Issue with "Phoning Home"

[Darkf1re]

In order to install mods for XCOM: EW one must first disable the game from phoning home. Problem is that it causes my game to crash on the main menu when loading user settings, and i have no idea how to fix it. Disabling steam overlay, putting steam in offline mode, launching in admin mode, disabling auto updates and cloud...nothing works. No, i don't have the game in program files nor am i trying to install anything outdated. I have a windows 7 64 bit

 

I was really looking forward to using mods, especially the one that adds sleeves to genemodded soldiers armor. Maybe that's just me but without that mod, i refuse to use genemods because of how they completely ruin the look of the soldier that has them

Edited September 27, 2018 by Darkf1re

[dubiousintent]

Have you tested EU/EW (twice) to the main menu prior to installing any mods (see The Loose Files)? This includes before disabling the ability to "phone home", as it does have to do so during that process.

 

Otherwise, all I can suggest is you re-read the 'Phoning Home' section of the "Basic Guide to installing mods" wiki article. You are the first problem I recall in the 8 years since EU was released to have a problem with the game based solely upon disabling this feature once those steps have been followed. I would suspect it's something else causing the problem.

 

Do you have any issue with the base EU loading after disabling "phone home", but before installing EW?

 

-Dubious-

[Darkf1re]

Have you tested EU/EW (twice) to the main menu prior to installing any mods (see The Loose Files)? This includes before disabling the ability to "phone home", as it does have to do so during that process.

 

Otherwise, all I can suggest is you re-read the 'Phoning Home' section of the "Basic Guide to installing mods" wiki article. You are the first problem I recall in the 8 years since EU was released to have a problem with the game based solely upon disabling this feature once those steps have been followed. I would suspect it's something else causing the problem.

 

Do you have any issue with the base EU loading after disabling "phone home", but before installing EW?

 

-Dubious-

Can't remember if i tested twice, need to try that again, not yet tho, im busy af atm. As for EU, can't remember, never tried modding it. Just to make sure, i need to go to the menu twice then setup PatcherGUI and install mods? I do have steam itself in the program files folder, but nothing XCOM related, moving the steam, assuming i need to do it, is propably going to be pain in the ass

 

Also, whenever that issue happened, only verifying integrity of files though steam fixed it, nothing else did...but that meant erasing everything modding related and starting from scratch again

Edited September 28, 2018 by Darkf1re

[Darkf1re]

Just tried it, didn't work, still crashing

[dubiousintent]

Anytime the game "Crashes to the Desktop" (CTD) it's typically going to generate an error message in the Windows Eventlog. Please see the "Windows Error Messages" section of the wiki "How to read most Bethesda game error logs" article.

Also check your "\My Games\<Steam Game folder>\Logs\Launch.log file" and compare to the corresponding "phone home" entries in the "Basic Guide".

 

-Dubious-

[Darkf1re]

Comparing the logs, it seems all the crashes have this in common

 

[0012.67] DevOnline: Using cached profile data instead of reading

[0012.67] DevOnline: Read profile data: 4 SP soldiers, 4 MP soldiers

[0012.67] DevHTTP: Performing DNS lookup for prod.xcom-ew.yiraxis.com

[0012.67] DevOnline: ReadTitleFile() XComGameCore.ini Download Starting

[0012.67] ScriptLog: Script call stack:

Function XComGame.XComPresentationLayerBase:BaseScreenState.PoppedState

Function XComGame.XComPresentationLayerBase:State_ProgressDialog.Deactivate

Function Engine.OnlineEventMgr:ActivateAllSystemMessages

[0012.67] DevHTTP: FHttpDownload resolve complete to: 108.59.12.98:80

[0012.86] DevHTTP: FHttpDownload request (/ew/Dict.ashx?keyz=XComGameCore.ini) started

[0013.07] DevHTTP: FHttpDownload request (/ew/Dict.ashx?keyz=XComGameCore.ini) completed

[0016.48] Log: === Critical error: ===

Fatal error!

Address = 0x1c27650 (filename not found) [in G:\Steam games\steamapps\common\XCom-Enemy-Unknown\XEW\Binaries\Win32\XComEW.exe]

Also, even when steam was in offline mode it sometimes told me it was trying to download something when trying to open the launcher only to freeze when it couldn't

Edited September 29, 2018 by Darkf1re

[dubiousintent]

I see two things there:

1. The line "[0012.67] DevHTTP: FHttpDownload resolve complete to: 108.59.12.98:80" is the attempt to "phone home" to that specific address that is retrieved from the DNS lookup of "prod.xcom-ew.yiraxis.com". The next two log lines indicate that it succeeded in downloading the "XComGameCore.ini" file from that server: meaning "phone home" is not disabled. The "phone home" operation is independent of Steam so it runs even when in "offline mode". That is why you are seeing that download attempt.

 

2. The CTD is because of the fatal error which follows that log entry because it is not finding some file (name not specified) which the XComEW.exe file is looking for. Only thing to do is re-install EW again, run up to the menu twice, then disable "phone home", etc., and check that the game actually loads correctly, then apply and test mods one at a time.

 

Be sure to go over the "Environment" section of the "Basic Guide" first.

 

-Dubious-