This description is largely AI generated as I'm way out of my element here :) - please ask if you need other data to help debugging.

Description

vkd3d_create_vk_device consistently fails with VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED (vr -3)
on an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (Blackwell) running driver 610.43.02. The failure occurs on
every Proton/VKD3D-Proton version tested and cannot be resolved through any VKD3D_CONFIG
workaround. The game never launches.

Root cause analysis

vulkaninfo reveals that NVIDIA driver 610.43.02 on Blackwell advertises an incoherent
cooperative matrix capability set for the RTX 5080:

• VkPhysicalDeviceCooperativeMatrixFeaturesKHR::cooperativeMatrix = true
• VkPhysicalDeviceCooperativeMatrixFeaturesKHR::cooperativeMatrixRobustBufferAccess = false
• VkPhysicalDeviceCooperativeMatrixPropertiesKHR::cooperativeMatrixSupportedStages:
  COMPUTE_BIT only (1 stage)

This is inconsistent with Blackwell hardware capabilities (SM 10.0 supports full WMMA).
VKD3D-Proton correctly detects the anomaly at feature-query time
(vkd3d_supports_minimum_coopmat_caps: Missing sufficient features to expose WMMA) but
still enables cooperativeMatrix = true in the vkCreateDevice pNext chain because the
feature is advertised as supported. The NVIDIA driver then returns
VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED on its own vkCreateDevice call.

VKD3D-Proton's retry mechanism (which strips VK_NVX_binary_import and
VK_NVX_image_view_handle) does not resolve the failure because the problem is in the
feature pNext chain, not the extension list.

The driver also exposes VK_NV_cooperative_matrix2 and VK_NV_cooperative_vector
(new Blackwell-specific NV extensions), suggesting the cooperative matrix implementation
in 610.43.02 is partially broken for this architecture.

Suggested fix

When vkd3d_supports_minimum_coopmat_caps returns false and
cooperativeMatrixSupportedStages is COMPUTE_BIT only (i.e. the capability set is
clearly degenerate), consider not requesting cooperativeMatrix = true in
vkCreateDevice, mirroring the existing pattern of disabling extensions that cause
device creation to fail.

Workarounds attempted (all unsuccessful)

• VKD3D_CONFIG=no_upload_hvv
• VKD3D_CONFIG=no_robustness
• VKD3D_CONFIG=no_dynamic_rendering
• MESA_VK_DEVICE_SELECT_FORCE_DEFAULT_DEVICE=1
• WINEDLLOVERRIDES="sl.interposer=b" (ruled out NVIDIA Streamline as a cause)
• GE-Proton 10-34 (VKD3D-Proton 3.0.0) — same failure
• Proton Hotfix hotfix-20260529-fh6 (VKD3D-Proton 3.1.0) — same failure

Software information

• Game: 007 First Light (Steam App ID 3768760)
• Proton versions tested: Proton Hotfix hotfix-20260529-fh6, GE-Proton10-34
• Steam: Flatpak installation

System information

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (Blackwell)
• Driver: 610.43.02
• Kernel: Linux 7.0.10-201.fc44.x86_64 (Fedora 44)
• Wine version: wine-staging 10.0 (GE-Proton10-34)
• VKD3D-Proton version: 3.0.0 (build bd3f5e3d245c3ad) / 3.1.0 (build 110e8bd4ee09c40)

Relevant log excerpt

warn:vkd3d-proton:vkd3d_supports_minimum_coopmat_caps: Missing sufficient features to expose WMMA.
warn:vkd3d-proton:vkd3d_remove_extension: Removing VK_NVX_binary_import extension from the array.
warn:vkd3d-proton:vkd3d_remove_extension: Removing VK_NVX_image_view_handle extension from the array.
warn:vkd3d-proton:vkd3d_create_vk_device: Disabled extensions that can cause Vulkan device creation to fail, retrying.
err:vkd3d-proton:vkd3d_create_vk_device: Failed to create Vulkan device, vr -3.
fixme:vkd3d-proton:hresult_from_vk_result: Unhandled VkResult -3.

steam-3768760-proton-hotfix.log

vulkaninfo.txt

steam-3768760-protonGE10-34.log