Game not loading

[Madze81]

My game is refusing to load - it had been fine until after this recent update, normally they only interfere with my graphics quality and fps. When I try to play it gets to the black screen with 'press any button to skip' But regardless of whether i do or not, it is stuck on that screen until it eventually crashes. Tried everything - including uninstalling and deleting files and then reinstalling, same problem keeps happening. Can anyone help? This is the error message that I eventually get -

LoginId:4ac0142049aae218eabdcdb99d94db4f
EpicAccountId:

LowLevelFatalError [File:Unknown] [Line: 1209] GameThread timed out waiting for RenderThread after 120.00 secs

Icarus_Win64_Shipping!FEngineLoop::Tick() [C:\BA\work\92bbbfa44df12262\Engine\Source\Runtime\Launch\Private\LaunchEngineLoop.cpp:5123]
Icarus_Win64_Shipping!GuardedMain() [C:\BA\work\92bbbfa44df12262\Engine\Source\Runtime\Launch\Private\Launch.cpp:178]
Icarus_Win64_Shipping!GuardedMainWrapper() [C:\BA\work\92bbbfa44df12262\Engine\Source\Runtime\Launch\Private\Windows\LaunchWindows.cpp:137]
Icarus_Win64_Shipping!LaunchWindowsStartup() [C:\BA\work\92bbbfa44df12262\Engine\Source\Runtime\Launch\Private\Windows\LaunchWindows.cpp:273]
Icarus_Win64_Shipping!WinMain() [C:\BA\work\92bbbfa44df12262\Engine\Source\Runtime\Launch\Private\Windows\LaunchWindows.cpp:320]
Icarus_Win64_Shipping!__scrt_common_main_seh() [D:\a\_work\1\s\src\vctools\crt\vcstartup\src\startup\exe_common.inl:288]
kernel32
ntdll


Edit - My friend did the download at the same time as me and his loads perfectly fine.

[КрендельФигов]

Judging by the description, your map did not load within the allotted time. There is too little information about the problem.
You need to first close all unnecessary programs to free up as much memory as possible, and then launch Icarus in DX11 mode. You can try lowering the Shadows settings.
In order for me to answer anything in more detail, it is necessary to answer questions about your PC and how you run the game,
or if you have less than 32GB Ram (and most likely 16GB on your laptop) you can go straight to step 2.

1) Your PC specs, OS, subversion (21H1,21H2)? DX11 or DX12?
What resolution are you running the game at? (Full HD, 2K, 4K)
What settings are you running the game on? (Medium, High, Epic)
Under what patterns does the error occur, what is written in the Unreal 4 crash report? <-----
Are you playing on your PC, joining a friend, dedicated servers? (external hosting?)?
Do you play on experimental branch? GeForce now? Virtual machine?
Do you overclock CPU, Ram etc? (XMP is also overclocking)
Are you running the game or Steam as administrator? Are you launching from a desktop icon or via Steam?
Is your Steam in 'offline' mode?
Do you use or have previously used mods?
What antivirus do you have installed?
Write down everything that makes your game different from normal conditions.

2) For starters, I recommend setting the OS swap file size to FIXED SIZE 32 GB (this means that when setting ‘Custom Size’ -> ‘Initial Size’ and ‘Maximum size’ must be same -> 32768). The paging file must be on the SSD (system partition C:). It is advisable to have at least 32 GB of physical RAM.
Here, the problems will not be in Icarus, but in Unreal 4, on which the game is built, the thing is that this game engine loves a lot of RAM and, oddly enough, large swap files.
If you are playing on DX12 and you are starting to crash, then be sure to put a 32GB swap file. Or try switching to DX11 (considerably less memory consumption).
First link from Google (do not download any files, just a picture for visual aid)
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/increase-page-file-size-virtual-memory-windows

[Madze81]

Thank you КрендельФигов for your response and I am sorry for the lack of information I gave.

- The problem isn't with loading a map, I can't even fully load the game, it does not reach the main/character select menu.
- When I attempt to load the game, I am not using any other apps or programs on my laptop, while not the highest spec'd computer it usually handles Icarus just fine; I have played nearly 700 hours so far.
- I am already playing DX11, because I didn't think my laptop would manage DX12.
- I use norton to protect my computer, which is up to date
- My friend and I play completely without mods and he is local hosting the session.
- I don't overclock, because I actually don't even know how - I'm a bit of a noob on such things...
- The games is always launched from steam

PC Specs (From Steam)

AMD Ryzen 9, 8-core 3.2ghz
16gb Ram
AMD Radeon graphics card 512mbs Vram

OS Is Windows 11

I'll try setting the swap file size later today and will comment the results.

Thank you

[КрендельФигов]

To be honest, I couldn’t understand from the characteristics what kind of laptop you have.

