Game Issues mini-FAQ

[Hedonista]

NOTE: If you're having issues with the game, please subscribe to this thread, as we will keep posting updates as soon as we manage to find a solution.

Explanation of some game features and currently known bug. Bugs will be squashed as soon as possible, and we'll post the update info here. Thread updates as often as new issue arises (or gets solved).

The game doesn't work or it crashes

1) Update your ATI or nVidia drivers. We know this sounds obvious, but single-handedly this solves most of the problems. Also, make sure you play on a freshly rebooted system with other applications closed (e.g. we know that MSI Afterburner or Riva Tuner might be causing issues).

2) When you start the launcher, choose Anti-alising "None". If the game works, changing the anti-aliasing from within the game itself should work without any problem.

3) Some confirmed solutions can be found in this thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/258520/discussions/0/616189742658743647/ -- please take a look. It seems like some people have the wrong/corrupt version of DirectX and it's the root of multiple issues. Replacing the files with the proper version of DirectX seems to solve the problem(s).

4) If you have a problem on a 32-bit system, please apply this solution: http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-enable-a-3GB-switch-on-Windows-Vista-Windows-7-or-Windows-XP-s.html

5) This makes no sense BUT it worked for quite a few people: uninstall the game (in Steam: left click on the game, Properties, Local Files, Delete Local Game Content) and install it again. It should not delete your savegames, but just in case backup \Documents\My Games\The Vanishing of Ethan Carter\AstronautsGame\SaveData)

6) Unofficial: try to change the value of DisableOcclusionQueries to True in AstronautsSystemSettings.ini (\Documents\My Games\The Vanishing of Ethan Carter\AstronautsGame\Config).

Micro-stuttering

Note: this is not about stuttering whenever entering a new area and a lot of data needs to be streamed in. This is about constant micro-stuttering that some people experience.

We have tried to identify the problem, but we cannot reproduce it on a few dozen of test PCs we have to our disposal. However, we have added a potential solution to the latest update: http://steamcommunity.com/games/258520/announcements/detail/259286452014623891 Also, some people offer different solutions, do a forum search for "stuttering" or "stutter".

How do I save the game?

The auto-save happens after you complete a bigger event like solve a murder scene or experience ...well, you'll know (things that end with finding an Ethan's story).

Update 1: for easier traveling, we have added additional auto-saves that happen every time the player re-watches a murder (skippable, btw) or simply reads the page with Ethan's story.

Update 2: To avoid confusion, the game now clearly says "Saving scene" instead of "Saving". The game does not save the entire world, only the scene you just finished (adding to the one you finished before). Of course as long as you are in the game world, all progress is remembered and you don't need to do things in linear order.

c000007b error

We're hearing that this helps:

1. Delete d3dx9_43.dll, both from System32 and SysWOW64
2. Install http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

There is a lag?

Change the "Camera Smoothing" option in the Controls sub-menu to 0.

Any other bugs

We are monitoring the discussions and try to note and fix all the bugs. Please bear in mind we are a fairly small (eight people) team with literally one programmer. Of course we will try to fix every single bug possible, and as soon as humanly possible, but feature requests like an option for manual save might be outside of our reach.

[Hedonista]

Update: added "c000007b error" potential solution.

[Hedonista]

Update: added the info about http://steamcommunity.com/app/258520/discussions/0/616189742658743647/ thread.

[Hedonista]

Update: added the microstuttering info.