Author Topic: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup  (Read 6189 times)

Wierzba

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[Steam Version] Black screen on startup
« on: January 14, 2017, 10:38:06 am »
Hello,

I have purchased UnderRail on Steam. When I try to launch the game only the black screen appears in window (1024x768) and the music starts playing. When I move my cursor on top of the window it disappears but I can hear the sound of mouseovering items in UI menu.

I have already tried the options from this thread: http://underrail.com/forums/index.php?topic=1555.0

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Try verifying Steam game cache if playing the steam version. Otherwise, try reinstalling.

Cache verified, tried reinstalling a few times.

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Check your Documents\My Games\Underrail\ folder for a crash log. If there is a crashlog, post it in this thread.

No crash log.

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If there is no crashlog, that indicates a problem with something other than the game. Usually XNA or .NET installation, but it could even be VC++ or DirectX redists.

    Make sure they are installed and try reinstalling or repairing them.
    You should find the necessary redist installers in the game's folder.
    If you are on Windows 8 or newer, you should already have the necessary .NET version.
    If you have multiple versions of XNA installed, try uninstalling them and reinstall only XNA 4.0 Refresh.

XNA reinstalled; .NET reinstalled; VC++ reinstalled; DirectX reinstalled.

Quote
If you use an old version of Avast DeepScreen (or similar technology), that might also cause problems. Try disabling it.

The bug occurs even when Norton Security is shut down.

I have also tried:
  • to run the game as admin
  • to launch it as compatible with Win XP (SP3)
  • to change my resolution to 1024x768
  • to find the config file in documents/my games/underrail to change the startup resolution, but there's no such file

I try to run the game on my laptop (Win 10) in base resolution 1366x768.

Wierzba

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Re: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup - Solved
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2017, 10:58:05 am »
Hello,

I tried the one last thing and it worked. As my config.dat file was missing, I asked a friend to send me this file. I pasted it to documents/my games/underrail and then launched the game successfully. BTW, I tried installing GOG & Steam versions of the game multiple times and config.dat was never created properly...

Wierzba

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Re: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup / alt-tab problem
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2017, 06:02:42 pm »
Hello,

As I have played for 3+ hours I noticed some problems (probably connected to the lack of original config file):
  • I cannot change any settings in the menu - they just reset to original value; my config.dat file is not read-only;
  • When I try to change the resolution - game crashes;
  • I can't alt-tab - after coming back from desktop I see only the frame of the windowed game; the contents are all in black.

BTW, this game is awesome! :) I just can't stop playing.

Doeetright

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Re: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2017, 11:11:39 pm »
Not sure if I should create my own thread or post here so I'll start by posting here and see if it gets a response!

I am experiencing this issue (Black screen on startup) and have tried everything.  I actually managed to load the game one time without any issue but have not been able to duplicate the successful launch.  I have deleted the config file to see if that'd fix it and it did not.  I've spent over an hour already just trying to get it fixed and I'm getting extremely frustrated.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Styg

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Re: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup / alt-tab problem
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2017, 07:59:38 am »
Hello,

As I have played for 3+ hours I noticed some problems (probably connected to the lack of original config file):
  • I cannot change any settings in the menu - they just reset to original value; my config.dat file is not read-only;
  • When I try to change the resolution - game crashes;
  • I can't alt-tab - after coming back from desktop I see only the frame of the windowed game; the contents are all in black.

BTW, this game is awesome! :) I just can't stop playing.

The first point does sound like an anti-virus kind of problem where something is preventing application from writing to the disk, but as the rest don't seem to be related. Does the game generate any crash logs in Documents\My Games\Underrail?

Styg

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Re: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2017, 08:00:37 am »
Not sure if I should create my own thread or post here so I'll start by posting here and see if it gets a response!

I am experiencing this issue (Black screen on startup) and have tried everything.  I actually managed to load the game one time without any issue but have not been able to duplicate the successful launch.  I have deleted the config file to see if that'd fix it and it did not.  I've spent over an hour already just trying to get it fixed and I'm getting extremely frustrated.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

What anti-virus are you running?

Doeetright

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Re: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2017, 07:39:22 pm »
Just the basic Windows 10 whatever it is, used to be called Defender not sure what it's called now.  I also have Malwarebytes, I'll turn it off really quick and get back to you on if that helps.  Generally speaking it doesn't interfere with games though.

Altos

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Re: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2017, 07:57:41 pm »
Whenever I load up Underrail, it always starts up as a black rectangle in the center of my monitor and stays like that for a minute or two before finally loading up in fullscreen, but honestly I'm not that bothered by the wait because it does always start up eventually.

So, with that in mind, have you tried just giving it another few minutes to boot up fully?

I know that's far from a perfect fix, but going off of my own experience that's all I can really recommend. I too have Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on a Windows 10 PC, so if it works for me maybe it'll work for you, too? It seems to work for everyone that asks this question on the Steam forums (though, to be fair, they never really respond to my help, so it's hard to tell sometimes).

Doeetright

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Re: [Steam Version] Black screen on startup
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2017, 08:20:42 pm »
Yeah, I tried waiting it out and that didn't fix it.  It has literately sat for 30min+ being the only active application running  and nothing more than a black screen.  Just tried without malwarebytes running and that didn't fix it.  Guess I'm going to have to ask for a refund :(