Fallout 4 black screen with HUD still visible

[Harbeaux]

So, this issue has evidently plagued a lot of users. I've just done some quite extensive research, trying to find anyone who has solved this problem. There are a great many who have experienced it- and, apparently, short of reinstalling Windows, there is no solution.

(It is worth noting that qasmoke and the Dugout Inn are confirmed locations wherein the bug doesn't take effect.)

The error is as follows: you leave one cell (in my case, and in that of at least one other victim, the Dugout Inn), and you load in to the next to see nothing but your HUD. The sounds of the game are audible, and you exist in the world just as you ever would. The only problem is that you can't see anything.

Now, this would be fine if I were looking to play a blind merc character, but seeing as I've already exhausted that particular role, I'm apparently completely out of luck. In every forum where my issue is discussed, no suggested solution ever seems to actually solve the problem. A very similar issue struck players in Far Harbor, during a specific quest, but that one was solved easily with the use of VATS. Not this one though.

All of the sudden, in the middle of a game after hundreds of hours that went just fine, the game no longer works. Re-installation, file verification, and even new games are fruitless. Vanilla or modded, Fallout seems to have blacklisted my computer.

Any tips?

EDIT: The solution has been found. So! As it turns out, this was an issue with the timescale in the game. I should have known, since when I tried to wait off the issue, no time would pass! I found the solution here: https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/3717695-sleepingtimescale-set-to-0-pitch-black-help-please/?p=33742910

Basically, set your timescale to something above 0, and set your gamehour to something in between 1 and 23. That will get time moving again, and the day/night cycle will know where to be. Good luck!

[ronr42]

With the Far Harbor issue, which I had, it's a case of the boat dumping you in the water before you get to the worldspace where the tiny island is. Basically leaving you in a void.

So, my only guess is that you have or had a mod that changes the way you travel/load through a door to the world space outside or to the interior cell.

When you just uninstall your mods then the game, some mods files are not completely removed from the game folder. Therefore you don't have a vanilla game when you reinstall.

First, try just going to Documents/My Games/Fallout 4 and delete the Fallout4.ini and the Fallout4Prefs.ini. Do not delete the Fallout4Custom.ini. Then verify the game files and launch the game from your Steam library. That will create new .ini's and hopefully fix it.

If that doesn't work, then you will have to reinstall the game again to get it back to a vanilla state. Uninstall all mods, then the game. Next go to the game folder located in C:/Program Files[x86]/Steam/steamapps/common/Fallout 4. Then delete anything remaining in the game folder. Now go back to My Games/Fallout 4 and delete those two .ini's again. Next, reinstall the game and be careful what mods you add back in.

EDIT: Oh, and the only reason reinstalling Windows would fix it is because it wipes all traces of the game and your mods from your pc. It's Not a Windows issue.

[Harbeaux]

Tried all of that, to no avail. I have tried a proper clean install as well. The one person I found who had this very same issue, (same location and all), was playing vanilla, as well.

EDIT: I actually just noticed that you also commented on another forum for this same issue. Thanks for trying again! I do find it hard to believe that I'll be the first one to solve this problem, but I also find it hard to believe that all those others just never played the game ever again.

[Harbeaux]

I have found the solution. See above.

[Aneurysm]

Hey! I ran into this exact same issue. I installed a balancing update for the Ghoul DECAY mod, and when I loaded the game back up, my screen was completely black except for my power armour HUD, and my Pip-Boy (when I opened my Pip-Boy outside of the PA, I could only see the screen. My characters arm and the actual Pip-Boy itself were also black).

After searching a bit, I found this post, which led me to try the Timescale fix that you linked to. Unfortunately it wouldn’t work for me, so I tried following ronr42’s suggestions, but I followed them incorrectly. I moved the fallout4.ini out of the folder in My Games, but then I moved the fallout4custom.ini instead of the fallout4prefs.ini (I didn’t realize this until just now after re-reading ronr42’s instructions though). When I started the game back up, everything was back to normal aside from some mods not loading correctly due to the default .ini so I closed the game and copied my old custom settings from the old fallout4.ini and fallout4custom.ini over into the new ones, and the games working fine again with all my mods and the update. I have no idea why removing those two .ini files and copying my settings into the new ones the game made on startup caused the black screen to go away, but I’m posting this here in the hopes that this one extra solution can help somebody.

Cheers, and thanks for the help, guys.