Steam Overlay Bugg

[dire dust]

Hello i have a problem i used a mastercomfig HUD for the frist time 2 days ago and since then my Mann co store and Steam Overlay dont work anymore and when i try to open the Mann co store it says "Enable Steam Overlay In-Game" even though i checked both steam abd TF2 settings and it was enavled.

Then i removed the HUD uninstalled and reinstalled TF2 since the problem was still there.

And currently i still have that problem so please help me out thx

[flint saffron]

@dire dust has leveled up! (0 ➜ 1)

[stoic pawn]

add -vulkan to your launch options

[dire dust]

i currently have the launch options from this video https://youtu.be/d3PHxjnLL3A will they still work when i add -vulkan?

[stoic pawn]

yes

dont use those launch options however, use the mastercomfig launch options

[dire dust]

what is the difference?

[stoic pawn]

the launch options in the video decreases performance and stability

while mastercomfig's launch options improve performance and stability

-novid -nojoy -nosteamcontroller -nohltv -particles 1 -precachefontchars -vulkan

[stoic pawn]

half of these dont even do anything

[dire dust]

oh

[dire dust]

whould you mind explaining what each of it does? I am not that good with technology

[dire dust]

so with -vulkan the Mann co store/steam overlay should work again?

[stoic pawn]

https://docs.comfig.app/latest/customization/launch_options/

[stoic pawn]

yes

[dire dust]

okay i will test it when my laptop is charged and then i will tell you if it worked but thanks so far

[dire dust]

Oh forgot to ask are there any launch options of that video that can still be used? such as any of these;
-high

+fps_max 0

-refresh 60

-noforcemaccel

-noforcemspd

+cl_showfps 1
?

[stoic pawn]

no dont use those

that's why i said dont use those

because you shouldnt use them

[dire dust]

any important reason?

[stoic pawn]

you dont need to worry about it

[dire dust]

okay

[stoic pawn]

it would take too long to explain

[dire dust]

will the -vulkan fix still work even though i dont use the mastercomfig HUD at the moment?

[dire dust]

? (sorry for the ping)

[stoic pawn]

yes

[stoic pawn]

the reasons why aren't important

-noforcemaccel and -noforcemspd dont even do anything without -useforcedmparms and just makes your mouse input less accurate and changes your system's mouse settings
+cl_showfps 1 and +fps_max can be accessed with the in-game console and shouldnt be forced with launch options because then they will always be set, also cl_showfps is significantly harder to read than net_graph or the steam overlay fps counter
-refresh doesn't do anything on a 60 hz monitor
-high sets the process priority to high which makes the processor scheduling worse which will cause input lag and stutters

all of the reasons that mastercomfig's launch options help tf2 is listed in the mastercomfig documentation

[stoic pawn]

you should install mastercomfig itself at https://comfig.app/app/ for more real performance instead of these bogus launch options

[stoic pawn]

also you should reinstall your hud since the steam overlay issue is a steam bug and couldn't be caused by any hud or mod

[dire dust]

huh? But it started when i used the mastercomfig launch options

[stoic pawn]

It was not caused by mastercomfig launch options

[dire dust]

I was asking bc i wanted to use my old (toonhud) HUD again but was afraid that the bugg whoulndt go away

[stoic pawn]

using -vulkan fixes the steam overlay issue

[dire dust]

so its just bc i didnt use smth like -vulkan? (It says smth when i start TF2 about Direct3D 9 )

[stoic pawn]

yes

[dire dust]

is there a difference between Direct3D 9 and -vulkan?

[stoic pawn]

-vulkan tells tf2 to use steam's dxvk layer which converts directx api calls to vulkan api calls

this causes the game window to be created differently which fixes steam overlay failing to inject itself into the game

[dire dust]

ah okay and is -vulkan the only option or?

