The Long Dark Technical FAQ

[hinterland_tech_help]

How To Solve Performance Issues?

The graphics detail may be too high for your system. Try lowering the graphics quality level in Options → Display → Quality.

Dropping the Resolution (Options → Display → Resolution) may help performance.

Outdated video card drivers can cause performance issues and possibly crashes. Please make sure all your video card drivers are up to date.

Ensure your system meets the minimum system requirements.

If running on a laptop, optimize your graphics and power management settings for gaming.

Running in DirectX9 mode may improve performance on some Windows systems. Launch the game in DirectX9 mode by running tld_dx9.bat (found where game is installed).

Optionally you can force DirectX9 Mode by doing this:

In Steam interface, click on "LIBRARY".
In games list, right click on "The Long Dark".
Choose "Properties"
Click "SET LAUNCH OPTIONS..."
Paste into text box "-force-d3d9" without the quotes
Click "OK".
Click "CLOSE".

Alternatively, you may also try "-particle-usedll" - However, this may cause instability on some machines and is not officially supported. Note: "-particle-usedll" can also correct screen tearing issues, bug again, please use with caution as this method has known bugs.

How To Optimize Laptop Settings For Gaming?

Ensure power management settings are configured to provide maximum power when playing games. Performance will degrade significantly if power saving mode is enabled while the game is running.

Some laptops have two video cards. Ensure the more powerful card is used when playing games.

Play with your laptop connected to power, as playing on battery power can cause performance loss.

Game Won’t Start, What Can I Do?

If you haven’t already, try rebooting. Sometimes system issues preventing the game from running will clear up after a reboot.

Ensure your video card drivers and Operating System are up to date.

Some players with Antivirus or Firewall software have had problems launching the game. Configure the software to exempt The Long Dark to avoid this issue.

If you still cannot start the game, please follow the below instructions for submitting a Bug Report (be sure to include a debug log).

How To Report A Bug?

If you encounter a bug, we would love to hear about it. Report bugs in the Alpha Bug Reports section of the official Hinterland Community Forums.

When reporting bugs, please include the following information:

Bug name (this can be the forum post title)
Bug description (try to be thorough and specific)
OS (PC, Mac, etc.)
Repro steps: Step by step instructions on how to reproduce the bug.
Debug Log (as an attachment) (Steam for some reason doesn't have an option for attaching files, so a Dropbox or another filesharing program link will do)
Screenshot (F8) if it's relevant (as an attachment) (Steam for some reason doesn't have an option for attaching files, so a Dropbox or another filesharing program link will do)

How To Find Your Debug Log?

When reporting a problem, please include the debug log generated by the game. This will help the dev team solve the problem faster. You can find it here:

Windows
C:\TheDirectoryYouInstalledSteamTo\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\output_log.txt

OSX
~Library/Logs/Unity/Player.log

It's possible the Library folder will be hidden. You can make it show up by typing the following into Terminal: chflags nohidden ~/Library
optionally for Mac you can also go to Go in the Finder and hold Alt the Library folder will appear in the drop down menu.

The debug log gets overwritten each time you play, so remember to send it along before starting up the game again.

Please remember to include the log with your Bug Report you can either link a dropbox or pastebin to the post as steam has no way to attach files to posts, and DON'T copy/paste the entire log into a post.

How To Take Screenshots For Bug Reports?

F8 will take a screenshot with coordinates and other debug information, and saves to your Desktop. Screenshots are super helpful for us to track down where exactly you had the problem, thus making it easier for us to fix.

How to Run In Borderless Window Mode?

For players that want to run the game at native (desktop) resolution but not in Fullscreen mode, launch the game as:

tld.exe -popupwindow

There is a tld_borderless.bat and tld_borderless_dx11.bat that you can use to launch the game like this.

you can also run it like this:

In Steam interface, click on "LIBRARY".
In games list, right click on "The Long Dark".
Choose "Properties"
Click "SET LAUNCH OPTIONS..."
Paste into text box "-popupwindow" without the quotes
Click "OK".
Click "CLOSE".

How To Run On Multiple Monitors?

To force a specific resolution for The Long Dark, you can run the game as follows (example is for triple 1080p monitors):

tld.exe -popupwindow -screen-width 5760 -screen-height 1080

How To Find Your Saves?

When reporting save related issues we often need a copy of your save files. Your save files can be found at:

Windows: c:\users\username\AppData\Local\Hinterland\TheLongDark

OSX: /users/username/.local/share/Hinterland/TheLongDark

On OSX the easiest way to get to saves is to select 'Go/Go To Folder' from the Finder menu and then copy in the path.

