Bug - Green Starfield after 5.6.2 [SOLVED]

[SFC_Scott]

Ryzen 5 5500
AMD Radeon 6700 (Tried Nvidia RTX 3060 ti as well)
16 GB RAM
Window 11
Steam Version

I upgraded to a new PC running Windows 11 from one running Windows 10.

I installed XWA and XWAUG and all patches. My starfield turned green.

I uninstalled everything, deleted the XWA folder, then reinstalled and launched the game after each patch/update.

The green starfield occured after the XWAUG 5.6.2 patch. It occurs using the Radeon 6700 and the RTX 3060 ti.

I had no issues under Windows 10, i7 7700 and the 3060 ti. If I missed a thread on this, I apologize.

Thanks in advance for any help!!

[Ace Antilles]

Ryzen 5 5500
AMD Radeon 6700 (Tried Nvidia RTX 3060 ti as well)
16 GB RAM
Window 11

I upgraded to a new PC running Windows 11 from one running Windows 10.

I installed XWA and XWAUG and all patches. My starfield turned green.

I uninstalled everything, deleted the XWA folder, then reinstalled and launched the game after each patch/update.

The green starfield occured after the XWAUG 5.6.2 patch. It occurs using the Radeon 6700 and the RTX 3060 ti.

I had no issues under Windows 10, i7 7700 and the 3060 ti. If I missed a thread on this, I apologize.

Thanks in advance for any help!!

So if you use Update 5.0 then it's ok?
Is this in campaign, skirmish or both?
Are you using Steam or was it a Steam install etc.

Have you modded, changed or downloaded anything else to the game?
This includes XWAU patches etc.
Sorry you have had an issue

[SFC_Scott]

Works fine under 5.0. Steam Version. I only tested it under Skirmish mode (in the simulator) single player. No other mods.

[SFC_Scott]

It might be worth noting that after installing XWAU Mega Patch, the 5.0 update and the 5.6.2 addon patch, I did NOT make any changes or configure anything. I did select the 16:9 aspect ratio during setup, everything else is default settings.

[Ace Antilles]

Works fine under 5.0. Steam Version. I only tested it under Skirmish mode (in the simulator) single player. No other mods.

Steam is one the biggest cause of issues with XWAU.
It's recommended to do a reinstall.
You need to try and follow this method.

-----------------------------------------
Install XWA from Steam.
Run the game once to check it works.
EXIT STEAM! - This is the biggest step to help fix.
NEVER RUN THE GAME FROM STEAM AFTER THIS
You can even uninstall the game from Steam as it's not necessary.

Copy the XWA folder to a new location - C:\Games for example.
Don't install into a Program Files folder, desktop or other locked folder.
Don't run the XWAU installer from the same folder as XWA.

Recommend making a zipped copy of the base game, in case of future reinstalls needed

Install XWAU 2020 to the new location.
Run the game once to check it works.
Play the game from the Desktop shortcut that IS NOT Steam.
If there is no Shortcut use Alliance.exe to play.

Install XWAU Update 5.
Run the game once to check it works.

Install XWAU Update 5.6.2
Run the game once to check it works.
----------------------------------------------

[SFC_Scott]

I'll give this a shot. As I mentioned, I had no issues under Windows 10. Also I never launch from Steam, only the desktop icon. However, I do have 2 XWA shortcuts on my desktop. One takes me directly to the XWA launcher/options menu. The other opens up a window that says something to the effect of "Launching Steam" or something like that, then it launches the game. I did inadvertently use that shortcut once. But I have generally used the other non steam shortcut, with the same green starfield result. I'll try your recommendations and see how that goes. It'll be tomorrow as I'm at work. Thanks for the speedy help!

[Ace Antilles]

I'll give this a shot. As I mentioned, I had no issues under Windows 10. Also I never launch from Steam, only the desktop icon. However, I do have 2 XWA shortcuts on my desktop. One takes me directly to the XWA launcher/options menu. The other opens up a window that says something to the effect of "Launching Steam" or something like that, then it launches the game. I did inadvertently use that shortcut once. But I have generally used the other non steam shortcut, with the same green starfield result. I'll try your recommendations and see how that goes. It'll be tomorrow as I'm at work. Thanks for the speedy help!

The problem is if XWA is installed in the Steam folder it may get updated or reverted without knowing.
That and often that can be in ProgramFiles or somewhere.
It's always best to remove it from the equation.

I'm running Windows 11 and no issues but getting all your systems back up to speed can always be fussy.

[SFC_Scott]

I may have made a mistake. Did I need to terminate the Steam app so it's not running in the background?

I did a clean install of XWA through Steam. I launched XWA to insure it works. I copied the XWA folder and pasted it into the root directory of my D drive. I uninstalled XWA from the Steam directory using the Steam app. I closed the Steam app window, but did not terminate the app.

I launched XWA from the folder in my D drive. When I launched Alliance.exe, it opens the Steam app and asks which drive I want to install XWA to.

[Ace Antilles]

Install XWA from Steam.
Run the game once to check it works.
EXIT STEAM

Copy the XWA folder to a new location - D:\Games for example.

UNINSTALL the game from Steam as it's not necessary.
Once you copy the game you no longer need Steam running to play.

THEN you need to install the XWAU before the game will work again.
You can play it without Steam and the XWAU working

[SFC_Scott]

Install XWA from Steam.
Run the game once to check it works.
EXIT STEAM

Copy the XWA folder to a new location - D:\Games for example.

UNINSTALL the game from Steam as it's not necessary.
Once you copy the game you no longer need Steam running to play.

THEN you need to install the XWAU before the game will work again.
You can play it without Steam and the XWAU working

Got it!! I have to install XWAU before it will work AND terminate the Steam app! Apparently my ability to follow directions has declined!! I'll give it another go tomorrow.

