[FIX] Running the game on modern processors & DirectX10!

[CriticalHit_NL]

To start off, there are two problems with this game.

1. It won't start with modern processors with high thread-counts.
   
2. Frequent crashes to desktop on DirectX10.

To fix running the game on modern processors:

The game is not able to launch when a processor is installed with a high amount of threads, personally I own an Intel 13th gen i9 13900K with 24 cores and 32 threads and this does not work with this game by default.

While some may suggest to turn off hyperthreading, this is only a temporary solution until processors with more physical cores are released. I did not test this for the i9 13900K but considering it has 24 cores it may not work already. Turning off cores and having to switch to the bios to do this and having less system resources available for anything else is not really a handy solution.

The fix for issue number 1:
1. Create a shortcut to FarCry2.exe
2. Move the shortcut to game directory where FarCry2.exe is located.
3. Open properties of the shortcut
4. Modify 'target' to the following value:

%ComSpec% /C Start /Normal /Affinity FFFF FarCry2.exe

5. Click Apply

Now when the shortcut is opened (might have to run as Administrator) the game will start with only a maximum of 16 CPU-threads assigned to the process on start-up. The game will continue to load without any issue.

If you want to run the game from a shortcut outside of the game-directory you need to do an additional trick as creating a shortcut to a shortcut does not function.

1. Make sure steps 1-5 are followed above.
2. Create a .bat file in the game directory where FarCry2.exe is located.
3. Edit the .bat file in a text editor and enter the following:

%ComSpec% /C Start "lnk" "X:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Far Cry 2\bin\FarCry2.lnk"

Make sure you replace the drive X for your installation drive (like C) and make sure the game directory path is correct and points to the created shortcut file created earlier. (in my case FarCry2.lnk)

4. Create a shortcut to the .bat file to any location you wish.
5. Rename the shortcut to your liking.
6. Edit the properties and change the icon to the one of FarCry2.exe

If the shortcut is ran, it will run the .bat file that launches the shortcut file in the game directory that actually launches the game with limited CPU-threads. (might have to run as Administrator)

Other settings you could use for the shortcut:

  Set Priority:
   High 
   AboveNormal 
   Normal 
   BelowNormal 
   Low

   Set Affinity:
   CPU - HEX
   0 ---- 1
   1 ---- 3
   2 ---- 7
   3 ---- F
   4 ---- 1F
   5 ---- 3F
   6 ---- 7F
   7 ---- FF
   8 ---- 1FF
   9 ---- 3FF
   10 --- 7FF
   11 --- FFF
   12 --- 1FFF
   13 --- 3FFF
   14 --- 7FFF
   15 --- FFFF

For more information read:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-permanently-set-priority-affinity-with/4e83fd39-34a7-49fe-a54a-ee891c38b737

If you want to run the FC2BenchmarkTool or FC2Editor (Map Editor) you'll have to apply the same fixes above for these executables, unfortunately I'm not sure how to fix it saving the results without crashing so I'd recommend using FRAPS and FRAFS Bench Viewer for your results to be captured.

To resolve DirectX10 crashes:

The game executable FarCry2.exe by default has a 32-bit limitation that it can only consume up to about 2GB memory, once this limit is hit the game will crash to desktop without any error.

Because DirectX10 hits this limit fairly quickly, the game might even fail to load past the loading screen because of this issue.

There is a fix however: https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371

This 4GB memory patcher patches the executable FarCry2.exe (or any executable you desire) to be able to use up to 4GB memory so you can enjoy the game in a fully optimized DirectX10 glory, because it simply runs A LOT better under DirectX10 than it does under DirectX9.

I have uploaded a video showcasing the game running on the i9 13900K:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dOLL1pt5bM

Apply fixes at your own risk, I am not responsible for any problems caused by applying these fixes.

Hope this helps and don't forget this fix may work for more games that experience these problems, pretty sure this will also help Far Cry 3 to run again!

[thirdkeeper]

VERY interested in this - Curious what others have on this subject as well.
Thanks so much for posting - could be a huge and actual 'game changer' for many,

- Best Wishes -

[BigTinz]

Nice tips, OP!

The processor fix is going to be very helpful for a lot of people.

We include the pre-patched .exe in Realism+ Redux, and have still found that DX10 increases the likelyhood of bugs like the silent phone call, and the glitchy black squares popping in.

I'd still recommend folks use DX9 for stability.

[thirdkeeper]

Originally posted by BigTinz:

Nice tips, OP!

The processor fix is going to be very helpful for a lot of people.

We include the pre-patched .exe in Realism+ Redux, and have still found that DX10 increases the likelyhood of bugs like the silent phone call, and the glitchy black squares popping in.

I'd still recommend folks use DX9 for stability.

Thanks BT, that was my only question.

[slayerdude72]

man, your a life saver, i was going through every post i could find and they all ended with *i gave up* this is great thanks a lot

[CriticalHit_NL]

I'm glad the processor workaround has been useful.

I've also heard that V-sync stops working when alt-tabbing however in my case it reverts from 1440P to 1080P aswell so I'd have to fix that either way. The phone call I get leaving the safehouse atleast is functioning here but not checked further into the game, black squares I've yet to see that's new to me, not running modifications though.

G-sync + V-sync is working fine in fullscreen but in windowed mode it won't cap the framerate, I suppose you could set a maximum framerate in the Nvidia Control Panel and forget about that problem if you have adaptive-sync technology with a high-refreshrate monitor.

