START HERE: Latest Troubleshooting FAQ

[ERutins]

- Please make sure you are updated to the latest official update and check first to see if that resolves your issues.

- Please try the latest public beta update branch.

- Please try this new game setting:

If you still experience crashes with 1.0.6.4 or later, especially crashes in battle, please try the new DXVK rendering option in the game settings. This can be found under "Rendering Mode", which can be switched from DirectX 11 to DXVK. DXVK is only guaranteed to work with the SDR (Standard Definition Rendering) option in your game settings. It may work with some HDR (High Definition Rendering) settings, but we do not advise trying those at this time. The DXVK option willl likely resolve many issues caused by driver bugs or incompatibilities.

If you try this setting and the game does not launch, please note the command line option in the changes below to switch back to DirectX 11. (To force DirectX on launch, add --use-dx11 as a command-line argument to DistantWorlds2.exe)

- Please update your Graphics and Audio Drivers

IMPORTANT NOTE: If after the above you are having crash, performance or launch issues with DW2, we recommend taking the following steps one at a time prior to playing :

1. In your in-game Settings menu, please try turning off (one at a time) Particle Effects, Weapon Effects and the Damage Overlay. See if one of these solves your crash or performance problem (if it does, please let us know what worked for you!).
2. Delete the gamesettings and gamestartsettings files in the /data/ sub-folder of your installation directory (In Steam right-click on the game in your library, then choose Properties -> Local Files -> Browse. On GOG you can find this through Manage Installation -> Show Folder)
3. Verify all installation files (in Steam right-click on the game in your library, then choose Properties -> Local Files -> Verify Integrity of Game Files. On GOG it is Manage Installation -> Verify/Repair).
4. Delete any old saved games in the /data/savedgames sub-folder of your installation directory.

- Please uninstall any unnecessary third-party codecs. We also have a confirmed report that an older version of ffdshow caused a conflict and sound crash with DW2.

- Please uninstall any Nahimic software as this appears to cause a crash in DW2. This is a Nahimic issue.

- Please do not use Process Lasso with DW2 as this will cause a crash, this is a Process Lasso issue.

-----

There are additional reports and options to help troubleshoot any issues you are experiencing.

1. Please include a DxDiag report with your issue report. Instructions on how to generate a DxDiag are posted in a pinned thread in this forum.

2. There is a SessionLog.txt in the /data/logs sub-folder of the Distant Worlds 2 installation. This is also where any crash logs are located. If you are experiencing an issue, please include the SessionLog.txt and any CrashDump logs from this folder with the issue report.

3. There is a GameSettingsOverride.txt in the /data sub-folder of the Distant Worlds 2 installation. This can be edited manually and the game will respect these settings when launching. The settings here may help some players experiencing wrong GPU, resolution or black screen on load issue.

- On multi-GPU systems, GraphicsAdapterIndex allows you to manually adjust which GPU DW2 will run on, to see if that makes a difference
- GraphicsResolutionWidth and GraphicsResolutionHeight allow you to manually set your desired resolution for DW2 if it is not detecting it correctly when it launches.
- GraphicsResolutionFullScreeen can manually switch DW2 between the normal full screen or windowed modes (as otherwise set in the in-game Game Settings).
- GraphicsForceDedicatedFullScreen will force DW2 to launch in a normally hidden exclusive full screen mode without having to use the Alt+Enter work-around. This is not a normally supported mode and may have some other bugs, but it is available for those experiencing a black screen on start as a troubleshooting work-around.
- GraphicsStreamingMemoryBudget allows specifying video memory in Mb allocated for asset streaming.
- DisableFixedTimeStep: when set to true allows disabling fixed time step which locks FPS to 60 (results in higher FPS, but also higher GPU temperatures and power usage)

4. If you are experiencing performance issues use the key combination Shift + tilde to enable an overlay on the top left which will confirm for us which GPU DW2 is using on your system as well as other performance parameters. Please take a screenshot with this overlay on and share that with us.

As above, for performance issues please also try the following: In your in-game Settings menu, please try turning off (one at a time) Particle Effects, Weapon Effects and the Damage Overlay. See if one of these solves your crash or performance problem (if it does, please let us know what worked for you!).

