"You cannot start missions with a modified game" - The Problem Strikes Back

[freiman17]

Hey, Everybody!

Once again, Great Job! on the awesome game! I am having a wonderful time with this, and, once again, this is absolutely beautiful, visually. It's good all around, but sometimes I feel like I could just get on the highway loop and just watch the game for a few minutes.

I have run into a snag.

When I attempt to start a venture, I get a message (on the venture menu, after I click on the console) that says "You cannot start missions with a modified game." I haven't modified the game. I wouldn't actually know how to modify a game.

I am running the latest Steam version (I think it's 1.60) and my language is English.
My game is (as far as I know) unmodified
I am running the first start (the one with the tutorials) - I think it is the "Young Gun" start
I haven't made any changes to the hardware, or to my PCs software (Not even to install anything else), though I am not sure what Steam did.

I don't know how to post a DXDIAG report, but I am running an Intel(R) Core i&-7700k CPU @ 4.20 GHz (*CPUs), ~4.2GHz with windows 10 Home 64 bit (10.0, Build 17134)

Please note, I have absolutely no idea what that last line means, but I can follow directions.

I would like to keep playing on this start. I can restart the game if you think that is the right way to proceed (I know how to do a lot of stuff better now) but I would prefer to get that tag off.

Once again, this game is amazing, and I am thankful for you guys making it.

I also think it's pretty cool you guys maintain this board.

Thanks
f

[rboerdijk]

Did you install mods, perhaps ?

[freiman17]

I did not install any mods.

[CBJ]

OK, first things first, all the instructions you need to provide things like a DXDiag report are in the very first thread at the top of this forum. That probably won't be necessary right now, but it's there for future reference if needed. Now on to your specific problem. If your savegame is modified then there's nothing we can do about that retrospectively. The question is how it got that way.

If you start a new game now, does that new game also show as modified? If so then either you've installed a mod by accident (not sure how you'd do that!) or something is wrong with your game installation. In the latter case, using the Steam client file verification option for the game should sort it out. If not then you have to look at other possibilities such as a virus (or, ironically, possibly your antivirus software) interfering with the game.

If a new game that you start does not show as modified then you should be able to carry on playing that game and use the Venture feature with that game, but I'm afraid you won't be able to with your old modified save. You can still play with that save, and even receive visitors from other players; you just can't run your own Ventures from it. What exactly went wrong with your old save in this case may, unfortunately, remain a mystery.

[freiman17]

Thanks for the replies.

Guys, like I said, I didn't modify my game.

This would be my second restart because of a bug, and I am 630 play hours in, most of it on the second restart.

Is there really no way to fix this?

If I restart, and get a couple of hundred hours in again, is the game going to throw another bug like this at me?

And, I really appreciate both this awesome game, and your great customer support. Thanks!

f

[CBJ]

Did you try the steps I suggested? Note that starting a new game doesn't imply that you have to delete or overwrite your current one; just that you should try it to see whether the problem persists or is something that may have happened in the past but is no longer an issue.

Regarding the problem itself, as I explained this isn't a bug with the game; it's a game file getting changed for some reason outside the control of the game, whether it be disk corruption, a virus or whatever. The chances are that it was a one-off, but if it seems to happen more often on your system for some reason, then the best thing to do is to save using several slots and always check your save to see if the problem has re-occurred, so you only lose the time since your last unmodified save. As soon as you do see it happen, re-verify your files using Steam, and look for what it could possibly be that could have changed your local files, before loading the last unmodified save and continuing from there.

Again, the above applies mainly if the experiment of starting a new game results in a new save that is unmodified. If it's modified in a new game too then whatever is causing the problem is still present on your system.

There really isn't much we can do about your existing savegame. We have no way of knowing what has happened to it to cause it to be modified, or in what way it has been changed.

[freiman17]

Hi, Everybody!

Well, the mystery might be a little less opaque, but I am not sure what to do now.

I started a new game this morning, and after a few hours of crystal grinding (and the PHQ quest) I have a venture platform up and running. It appears that the venture system will accept my game as unmodified.

How the previous game ended up with the "Modified" tag I still don't know.

I did use steam to verify local files, and they appear just fine.

I am a little concerned because steam frequently gives me a percentage count down as I load the game. That seems to be one way that the file might have been modified.

The anti virus software also seems to be likely. I am running Macaffee straight out of the box.

But, I am playing again, and things are much, much less frustrating.

Thanks! I know that this must have been a headache for you. I really do appreciate you guys taking the time.

f

[powercore]

Run into this bug too.
For one night all autosaves was broken.
Admins said it's unreal to find the bug in the save game, so I've rolled back to 2 week old savegame

[freiman17]

Powercore,

When I searched the forums for the symptoms, I found that the forums contained several people noticing the problem a couple of updates ago. I don't recall exactly which update it was, but I want to say 1.3. Please don't hold me to that, because I am unsure.

