Simulator doesn't open build launched via command line (1.1)

SDK Bug Reports
#1

This may be a Windows-only issue, but in 1.1, when you run the simulator from the command line with a build path as an argument, the build appears not to open, and the simulator starts with the system launcher instead.

What is actually happening is that the build does open, but the launcher is opened a frame or two later. There doesn’t seem to be a way to prevent this.

This appears to be an unintended consequence of Launcher.pdx being included (or correctly located) in the SDK, whereas previously it wasn’t. It’s possible this behavior existed previously but didn’t surface.

A workaround for this is to rename Launcher.pdx in the SDK’s Data/System/ folder. The attempt to open the launcher fails silently and your build remains open.

3 Likes
#2

Can confirm it happens on Linux as well

1 Like
Windows Simulator doesn't open game when launched with argument
#3

I'm still experiencing something similar in version 1.13.0. I'm on Linux (Fedora distro). The PlaydateSimulator won't use the build path that I provide as an argument.

In my case, renaming $PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH/Data/System/Launcher.pdx does nothing.

#4

A quick test (from within the bin dir) with this command works for me on Fedora:

./PlaydateSimulator '/home/will/Projects/TestGame/test.pdx'

How are you trying to launch the Simulator?

#5

Weird!

Well, originally I had the bin, along with the PlaydateSimulator, in my path and I was launching it that way, but I just tried it your way as well:

# In my bashrc:
# export PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH=/home/birdlunch/.local/opt/PlaydateSDK
cd $PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH
./PlaydateSimulator '$PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH/Examples/FlippyFish/FlippyFish.pdx'
# And also...
./PlaydateSimulator '/home/birdlunch/.local/opt/PlaydateSDK/Examples/FlippyFish.pdx'

In both cases, the Playdate Simulator launches, displays a prompt with the analog clock lock screen in the background:

Heads Up
The Playdate Simulator runs at your computer's speed, much faster than an actual Playdate.

Regularly test your game on a Playdate during development

| OK |

And then launches to the settings screen with no other apps available in the sim.

Is there anything else I could try that would help narrow down the issue? Should I build and launch a different game, or temporarily put some of my resources in another location? Maybe there are some details about my system that I could provide?

#6

Oh also, I don't know if this is significant but perhaps it will offer a clue: the PlaydateSimulator didn't work out-of-the-box for me.

When I first installed it, it gave a command line error on launch:

./PlaydateSimulator: error while loading shared libraries: libwebkit2gtk-4.0.so.37: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

I fixed it by running dnf install webkit2gtk4.0 . My machine had 4.1 and 5.0, but not 4.0. I saw that there was a development package for webkit available as well, but I decided to try the user package first. I'm still running it with that user webkit package.

#7

Is the first version of the SDK you installed 1.13 by chance? It sounds like your preferences aren't saving so it can't find the correct SDK which is noted here.

#8

You nailed it! Version 1.13 is my first SDK install. Creating the ~/.Playdate Simulator directory as suggested in your linked ticket fixed the issue after a second invokation. I thought it was odd that it wasn't saving my settings either…

Thanks for your help! I don't know if I'd have ever found that on my own. Solved.