Had a crash? Check this post first!

[Gary]

We have been collating information from the people that have been suffering crashes, and compiled a list of things to try that have helped others resolve these issues.

The majority appear to be crashing at launch, which is most likely caused by Anti-Virus software interfering with the game.

Some crashes appear to be related to hybrid graphics solutions - i.e. integrated graphics cards - that do not support DX11, and cause a conflict with the primary graphics card.

Please run through the following list to eliminate possibilities for why the game is crashing:

1. Add the game's steam folder to the exception list of your Anti-Virus/Windows Defender program (Steam\steamapps\common\Abandon Ship) - NOTE: you must do this for ALL layers on your anti-virus software. Some AV programs have multiple layers to them (heuristics, malware etc) so you need to disable ALL those layers. If you only disable the anti-virus component but leave the other layers, one of these could be interfering with the game.
   
   
2. Verify that the game has downloaded correctly. This is especially important to do after the above step, because your anti-virus could have interfered with the game download. To do this, in the Steam Library, right-click the game, then "Properties", then "Local Files" tab then the "Verify Integrity of the Game Files..." button.
   
   
3. If you have a dedicated graphics card AND an integrated one (i.e. very common with laptops to have an Nvidia / AMD card plus an Integrated Intel one) - you can force it to use the dedicated GPU instead of the Intel one - check out this link for details on how to do that:
   https://www.howtogeek.com/175281/how-to-force-graphics-options-in-pc-games-with-nvidia-amd-or-intel-graphics/
   
   
4. Run the game in "low" quality settings (this is a dropdown option on the launcher).
   
   
5. Run both Steam, and the game as an Administrator. Right-click on AbandonShip.exe (Located here: \Steam\steamapps\common\Abandon Ship) and select Properties. On the "Compatibility" tab, tick "Run this program as an administrator".
   The Steam executable is located in the root Steam folder.
   
   (If this doesn't resolve the issue, and you have Windows User Access Control set to a high level it can cause the game to get stuck in a loop loading, so disable "Run this program as an administrator" to avoid that particular issue occurring)
   
   
6. Run the game in Windowed mode (this is a tick box on the launcher).
   
   
7. Run the game in Exclusive window mode. To do this, in the Steam Library, right-click the game, then "Properties", then the "Set Launch Options..." button and paste in there "-window-mode exclusive" (without quotes). Make sure you don't have "Windowed" ticked on the launcher when doing this.
   
   
8. Run the game in DirectX 9 mode. To do this, go to the Steam Library, right-click the game, then "Properties", then the "Set Launch Options..." button and paste in there "-force-d3d9" (without quotes).
   
   
9. If you have an Nvidia graphics card: Launch Nvidia Control Panel, and in the left sidebar under "Display", select "Adjust desktop size and position" then select "Scaling" on the right and set to "No scale".
   
   
10. Check whether you have Citrix installed. Citrix is a remote access app and an update they made clashed with Unity games, preventing them from booting. You can double-check by searching for "Citrix" in your DxDiag. If you do have this, then follow the steps outlined in this post to remedy the issue:
    https://support.paradoxplaza.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019138814-Citrix-Workspace-and-Unity-games

These compatibility issues are very reliant on the various individual set-ups and configurations people have on their PC's, but these steps should hopefully eliminate the majority of problems.

If one of these fixed your problem, please post about it so people can see what worked for you.

If you are still having problems, please let us know by emailing [e-mail] with the following information:

• Crash Dumps (folders marked with a date/time-stamp). Depending on when it crashed, it might not generate a dump. If you have one, it will be found in this location: \Steam\steamapps\common\Abandon Ship
  
• The file called "output_log.txt", which is found here: \Steam\steamapps\common\Abandon Ship\AbandonShip_Data
  
• Your DXDiag

When you send the email, it would help manage the process if you include a link to the forum post.

[ShadowTheThird]

Does lack of abandon ship folder in steam/steamapps/common is a problem?

[Gary]

Originally posted by ShadowTheThird:

Does lack of abandon ship folder in steam/steamapps/common is a problem?

Yes, most definitely! I would definitely recommend following steps 1 & 2 outlined above.

[ƸӁƷ ♥Hot Lips♥ ƸӁƷ]

sadly i followed all your instructions above and still the game hangs after cutting the ropes in story mode

[Gary]

Originally posted by ƸӁƷ ♥Hot Lips♥ ƸӁƷ:

sadly i followed all your instructions above and still the game hangs after cutting the ropes in story mode

Okay, thanks for letting me know - would you be able to send me the following?

• Crash Dumps (folders marked with a date/time-stamp). Depending on when it crashed, it might not generate a dump. If you have one, it will be found in this location: \Steam\steamapps\common\Abandon Ship
  
• The file called "output_log.txt", which is found here: \Steam\steamapps\common\Abandon Ship\AbandonShip_Data - this file overwrites itself every time the game is booted, so we'd need the file after the game has crashed
  
• Your DXDiag

Please email it to [e-mail] and we'll take a look right away.

[ƸӁƷ ♥Hot Lips♥ ƸӁƷ]

Hi i sent you a email at support with 3 attachments 1 of output_log and 2 photos of my DXDiag information hope this helps

[ƸӁƷ ♥Hot Lips♥ ƸӁƷ]

sorry i don't seem to have any crash dumps files

[ƸӁƷ ♥Hot Lips♥ ƸӁƷ]

before i forget my version of windows is windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit operating system

[Gary]

Got it, thanks.

[Workdayfall]

Hello I have gone through each of the steps the best I could, I couldnt quite figure out the first suggestion and got confused and my game still wont launch, I worked out best I could to add the game file to the exception list in my virus protector and it didn't work, would I be able to get some help on trying to fix it..?

[Gary]

Sorry to hear that @Workdayfall - please email [e-mail] and I'll help.

If you could include the following in your email, that'll help me start narrowing options down.


1) Crash Dumps (folders marked with a date/time-stamp). Depending on when it crashed, it might not generate a dump. If you have one, it will be found in this location: \Steam\steamapps\common\Abandon Ship
2) The file called "output_log.txt", which is found here: \Steam\steamapps\common\Abandon Ship\AbandonShip_Data
3) Your DXDiag - if you're not sure how to get this text file, check out this link:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4028644/windows-open-and-run-dxdiagexe

[Gary]

For anyone checking this thread with crash issues, the Workdayfall crash was caused by an issue with Citrix that effects Unity games, I'll update the post at the top of the page in case others have similar issues.