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WombatFromHell edited this page Feb 12, 2019 · 83 revisions

Special Cases

Q: Why do I get poor Steam overlay performance only when using OSOL with third-party launchers?

A: This is actually a bug with Steam's overlay when hooking into GPU accelerated launchers. To mitigate this performance issue you'll need to experiment with PreGameLauncherWaitTime in the OSOL .ini (found in the directory where it is run from). By default it is set to 12 seconds, lowering it (at first) to around 6 may reduce the performance issue in the overlay, but if it doesn't you might try raising the value above 12.

Q: OSOL closes my game/launcher while the game is still running? Can I prevent this?

A: This is usually due to anti-cheat pre-launchers like BattleEye and EAC. You need to be running OSOL v1.07g or higher in order to prevent this behavior. OSOL v1.07g or above allows tuning how long a target process is allowed to "stabilize" before OSOL decides what the process ID (PID) should be. This setting is found in the OSOL .ini in the directory you've run OSOL from under the variable ProcessAcquisitionAttempts. Changing the default of 5 to a higher number lets OSOL wait a longer period of time (useful for slower machines using mechanical hard-drives), setting it to a lower number tells OSOL to wait less before deciding on a PID.

Epic Games Launcher instructions

Q: How do I launch Fortnight from Steam and have OSOL manage the Epic Games Launcher?

A: You'll need to do the following:

  • Use the path to FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe (under PATH-TO-FORTNITE\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64) as your game executable.
  • Use the path to EpicGamesLauncher.exe (under %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries\Win64) as your Launcher executable in OSOL.
  • Add the path to the OSOL executable you just configured to your Steam client as a non-Steam game.
  • Next, you'll need to add/change the following lines in the OSOL .ini file (found in the same directory as the OSOL .exe):
LauncherURI=com.epicgames.launcher://apps/Fortnite?action=launch&silent=true
...
[Options]
LauncherMode=URI

Note: If you have difficulties with the Epic Games Launcher overlay conflicting with Steam you may have to disable it (this applies more to AMD GPU users) when launching Fortnight via Steam.

Q: How do I get a launcher URI for a particular game in the Epic Games Launcher?

A: Go into your Library panel, click the blue Cog icon on the game you want to get a URI for, and click "Create a shortcut". Go to your Desktop and find the newly created game shortcut, right-click it, click "Properties", and copy the full URL found there and paste it into your OSOL .ini file under the LauncherURI= variable.

Don't forget to change the LauncherMode variable to LauncherMode=URI or else OSOL will only use the launcher and game paths you've supplied.

Battle.net instructions

Q: How do I get Battle.net games like Destiny 2, Overwatch, and Diablo III to work with OSOL and Steam?

A: You'll need to modify LauncherArgs in the INI, but make sure you're running OSOL v1.07d or above:

  • Make sure you're using the right LauncherPath EXE (Battle.net.exe in this case)
  • Fill in the correct GamePath (according to your particular game)
  • Change your LauncherArgs to one of the following strings:
Game LauncherArgs
Heroes of the Storm --exec="launch Hero"
World of Warcraft --exec="launch WoW"
Hearthstone --exec="launch WTCG"
Starcraft 2 --exec="launch S2"
Starcraft Remastered --exec="launch S1"
Overwatch --exec="launch Pro"
Diablo 3 --exec="launch D3"
Destiny 2 --exec="launch DST2"
CoD:BO4 --exec="launch VIPR"

Q: I can't get Destiny 2 to work with Steam using OSOL!

A: By design, Destiny 2 blocks all attempts by third party software to hook an overlay into it including Steam's Big Picture Mode. You must use either GloSC or a Desktop configuration (in BPM or Steam controller settings) in order to control Destiny 2 with your Steam Controller or Steam Input supported device.

Assuming you're using GloSC (highly recommended for Destiny 2):

  • Simply setup OSOL as normal following the normal instructions (plus the instructions above)
  • NOTE: Make sure to select the path to Destiny 2.exe for GamePath -not- the Destiny 2 launcher!
  • Add OSOL to GloSC as if it were a game
  • Use GloSC to add the newly created profile to Steam
  • Launch the Destiny 2 OSOL shortcut from Steam as you would any other game

If you're using a Desktop config:

  • Customize your Desktop config with the keyboard & mouse bindings for Destiny 2
  • Simply setup OSOL as normal following the normal instructions (plus the instructions above)
  • Launch the Destiny 2 OSOL shortcut from Steam as you would any other game

UPlay instructions

Q: How do I get Uplay and OSOL to work together?

A: You'll need to point your LauncherPath to the file path of upc.exe instead of Uplay.exe so OSOL can track the UPlay launcher.

Q: How do I launch Rainbow Six: Siege with BattleEye through OSOL?

A: It should only take a few simple steps:

  • Make sure you're using at least OSOL v1.06a or higher
  • Setup OSOL normally, selecting your RainbowSix_BE.exe executable, then change the MonitorPath in the INI to the path of RainbowSix.exe
  • Run OSOL as you normally would and it should work

Note: This process should also work for any other games that use their own launcher to launch a different executable.

Q: I can't seem to get the overlay to work with Rainbow Six: Siege (UPlay version)

A: This is likely because of how BattlEye (UPlay) prevents Steam's D3D API hooks. You may need to use GloSC and then follow similar instructions as for Destiny 2 above.

Q: How do I launch titles that have an EAC pre-launcher (The Division 2, for example)?

