Gamefreeze bug! I may have identified possible causes.

[Targ Collective]

Getting game freezes. I'm running an Nvidia and Ryzen, but I've disabled the Ryzen on the Device Manager and this bug seems persistent.

I can't be sure what is causing it but I think it is to do with the map screen suppressing comm messages. They are not always correctly suppressed - I've had a glitch with stationaccount management that has Boso Ta interrupt the map screen for messages, and this is definitely seeming to cause game instability. It's the messages that introduce Terraforming, which I have been putting off.

I think the game is queuing more map interrupts than it can handle. The game completely freezes but Task manager isn't showing a memory or CPU freeze, so I think it has to be scripts.

My station has taken an embarrassing design on a dare, so if you want the savefile please don't think too harshly. Remember, it was for the silly, not the rude.

[Targ Collective]

There is another possibility, but I don't think it's this. The soundfile for the HQ energy waves is repeatedly and rapidly triggered by SETA. If that were to be the glitch I suspect it would loop part of the sound but spamming sound code has broken codebases before. Also it is very very annoying and it's where my office is.

[X2-Illuminatus]

Learn to use stickies.

Good advice. Please see the Technical Support Requests - Please read this before posting! sticky on what information is required in all technical support requests.

... so if you want the savefile ...

Please don't wait for a request but provide a savefile right away. It's required anyway in almost every case to indentify the cause of user specific (and possibly hardware related) problems.

[Targ Collective]

Ah, of course. I apologise, I have not been active here for some time and I forgot how well run and organised things are here.

Version and language (e.g. 1.0 English, etc.). >5.10.0.0 English.
Whether or not your game is modified using any third party scripts or mods (see note below). >Not modified.
Game start being played. >Custom budgeted.
Exact nature of the problem, where and when it occurs and what you were doing at the time. >See above. Abusing SETA at my HQ desk, in Gaian Prophecy.
Any possibly relevant changes you have made to your game, system, or software before the issue occurred. >Trying to squash this bug so I'm using the manufacturer's Ryzen driver, with the disable-reenable workaround on the Device manager. It didn't work.
Where appropriate, additional symptoms, error messages, links to saves, screenshots and crash dump files (see this Wiki entry). >Where would you like me to link the save? The HQ design might raise a few eyebrows so I would only like the Devteam to see it. Hope you can see the funny side.
Your system specifications in the form of a DxDiag report and vulkaninfo (see this Wiki entry). I can do the DXDIAG but am getting a cannot find the file specified error on generating Vulkaninfo. I'll do some research to see if I can find another method in generating one.

[Targ Collective]

I've generated a Vulkaninfo file. Just need to know where you want me to upload and link.

[Targ Collective]

I've made an error, but you can probably fix it your end. The savefile has spoken to Boso to enable the terraforming subplot. You're the devs, though, so you can probably regress that for the sake of testing.

[Alan Phipps]

The Sticky tells you how to submit files - upload to a reputable public fileshare site and post the open public sharing link(s) here.

Also please give reports a descriptive title for the issue or the right dev may not see it. (Also in the Sticky.)

[Targ Collective]

One more thing. I haven't spoken to the Segaris Pioneers yet. The game might be clashing between Boso asking you for two Boso missions at once? It doesn't feel like it's that but testing would make sure. I have spoken to Boso about the Pioneers but there was no menu change. If Boso is trying to say two interrupts but the game can't layer that...

Back in the day there was a Terraformer CPU plot and there was much rejoicing, but player inaction was not tested for in the betatesting. the game kept spamming mission hook ships. If I'm right, this is One Of Those Bugs.

[Targ Collective]

I don't want my savefile to be public because of embarrassing station design. Could you give me a link to save embarrassment?

[Targ Collective]

I've frozen gameplay until I have a link. I'll include the autosaves.

Gotta get into the habit of editing posts for more context again. Sorry for spamming. I'll back the saves up so I can resume gameplay without spoiling the testing environment and check throughout the day to see when a link for the savefiles and system information opens up. Should I include a transcript of this thread?

It doesn't look like Boso. It's definitely a bug in the map code causing freezes, as it happens when the map is up. Game skips when changing station account values and freezes, and freezing in general.

A possible cause is a mixture of SETA, the map screen and autosaves. These game elements are heavily applied by my playstyle.

