Game won't start

[Nathaniel B]

I've been trying to start the game for about 3 hours on end. It occasionally gets past the loading screen but then is just a black screen. I can't even get to the windows screen or the desktop after this.

[erasmus]

Hi there, sorry to hear that. Can you provide your hardware specs (CPU, RAM, graphics card, and Windows version/architecture i.e. 32 or 64 bit)? Can you replicate the issue and then paste what's in your output_log.txt? This can be found here: C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\AppData\LocalLow\Eek\House Party

Thanks!

[Nathaniel B]

Hi thanks for responding. My pc specs are: CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7200U CPU @ 2.50GHz, 2712 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s) Ram: 4.00 gb Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics 620. I'm running windows 10 and its 32 bit. I played the game before it released on steam on the best graphics with no problems. Thanks for the help.

[erasmus]

Alright thanks, and did you get a chance to look at that output_log as I mentioned?

If you played it prior to its release on Steam, maybe try disabling the Steam overlay from the Steam options?

We have made graphical upgrades to the game since then as well (it came out on Steam last year)...perhaps try going into the Graphics menu and downgrading the settings just to see if it will launch.

[Nathaniel B]

Okay so I have the output log.

Initialize engine version: 2017.4.3f1 (21ae32b5a9cb)
GfxDevice: creating device client; threaded=1
Direct3D:
Version: Direct3D 11.0 [level 11.1]
Renderer: Intel(R) HD Graphics 620 (ID=0x5916)
Vendor: Intel
VRAM: 1121 MB
Driver: 22.20.16.4708
Begin MonoManager ReloadAssembly
- Completed reload, in 2.188 seconds
<RI> Initializing input.

<RI> Input initialized.

<RI> Initialized touch support.

UnloadTime: 374.215292 ms
Unloading 6 Unused Serialized files (Serialized files now loaded: 0)

As far as the graphics I have been trying to play on medium, I tried the steam overlay and no luck still the same.

[erasmus]

Hi, that's the full output log? Alright so this is a problem:

VRAM: 1121 MB

This isn't enough video memory to reliably run the game. Not saying we cannot get it to load, but you will likely need to turn down the settings to the absolute minimum, and close all other programs that are running in the background that are not Windows-critical. (Edit: the lowest benchmark for VRAM I have ever seen for House Party is around 1500-1700MB using MSI Afterburner with all other applications closed).

If your video card/GPU cannot handle resource allocation (i.e. 3D applications using video memory for tasks), the PC will attempt to use system memory to handle allocation. And, failing that, it may sort of "churn" while trying to free up more memory resources OR try to use page/virtual memory, which is exceedingly slow. Once a GPU cannot address VRAM requirements of an application, performance can get very, very wonky at times.

Unfortunately you're also running Windows 32-bit so there's a cap on your total usable system memory. We can continue attempting to troubleshoot beyond turning down more settings and closing background programs, but I would suggest that you consider using Steam's refund program before you hit their cutoff as it is unlikely that, even if we get the game to run, that you will have a satisfactory experience.

[Nathaniel B]

Ok. Sadly I played for too long to refund the game but I appreciate the help. I’m sure I’ll figure something out. Thanks.

[erasmus]

Oh that stinks, alright well we will keep trying to optimize as best we can. Our next 10.x update lowers required VRAM on the lowest settings down to about 1200MB at 1080p so give the game another shot in a few weeks:

https://imgur.com/9EBCens