Game always turns modified with all mods disabled

[Waltz9]

Hello

This happens everytime to me and i'm hoping to get it resolved because it will be very anoying when the online features are back.

-I start up the game and there is no modified tag on the start screen.
-I have 2 mods but both are "off"
-I have put the steam workshop downloads also "off"
-I start a new budgetted game start at enjoy the game

now it happens everytime after I completed the Yaki plot line the game suddenly turns modified in my safe.
I have no idea how this is possible. Could it be because of the terran patch ?
I'm not certain the yaki plot line is connected to it but I had this happen 3 times already and the last time i actually waited 3 days to finish the plot and yes. The game became modified after these 3 days.


Any advice how I could resolve this ?

[Imperial Good]

X4 will mark itself modified when a game data file fails to load, or fails to pass integrity checks when loaded. This can be caused by third party applications such as cloud storage or antivirus interfering with the X4 data archives during play, preventing X4 from loading assets correctly. It can also be caused by a bug that has affected many people, myself included, that currently has no known trigger.

I recommend verifying the installation file to rule out random corruption. Then add the X4 install folder to be exempt from anti virus, backup software and indexing. This should rule out any third party interference or corruption as the cause.

If the problem still persists then you are likely hitting the bug. So far the only correlation is that after some time of playing there is a chance that the diffuse texture for either Jupiter or Mercury fails to load when X4 tries to stream it, causing X4 to become modified. Most of the time it will load fine, and trying to induce this failure seems impossible. Triggers I have had are comming a pilot in Jupiter or modifying a station with background enabled in Jupiter or Mercury. There might be more triggers and more affected areas that I have not encountered yet. So far there is no solution to this other than save often, avoid loading the background of Jupiter or Mercury and be vigilant when saving to avoid accidently saving as modified.

In a future update X4 will notify the user when it flags itself as modified. This might help discover a way to induce the bug which the developers can then use to solve it.

[Waltz9]

You give some very good hints.

I had a very big surgery lately and I'm stil recovering.
Spending my time playing X4 because it alows me to focus on something else then the pain.
I play about 8 - 10 hours a day.
I have spent the first 2 days just placing lots of advanced sattelites to build up a netwerk over the entire universe so I can easily see what happens and also build enough miners to make lots of money.
I received 100M credits with just 20 advanced miners going around.

In the 3th day I started doing my plot lines and also started using the 100M to build bases with background enabled.
Then suddenly when saving I noticed the modified tag.
Its hard to confirm what causing is, but with what you say I think it could be a possible reason.

I dont mind playing modifed because whenever it turns on I enable my mod and continue playing.
But it bothers me because when the Ventures are back, my game can't be modified sadly enough.

I try to do what you say and hope for the best. I hope to find the connection to it also.

[|K.O.S.H.]

I GUESS the Game Marks itself aß modified, when there are mods in the Extensions folder, even when they are "Off"

[Insects]

They should just get rid of the unnecessary modified restriction for Ventures.
Surely there can just be a compatibility test instead to make sure it won't break Ventures, it should export a compact cleaned file regardless.

The whole process of signing/checking a 1GB file is probably making the slow saves even worse anyway.

[|K.O.S.H.]

They should just get rid of the unnecessary modified restriction for Ventures.
Surely there can just be a compatibility test instead to make sure it won't break Ventures, it should export a compact cleaned file regardless.

The whole process of signing/checking a 1GB file is probably making the slow saves even worse anyway.

i hope the signing check does not even start, when a modified savegame is laoded

But you are right, there should be the option to disable it completely.

[Starlight_Corporation]

For me it was the cloud storage. Ever since I turned it off on Steam, my issues with the 'modified' tag are gone.

[Alan Phipps]

Rather than debating hypothetical opinions of what should or shouldn't be done, it is more useful in Tech Sp to try to determine and perhaps confirm if the circumstances described by Imperial Good applied in the case of the triggering of such issues in your games.

