Support: Permanent FPS Issue After Using Nucleus Co-op

[Gun_Shy]

So, I'm going to do a copy/pasta of the post I just made on the Nucleus Co-op subreddit to start things off, and I've actually made some edits here just to describe things better:
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Well, I got Core Keeper on Steam, played it for a while and decided I wanted to play it with my girlfriend. I then discovered that it was online co-op only, did some research and decided to try Nucleus Co-op.

I did the download and set-up and ran Core Keeper. Decided that it was a bit too small for her to see in split-screen (she has bad eye-sight), so we weren't going to be able to play it together with Nucleus. Oh well.

None of ^that^ is the problem.

The problem is this: After running it through Nucleus and stopping the instance, I tried to run Core Keeper regularly from Steam, and I got 12 FPS. I quit out and launched it again, but it crashed because it sensed another instance running. I should also mention that when I started it through Steam, it attempted to start it *as* a split-screen window. Which means Nucleus still had some control over it even though I had stopped the instance. So considering that it tried to start *as* a split-screen window, and then crashed due to another instance running, it has to have something to do with Nucleus. I then restarted my computer, thinking that would fix it. Re-launched Steam and re-launched Core Keeper. 12 FPS again.

Here is all the troubleshooting I've done:

- I verified the files in the game cache through Steam and ran the game again. 12 FPS.

- I deleted all Nucleus Co-op files plus the handler files

- I uninstalled Core Keeper completely, re-installed it and ran it again through Steam. 12 FPS.

- I restarted my computer *again* and ran the game again just to make sure. 12 FPS.

- I did a search of my entire C: drive, and found a cache of files in '...AppData/RoamingLow/Pugstorm' - I deleted those files, ran the game, and it still ran at 12 FPS. I then checked that cache of files in the above directory and the game had re-generated the folder when I ran it, as expected. But apparently, none of those files were the problem.

- I ran other games to make sure I wasn't having system-wide graphical issues. I got my regular framerate. Every other game I have runs just fine. Even high-end games like Undisputed. This is most definitely not a hardware issue.

The game ran absolutely fine with no hiccups at all as I played it for a total of about 7 hours, grabbing a steady 240 FPS the whole time. After setting up Nucleus and running the game split-screen *once*, it's utterly ruined, no matter what I do with my game files.

I'm really upset guys, and I need a solution. There's absolutely no reason the game handler should permanently alter the way a game runs on my system. Are there hidden files for Core Keeper in other folders that the handler alters that would be missed by Steam's verifying process?

I'd really appreciate some answers here.
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Here's the link for anybody that wants to see the arrogant, condescending response from the nucleus developers:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nucleuscoop/comments/1405qoj/core_keeper_huge_problem/

I promise, I'm not an idiot, I'm fairly competent with computer systems, and if you read my post, you can see that I've done an extensive amount of my own troubleshooting.

Please, please help.

Does anyone have any idea what could have been altered? Because the fact is that the game ran fine before I used Nucleus, and the *only* thing that changed between runs is using Nucleus. Again, I have fiddled with all the display and graphics settings in-game as well, just to make sure it's not an easy fix.

I understand no one can speak for third-party software, but everywhere I looked online claimed Nucleus was safe, and that it was the way to go. And now Core Keeper is simply unplayable and I can't do anything about it. At this point I'm even considering trying to reinstall my graphics drivers. Which doesn't make any sense. But this problem does not make any sense either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[umop-apisdn]

I have found that simply uninstalling the game via Steam, then reinstalling it doesn't usually do anything; the problem is likely some files that didn't get removed when Steam uninstalled the game.

Try uninstalling Core Keeper, then deleting the "SteamLibraryLocation\steamapps\common\Core Keeper" folder, then reinstalling Core Keeper.

Your save games are stored in "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Pugstorm\Core Keeper\Steam\<STEAM.USER.ID>", so should be unaffected by this purge.

[Gun_Shy]

Originally posted by umop-apisdn:

I have found that simply uninstalling the game via Steam, then reinstalling it doesn't usually do anything; the problem is likely some files that didn't get removed when Steam uninstalled the game.

