[BUG] ASSERT: "Unhandled sampler filter type!" at /data/src/common/vrcommon/vrrenderer/vulkanrenderer.cpp:2278

[Spacefish]

Describe the bug
When using mesa 26.0.0 (git 467dd0b990c1b305d48ec2269e8cee681b6840bb) i get an assertion when the vrcompositor starts:

Sun Dec 28 2025 03:22:59.483197 [Error] - ASSERT: "Unhandled sampler filter type!" at /data/src/common/vrcommon/vrrenderer/vulkanrenderer.cpp:2278.

The HMD initialized, but only shows a black screen (with background illumination on) no frame is ever presented to the HMD, SteamVR shows no error.

i have a valve index HMD and a NAVI31 (RX 7700 XT gpu)

See report:
SteamVR-2025-12-28-AM_03_30_34.txt

[kisak-valve]

Hello @Spacefish, this is is a continuation of the video driver regression being tracked at #836 affecting X based user sessions.

[Spacefish]

Hello @Spacefish, this is is a continuation of the video driver regression being tracked at #836 affecting X based user sessions.

Thanks for the fast reply.

I use Wayland and have this MR: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/merge_requests/38987 in my mesa build (which i ran into before).

For me it looks more like a newly supported filter type for some texture / plane whatever in vulkan which might lead to the assertion? Maybe there is a bug in mesa where it exposes filter types of an extension which was not requested during vulkan device creation or SteamVR accidently requests the extension but does not handle the type?

SteamVR seems to talk / lease the drm device / connector from wayland as well:

Sun Dec 28 2025 03:52:22.062003 [Info] - CHmdWindowSDL: Using Wayland
Sun Dec 28 2025 03:52:22.095797 [Info] - WaylandHMDState: Got interface: wp_drm_lease_device_v1
Sun Dec 28 2025 03:52:22.097397 [Info] - WaylandHMDLeaseDevice::LeaseDevice_DrmFD: /dev/dri/card1
Sun Dec 28 2025 03:52:22.107173 [Info] - WaylandHMDLeaseConnector::LeaseConnector_Done
Sun Dec 28 2025 03:52:22.107210 [Info] - WaylandHMDLeaseDevice::LeaseDevice_Done

[Spacefish]

Ok, after a restart of my PC SteamVR seems to suddendly work again, but only for like 10-20 seconds, i can even start a game in that time, then it crashes with the same assertion and show "-203" as the error.

It´s somehow random, either it starts into the black screen with backlight on and the assertion, or it starts into the Loader and then stops working 10-20 seconds later going completly black and showing "-203"..

The error i see in the log now some times:
Mon Dec 29 2025 00:03:40.804867 [Error] - CHmdWindowSDL::AcquireNextImage - Failed to acquire swapchain image for: HMD (-1000000000)

I enabled vulkan validation layers just to see if there is anything obvious, there is one that VK_KHR_timeline_semaphore is not requested but still a semaphore is requested via vkCreateSemaphore()

VUID-VkSemaphoreCreateInfo-pNext-pNext(ERROR / SPEC): msgNum: -1880859272 - Validation Error: [ VUID-VkSemaphoreCreateInfo-pNext-pNext ] Object 0: handle = 0x5cf52d1764f0, type = VK_OBJECT_TYPE_INSTANCE; | MessageID = 0x8fe45d78 | vkCreateSemaphore(): pCreateInfo->pNext includes a pointer to a VkStructureType (VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_SEMAPHORE_TYPE_CREATE_INFO), but its parent extension VK_KHR_timeline_semaphore has not been enabled. The Vulkan spec states: Each pNext member of any structure (including this one) in the pNext chain must be either NULL or a pointer to a valid instance of VkExportMetalObjectCreateInfoEXT, VkExportSemaphoreCreateInfo, VkExportSemaphoreWin32HandleInfoKHR, VkImportMetalSharedEventInfoEXT, VkQueryLowLatencySupportNV, or VkSemaphoreTypeCreateInfo (https://www.khronos.org/registry/vulkan/specs/1.3-extensions/html/vkspec.html#VUID-VkSemaphoreCreateInfo-pNext-pNext)
    Objects: 1
        [0] 0x5cf52d1764f0, type: 1, name: NULL

and the other one that an image is marked as VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED but should be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_TRANSFER_SRC_OPTIMAL

Maybe there is a missing barrier? Or maybe this is from the chromium engine and not from the VR compositor at all..
Looks like some kind of synchronization issue to me, where the image i created and then read from before anything is written to it.

