrm.so.2 => /usr/lib32/libdrm.so.2 (0xf7018000)
    libXrender.so.1 => /usr/lib32/libXrender.so.1 (0xf700d000)
    libXau.so.6 => /usr/lib32/libXau.so.6 (0xf7009000)
    libXdmcp.so.6 => /usr/lib32/libXdmcp.so.6 (0xf7002000)

Edited October 18, 2014 by skeevy

[sal_vager]

Thanks skeevy, I'd like per-OS support area's but I it was decided to keep it all together and just have modded/unmodded, this may change in the future though.

I'll update the post with that data, thanks

[skeevy]

I hope it does change. Even if they're just general support areas that are for modded and unmodded installs, it would still make it easier for users to find specific OS support without having to search the forums (which we know people love doing) or starting multiple topics for the same thing because whatever thread that would have helped them was buried 6 pages back and in between "Windows x64 crashes too much, help me" and "how do I get my joystick to work".

[sal_vager]

Yeah, totally agree with that, actually both the Linux and OSX support forums (if they existed) could serve both modded and unmodded players, it's only really an issue with Windows due to the large number of Windows users.

[Ledenko]

Interestingly, I have issues with linux KSP on my desktop as well.

It's not a beast, but runs KSP fine with visuals mods under win7 and high settings. Base install in Ubuntu with proprietary nvidia drivers runs poorly if, for example, I look at the KSC during liftoff, timer is constantly yellow.

[sal_vager]

KSP on Linux is slower than on Windows, it's probably due to Unity's support for openGL more than anything else :/

[Ledenko]

So it might get better at some point? Still, it's a shame, I always wanted a reason to switch to Linux and I always seem to have issues

[sal_vager]

It'll get better over time yes as Unity improves their support for Linux and OpenGL, it's one of those things we just have no choice but to sit tight for.

[Starman4308]

EDIT: For my definition of fixed, it's fixed for me now. I uninstalled Bumblebee, installed nvidia-prime, logged in and out, got a nice fancy options window, and forcing AA seems to work from there. I don't much care that it's keeping the GPU on 24/7, because this laptop has pretty much become a fixture of my desk due to being too big: it was a relic of my undergrad days when I'd be shipping it back and forth from home.

Has anybody here been successful with using NVIDIA Optimus technology with the Linux x64 build? I decided to add Ubuntu to my Windows 8.1 box (finished as of this morning), and while I am 99% sure I finally got it all patched together using Bumblebee and Primus, the terrain still seems very rough, which as far as I can tell, is because there's no anti-aliasing. I've even gotten to NVIDIA settings (using optirun nvidia-settings -c :8, because regular nvidia-settings breaks Bumblebee) and set 4xSS, 2xMS, and 4x anisotropic filtering. The only two possibilities I can think of are that those over-ride settings aren't getting properly read, or I'm not properly setting OpenGL.

Steam launch options: %LD_PRELOAD="libpthread.so.0 libGL.so.1" __GL_THREADED_OPTIMIZATIONS=1 ./KSP.x86_64%

Edited October 18, 2014 by Starman4308
Mostly fixed own issue.

[skeevy]

@Starman4308 AND STEAM LINUX USERS

One of the problems with running KSP through Steam is you're forced to use old Ubuntu 12.xx libraries. Running KSP directly, with a script, or in a way that doesn't involve starting it with Steam will force KSP to use your system libraries which are more up-to-date than the ones shipped with Steam. Some Linux distros like Manjaro have a steam-native package that tweaks Steam so all Steam games use your system libraries instead of the ones packaged with Steam (they also have a Steam compatibility mode allowing you to run Steam using its libraries for the tiny amount of games that like Steam libraries...it's like 2 or 3 games from what I've seen, KSP isn't one of them). I suspect this right here is why Linux Steam users seem to have a lot more issues than Linux KSP Store users.

Specifically for Starman4308 and/or Nvidia Optimus users

Looked up that Nvidia Optimus/Bumblebee stuff. Apparently, when you want to run a 3d app using the Nvidia GPU, you have to start it with "optirun [optirun flags] app-to-run [app-to-run flags]". I've modified my KSP start script to do this for ya. Just make a file in the ksp directory called "ksp.sh", copy/paste the below into it, and set it to be executable (either in the right click properties menu or in a terminal with "chmod +x /path/to/ksp.sh"). Then just double click ksp.sh to play KSP (this is how I do it**).

#!/bin/sh

LC_ALL=C LD_PRELOAD="libpthread.so.0 libGL.so.1"
__GL_THREADED_OPTIMIZATIONS=1 
exec taskset -c 2-3 optirun ./KSP.x86_64

I have a quad core and "taskset -c 2-3" tells it to have KSP run on my 3rd and 4th core, 0=1st core, 1=2nd core, and so on and so forth. KSP likes being forced to two threads and my 3rd and 4th run the lightest. I'm unsure if taskset should be before or after optirun so you might need to experiment with their orders a bit. From what I can tell from reading some man pages, the above should work as expected.