5. These are the possibly useful command-line options for DW2:

--use-dxvk Use a packaged distribution of DXVK 1.x instead of native D3D11.
--use-dxvk2 Use a packaged distribution of DXVK 2.x instead of native D3D11.
--use-dx11 Force the use of native D3D11 for this launch.
--non-interactive Don't assume there is human input available.
--tool-mode Force enable tool mode and thus show a console.

Additional tips:

- Windows prefers to render on the device your monitor is plugged into. For instance, if you are on a desktop and your monitor is plugged into the motherboard's display port (instead of the discrete graphics card's port), it usually defaults to integrated graphics. This is a particularly complicated issue in laptops, as the built in display is usually wired to the integrated graphics, but some laptops feature a physical display switch. And external HDMI/DP/USB-C ports can be wired to either the integrated or discrete GPU.

- If you have an AMD GPU and are still experiencing issues after trying all of the above, please try the settings in the pinned thread here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1531540/discussions/3/5561388294340411619/
It's especially important that "Radeon Anti-Lag" and "AMD Freesync" are turned off for DW2.

- Please try turning Music and Sound in the Game Settings to 0% if you are having crashes and report if that helps.

- Please try turning Lens Flare to 0 in the Game settings if you are having crashes and report if that helps.

- If you have a black screen on startup, try launching the game several times to see if it continues. Please also try the DXVK rendering setting with SDR as described above.

- If you have repeated crashes, try switching to Windowed Mode in the Game Settings to see if that helps.

- Please try turning of all Map Overlays (bottom right) of any kind if you are having performance issues and report if that helps. Note that the diplomacy and exploration menus also turn some map overlays on by default.

- If you have any anti-virus/security software installer, especially IOLO System Mechanic or Game Booster, please try to disable it as a troubleshooting step.

- If you have the "Killer Intelligence Center" networking software installed, please try uninstalling it as a troubleshooting step.

*** If you cannot get the game working with the latest version, there is the option of going back to the previous Legacy branches per the pinned instructions on this forum.

[Lif]

Just a head's up as someone who still has the dreaded laptop/black screen issue after 1.0.1.8 :

"- GraphicsForceDedicatedFullScreen will force DW2 to launch in a normally hidden exclusive full screen mode without having to use the Alt+Enter work-around. This is not a normally supported mode and may have some other bugs, but it is available for those experiencing a black screen on start as a troubleshooting work-around."

This still results in a black screen, and hitting alt+enter brings up this error :

************** Exception Text **************
System.InvalidOperationException: No screen modes found
at Xenko.Games.GraphicsDeviceManager.FindBestDevice(Boolean anySuitableDevice)
at Xenko.Games.GraphicsDeviceManager.ChangeOrCreateDevice(Boolean forceCreate)
at Xenko.Games.GraphicsDeviceManager.ApplyChanges()
at Xenko.Games.GameForm.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

Probably not a surprise given that going windowed doesn't seem intended in exclusive fullscreen, but the workaround itself doesn't really work in avoiding the black screen entirely.

Best of luck!

[ERutins]

Originally posted by Lif:

Just a head's up as someone who still has the dreaded laptop/black screen issue after 1.0.1.8 :

Sorry to hear that. Could you please share your SessionLog.txt?

[Lif]

Originally posted by ERutins:

Originally posted by Lif:

Just a head's up as someone who still has the dreaded laptop/black screen issue after 1.0.1.8 :

Sorry to hear that. Could you please share your SessionLog.txt?

Sure! https://pastebin.com/Ngch3M3Q

If I can help with other launch configurations, don't hesitate to ask.

[kevinorf]

Great "fix." The previous update prevented the game from crashing but now after this update the game fills only like half the screen!

[Cypher]

my crashing/ stuttering has returned as of today. updated to latest version and crashes more often than before, around 3-5 mins.

sessionlog.txt below;

