Shader-Cache Downloads Have Been Fixed

First reported by GamingOnLinux, a comment on the Steam for Linux Github made by Pierre-Loup Griffais, a developer at Valve working on the Steam Deck, it was mentioned that the shader-cache has been acting up and download the entire cache daily. The shader-cache is instead supposed to download a small bit and then fully recompile on the Steam Deck itself. Thankfully, the initial fix for this has been implemented:

Shader cache downloads are designed to be incremental. Reports here indicate a daily download of the full shader cache file size, which is inconsistent with expectations - a small download and full disk write is expected instead.

After looking at the logs shared on this issue and on #9200, we've investigated and found a server-side problem with the system that keeps track of the ordering of shaders in those updates.

We've just rolled out an initial fix and will continue to monitor the situation. If the issue persists, please comment on this report and attach your shader_log[.previous].txt as indicated above.

Pierre-Loup Griffais

We should start seeing these benefits immediately since this was a server-side issue. This means much faster/smaller downloads and then a full recompile of the shader-cache, updating it however it needed to be. In the end, this will save a lot of time as we won’t be constantly downloading the entire cache over and over.

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