1) {AMD Ryzen 9, 8-core 3.2ghz} is not the name of the CPU, I couldn’t even find out what it was on the Internet (the frequency does not match one of the options). The name is AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X.
Here is a list of all AMD CPUs, there is a Mobile processors section. Find yours.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Ryzen_processors
2) {AMD Radeon graphics card 512mbs Vram} what this is is completely unclear. If you have 512MB VRam then it is a very old PC. It’s not a fact that he will be able to run Icarus at all and will be able to somehow meet the minimum requirements.
Same thing, link to a list of all AMD GPUs. Find yours.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units

WIN11, 16GB Ram, DX11

3) I hope that swapfile will help you, because if the laptop is too old, then nothing can be done here.
I hope that you are running in a resolution no greater than FullHD.
After we figure out what your components are called, you can try running it on minimum settings.
Before that, you can try updating GPU Drivers. !!! But don't do that just yet!

4) If you have difficulty indicating the names of the components of your PC, you will need to provide information about your computer using a third-party free program (fairly well-known): CPU-Z
Official website (can be checked via Google): https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
4.1) Download the latest version from this address, download link in the left column, install, run.
4.2) Go to the ‘Bench’ tab, click ‘Bench CPU’. After the test is completed, click “Validate”, and then “Submit”.
4.3) After this, your browser will automatically open (usually the default one) and you will have a link like this:
https://valid.x86.fr/ikll98
This is my ‘gaming’ PC (it says 4.3GHz, but in reality it was 4.7GHz), on which the ‘testing’ I need is carried out (including Icarus)
4.4) In response to this part of the ‘questionnaire’, you will need to provide a link to your computer. As you can see, the information provided via the link is quite informative and includes answers to many questions from the main part of the ‘questionnaire’.

[Madze81]

This is the full 'sheet' as brought up by Steam's system information;


Computer Information:
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
Model: Vivobook_ASUSLaptop M3500QC_M3500QC
Form Factor: Laptop
No Touch Input Detected
Processor Information:
CPU Vendor: AuthenticAMD
CPU Brand: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX with Radeon Graphics
CPU Family: 0x19
CPU Model: 0x50
CPU Stepping: 0x0
CPU Type: 0x0
Speed: 3294 MHz
16 logical processors
8 physical processors
Hyper-threading: Supported
FCMOV: Supported
SSE2: Supported
SSE3: Supported
SSSE3: Supported
SSE4a: Supported
SSE41: Supported
SSE42: Supported
AES: Supported
AVX: Supported
AVX2: Supported
AVX512F: Unsupported
AVX512PF: Unsupported
AVX512ER: Unsupported
AVX512CD: Unsupported
AVX512VNNI: Unsupported
SHA: Supported
CMPXCHG16B: Supported
LAHF/SAHF: Supported
PrefetchW: Unsupported
Operating System Version:
Windows 11 (64 bit)
NTFS: Supported
Crypto Provider Codes: Supported 311 0x0 0x0 0x0
Video Card:
Driver: AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics
DirectX Driver Name: nvldumd.dll
Driver Version: 30.0.13044.14002
DirectX Driver Version: 30.0.15.1169
Driver Date: 5 13 2022
Desktop Color Depth: 32 bits per pixel
Monitor Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
DirectX Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU
VendorID: 0x10de
DeviceID: 0x25a2
Revision: 0xa1
Number of Monitors: 1
Number of Logical Video Cards: 1
No SLI or Crossfire Detected
Primary Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Desktop Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Primary Display Size: 13.54" x 7.64" (15.51" diag), 34.4cm x 19.4cm (39.4cm diag)
Primary Bus: PCI Express 8x
Primary VRAM: 512 MB
Supported MSAA Modes: 2x 4x 8x
Sound card:
Audio device: Speakers (Realtek(R) Audio)
Memory:
RAM: 15775 Mb
VR Hardware:
VR Headset: None detected
Miscellaneous:
UI Language: English
Media Type: Undetermined
Total Hard Disk Space Available: 975074 MB
Largest Free Hard Disk Block: 538262 MB
OS Install Date: Mar 07 2023
Game Controller: None detected
MAC Address hash: 1ebcd8ccf57ffbd26ba664bd4ba9ace537214194
Storage:
Disk serial number hash: 5c206574
Number of SSDs: 1
SSD sizes: 1024G
Number of HDDs: 0
Number of removable drives: 0

I've tried setting the swap file, but it makes no difference - still get the same crash in about the same time.

