How to Fix common problems & issues with DDS

If you have encountered an issue regarding the game; ranging from crashes, not launching problems, resolution or fullscreen mode issues or other technical problems then look no further.
Make sure to read "Identify your problem" part to learn about what's wrong with your game, or just look for the solution part if you already know the issue.
Any questions? leave them in the comments of the guide, read the FAQ part (if there is any) or contact me either through steam or add me on discord: V7X#5132

Covered Issues list

This guide will cover some of the most common problems that you might encounter.

PLEASE NOTE:
This guide will NOT cover any gameplay issues, bugs or similar problems.
You will only find technical issues such as crashes and other launching problems.

There are two parts for this guide:

Common Issue:
Game launches then immediately crashes (with or without error)

Other Issues:
-Mouse issues (mouse cannot go beyong a certain point on the screen, etc..)
-Resolution/Fullscreen problems (changing resolution or fullscreen mode from the in-game graphics settings does not actually update resolution or fullscreen mode)

Not launching (no errors)

If you press "Play" in your steam library or open DDS and it doesn't launch at all, you probably have an 11th / 12th generation Intel cpu, if you don't know what that means, then you should watch this video and follow the steps shown in it: (not my own video but thanks to the creator) or follow the instructions below:

This should work in both Windows 10 and 11. Try this: press windows key + R, search for "SystemPropertiesAdvanced", click on Environment Variables, click on New (the lower part) and fill the blanks using:
Variable name: OPENSSL_ia32cap
Variable value: ~0x200000200000000
Save everything and run the game.


If you do not have an 11/12th gen intel CPU or that didn't work, it means your game might have fullscreen problems.

To solve this, follow these steps:
1- Press windows key + R
2- type in the search box "%localappdata%"
3- Look for the folders:
DrugDealerSimulator -> Saved -> Config -> WindowsNoEditor
4- Find and open the file "GameUserSettings" using Notepad (right click, open with, select Notepad)

5- Find every setting that has fullscreen mode and change the number/value of it to 0, or change true to false (disable fullscreen mode)
6- Save the file, then restart DDS

Not launching (with errors)

If you press "Play" in your steam library or open DDS and it doesn't launch at all but shows you an error after crashing, or opens with blackscreen then immediately crashes, then it might be a resolution issue.

To fix this, follow the steps:
1- Press windows key + R
2- type in the search box "%localappdata%"
3- Look for the folders:
DrugDealerSimulator -> Saved -> Config -> WindowsNoEditor
4- Find and open the file "GameUserSettings" using Notepad (right click, open with, select Notepad)

5- Find every setting that has resolution and change the resolution to your own native resolution,
6- Save the file, then restart DDS

Can't Change Resolution

If you can't change resolutions from the in-game settings, try this:

1- Press windows key + R
2- type in the search box "%localappdata%"
3- Look for the folders:
DrugDealerSimulator -> Saved -> Config -> WindowsNoEditor
4- Find and open the file "GameUserSettings" using Notepad (right click, open with, select Notepad)

Once you have the config file open, look for "ResolutionSize" or similar options
Change whatever resolution you find it set to; to the resolution you'd like to use.
Save the file, and restart the game.

Can't Change Fullscreen Mode

If you can't make the game Fullscreen or Windowed, try this:

First, try using the F11 key on your keyboard, or alternatively use the shortcut [Alt + Enter]


If those don't work consistantly, do this:

1- Press windows key + R
2- type in the search box "%localappdata%"
3- Look for the folders:
DrugDealerSimulator -> Saved -> Config -> WindowsNoEditor
4- Find and open the file "GameUserSettings" using Notepad (right click, open with, select Notepad)

Once you have the config file open, look for "FullscreenMode" option and disable it
To do this, change 1 to 0 and change True to False

Save the file and restart the game.
You should now be able to change fullscreen modes from the in-game settings.

Mouse Issues

If you face any of these problems:

-Can't access some parts of the screen
-Can't click some buttons
-UI is too crowded
-UI is outside of the screen/unreadable

Then you probably have set a very low or unusual resolution.
To change resolutions, head to the Graphics settings.
If that does not work, try this:

1- Press windows key + R
2- type in the search box "%localappdata%"
3- Look for the folders:
DrugDealerSimulator -> Saved -> Config -> WindowsNoEditor
4- Find and open the file "GameUserSettings" using Notepad (right click, open with, select Notepad)

Look for "ResolutionSize" or similar options, then change the written resolutions to your screen's native resolutions (for example: 1920 x 1080 for FullHD)
Then save the file and restart the game.

Other Issues & Questions

If your Technical issue isn't covered here, please let me know in the comments section of the guide and I'll try to help you or update the guide if necessary.

[caseyball9813]

i did you video steps and nothing worked

[v7]

@raincandy_U Sorry, I was not paying attention to my steam notififcations, if you still have this issue; you can copy the contents of the file here:

https://pastebin.com/pD3tHBD2

[veryrealxen]

I have problem with not launching and it doesnt show any errors but if i open "GameUserSettings" there isnt anything like literally just blank document

[v7]

There's no fix to that bug, don't exit the game while having an active order is the easiest way to prevent this

[THE HiLLS HAVE EYES]

how one one fix a bugged dealer that you cant interact with when there on the streets.

[v7]

@Orchugashi Pridalstrontunala You have three solutions:
1- Increase Gamma setting in your Nvidia control panel, which will make everything on your screen brighter and not just DDS

2- Increase Gamma setting in DDS Config file, close DDS & go to the directory C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\DrugDealerSimulator\WindowsNoEditor
Open the "Engine" file with notepad, add the following to it and then save
[/script/engine.engine]
DisplayGamma=4
Save changes and start DDS

3- Install "Reshade" for DDS, https://reshade.me/#download
Install it and then add the effect Brightness, then change settings as you see fit
you can just increase gamma aswell which is great
If you need the game directory for the installation, go to steam library, right click dds, properties, browse local files, then copy the directory and paste it in the installer

Hope this helped! :)

[AshKenazi Laundry Basket]

How do I fix the shadows? The game is so unbelievably dark its hard to see anything. Yes, I can buy lights to help it but I would like to see better at night in general. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated! Thanks

[v7]

The bug isn't caused by the game itself, it's an issue with the UE4.21 (old game engine) which has incompatibilities running in the latest intel CPUs, the devs sadly cannot fix this; other than upgrading the engine. They will use UE5 for DDS2 which is good news :)

[Khranos 𓆏]

Can't believe the 11th/12th gen issue is still in the game (it's clearly a critical bug), thank you for providing a fix however!

[v7]

oops, I meant the (with errors) section, will update the guide since it's under no errors.