Troubleshooting Guide

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General

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IMPORTANT: Please update your drivers frequently (especially graphic card drivers) and also check for Windows updates!

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Hello!

This guide will try to help you with solving common technical issues and we’ll try to keep it as simple as possible so you can follow its steps.

First off, a short differentiation bug vs tech issue. A bug will likely appear in an application when an application is running, technical issues include crashes, freezes, application not starting and other things.

We hope you’ve checked the minimum and recommended requirements for your PC. An application may run, even if minimum requirements are not met but with the recommended stats an application will shine brighter.

So, let’s go with some solutions.

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Verify the integrity of the game files.
Create exclusions for Anti-Virus suites.
Clean install runtime environments and DirectX
Special Case Dx12 - DX12 is not supported on your system…
Windows Updates
Set Up a Dedicated GPU
Cloud saves destroying save games
Updating drivers
Fatal Errors
13th – 14th Generation Intel i7 and i9 CPUs
Valuable tools for troubleshooting

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How to obtain savegames and other files from the game.

Savegames can be found in
YOURNAME > AppData > Local > SengokuDynasty > Saved > SaveGames > GameSaves

Crashlogs are in:
YOURNAME > AppData > Local > SengokuDynasty > Saved > Config > CrashReportClient

Support

Here's our support site[support.toplitz-productions.com]

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Verify the integrity of the game files.

This is a function provided by the Steam game client. Select the game in your library, then use a right click on it. Select “Properties”. Select “LOCAL FILES”. Here you can find the verification.

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Create exclusions for Anti-Virus suites.

Some antivirus suites and firewalls are monitoring traffic aggressively in real time. You should look up the exclusion functions for your anti-virus using a documentation. The example here covers Windows Defender.

• Open Windows Defender Security Center.
  
• Click Virus & threat protection.
  
• Click the Virus & threat protection option.
  
• Under "Exclusions," click the Add or remove exclusions option.
  
• Click the Add an exclusion button.

Select the content you want to exclude from Windows Defender Antivirus, such as:

• File — Excludes only one file per exclusion.
  
• Folder — Excludes a folder and its content, including sub-folders.
  
• File type — Instead of excluding files and folder locations, you can configure the antivirus to ignore files with a specific extension no matter their location.
  
• Process — Excludes background processes by name.

Continue with the on-screen directions to add the new exclusion depending on your selection. (For example, if you select File, you simply need to browse and select the file you want to exclude. Or if you select the File type option, you only need to enter the extension of the file format to skip during scans.)

At any time, you can remove an exclusion using the same instructions, but on step No. 5, make sure to select the item and click the Remove button.

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Clean install runtime environments and DirectX

Runtime environments are small but essential platforms that allow applications to work on your PC. If they’re damaged or incomplete, they can cause problems like crashes. So having them in good shape is important.

There are packages like All-in-One VC++ Redistributable Runtimes and you can download them from a trustworthy site. Extract the package and use the install_all.bat (right click). Don’t forget to run it as administrator. Once it is finished, restart the PC. The package should fix damaged runtimes by overwriting them.

DirectX is an important component of Windows 10 and above, it manages tasks related to video, games, multimedia or graphic programs etc.

Before you reinstall DirectX Windows 10, you should check what DirectX version is installed on your computer. Here is a quick guide for you.

• Type “dxdiag” in the search box and click this app from the list.
  
• After a while, you will see a pop-up window that shows the DirectX version you have installed in the System tab.

How to reinstall DirectX:

• Download a DirectX version from a trustworthy site.
  
• After that, you can install it and restart your computer to check if the DirectX errors are resolved or not.

How to fix DirectX errors:

Outdated or corrupted device drivers can cause DirectX errors. Updating your device driver can help you resolve the errors without reinstalling DirectX. You can follow the steps below to update the device driver.

• Type device in the search box and select Device Manager from the contextual menu.
  
• Navigate to the Display adapters and expand it. Then right-click the device driver and click Properties.
  
• In the new window, go to the Driver tab and click Update Driver button.
  
• Then click Search automatically for updated driver software from the 2 options. After that, Windows will search for the latest driver software for you.

The Steam DXsetup.exe

• Go the "Library" section and select the application.
  
• Right-click on the game and select "Properties".
  
• Click on "Local Files" and "Browse Local Files...".
  
• Go to the folder Steamworks Shared and follow this path down "_CommonRedist/DirectX/Jun2010" folder and run dxsetup.exe.
  
• In the dialog that follows, accept the license, click on "Next" twice and wait for DirectX to finish the setup.
  
• Click on Finish.
  
• Restart your computer and try to start the game again.

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Special Case Dx12

If this error message shows up, please follow the steps listed below:

DX12 is not supported on your system> Try running without the -dx12 or -d3d12 command line argument

Please make sure your system’s GPU is above the minimum requirements, as this issue will likely manifest if your system does NOT meet them.
If your system features two or more GPUs, assign the strongest one to be the dedicated GPU.