It's a bug on the station account infopanel. Possibly resolution based. It keeps drawing a vertical scroll on a horizontal bar, and changing the value freezes the game. Player Information account management allows you to change the value, so there is a workaround for this bug. If the map freezes when map scrolling then it will make the game unplayable, but I think it's a resolution draw error on the value bar!

Resolution is 1920x1080 and does not allow me to change it. Running Borderless Window, seeing if this bug is consistent with full screen, checking a resolution down first.

It's a scrollbar issue with borderless windows, I think. The game sees a vertical scroll value and if you click it freezes. The scrollbar works correctly on fullscreen.

Perhaps my savefile is borked, so I'll send it when you give me a place to privately upload it. The bug affects fullscreen and freezes the game when the station account value is changed - freezing on the confirm value. It's clear I'll have to go through Ctrl-I to handle accounts.

Disabling autosaves and using the player account menu gave me an extended period of stability, but the game froze when I reenabled autosaves. I think the game is running too fast and the autosave is triggering multiple times? If SETA doesn't have a cap, it could be that.

I'll start quicksaving periodically instead of relying on autosaving, and using the player account menu instead of the information panel. I'll report back with my results in a couple of days, because bug workarounds are useful if you can't find and fix the bugs, though of course we all hope that you do.

[CBJ]

We don't have an upload location, but you can PM me a link if you don't want it to be public.

[Targ Collective]

Okay. You can lock this if you want, but I'm going to do further testing to see if avoiding the info panel on the map and disabling autosaves improves stability. If you lock this I would like to know if I should share my results and with whom. PM inbound.

[Targ Collective]

I've done some testing and have found a way to stabler gameplay, which I'm noting here in case it helps others.

Don't use -nocputhrottle

Disable autosaves

Use a safe sector with npc stations for SETA

AVOID SETA AT YOUR HQ OR LARGE STATIONS

It's definitely SETA and the HQ desk crashing the game. I suspect it is either the sheer amount of graphics data, the HQ energy wave effect or both. It's SETA - ran the game overnight on my HQ in a busy dock and there were no crashes. The HQ office is just for SETA so you can expect people to try and use it. Next night I'll run with SETA off while at the HQ desk with the same conditions and see whether the game makes it through the night. I'm practically certain SETA and overly complex bases is the factor.

[Targ Collective]

Can confirm it's SETA, and is triggered by complex station models. Built a big Terran economic hub with SETA on the Build Station model. The game froze. Looks like it's a mixture of SETA and complex models causing the game to lock up.

[Targ Collective]

First freeze with SETA off. Security Office on my HQ. If it's any help, the game consistently uses around two-thirds memory when it freezes. It fluctuates so memory is still processing, according to Task Manager.

[CBJ]

We've tried your saves, but haven't been able to reproduce the problem. If you want us to look further, you'd need to be more specific about which save to use and what steps to follow to make it happen from that save.

That said, there are some fixes in the 6.00 Public Beta which are quite closely related to this, and may well already have solved the problem. If you'd like to give the Public Beta a try and confirm this, then head over to the Public Beta Feedback forum. The sticky threads at the top explain how to access the Public Beta, and also how to report any problems you find with it, whether they are related to your current issue or not.

[Targ Collective]

As you know, I was abusing SETA on my HQ, and I kept noticing gamefreezes.

I think those weren't freezes, but misidentified autosaves. If the HUD is disabled then an autosave will look like a gamefreeze. The save banner is hidden with the rest of the HUD elements. It was just that saves were taking unusually long, because it was a well developed gamefile.

I suggest adding a visual element for when the game is saving even when the HUD is disabled. It should ensure no more false bug reports, at least for this.

Since I have your attention, we would all like to be able to tell fighters to target subcomponents, to tell destroyers and battleships to target stations with main batteries only, and for Terran beam weapons to communicate in the Encycloipedia how many times per second their damage is applied. Documentation of how turret barrel count affects performance would also be very useful.

EDIT: At least two of these things are already in the Beta changelog. That's awesome, and I am about to download it, after taking the requested precaution.

[Alan Phipps]

Please don't change topics in Tech Sp (or beta) reports as the right devs will not see the ones not appropriate to the thread title. One issue topic per report thread please.

[DarkSyd]

Having very similar issues...regular hangs (sound still working, not able to direct any input to game) while sitting at Personal desk in PHQ, with SETA on. Seems to have started since I began my first Terraforming mission.

[CBJ]

Your issues may have similar symptoms, but the causes may be very different. Unless you provide a savegame showing your situation, there is no way that we can tell what the problem is in your case