[stoic pawn]

there is many other team fortress 2 launch options but none of them have to do with the steam overlay

[dire dust]

ah okay

[dire dust]

i will test that now and tell you if it worked or not

might take a while my laptop is really slow

[stoic pawn]

if your laptop is too old -vulkan may not work without graphics drivers updates to 2018 or newer

[dire dust]

(you probably know how it is you work with what you have to play your favorite game at all cost no matter how much the graphics suffer bc its still fun)

[dire dust]

no its a 2021 laptop but only has 32bit system and 4gb ram

I whould get a better one but you know sometimes you dont have the money for that etc

[stoic pawn]

32 bit systems were discontinued in 2007 it is unlikely to be manufactured in 2021 if it has a 32 bit processor

the good news is that means that it's unlikely to be a 32 bit system

[dire dust]

well in my country such laptops still get sold bc they are cheaper

this here is a Acer Aspire 1 with a qualcomm snapdragon prozessor and a thin&light and fanless design

(something with Microsoft 365)

[stoic pawn]

oh then it's 64 bit

[dire dust]

but it for example didnt let me run block codes in the 64bit version or any other 64bit programm

[stoic pawn]

team fortress 2 is a 64 bit program by default

[dire dust]

idk this laptop is weird

[stoic pawn]

it is likely an issue with translation layers avaliable for your system, system updates and maintainence may get newer programs working properly

[dire dust]

well i do the system updates regulary when they are available but the 4gb ram limit me alot too

[stoic pawn]

if you decide to get mastercomfig mod, ensure to get the low memory addon

[dire dust]

Alr

[dire dust]

I got a new probelm with these TF2 wont start

[stoic pawn]

what happens when you press the play button

[dire dust]

It says starting but then stops it

[dire dust]

(well it says launcging then it stops and a cloud with a "!" Inside pop up at the left side in the libary where tf2 is)

[flint saffron]

@dire dust has leveled up! (1 ➜ 2)

[stoic pawn]

download and install all optional updates using windows updates and then reboot and try again https://pureinfotech.com/install-optional-updates-windows-10/

[dire dust]

making an optional one rn

will that fix it?

[stoic pawn]

After that make sure you are up to date in the Acer Care Center app

[dire dust]

alr

[stoic pawn]

It is impossible to predict if these driver updates will allow Team Fortress 2 to use DXVK, however it is possible

[dire dust]

well then let me change my question. What should i do when it still wont start TF2?

[dire dust]

Oh it also gives me the option to upgrade to windows 11 is that good or?

[stoic pawn]

You may upgrade to Windows 11 if you desire, however it will not fix the issue and may take a long time to install

I recommend against upgrading to Windows 11 on your device for the time being.

[dire dust]

okay

[stoic pawn]

After updating everything you may want to try installing the vulkan runtime loader, usually this is bundled in with your device drivers, however there is a chance it wasn't included. https://sdk.lunarg.com/sdk/download/1.3.290.0/warm/VulkanRT-1.3.290.0-Installer.exe

[dire dust]

Aspire A114-61 to be exact

[dire dust]

ah ok

[stoic pawn]

I have been made aware of another potential fix for the Steam overlay not working if the Vulkan runtime does not fix DXVK

[flint saffron]

@stoic pawn has leveled up! (56 ➜ 57)

[dire dust]

?

[stoic pawn]

I have been made aware of another way to potentially fix the Steam overlay, however it may cause performance issues and graphical bugs.

[stoic pawn]

@dire dust are you done with this step?

[dire dust]

the update is done soon its restarting my laptop rn then i check the care center

[stoic pawn]

Alright 👍

[dire dust]

done

[stoic pawn]

Alright, try launching Team Fortress 2

[dire dust]

fails again with that small cloud simbol

[stoic pawn]

Alright, try installing the Vulkan Runtime, restart if directed, else use the Windows shortcut Win+Ctrl+Shift+B once, you may see your screen flashing, this is intended, and then try launching Team Fortress 2 again

[dire dust]

it wont run tf2

[stoic pawn]

Alright, let's try the other fix for the Steam overlay, which is running Team Fortress 2 in legacy DirectX 8 mode.

Modify your launch options, replace -vulkan with -dxlevel 81

[golden junco]

*Modify your launch

options, replace -vulkan with

-dxlevel 81*

- totallynotniteruxiswear

[dire dust]

isnt DirectX 8 older then Direct3D 9?

[stoic pawn]

Yes, however it seems Steam has a higher success of injecting into the DirectX 8 version after the Team Fortress 2 update that broke the Steam overlay.

[dire dust]

Its launching TF2

[stoic pawn]

Alright, do you have the Team Fortress 2 developer console enabled?