I noticed on uncapped framerates the mouse is very troublesome to move in the menu, so you're probably better off using a framerate that's not too high in any case.

Just thought I'd give a heads-up for those that are struggling with getting this game to run and a possible tip for other games out there.

In my personal experience the following games also struggle with the processor problem.
- F.E.A.R 1
- Catherine Classic

Enjoy!

[76561198868149032]

Thanks for sharing this info, glad to see its come in useful too :)

- Ubisoft Support

[HEREGE]

Thank you very much for this information and the tutorial. It saved my life.
Me and my ryzen 5950x thank you deeply.
Not every hero wears a cape.

[stillgotyou]

Hey CriticalHit,

Your method works like magic! Before this, I was modifying the CPU core count through msconfig, which still required sacrificing performance and frequent reboots.

But unfortunately, this method didn't work on Far Cry 3 and Blood Dragon. If you ever develop a solution for them, please share it with us, thank you!

[CriticalHit_NL]

Originally posted by stillgotyou:

Hey CriticalHit,

Your method works like magic! Before this, I was modifying the CPU core count through msconfig, which still required sacrificing performance and frequent reboots.

But unfortunately, this method didn't work on Far Cry 3 and Blood Dragon. If you ever develop a solution for them, please share it with us, thank you!

Have been trying to look into Far Cry 3 but it simply hangs and if you remove threads from it, it'll close. It does not respect the commandlines and such properly because of the way it starts through Ubisoft Connect.

Unfortunately for now the only way I've found working is either disable Hyperthreading in bios or disable all the E-cores, I've not tested what the core limit would be but it's most likely 16+ giving troubles.

Far Cry 4 on the other hand is no problem.

But I've also read that Far Cry 3 faces random crashes for people, for some it might be solved by disabling the TabletInputInterface service. (just try disabling it from services.msc and reboot otherwise it won't stop).


Further I'd like to update my statement regarding the benchmark tool.
The tool is still working to generate benchmark results, but due to newer systems generating such high framerates it stores a LOT of frames which it has to read out to generate a report.

So if you see the benchmark tool freezing when the benchmark tool is done running, just leave it alone and wait and eventually it should give you a detailed report with .svg format.

If I find a solution I'll share it but this game in particular seems too troublesome, programs like Process Lasso will not change it's behaviour as it essentially does the same as manually changing affinity after starting it. It needs to be done directly on the start which it does not.

[stillgotyou]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer! I have now disabled hyperthreading and will only turn it on when I need to use productivity software, so at least I don't have to restart the computer every time. It's a pity that disabling the TabletInputInterface service prevents me from using non-English input methods.

Also, I recently found this tool https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/large-address-aware.112556/ and it seems that Far Cry's crashes are also related to memory reading. I didn't test Far Cry 3, because I've already tolerated the crashes and finished the game. But after using this tool, I played Blood Dragon without any crash issues.

[bastasiagames]

The Solution here sounds good and i've thought i've finally found an Alternative to mine, but it doesnt work for me. Game won't start as usual.
I guess i must keep on going with "msconfig"-"System Configuration"-"Boot"-"Advance Options"-"Numbers of Processors" and deactivate 8 of my 16 Cores. Restart my PC and play my Game. And when im done with my Game i have to do the same again but with activate my full 16 Cores and restart my PC.
It wouldnt be so annoying if i havent to restart my PC everytime.
I guess that is a Pain i have to live with if i want to play a few of my older Games.
Or im gonna downgrade from my 16 Core CPU to an 8 Core but thats kinda stupid and unnecessary.
Still thank you for this Suggestion.

[thirdkeeper]

Originally posted by bastasiagames:

The Solution here sounds good and i've thought i've finally found an Alternative to mine, but it doesnt work for me. Game won't start as usual.
I guess i must keep on going with "msconfig"-"System Configuration"-"Boot"-"Advance Options"-"Numbers of Processors" and deactivate 8 of my 16 Cores. Restart my PC and play my Game. And when im done with my Game i have to do the same again but with activate my full 16 Cores and restart my PC.
It wouldnt be so annoying if i havent to restart my PC everytime.
I guess that is a Pain i have to live with if i want to play a few of my older Games.
Or im gonna downgrade from my 16 Core CPU to an 8 Core but thats kinda stupid and unnecessary.
Still thank you for this Suggestion.

Actually Multifix now has affinity function for multi-threded multi-core systems
and other useful options when you use it to launch the game - also fixes a ton
of nasty bugs, restores Predecessor Tapes missions and Extra Machetes:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/19900/discussions/0/3711559379126584080/

Or- You could use the Realism+Redux Mod which has Multi-fix built into the install,

Realism+Redux mod

as does Boggalogs Patch-Fix Mod:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/19900/discussions/0/3194740972130711104/

[Toxic_Plague]

This didn't fix it for me it still pop the little loader then black screens and crashes after like 5-6 seconds

[RadioactiveNight]

The shortcut creation works on GOG version confirmed i9 13900k 3080

[thirdkeeper]

Originally posted by RadioactiveNight:

The shortcut creation works on GOG version confirmed i9 13900k 3080

Use Multi-Fix to launch the game (set affinity to 4) or use one of the mods
I mentioned above.


More details here - IN2FC2 -