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#1 2016-01-11 02:23:48

ian964
Member
Registered: 2016-01-11
Posts: 6

Standalone steam session on 4k monitor

For better game performance ( and because Plasma 5 is prone to tearing ) I would like run a standalone steam session.  Per the wiki I have created the file "/usr/share/xsessions/steam-big-picture.desktop" with the following content:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Steam Big Picture Mode
Comment=Start Steam in Big Picture Mode
Exec=/usr/bin/steam -bigpicture
TryExec=/usr/bin/steam
Icon=
Type=Application

This allows SDDM to launch the steam session, but it starts in a broken condition.  My 4k screen is black except for a 1080p sized box in the middle of the screen.  In this box the elements of the Bigpicture UI are drawn at a size that would be right for the monitor, but since they are in this small box, most of the UI is cut off, and can't be accessed.  I'm pretty sure this is because Bigpicture needs to run at 1080p.  Is there a way to switch the resolution to 1080p when SDDM starts the Bigpicture session?

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#2 2016-01-11 02:51:37

Trilby
Inspector Parrot
Registered: 2011-11-29
Posts: 29,441
Website

Re: Standalone steam session on 4k monitor

`man xrandr`


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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#3 2016-01-12 03:00:22

ian964
Member
Registered: 2016-01-11
Posts: 6

Re: Standalone steam session on 4k monitor

Yes, but there's no way to run xrandr from the display manager, or from steam big picture. 
I've tried starting steam from a tty with startx /usr/bin/steam -bigpicture, but it exits with "server terminated with error 1"

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#4 2016-01-12 03:16:25

ian964
Member
Registered: 2016-01-11
Posts: 6

Re: Standalone steam session on 4k monitor

I just got steam to run from .xinitrc.  It is still confined to a small box in the center of the screen, but is usable.  Unfortunately any games it starts run in an even smaller sized box.  Steam must be making some strange assumptions about the display state, and passing them on to the game.

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#5 2016-01-13 02:47:13

ian964
Member
Registered: 2016-01-11
Posts: 6

Re: Standalone steam session on 4k monitor

I have gotten steam big picture to start at the appropriate resolution by adding "xrandr --output DP-0  --mode 1920x1080"  to .xinitrc.  So one remaining question is how can I do this from SDDM.  Adding the xrandr line to "/usr/share/xsessions/steam-big-picture.desktop" has no effect, presumably since it is a config file, not a script. 

The other question is  why games that start fine from the desktop start in a small box when started from the standalone mode.  That's probably a question for a different thread, though, possibly in the steam forums, not here.

Last edited by ian964 (2016-01-13 02:48:02)

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#6 2017-03-11 01:07:47

pehden
Member
Registered: 2013-10-06
Posts: 5

Re: Standalone steam session on 4k monitor

so this works, i have 3 screens only the middle in my case launches steam
~/.xinitrc
xrandr --output DP-0 --mode 1280x1024 --pos 3200x254 --rotate normal --output DVI-D-0 --mode 1280x720 --pos 0x204 --rotate normal --output DP-1 --off --output HDMI-0 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --pos 1280x0 --rotate normal
/usr/bin/steam -bigpicture
exec cinnamon-session

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#7 2017-03-11 01:11:09

Trilby
Inspector Parrot
Registered: 2011-11-29
Posts: 29,441
Website

Re: Standalone steam session on 4k monitor

Closed as a Necrobump.

Pehden, you've been told several times not to necrobump, yet *every* single post you make on these forums is yet another necro.  Last time you were given a very clear and direct warning that another necrobump would result in a ban.  Perhaps you thought that was a bluf.  It was not.  1 Month Ban.  Next time it will be permanent.


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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