[dire dust]

yes with easy acces via my old HUD

[dire dust]

this looks so difderent from Direct3D 9 lol

[stoic pawn]

Open the developer console and run the following commands in order

mat_savechanges
host_writeconfig config.cfg full
quit```
Remove -dxlevel 81 from your launch options and relaunch Team Fortress 2.

[dire dust]

what will that do?

[stoic pawn]

It will save the optimized graphics settings for directx 81

Having the directx launch option reverts all graphics settings to unoptimized defaults and resets all of your video settings in the in-game options

[dire dust]

takes a while for my laptop to start TF2 its the same when loading into the 1. Match after starting

[dire dust]

Ah okay

[dire dust]

the graphics look weird

[stoic pawn]

After running the commands, removing -directx 81 from your launch options, relaunching Team Fortress 2 will put it into DirectX 8 mode by default without the launch option.

[stoic pawn]

Yes, that is why it is the 2nd solution. Using -vulkan instead would have been better if it was supported on your device.

[dire dust]

will valve fix Direct3D 9?

[stoic pawn]

Hopefully

@dire dust Does the Steam overlay function work after following all instructions to downgrade the DirectX software API level to 8.1?

[dire dust]

yes

[sterile rose]

Niterux tech tips

[dire dust]

what if i ever decite to getting back to Direct3D 9 in a year or so? (for graphic reasosn or when they fix it etc)

[stoic pawn]

I'd recommend going back into the in-game video options and changing your resolution back to 1080p, then installing Mastercomfig's low preset.

[stoic pawn]

Follow the same instructions but use -dxlevel 95 instead of -dxlevel 81

[dire dust]

Ah okay

[stoic pawn]

-dxlevel 95*

[sterile rose]

What's the problem with the steam overlay anyways?

I'm not an overlay user so forgive my ignorance but I just tried it and it works fine on any dxlevel

dxlevel 81, 90, 95, 100, vulkan, whatever

[dire dust]

my game runs much smoother in DirectX 8 for some reason

[sterile rose]

Yeah everyone's does

[dire dust]

idk for me not

[dire dust]

why so?

[sterile rose]

Basically just simpler graphics and less features enabled

Less work for cpu and gpu = game runs better

[dire dust]

ah okay

[sterile rose]

Also there seems to be a bug right now that causes low textures to perform much worse than high textures on dxlevel 9

But on dxlevel 8 they perform as expected

So if you're using low textures, that could even further contribute to dxlevel 8 seeming to run better

Haven't had a chance to check whether all hardware is affected by that or not though

[dire dust]

Ah okay

[dire dust]

What whould happen if i dont use that and just close tf2?

[sterile rose]

There's really no need to ever do that

The first part is like clicking the apply button in the settings window

Mastercomfig already runs it anyways so no need to do it manually

But yeah you don't need to do that to change dxlevel, it's enough to just use the launch option or even better just change in registry

Any archived cvars or videoconfig settings will get written next time you use the game anyways, so no point in doing anything with them

As long as you're using mastercomfig

[stoic pawn]

what the fuck are you talking about

of course you start giving misinformation as soon as i walk away from my computer...

[sterile rose]

There's no need to do this mat_savechanges host writeconfig to change form dxlevel 9 to 8

It's nonsense

[stoic pawn]

it saves the graphics cvars

[sterile rose]

You can try changing from dxlevel 9 to 8 with doing that and without and compare the resulting config.cfg and registry videoconfig in each case

You'll see they're identical either way

As long as you're using masterconfig at least, and probably without it too

[stoic pawn]

they literally arent

[sterile rose]

What's different?

Mastercomfig sets cvars that influence basically all of the videoconfig settings

So if the silly dxlevel launch option sets some different and you mat_savechanges, it literally doesn't matter

Since next launch you'll end up with the ones due to your mastercomfig settings anyways

[stoic pawn]

there is lots of convars that cant be set through a config

[sterile rose]

Where are they saved?

[stoic pawn]

registry

also there is convars that mastercomfig does not set

it's not some all knowing software that sets every single thing in the game

sometimes mastercomfig leaves it up to the dxsupport to set things instead of setting those cvars itself

[sterile rose]

Which setting specifically?

