Mac [BUG] Steam Overlay doesn't show on Stardew specifically

schwizzlers

Greenhorn
Normally when launching games on Steam the overlay will pop up in the bottom right corner, & pressing shift & tab will open the Steam Friends overlay. Ever since 1.5.5 the Steam overlay has stopped working for Stardew Valley. The popup doesn't show up on launch, the overlay keybind doesn't work, and the Invite Friend button on co-op farms doesn't work. I can still send an invite code manually, that works perfectly fine, but the dedicated Steam buttons are broken.

I've double checked and:
  • Steam overlay works normally on my other Steam games
  • Verified game files
  • I have enabled the Steam overlay in both Steam's preferences and in Stardew's preferences
  • Steam has Accessibility permissions in my Security & Privacy settings
  • My only save is a co op farm so I always open it in the co op menu
  • I have multiplayer settings for my farm on invite only
  • I don't have any other apps running that draw over my screen
  • I updated to 1.5.6 & verified game files again but the issue still persists
  • I tried switching to the beta compatibility channel but the game closes itself while it's trying to launch
  • Tried a controller instead of my usual mouse & keyboard. Steam recognizes when I plug in an Xbox controller and the game recognizes I have a controller plugged in (has the hand cursor hover over the Load button on launch) but any inputs aren't recognized. This was for sure working in 1.4, not sure about later versions.
Version 1.5.6, using mouse & keyboard, English language, mid-2015 Macbook Pro Retina running macOS Mojave 10.14.6

(also posted this on Steam forums let me know if I should delete this one)
 

schwizzlers

Greenhorn
Update: downloaded the hotfix and can open compatibility mode now! Compatibility mode also loads Steam overlay, yay! Unfortunately Steam overlay and controller inputs are still broken on the regular version, and pressing the Steam overlay button on my controller in compatibility mode opens a big picture mode window that I can't close.

EDIT: due to a game update, this no longer works
 
Last edited:

jacobfm

Greenhorn
Was having the same issue, so I followed your advice and switched to the compatibility version. Now Steam Overlay works, but the buttons to invite friend or even show the code in my coop farm are gone - is that true for you too?
 

schwizzlers

Greenhorn
Was having the same issue, so I followed your advice and switched to the compatibility version. Now Steam Overlay works, but the buttons to invite friend or even show the code in my coop farm are gone - is that true for you too?
Yes, there was an update to both the beta and non-beta versions that broke this again, so I had to switch back to the non-beta channel to play with friends using only the invite code, like I had been doing originally. Sucks because if the Steam Overlay doesn't load, idk if I can get Steam achievements for Stardew anymore.
 

Stitch

Greenhorn
I've had this issue on BigSur and now after updating to Monterey 12.1 it still doesn't work. Overlay and xbox one controller work in other games and when streaming, but it doesn't work in Stardew Valley.

Can't play with a controller.
Can't see my achievements.
Can't invite my friend to play with me unless I give her my ip adress.

@edit
I don't have any mods or any other custom content installed. Files were verified through steam. I even deleted Stardew and uninstalled Steam. After reinstalling everything it still doesn't work.

Please fix this :(
 
Last edited:

rsqrtz

Greenhorn
I've had this issue on BigSur and now after updating to Monterey 12.1 it still doesn't work. Overlay and xbox one controller work in other games and when streaming, but it neither work in Stardew Valley.

Can't play with a controller.
Can't see my achievements.
Can't invite my friend to play with me unless I give her my ip adress.

@edit
I don't have any mods or any other custom content installed. Files were verified through steam. I even deleted Stardew and uninstalled Steam. After reinstalling everything it still doesn't work.

Please fix this :(
The only time I can use my controller is when I disable Steam input.
 

Stitch

Greenhorn
I found a fix for all problems related to steam (whether it's stardew, other games or the steam itself). All you have to do is install Windows through bootcamp. When I want to play stardew I restart my mac and select Windows. Steam works, steamoverlay works, all controllers work flawlessly (wireless, wired, old, new, whatever you want) it's a whole new world.
 

nameofthings

Newcomer
I found a fix for all problems related to steam (whether it's stardew, other games or the steam itself). All you have to do is install Windows through bootcamp. When I want to play stardew I restart my mac and select Windows. Steam works, steamoverlay works, all controllers work flawlessly (wireless, wired, old, new, whatever you want) it's a whole new world.
It sucks and I spent so much time trying to find workarounds, but in the end, Stitch was right - I ended up partitioning my old Macbook Air (early 2015) and now it works perfectly fine, I can finally use a controller, and my Steam achievements actually updated. I'll try and make a longer post soon about the whole process bc it was long and pretty granular in places, but I wanted to confirm that I had a similar issue as OP and after everything, I did just have to partition my hard drive to run windows so I could have a functioning Steam overlay and use a controller.
 

dennis.a

Greenhorn
It sucks and I spent so much time trying to find workarounds, but in the end, Stitch was right - I ended up partitioning my old Macbook Air (early 2015) and now it works perfectly fine, I can finally use a controller, and my Steam achievements actually updated. I'll try and make a longer post soon about the whole process bc it was long and pretty granular in places, but I wanted to confirm that I had a similar issue as OP and after everything, I did just have to partition my hard drive to run windows so I could have a functioning Steam overlay and use a controller.
Unfortunately, that's not an option if you have an M1 MacBook Pro. It's been incredibly frustrating jumping through hoops to get the controller to work only to have it quit working for no reason a day later.
 

nameofthings

Newcomer
Unfortunately, that's not an option if you have an M1 MacBook Pro. It's been incredibly frustrating jumping through hoops to get the controller to work only to have it quit working for no reason a day later.
That does really suck, I’m sorry friend. When I was initially troubleshooting it seems that the only workaround for Apple Silicone M1/M2 etc chips is to use third party software like Parallels (…for a fee of course 🙃) since they don’t support Boot Camp ://

I know I’ll have to replace my MacBook within the next year or so, especially since it’s not supported by Ventura and it has veeerrry limited storage space (121 GB total…somehow I was able to partition for windows with only 48GB but I’m already getting tight on space 😅) but I’ll either get one that still has an intel core or wait to see if they make newer Macs with some way to partition again without a subscription service (which I doubt tbh). Good luck to all my Apple silicone people, it’s definitely nicer in other aspects, but definitely a pain in the ass for stuff like this
 
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