Cloud storage replacing later good vanilla saves with earlier modified/corrupt ones would be another reason for concern and further reporting if confirmed though.

[Tidaar]

I never used mods in X4. Mine turned modified at one point after Torus mission (Yaki plot done a long time ago). I completely missed this and now its too late as I will lose 10 hours of play. What are the consequences of having this modified tag? Is my game from this point onward corrupted?
I think its the Steam Cloud Save crap. It is the only thing I played with recently.

[Imperial Good]

Mine turned modified at one point after Torus mission (Yaki plot done a long time ago).

Might be related to the bug I mentioned above. At least 2 Sol sectors were correlated to making X4 turn modified and as the mechanism why is unknown it is possible more can do it as well, and just have not been documented to do it yet.

This is being improved in 5.00 with a warning prompt so you know not to save when/if it happens. There are also mentions to fixing various cases that made X4 turn modified when it should not but it is unclear if these relate to the bug I reported or are a separate bug.

What are the consequences of having this modified tag?

When/if ventures are added back into X4 you will not be able to partake in them with the save. Currently there is no ETA for this so many people live with modified tag for now and will start new later for ventures.

Your save also might not be suitable for bug reports. Not modified saves give a sort of guarantee of consistency that they were created with X4 running the way the developers intend it. Saves that are modified without a clear understanding why could be corrupt in ways outside what is normally possible by X4 so be difficult or even pointless to debug issues from.

Is my game from this point onward corrupted?

It really depends on the cause that made it be considered modified. If it was the bug I mentioned then gameplay should not be impacted at all by the texture failing to load. If it is caused by third parties tampering with your save file then untold corruption and damage might have been done to the universe that may or may not be easily noticed.

If you are really concerned about this consider using the custom game start feature to start a new not modified save with accelerated progress. You can even inherit the storyline outcomes you have completed and start with significant money and/or assets to get an economy going fast.

I think its the Steam Cloud Save crap. It is the only thing I played with recently.

I have used steam cloud save since X4 released and have not had problems with it corrupting my saves. That said I do have a reasonable upload and download speed to handle the 150 MB off save files with. It is possible slower connections are more prone to problems with cloud sync due to the process taking significantly longer.

[Tidaar]

Mine turned modified at one point after Torus mission (Yaki plot done a long time ago).

Might be related to the bug I mentioned above. At least 2 Sol sectors were correlated to making X4 turn modified and as the mechanism why is unknown it is possible more can do it as well, and just have not been documented to do it yet.

This is being improved in 5.00 with a warning prompt so you know not to save when/if it happens. There are also mentions to fixing various cases that made X4 turn modified when it should not but it is unclear if these relate to the bug I reported or are a separate bug.

What are the consequences of having this modified tag?

When/if ventures are added back into X4 you will not be able to partake in them with the save. Currently there is no ETA for this so many people live with modified tag for now and will start new later for ventures.

Your save also might not be suitable for bug reports. Not modified saves give a sort of guarantee of consistency that they were created with X4 running the way the developers intend it. Saves that are modified without a clear understanding why could be corrupt in ways outside what is normally possible by X4 so be difficult or even pointless to debug issues from.

Is my game from this point onward corrupted?

It really depends on the cause that made it be considered modified. If it was the bug I mentioned then gameplay should not be impacted at all by the texture failing to load. If it is caused by third parties tampering with your save file then untold corruption and damage might have been done to the universe that may or may not be easily noticed.

If you are really concerned about this consider using the custom game start feature to start a new not modified save with accelerated progress. You can even inherit the storyline outcomes you have completed and start with significant money and/or assets to get an economy going fast.

I think its the Steam Cloud Save crap. It is the only thing I played with recently.

I have used steam cloud save since X4 released and have not had problems with it corrupting my saves. That said I do have a reasonable upload and download speed to handle the 150 MB off save files with. It is possible slower connections are more prone to problems with cloud sync due to the process taking significantly longer.

I really appreciate the help man. Thank you