Troubleshooting Guide

Having an issue with the game? Here are some solutions to common problems.

Crashes

Q: Flying into the space station crashed my game.

A: This is a common occurrence, but the game saves as soon as the cutscene begins. Simply load the game back up. Your save will be exactly where you left it.

Q: The game crashed! What do I do?

A: If the error message said it was a general protection fault, this is a frequent problem, but largely harmless. Just load up your game and try again. You will need to start from the beginning of the level, so it should be at most 5-10 minutes of game time.

If you can't get past a specific crash, you can reactivate the following keyboard binding to skip to the next level:

1. Go to Advent Rising's System folder (Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\advent rising\System\),
   
2. Find MyDefUser.ini and open it in Notepad or another text editor,
   
3. Search for the binding for F8, which will appear as ";F8=GoToNextLevel",
   
4. Remove the semi-colon in front of it so it reads "F8=GoToNextLevel",
   
5. Once you get back into the game, press F8 during a gameplay segment to instantly skip to the next level.

Don't press F8 during a cutscene or the game will crash. You can also bind "GoToNextLevel" to any other button you want. Alternatively, you can download the 100% save file available in this guide under Miscellaneous.

Q: Why is the game crashing on startup?

A: If you're running on a newer version of Windows, you may need to enable compatibility mode.

Q: I enabled compatibility mode and now it says, "Can't find Steam."

A: You may need to create a shortcut to the game that enables compatibility mode. Select "advent.exe" from Advent Rising's System folder, right-click, and select "Create shortcut". Then select the shortcut created, right-click, select properties, and go to the compatibility tab. Select "Run this program in compatibility mode for" and choose Windows 7 or Windows Vista. Use this shortcut when launching the game instead of the default executable.

Resolution / User settings

Note: Most of these problems can be fixed by downloading the config files from Advent Revising, my unofficial fan patch.

I created a set of files for common resolutions that can be dropped into Advent Rising's System folder automatically that remove the letterboxing and enable partial Xbox One controller support. You can find these on the patch website:

Advent Revising[www.miketyndall.com]

Q: How do I activate windowed mode?

A: Go to Advent Rising's root directory (on Steam, this will likely be Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\advent rising\) and access the System folder. Open "Mydefault.ini" in a text editor and search for "StartupFullscreen=True". Change this to "StartupFullscreen=False".

Q: How do I set a custom resolution?

A: Go to Advent Rising's root directory (on Steam, this will likely be Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\advent rising\) and access the System folder. Open "Mydefault.ini" in a text editor and look for "FullscreenViewport" or "WindowedViewport", depending on if you're playing in fullscreen or windowed. Edit the X and Y values to your liking.

Q: How do I remove the letterboxing (the black bars)?

A: Go to Advent Rising's root directory (on Steam, this will likely be Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\advent rising\) and access the System folder. Open "default.ini" in a text editor and search for "Widescreen=false". Change this to "Widescreen=true" to remove the black bars. Note that this will stretch the image vertically.

Q: How do I play with an Xbox 360/Xbox One controller?

A: Advent Rising doesn't support XInput, so the triggers won't work without third-party tools. You'll need to use a program like Joy2Key[joytokey.net] and set it up manually. You can access the controls in Advent Rising's System folder by opening "MyDefUser.ini".

Q: Why won't the camera stop spinning/moving?

A: You have a controller plugged in, but you can address it without unplugging the controller. Go to Advent Rising's System folder, open "MyDefUser.ini" in a text editor, and add a semi-colon (;) in front of "JoyV=..." so it reads ";JoyV=". Or delete the text after the equals sign.

Don't access the in-game controller options after you make this change, because it will reset to default and cause the camera to spin again. Alternatively, you can just unplug the controller and play with keyboard and mouse.

Miscellaneous

Q: I'm running Windows 7/8/10. Is this a problem?

A: The vast majority of users report no problems. If you encounter an issue, it is recommended you enable compatibility mode. Check the answer above (in Crashes section) on how to change compatibility mode to an earlier version of Windows.

