Stuck (literally) in small room after hotel escape near game start

[bobatlast]

Exit the hotel near the game start, escape the area, collapse from malaria, awaken in a small room. At this point, my player character is completely stuck. Can't move, can't turn. Nothing works except ESC to get back to the menu.

I've read several posts about this problem and similar, but none of the fixes I've seen work for me. I'm using the Multi Fix tool, but the problem occurs with or without it. I've tried limiting framerate via Multi Fix, command line option, and Nvidia control panel. I've tried frame rates from 59 (my monitor's refresh rate) to 62. I've tried vsync on and off via in-game setting and Nvidia control panel.

At one point, turning on widescreen fixed the problem, but the fix didn't persist across restart, and now it doesn't matter if it's on or off.

Rebooting the machine also fixed it...once. I was able to get past this point, but when I loaded an earlier save to try it again, I got stuck again.

Driving me nuts. Anything else I can try?

FYI System is 64-bit Win7 w/Nvidia GTX 1060.

[BigTinz]

You started a new game with the multi-fixer (60fps cap) enabled?

When you say stuck, do you mean your character is clipping through the level geometry, or what?

There are some specific on screen prompts. Are you following them?

[thirdkeeper]

Delete PlayerProfile.xml ?

Delete C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\My Games\Far Cry 2\PlayerProfile.xml
Right click on Far Cry 2.exe and select "Properties", and "Run as an Administrator"

You'll need to reset your In-game gfx. preferences and
Turn Vsync ON
Set to Run in DX9

[bobatlast]

Hunter: Yes, I started with Multi Fix and 60FPS cap. By "stuck" I mean the computer game equivalent of physically stuck as in "paralyzed". The camera (my characters viewpoint) is staring at some shelves or sometimes the open door, and nothing I do will change the POV. Can't turn with the mouse, or move with the movement keys. Also, I get no prompts; the game doesn't progress. I know from the two times it worked transiently that I should be prompted at this point to heal myself, but when this bug occurs I don't get those prompts. (I even tried pressing the "heal" key anyway, thinking maybe the prompts were off-screen, but that has no effect.)

Thirdkeeper: Tried all that (should have said so in my initial post). Delete the profile, run as Admin, Vsync on (in game, and via Nvidia ctrl. panel), DX9 (double-checked in game and in profile file). The problem persists.

[Virago]

Try to start a new game?

[bobatlast]

Yep, tried a new game a few times (with various tweaks to settings and environment). Getting really sick of that taxi ride. :-) No joy.

FWIW I also just tried removing and reinstalling the game. Starting from scratch, running as Admin, with Multi Fix, and all default settings, I got past the stuck point...once. Then I tried loading an earlier save (made when the game first allows saves) and got stuck again. Tried a new game and got stuck.

Summarizing, these things work once but don't persistently fix the problem:
- Turning on widescreen for the first time
- Rebooting the computer
- Reinstalling the game.

It seems that something happens when I first get past this early point that makes it impossible to get past it again unless drastic steps are taken to "reset" things and then start a new game. Very weird bug.

[Virago]

We can't be sure if this is actually a bug or an issue that arises specifically with your system. The latter is most probable since me and other people i know have replayed the game countless times and this didn't happen.

[thirdkeeper]

Have you tried running without multi-fix and setting the fps manually?

[bobatlast]

Virago: Yeah, it might be something about my system. Any idea what it could be? (I have several hundred games installed, all working well, so I know my system is generally stable.)

But I did see posts (in both the Steam and GOG forums) from other folks having this same problem so it's not unique to me. For one poster, turning on widescreen fixed it. For another, it happened only when he took the wrong exit from the hotel and died early on (which happened to me too). What's unique with me is that none of the simple fixes work, and the extreme "fixes" aren't persistent. It's the last fact that really baffles me.

Thirdkeeper: Yes, I tried no multi fix and manual frame rate limit. No effect.

[Virago]

Would you mind sharing your system specifications?

[thirdkeeper]

Prob the last shot in the dark from me -

any chance it could be a multi core issue? - Your other hw and os are basically
ideal for this game.

No history of trouble with that particular vid card?

Knew a guy had trouble with Mafia III - solved it by blowing out the dust in his case. 8^b

[bobatlast]

Sure. Here's some stuff from msinfo32:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model P55A-UD3
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz, 2661 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Page File Space 8.00 GB

And as I mentioned, I have an Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB.

Anything else?

One other possibly relevant fact: When I first installed the game, the video options had a dropdown from which I could choose DX9 or DX10. I removed and reinstalled the game, and I just noticed that the dropdown is gone. The profile file specifies DX9, but the in-game control has vanished. More weirdness.

[thirdkeeper]

Originally posted by bobatlast:

Sure. Here's some stuff from msinfo32:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model P55A-UD3
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz, 2661 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Page File Space 8.00 GB

And as I mentioned, I have an Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB.

Anything else?

One other possibly relevant fact: When I first installed the game, the video options had a dropdown from which I could choose DX9 or DX10. I removed and reinstalled the game, and I just noticed that the dropdown is gone. The profile file specifies DX9, but the in-game control has vanished. More weirdness.

VERY ! - Sorry - I'm stumped. Is something interfering with your install? You could
check disk space to confirm it's the full size..

[bobatlast]

I FOUND A FIX! The symptoms did seem related to FPS, so on a lark I decided to try a really low FPS limit. I set it to 30 in Multi Fix and remarkably, it works. I loaded my before-stuck save and got through the troublesome section three times in a row.

Perhaps the problem is related to my rather old monitor with it's 59Hz refresh rate? Maybe the key isn't limiting FPS to 60 (or thereabouts) but setting it *sufficiently below the monitor's refresh rate*? Or maybe it's the combo of a modern video card and an old monitor?

I'm going to experiment with increasing the FPS limit to see how high I can go. But even 30 FPS is playable (and my GTX can have a nice nap while it renders the game).

This solution doesn't explain the disappearing DirectX dropdown though. Does the game save information some place other than the installation folder and the "My Games" folder? I'm asking because when I uninstalled, I made sure to delete both those locations. Yet when I then reinstalled the game, my custom key bindings were intact. They had to be stored someplace, and maybe there's other stuff there too that needs to be cleaned up. I searched the Registry but didn't see anything significant.

Thank you to all who tried to help!

[bobatlast]

Update: I tried increasing the FPS cap, but I can go no higher than 32 FPS. Any higher and the problem occurs. It cannot be a coincidence that my max FPS is almost exactly half of the max that's known to work reliably (i.e., 62). Would love an explanation for this if anybody has an idea.

[thirdkeeper]

You can dismiss any ideas the problem is between system and monitor. There's
something else causing the issuess, - The missing DX dropdown is very strange.

Any power surges, 'brown-outs' - or do you use a surge surpressor (UPS)?

Well, great to hear you've got it working - POINTS for persistence ! ; ) - If you notice
any other oddities give us a wave so we can add it to the list of 'unknowns'.

- Good Luck -