Steam Link with Vulkan game + Steam Overlay causes frame corruption (green cast)

steamclosed overlayStreaming

ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#11953 · opened 2025-04-29 by peat-psuwit · updated 2025-05-23 · 4 comments · github

Ppeat-psuwit 2025-04-29 github

Your system information

Steam client version (build number or date): 1745876290 (Tue, Apr 29 04:09 UTC +07:00)
Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): Ubuntu 24.10 (Steam running inside Snap w/ Ubuntu Core 22)
Opted into Steam client beta?: No
Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
Steam Logs: steam-logs.tar.gz
GPU: Intel

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

When streaming a Vulkan game from a host running Ubuntu 24.10 to an Android client, a green cast corruption appears throughout the gaming session. The green cast does not appear on the host's physical monitor. The green cast doesn't appear on the Steam Big Picture or games using OpenGL.

If Steam Overlay is disabled in the game's properties, then the green cast disappear. However, Steam Overlay is relatively important when playing on Android over Steam Link.

Interestingly, the green cast doesn't appear on the first (few?) frame(s). See the attached video.

Known affected games include Portal 2 in Vulkan mode (-vulkan launch flag) and Aperture Desk Job.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

Setup Steam Link between the host and the client.
On the host, install Aperture Desk Job
Use Steam Link to connect to the host.
Navigate to Aperture Desk Job. Confirm that Steam Overlay is not disabled. Then launch the game.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/aa5752de-531a-446d-bb6d-6492fa4ae518

Llostgoat 2025-05-06 github

@peat-psuwit Can you try disabling HEVC decoding on the host under Settings->Remote Play? We've recently run into some cases where HEVC decoding via VAAPI was causing unexpected results. And I'm curious if it is the same case for you.

Ppeat-psuwit 2025-05-06 github

@lostgoat I can't find "HEVC decoding" under "Advanced Host Options". However I've tried disabling "HEVC Video" under "Advanced Client Options"; the result is the same. Disable "Enable hardware decoding" also does not help.

Llostgoat 2025-05-20 github

Hi @peat-psuwit ,

This should be fixed in the latest stable update. Thanks for the report.

Ppeat-psuwit 2025-05-23 github

Re-tested on Steam version 1747701111 (Tue, May 20 02:51 UTC +07:00). The green cast no longer exists. However, in Portal 2 (Vulkan mode), there's a significant frame rate drop when Stream Link is active. This doesn't seem to happen with Aperture Desk Job.

Still, I'll take correctly functioning but low performance over incorrectly functioning any day. So we can consider this issue fixed. Thank you.

Nothing extracted yet.