Runescape HTML5 Beta won't run on linux using Nvidia cards

Gaming and Visualization Technologies APIs OpenGL
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Jagex is creating a new version of their Runescape game. It is in the beta stage, but it has been noticed that it does not work on linux using Nvidia cards.

The game requires chrome browser and webgl.

Eventhough webgl works on most of these cards in chrome, the game does not.

It has been reported that there was some error in the game script with regard to “shading”, but even though that was fixed, it did not help with regard to the nvidia cards.

I shall post a next message with my data with regard to the regular nvidia help avenue.

Everyone would like a real cure, possibly some fix to the drivers if that is the problem - or perhaps a driver expert speaking with Jagex to ensure it is NOT a driver problem.

Personally, I’d be happy buying a new Nvidia card, but ONLY IF I’m 100% sure it will work out of the box to run this game.

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Chat Transcript 06/04/2013 10:28 AM
[10:13:57 AM] Hi, my name is Sen. How may I help you?
[10:15:29 AM] Michael Weed: Howdy! I play a game called Runescape. They have a new version coming out called R/S html beta 5. It does not work on any nvidia cards using linux. Do you know about this issue and are you doing anything about it?
[10:15:50 AM] Sen: I am sorry, due to system update, I need to restart my system here. I shall be back shortly.
[10:16:03 AM] Michael Weed: np

Response Via Email (Sen) 06/04/2013 10:43 AM
Hello Michael,

Thank you for contacting NVIDIA Customer Care.

This is a follow-up email in reference to your contact to NVIDIA regarding “Compatibility” issue.

The “GeForce” series of graphics cards are designed specifically for “Gaming”/“Video-Playback” purpose and it supports high definition Video files. Whereas the “Quadro” series of graphics cards are designed for high end software applications like AutoCAD, Maya, 3D Max and other animation software.

Since GeForce gaming cards are not compatible with Linux, it seems either you are using Quadro or NVS cards or very old poor entry-level GeForce cards which can not be compatible with powerful games.

Also, since this is still a BETA version game, we can not really comment if NVIDIA fails.

To proceed further, I need to know the NVIDIA graphics card you are using.

In case if this is still an open issue then, please do keep us updated about the status of the issue, so that we can further assist you.

Looking forward for your update,

Best regards,
Sen
NVIDIA Customer Care

3

to Nvidia
Dear Sen:

Thank for your e-mail.

Nvidia Device: Nvidia GeForce 210 Device Identifier 79090
Genuine Nvidia Linux Driver: NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-319.17 (dated 2013.05.02) from Nvidia site.

I do not like the opensource “nouveau” driver for your cards.

FYI, I always buy Nvidia cards BECAUSE you make native linux drivers and have done so for many years.

I also love your cards and they work flawlessly, even the old ones.

If this is a “Quadro”, it does not say so on the box or book.

Here is a report about the gpu from Google Chrome:

Graphics Feature Status
Canvas: Hardware accelerated
Compositing: Hardware accelerated
3D CSS: Hardware accelerated
CSS Animation: Accelerated
WebGL: Hardware accelerated
WebGL multisampling: Hardware accelerated
Flash 3D: Hardware accelerated
Flash Stage3D: Hardware accelerated
Flash Stage3D Baseline profile: Hardware accelerated
Texture Sharing: Hardware accelerated
Video Decode: Hardware accelerated
Video: Hardware accelerated
Panel Fitting: Unavailable. Hardware acceleration disabled.
Problems Detected
Panel fitting is unavailable, either disabled at the command line or not supported by the current system.
Force compositing mode is off, either disabled at the command line or not supported by the current system.

Here are some cards that others are having the same problem with:

G94 [GeForce 9600 GT]
G96 [GeForce 9500 GS]
GK104 [GeForce GTX 680]
GT215 [GeForce GT 240]
GF106 [GeForce GTS 450]
GK104 (AKA GTX 670)
user was unsure, but is using driver NVIDIA 304.88

I shall post your comment about “Quadro” cards as I see many people had those.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

4

Hello Michael J.,

Thank you for updating us with the information requested.

GeForce 210 is a very poor card, not for gaming.

The middle digit of NVIDIA GeForce card model number (Here it is " 1 " ) shows the power of the card. Ex- GTX 690 will be more powerful than GTX 680 and much more powerful than GTX 670 or GTX 660 etc.

Please try different driver from this link :

Please do keep us updated.

Best regards,
Sen
NVIDIA Customer Care

Dear Sen:

I opened the chassis and checked to be sure which GE 210 I have. I
believe I have a GV-N21002-1Gl. You can verify this by the serial
number (SN=110351132985). Let me know if I am wrong.

I saw your instruction, and already have the most current driver
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-319.17 (dated 2013.05.02) installed. However, to be
sure, I reverted and tried all of the following with negative results:

  • NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-310.19.run
  • NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-295.40.run
  • NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-295.20.run
  • NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-285.05.09.run

All of the following cards are better than mine (at least the second
digits are greater than “1”) based on your explanation and none runs
Runescape HTML5 beta.

  • G94 [GeForce 9600 GT]
  • G96 [GeForce 9500 GS]
  • GK104 [GeForce GTX 680]
  • GT215 [GeForce GT 240]
  • GF106 [GeForce GTS 450]
  • GK104 (AKA GTX 670)

I checked the linux forum dedicated to this issue and the only other GPU
that seems to be giving people problems are older Intel chips that do
not appear to be accelerated and they do not run webgl in google
chrome. My card DOES run webgl in chrome (and firefox) - very nicely I
might add.

Is there a test I can perform and a readout I can provide that will tell
you if it is the game that is a problem or the driver for the card? If
yes, please provide the instructions.

There is one bloke who found that there is a script error regarding
shading in the game, but even though he fixed it, he has been
unsuccessful getting the game to work on the above-listed Nvidia cards
in linux.

FYI, I’m more than happy to buy a newer more powerful card. But I would
need to know 100% that it would run the game (it’s the only game I play
and really like it).

I plan to be buying a dual Opteron system fairly soon and planned to buy
a newer GPU at that time, but I had planned to buy a maths centric GPU
(with lots of cores), not necessarily a gaming one - but the game might
be more important than making a super computer (I can always add
additional cards).

If you are not going to look into the issue of the cards listed here and
the Runescape HTML5 beta, but DO know of a card that already DOES work
(like maybe you played Runescape HTML5 beta on it (in linux), please let
me know and I’ll buy it as soon as possible. Just tell me the exact
model number.

Please advise. I’m extremely flexible and as stated before I really
love your cards and the fact you supply native linux drivers for them.
I also love the fact that nvidia is in some of the 10 fastest computers
ever made :)

Best regards,

5

Hello Michael,

Thank you for your update.

We’re sorry, but this team is dedicated to support on Windows platforms, and we are not able to address Linux installation, usage and troubleshooting questions.

For Linux support, please use the Linux Support forum linked here. (Linux - NVIDIA Developer Forums). You can also find answers to many of the most frequently asked Linux questions in our knowledge base or by consulting the text readme file on the driver page. (http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux.html) or (http://nvidia.custhelp.com).

To submit Linux bug reports, please run “nvidia-bug-report.sh” to generate an nvidia-bug-report.log.gz file and email it along with a description of the issue to linux-bugs@nvidia.com or linux-nforce-bugs@nvidia.com.

Best Regards,
NVIDIA Customer Care