Linux: /home/username/.local/share/Hinterland/TheLongDark

How To Force Game To Start With Low Graphics Quality?

On PC:
Open a command line window.
Navigate to the folder containing tld.exe
Type "tld.exe -graphics-low"
The game should launch with graphics set to Low.

On Mac:
Open a Terminal window.
Navigate to the folder containing tld.app
Type "./tld.app/Contents/MacOS/tld -graphics-low"
The game should launch with graphics set to Low.

for both you can force this through steam by following these steps:

In Steam interface, click on "LIBRARY".
In games list, right click on "The Long Dark".
Choose "Properties"
Click "SET LAUNCH OPTIONS..."
Paste into text box "-graphics-low" without the quotes
Click "OK".
Click "CLOSE".

Black Screen or Game crashing at random points?

If your game is getting a black screen when launching or is randomly crashing during the game there are a few things that could be happening and some ways you can fix on your end.

First would be to check your computers programs to ensure that Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2013 is installed on the computer.
Steam should be doing this when the game is installed, but some players have been missing this package. If it is missing then you should install it manually from Microsoft here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=40784

There is a chance the download won't start right away when you initially attempt to download, if you click the part that says If your download does not start after 30 seconds,
Click here it will bring up the window again this time with a part that says click here next to all the download options, click that and it will begin the download.

If that doesn't work or you already had it installed it is possible that running the game in the default DirectX11 is not working with your system. In that case you'll need to do this:

In Steam interface, click on "LIBRARY".
In games list, right click on "The Long Dark".
Choose "Properties"
Click "SET LAUNCH OPTIONS..."
Paste into text box "-force-d3d9" without the quotes
Click "OK".
Click "CLOSE".

This will run the game in DirectX9 instead of 11.

Sometimes the issue is actually caused from a corrupt file, the easiest way to fix this is by verifying the game's cache integrity. You can verify this by following these steps:

Go to your steam library
Left click on The Long Dark
Select "Properties"
Select the "Local Files" tab
Press "verify integrity of game cache"

As a last resort you can try reinstalling the game.

If none of these solutions work for you and you are still crashing or getting a blank screen of some sort, send us your Debug logs (Instructions on where those are above) and we will dig into what could be causing the issue.

[wowegoo]

Thanks! Lot of good info.

[Amewsed]

How to set maximum graphic on Mac?

[General Iffy]

Windows: c:\users\username\AppData\Local\Hinterland\TheLongDark

That path doesn't work for me. I don't have an AppData folder. Is this the path for windows 8.1/10? I am still on Windows 7.

[Piers]

Originally posted by Iffy the Bothan Ace:

Windows: c:\users\username\AppData\Local\Hinterland\TheLongDark

That path doesn't work for me. I don't have an AppData folder. Is this the path for windows 8.1/10? I am still on Windows 7.

AppData is hidden by default. Type %appdata% into the address bar in Windows Explorer then go back a couple of levels to local\hinterland\thelongdark to find it.

[General Iffy]

Got it. Thanks.

[aFather]

is there a specific order to the command line parameters, say I wanted to force DirectX9 and start with low graphics, will this work:

-force-d3d9-graphics-low

Running XP on an AMD 64 Athalon X2 with 4GB (3.5GM accessible) with graphics card: nVidia GEForce 610 2MB ram, verified files, got the C++ redist, reinstalled game...can not get past opening screens...not sure what else to try...suggestions welcome

[Nequis]

If I stay indoors the game runs fine. About 15 seconds after i walk outside the game freezes, I have tried everything in the FAQ but nothing seems to work. This has been since a recent update as before the game ran smooth.