The game mandatorily requires Dx12 for features of the Unreal engine. Dx12 is downward compatible, so older games should run fine. There are a variety of solutions, that could potentially help:

1. First try the said arguments in the Steam Client.

• Right-click Sengoku Dynasty in the Steam library
  
• Go to Properties > General
  
• Type -d3d12 or -dx12 in Launch Options and close the window.

2. On occasion an older build of Windows can cause this issue, so update Windows to the most recent build (either win 10 or 11). Check for Windows updates. Also update GPU drivers - You can also overwrite an existing driver by downloading and installing it again!

3. Furthermore, this issue can appear if a Windows update has botched, Check the update history. Use DISM and sfc /scannow to repair Windows, if needed.

4. If you have the EPIC client on your system, update the launcher.

If your system fulfills all requirements and you still encounter the issue, please reach out to our support.

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Windows Updates

Some issues can arise from missing or botched Windows Updates. Make sure your PC is up to date on Windows.

• Click Start (or press the Windows key) and then click "Settings."
  
• In the Settings window, click "Update & Security."
  
• To check for an update, click "Check for updates."
  
• If there's an update ready to install, it should appear under the "Check for updates" button. Click "Download and install."
  
• Restart the PC.

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Dedicated GPU

Most notebooks, but also some desktop PCs have two graphic processors. Windows (yes, the operating system manages resources) sometimes assigns the weaker of those GPUs to run an application. Graphics may look very bad depending on what your application is trying to do. Here is a complete rundown on how to set dedicated graphics:
You must be running Windows 10 (1809) or later for this to work.

• Open the Settings app and go to the System group of settings.
  
• Select the Display tab and scroll down.
  
• Click the “Graphic Settings” option.
  
• On the Graphics Settings screen, open the ‘Choose an app to set preference dropdown.
  
• Select the type of app you want to set the GPU use for; Classic app for desktop apps, and Universal app for UWP or Store apps.
  
• Once selected, click the Browse button, and select the app. Click the “Options” button under the app once it has been added.
  
• In the window that opens, select “High Performance” and click “Save”.

Force App to use an NVIDIA Graphics Card
It’s worth mentioning that NVIDIA uses Optimus Technology. Whenever it detects that an app needs additional, more powerful resources, the dedicated GPU kicks in. That said, you can still force an app to use the dedicated GPU.

• Open the NVIDIA control panel. Right-click on an empty area on your desktop and select the “NVIDIA Control Panel” option from the context menu.
  
• Go to the Desktop menu and enable the “Add `Run with graphics processor` to Context Menu” option.
  
• Return to your desktop. Right-click the app you want to force to use the dedicated GPU. The right-click context menu will have a ‘Run with graphics processor’ option. Select ‘High-performance NVIDIA processor’ from the sub-options and the app will run using your dedicated GPU.

Force App to Use AMD Graphics Card

• You can force an app to use your AMD graphics card, but it isn’t as easy, or as accessible as the NVIDIA option.
  
• With AMD, you can select which apps will use the dedicated graphics card. You don’t have an option in the context menu. Instead, you add apps to the AMD Catalyst Control Center.
  
• Open the AMD Catalyst Control Center app by right-clicking on an empty area on your desktop.
  
• Select “Catalyst Control Center” from the context menu.
  
• From the list of panels on the left, select “Power”.
  
• Under ‘Power’, select “Switchable application graphics settings”.
  
• Here you will see a list of apps that AMD already recognizes as needing better GPU support. On this panel is an ‘Add Application’ button.
  
• Click it and select the EXE of the app you want to force to use the AMD graphics card.
  
• After you add the application, open the dropdown next to it for setting graphics options. Select ‘High performance’ and you’re done. The app will always use AMD graphics card.

We should mention that some options may differ depending on your driver version and the GPU model you have. These solutions will still work but the options may be found under a different menu.

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Cloud saves destroying save games

This nasty error unfortunately has no solution; it is an issue inherent to cloud saves and cannot be fixed by us.

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Updating drivers

You can get drivers for almost all components in your rig, with GPU drivers being the ones that require frequent updates. Accompanying suites for GPUs will inform you about new updates available, do not rush such updates and wait a few days or weeks to see if the driver is stable.

Updates fall 2024:

GTX 6xx and 7xx generations GPUs (Kepler) are no longer supported with any new drivers by NVIDIA since autumn 2023.
GTX 9xx (Maxwell) generation followed this year in autumn with no longer receiving critical security updates.
The lifecycle of Pascal GTX cards will likely end within the next few years. However, those cards will very likely support most games that have them listed as minimum requirements for some time.

