SDL applications auto-leave fullscreen if set to native 1280x1024 or higher resolution and Compiz is enabled.

[NY00123]

After recent updates, a few of them are to Compiz-related packages, it seems like SDL applications can't work probably with fullscreen mode in the native resolution of 1280x1024 or higher.
What happens is that they simply switch to windowed mode. That doesn't happen with lower resolutions if they're set from the beginning, nor when Compiz is disabled.
Tested applications: DOSBox, EDuke32, JFShadowWarrior, my own (sort of) Snake game.
I guess it would occur with (almost) all of the SDL applications, but tell if someone wants a link to one of the above specific games, tell me.
DOSBox - No problem, apt-get install dosbox

[Travis Watkins (amaranth)]

Confirmed, I see this with xmoto.

[ptolonen (ptolonen)]

I have same problem with Ubuntu 8.04 32bit with all updates. Graphic card: Geforce 7600GS

Games i tested: World of Padman, Hedgewars and XMoto. All had same problems. With 7.10 they worked fine.

[ptolonen (ptolonen)]

I started World of Padman with default resolution 1024x768 at fullscreen. Game starts fine and it's playable for about 10-15 minutes and then suddenly it jumps to windowed mode and all controls are lost -> must reset X to continue.

On 1280x1024 Fullscreen it wont be playable at all. It changes allmost immediatly to windowed mode.

On Xmoto started in 1280x1024 fullscreen, fullscreen / windowed mode seem to be switching back and forth few times in a minute.

[Kasper Meerts (kasperm-deactivatedaccount)]

I confirm this bug too. When Compiz is enabled, all fullscreen SDL games set to the native resolution of my desktop (1280x1024) window automatically.
Tested with Frets On Fire, Battle for Wesnoth, Neverball and Extreme Tux Racer.

[benpicco (benpicco)]

Can confirm it for ballistics, bomberclone and FretsOnFire.
While waiting for a real solution, maybe a little nocompiz script helps, can be linked to /usr/local/bin so that problematic programs can be run by nocompiz fretsonfire e.g.

#!/bin/bash
# Starts a programm having problems with compiz
if [ -z "${1}" ]; then
 echo "Usage:"
 echo " $0 program <parameter>"
 exit 1
fi

#First get the default window manager exept compiz
wmCmds="/usr/bin/kwin /usr/bin/metacity /usr/bin/xfwm4" #maybe I missed one

for wm in ${wmCmds}; do
  if [ -x "${wm}" ]; then
 DefaultWM=${wm}
 break
 fi
done

${DefaultWM} --replace &
sleep 1 #wait a bit to initialize the window manager
${*}
compiz --replace &

[Dara Adib (daradib)]

Perhaps related to Bug #224893?

[Lari Kukkonen (bluekkis)]

Would like to point out that this isn't limited to 1280x1024 resolution. Had this happened few times with Quake4/ET:QW on my native 1920x1200, although it doesn't happen always and most of the time I can play on fullscreen just fine.

[Dara Adib (daradib)]

Maybe this bug is for 1280x1024 and higher resolutions. If possible, please set your desktop and game to 1024x768. See if this will fix your problem,

[NY00123 (ny00)]

I've changed the desktop resolution to 1024x768 (without rebooting or restarting), and now I get the same problem with a resolution of 1024x768.
In addition, could be related although I'm not sure (tested on an EDuke32 snapshot from April 1st, but could happen in other applications as well):
* When I try to switch from e.g. 800x600 fullscreen (which eventually works) to 1024x768 fullscreen, I get again the effect of auto-switching to windowed mode, but also get a white display inside the window (when it is windowed). - Happens only with Compiz enabled.

[NY00123 (ny00)]

Sorry for not telling about that before, but now I can mention one more problem (occurs in EDuke32 and icculus.org/duke3d):
It looks like something goes wrong with the mouse cursor, although the behavior may depend on the game.

[Tim Kersten (timkersten)]

I had similar problems before. Mine were worked around by making sure
that the screen saver was disabled. Also, you will get strange mouse
behavior if you're using the program "unclutter" while you have opengl
and some sdl games open, either windowed or fullscreen.

t

On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 3:56 PM, NY00123 <email address hidden> wrote:
> Sorry for not telling about that before, but now I can mention one more problem (occurs in EDuke32 and icculus.org/duke3d):
> It looks like something goes wrong with the mouse cursor, although the behavior may depend on the game.
>
> --
> SDL applications auto-leave fullscreen if set to native 1280x1024 resolution and Compiz is enabled.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/216322
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>

[NY00123 (ny00)]

In my case, it looks like unclutter isn't installed here. Anyway, Compiz is disabled for now (and the resolution is again 1280x1024).

