No Man's Sky 'Not Starting' or 'Failing To Launch'? - Here's What Worked For Me [Notification/Tutorial]

[Text-Mode Only: This posting is being shared as Text-Only, to speed up the ability to share it, at this time. 

I may return to add helpful screenshots/diagrams/etc, at a later date.]

Update 1: Added link to driver download, for the version that worked for me (NVIDIA website)
Update 2: Oddly, the GOG version was working - but as of 09.02 neither game starts up at all

For the past week or so (since the BEYOND release) I've had a problem trying to get back into No Man's Sky to check it out... The game just wouldn't start/launch. I noticed that it was popping up in the Windows Taskbar but then it would 'close itself' or 'crash' - either way, resulting in the game closing up and I wasn't able to play and try out the new stuff!

After messing with it off and on for about a week, I finally figured out something that worked - No Man's Sky actually starts now, and I can play! Here are the things I tried at first:

• Restarted PC/system
• Re-installed NMS
• Verified Cache (Steam version**)
• Disabled Anti-Virus temporarily while running game (third-party AV, Windows Defender, etc)
• Ran game as Administrator
• Ran the Compatibility Troubleshooter for the game executable (Windows 10, did not affect result of game closing itself upon starting it)
• Dusted out system and hardware (to help with potential overheating, corruption/errors due to heat and dust issues, etc)
• Re-installed NMS to C: drive (Windows/main drive/partition, then moved NMS back to other SSD [I had it originally on], as it made no difference)
• Re-installed GPU drivers (videocard 'system files that Windows uses to 'talk' to the hardware' [is how I describe "computer drivers" to others])
• Ran Windows Update (there was an Update package, did not affect result of game closing itself)
• Considered re-installing Windows 10 (then did not do it - this time - lol)

I tried a ton of other little things as well, like re-installing Visual C++ libraries for Windows (system files that are part of Windows that many, many programs utilize) - it had apparently worked for many people, and I saw this mentioned in a few different Game Support forums (eg. Reddit, Steam, GameFaqs, etc) if you want to try this, these can be found at the Microsoft website, here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

With all of these steps (many of them mentioned by helpful users on multiple forums online - most of them I knew and tried myself), at some point, they would 'get the game working' for many people. Sadly, not for me. I had to hunt around and 'hack away at the bushes of the problem jungle' on my own for awhile... Finally, I found something that got No Man's Sky working for me - here is what I did:

'Roll back' the GPU drivers (videocard system files that Windows uses to 'talk' to the hardware) to an older version, then re-install the latest version of the GPU drivers (non-'clean' install). BOOM it worked! 

Here is the steps I took that finally got No Man's Sky working:

• Regress the GPU drivers [re-install older and older versions of the GPU drivers] until the game works (for me, that meant I re-installed older drivers over and over until NMS started 'fully and without issues' - for me, that was NVIDIA GPU Driver version 391.01 - this driver can be downloaded directly from NVIDIA's website, however, their own Search for Drivers does not go back that far... I found these older versions by going to Google and searching "NVIDIA driver 391", for example, then following a Link that goes to NVIDIA's Driver website [as opposed to other third-party websites, not that they are always 'bad', some are great, but I wanted the official NVIDIA drivers from them, for this]). If you want to try the exact version I found worked for me, the link to NVIDIA's release of that Driver is here:
  https://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/131443/en-us
• Once game is verified as 'working without issues', re-install latest GPU Driver (version 436.xx as of the time of this posting) 'on top of' the currently installed Drivers [newer versions of NVIDIA Drivers 'uninstall' the older versions, but just do not chose the 'clean' install, where it deletes your Profiles, etc]. I found I also had to select to install the "NVIDIA HD Audio" and "NVIDIA 3D" options, as well...

That's it!

Although professionally I am a Computer Tech, I'm not a Developer/Programmer, so I'm not 100% sure why it got No Man's Sky working finally (but I can assume some things, like the game needing some older Windows System libraries that got 'corrupted' or lost, somehow, and other things that could have occurred) - but I'm just glad that the game runs once again. 

Of course, this may not be your specific issue with NMS not starting for you, my dear reader; but perhaps it can help the game to run for you, too. Good Luck with it - and a many-a-Good-Journey to you, Traveller! 