Try uninstalling Core Keeper, then deleting the "SteamLibraryLocation\steamapps\common\Core Keeper" folder, then reinstalling Core Keeper.

Your save games are stored in "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Pugstorm\Core Keeper\Steam\<STEAM.USER.ID>", so should be unaffected by this purge.

Well, if you read through my initial post, you'll see that I've already done all that.

Also, I was going to manually delete the '...steamapps/common/Core Keeper' folder after uninstalling Core Keeper, but when I uninstalled it, the folder completely disappeared. So yeah, I guess Steam does delete the entire file folder on Uninstall now. I know it never used to, but it did in this case at least.

So, even though I stated it in the initial post, *for the record*:
*I have deleted all files associated with Core Keeper, Nucleus Co-op and its handler, restarted my computer, reinstalled Core Keeper, and the problem persists.*

[Gun_Shy]

**Update**

So I just updated my graphics drivers with a clean install, just to further exhaust all my options. It didn't fix this problem.

One thing I forgot to mention in the OP was that I get 12 frames on the title screen AND during play. So this problem has nothing to do with my system having trouble with the rendering load. Otherwise, the frames would drop even worse after loading the world.

The strangest thing, however. I launched the game, and when I was on the title screen, I opened the Steam overlay. It tried to open, got to about half transparency, and then froze. I clicked on the screen and the Steam overlay disappeared completely again. So I opened the steam overlay again. Everything froze for a moment, and again I clicked on the screen. *This time*, the steam overlay came up fully, and not only that, but the title screen animations *behind* the steam overlay stopped lagging, ran fine, and the frame counter read 240. I thought I had fixed it, but as soon as I closed the steam overlay? The frames dropped back down to 12. I tried to open the Steam overlay once more, and the game crashed entirely.

So I know the first thing that comes to mind might be "Well then it's the steam overlay, just disable it!

But no. I did try disabling the overlay and launching the game. It made no difference.

This problem did not begin until after I ran the game with Nucleus. I've never had a problem opening the Steam overlay with this game at all.

Also, I should not have to keep the Steam overlay disabled in order to play the game. That's not really a solution. I'd like to be able to use it, and have always been able to until now.

[Gun_Shy]

**Update #2**

I've re-downloaded Nucleus Co-op just to see if it will still run fine through Nucleus. I started a single-screen instance of the game, and it ran just fine. No stutters or framerate drops in sight.

For whatever reason, it runs fine in Nucleus now, but whatever this program did, it will *only* run in Nucleus.

The problem is that I want nothing to do with Nucleus, and I want it off my computer. It might not be a malicious program, but with the problems it's causing, it might as well be malware.

So unless anyone is experiencing a system-wide issue launching the game through Steam, I'm pretty sure Nucleus has to be the culprit.

[Gun_Shy]

**Update #3**

I have now completely uninstalled Steam, including manually deleting all of its assets from my registry. I've re-installed Steam, re-downloaded the game and I still get 12 FPS when I run it.

This still did not fix the problem. I'm totally stumped. And uninstalling Steam deleted a bunch of other unrelated game files because of the way I had it installed. I thought it would just get the D:\Games\Steam folder, but it took everything in the Games folder.

So now I have to mourn. And now I can't play this game with my GF even if she joins from another computer on her own Steam profile. Which was our next move. Glad we didn't buy a second copy of the game yet...

[umop-apisdn]

Originally posted by Gun_Shy:

Originally posted by umop-apisdn:

Try uninstalling Core Keeper, then deleting the "SteamLibraryLocation\steamapps\common\Core Keeper" folder, then reinstalling Core Keeper.

Your save games are stored in "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Pugstorm\Core Keeper\Steam\<STEAM.USER.ID>", so should be unaffected by this purge.

Well, if you read through my initial post, you'll see that I've already done all that.

I specifically re-read the initial post before answering, to verify that you hadn't said you did that.
Having now read it a third time, it still doesn't say that.

Given the number of times Steam has left the folder behind after uninstallation (due to files that are not listed in the manifest still existing in the game folder after everything in the manifest was deleted), I felt it was reasonable to suggest it as a first step.