Q: I keep getting sent backward in the game and playing levels I've already beat.

A: The game saves at every loading screen, so you might be reloading your save incorrectly. Do not pick "Level select" when you're going back to your save, just pick "Play". This will put you at your furthest level, but if you didn't reach a loading screen (spinning Advent icon), you will be sent back to the beginning of your furthest level.

Q: Can I get a 100% complete save file?

A: Yes, download this save file[drive.google.com] and place it in Advent Rising's Saves folder (typically under Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\advent rising\System\). This particular save will appear in slot 10 and erase any save file currently there unless you rename it. If you want to replay a specific level, use chapter select. The save file also allows you to access Ultra difficulty.

Gameplay

Q: How do I use Lift, how do I lift things?

You need to flick-target first. If you're using a mouse, use your scrollwheel to automatically target an object or enemy. If you're using a controller, flick the right analog stick in the direction of the target.

Q: Why are my powers/weapons blacked out?

You activated the weapon or psychic power's alt-fire mode, which is unlocked at level 3. This changes its attack. By default, you cycle between firing modes by pressing 1 for your left weapon and 2 for your right weapon. Check your control options if this doesn't work.

Q: Why did the subtitles stop?

Subtitles only work in cutscenes. There are none for normal gameplay.

Q: How do I beat this boss? Bounty Hunter / Skinwalker / Koroem?

Check out my other guide for a step-by-step walkthrough on each of the major encounters. The alien jetpack creature is encountered in Chapter 4 (see picture below), the big monkey/gorilla creature is encountered in Chapter 6, and the Koroem (Ethan or Olivia) is encountered in the Epilogue.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=487706052

[NuclearRodent]

Well continue to develop anything useful man. Good luck. The patch as it is is really well done guys

[Chunk]

@Regularnight, very confusing! I don't have much to suggest beyond what you've probably already tried, like activating compatibility mode.
Everything else involves your specific use case, like your hardware (GPU), ultra-wide displays, recording software -- anything that would interact with the graphics.

Sorry I can't be more helpful! Let me know if you find a solution because those are critical issues.

[NuclearRodent]

@Chunk
I am playing on Windows 10
It happens with enemies, level detail and even NPC's in certain areas (like the crowd) though I have yet to see that. Enemies are running into pathing errors that I never saw in the OG Xbox release.

[Chunk]

@Regularnight, this is the first time I've heard of this problem, the rendering issues typically aren't that severe. Are you playing on Steam Deck or Linux by any chance?

[NuclearRodent]

In the spaceship, when I look down at the fleeing crowd to see them enter the shuttles, they disappear, along with any level geometry. When you have to find Olivia, the ship in front of you disappears if you go towards it all the way and turn the camera. Any fix?

[Mr.RED]

just wanted to add:
There is NO NEED to remove Letterboxing anymore.
I checked the default.ini file and it already had Widescreen set to True

[Chunk]

@ywhre, try copying your steam.dll file from Steam directory to Advent Rising's System folder.

It would probably look like this on your machine:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.dll

And copy the .dll to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Advent Rising\System

Let me know if this works!

[viirastra]

I still get the "failed to find Steam" error when I'm launching from .exe, either the original or a shortcut, with or without compability mode enabled. Any idea how to resolve this issue?

[Bandleader]

Thank you very much, you're very helpful!

[Chunk]

@captaincaveman115 The cutscene volume is separate from the game volume, so since you're getting sound in cutscenes, I can only assume that the issue must be the in-game volume setting.

If the audio settings in the options menu isn't helping, you might want to look into Advent Rising's System folder for Mydefault.ini. Search for volume and you'll find MusicVolume and SoundFXVolume (DialogueVolume isn't used so you can ignore that). Adjust the values here to see if it resets them once you launch the game again.

Failing that, it may have something to do with your sound setup. I've heard people say when some peripherals get plugged in, they screw up the sound in weird ways. Unfortunately that would be so specific to your setup that I can't offer any advice on it.