Addendum: As of 09.02, both versions (GOG and Steam) now do not start up (they do not run properly) - the game appears in the Taskbar for a moment, then closes itself. I shall try some Troubleshooting again, and if I find another 'fix', I will return to share it here...

**Oddly, the Good Old Games (now GOG.com) version, that I received as a gift a while ago, worked fine... Only the Steam version of NMS had issues... During the course of Troubleshooting the Steam version, the GOG version stopped working [lol] - then, after 'fixing' the Steam version, the GOG version was working once again. Possibly, the issues were related, but I am not sure. Hopefully, one of the steps mentioned herein (or my 'final solution' step [maybe I should rename that]) will work for you

It's Not Just You™ - Paladins (Beta), Having Issues Not Starting or Not Running In 64-bit Mode, Battlegrounds [Notification, Updated As Encountered]

[Currently, this post is mostly in Text-Only Mode, to speed up the ability to publish it... 

I may return to add some Images and/or Screenshots in the future.

This post will be Updated for the next few days, as I encounter new related information.]

If you are trying to play the newest addition to Paladins, Battlegrounds, which is being released in Alpha Testing Stage in their Latest Update - and you are having issues with either (1) the game not launching/starting or (2) the game running in 32-bit mode [which stops you from being able to enter the Battlegrounds, which requires 64-bit mode] - just letting you know, It's Not Just You™...

For the past little while, I have been trying to get into Paladins and try out this new Game Mode, and take a look at any new changes; but I have been running into multiple issues with the game itself. If related Paladins Forums 'everywhere' (Steam, Reddit, Official Forums, etc) are any indication, many, many others are having issues as well.

I wanted to take a moment to make this posting because, even though it seems there are a few people that have 'gotten it running', there are many others, like me, that have not. I wanted to share this experience and related information, so that others may know that, well... It's Not Just Them.

Since I have run into multiple issues and have tries multiple steps so far, I will share them here in Point Form as a list:


Issues Seen/Encountered:

• Game not starting [Launcher will start, but game itself will not show up]
• Game not stopping [Game will not Terminate, Steam says it is Running still, but it is not, or has not started]
• Game not running in 64-bit mode [Game starts in 32-bit Mode and therefore The Battlegrounds can not be tested/run, as it states in-game "64-bit Mode Required"]
• Cannot Verify Integrity Of Game Files, via Steam [Steam states to 'exit any game files or tools' related to the game, but none are running]

Steps Taken/Tried:

• Put "-Use64" [without quotes] into Optional Game Command Line Parameters (Options/Commands) in Launcher
• Put "-dx11" [without quotes] into Optional Game Command Line Parameters (Options/Commands) in Launcher
• Checked "Use 64 bit Client" in Launcher Options [this has never been 'unchecked' by me]
• Verified Cache ['double-checked' the game files through Steam, to see if they are what they are supposed to be]

Unfortunately, since I cannot make the game 'run in 64-bit Mode and enter The Battlegrounds' in a repeated a reliable manner - I cannot make a section containing a 'Fix' at this time... I will continue to observe various Forums and Support Responses, try various Suggested Steps (from the Developers and other helpful Paladin Players (there are a lot of them out there!)), and see if I can make any progress that results in stable and repeatable game launching and gameplay. If I do, I will return here and add it as a 'Fix' section. 

For now, despite them not working for me/on my system, there are a few isolated people that have had success with some of the Steps listed. If you are experiencing any of these issues with Paladins at this time, try some or all of them above. Perhaps one of them will work for you, too. 

Good Luck with it - and try to stay positive, remembering - It's Not Just You™!

Quick Tip: NVIDIA 'In Game Overlay' Stopped Working? Here's How To At Least Get It Going Again [Fix / Workaround That Might Work For Some, Updated 2018-04-26]

Whether it wants to be called Shadowplay, Share or [as of the time of this post] In-Game Overlay; it doesn't really matter to most people I think - we just look for something to record our gameplay once in a while, maybe take some Screenshots, 'and just work'. Thankfully, NVIDIA's In-Game Overlay [or whatever it may be called by the time I finish this post, heh] does just that. Most of the time.