A: You'll need to use the game's launcher URI found in the Uplay client. Not every game has one of these, but for those that do you can usually get it by doing the following:

  • Go into the Uplay client, right-click the installed game in your Games panel, and if there is an option labeled "Create desktop shortcut" you can get a URI for this title.
  • Click "Create desktop shortcut" for the title you wish to get the URI for, go to your desktop and a shortcut should have been created.
  • Right-click this shortcut, click "Properties", and copy and paste the URL found there to your OSOL .ini file under the LauncherURI= variable.
  • Make sure to change LauncherMode in the OSOL .ini to LauncherMode=URI in order for the previous changes to be used for this game shortcut.
  • Follow the normal OSOL launching procedures.

GOG Galaxy instructions

Q: How do I get GOG Galaxy, OSOL, and Steam to play nicely with each other?

A: You'll need to do several things...

  • Set the Launcher and Game EXE paths as normal (using GalaxyClient.exe as the launcher in this case)
  • Set your LauncherMode=LauncherOnly in the OSOL ini file (created in the directory with the OSOL exe after running for the first time)
  • Grab the GOG gameId (without [ and ] brackets) from the first line of goglog.ini in the root directory of your installed GOG game
  • Change your LauncherArgs to look something like this: LauncherArgs=/command=runGame /gameId=1495134320 /path=D:\Games\GOG Games\The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt GOTY\bin\x64\witcher3.exe

Q: GOG Galaxy doesn't cloud sync my game saves when I'm launching from OSOL. What gives?

A: This is an intentional feature in GOG Galaxy; if an executable is running inside the game directory it will not cloud sync. The solution is to not put the OSOL exe inside the directory of the Game exe when launching it from GOG Galaxy through OSOL.

Steam instructions

Q: Can I use OSOL with native Steam games?

A: Yes. You may want/need to do this if you intend to take advantage of OSOL's CPU/Process Affinity and pre/post launch functionality when the game uses a third-party launcher (UPlay for instance). You'll need to do the following:

  • Right click the game in the Steam library window - click "Create Desktop Shortcut"
  • Right click the newly created game desktop shortcut (on your desktop) - click "Properties"
  • Copy the contents of the "URL" field in the game shortcut. If you wish to use game-specific arguments you can do that in a later step
  • Open your OSOL INI in the game directory - if this doesn't exist yet then run OSOL once within the game directory following the normal procedure
  • Paste the contents of the "URL" field that you copied in step 3 into the LauncherURI option so that it looks something like: LauncherURI=steam://rungameid/123456
  • Change the LauncherMode option in the OSOL INI to look like LauncherMode=URI
  • Enter/Paste the game commandline arguments you want Steam to use when launching your game into the GameArgs OSOL INI option, like: GameArgs=-arg0 -arg1 -foo_bar
  • Add the OSOL executable as a non-Steam game and run it as normal

Authenticating Launcher instructions

(Examples are: Escape from Tarkov, Epic Games Launcher, and some MMORPGs)

Q: Can I use OSOL to bypass a launcher that authenticates the game using a token?

A: As of v1.06h, sometimes this will work as long as the launcher/game fulfills certain requirements:

  • If the game has a launcher it must be a different (separate) executable from the game
  • Games that do not have a launcher that require authentication in-game will NOT work with this method
  • The launcher must copy its token as a commandline string tacked onto the valid game executable (you can view this in Windows Task Manager by adding a "Command line" column in the Details tab by right-clicking the sortable column header)

If the launcher meets these requirements you can do the following to enable CommandlineProxy:

  • Set the OSOL INI option CommandlineProxy=True
  • Launch and exit the launcher and game once via OSOL
  • Check the OSOL log or the INI's DetectedCommandline option to make sure the token was properly copied
  • Launch OSOL to double check that the game will launch properly with the copied token
  • You can now leave CommandlineProxy=True and the launcher will automatically be skipped
  • When you need a fresh token simply remove the value of DetectedCommandline and repeat from step 2 above

NOTE: Escape from Tarkov was changed as of build 0.6.0.861 such that you are required to launch the game through the game's launcher.

Emulator and Master Launcher instructions

Q: Can I use emulators with OSOL to run support utilities or master launchers through Steam?

A: Yes! As of v1.06e you can simply add your support utility as the launcher executable (very important!) and the emulator as the game executable (with appropriate GameArgs to launch your game upon startup).

Q: How can I use a pre-game utility with an emulator (like CEMU)?

A: Say you're using a utility like the Steam Controller Gyro for CemuHook utility (by @FrogTheFrog) to enable gyro functionality in CEMU and you want it to run before CEMU starts. Do the following:

  • Download the utility and place it in anywhere you like, but rename it to Steam Gyro For Cemuhook.exe
  • Run OSOL for the first time as normal, selecting the path to your Cemu.exe as your GamePath, and the path to Steam Gyro For Cemuhook.exe as your LauncherPath
  • You can add GameArgs for Cemu to launch a particular game on startup by editing the OSOL INI, like: GameArgs=-g <path to your game rpx file>
  • Add the OSOL executable to Steam as a non-Steam game and launch it from Steam as normal

OSOL as a standalone launcher (game only)

Q: Can I use OSOL to run pre/post game commands or scripts as a sort-of standalone launcher?

A: Yes, absolutely! OSOL has support for running commands (optionally, as of v1.06j, with elevated privileges via the ElevateExternals INI option) before and after a chosen game using the PreLaunchExec and PostGameExec INI options.

These instructions are up to date as of version v1.09h on 12/20/2021.

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