UNASSIGNED-CoreValidation-DrawState-InvalidImageLayout(ERROR / SPEC): msgNum: 1303270965 - Validation Error: [ UNASSIGNED-CoreValidation-DrawState-InvalidImageLayout ] Object 0: handle = 0x5cf52deb1da0, type = VK_OBJECT_TYPE_COMMAND_BUFFER; Object 1: handle = 0x30000000003, type = VK_OBJECT_TYPE_IMAGE; | MessageID = 0x4dae5635 | vkQueueSubmit(): pSubmits[0].pCommandBuffers[0] command buffer VkCommandBuffer 0x5cf52deb1da0[] expects VkImage 0x30000000003[] (subresource: aspectMask 0x1 array layer 0, mip level 0) to be in layout VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_TRANSFER_SRC_OPTIMAL--instead, current layout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED.
    Objects: 2
        [0] 0x5cf52deb1da0, type: 6, name: NULL
        [1] 0x30000000003, type: 10, name: NULL

And there is one, which is probably a non-issue, that an image is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_GENERAL but should be VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_SHADER_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL:

UNASSIGNED-CoreValidation-DrawState-InvalidImageLayout(ERROR / SPEC): msgNum: 1303270965 - Validation Error: [ UNASSIGNED-CoreValidation-DrawState-InvalidImageLayout ] Object 0: handle = 0x5aeb861c61e0, type = VK_OBJECT_TYPE_COMMAND_BUFFER; Object 1: handle = 0xc500000000c5, type = VK_OBJECT_TYPE_IMAGE; | MessageID = 0x4dae5635 | vkQueueSubmit(): pSubmits[0].pCommandBuffers[0] command buffer VkCommandBuffer 0x5aeb861c61e0[] expects VkImage 0xc500000000c5[] (subresource: aspectMask 0x1 array layer 0, mip level 0) to be in layout VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_SHADER_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL--instead, current layout is VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_GENERAL.
    Objects: 2
        [0] 0x5aeb861c61e0, type: 6, name: NULL
        [1] 0xc500000000c5, type: 10, name: NULL
OnAboutToShowDevicesMenu
OnAboutToShowWorkshopMenu
CQVRSystemReportWindow(0x5bb93d620060)  does not have a property named  "list_column_width"

[Spacefish]

Never mind the vrcopositor does it correctly regarding the semaphores:

VK_KHR_timeline_semaphore is passed in vkCreateDevice and the VkPhysicalDeviceTimelineSemaphoreFeatures is passed as well with timelineSemaphore = 1:

        ppEnabledExtensionNames:        const char* const* = 0x5619b8fcf970
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[0]:     const char* = "VK_EXT_custom_border_color"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[1]:     const char* = "VK_EXT_extended_dynamic_state"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[2]:     const char* = "VK_EXT_host_query_reset"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[3]:     const char* = "VK_KHR_create_renderpass2"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[4]:     const char* = "VK_KHR_dedicated_allocation"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[5]:     const char* = "VK_KHR_external_memory"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[6]:     const char* = "VK_KHR_external_memory_fd"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[7]:     const char* = "VK_KHR_external_semaphore"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[8]:     const char* = "VK_KHR_external_semaphore_fd"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[9]:     const char* = "VK_KHR_get_memory_requirements2"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[10]:    const char* = "VK_KHR_image_format_list"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[11]:    const char* = "VK_KHR_maintenance1"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[12]:    const char* = "VK_KHR_sampler_ycbcr_conversion"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[13]:    const char* = "VK_KHR_swapchain"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[14]:    const char* = "VK_KHR_swapchain_mutable_format"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[15]:    const char* = "VK_KHR_timeline_semaphore"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[16]:    const char* = "VK_EXT_display_control"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[17]:    const char* = "VK_KHR_external_memory_fd"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[18]:    const char* = "VK_KHR_external_semaphore_fd"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[19]:    const char* = "VK_EXT_global_priority"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[20]:    const char* = "VK_EXT_extended_dynamic_state3"
            ppEnabledExtensionNames[21]:    const char* = "VK_EXT_sample_locations"

 pNext:                          VkPhysicalDeviceTimelineSemaphoreFeatures = 0x7ffeb2d0d750:
            sType:                          VkStructureType = VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_TIMELINE_SEMAPHORE_FEATURES (1000207000)
            pNext:                          void* = VkPhysicalDeviceHostQueryResetFeatures
            timelineSemaphore:              VkBool32 = 1

[yshui]

I believe this error is probably just a mistake internally in steamvr. CVulkanVRRenderer::CreateSampler handles sampler type 0~3, but is passed sampler type 4. SteamVR seems to continue on after this error.

[Spacefish]

I believe this error is probably just a mistake internally in steamvr. CVulkanVRRenderer::CreateSampler handles sampler type 0~3, but is passed sampler type 4. SteamVR seems to continue on after this error.

Yes that´s what i observed as well (continues) but assertions typically end a process / hint at unexpected conditions which are not handled, so it should be looked into wether it is an issue or they can just change the assertion to accept 0-4.