Although I rotate between a handful of different recording programs off and on (such as Bandicam, Action, Playclaw and others - just for fun and also slowly working on another 'Game Recording Comparison' for the future), In-Game Overlay [built into the NVIDIA Drivers, aka "for free"] records when I want, it records a Buffered Loop (a timed, re-recording of 'the last xyz seconds', to save when needed) - and it even takes Screenshots and more. However, sometimes this big fella has just 'stopped working' lately. No saving Screenshots, no Recording, no Error Message, Nothing; and I wasn't sure why... After only a tiny bit of Troubleshooting, I quickly figured out how to at least 'get it going again' and I just wanted to share that here for you all, in a Quick Tip™.

To be honest [I always believe in being completely honest], I am still not sure why NVIDIA's In-Game Overlay stopped working - but I did figure out how to simply get it working again - and here's what I did:

• Once I noticed the Overlay wasn't taking Screenshots, I looked to see if the Overlay itself or more of the (many) NVIDIA utilities were still running, in the Task Manager. They were. [The In Game Overlay's Executable is still called "NVIDIA Share.exe", btw]
• Thinking that something might have gone wrong with the Overlay utility, I opened up NVIDIA's GeForce Experience.
• In GFX [my accro.], I clicked on the 'gear' in the upper-right corner, "Settings".
• In the Settings area, I clicked on the switch/toggle for In-Game Overlay.
• Although it took longer than normal, it eventually turned Off. Clicking it again, it turned back On.

That's it! After those steps, the In-Game Overlay was working once again. Taking a Screenshot, for example, the notification from the Overlay came up, and the Screen was saved. It also started Recording again, without issue. Here is a 'Tutorial Image' of the steps to take:

Tutorial Image of what steps to take to 'restart' the NVIDIA In Game Overlay;
the recording utility built into the NVIDIA Drivers
(Click to see Full Size)

Although I do not have any details on why it failed, I still thought this short 'tip' would be helpful for people that might run into this ("shadowplay not recording" or "in-game overlay not taking screenshots", etc) - so I wanted to share it here. HTH!

...

Update, 2018-03-26: Just a quick Update, that as of March 2018, I have run into somewhat of an extension of this issue, where GFX is no longer responding to this simple 'toggle' of the In-Game Overlay... Doing so (which used to temporarily 'fix' the issue above), now merely results in an 'error' message box, stating "That Didn't Work. Try Restarting Your System.", which although polite, is not very informative as to what caused the error or what else can be attempted to isolate/troubleshoot the issue further:

Doing some more research online, I see many others running into this issue, as well as its' 'extension' here... However, there still is no absolute 'fix' for this problem yet [at least, none that is verifiable and repeatable, which I prefer to have as a qualification to my sharing it here as a "fix"] - therefore, I cannot say for certain what can be done to fix it, even though a wide range of things have somewhat worked for others (some early steps work, others must use further steps), such as:

• Uninstalling/Reinstalling GeForce Experience
• Installing an older version of GeForce Experience
• Utilizing a third-party 'drivers uninstaller' to completely remove NVIDIA's GPU Drivers and Reinstall NVIDIA's GPU Drivers/GeForce Experience [AMD users can get a similar utility directly from AMD]
• Reinstallation/Formatting of entire system (eg. Windows) and Reinstalling NVIDIA GPU Drivers and Reinstalling GeForce Experience

...

Update, 2018-04-26: Just another Update, that as of April 2018, I was looking at this issue once again [since it still occurs, where InGameOverlay/Share just 'stops working' randomly (for no apparent reason)] and found that NVIDIA has this exact symptom listed as an "Open Issue (Windows 10)" in their Driver Updates now (Change Log / Release Notes); which basically means it is 'a known issue', but that they do not have a fix/patch at this time. This was found in the Release Notes for NVIDIA GPU Driver version 397.31, found here:

https://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/397.31/397.31-win10-win8-win7-desktop-release-notes.pdf

(USA Source of NVIDIA GPU Drivers, Release Notes)

As you can see, under the Windows 10 Section, it lists this very problem as an Open Issue. Good Luck, NVIDIA - I hope you find a solution someday!

