COTW Freeze on Startup -- A FIX

[[PGC] Meteorology]

Shortly after the release of the Bloodhound DLC my game began to freeze on startup. Nothing I tried worked. Finally, after about a month of troubleshooting, I was able to pinpoint my issue. If you have tried all of the default fixes like the ones suggested on the official website, turning off anti-viruses, unplugging external controllers, etc., then this may be your solution.

To fix theHunter: Call of the Wild freeze on startup issue I first removed the folder "Avalanche Studios" from My Documents (I saved it by putting it on the Desktop). Next I turned off the Steam Cloud Synchronization for the game (IMPORTANT). I then ran the game to generate a new default "Avalanche Studios" folder. This fixed the freeze on startup problem, however, I no longer had any of my saved progress (guns, reserve progress, character settings, etc.)

I then proceeded to copy all files from my old \Avalanche Studios\COTW\Saves\76561198024870541 folder and put them into
the same newly created folder EXCEPT for the files reserveworlddata_adf and steam_autocloud.vdf. I also copied and pasted my old \Avalanche Studios\theHunter Call of the Wild folder into the new Avalanche Studios folder. In other words, all files and folders are the same in the new folder as the old, except for the aforementioned two files which you will not transfer over.

I then ran the game and my old saves were there with all my weapons and saved game progress. The game no longer freezes on startup either.

Be sure and turn off Steam Cloud sync for the game or it will begin to freeze on startup again. The problem appears to be rooted in that. I know this because after fixing it I turned the Steam Cloud synchronization back on for the game and it did it again. If this happens you have to redo all of the above steps. Note that simply turning off Steam Cloud sync without generating a new Avalanche Studios folder will NOT work. Even if you delete the steam_autocloud.vdf file after you do it.

To Recap:
1. Move the folder "Avalanche Studios" from My Documents to the Desktop to keep your old files.
2. Right click the game in Steam and then click Properties. Uncheck "Keep games saves in the Steam Cloud for theHunter: Call of the Wild."
3. Run game to make sure it fixes the startup issue and to generate a new "Avalanche Studios" folder in My Documents. Then quit the game.
4. Copy (not drag) all files/folders from the old folder on your Desktop to the new folder in My Documents EXCEPT for "reserveworlddata_adf" and "steam_autocloud.vdf" located in the folder \Desktop\Avalanche Studios\COTW\Saves\76561198024870541.

Please reply if this fix also works for you.


*UPDATE 6/27/2021*
I created a multiplayer session on Te Awaroa and the game crashed. Then it did the freeze on startup issue again after that so I had to go ahead and do the above steps again. I think the issue may not only be rooted in the Steam Cloud Sync, but primarily in the Te Awaroa DLC. It could be causing some type of corruption in the game files. No other reserves create/cause this problem.

This would explain the rest of the game being messed up if the files were then saved via Steam Cloud Sync after loading into a Te Awaroa multiplayer session (in other words why the game consistently freezes after the first initial freeze on Te Awaroa). Even without Steam Cloud Sync on it will do this, as I did not have it on. This tells me it's corrupting local files, not just the steam_autocloud.vdf file. I would steer clear of multiplayer Te Awaroa games after you fix your issue.

[GamingB4UWereBorn]

Thank you very much! Played some multiplayer and it broke my game. It was working fine before that. This worked great!
Thanks again
John

[[PGC] Meteorology]

Glad it worked for ya, John.

[Mom_Kat]

I would guess that you could get the same results by merely deleting those two files from the original folder. Even so, great work, good sleuthing.

[[PGC] Meteorology]

I tried deleting just the steam_autocloud.vdf originally and turning off the cloud sync and it didn't work out. And I didn't delete the reserveworlddata_adf because I wanted to make sure I kept all the old files from my old folder. But you can try it if you want! Who knows, might work for ya.

[RubberDuck]

thank you so much. this realy helped me out.

[[PGC] Meteorology]

You're very welcome.

[Omnomshibob]

You are a freaking legend!! This worked perfectly for me. It did start me off in Layton Lakes when i restarted the game which worried me for a second but when i switched maps back to Te Awaroa it was exactly as i left it. Cheers dude.

[Chillingjcrazy]

I had gone about this the wrong way the first time around but this solution *did* fix it for me after I tried again. Thanks for the help!

[[PGC] Meteorology]

My pleasure, gentlemen! I have included a summarized step-by-step at the end of the original topic.

[Rux]

This worked for me thank you 👊

[W0lf44rd]

So I have not played this game yet at all. just bought it yesterday and downloaded it overnight. It gave me the initial start up black screen and then proceeds to immediately crash. I have tried the above steps but this doesn't work for me. I just keep getting the crash report screen (which now for some reason fails to even send the report). Any Ideas on what I am doing wrong?

[[PGC] Meteorology]

Originally posted by W0lf44rd:

So I have not played this game yet at all. just bought it yesterday and downloaded it overnight. It gave me the initial start up black screen and then proceeds to immediately crash. I have tried the above steps but this doesn't work for me. I just keep getting the crash report screen (which now for some reason fails to even send the report). Any Ideas on what I am doing wrong?

Hi Wolf,
Unfortunately that is a different issue. This fix is for those whose game is freezing when they start it up. When the game actually crashes (game closes and an error reporting box comes up) is a different issue.

[W0lf44rd]

Originally posted by John F.:

Originally posted by W0lf44rd:

So I have not played this game yet at all. just bought it yesterday and downloaded it overnight. It gave me the initial start up black screen and then proceeds to immediately crash. I have tried the above steps but this doesn't work for me. I just keep getting the crash report screen (which now for some reason fails to even send the report). Any Ideas on what I am doing wrong?

Hi Wolf,
Unfortunately that is a different issue. This fix is for those whose game is freezing when they start it up. When the game actually crashes (game closes and an error reporting box comes up) is a different issue.

Funny you should say that, as your post seems to be referenced in a comment describing the exact issue I have? seems a bit misleading (although I have no doubt its unintentional)

[[PGC] Meteorology]

Not sure what you're referring to but this fix works for people who have the freeze on startup issue. This post is not for game crashes.

[W0lf44rd]

Originally posted by John F.:

Not sure what you're referring to but this fix works for people who have the freeze on startup issue. This post is not for game crashes.

Yes no I agree it works for games that freeze. what I am referring to is in posts from other users that specify their game crashes during startup - there is a comment in THAT post telling people you have a fix here: *insert link to your post* As I mentioned I believe this post to be very effective for the freeze problem, it just seems a bit weird to post it on a user's post with a crashing problem. Again, do not believe it to be intentional at all, also not trying to take away the validity of your fix.