[SFC_Scott]

So I actually followed your instructions this time. Am running XWAU from the games folder of my E drive. Once again, the green starfield showed up after the 5.6.2 update. Pardon the glare. I used my phone to take the picture.

[m0rgg]

That's the first time I see this issue...
Have you tried the latest ddraw.dll beta available in the Downloads section?

[SFC_Scott]

That's the first time I see this issue...
Have you tried the latest ddraw.dll beta available in the Downloads section?

I have not. Advice is what I am here for.

[Ace Antilles]

So I actually followed your instructions this time. Am running XWAU from the games folder of my E drive. Once again, the green starfield showed up after the 5.6.2 update. Pardon the glare. I used my phone to take the picture.

What is maybe a good idea is to make a copy of this working folder. Then you can test things on another in case you mess this up.
You can have numerous installs of the game.

If you look in the folder "Backup" you should see a backup for update 5.
If the game works on that then something changed.

You can copy select files back that live in the main folder to see if it changes.
Ddraw and hooks are normally it.
If it's fine in the concourse it's often a ddraw thing.

[blue_max]

@SFC_Scott Can you open an explorer on this location:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore

If that path isn't empty try finding anything that might be related to XWA. I don't know exactly what it would look like (maybe "Program Files (x86)\Steam\..\xwingalliance.exe" or similar); but you can open a console on that path and try recursively finding files like "xwingalliance.exe" or "ddraw.dll" like this:

dir ddraw* /s /p

32-bit apps sometimes create files and whole paths under %VirtualStore% for backwards compatibility. When that happens, sometimes you may have conflicting files and you may never know about it. That happened to me once and the fix was to simply delete the copies I had under %VirtualStore% (just be careful with pilot *.plt files: you may want to back those up first).

Have you tried turning off the Effects in Babu Frik to see what happens?

[SFC_Scott]

This is all a great start! I work nights, and am starting a short vacation tonight. It will take me a few days to dig into it. I can confirm that in the concourse....at least the quarters....everything is fine. I go directly to the simulator, launch the mission and end up with the green starfield. Also, it works fine under the 5.0 patch. It is definitely something with the 5.6.2 patch.

[SFC_Scott]

@SFC_Scott Can you open an explorer on this location:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore

If that path isn't empty try finding anything that might be related to XWA. I don't know exactly what it would look like (maybe "Program Files (x86)\Steam\..\xwingalliance.exe" or similar); but you can open a console on that path and try recursively finding files like "xwingalliance.exe" or "ddraw.dll" like this:

dir ddraw* /s /p

32-bit apps sometimes create files and whole paths under %VirtualStore% for backwards compatibility. When that happens, sometimes you may have conflicting files and you may never know about it. That happened to me once and the fix was to simply delete the copies I had under %VirtualStore% (just be careful with pilot *.plt files: you may want to back those up first).

Have you tried turning off the Effects in Babu Frik to see what happens?

I have not tried turning off the effects. At this point I have left everything at default. Ran the patches and launched the game with no adjustments. My plan was to start changing things in Babu Frik one at a time to try and solve it through the process of elimination. But I decided to reach out to those in the know first, in case it was a known issue. No sense reinventing the wheel, ya know?

[Ace Antilles]

@SFC_Scott Can you open an explorer on this location:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore

If that path isn't empty try finding anything that might be related to XWA. I don't know exactly what it would look like (maybe "Program Files (x86)\Steam\..\xwingalliance.exe" or similar); but you can open a console on that path and try recursively finding files like "xwingalliance.exe" or "ddraw.dll" like this:

dir ddraw* /s /p

32-bit apps sometimes create files and whole paths under %VirtualStore% for backwards compatibility. When that happens, sometimes you may have conflicting files and you may never know about it. That happened to me once and the fix was to simply delete the copies I had under %VirtualStore% (just be careful with pilot *.plt files: you may want to back those up first).

Have you tried turning off the Effects in Babu Frik to see what happens?

I have not tried turning off the effects. At this point I have left everything at default. Ran the patches and launched the game with no adjustments. My plan was to start changing things in Babu Frik one at a time to try and solve it through the process of elimination. But I decided to reach out to those in the know first, in case it was a known issue. No sense reinventing the wheel, ya know?

Personally I would start with the latest Beta ddraw.
Then if that doesn't work the one in the Backup folder I mentioned.

It's unlikely an effect in Babu Friks messed it up and most ref the Ddraw files anyway.
So do those options after this

[JeremyaFr]

Pardon the glare. I used my phone to take the picture.

Hello,
You can use CTRL + PRINTSCREEN to take a screenshot during gameplay. The images are saved in the XWA directory.

See XWAU Keybinds

[SFC_Scott]

Pardon the glare. I used my phone to take the picture.

Hello,
You can use CTRL + PRINTSCREEN to take a screenshot during gameplay. The images are saved in the XWA directory.

See XWAU Keybinds

I was aware of that, but I've been corresponding with you all through my cell phone and not my PC. Thanks though! I always appreciate good advice!

[SFC_Scott]

I have an update on the Green Starfield Saga!!

As I mentioned, the problem I was having with the green starfield was happening with my Radeon 6700 and RTX 3060 Ti. I had problems with the 6700 and am returning it for a warranty exchange. I reinstalled the 3060, launched XWAU, and still had the green starfield. I shut down XWAU. I was preparing to make adjustments to the game setting and noticed there was a NVIDIA driver update released on the 21st. I installed the update and decided to double check the green starfield....and it was gone! Everything is now as it should be! Not sure if it will return when I get the new 6700, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Thanks for all the helpful advice and patience!