Gentoo – Enabling VULKAN/DX-12 rendering on AMDGPU

This assumes AMDGPU drivers are already installed and functioning in Steam and/or Lutris; just probably not to the full potential.

With AMDGPU installed, there should be some ICD JSON files located at /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/:

ls /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/
amd_pro_icd32.json  amd_pro_icd64.json  radeon_icd.i686.json  radeon_icd.x86_64.json

I’ve found that the radeon_icd files enable DX-12 in Steam, but the other files may need to be tried.

Modify your launcher shortcut to Steam and set the execute command to the following (or whichever ICD file works):

/bin/bash -c "VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/radeon_icd.x86_64.json steam %U"

Not every game in Steam will work with this enabled, so making a secondary application shortcut running the default ‘steam %U‘ will allow for switching between the two Steam configurations.

In Lutris, right-click your installed game or launcher and go into Configure. Go to ‘System Options’, scroll down to ‘Environment variables’ and add a new entry:

VK_ADD_DRIVER_FILES = /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/radeon_icd.x86_64.json

Both of these fixes should give better overall performance and also allow games to use DirectX 12.

Gentoo – Configuring VLC AACS for Bluray Playback

Bluray playback on Gentoo requires compiling several useflags into VLC and additional dependencies for Bluray and Java (BD menus).

:~ $ cat /etc/portage/package.use/vlc

media-video/vlc bluray faad
media-libs/libbluray aacs bdplus java utils
media-libs/libbdplus aacs

emerge -av media-video/vlc

Bluray feature film discs are encrypted and require a keyfile to be downloaded and configured in ~/.config/aacs/.

A few locations to download the needed KEYDB.cfg file are https://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/ and https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=176924.

The keydb.cfg file should be renamed to KEYDB.cfg and placed in ~/.config/aacs/. Additionally, I found that VLC sometimes(?) needs this file stored at ~/.var/app/org.videolan.VLC/config/aacs/, so just make a symlink between the two:

mkdir -vp ~/.var/app/org.videolan.VLC/config
ln -sv ~/.config/aacs ~/.var/app/org.videolan.VLC/config/aacs

This also seems to resolve issues of MakeMKV and Handbrake decryption of Blurays. Only one random forum post mentioned this second directory location: https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=2475405&sid=8cf97294be5d7e55a1ee845322c176cb#p2475405

Transplant Update – Infusions

Back in September I wrote http://danarchy.me/transplant-update/ on how my body has been creating donor-specific antibodies to fight off my transplanted organs.

I’ve finally begun the process of getting rid of these through infusions at UCLA, and had my first infusion Wednesday. It was around 4 hours of sitting in a chair waiting for the IV to finish, but overall it went very smoothly. I only felt a bit hot and nauseated at the start, though the nurse said the infusion itself shouldn’t cause that; maybe it was due the mix of meds they gave me first to counteract the infusion. Continue reading →

The Gift of Sight

Two years ago when dad told us he had been diagnosed with melanoma, he gave us each a gift of money that he said he wanted to see us spend it on whatever we wanted.

I took the “see” part literally, and decided to spend it on LASIK surgery; something that he could see me enjoy and would help me see better for the rest of my life. Continue reading →

Transplant Update

So I received some not so great news from the doctor. While they still have no clear answers to why I keep getting intestinal blockages, he’s leaning towards acute rejection in some area of my intestines, but this is only a guess due to there being no evidence proving it. Continue reading →

Lifetime Goals and Becoming Something Bigger

Today I listened to two podcasts that had very profound things to say about life’s focus and leaving a long-lasting impression on the world.

Freedomain Radio : Jobs after School

The Thinking Atheist: Getting Older

Stef’s bit on finding a path after school, and particularly the phrase “don’t be a cog in a machine”, spoke very strongly to me. Currently I have stable job which I appreciate and enjoy quite a bit, but at the same time it’s beginning to feel a bit repetitive. Every day is effectively a clone of the previous day: wake up early and get ready, drive 30+ minutes to work (which I actually enjoy), work 8hrs pushing for a rather arbitrary quota requirement by day’s end, then head back home where I unwind listening to podcasts while playing games or watch predictable TV shows. Continue reading →