Originally posted by Gun_Shy:

Also, I was going to manually delete the '...steamapps/common/Core Keeper' folder after uninstalling Core Keeper, but when I uninstalled it, the folder completely disappeared. So yeah, I guess Steam does delete the entire file folder on Uninstall now. I know it never used to, but it did in this case at least.

Good to know; that means that there weren't any additional files created in the game folder after installation; this allowed Steam to clean up properly and remove the folder, too. This is a good sign for Core Keeper's development; it means the coders have a clue.

Originally posted by Gun_Shy:

So, even though I stated it in the initial post, *for the record*:
*I have deleted all files associated with Core Keeper, Nucleus Co-op and its handler, restarted my computer, reinstalled Core Keeper, and the problem persists.*

That text is nowhere in the OP here on Steam, which is supposedly a copy/paste of the post on reddit.

Since you want to get mad at me for trying to perform basic troubleshooting steps you didn't say were completed, I'm done helping you. Maybe someone else with a wider masochist streak will jump at the opportunity, but I've put in nearly 2 decades in the IT Support trenches and I owe you nothing.

I'll give you this last bit for free, though: Your problem is most likely with the (free and open source) Nucleus Co-op software, not with Core Keeper. You get what you pay for, et al.

Go complain in their support forums (perhaps a bug report on their github repo would be a good start); the software this forum applies to was working fine until you modded it.

Whatever that third-party software did your system is neither the fault nor the responsibility of anyone associated with Core Keeper. If I had to guess, I would say that Nucleus probably broke some of your driver and/or OS settings while it was mucking about trying to allow you to play two copies of the game while having only purchased one.

Good luck.

[Gun_Shy]

Originally posted by umop-apisdn:

I'll give you this last bit for free, though: Your problem is most likely with the (free and open source) Nucleus Co-op software, not with Core Keeper. You get what you pay for, et al.

Go complain in their support forums (perhaps a bug report on their github repo would be a good start); the software this forum applies to was working fine until you modded it.

Whatever that third-party software did your system is neither the fault nor the responsibility of anyone associated with Core Keeper. If I had to guess, I would say that Nucleus probably broke some of your driver and/or OS settings while it was mucking about trying to allow you to play two copies of the game while having only purchased one.

Good luck.

NOT ONCE did I criticize the development of Core Keeper, and I've been saying *this entire time* that the culprit is Nucleus. I've said that several times. That's what this entire thread is about and I've made it very clear.

And most of what you're asking is covered in OP, even if that one thing was not explicitly mentioned.

Overreact elsewhere.

[Khalunka]

"Asks for help"
"Criticize the very first person which tried to help"

/facepalm

[Georgy ✪]

Originally posted by Gun_Shy:

**Update #3**

I have now completely uninstalled Steam, including manually deleting all of its assets from my registry. I've re-installed Steam, re-downloaded the game and I still get 12 FPS when I run it.

This still did not fix the problem. I'm totally stumped. And uninstalling Steam deleted a bunch of other unrelated game files because of the way I had it installed. I thought it would just get the D:\Games\Steam folder, but it took everything in the Games folder.

So now I have to mourn. And now I can't play this game with my GF even if she joins from another computer on her own Steam profile. Which was our next move. Glad we didn't buy a second copy of the game yet...

Hey, mate!

I stumbled upon your post accidentally — while I luckily don’t have an issue like you, I wonder if you got it fixed. Will be useful to know, to NucleusCoop community, what was the root cause of the issue.

[umop-apisdn]

My wife and I play together with no issues, sitting right next to one another. Networking is networking. So my advice is this:

The game goes on sale fairly regularly. Have some patience, pony up another $10 to get your girlfriend her own copy, and quit trying to play two copies of the game without purchasing two copies of the game... that's called piracy, and it's against the Steam ToS.

[Brick]

Originally posted by umop-apisdn:

...and quit trying to play two copies of the game without purchasing two copies of the game... that's called piracy, and it's against the Steam ToS.

This is the nuttiest logic I've ever heard. How you could possibly consider something like couch coop to be piracy is wild. Like telling your partner to rent another movie and watch it themselves because it would be stealing.