DFU Fails to show the contents of `steamapps/common` directory

[ChristosMaragkos]

Tested on:

• Windows 11
• Linux (Fedora KDE)

The exact problem

I tried to set DFU up on two machines, one running Bazzite (based off of Fedora with KDE) and the other running Windows 11. On both machines, DFU was not able to show the contents of the steamapps/common directory, so I was not able to select the DOS daggerfall files.

Workaround

In both cases, I was able to get around this by moving the DOS daggerfall installation to another folder (either through Steam or just by cutting and pasting the folder myself).

If we're able to find the source, I'll gladly contribute a PR for this myself. Thanks for what you do!

[KABoissonneault]

The Steam install has been supported since 1.0, so it's clearly able to be setup from a Daggerfall installed from Steam. There has to be something else you're missing from the expected setup.

Can you check with https://github.com/Interkarma/daggerfall-unity/wiki/Using-Steam-Release-of-Daggerfall-with-Daggerfall-Unity and confirm whether you're just missing a step?

[ChristosMaragkos]

The steam install works if I move it elsewhere. The issue is that DFU seems unable to read the entire steamapps/common directory as a whole. It shows no folders, and it's not a privilege issue.

[KABoissonneault]

That is the directory that the guide uses, and is what many people have used for years. Again, I urge you to check what you might be missing, because that folder is clearly being used by many people. I know it's not a machine issue since you tried on two different machines, so it has to be something you're missing.

EDIT: As a reference, even before Interkarma's guide, this guide was using steamapps/common properly: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2800142536

[ChristosMaragkos]

Yes, I get that it works. It worked for me in the past as well, but I reinstalled after moving to linux. The issue is that the game consistently fails to read the contents of that and only that directory. And this is (likely) not a permission issue either, because I've consistently run the game with sudo/administrator on both machines and nothing changed.

I did some digging, and I was able to narrow a likely problem down to this part in FolderBrowser.cs:

        void RefreshFolders()
        {
            folders.Clear();
            folderList.ClearItems();

            // Add return path
            if (currentPath != drives[driveList.SelectedIndex])
                folderList.AddItem(parentDirectory);

            try
            {
                string[] directoryList = Directory.GetDirectories(currentPath);

                foreach (var directory in directoryList)
                {
                    DirectoryInfo info = new DirectoryInfo(directory);
                    if (showHiddenFilesCheck.IsChecked || (info.Attributes & FileAttributes.Hidden) == 0)
                    {
                        string name = Path.GetFileName(directory);
                        folders.Add(name);
                        folderList.AddItem(name);
                    }
                }

                folderScroller.TotalUnits = folderList.Count;
                folderScroller.DisplayUnits = folderList.RowsDisplayed;
                folderScroller.ScrollIndex = 0;
                folderList.SelectedIndex = 0;
            }
            catch
            {
                folders.Clear();
                folderList.ClearItems();
                return;
            }
        }

To my knowledge, Directory.GetDirectories throws entirely if it fails to enumerate any one subdirectory (due to a bad symlink or literally whatever else - even a path that is deemed too long). This then leads to the folder being parsed as empty... including the .. to go up one level.

There's probably no good way to circumvent this, but might we want to consider at least adding the .., logging the exact error and displaying it in-game?

[KABoissonneault]

I'm okay with not hiding exceptions, or at the very least rethrowing them after handling, and I am also okay with leaving the game in an interactable state by leaving the default folders like .. instead of going empty. If this helps diagnose the issue, it's worth adding

[ChristosMaragkos]

Great. I'll open a PR with both of those changes later today.