I cannot think of any (aside of course from DXLevel_V1, which should go without saying)

[stoic pawn]

it's a problem that came with the 64 bit update

where it just stops working for some people

[sterile rose]

Well surely if it works for some and not for others it shouldn't be that hard to get to the bottom of it

[stoic pawn]

if mastercomfig didnt use the dxsupport settings then it would not have a dxsupport_override.cfg

[sterile rose]

As long as you have access to somewhere it is and isn't happening

[stoic pawn]

ok then get to the bottom of it smart guy

[sterile rose]

OK so what does mat_savechanges help with?

[stoic pawn]

saving changes

[sterile rose]

Mastercomfig's dxsupport is still going to be used next launch

There is no difference between changing dxlevel and then manually running mat_savechanges vs changing dxlevel and not

Next launch you'll end up with an identical videoconfig

in registry

(When using mastercomfig)

[stoic pawn]

it won't get used without -dxlevel

[sterile rose]

Every single setting here that would be changed by -dxlevel + mat_savechanges would also be changed just by launching and closing the game with mastercomfig

Apart from of course the dxlevel

(Which would also be saved by using -dxlevel and not manually running mat_savechanges)

So there's no reason to

I don't see what part is the 'misinformation'

[stoic pawn]

August 3rd 2025

2:15 pm

[sterile rose]

Guys my Niterux is broken

[stoic pawn]

?????

https://docs.comfig.app/latest/pt/customization/launch_options/?h=dxlevel#directx-8

literally misinformation

[sterile rose]

This is a different subject

[stoic pawn]

????

[sterile rose]

He asked why dxlevel 81 runs smoother

[stoic pawn]

yes

[sterile rose]

You said the mat_savechanges thing was misinformation

(A different topic)

[stoic pawn]

and you said this

Basically just simpler graphics and less features enabled
Less work for cpu and gpu = game runs better
which is literally wrong

[sterile rose]

Regardless, it's not wrong. Dxlevel 81 does use simpler graphics for many things, and does have many fewer features enabled

And it is largely less work

Some things are slower, the majority of things are faster

If you wanted to do identical looking graphics on dx8 and dx9 and you were taking advantage of new dx9 features, it would be slower to implement something that looks the same in dx8

but tf2 has a lot of fallbacks for those things, like water and reflections and whatnot

to avoid being slower

they don't look the same

[dire dust]

bc i like the bit more fps in my game but i also kinda want to change back since i cant see my warpaints that i bought

but atleast i now know that just Valve messed up with an update lol

[sterile rose]

This page is actually sort of misinformation, tf2's dxlevel 8 and 9 both use a d3d9 device, none of those drawbacks exclusive to d3d8 in modern windows actually really apply to it

[dire dust]

also thanks for helping me

[sterile rose]

Dxlevel 8 in tf2 is d3d9 but not using some of the d3d9 exclusive features that do get used in dxlevel 9

tf2 really does not have a real directx 8 mode

it's always directx 9, but dxlevel 8 has some features disabled that dxlevel 9 has enabled, and uses some different codepaths and materials/particles in the game

as an example, you can run tf2 dxlevel 81 in dxvk, (and the version of dxvk shipped in tf2 is from before they added d8vk into dxvk)

it's just dx9 all the time regardless of dxlevel

If you had hardware or drivers that predated dx9, tf2 would not open

if you somehow broke dx9 in your driver but old ass dx8 games still worked fine, dxlevel 81 tf2 would not work

if you were lucky you could port tf2 back to work with only dx8 with minimal code changes, but as it stands tf2 is a dx9 game always, on any dxlevel setting

[odd onyx]

both niterux and you, this is no place to argue

this is a help thread

dont speak about irrelevant things and start arguing in someone's help thread

[odd onyx]

this is wrong too, the point of the -dxlevel option is to save that setting

actually i read the thread more carefully

everything before the last message was fine

[odd onyx]

the page is overly aggressive about the drawbacks because we'd like to counteract the years of recommendations about dx8 which was the "go-to" without any testing. of course people will use dx8 if they need the fps boost, but theres also things that happen in terms of internal resource management which affect how the game manages certain things outside of just the d3d9 device

maybe i can be more clear and precise about the reasoning for the recommendations but i dont want to water it down too much

[sterile rose]

Sorry I didn't mean to argue

[odd onyx]

if you need to argue, use the #volunteers🙋 channel (access with the Helpers role)

its okay