Initialize engine version: 5.3.4f1 (fdbb5133b820)
Forcing GfxDevice: Direct3D 9
GfxDevice: creating device client; threaded=1
Direct3D:
Version: Direct3D 9.0c [nvd3dum.dll 10.18.13.6839]
Renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Vendor: NVIDIA
VRAM: 978 MB (via DXGI)
Caps: Shader=30 DepthRT=1 NativeDepth=1 NativeShadow=1 DF16=0 INTZ=1 NULL=1 RESZ=0 SlowINTZ=0
Begin MonoManager ReloadAssembly
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Assembly-CSharp-firstpass.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Assembly-CSharp-firstpass.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Assembly-CSharp.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Assembly-CSharp.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Assembly-UnityScript-firstpass.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Assembly-UnityScript-firstpass.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Assembly-UnityScript.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Assembly-UnityScript.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.UI.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.UI.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.Networking.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\UnityEngine.Networking.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\EasyRoads3D.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\EasyRoads3D.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\DOTween.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\DOTween.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\SuperSplines.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\SuperSplines.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\HOTween.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\HOTween.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\SampleClassLibrary.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\SampleClassLibrary.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\DecalSystem.Runtime.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\DecalSystem.Runtime.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Rewired_Core.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Rewired_Core.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Pathfinding.ClipperLib.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Pathfinding.ClipperLib.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Pathfinding.Ionic.Zip.Reduced.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Pathfinding.Ionic.Zip.Reduced.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Pathfinding.JsonFx.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Pathfinding.JsonFx.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Pathfinding.Poly2Tri.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Pathfinding.Poly2Tri.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\ch.sycoforge.Decal.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\ch.sycoforge.Decal.dll into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\ch.sycoforge.Util.Attributes.dll (this message is harmless)
Loading D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\ch.sycoforge.Util.Attributes.dll into Unity Child Domain
- Completed reload, in 0.142 seconds
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\System.Core.dll (this message is harmless)
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\System.dll (this message is harmless)
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\UnityScript.Lang.dll (this message is harmless)
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\Boo.Lang.dll (this message is harmless)
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Shader Forge/TLD_StandardOpaque' - Pass 'FORWARD' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Shader Forge/TLD_StandardOpaque' - Pass 'FORWARD_DELTA' has no vertex shader
<RI> Initializing input.

<RI> Input initialized.

desktop: 1842x1004 60Hz; virtual: 1842x1004 at 0,0
<RI> Initialized touch support.

UnloadTime: 1.958978 ms
Non platform assembly: data-1C21D008 (this message is harmless)
Fallback handler could not load library D:/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/TheLongDark/tld_Data/Mono/data-1C21D008.dll
Non platform assembly: data-1C272D60 (this message is harmless)
Fallback handler could not load library D:/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/TheLongDark/tld_Data/Mono/data-1C272D60.dll
Non platform assembly: data-14822020 (this message is harmless)
Fallback handler could not load library D:/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/TheLongDark/tld_Data/Mono/data-14822020.dll
Rewired: Searching for compatible XInput library...
Rewired: Found Xinput1_3.dll.
Platform assembly: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark\tld_Data\Managed\System.Xml.dll (this message is harmless)
LoadMoveData got NULL!

(Filename: Line: 310)

Received stats and achievements from Steam


(Filename: C:/buildslave/unity/build/artifacts/generated/common/runtime/UnityEngineDebugBindings.gen.cpp Line: 37)

SteamUserStats.GetAchievement failed for Achievement Chal_Rescue_Complete
Is it registered in the Steam Partner site?

(Filename: C:/buildslave/unity/build/artifacts/generated/common/runtime/UnityEngineDebugBindings.gen.cpp Line: 37)

SteamUserStats.GetAchievement failed for Achievement Chal_Hunted_Complete
Is it registered in the Steam Partner site?

(Filename: C:/buildslave/unity/build/artifacts/generated/common/runtime/UnityEngineDebugBindings.gen.cpp Line: 37)

WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Hidden/TerrainEngine/Splatmap/Diffuse-AddPass' - Pass 'PREPASS' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Hidden/TerrainEngine/Splatmap/Diffuse-AddPass' - Pass 'DEFERRED' has no vertex shader
Unloading 6 Unused Serialized files (Serialized files now loaded: 0)
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Nature/Terrain/Diffuse' - Pass 'PREPASS' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Nature/Terrain/Diffuse' - Pass 'DEFERRED' has no vertex shader
UnloadTime: 9.249290 ms
-- SystemInfo --
deviceType: Desktop
processorType: AMD A6-6400K APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
processorCount: 2
systemMemorySize: 4036 Mb
operatingSystem: Windows 10 (10.0.0) 64bit
graphicsDeviceID: 0xE22
graphicsDeviceName: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
graphicsDeviceType: Direct3D9
graphicsDeviceVendor: NVIDIA
graphicsDeviceVendorID: 0x10DE
graphicsDeviceVersion: Direct3D 9.0c [nvd3dum.dll 10.18.13.6839]
graphicsMemorySize: 978 Mb
graphicsShaderLevel: 30
supportsRenderTextures: True
supportsShadows: True
supportsStencil: 1
----

(Filename: C:/buildslave/unity/build/artifacts/generated/common/runtime/UnityEngineDebugBindings.gen.cpp Line: 37)


