Every article tag can be clicked to get a list of all articles in that category. Every article tag also has an RSS feed! You can customize an RSS feed too!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Have Mouse Problems In Unity3D Games On Linux? See Here For Fixes

By - | Views: 24,010
So, Unity3D based games don't work correctly for you? Well it happens to me too and a helpful email from a GOL fan got it sorted, read on for how.

Unity3D is the tool used to make games like Rust and Rochard for example. Unlike Rust though Rochard isn't first person so it doesn't suffer the issue. It seems to happen mainly on first person games.

For a little bit of background, see this bug here. For some reason when a Unity game is built for Linux it can completely screw up your mouse axis under Linux.
If you also suffer from the issues please comment and vote there to get the point across to Unity.

The trick is to try a different window manager like Openbox. I run Manjaro KDE, but it also happened on Cinnamon too.

So, to fix it and try this at your own risk, install Openbox on your distribution and when you want to play a Unity3D-based game run this .sh script:
#!/bin/bash
openbox --replace &

That will replace your current window manager with Openbox.

To get back to your original window manager on KDE for example it's as simple as this:
#!/bin/bash
kwin --replace &

Or if you use Compiz then it's this:
#!/bin/bash
compiz --replace

Just replace the name with your current window manager.

That's all there is to it, and it worked perfectly for me. It's quite annoying having to go through hoops like this, but it makes the situation a bit more bareable for now.

If you have any other tips, let us know in the comments. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Editorial, Unity
0 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
22 comments
Page: 1/3»
  Go to:

edo Mar 30, 2014
I completed rochard in Linux and works ok
Anonymous Mar 30, 2014
Yeah, he should of mentioned that the mouse problem is for games like first person shooters that use the mouse to look around, like Rust, Verdun, Zigfrak ect.

This fix also makes vsync work in Unity engine games. When the engine detects that you are using a compositing window manager, it forces vsync off. So for me in KDE, every game using this engine (except bit-trip runner 2) has horrible screen tearing. Bit-trip was made in a earlier version of the engine that didn't have this problem.
The developers intentionally coded it this way, because games were running like crap when people had compositing running. Specifically Unity on ubuntu with compiz, back when you couldn't use the "unredirect fullscreen windows" option in compiz to stop games from getting composited because of some bug which got fixed shortly after. They didn't even give us a way to disable the behaviour in a config file or something, this is pretty sad.

Hopefully this stuff gets sorted in the new version that's coming.
Liam Dawe Mar 30, 2014
Added a note for FPS games.
WorMzy Mar 30, 2014
I use openbox, but I still get mouse jumps in Rust. :c
jdub Mar 30, 2014
I have had this issue in every DE except XFCE and unity. In both these DE’s all my games run flawlessly.
Hamish Mar 31, 2014
I have always played Unity3D games from Xfce. I guess that is why I have never had problems.:|
Anonymous Mar 31, 2014
Quoting: WorMzyI use openbox, but I still get mouse jumps in Rust. :c

Yes, the mouse jumps in rust. But that is yet another problem lol. In particular this Fix stop the issue that people have with the character getting stuck looking at the sky and having to alt-tab to get the game to respond again. The problem only occurs on some window managers, generally the compositing ones.
Speedster Mar 31, 2014
Like Hamish, I use XFCE and have never seen mouse problems in Unity
adolson Mar 31, 2014
I don't have the issue, but if you're using Steam, you could probably set the required commands in the launch options for each of the problem games. That would handle changing the WM back and forth automatically for you. I did something similar with AntiMicro to load and unload kb/mouse to gamepad mappings for certain games.
avarisclari Mar 31, 2014
I've never had issues, though I use LXDE.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.