Dust freezing on save loading

[Drtikol42]

Hi I have a problem with Dust freezing on loading screen (from main menu). Sometimes it works and then i can play without problems, but most of the time it will freeze.

 

I am using Vortex, i have these mods installed

:

- Dust

- Tunneler detection fix

- Begin Again (music theme for main menu)

- Pre-Order fixer

- Private Property expired

- NVSE

- NVAC

 

I cleaned the files that vortex said needed cleaning using FNVEdit and i solved red problem in Wrye Flash (wrong dlc order in Pre-Order fixer).

 

Thanks in advance

[dubiousintent]

* Did you install Steam to it's default location? (GOG is not a problem as it places the game correctly.) If so, please see the wiki "Installing Games on Windows Vista+" article for why the original default Steam behavior of installing games to the "C:\Program Files" or "C:\Program Files(x86)" folder tree was bad (they learned better, and don't do that any more but didn't change it for older games); and why "disabling UAC and running as Administrator" is NOT sufficient, with instructions how to move it. Among other things, later versions of Windows (since the game was released) force files in "system protected" folder trees to be "read only" regardless of how you set them.

Don't move it to "User\Documents" either, as "executables" are not permitted to run from there for similar "anti-malware" reasons.

This is the single most important thing you can do to fix and protect yourself against problems in the future. As much of a PITA as that is, it's never going to be any easier than now. System updates often cause issues with games installed to these folder trees. With the game moved out of the default location you will not need to be running it as an "Administrator Account", which is safer. Please see the 'Restoring to "Vanilla"' section of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article as well.

If you did move Steam out of the default location, then likely any access privilege problem is one of "File and Folder permissions" on the parent "root" folder under which you installed the games. If this is not set correctly to allow at least "System", "Administrators", and "Users" to have "Full Control" then you can't overwrite other files or make changes. You then (while logged in as an "Administrator Account") need to enable the "Properties | Security | Advanced | Change Permissions" setting of the parent folder to enable the box: "Replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object", so those changes get applied to the existing files and sub-folders.

* Are you using the FNV 4GB Patcher (even with the GOG version)? For FNV Steam users (and now for GOG users as well with v1.4 or later) the tool easily solves the problem of the 2GB memory limit and loading NVSE for both the game and '''GECK'''. (Older versions of the tool are deprecated. The latest version (v1.4+) now supports the GOG version for auto loading NVSE, and the "NVSE_CONFIG.INI" file does not work for the GOG version without RoyBatty's patch. Revert to the backup copy created if you did run an older version.) Run the patcher once (as "Local Administrator" if necessary) and thereafter just use the default game FalloutNV.EXE (preferred) or FalloutNVLauncher.EXE (re-writes your INI files) as a normal user. The patched game automatically detects and launches NVSE.

How can you tell if the 4GB Patch is working?
: Look for the "Data\NVSE\NVSE_CONFIG.INI" file which for GOG users will otherwise will not get created without the "nvse_steam_loader". Check the "nvse_steam_loader.log" file (in the game root folder with the FalloutNV.EXE file) for errors.
: The [http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/58277 JIP LN NVSE Plugin] has a function which can be run from the console: "GetIsLAA" (not case sensitive).
: Possible return codes:
:* 0=patch is not applied
:* 1=patch was applied to the executable, but extra memory is not being allocated
:* 2=successfully allocated extra memory from the patch and is fully working.
: If "GetIsLAA" is returning code "1", try running the game from a "Local Administrator" account. If that is succesfull, you need to move the game install location out of the "C:\Program Files" folder tree, or correct the "permissions" on it's folder if you have moved it, as you are going to have other problems down the road. Please see the wiki "Installing Games on Windows Vista+" article for details.
: Alternatively: if the Windows "Task Manager" indicates the "FalloutNV.exe" program has more than 2GB (2,000,000KB) of "Memory (Private Working Set)", then the 4GB Patcher is in effect. However, to the contrary: less does not mean it is not working. The game simply hasn't needed that much memory as yet.

* Do you have "New Vegas Stutter Remover" (NVSR) installed? If so, please see the 'Issue: CTD after 10-20 minutes of play (post-Win10 2017 FCU)' and 'Issue: CTD without warning, "Out of Memory error", or stops responding after the Main Menu' entries in the 'Solutions to "Crash To Desktop" (CTD) problems' section in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide. Note the default NVSR settings do not work with Win10, but there are some recommended by the author for Win10 further down in the article.

:* Currently, the recommended alternative to NVSR, if you are running Win7 or Win10, is to try using the "New Vegas Tick Fix (NVTF)" mod instead. However, until NVTF includes the option, you may want to continue to use NVSR for the "iThreadsFixedToCPUs" setting. However, use of NVSR along with NVTF is unsupported.

* Related to the NVSR problem, for problems AFTER a save game is loaded see also 'Issue: Incomplete save game load' in the "Troubleshooting" guide.

Hope you did NOT clean any of the vanilla game files. That will definitely break things. Even cleaning plugins is not recommended for this game as that is something which should be done by the mod creator, who is the only one who knows if the "edits" are intended. (ITMs are commonly there for a reason.) Most were aware of the reasons for checking for those issues by the time this game was released.

 

I recommend anyone read the entire "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article to understand the differences between this game and others you may have experience with; especially if this is your first attempt to play a modded FNV or it's been more than a year since you last did so. It is designed for someone who has never played a modded PC game before, so it tries to avoid making any assumptions, is kept "up-to-date", and covers years of "lessons learned". It is NOT a list of various mods to install that happen to work on the author's machine. It addresses fundamentals underlying how to get the basic game and mods to work together.

-Dubious-

[Drtikol42]

Thank you for the tips. I did most of those already. I solved the issue by starting a new game, creating "whatever" character and then when i got spawned into "The Beginning" I quickloaded and that fixed everything. So maybe both quick and autosave got corrupted somehow? They do work now after being rewritten. Maybe this will help someone, issue happened in Nipton (Burned Bulls Camp). Not sure if its relevant.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Drtikol42

[dubiousintent]

Save corruption is definitely a "thing" and possible, especially if you removed a plugin from a playthrough. But given your solution, my guess would also be that you did not "exit to the desktop" previously when you encountered problems. (I am assured by mod makers who work at the engine level that there is no difference between how a "quick" and "full" save are made.) It can easily be demonstrated that merely reloading a save game does not completely restore the game to the same environment as when it is started from the desktop. (Set off a trap, exit to the main menu, reload, and you will see that the trap remains "sprung". "Exit to the desktop" and restart, and the trap will be back "armed", and ready to nail you again.)

 

Always exit to the desktop after you encounter a problem.

 

-Dubious-