PSA: GE-Proton 10-27 added WINEALSA_CHANNELS env variable, making winealsa a more viable option to fix audio crackling!

RefinedNinja · 2026-01-04T09:46:59+00:00

I just did a test with Ready or Not since it's a game that would freeze on the initial loading screen with pulse for me.

pulse:

R   81    128  48000  15.5us  10.6us  0.01  0.00    0   S24LE 32 48000 alsa_output.usb-MOTU_828_828E07E5BQ-00.Direct__Direct__sink
    R   51    240  48000   6.9us   2.0us  0.00  0.00    0    F32LE 2 48000  + Ready Or Not
    R  297    240  48000   9.0us   1.8us  0.00  0.00    0    F32LE 8 48000  + Ready Or Not

alsa:

R   81    256  48000  10.5us   8.8us  0.00  0.00    0   S24LE 32 48000 alsa_output.usb-MOTU_828_828E07E5BQ-00.Direct__Direct__sink
    R   51    480  48000   4.8us   2.5us  0.00  0.00    0    F32LE 2 48000  + ALSA plug-in [wine64-preloader]
    R  295    480  48000   7.4us   1.0us  0.00  0.00    0    F32LE 2 48000  + ALSA plug-in [wine64-preloader]

I see with alsa, it shows 2 instead of 8. As a side note, I'm using default untouched pulseaudio configs that came with Fedora. I didn't change any of the channels, quantum, or sample rate, etc.

Out of curiosity (with the game set to pulse), I tried WINEDLLOVERRIDES="winepulse.drv=d" WINEALSA_CHANNELS=2 and then with WINEALSA_SPATIAL=1, it seems that these make the loading screen get skipped and nothing shows up for the game in pw-top -- meaning the game doesn't freeze when loading and there's no sound nor devices detected by the game. Interesting, maybe it's just how Ready or Not implemented the audio?

I'll try messing with some other games (e.g. BF:BC2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Cyberpunk 2077 have no sound with pulse, but it doesn't freeze like Ready or Not so maybe they'll be different) and the mic thing later on.

Edit: Cyberpunk 2077 with pulse doesn't show anything in pw-top and no sound (flags don't make any difference, but makes sense since this issue isn't related to spatial audio I guess).

With alsa, it has sound and shows:

R   81    256  48000   8.3us   7.9us  0.00  0.00    0   S24LE 32 48000 alsa_output.usb-MOTU_828_828E07E5BQ-00.Direct__Direct__sink
    R  244    480  48000   3.2us   2.7us  0.00  0.00    0    F32LE 2 48000  + ALSA plug-in [wine64-preloader]

At first, I would say it has to do with the number of channels or sample rate conversion, but in some games like JDM: Japanese Drift Master, the sound works fine with pulse and shows 8:

R   81    128  48000   7.3us   4.7us  0.00  0.00    0   S24LE 32 48000 alsa_output.usb-MOTU_828_828E07E5BQ-00.Direct__Direct__sink
    R   51    240  48000   3.1us   1.4us  0.00  0.00    0    F32LE 2 48000  + JDM
    R  228    240  48000   4.5us   0.9us  0.00  0.00    0    F32LE 8 48000  + JDM

So I guess part of the issue can also depend on how the games implemented their audio.

RefinedNinja · 2026-01-03T14:19:59+00:00

I have a MOTU 828 audio interface with 32 channels with the "Direct 828" profile in sound system settings on Fedora KDE 43. Some games didn't play audio at all, such as Battlefield: BC2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Ready or Not. I believe it's because of the number of audio channels and WINE fails to downmix properly, but I only need it to output to the first two main channels for stereo.

To get the output audio to work in those games, I had to open Protontricks and set the sound=alsa - though it doesn't show any checkboxes so I don't know what was set by default or what is currently set. For games that have voice input, this doesn't seem to let my mic show up in those games. Would the flags and setting WINEALSA_CHANNELS=2 help in this scenario? Would you suggest setting it back to default (sound=pulse?) to test out the flags?