You'll probably also want to install the latests available GPU drivers that you can. Check over at Nvidia.com and see what their latest driver version is, then search for a PPA with that driver in it. For the latest Intel driver...just like my radeon driver, it comes with new kernels and xorg revisions....if you're running Ubuntu, look up the xorg-edgers PPA...and you're gonna wanna be running Ubuntu 14.10 because you'll benefit more from it for playing games with it's more up-to-date stuff. If you're not bothered by the terminal or having to learn a bit, Manjaro Linux is a good way to get a very up-to-date desktop going. It's a little rough around the edges and requires a few terminal fixes from time to time, but it is fast, comes with Steam, has a steam-native package (highly recommended), and you'll be able to use the Arch Linux Wiki as your guide book (Arch Linux Wiki is one of the best sources of Linux information there is).

I also read that Nvidia Optimus can have issues when dynamically switching from Intel to Nvidia. One method of fixing those is to completely disable the Intel GPU and run it as straight Nvidia, though you will lose some power savings (if that matters to you); reread your post and that's what you did...Look into Arch Linux or Manjaro if you want to take advantage of Prime/Bumblebee/Optimus. Arch has does have quite a bit of information on all this Nvidia tech and I'm not sure if they can be converted over to Ubuntu/apt commands.

**technically I run it from a script on the desktop that replaces ./KSP.x86_64 with '~/Documents/Kerbal Space Program/KSP.x86_64' I do that so when KSP updates, all I have to do is rename the ~/Documents/KSP folder with the version (like /Kerbla Space Program 0.24.2/, copy/paste the updated KSP from Steam into my Documents folder, and start playing the updated KSP with my desktop script. The script I posted is a generic one that I place into all my KSP directories in case I want to play older versions.

Edited October 19, 2014 by skeevy

[skeevy]

Yeah, totally agree with that, actually both the Linux and OSX support forums (if they existed) could serve both modded and unmodded players, it's only really an issue with Windows due to the large number of Windows users.

IMHO, yellow [Linux], [OSX], or [Windows] tags would be better than the generic [support] ones we currently have and should be easy to do and/or moderated in. What other reason is there for posting a new thread in the support sections? Supporting Squad by providing pizza and beer?

There are a lot of Windows users, but that seems to be changing as KSP matures and needs more and more resources by default. Forcing OpenGL and using Active Texture Management can only do so much...once that limit is reached, the only viable alternatives are removing mods or KSP x64 on Linux...and that's true with both OSX and Windows users. That reason alone should warrant a Linux Support subsection...or at least as stickied thread or two (like this one).

[Starman4308]

@Starman4308 AND STEAM LINUX USERS

-snip-

Thanks for the response: I dived into installing Linux, assuming my year of doing command-line work on an iMac and a Linux supercompute cluster prepared me for it. I probably should have done at least a bit of research, so I wouldn't be surprised by things like "hey, what's this apt-get command?": a Linux distribution is more than its command line. I might switch to a different Linux distribution eventually, but for now, I'm content with having it work.

On that specific bug: I'm 95% sure that by the end, I was only having issues in having Bumblebee force anti-aliasing. Just be sure you're consistent with using primusrun; optirun won't use the primus library which further optimizes what Bumblebee is doing.

I'm 95% sure I have the latest NVIDIA driver for Ubuntu (331.38); that's easy enough to get from the command line (just sudo apt-get install nvidia-331 nvidia-settings); the nvidia-prime package is what I use to set GPU vs. onboard chip now. I think there might be more up-to-date drivers on the NVIDIA website, but after seven hours of fumbling with this, I'm content just to have it working.

On the shell script to launch it: sure, those Steam libraries might have been why KSP was balking at the 38 mods I foolishly decided to simultaneously install right off the bat. Otherwise it's back to "uninstall everything and install one-at-a-time". On more amusing notes, I spent 15-20 minutes searching places like /etc/ and /usr/share for my JDK, which happened to be in my home directory, and I'll probably alias the shell script to something like "moar_struts" or "rapid_unplanned_disassembly".

[skeevy]

The latest Nvidia driver for Ubuntu is 343.22 with the Xorg-Edgers PPA. It also has an updated Bumblebee package. The newer the GPU, the more bleeding edge you have to be in the driver department. I'm not really sure on the primusrun/optirun stuff, but I don't have an Nvidia card or have I used a laptop with hybrid graphics (and I don't think I ever want to from the sounds of it).

On that bleeding edge GPU stuff...with the 3.17 kernel, I'm able to use MSAA with KSP, and, believe it or not, it actually looks better and has a higher framerate in the VAB (I assume that's just the updated radeon driver at play). I was doing a bit of searching and found out that apparently the radeonsi driver can use MSAA with Linux 3.17, so I installed a 3.17 kernel and sure enough it does.

This is only for AMD GPUs using the radeon driver with a 3.17.0 and up kernel, to enable MSAA, in a terminal use "export GALLIUM_MSAA=2" followed by launching KSP or add it to a script like below

#!/bin/sh

LC_ALL=C LD_PRELOAD="libpthread.so.0 libGL.so.1"
export __GL_THREADED_OPTIMIZATIONS=1
export GALLIUM_MSAA=2
exec taskset -c 2-3 ./KSP.x86_64

Valid options 2, 4, & 8..

