[FIX] Startup black screen / no launch

A possible fix for users who experience a black screen on startup, or a failure to launch at all.

Issue

Two launch issues can occur with this game that I am aware of:

• Failure to launch at all - After clicking the "play" button, it'll change to show the game has started, but after a second it reverts back to saying "play" and the game does not start
  
• Game launches, but hangs permanently on a black screen

Fix

Game does not start

For the first issue, where the game does not appear to launch at all, it turned out it was Steam's packed-in DRM, sometimes called "Steam Stub" which was preventing my game from launching. In an incredibly anti-consumer move, the DRM also blocks any attempt to use a debugger on the program - making it difficult to diagnose what the issue is on your own.

I have no clue why Steam's DRM was not letting my game launch. My purchase is legitimate, and over dozens and dozens of games I've played through Steam, I can't recall having such an issue.

Thankfully, this issue is solvable - there are readily available open-source applications on GitHub for this very issue, though for obvious reasons, I will not state any more here.

The following PC Gaming Wiki article describes the functionality of the Steam Stub DRM system:
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/User:Cyanic/Steam_DRM

"Black Screen" freeze

This issue appears to be caused by the old DirectX dll files packaged with the game, or the game's failure to access the correct 32-bit dlls, likely attempting to load the 64-bit ones. Thankfully, exe files start their search for .dlls in their own folder - so we can ensure the game loads the correct ones by dropping them in SH4's main folder.

1) Navigate to the Windows\SysWOW64 folder and copy "d3d9.dll" and "d3d9on12.dll" to your Silent Hunter IV root directory.

That's it! It appears this solution has worked for several people as well, so I hope it works for you!

[Alotek102]

@brooksie997 I'm having the exact same problem

[SgtMustang (Slava Ukraini)]

@BelkWranglersInc(RW) try looking in Event Viewer in the "Application" section and see if you have any errors logged there - that'd give you something to start with.

You can also try "mitigating" the SteamStubDRM as I mentioned in the post - that can also prevent the game from launching.

[BelkWranglersInc(RW)]

Mine doesn't even start. Says i'm playing it but nothing happens. Its like I never clicked play.

[Drake Kurthem]

It. Finally. Runs.

[Brooksie]

@SgtMustang

I've determined that the issue I'm having is either with the mod I'm trying to install (FotRSU) , or its my graphics card. As I can run v1.5 no issues at all without the mods installed. Thanks for your help though.

[SgtMustang (Slava Ukraini)]

@brooksie997:

Root directory: put it inside the Silent Hunter IV folder

[Brooksie]

Where would I put those files? wdym by Root directory?

[SgtMustang (Slava Ukraini)]

@brooksie997

Can't quite say - I would try it out, either way, it won't do any harm and it only takes a moment.

[Brooksie]

Will this fix work if I can get into the game, and get to the mission map screen, but upon attempting to start the mission (either docked in harbor or out of the harbor) after the loading screen, I get a black screen?

[murdockwan]

@AshenRoman,

"Just right click on the exe. Select properties. Go to Compatibility, click Change High DPI Settings and check Override High DPI Customization. And it should work."

source:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/15200/discussions/0/520518053449457497/?ctp=2#c3435626645083108380