Forced sleep modus / power saving

[Pandomania]

I did some more digging hoping to find a solution to this, and it's possible (but unlikely).

Something I realised already was that X4 pauses when I alt-tab to use a browser. Which is weird. The only reason I noticed is because it was irritating not being able to run the game while I'm reading up on stuff.

And obviously the sound pauses too when this happens, no surprises there.

So about the only thing I could think left to try was to use windowed borderless mode.

Initially I thought it was behaving the same, pausing when I alt-tab, because the sound cuts. Except then I realised X4 was still running in the background - just that it had muted itself.

Unfortunately using windowed borderless mode probably doesn't solve the issue; I'm not sure yet. After a test I returned about 15 minutes later to find the TV had gone into standby (which ought to be impossible).

Although this time X4's behaviour was different. Previously when I returned after being afk (in fullscreen mode) the TV was shut down, and when it came back (moving the mouse), X4 displays a cut-graphic screen of those two pilots walking away (the screen graphic you get when you switch some graphic settings), and shortly after it returns to the game like nothing happened (as if it had been unpaused).

Now using windowed borderless mode, when the TV returns (after moving the mouse), X4 does not show the screen graphic, but instead immediately drops me back into the game with no delay.

I guess it's just possible that X4 is running in the background even though the TV has inexplicably switched itself to standby, although I'm not optimistic. I need to test it properly with timers to know for sure, but we'll see.

[Pandomania]

Turns out that running X4 in windowed borderless mode does actually enable it to continue in the background. Which effectively solves this issue.

To be completely clear:

Running X4 in fullscreen mode and going afk, after precisely 15 minutes X4 "pauses" itself (but behaves as if it's "doing something"), and puts the TV into standby.

Running X4 in windowed borderless mode and going afk, after precisely 15 minutes the TV loses its signal from the PC and goes into screensaver mode (no signal). Except X4 is still running as normal, and moving the mouse will bring the TV back.

Never saw anything like this before.

The good news is anyone with this issue can "fix" it by setting windowed borderless mode, although I've not found a way to prevent the TV losing its signal from the PC. Moving the mouse will bring the TV back.

Bizarre.

[grapedog]

Bizarre.

The bizarre part for me is that, on this same computer, X4 used to not fall asleep.... I'm not sure when it started happening, but it's some time in the past 12 months or so. Before that, I could go make lunch and come back and it would still be running.... now it doesn't. Something changed, and I don't know what.