No sound on initial start-up - no err msg - sound ok after reloading & restarting 0ad.

[PieLam]

I apologize if this isn't the right thing to do ....I just don't know or how else to proceed.

I originally submitted this sound error via a new ticket. It was "#6673 new defect"

I received a few replies to this ticket. Below is the original posting:

I'm using Ubuntu 22.04

When starting 0AD for the first time & after a power-up, 0AD loads fine, but there's no sound. Sound checked OK in other apps.

The first time this happened, I uninstalled 0AD then re-installed to Alpha 26. NO CHANGE.

Every time I do this, I exit the game then restart it. 0AD then has sound. I get no other issues. I used the Snap path to find the config file but even after a long search, I could not find any LOG file.

I attached the config file.

One reply suggested I try an OpenAL app:

"Since 0 A.D. basically outsources sound processing to OpenAL"

So, since it was already installed, I ran the OpenAL app called SuperMarioKart. It ran perfectly, sound OK, graphics OK too.

How can I fix this no sound in 0ad issue?

 

[Stan`]

I'm not sure how SuperMarioKart works or runs since it is a proprietary game. From what I know a few people have experienced issues with sound on Linux.

Here is a bug report No sound in 0AD Flatpak (version 26) · Issue #65 · flathub/com.play0ad.zeroad (github.com)

Another one

 

 

[Norse_Harold]

You tested SuperMarioKart, but the advice is to try with SuperTuxKart. Anyway, games besides 0ad are free to change the sound systems that they use, so they aren't guaranteed to be using OpenAL. You can look at the source code or the library dependencies of the game to verify whether it's actually using OpenAL.

Also follow the rest of the advice for troubleshooting sound in 0ad in the FAQ. (Scroll down to the answer to "No sound, no audio, or 0 A.D. is the only app with sound."

Also, are you running 0ad from a sandbox, such as Snap, AppImage or Flatpak? If so, any testing of other OpenAL apps needs to be done in the same sandbox.

What kind of cable is used to connect your computer to your monitor? Examples are DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, or VGA.

You can attach complete logs from 0ad, tell us what tests you did, and connect to IRC for specific troubleshooting help.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Norse_Harold

[PieLam]

On 12/01/2023 at 9:57 AM, Norse_Harold said:

You tested SuperMarioKart, but the advice is to try with SuperTuxKart. Anyway, games besides 0ad are free to change the sound systems that they use, so they aren't guaranteed to be using OpenAL. You can look at the source code or the library dependencies of the game to verify whether it's actually using OpenAL.

...Sorry, I mistyped the app's name I did actually run SuperTuxKart. I even rechecked it. No issues with it

Also follow the rest of the advice for troubleshooting sound in 0ad in the FAQ. (Scroll down to the answer to "No sound, no audio, or 0 A.D. is the only app with sound."

...I tried as best that I could. Some of it was confusing to me...

Also, are you running 0ad from a sandbox, such as Snap, AppImage or Flatpak? If so, any testing of other OpenAL apps needs to be done in the same sandbox.

...I'm not sure about this. I ASSume Snap since FireFox (which is what I use, exclusively) & FF is now a Snap app. I installed 0ad, by D/L'ing it from Ubuntu's repository, I'm only pretty sure, anyway. Does that make a difference?

What kind of cable is used to connect your computer to your monitor? Examples are DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, or VGA.

...I use DVI.

You can attach complete logs from 0ad, tell us what tests you did, and connect to IRC for specific troubleshooting help

... I attached a screenshot of my /snap/current/ folder. As you can see, there are no logs or config files. I'm obviously looking in the wrong location, aren't I?

Where would this data be located?

[Norse_Harold]

9 hours ago, PieLam said:

...I'm not sure about this. I ASSume Snap since FireFox (which is what I use, exclusively) & FF is now a Snap app. I installed 0ad, by D/L'ing it from Ubuntu's repository, I'm only pretty sure, anyway. Does that make a difference?

Yes, the place that you installed 0ad does make a difference. If you're using a Snap of an application then it's sandboxed, which can sometimes interfere with the app's access to hardware such as graphics or sound.

You said that you installed 0ad from Ubuntu's repository, then it's not a a Snap. But, from your screenshot it seems like 0ad might be installed as an app. Anyway, you might have both installed. Enjoy the choice.  :-) It means you need to be more aware of what exactly you're starting whenever you start 0ad. You can try viewing the .desktop file (the shortcut to the app) as a text file to see the path that it's starting.

9 hours ago, PieLam said:

... I attached a screenshot of my /snap/current/ folder. As you can see, there are no logs or config files. I'm obviously looking in the wrong location, aren't I?

Where would this data be located?

/home/yourusername/snap/0ad/current

or

/home/yourusername/.config/0ad/logs

Attach as many of those files as you can, with priority of mainlog.html, interestinglog.html, system_info.txt, and userreport_hwdetect.txt

[PieLam]

On 14/01/2023 at 12:09 AM, Norse_Harold said:

Yes, the place that you installed 0ad does make a difference. If you're using a Snap of an application then it's sandboxed, which can sometimes interfere with the app's access to hardware such as graphics or sound.