Excerpt of the Driver Release Notes, showing this problem as an 'open issue'
Click to see Full Size

Again, once I find out what actually is a solid fix for this issue, I will state so here and post it in big, bold lettering [lol], along with a Tutorial Image (text on an example image of the solution, etc). Until then...

It's Not Just You™: AMD's Crimson Drivers, Radeon ReLive Not Working At First [Possible Fix]

Just a quick post before I go to bed here, that I wanted to share about the AMD Crimson Drivers that I got notified about just a bit ago, which included AMD's "ReLive", their new Game [and Desktop] Recording utility - 'built-in' to their 16.12 Drivers... For those who couldn't get it working right away (I see posts about it already in the Official AMD Forums), I couldn't either... And although I eventually did, I wanted to let others know, if you are having issues with it: It's Not Just You™

I was already starting to get tired when I saw a notification of the Driver Update - and I had no idea there was a nifty Game Recording 'app' incoming with it [I haven't been reading much lately, I have another Cold for pete's sake!]. For AMD GPU owners, waiting patiently to see if AMD was going to come out with their own Game Recording utility - it's here! The future is now!

Check out AMD's Video on their ReLive edition of Radeon here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRSm12lwRe4

[I really wanted to start Testing it all out tonight, running Benchmarks and collecting Data for a TestRun or a Quality Test with it; but my sleepyness is actually building and getting the better of me, so I better go soon - I wanted to share what I did this evening though, to get it working (for me), before I go...]


Without going over the few things I tried first that didn't work (setting configuration, testing with different games, etc), here's the steps to take that finally got it running, for me:

• Download the Latest AMD Drivers via their main Website (http://support.amd.com/)
• Uninstall the main AMD Drivers via the Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall/Change Program
• Reboot
• Install AMD Drivers via the Download from their Website
• Reboot

That's it!

After that, even though I have a 200 Series* AMD GPU at the time of this writing**, I was able to get ReLive up and running, even playing a little bit with the configuration and making a couple of short test recordings, before I came here to write this quick 'tip' of what might help get it going for others... It's a larger 'step' (messing with Drivers, as opposed to just messing with Configuration/Settings); but I always like to Troubleshoot from the smallest steps first (eg. changing some settings) to larger steps (eg. re-installing software) to huge steps (eg. OS reinstallation, hardware changes). Thankfully, it started working just fine after only a bit of a 'larger step' taken.

Although with the most recent versions of Windows you don't always have to Reboot it when making changes, it helps to get everything 'in order' in the background, re-initializing all hardware and Drivers fully - which is why many installers/software still get you to do it through their installation programs.

I plan on putting the Game Recorder through it's paces, working on a TestRun and a QualityTest, to come in the future here at The Blog - for now though, hopefully ReLive can get up and working for you, too - good luck, and if you are having troubles with it, remember - It's Not Just You™!






* The AMD page on ReLive at their main website (http://www.amd.com/en-us/innovations/software-technologies/radeon-software/gaming/radeon-relive) shows only 400 Series GPUs as 'Officially Compatible'. Although it does not state 'it will not work with earlier Series', it is unknown 100% at this time if it is possible, hence my mentioning it above


** Disclaimer and Personal Veracity Statement: Although I currently own an AMD GPU, I have owned NVIDIA GPUs in the past and will do so in the future. I have no personal preference between the two, purchasing one or the other as Upgrades depending on my needs at the time and my financial limitations at the time I choose to Upgrade. I have not and will not receive any compensation for mentioning or talking about either companies' products. I am merely an enthusiastic user (of both).

Diablo II - Getting Ladder-Only Runewords Working In Single-Player Mode, Without Any Addons [Updated for Patch 1.14d]

[This post is currently being uploaded as Text Only for now - I may add images and some screenshots to it Soon™]

[Update 2016-06: As of Patch 1.14, where the save game information is kept has changed. I have tested this process and all changes are noted within**, including relocation of Runes.txt placement. This process still works as of this Patch.]

