SSE | Game crashes / Freezes

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[Mr Robville]

The procedure in this topic applies if you encounter any of these problems:

• You receive a crashdump file upon startup or during gameplay
• You encounter loads of .DLL error messages, one repeating after another
• The game freezes during startup or gameplay
• The screen stays black during startup
• The game quits to Windows in an instant
• You receive a "Questviewer has stopped working" error
• The whole computer freezes at startup

If you encounter any of these issues, then the game's core software is unable to run on your system.
The best way to fix this is by following these steps carefully:
1 - Minimum Requirements
Find out if your PC hardware meets the minimum requirements by making a DxDiag text file using these steps:
1. Click START
2. Click Run (or hit Windows-key + R)
3. Clear the "Open" box and type dxdiag
4. Click OK
5. The DirectX Diagnostic Tool will open
6. Click Save All Information
7. Save the dxdiag.txt file to your Desktop
8. Now you should see a text file called "dxdiag.txt" sitting on your Windows desktop

After you've saved the file, open it and go to the Display Devices section.
If the information shows you have an Intel HD graphics card like this, the game cannot work:

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
          Card name: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
          Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
          Chip type: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
          DAC type: Internal
          Device Type: Full Device
          Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0166&SUBSYS_108D1043&REV_09
          Display Memory: 1792 MB
          Dedicated Memory: 32 MB
          Shared Memory: 1760 MB

ShipSim requires at least 256 MB of dedicated memory. Since Intel HD graphics cards are not supported you'll unfortunately have to upgrade your hardware until it meets the minimum requirements.

2 - Switchable Graphics
If you own a laptop that has two graphics cards- one being an Intel, and a second one being either an AMD or NVIDIA card- then the game is most likely trying to run on the Intel GPU, causing it to crash.

For AMD, follow these steps:

• Do a right mouse click on your desktop
• Within the menu that shows up, it should say "Switchable Graphics" somewhere with a red and blue icon
• Click on it and a list of recently ran applications should show up
• If SSE is not included within this list, run it once
• There should be three settings behind the applications. "Default" "Power saving" , "High Performance" or anything similar to those options. If SSE.exe is set on either Default or Energy saving, switch the setting to "High Performance" by clicking on the button
• When done, click Apply on the bottom and close the window. Then try to run SSE

For NVIDIA, follow these steps:

• Click on the Nvidia GPU activity icon in the bottom right corner of the menu bar. (You may need to unfold the item list in order to make it appear by clicking on the small arrow)
• Click on "Customize which programs use the GPU"
• A window will pop up. At the Program Settings, click on the rollout list with games within the first step
• If ShipSim Extremes is included, change the GPU settings at the second step to "High performance NVIDIA processor" from the rollout list
• If ShipSim Extremes is not included within the games list, click on the ADD button next to the list and search for SSE.exe. (Default installation path: C:\Program Files(x86)\Vstep\ShipSim Extremes\SSE.exe)
• Repeat step 4 after you've added the game

3 - Microsoft C++ Redistributables
If that didn't work, or your PC doesn't have switchable graphics, try to download and install the following C++ redistributable package:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26347
You won't need to remove any previous versions. After you've clicked on the download button you can select all three items. Your computer will only install the correct redistributables.
After the installation is done, try to run the game.

4 - NVIDIA PhysX Software
If that didn't work, then it's usually the PhysX software that's causing the issue. The PhysX software can sometimes be improperly installed without notice. In such case it is adviced to remove any existing Nvidia PhysX installation and reinstall it again. You can download it here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/physx-9.13.1220-driver.html

Make sure to remove any existing installation first!

5 - 32 or 64 bit computer
Sometimes a computer that is 64 bits can be picky on where the game is installed. If you own a 64 bit computer you'll have two program files folders. One simply named "Program Files" and another one named "Program Files(x86)". Try installing the game within the x86 folder if it isn't. It sometimes works magic.

6 - Unregister.exe
Try to run Unregister.exe from the game's installation folder. This will reset all registration data of the game and sometimes may remove a registry issue of the game. Run Clean_Vstore.exe afterwards for good measure.
These programs won't open any windows or dialogue.

General advice
If these steps did not work, make sure you keep the following things in mind:

• Make sure your graphics card drivers are up to date
• Make sure you have all latest updates for ShipSim installed
• If you are a Steam user, try to verify the integrity of the local game cache files
• Disable any anti-virus applications during installation and run the installer as an administrator (Rightmouse clicking on the icon and choosing "Run as administrator")
• Make sure Windows is up to date

If nothing worked, and your computer meets the minimum requirements, you can post your issue on this forum within the technical support board or request a refund at the store where you bought it. Note to Steam users: Refunds can only be made if the game has ran less than 2 hours. So in case you encounter a black screen, do not keep it opened otherwise the "Time played" timer will go up. (See: Steam Refund Policy)