You said that you installed 0ad from Ubuntu's repository, then it's not a a Snap. But, from your screenshot it seems like 0ad might be installed as an app. Anyway, you might have both installed. Enjoy the choice.  :-) It means you need to be more aware of what exactly you're starting whenever you start 0ad. You can try viewing the .desktop file (the shortcut to the app) as a text file to see the path that it's starting.

/home/yourusername/snap/0ad/current

or

/home/yourusername/.config/0ad/logs

Attach as many of those files as you can, with priority of mainlog.html, interestinglog.html, system_info.txt, and userreport_hwdetect.txt

First of all, I apologize for this long lapse. I merely had given up on this issue. Well not completely given up, just decided to put it on the back burner for now. Then a while ago, while re-reading this thread, I found those 4 files in the home/snap/0ad/592/.config/0ad/logs ... I remember looking there before, but I stopped at /.config  OOPS!  I remember dismissing /0ad. In hindsight, I shouldn't have. That (incorrect dir structure) is mostly why I decided to forget about this whole issue.

Anyway, finding the 4 files is sort of bitter sweet. Because while I was able to read both of the .TXT  files with no problem, I could not read neither of the two .HTML files. I checked the permission properties. My name was the owner as you can see below:

-

I Assumed 0AD was a snap because 0AD's directory structure is that of a snap.  I don't really KNOW what a snap app is....

From your  explanation though. it sounds like I can assume that it might a good long while before this issue is fixed?

 

ARRRG! Now I have another issue (the hits just keep on coming!  ) When I try to attach the files, I click on "choose files..."  (4 times)  I only get as far as home/snap/0ad/592 . I'm guessing it's because of the hidden dir. How can I get around this? I tried to drag the files, didn't work for me.

[PieLam]

5 minutes ago, PieLam said:

ARRRG! Now I have another issue (the hits just keep on coming!  ) When I try to attach the files, I click on "choose files..."  (4 times)  I only get as far as home/snap/0ad/592 . I'm guessing it's because of the hidden dir. How can I get around this? I tried to drag the files, didn't work for me.

 

Do I need to copy the 2 .HTML  files to another location?

[Loki1950]

The two html files are the log files that are overwritten every time the game is executed so no need to copy them try opening the html files with your web browser

Enjoy the Choice

[Stan`]

You need to drag the files on the "Drag files here to attach" if that makes sense.

[PieLam]

14 hours ago, Loki1950 said:

 no need to copy them try opening the html files with your web browser

That is what I tried to do. (I tried 4 times) Each time I'd get the access error.

[PieLam]

7 hours ago, Stan` said:

You need to drag the files on the "Drag files here to attach" if that makes sense.

No, not to me... since they're in a hidden folder the files aren't accessible by "choose files". When I tried to drag the log files, I got a server error. I figured the error was because the server couldn't access the log file since the're in a hidden dir, So I copied the files to another non-hidden folder and BAM the files U/Led with no prob.

I have a question though: Shouldn't the log files be the ones that are written on start-up (sound not working)? The files below are from the last time I played 0ad (sound workiig).

userreport_hwdetect.txt system_info.txt interestinglog.html mainlog.html

[PieLam]

Another question: I see other posts that have been edited yet I don't see an option to do this. How can I edit my posts?

[PieLam]

OOPS, never mind, I found it... Sorry...

 

[Norse_Harold]

22 hours ago, PieLam said:

Shouldn't the log files be the ones that are written on start-up (sound not working)? The files below are from the last time I played 0ad (sound workiig).

In fact, both are useful for diagnosing the problem. We can compare the log files to see what's different when sound works.

Also, please post the output of the following commands at two different times: when sound isn't working for 0ad and when sound is working. You may need to install a package named like openal-info in the snap. The command to do that might be: sudo snap install openal-info

snap openal-info

snap cat /proc/asound/cards

And, please provide the output of the following commands when sound is working for 0ad. This will tell us the hardware that is available, independent of the Snap sandbox.

openal-info

cat /proc/asound/cards

Also please test sound with whatever version of 0ad is available as a native package for your system. If it works reliably there then that's a clue that the Snap sandbox might be interfering with access to the audio hardware.

Basically, ask the question, "under what conditions does sound work reliably?" and construct controlled experiments that test various conditions and make observations. Is it due to the hardware that you're using? Try different hardware temporarily. Is it due to the audio backend that you're using? Try using a different audio backend with OpenAL, as explained in the FAQ answer about sound.

And, did you follow the advice in the FAQ answer about sound? I've updated it a few times over the months. Scroll down to the answer to "No sound, no audio, or 0 A.D. is the only app with sound".

Edited March 16, 2023 by Norse_Harold

[Norse_Harold]

@PieLamIf sound works reliably with a native package of 0ad then here is a potential hypothesis that would explain the symptoms.

Snap apparently can have a race condition where not all devices have been enumerated in the sandbox by the time the app is started within the sandbox. Read about it here. (Scroll down to "Too early for operation errors".)

That means you should pay attention to whether snapd is already running before each test of audio with 0ad within the Snap sandbox. To check whether snapd is running you can use this command in a Terminal window.

ps -A | grep snapd

To start snapd before starting 0ad, maybe this command in a Terminal window will accomplish it.

sudo systemctl start snapd