[Update 2016-07-03: As of Patch 1.14d, the save game information has been reverted by Blizzard 'back' to the 'older' instructions. The section at the bottom, talking about creating the Subfolders and Runes.txt in the 'Windows User' location is not needed in 1.14D - the steps talking about creating Subfolders and the Runes.txt are still required overall though, but work once again for the 'Game Installation' location itself - tested this as of this Update ...date.] 

[Personal note at end †  certain Runewords are not working?]

I recently re-installed Diablo2, ready to once again enjoy days gone by of Monsters, Magic and Loot... I wrote an article last year, about getting the scroll-wheel to work for switching spells/skills (the 'Right Mouse' Secondary Skill functions) in D2, in Windows. That post is located here:
http://gametipsandmore.blogspot.ca/2014/06/diablo-ii-getting-scrollwheel-to-work.html

After setting up the mouse-wheel once again, I started up a Single-Player game and made a character for it [a Necromancer, as I love Summoners]. I had collected some Runes for Runewords in the past, archiving them for SinglePlayer with The Hero Editor, a small utility that can save items found in Single Player Mode, by Exporting them to files on a local system/disk (as Diablo 2 Item [.d2i] files), which can then be Imported at a later time, into a future Character in Single Player Mode [only] through the same utility [which was "written mainly by Shokaku and ZonFire99" according to the ReadMe file for it].

Using the Hero Editor, I imported past runes and gems into my new character, using the Horadric Cube to create higher Runes I needed, for creating some Runewords. After trying to create an Enigma armor, I found that it was a Runeword that was not craftable in Single Player Mode (when trying to create it, the item simply fills up with the Runes used and utilizes the bonuses from the single Runes themselves, not creating the 'Special Item' that the Runeword would normally create, in an online, BattleNet game).

Searching online for some clues as to what could be done, I found in a few forums, mention of Addons that could possibly be used to create Ladder-Only Runewords in Single Player games. For now, I went looking for ways to craft Runewords in D2 without Addons. What I found, were various instructions to create a Text file in a created Subdirectory of Diablo2, where the Single Player game would use it as a source for Runewords... great! The only issue was that there seemed to be some variance for how the Subfolders should be created/named, to make the Text file work (there were multiple versions of information on what the subfolders should be).

Experimenting on my own then, I found the path of folders that would need to be created within the Diablo2 directory, in order to get this Text file to work. Just to summarize again, what this will do is:

» Allow Diablo II to use Ladder-Only Runewords in Single Player games, by reading Runeword information from a Text file (with no outside Addons or Mods needed to do so)


To do this, here is the working folder structure to create in the Diablo II directory:

<D2 installation folder>/Data/Global/Excel/Runes.txt


The steps to create the above folder structure are:

• in the Diablo II directory, create a New Folder called Data
• in the newly-created Data folder, create a New Folder called Global
• in the newly-created Global folder, create a New Folder called Excel
• in the newly-created folder called Excel, place the Text file from my PasteBin here:
  http://pastebin.com/xGLWhmZ1(If you do not feel comfortable Downloading anything at all for this procedure, simply copy and paste the text from that website and paste it into a text file, one that you create in the Excel folder, within the Diablo II directory structure you just created via the above - be sure to name the text file Runes.txt)
• lastly, add "-direct" and "-txt" to the Shortcut Properties for the "Diablo II.exe" file that starts up the game. The quotation marks aren't added, only the commands, such that the Target line in the Shortcut should then look like this:
  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Diablo II\Diablo II.exe" -direct -txt
  (the above line assumes that it is installed into the C: drive of the system. If you installed Diablo2 into a different drive/partition, the first letter would be whatever your drive letter is of where D2 is installed - the main part to match is the end portions, the "-direct -txt" added to the end, which allows usage of the Text file used in this process)

That's it!

What should occur in theory is, Diablo2 will use the Runeword information from that text file, allowing Runewords to now function within the Single Player game mode (even ones that are "Ladder Only")!

After "cubing-up" some new Runes that I did not have [using a Hero Editor to save/import the ones I had], I created an Enigma Runeword armor. Then, to specifically test the procedure above with a "Ladder-Only Runeword", I attempted to create an Insight for my Merc - and it worked! Hopefully, this will help you utilize Runewords in Single Player, too.