Application Persistent Data Path: C:/Users/Steven/AppData/LocalLow/Hinterland/TheLongDark

(Filename: C:/buildslave/unity/build/artifacts/generated/common/runtime/UnityEngineDebugBindings.gen.cpp Line: 37)


Unloading 12603 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 27441.
Total: 81.346230 ms (FindLiveObjects: 2.838000 ms CreateObjectMapping: 3.937022 ms MarkObjects: 68.498230 ms DeleteObjects: 6.066622 ms)

GAME VERSION: Sandbox Alpha v.339

(Filename: C:/buildslave/unity/build/artifacts/generated/common/runtime/UnityEngineDebugBindings.gen.cpp Line: 37)

The referenced script on this Behaviour (Game Object 'Lightshaft rig') is missing!

(Filename: Line: 1655)

The referenced script on this Behaviour (Game Object 'Lightshaft rig') is missing!

(Filename: Line: 1655)

Unloading 9 Unused Serialized files (Serialized files now loaded: 0)
UnloadTime: 13.349601 ms

Unloading 285 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 34656.
Total: 78.065788 ms (FindLiveObjects: 2.532444 ms CreateObjectMapping: 2.306578 ms MarkObjects: 71.448181 ms DeleteObjects: 1.772711 ms)

Unloading 3 Unused Serialized files (Serialized files now loaded: 0)
UnloadTime: 7.829067 ms

Unloading 115 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 30366.
Total: 79.558853 ms (FindLiveObjects: 2.900089 ms CreateObjectMapping: 2.328089 ms MarkObjects: 73.627647 ms DeleteObjects: 0.695200 ms)

WARNING: Shader Unsupported: '_LongDark/TerrainEngine/Splatmap/Diffuse-AddPass' - Pass 'PREPASS' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: '_LongDark/TerrainEngine/Splatmap/Diffuse-AddPass' - Pass 'DEFERRED' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: '_LongDark/Terrain/Diffuse' - Pass 'PREPASS' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: '_LongDark/Terrain/Diffuse' - Pass 'DEFERRED' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Shader Forge/TLD_StandardCutout' - Pass 'FORWARD' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Shader Forge/TLD_StandardCutout' - Pass 'FORWARD_DELTA' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Shader Forge/TLD_StandardCutout' - Pass 'SHADOWCASTER' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Shader Forge/TLD_StandardCutout' - All passes removed
Unloading 25 Unused Serialized files (Serialized files now loaded: 0)
UnloadTime: 2.429778 ms

Unloading 215 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 115381.
Total: 319.917664 ms (FindLiveObjects: 10.424089 ms CreateObjectMapping: 5.856889 ms MarkObjects: 303.042725 ms DeleteObjects: 0.586177 ms)

Fallback handler could not load library D:/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/TheLongDark/tld_Data/Mono/libc
Fallback handler could not load library D:/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/TheLongDark/tld_Data/Mono/.\libc
Fallback handler could not load library D:/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/TheLongDark/tld_Data/Mono/libc
Unloading 11 Unused Serialized files (Serialized files now loaded: 0)
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Hidden/Sample Positions' - Pass '' has no vertex shader
WARNING: Shader Unsupported: 'Hidden/Sample Positions' - Setting to default shader.
UnloadTime: 148.146057 ms

Unloading 5293 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 67422.
Total: 155.580109 ms (FindLiveObjects: 7.627645 ms CreateObjectMapping: 4.537378 ms MarkObjects: 128.407166 ms DeleteObjects: 15.001068 ms)

Unloading 3 Unused Serialized files (Serialized files now loaded: 0)
UnloadTime: 9.731334 ms

Unloading 172 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 62465.
Total: 165.687881 ms (FindLiveObjects: 11.153512 ms CreateObjectMapping: 2.580355 ms MarkObjects: 150.722015 ms DeleteObjects: 1.224177 ms)

Unloading 25 Unused Serialized files (Serialized files now loaded: 0)
UnloadTime: 5.046311 ms

Unloading 194 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 116859.
Total: 384.450043 ms (FindLiveObjects: 10.117556 ms CreateObjectMapping: 4.422000 ms MarkObjects: 369.416229 ms DeleteObjects: 0.486933 ms)

Thanks.

[kaik482008]

excuse me, I cant access the beta test because the code is not working

[Truffles]

i cant post my log!!

[ValdisKos]

нужна помощь! при запуске игры клавиатура и мышь не работает, игра постоянно находится на информационной странице после видео вступления с надписью PRESS ANY KEY TO continue. драйвера видеокарты обновлены и Direct x тоже.