protonscr

[SteamRT3] SMPTE placeholder cutscenes in Resident Evil 4

steamopen runtimeProton
ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#13023 · opened 2026-03-21 by NTMan · updated 2026-05-31 · 7 comments · github
3 matching comments, n / p to jump
NNTMan 2026-03-21 github

Summary:
After enabling the experimental SteamRT3 Steam Client, Resident Evil 4 starts showing corrupted phone/radio cutscenes and missing cutscene audio. At the same time, Proton logging stops working, and Steam Runtime Diagnostics also fails.

What happens in-game:
In cutscenes where Leon communicates via the in-game phone/radio screen, the expected display is replaced with a test pattern / color bars, and the cutscene audio is missing.

Additional regression symptoms:

  1. Proton logging stops working when SteamRT3 is enabled.
  2. Steam Runtime Diagnostics fails while SteamRT3 is enabled.

Control test:
I used the same launch options in both cases:
PROTON_LOG=1 PROTON_LOG_DIR=/home/mikhail/proton-logs %command%

  • With experimental SteamRT3 enabled:
    no Proton log is created in /home/mikhail/proton-logs
  • With SteamRT3 disabled:
    Proton log is created successfully in /home/mikhail/proton-logs

This strongly suggests the regression is caused by the experimental SteamRT3 Steam Client / runtime layer rather than by the game itself or by my Proton log path.

Steam Runtime Diagnostics failure:
When SteamRT3 is enabled, Help -> Steam Runtime Diagnostics does not work and reports:

"LD_* scout runtime" information:
/bin/sh: 1: /home/mikhail/.local/share/Steam/steamrt64/steam-runtime/amd64/usr/bin/steam-runtime-system-info: not found

CClientJobGatherRuntimeInformation: "scout runtime container" container read output failed
CClientJobGatherRuntimeInformation: "soldier runtime container" container read output failed
CClientJobGatherRuntimeInformation: "sniper runtime container" container read output failed

Reproduction steps:

  1. Open Steam.
  2. Enable:
    Settings -> Interface -> Use experimental SteamRT3 Steam Client
  3. Set the game's launch options to:
    PROTON_LOG=1 PROTON_LOG_DIR=/home/mikhail/proton-logs %command%
  4. Launch Resident Evil 4.
  5. Reach a cutscene where Leon communicates via the in-game phone/radio screen.
  6. Observe:
    • the phone/radio display shows a test pattern / color bars
    • cutscene audio is missing
  7. Exit the game.
  8. Observe that no Proton log was created in /home/mikhail/proton-logs
  9. Open Help -> Steam Runtime Diagnostics and observe the failure above.

Expected result:

  • Cutscenes should render normally
  • Cutscene audio should play normally
  • Proton logging should still work
  • Steam Runtime Diagnostics should work

Actual result:

  • Corrupted phone/radio cutscene output
  • Missing cutscene audio
  • Proton logging stops working when SteamRT3 is enabled
  • Steam Runtime Diagnostics fails

Environment:

  • Distribution: Fedora Rawhide
  • Desktop session: GNOME on Wayland
  • GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
  • Mesa: 26.0.2
  • Steam beta branch: Steam Beta Update
  • Steam version: 1773983034
  • Steam Client Build Date: Fri, Mar 20, 2026 9:46 AM UTC +05:00
  • Steam Web Build Date: Fri, Mar 20, 2026 5:02 AM UTC +05:00
  • Steam API Version: SteamClient023
  • Proton: Proton Experimental
  • Game: Resident Evil 4
Screenshot of the same phone/radio cutscene with SteamRT3 disabled (expected behavior) Screenshot of the same phone/radio cutscene with SteamRT3 enabled (corrupted output / test pattern)
Image Image

Attachments:

Kkisak-valve maintainer 2026-03-21 github

Hello @NTMan, in general, multi-issue issue reports are bad for any issue tracker. Parts of your issue report are already being tracked at #13006 and #13012. Let's use this issue report to specifically focus on the change in transcoded video behavior.

NNTMan 2026-03-22 github

I found another example that looks like the same transcoded-video regression with experimental SteamRT3 enabled.

Game: Borderlands 3

Behavior:

SteamRT3 disabled: the game starts with the normal intro video SteamRT3 enabled: the intro video is replaced by the SMPTE/test pattern placeholder ("Loading. Please Wait.")
Image Image

This makes it look less like a Resident Evil 4-specific issue and more like a broader SteamRT3 regression affecting pre-rendered/transcoded video playback.

RRLB2310 2026-03-22 github

Proton-GE handles these transcoded videos well. Fixed the exact same issue in another Capcom game for me, after SteamRT3 regression.

Ssmcv 2026-03-27 github

It's probably worth re-testing this now that #13008 and #13012 have been fixed - check that your client has been updated to version 1774577504 first.

(In particular, even if the videos are still being replaced by placeholders, PROTON_LOG=1 should now give you a more useful log.)

NNTMan 2026-03-27 github

In particular, even if the videos are still being replaced by placeholders, PROTON_LOG=1 should now give you a more useful log.

Retested with client version 1774577504.

The videos are still being replaced by placeholders, but PROTON_LOG=1 now produces a log.
Attached: steam-2050650.zip

Aao2 2026-05-21 github

Can someone please re-test this? This may have been fixed in recent beta versions.

Ggfactor 2026-05-31 github

I've tested using a different game (Choppy Cuts) and I'm still seeing the same issue: the menu movie doesn't play in the RT3 client but does play in the original client. The view in the RT3 client is essentially the same as the color bars picture in NTMan's comment, but with the Choppy Cuts main menu on top of it. I don't know if this is the exact same issue as the one reported here, but I'll try to give whatever info I can.

Steam client version: 1780098236
Game: Choppy Cuts
Proton version: 10.0-4
Log: steam-2947650.zip

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