Distant Worlds 2: Starting Game Session 13-03-2022 17-37-26.236
13-03-2022 17-37-28.047: Configuring Content Streaming
13-03-2022 17-37-28.059: Obtaining Current Adapter:
13-03-2022 17-37-28.080: Could not find adapter
13-03-2022 17-37-28.081: Using default adapter NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-37-28.082: Selecting Adapter with highest video memory
13-03-2022 17-37-28.084: Adapter selected: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-37-28.084: Video Memory Detected: 2105212928
13-03-2022 17-37-28.085: Shared System Memory Detected: 4285702144
13-03-2022 17-37-28.085: Streaming Memory Budget set: 1495Mb
13-03-2022 17-37-28.089: Loading Base Content Bundles
13-03-2022 17-37-28.101: Loading Per-Race Content Bundles
13-03-2022 17-37-28.828: Generating new default GameSettings
13-03-2022 17-37-28.831: Selecting Default Display Settings
13-03-2022 17-37-28.831: Selecting Adapter with highest video memory
13-03-2022 17-37-28.832: Adapter selected: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-37-28.832: Setting preferred display values in GameSettings
13-03-2022 17-37-28.833: Obtaining Current Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-37-28.833: Adapter found: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-37-28.912: Getting display mode with highest refresh rate below 61Hz for 1920x1080
13-03-2022 17-37-28.912: Matching Display mode found: 60Hz
13-03-2022 17-37-28.912: Default Display Settings selected
13-03-2022 17-37-28.934: Loading GameSettingsOverrides
13-03-2022 17-37-28.935: Applying GameSettingsOverrides
13-03-2022 17-37-28.935: Applying Override for GraphicsForceDedicatedFullScreen: True
13-03-2022 17-37-28.938: Auto-detecting resolution using Game Settings
13-03-2022 17-37-28.938: Resolution found: 1920x1080 @60Hz
13-03-2022 17-37-28.938: Obtaining Current Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-37-28.938: Adapter found: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-37-28.939: Setting game resolution 1920x1080
13-03-2022 17-37-28.939: Setting Display - Borderless Window
13-03-2022 17-37-28.942: Attempting to set Display to 1820x980
13-03-2022 17-37-28.944: Setting Display Values and Applying Changes
13-03-2022 17-37-28.954: Display Changes Applied
13-03-2022 17-37-28.955: Set Display Complete
13-03-2022 17-37-28.955: Attempting to set Display to 1920x1080
13-03-2022 17-37-28.961: Setting Display Values and Applying Changes
13-03-2022 17-37-28.963: Display Changes Applied
13-03-2022 17-37-28.963: Set Display Complete
13-03-2022 17-37-28.970: Setting Scaling Core: Standard
13-03-2022 17-37-28.981: Initializing Scaled Renderer
13-03-2022 17-37-28.985: Loading prelim assets
13-03-2022 17-37-29.176: Loading particle effects
13-03-2022 17-37-34.030: Loading Sound Effects
13-03-2022 17-38-04.282: Setting up Compositors and Scenes
13-03-2022 17-38-04.404: Compositors and Scenes complete
13-03-2022 17-38-04.405: Obtained Game Window ClientBounds: 1920x1080
13-03-2022 17-38-04.407: Setting up Cameras
13-03-2022 17-38-04.420: Cameras complete
13-03-2022 17-38-04.448: Generating 2D Noise
13-03-2022 17-38-04.526: Loading 3D Noise
13-03-2022 17-38-05.989: Initializing Main Renderers for all view levels
13-03-2022 17-38-05.991: Setting Up Custom Renderer
13-03-2022 17-38-06.003: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-06.003: Setting Up Custom Renderer
13-03-2022 17-38-06.004: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-06.004: Setting Up Custom Renderer
13-03-2022 17-38-06.004: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-06.005: Setting Up Custom Renderer
13-03-2022 17-38-06.005: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-06.005: Setting Up Custom Renderer
13-03-2022 17-38-06.006: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-06.006: Setting Up Custom Renderer
13-03-2022 17-38-06.007: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-06.007: Setting Up Custom Renderer
13-03-2022 17-38-06.007: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-06.011: Loading Fonts
13-03-2022 17-38-09.659: Initializing Helpers
13-03-2022 17-38-14.149: Setting Scaling Core: Standard
13-03-2022 17-38-14.159: Loading Icons
13-03-2022 17-38-14.662: Setting up UI Controls
13-03-2022 17-38-14.739: Generating Other Renderers
13-03-2022 17-38-14.741: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-14.763: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-14.770: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-14.921: Applying Map Overlays
13-03-2022 17-38-14.932: Recreating RenderTarget (Count = 0): 1920x1080
13-03-2022 17-38-14.934: Setting Scaling Core: Standard
13-03-2022 17-38-15.081: Generating Menu Scene
13-03-2022 17-38-18.877: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-32.088: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-38-32.176: Loading static images
13-03-2022 17-39-11.062: Toggling to dedicated full screen mode
13-03-2022 17-39-11.233: Dedicated full screen mode set
13-03-2022 17-39-40.198: Obtaining Current Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-39-40.199: Adapter found: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-39-40.200: Getting Display Mode for 1920x1080 @60Hz
13-03-2022 17-39-40.200: Matching Display mode found
13-03-2022 17-39-40.252: Getting Display Mode for 1920x1080 @60Hz
13-03-2022 17-39-40.252: Matching Display mode found
13-03-2022 17-42-04.199: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-42-04.199: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-42-04.199: Setting up Scene Composition
13-03-2022 17-42-04.605: Obtaining Current Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
13-03-2022 17-42-04.605: Adapter found: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950

