You're probably thinking, "Hold on. Assassin's Creed is an ongoing franchise. If you have a problem running it, it's probably your computer, bro. Upgrade that shit or go home."
Hear me out. I'm talking about the original Assassin's Creed game. You know, the one with Altair. This game is pretty widely available now. And it remains the only Assassin's Creed game on Steam that does not require Uplay. Also, being older, it runs quite well on a variety of older computers. My copy came from GOG.
However...
Many users (myself included) are installing the game on any platform (even Uplay!) and firing it up, only to have game lock up on the Ubisoft loading screen. Really, Ubisoft? You'd think they would at least patch the game so people could see who to complain about (or not...). Some people can actually get the game to start, but the minute that they activate any kind of continuing achievement (like collecting those damn flags), the game would lock up and crash. Great, right?
There is a very simple solution: disconnect from the internet before you play the game.
Apparently, Assassin's Creed is programmed to check with an Ubisoft server at startup and / or when activating collectibles (like those damn flags). Except, this particular Ubisoft server is off-line. When the game cannot successfully contact the server, the game crashes.
Oh, Ubisoft. Still harassing gamers from beyond the veil...
Showing posts with label how-to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how-to. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Side-Quest: Getting Crysis to Run on PC (64-bit)
Despite having poured thousands of hours into my favorite games, I somehow missed out on Crysis (the first one). So, when it was on sale on Steam over Christmas, I picked it up.
Then I tried installing it. Dun dun dun... CRASH! Repeatedly. Turns out this is a common problem.
There are lots of problems getting the game to even launch. Then there are problems using the 64-bit executable. Now I have no trouble executing some complicated "back up x file, then change setting y" type of stuff, but there's some consumer outrage whenever I have to do that. I paid for a working product. It darn well better work. If it doesn't, the question becomes whether I want to go through the trouble. For Crysis, there are some simple steps to follow that result in a working game without having to modify any game files.
You will need an Origin account.
1. Purchase Crysis on Steam or on disc (if you purchase on Origin, go to step 3). The game has been steeply discounted during major holidays, so wait until for a sale if possible.
2. Activate the game's license key with EA, so that it will appear in your Origin library. The tricky part here is that if you try to activate Crysis using the Origin software, you could get an "Invalid Key" error. To activate it, you have to enter the key on EA's support website. Activating here will successfully add Crysis to your Origin library.
3. Download and install Crysis from Origin.
4. You might think you're done, but the minute you try to launch the game, it will crash once again. You might think that the game is simply broken, but that is not the case.
5. Navigate to the folder Crysis is installed to (in my case, F: > Games > Crysis
6. I want to run Crysis using the 64-bit executable, so go into the Bin64 folder.
7. Double-click Crysis.exe to launch the game.
(This solution only works on computers with 64-bit operating systems.)
The game should launch. Exactly why the game launches directly from the executable and not from Origin is a mystery to me.
If you use this method for Steam (install Crysis via Steam, go into the Steam Crysis folder and launch using the executable), the game will still crash. A bait-and-switch move to get more people to use Origin? Who knows. The Origin version of Crysis does use a patched version of EA's infamous Securom DRM; it now uses your Origin credentials to verify ownership. So you DO need to be logged in to Origin to run the game.
Crysis runs smooth and solid now, and still looks amazing for an older title.Unfortunately the multiplayer component is off-line, but hey: what price nostalgia (or, in my case, discovery)?
Quest Completed.
Bonus: EA's support site activation service will also work with Crysis 2 and Crysis Warhead.
Then I tried installing it. Dun dun dun... CRASH! Repeatedly. Turns out this is a common problem.
There are lots of problems getting the game to even launch. Then there are problems using the 64-bit executable. Now I have no trouble executing some complicated "back up x file, then change setting y" type of stuff, but there's some consumer outrage whenever I have to do that. I paid for a working product. It darn well better work. If it doesn't, the question becomes whether I want to go through the trouble. For Crysis, there are some simple steps to follow that result in a working game without having to modify any game files.
You will need an Origin account.
1. Purchase Crysis on Steam or on disc (if you purchase on Origin, go to step 3). The game has been steeply discounted during major holidays, so wait until for a sale if possible.