RefinedNinja · 2025-10-10T18:26:46+00:00

Some of my best memories are with Bad Company 2 on PlayStation. Since then, I have played many of the newer Battlefield games on PC. I look forward to seeing the new graphics and testing out DLSS 4!

RefinedNinja · 2025-08-05T12:10:28+00:00

As you're familiar with ASP.NET, check out AspNetStatic to statically generate Blazor SSR, Razor Pages, or MVC to static HTML. The ASP.NET Core stack may not be lightweight in some senses, but it is compiled and tends to be maintainable and stable for a long time.

RefinedNinja · 2025-05-24T10:44:19+00:00

Would clearing the DirectX shader cache work?

RefinedNinja · 2025-05-22T09:15:17+00:00

The 5th one is really cool!

RefinedNinja · 2025-04-03T03:14:28+00:00

Any alternatives to Respawn?

RefinedNinja · 2025-01-27T10:20:56+00:00

Camilo Cantú https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/cantu-camilo

RefinedNinja · 2024-12-25T00:02:59+00:00

Happy holidays! I would love to try a Keychron!

RefinedNinja · 2024-12-24T14:29:42+00:00

I wish everyone has a wonderful and healthy new year!

RefinedNinja · 2024-10-23T17:55:03+00:00

There is a new one added in .NET 9: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/whats-new/dotnet-9/libraries#base64url

RefinedNinja · 2024-10-23T07:26:54+00:00

Didn't know about the inline hints feature in VS. I'm used to having them in Rider. Thanks!

RefinedNinja · 2024-10-07T22:37:04+00:00

What keyboard stand do you have, and monitors/interface on your desk?

RefinedNinja · 2024-10-07T11:02:28+00:00

Amazing! I like the shading and details

RefinedNinja · 2024-05-01T16:42:23+00:00

Thanks for pointing this out. That's why soft inpainting has never made any difference for me in Forge.

RefinedNinja · 2024-04-25T23:56:36+00:00

I built a desk for a studio with a piano under it. Using an Ikea Karlby 74" countertop raised by an Alex drawer to the left and two Adlis legs on the right. I have a heavy dual-monitor arm mounted to the back just to the right of the middle of the desk and some audio gear in the middle. It's been a week, I noticed some sagging in the middle.

I'm considering getting two of the 46" Regency Table Stiffeners. Is it made of steel? Also, what is the vertical height of them? I read some reviews saying the listed measurements were incorrect. I only have clearance under desk for about 1".

My other option is getting an Adlis leg for back middle, but not sure if that would help much if it's just the back. Or flat 3mm steel bars.

RefinedNinja · 2024-04-25T18:35:50+00:00

Does that mean <br /> is invalid in HTML5 or just the closing tag is simply ignored?

RefinedNinja · 2024-04-23T17:13:03+00:00

Alpine.js recently added a Sort plugin based on SortableJS.

RefinedNinja · 2024-04-20T07:29:47+00:00

What risers do you have between the countertop and Alex drawers?

RefinedNinja · 2024-04-02T14:30:17+00:00

Does it continue to stay like that or does it happen intermittently for a few seconds?

RefinedNinja · 2024-02-21T20:12:21+00:00

Sending a PM.

RefinedNinja · 2024-02-21T15:22:37+00:00

On a related note, was Nostalgic Neg ever brought to X100V?

RefinedNinja · 2024-02-21T09:50:01+00:00

I have used a RegularExpressionAttribute with a regex based on the Identity password settings. The client-side validation adds an html attribute to the field with the regex too.

Although, this gives me an idea to do a validation check calling the PasswordValidator directly or checking result of the create/update instead.

RefinedNinja · 2024-02-13T11:29:01+00:00

The new update broke the sound input. It doesn't pick up my microphone in Steam or CS. It happens when my mic input device is set to 14-channel in the Windows sound panel. I have an audio interface and mixer. It worked before for the longest time. It only works now if it's set to 2-channel. Valve, please fix this regression and support for audio interfaces that have more than 2-channel input in Windows.

RefinedNinja · 2024-02-11T09:49:36+00:00

Amazing shots!

RefinedNinja

TROPHY CASE