Note: Although I talked about a utility called Hero Editor within this post, it is not a required aspect of the steps above [ie. I use it for Item saving, not Runeword creation]. Also, although an "Excel" folder is created, neither Microsoft Office nor Excel or any other Spreadsheet-type of application need be present on the system - only a simple Text file and a few New Folders created are all that is needed.




** Update for Patch 1.14:

The file structure has changed, for where the game saves your character files, as of this Patch.

While I am not a developer for Blizzard, looking at the effects this Patch will have with Windows, I assume this was done to create a maintainable save game system for people upgrading from Windows 7/8/8.1 to Windows 10, as upgrading Windows [or reinstalling the game itself, if needed] will then not affect your save games in any way and they can then still be found by Diablo 2 (Single Player, etc) [by using this new directory setup implemented in 1.14].

As of Patch 1.14, your save game information is now located at:

C:/Users/<YOUR USER NAME>/Saved Games/Diablo II/

Your saved games, maps and characters are all now within that folder above [assuming C: as your Windows Installation Drive/Location, or where Windows and Saved Games can be found].

To continue using Runewords in Single Player with Patch 1.14, simply create new folders within (the Data folder may already be present), so that your file structure looks like this:

C:/Users/<YOUR USER NAME>/Saved Games/Diablo II/Data/Global/Excel/Runes.txt

Placing the Runes.txt folder within the Excel folder, as shown above, will then allow you to continue using Runewords in Single Player with the new file structure utilized in Patch 1.14 [personally tested as of 2016-06-06].


Tip: Don't forget to add "-direct" and "-txt" to the Shortcut Properties for the "Diablo II.exe", if needed, so that the end of the Shortcut Target line looks like this:
... \Diablo II\Diablo II.exe" -direct -txt


Enjoy - and See You In The Game sometime on BattleNet!



[Personal Log, Regarding Addons, Mods and Utilities: Just a quick mention of my remark regarding 'without any addons' above - I have used Addons, Mods and Utilities in the past, with games, and will likely do so in the future - however, mostly for security reasons, I normally do not and usually advise others against them at first. I realize that most of them are safe, hence my own usage of addons, mods and utilities at times; but because of the chance to encounter security risks, I usually advise against them initially, if people ask me for input. In the end though, most Addons, Mods and Utilities for most games are Safe and offer great functionality, the result of many hours of hard work that their creators have poured into them (if you use Addons or Mods or Utilities for games and you liked them, let their creators know, if you can)]


[Because this post is over a year old now, I have made a newer one (here at the blog, in June/July 2016) talking about this process again, with a bit more detailed instructions (a few screenshots showing the process) - along with my experiences of installing/playing D2 in Windows 10 - if it's not on 'the front page' anymore, that article can be located by going direct to the blog posting here.]

† [It seems that certain Runewords were not working for some people, according to various forum posts, using Add-Ons and other methods. For example, the Runeword EDGE, did not work for some. I have personally created INSIGHT and other Runewords, so this was puzzling. I investigated this potential limitation and found that it may be due to either limitations in the Add-On/Program being used, or the Runes.txt file itself containing Commas, which can occur if the file is opened in a Spreadsheet application (which may turn the file into a Comma-delimited format (using Commas to separate sections)) - be sure to utilize my methods above and the text direct from my Pastebin source (copying it into a Text file or downloading it as a Text file), or use the text I re-pasted into a 'Code' area at my newer article on this, here, copying it in to a Text file and placing it into the Data/Global/Excel subfolder. As of 2016-07-06 I personally tested the Runeword EDGE and it worked using these methods. I hope it works for you as well!] 

Quick Tip: Planetside 2 - Medic Revive Not Working [Note]

Just a quick tip for those who have recently jumped back into playing some frantic Planetside 2 and thought there was something wrong with the medic tool, being unable to revive, thinking they can't revive, etc - there was a patch a bit back that changed the Medic Tool so that Left-Click will Heal and Right-Click will Revive. Although changing such a long running/'staple' operation is a little lip-pursing, it should have the overall positive effect of assisting with attempting to revive within a tight group of teammates (instead of your tool randomly healing someone close, it should more effectively target the face down teammate on the ground). Just a note.


See You In The Games!