Next Day Edit:

GALLIUM_MSAA is being depreciated in upcoming Mesa revisions. Don't get too used to that command.

Edited October 21, 2014 by skeevy

[Unit327]

Is anyone else experiencing much worse performance in ksp 0.25 compared to previous versions? Specifically the aerodynamic fx (re-entry heat) and the green highlighting when attaching a part in the SPH/VAB bring the game down to single digit FPS.

This is on a gtx680 with the proprietary 343 drivers (same thing with version 313). This never happend on the same computer with ksp 0.23.5.

[namsum]

Why isnt Squad fixing this "LC_ALL=C ./KSP.x86_64" Bug? I reinstalled Ubuntu (and upgraded to 14.10) and run into this Problem - it took me about 6 hours and i lost my 100h savegame because of this bug. Is it soooo difficult to fix this or are they just to lazy to do this? I can't imagine that this would take more than 10 minutes for a Squad-Programmer to do but it (can) cost's people a lot of time.

Sorry, but i'm a bit angry about this....

Edited October 26, 2014 by purpletarget

[Romn]

Hi,

I am just beginning with KSP on Linux (Ubuntu 14.04). I have seen the other thread (of 111 pages), why is it now closed ?

I am experiencing some bug (as far) :

- the numpad key doesn't work to fill MechJeb or other fields (it was already noticed in the other thread but I don't know if there is a solution)

- the action key doesn't work. I have a french keyboard, and even in the settings the key are not recognized, it puts "none" instead. Is this bug has already been noticed ?

Cheers !

[DresCroffgrin]

I also recently switched to KSP for Linux, and everything is working fine so far (courtesy of the information in this thread - thanks to all those who have contributed!) except that there is no sound for the program. The settings in-game have the sound turned on and other applications (minecraft, google chrome) have sound just fine. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

[skeevy]

Hi,

I am just beginning with KSP on Linux (Ubuntu 14.04). I have seen the other thread (of 111 pages), why is it now closed ?

I am experiencing some bug (as far) :

- the numpad key doesn't work to fill MechJeb or other fields (it was already noticed in the other thread but I don't know if there is a solution)

- the action key doesn't work. I have a french keyboard, and even in the settings the key are not recognized, it puts "none" instead. Is this bug has already been noticed ?

Cheers !

I've never tried using the numpad with MechJeb....next time I play I will and post back.

What do you mean by the action key? Not sure which one that is.

Technically this thread is for unmodded KSP only and you're running a modded install.

EDIT: Made a thread for Linux modded installs.

I also recently switched to KSP for Linux, and everything is working fine so far (courtesy of the information in this thread - thanks to all those who have contributed!) except that there is no sound for the program. The settings in-game have the sound turned on and other applications (minecraft, google chrome) have sound just fine. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

What's your distro and what audio system are you using? It could be something as simple as accidentally muting in in the PulseAudio mixer....did that once and couldn't figure out why SMPlayer was always muted for two days....really frustratingly simple.

Both of ya'll post some logs, they might contain something useful.

Edited October 28, 2014 by skeevy

[DresCroffgrin]

What's your distro and what audio system are you using? It could be something as simple as accidentally muting in in the PulseAudio mixer....did that once and couldn't figure out why SMPlayer was always muted for two days....really frustratingly simple.

Both of ya'll post some logs, they might contain something useful.

Thanks for the reply! It is a brand new install (as of about 6 hours ago) of Ubuntu 14.04. I assume the audio is PulseAudio (haven't changed it from the default, and the PulseAudio volume controller allows me to adjust Chrome's volume). My KSP.log is available here. Interestingly, when KSP is running, it isn't listed as a sound source to be muted/unmuted, in Volume Control or Settings -> Sound.

[Unit327]

when KSP is running, it isn't listed as a sound source to be muted/unmuted, in Volume Control or Settings -> Sound.

Hmm. Try using pavucontrol (you can install it from the software center).

[DresCroffgrin]

Hmm. Try using pavucontrol (you can install it from the software center).

Didn't do the trick, it still isn't listed . Some things I did note from troubleshooting, however:

• When I start KSP.x86, the list of applications generating sound empties, and is repopulated as applications make a sound
  
• Sound works for 64 bit (KSP.x86_64), but is listed as FMOD Ex App in the volume control
  

My system is 64 bit, and I know I had to install 32 bit graphics libraries to run that version of KSP - could the same be true of the sound?

EDIT: After playing around, I just needed to install libasound2:i386. Thanks for the help!

Edited October 28, 2014 by DresCroffgrin

[skeevy]

EDIT: After playing around, I just needed to install libasound2:i386. Thanks for the help!

Glad you figured it out. What you did was my next suggestion.

Romn: Pulled a muscle in my back and shoulder 10 hours ago and haven't played KSP at all. Hard to sit in my computer chair without wanting to rip my arm off.

Sal_Vager: Thanks for setting me up with those other two reserved posts. I'll try to finish setting up that thread tomorrow.