What got me was that it seemed like nobody had encountered it in a while. While I am not technosavvy enough to say that something has changed, the folks on this board are quite good. If they aren't the folks that write the code, they talk to the folks that write the code, and the code is VERY, VERY GOOD.

It really does get very frustrating, doesn't it? I felt like I was being accused of something.

I believe that the reason we get so frustrated is that this game is really, really good. When you actually do find something that is imperfect, it stands out. It stands out like crazy.

I restarted this morning, and I like this build much better than the last one. Instead of getting a Cerberus for the PHQ mission, I got a Gorgon, which has forward guns. I feel like I am flying the ship, rather than just watching things happen. I put the venture dock on the PHQ, which gives me an extra thing that the transporter offers. That adds depth to my player experience. You know, I would love to have a bar in my PHQ, and I would seriously consider micropayments to decorate that bar.

f

[Kazuma]

This garbage bug hit me today while I was playing.

Game is NOT modified.

Venture returned, sent it back out... venture returned again... now my game is MODIFIED while I am in the SAME SESSION.

It's on Egosofts end.

All games saved once this happens inherit this tag. Reverting to a previous save while in the same session removes the tag. Clearly the game is not modified.

Could be a captured ship or a ware from previous play that is now being flagged by aggressive DRM.

[freiman17]

Well, Guys, it happened again.

Let me take just a second to say again how much I like this game. I know that most of the folks you talk to on this board are frustrated, and they are usually hot under the collar when they talk to you. I know that you guys are working hard, and you are doing a GREAT job.

This is, however, getting a little frustrating.

I am not modifying my games, but this feature keeps shutting down. Since the game in a lot of ways is about empire building, I don't want to have to keep restarting my empire every three days. It's a little vexing. I also can see that I am not the only person with this problem.

Can you tell me how to start tracing down this problem?

I am beginning to suspect my MacAfee might be the culprit, but logging onto an on line game, and then shutting down my anti virus seems like it might be poor privacy security.

Please help me solve this issue.

And guys, I am frustrated, but I am certainly not angry. I know how demoralizing it must be to show up for work on a Monday morning and hearing nothing but complaints. This is an issue, but, in general, I am really, really happy that I bought this game. You guys rock.

I have a DXDIAG file and a vulkaninfo file, but I have having a really hard time figuring out how to attach the files to this message. I have also not changed my savegame, so that is also available, but I am missing a button some place, and can't attach it. I can change my font color, or add a picture, but I can't find the right button to attach the files.

Once again, guys, you are doing a great job. Thanks.

f

[freiman17]

I have seen other forum members use a service called "Drop Box" to send files, or I think I have, but the service requires me to invite "team members" in order for them to access the files, and I still have to learn how to do that step.

I should also tell you this. I used Steam's "Verify Integrity of Local Files" function, and it came back just fine.

f

[HBK]

I have seen other forum members use a service called "Drop Box" to send files, or I think I have, but the service requires me to invite "team members" in order for them to access the files, and I still have to learn how to do that step.

f

I'm no Dropbox expert but you should be able to "create a link" to the file you want to share. IIRC you don't need to tweak any other setting. You just "create the link" then copy/paste the corresponding URL (there's even a "copy to clipboard" button somewhere) which should allow anyone to access the file using that link.

[freiman17]

Well, my primitive test seems to indicate that it is not McAfee.

I loaded a save from last night at 22:33, and it had the "Modified" tag, so I quit.

I loaded a save from 21:43 last night, and it did NOT have the "Modified" tag.

I then ran McAfee security scan, in hopes of breaking the game. After running the scan, I had no tag.

I saved the game in slot 9, and quit.

After restarting, and loading that particular game, still no tag.

I am unsure where to go now

And, once again, great job, everybody,

And thanks for all the help.

f

[CBJ]

It wouldn't be running a manual virus scan that would cause the problem anyway, it would be the AV software's hook into the file-system that allows it to virus-check files live as they are read from the disk. Sometimes this could slow things down enough that the application reading the file thinks the operation has failed. In this case this could result in the game thinking that the file was not valid or had been modified. If and when it happens, it would almost certainly be a rare case caused by timing issues, for example at a time of heavy disk usage. I should stress that this is just a theoretical possibility and not something you'd easily be able to test, or to eliminate through testing the way you've been trying to.

[freiman17]

CBJ,

Thank you for taking all this time with my problem. I know that this must get tedious for you. What you are doing is appreciated.

Is there anything else I can do to help solve this problem? I still have those three files if anybody needs them. I am unsure of how to get them to the company, but they are I have them if they would help.

thanks again!

f

[CBJ]

You can provide us with files by uploading them to a file hosting site and posting a link. This is explained in the very first thread in this forum, though the exact steps will depend on the file hosting service that you are using.