NVIDIA drivers above version 555 do no longer support older (years 2007 and 2008) Intel and AMD CPU missing the Popcnt instruction and will crash on booting.

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Fatal Errors

Fatal Errors with Unreal Engine 5 can be versatile, many different smaller or bigger issues can cause them. They can lead to game freezes or crashes. Luckily, oftentimes they can be fixed.

In general, Fatal Errors tell us that there is an issue between the game’s engine (Unreal Engine 5) and the system (PC or laptop) the game tries to run on.

Currently we are planning an Unreal Engine 5 update that should also help in some cases. Optimisations in general are, of course, ongoing.

In the meantime, there also are a few steps that you can try in case you experience a crash or freeze with a Fatal Error warning.

- Make sure that your system meets the minimum requirements to run the game. You can find them on the Steam Store page. If you are uncertain about your system’s specifications, you can click on “Help” in the upper left corner of the Steam launcher. Then “System Information”. A pop-up will open that contains all necessary information about your system.

- Try to turn down the game’s graphics settings, especially Vegetation and Shadows. Try using V-Sync and full screen mode.

- Make sure that your graphics card drivers are up to date.

- Make sure that Windows is up to date.

- Use sfc /scannow and DISM to check your Windows installation. This article [www.howtogeek.com] explains how to do it.

- Let Steam verify your game installation. This checks for missing or damaged game files and replaces them. This is how it works: Steam Support Guide

- Check if virtual memory usage is turned on and if enough of it is allocated for your system. This article [www.windowscentral.com] explains what it is and where to find this setting. Allocate to VRAM approx. 150% of your RAM value. This means If you have 16 GB RAM, allocate 24 GB VRAM.

- If you are overclocking GPU, CPU and/or RAM, try without overclocking.

- Make sure that your firewall and/or anti-virus software are not blocking Steam or any game files. Try starting Steam and/or the game in admin mode.

- Try closing apps and browser tabs open in the background that you do not need. This way incompatibilities can be ruled out.

- Try clearing your Steam cache folder. Those are temporary files, new ones will be created as needed but if it is too full or files are faulty that can lead to errors as well. This is how you can delete the old ones:
1. Open File Explorer.
2. Go to the Steam directory on your PC, default is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam
3. Right-click on the folder "appcache" and copy it.
4. Paste the folder to a save location where you can find it again if needed. Your Desktop will work too. This will be your backup copy.
5. Return to the Steam directory and delete the "appacache" folder.
6. Restart your PC.

If none of these steps do help, please open a new topic in the Bug and Tech sub forum and let us know some details about the crash and about your system. Ideal would be a screenshot or copied text of the exact error message as well as a dxdiag log.

A dxdiag log contains your hardware, driver versions as well as some potential system errors. It does not contain private information.

This is how you can generate a dxdiag log: Microsoft Support Article [support.microsoft.com].

You can upload it with a file sharing platform of your choice and post the download link in your topic. Alternatively, you can reach out to us via our Discord or use our support tickets.

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13th – 14th Generation Intel i7 and i9 CPUs

A very specific issue showed up in the past months with these two generations of CPU keep crashing randomly on Dx12 games. This article sheds a light on the details.[www.tomshardware.com] Intel is currently examining the issues. A solution might be to downclock your CPU a little bit.

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Valuable tools for troubleshooting

Windows Event Viewer

Windows Event Viewer is an application running on Windows 8 or higher and will track crashes and other events happening on your system.
How to start this app?

• Right-click or tap and hold the Start icon. Choose Event Viewer.
  
• The Event Viewer appears.
  
• On the left, choose Event Viewer, Custom Views, Administrative Events.
  
• It may take a while, but eventually you see a list of notable events like the one shown.

Alternatively, you check the logs in Application and System for errors and warnings.
Don’t panic, even a well-kept system boasts reams of scary-looking messages — hundreds, if not thousands of them.

There are three types of events: errors, warnings, and information.
The events are time-stamped so they can be assigned easily if you remember when something happened.

Important things are the errors and warnings with their accompanying event IDs and the details accompanying them.

Short overview of the tabs:

• Application events: Programs report on their problems.
  
• Security events: They’re called “audits” and show the results of a security action. Results can be either successful or failed depending on the event, such as when a user tries to log on.
  
• Setup events: This primarily refers to domain controllers, which is something you don’t need to worry about.
  
• System events: Most of the errors and warnings you see in the Administrative Events log come from system events. They’re reports from Windows system files about problems they’ve encountered. Almost all of them are self-healing.
  
• Forwarded events: These are sent to this computer from other computers.

System File Checker and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management)

If your system crashes, you can use the SFC to repair your operating system.

• Open an elevated command prompt. To do this, type “cmd” in the open Windows start menu. Right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator. (Alternatively press Win + X)
  
• At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
  sfc /scannow