[Ralf Nieuwenhuijsen (ralf-nieuwenhuijsen)]

EHm, isn't this a duplicate? Doesn't this happen _whenever_ the
resolution of the game is equal to that of the desktop, if running
compiz?

Current workarounds:
  - run games in a different resolution, than your desktop
 - do not use compiz
 - turn off auto redirect fullscreen applications..

2008/6/13 NY00123 <email address hidden>:
> In my case, it looks like unclutter isn't installed here. Anyway, Compiz
> is disabled for now (and the resolution is again 1280x1024).
>
> --
> SDL applications auto-leave fullscreen if set to native 1280x1024 resolution and Compiz is enabled.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/216322
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>

[NY00123 (ny00)]

I've selected System -> Preferences -> Advanced Desktop Effects Settings
(I think it's available from a compizconfig-backend-gconf package; Otherwise, I guess e.g. gconf-editor can be used),
selected "General Options" and then unchecked "Unredirect Fullscreen Windows".
Afterwards I've re-enabled Compiz via System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Visual Effects.
With EDuke32, icculus.org/duke3d and DOSBox, all running at the desktop resolution of 1280x1024, problem solved!

What I guess is that, assuming that option was enabled from the moment I install Hardy, it should maybe be disabled by default.
I say "maybe" because there could be other issues which I'm currently not aware of.

I could be wrong, but I guess that what this feature means is to render fullscreen apps on top of Compiz.
When it's disabled, OpenGL apps may bypass Compiz, which seems to work better for now. Again, I could be wrong here.

[Ralf Nieuwenhuijsen (ralf-nieuwenhuijsen)]

It is _NOT_ resolution specific.

This bug occurs for all SDL games, when the resolution of the game is EQUAL to the resolution of the desktop.
Whatever resolution that may be.

Workarounds:
  - make sure you run the game in a different resolution than your desktop
  - turn off compiz (switch back to metacity) temporarily (alt+f2 .. and type .. "metacity --replace" before you play, then type "compiz --replace" after your done playing your game)
  - install compiz advanced configuration tool and turn off 'auto-redirect fullscreen applications' .. note you need a better 3d card than normal .. at least more texture memory anyway..

[NY00123 (ny00)]

It should be noted that, at least the way I remember it, I've got the problem right after getting Compiz-related updates.
Now I remember I had played with "Auto redirect fullscreen applications" and other settings before,
so it could be unchecked before the updates, and then one of the updates possibly got that setting reset somehow.

[NY00123 (ny00)]

Regarding a recent post in bug report #157759, I agree with Adam that it isn't a duplicate of bug #216322.
#216322 - The app auto-switches to windowed mode if it's fullscreen and uses the desktop resolution.
#157759 - If I understand that correctly, the app goes windowed after some time and the controls may not respond. I remember I've got that as well a few times in the past.

On a side-note, it looks like Corsaire's report in the Bug #157759 page actually refers to this bug.
Indeed, it may be confusing and people may not notice the difference between the different but similar symptoms.

[Adam Reeve (adreeve)]

Just to clarify and add to my comment on bug #157759, the issue I'm having looks like it's different to the one reported here and is the same for some other people. After about 10 minutes of game play the game will become windowed and control is lost. Sometimes after a few seconds the game will become fullscreen again and I can continue playing but sometimes it doesn't and I have to go to another tty to kill the game. Usually my resolution has become messed up and I have to restart X. This doesn't only happen when the resolution of the game is set to the resolution of the desktop.

I have an nvidia 6600gt using the 169.12 drivers with two monitors using twinview.

[spaceman (spacedoubtman)]

I've had similiar problems using fullscreen apps including mythv, games with wine, and now tremulous.

Here is what I did to get around these:

mythtv:
enabled workarounds in compiz utility options

wine:
set a virtual desktop (so war3 ran in windowed mode) and used a full screen shortcut key as defined in compiz extra wm actions

tremulous:
disabled undirect fullscreen windows in general compiz options

[Crosshair (will-e-carlson)]

I have the same problem. After much tinkering, I found out that running a inferior resolution than that of the desktop, I can run full screen until the screen-saver tries to come on, then the game goes windowed. Running at max resolution, the game goes to windowed mode immediately and am unable to control the game after that point. I think these two bugs might be related to the bug #157759. I am running intrepid 8.10 i386 fully updated 2.6.27-7 kernel.

[Batwam (batwam)]

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/216322/comments/14 worked for me (videao like Google videos in fullscreen mode going fullscreen and going back to the original window mode)

thanks

[Aeolien (mike-kenyon)]

Workaround described at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/216322/comments/14 did not work for me while playing WoP.
Running Intrepid 8.10 i386 on Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83GHz
Compiz enabled.
Using NVidia GeForce 8600M GS graphics card.

[allrand_13 (farmerboy-andrew)]

I had the same problem too, i disabled my screensaver and it hasn't minimized since