[ERutins]

Originally posted by kevinorf:

Great "fix." The previous update prevented the game from crashing but now after this update the game fills only like half the screen!

I'm sorry. Could you please share your sessionlog.txt with us?

[ERutins]

Originally posted by Cypher:

my crashing/ stuttering has returned as of today. updated to latest version and crashes more often than before, around 3-5 mins.

Thank you for the report. Are there any crash logs in your /data/logs sub-folder of your installation or any details for those crashes in the Windows Event Viewer Application logs?

[kevinorf]

Originally posted by ERutins:

Originally posted by kevinorf:

Great "fix." The previous update prevented the game from crashing but now after this update the game fills only like half the screen!

I'm sorry. Could you please share your sessionlog.txt with us?

I figured it out. My apologies.

[Cypher]

Originally posted by ERutins:

Originally posted by Cypher:

my crashing/ stuttering has returned as of today. updated to latest version and crashes more often than before, around 3-5 mins.

Thank you for the report. Are there any crash logs in your /data/logs sub-folder of your installation or any details for those crashes in the Windows Event Viewer Application logs?

nothing in the data/logs folder but the session.txt
checking Event viewer i have nothing in the Application logs that i can see. (unless there is a sub-menu i should be checking - not au fait with Eventviewer at all)

[Darkstar]

Originally posted by Lif:

Originally posted by ERutins:

Sorry to hear that. Could you please share your SessionLog.txt?

Sure! https://pastebin.com/Ngch3M3Q

If I can help with other launch configurations, don't hesitate to ask.

Looking at this session.txt compared to the other one here, it looks like it's starting with the dedicated GPU and then switching to the "Microsoft Basic Renderer" for some reason.

[Lif]

Originally posted by Darkstar:

Originally posted by Lif:

Sure! https://pastebin.com/Ngch3M3Q

If I can help with other launch configurations, don't hesitate to ask.

Looking at this session.txt compared to the other one here, it looks like it's starting with the dedicated GPU and then switching to the "Microsoft Basic Renderer" for some reason.

Nice find! What is interesting is that this does not happen without the exclusive fullscreen toggle in the override file. See : https://pastebin.com/wwcgJA0B

[Darkstar]

Here's an interesting one. Laptop with 3060 GTX dedicated GPU and AMD integrated GPU.

Since the new hotfix, when I start the game, it now not only loads into a black screen (alt-enter fixes), but it also only loads into part of my entire screen. From the log, it looks like it's only rendering into 1920x1200, though my screen is 2560x1440. The in-game settings say that it's fullscreen.

https://pastebin.com/vKLaitc0

I'm going to much around with the new override file and see what happens.

[Lif]

Originally posted by Darkstar:

Here's an interesting one. Laptop with 3060 GTX dedicated GPU and AMD integrated GPU.

Since the new hotfix, when I start the game, it now not only loads into a black screen (alt-enter fixes), but it also only loads into part of my entire screen. From the log, it looks like it's only rendering into 1920x1200, though my screen is 2560x1440. The in-game settings say that it's fullscreen.

https://pastebin.com/vKLaitc0

I'm going to much around with the new override file and see what happens.

I had the same issue, reported it through the form.

[lb]

I was playing it no issues. I kept the game open to watch something on a second screen while eating dinner -> tried to go back into the game and couldn't click anything. Restarted and now I'm getting black screen on load.

PC, Windows 10, NVidia GeForce RTX 3080.

Edit - Tried Alt+Enter and it only switching between none hdr and hdr. Doesn't fix it.
Second Edit - I've tried editing the config for windowed mode, even in that it's black.

Is there anything else I can try?

[Hydrvs]

Hahahaha, play with all the settings to see if it works, even if your other games work perfectly with your system, it seems that they don´t have a clue of what's happening xD