Question by GameDevSA · Dec 04, 2021 at 01:49 AM · error message api linux steam .net

[Steamworks.NET] SteamAPI_Init() failed, Windows, Linux + Proton

So I am trying to get the Steamworks.net API working and it's proving more difficult than expected. I have been getting the error: [Steamworks.NET] SteamAPI_Init() failed.

I am aware this question has been asked by other people before, but I have been Googling for ages and not found a clear answer that helps me. Some perhaps are out of date.

I am using:

 Unity Version 2019.4.33f1 LTS
 Steamworks.NET version 20, pre-release, .unitypackage version

The two versions are supposed to be compatible.

The game works fine when I run it in the editor, but crashes in a build with that error: [Steamworks.NET] SteamAPI_Init() failed.

Ironically, Build + Run doesn't crash initially (but if I navigate to the EXE file and try run it, then it does crash), but just Build does crash for some reason. Someone in a thread somewhere said they fixed it by including the steam_appid.txt file in the build folder. That did fix the error on my PC and for other Windows users, however, I am having trouble with Linux + Proton users still and trying to work out the cause.

But the FAQ says don't put the steam_appid.txt in the build folder, that you shouldn't ship it to customers, but acknowledges it fixes the problem. It does not mention an alternative. I find this very confusing: how am I supposed to fix it then?

  1. Why shouldn't I give it to customers? Is it because the App ID shouldn't be shared?
  2. If I don't give it to customers, how am I supposed to prevent the error when submitting to Steam?
  3. What is the right way to handle this error?

Currently I am mainly focusing on a Windows solution as my game is only saying it's targeting Windows users. However, if anyone has experience / insights with getting Linux + Proton working with Steamworks API, I'm curious to know if you used the same solution? I would like to get it working for Linux + Proton as well.

I tried handing a test user, who is running Linux + Proton, a build with the steam_appid.txt file in the build folder and it still gave the same error: [Steamworks.NET] SteamAPI_Init() failed. It's like Linux + Proton just don't like the Steamworks.NET API? Has anyone found a way around this error for Linux + Proton?

Thanks in advance for your help.

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GameDevSA · Dec 04, 2021 at 02:03 PM 0

Ok I did a test. It turns out that if you delete the steam_appid.txt file from the build folder, and submit to steam, it works and doesn't crash. But for some reason to test outside of steam, you need the steam_appid.txt in the Builds folder. But I still have no idea how to prevent the issue on Linux + Proton because I get the issue there with or without the steam_appid.txt file.