X4: Foundations crashes on splash screen or shortly into game play

[Quiet27]

System Summary
CPU: Intel Core i5 13600K
GPU: Intel Arc A770 Limited Edition
RAM: 32GB Kingston DDR5
Storage: 2TB Kingston KC3000 (D:) and 1TB Kingston KC3000 (C:)
Motherboard: NZXT N7 Z790
Operating System: Windows 11 Pro Version 10.0.26100 Build 26100

Graphics Card Software Information
Intel Graphics Software Version: 25.10.1253.2
Graphics Driver Version: 32.0.101.6739
D3D API Version: 12.0
Shader Model Version: 6.7
Vulkan API Version: 1.4.309
OpenGL API Version: 4.6.0
OpenCL API Version: 3.0

X4 Version and Language
X4: Foundations 7.5 (English)

Game Modification Status
Unmodified - no third party scripts, mods, or DLCs installed.

Game Start
Untested Explorer

Exact Nature of the Problem
The game experiences a complete lock-up (black screen – except for my FPS overlay in bottom right corner) requiring a forced PC restart by holding down the power button. No error message or pop up is received. Occasionally I also get a “no display port signal” message on my monitor.
The lock-up can occur:
• On the second X4: Foundations splash screen during start-up (after the Egosoft animation).
• Shortly after loading a saved game (it’s usually a matter of 2-5 seconds but sometimes will run for a minute or two).

Steps Taken / Troubleshooting Attempted
• Updated graphics driver.
• Rolled back graphics driver (unsuccessful) and returned to latest version.
• Updated BIOS.
• Verified integrity of game files via Steam (multiple times).
• Uninstalled and reinstalled X4: Foundations multiple times.
• Installed X4: Foundations to a different drive.
• Tested other games (e.g., Baldur's Gate 3 on Vulkan, Northgard) with no issues.
• Ran 3DMark benchmarks (Steel Nomad, Speed Way) — achieved expected results, no crashes.
• Verified game files are not set to "read only" as per Egosoft’s troubleshooting thread (link).
• Ensured the game is running on the correct GPU (not integrated graphics).
• Switched the game to windowed mode.
• Tried multiple different game saves.
• Ran check disk on C: and D: with no errors found

Code: Select all

chkdsk /f /r

Relevant System or Software Changes Before Issue
• Purchase and install of X4: Foundations (12 April 2025) with approx. 48 hours played.
• No major system changes apart from routine driver and BIOS updates mentioned above.

System Specifications and Game Saves
DxDiag, vulkaninfo, and several game saves can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

[CBJ]

A game can't lock up your entire system; only driver level software or hardware issues can do that. The first thing I would suggest is rolling back to some slightly earlier drivers for your Arc device to see whether Intel have messed up with those latest ones.

[Quiet27]

As mentioned in my original post, I tried rolling back graphics driver versions and this did not help.

[CBJ]

Oops, missed that. This is almost certainly an issue with the graphics hardware or driver, though, as the "no display port signal" indicates that the graphics card has completely stopped sending anything to the monitor. Again, this isn't something the game itself can do; the game can only expose an underlying problem of this kind.

[Alan Phipps]

Yes all your Windows Error Reports are LiveKernelEvents which are usually driver or system hardware issues.

You do have a lot of different sound devices and drivers all going at the same time and I am not familiar with the Elgato Wave 3 sound and video devices that you have, but you also have a generic Microsoft driver for your Realtek onboard sound chipset. I would disable any sound devices and drivers that you don't use in Control Panel, Device Manager, Sound/Audio Devices (right-click on a device in the listing for a disable/enable pop-up). If you keep using the onboard sound chipset then I would get the latest suitable WHQL Realtek driver for it.

Good luck with sorting out the graphics at least.