[КрендельФигов]

Vivobook_ASUSLaptop M3500QC
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 3.3GHz, 8-core, 16GB DDR4, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB VRam (mobile)
15.6 "; 1920x1080 FullHD
I take it this is the laptop you have?
It's a decent enough Notebook (but a bit short of Ram). This changes a lot, this is how everything should work.
A week ago I had a person on Discord with a notebook with about the same characteristics. There was an error (Error 036)
All settings LOW (since Vram is not enough, and there was a lot built in the map); Shadows setting Low only; DX11 only
There the problem was solved after installing swapfile 32GB.

Will look into it further.
1) There is a 'black screen' problem on Windows 11. For example, people play a game on WIN10, upgrade to WIN11 and get a 'black screen' on the same hardware. WIN11 is still too raw.
2) The error looks like this (I’m checking to see if this is correct): at the stage of loading the introductory video (intro) instead of the ‘black screen’ video, the loading does not complete anything. The message ‘press key to continue’ appears in the lower left corner, a long wait and Unreal crash.
That is, Icarus does not even load until the initial menu.

Next (you will have to do a lot and it’s not a fact that it will work out the first time and in one day)
3.1) Do you get the same error every time? (it is very important)
3.1.1) Disable Steam Clouds; if necessary, you can always turn it back on.
3.1.2) You did not indicate which subversion of your Windows 11 (22H1, 22H2)?
Update to the latest version, and install any updates that are offered to you (especially the .NET Framework)
Reboot.

4) You have two video cards: integrated AMD Ryzen™ 9 Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics and discrete NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU
You need to make sure that Icarus runs on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU (otherwise it happens the other way around).
Google search string (Windows 11 internal discrete GPU) for a general idea of the problem, this may be useful to you with other games on your laptop.
(you can’t download anything from the link, it’s just a visual example) there are a lot of pictures on the link that explain everything well
https://techwiser.com/ways-to-set-default-graphics-card-on-windows-11/
Make sure Icarus starts with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU. ‘High Performance NVidia processor’ should be selected everywhere. Especially the settings in the NVidia Control panel.
Checking the game. (there is a chance that this is the reason)

4.1) If it doesn’t help, do the following (for owners of NVidia video cards, this is a standard action for any problems)
(do not download anything from the link, it is just a visual example)
https://www.dexerto.com/tech/how-to-reset-your-graphics-driver-1966291/
I quote
{To reset your Nvidia graphics driver back to factory default, follow:
Right-click anywhere on the desktop background and in the context menu, hit Nvidia Control Panel.
Click Manage 3D Settings.
You’ll find in the upper-right-hand corner a button that says ‘Restore Defaults’. Press this and let it do its thing.
You might want to restart your PC after this, just to ensure all settings stick.}
Reboot and check the game.

[КрендельФигов]

4.2) Save your Icarus to a separate folder on another partition of the drive (or flash drive). (disable Steam clouds, otherwise, when you manually return your saves, there is a chance that Steam cloud will return the original saves.)
-------->! You need to save the entire directory c:\Users\”name your windows account”\AppData\Local\Icarus\Saved
Then go to the address
c:\Users\”name your windows account”\AppData\Local\Icarus\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\
and manually delete the GameUserSettings.ini file
This is the Icarus graphic settings file that it uses at startup (they sometimes jam). After deleting it, it will create it again. The most important thing is to ‘go’ to the game menu, and there you can reconfigure them as you want, including back.
Check the game launch.

4.3) If it doesn’t help, then do a ‘clean’ reinstallation of NVidia drivers with DDU
Go to Google search bar (delete driver nvidia ddu), read, get a general idea of what it is.
Then go here (this is a very decent site):
https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html
download Display Driver Uninstaller Download version 18.0.6.8 and remove Nvidia Drivers.
Then go here (or through the main page) https://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx
Choose your OS Win11 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU Mobile video card
Download the latest version of the driver and install.
Check the game launch.

PS Unfortunately, that’s all for today, since I’ve run out of time (it’s already late in the evening). But tomorrow we will continue and somehow, but nevertheless we will still deal with this problem. It occurs not only in Icarus, but also in other games, so if you do nothing, it will still appear somewhere else.

[Madze81]

Thanks, going to give this stuff a go, will let you know how it goes :-)

[Remnar]

I have a PC with 16gb of ram and never come close to using that much, except for loading up an overhaul mod for 7 days to die. Even then it was just above 15gb, and then slowly went down to around 13gb for some reason. So unless it is confirmed that Icarus, or any other game, uses 16gb or more of ram, you never need more. You only need 2.5gb for windows 10 (If you bothered to turn off the bloat), your browser will use less than a GB but sometimes you need to close it out and reopen it because the ram does accumulate. If you got other ♥♥♥♥ running you don't need, shut it down.

[Madze81]

The newest update fixed whatever the problem was with loading the game, so, whatever you did Dev's, thanks, I really have missed playing the last couple of weeks. And also a big thanks to КрендельФигов, your help was invaluable and I appreciate the time you took to help me!