2. Activate the game's license key with EA, so that it will appear in your Origin library. The tricky part here is that if you try to activate Crysis using the Origin software, you could get an "Invalid Key" error. To activate it, you have to enter the key on EA's support website. Activating here will successfully add Crysis to your Origin library.
3. Download and install Crysis from Origin.
4. You might think you're done, but the minute you try to launch the game, it will crash once again. You might think that the game is simply broken, but that is not the case.
5. Navigate to the folder Crysis is installed to (in my case, F: > Games > Crysis
6. I want to run Crysis using the 64-bit executable, so go into the Bin64 folder.
7. Double-click Crysis.exe to launch the game.
(This solution only works on computers with 64-bit operating systems.)
The game should launch. Exactly why the game launches directly from the executable and not from Origin is a mystery to me.
If you use this method for Steam (install Crysis via Steam, go into the Steam Crysis folder and launch using the executable), the game will still crash. A bait-and-switch move to get more people to use Origin? Who knows. The Origin version of Crysis does use a patched version of EA's infamous Securom DRM; it now uses your Origin credentials to verify ownership. So you DO need to be logged in to Origin to run the game.
Crysis runs smooth and solid now, and still looks amazing for an older title.Unfortunately the multiplayer component is off-line, but hey: what price nostalgia (or, in my case, discovery)?
Quest Completed.
Bonus: EA's support site activation service will also work with Crysis 2 and Crysis Warhead.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Side-Quest: Disabling V-Sync in Mass Effect 3
Waiting for my graphics card to get back from its second warranty repair (c'mon, Asus, you're better than this!). Meanwhile, I'm getting by with my backup video card, a Radeon 6670 with 1GB of GDDR5. Needless to say, graphics performance is greatly reduced, to put it mildly. People wouldn't need "backup" graphics cards, of course, if their primary hardware functioned as it should.
Having to turn a lot of settings down, but one thing I don't want to compromise: resolution. And right there, I am really limiting myself, but there it is. My monitor has 1080p native, and if I go with anything else in a large number of games, the visuals simply look like crap. So 1080p it is then. That means lots of jaggies and screen tearing, unfortunately, because Vertical Sync causes a lot of lag on an under-powered system.
TL:DR.
Mass Effect 3 has appreciable stutter and lag when running on my 6670. The problem is that the card is not powerful enough to render the game at a constant 60fps, so all that needs to be done is to disable V-sync. But there is no option to disable Vertical Sync in its options menu. It is still possible to turn it off, however, by editing the GamerSettings.ini in the Config folder (always back up core files before altering them!) Thanks to user evilsofa on hardforum.com for this solution.
1. Find GamerSettings.ini, and open it in Notepad.
2. At the bottom of the [SystemSettings] section, add these three lines:
UseVSync=True
SmoothFrameRate=True
MaxSmoothedFrameRate=62
I only need the V-sync setting, so I guess you could just add that without the other two. Since it was listed as part of the solution, though, I'm including it.
3. Change the "UseVSync" value from True to False. Click "save" and exit Notepad.
And voila! Stutter eliminated. Mission accomplished.
Collateral Damage: Screen tearing is now omnipresent.
Having to turn a lot of settings down, but one thing I don't want to compromise: resolution. And right there, I am really limiting myself, but there it is. My monitor has 1080p native, and if I go with anything else in a large number of games, the visuals simply look like crap. So 1080p it is then. That means lots of jaggies and screen tearing, unfortunately, because Vertical Sync causes a lot of lag on an under-powered system.
TL:DR.
Mass Effect 3 has appreciable stutter and lag when running on my 6670. The problem is that the card is not powerful enough to render the game at a constant 60fps, so all that needs to be done is to disable V-sync. But there is no option to disable Vertical Sync in its options menu. It is still possible to turn it off, however, by editing the GamerSettings.ini in the Config folder (always back up core files before altering them!) Thanks to user evilsofa on hardforum.com for this solution.
1. Find GamerSettings.ini, and open it in Notepad.
2. At the bottom of the [SystemSettings] section, add these three lines:
UseVSync=True
SmoothFrameRate=True
MaxSmoothedFrameRate=62
I only need the V-sync setting, so I guess you could just add that without the other two. Since it was listed as part of the solution, though, I'm including it.
3. Change the "UseVSync" value from True to False. Click "save" and exit Notepad.
And voila! Stutter eliminated. Mission accomplished.
Collateral Damage: Screen tearing is now omnipresent.
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