Space Engineers Dedicated Server Crashes with BadImageFormatException

[Nhimself]

Environment

• Container Image: space-engineers-dedicated-docker-linux
• Host System: Linux (WSL2)
• Host Kernel: 5.15.153.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2
• Wine Version: wine-6.0
• Platform: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (x64)
• Date: 2025-07-11

Problem Description

The Space Engineers dedicated server fails to start and crashes immediately with a System.BadImageFormatException when attempting to load the Sandbox.Game assembly.

Error Details

The server crashes during initialization with the following critical error:

System.BadImageFormatException: Could not load file or assembly 'Sandbox.Game, Version=0.1.1.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies. The module was expected to contain an assembly manifest.
   at SpaceEngineersDedicated.MyProgram.Main(String[] args)

Full Error Log

2025-07-11 13:59:39.712 | ls: cannot access '/appdata/space-engineers/Plugins/*.dll': No such file or directory
2025-07-11 13:59:48.797 | WARNING: setlocale('en_US.UTF-8') failed, using locale: 'C'. International characters may not work.
[Steam installation successful]
2025-07-11 13:59:58.225 | Success! App '298740' already up to date.
2025-07-11 13:59:58.765 | /entrypoint-space_engineers.bash: line 3: /home/wine/.bash_profile: No such file or directory
2025-07-11 14:00:00.308 | Unhandled Exception: System.BadImageFormatException: Could not load file or assembly 'Sandbox.Game, Version=0.1.1.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies. The module was expected to contain an assembly manifest.
2025-07-11 14:00:00.308 |    at SpaceEngineersDedicated.MyProgram.Main(String[] args)
2025-07-11 14:00:00.308 | wine: Unhandled exception 0xe0434352 in thread d4 at address 000000007B01129D (thread 00d4), starting debugger...

Additional Observations

1. Steam successfully downloads/updates the game files (App '298740' already up to date)
2. Missing /home/wine/.bash_profile file (may be related)
3. Missing plugins directory: /appdata/space-engineers/Plugins/*.dll
4. Locale warning: setlocale('en_US.UTF-8') failed, using locale: 'C'

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run the space-engineers-dedicated-docker-linux container
2. Container starts and updates Steam successfully
3. Server attempts to launch SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe
4. Crash occurs immediately during assembly loading

Expected Behavior

The dedicated server should start successfully and be ready to accept connections.

Possible Causes

• Corrupted or incomplete game files
• Wine compatibility issues with .NET assemblies
• Missing dependencies or incorrect file permissions
• Assembly architecture mismatch (32-bit vs 64-bit)

System Information

• Platform: x64
• Version: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (x64)
• Host system: Windows 11 Home
• Host version: 5.15.153.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2 Docker version 28.3.0, build 38b7060

Request for Assistance

Could you please help identify what might be causing this assembly loading issue? Are there any known compatibility problems with the current Wine version or specific configuration steps that might resolve this?

Thank you for maintaining this project!