What does the error look like?
You play the game at a stable framerate (60+ FPS) for a couple of minutes on Windows 11 and then three possible things happen:
1.) "Fatal Error! The Game Has Crashed And Will Now Close!"
2.) "LowLevelFatalError [File:Unknown] [Line: 198] Unreal Engine is exiting due to D3D device being lost"
3.) You don't get an error message, but the game shuts down/freezes unexpectedly at various locations, seemingly without a reason.
When will you fix it?
These three bugs listed above are not related to anything content or code related inside the game package. These bugs happen across a variety of games created with Unreal Engine. They are tied to Unreal Engine or specific hardware issues and can't be solved by the game dev. However you can fix them if you encounter them, once you've discovered their origin.
How can you be sure, that the game freezing isn't content or code related?
When the game is freezing or suddenly shutting down, I can't rule out a code related issue (e.g. an endless loop). But I have a group of hardcore loyal testers. Each aspect of the game has been tested rigorously on multiple setups for years. Before I release any new features or updates I go through countless hours of testing and so do they. That being said: If you encounter the game shutting down at the same location multiple times, that definitely points towards an issue on my end. In that case contact me directly via Email.
One or a combination of the following solutions has helped other users with Unreal Engine games, that display this error in the past:
First of all: Use Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL) and the Event Viewer (Windows Logs/ Applications) for debug and observe carefully what's happening in the background of Windows when the game crashes! Check GPU performance and temperature during gameplay and after gameplay. Temperature should never exceed 70 degrees Celsius, and GPU usage should never reach 99%. If it is in the 90s that's OK, but ideally it should be somewhere around 40-80%. RAM usage should never be significantly higher than the total size of your game files during gameplay (significantly means more than 6GB). If your game is 11.8 GB in size and the RAM usage is 20GBs and more, something is wrong. Some background apps like browsers and other programs can eat up quite a lot of ram, but not that much.
Before you continue with any of the other steps run the special tool "Windows Memory Diagnostic" first. This tool will tell you if everything is alright with your RAM sticks. Doing a single Memory Diagnostic check will save countless hours of tracking down bugs. Even if you think that "other games run without issues" that could be, because these other games don't consume as much RAM as this one does.
1.) Most Common Issue: If you have downloaded a previous version of the game in the past ensure that you have made hidden folders visible in the Windows File Explorer settings and navigate to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local and delete both the Unreal Engine folder and the Lakini's Woods folder. Both of them will be recreated when you restart the game. This prevents issues related to outdated temp files on your hard drive
2.) Updating GPU drivers, for Nvidia specifically upgrading to the latest Studio driver (this is so significant, because GPU drivers affect the game package directly. Often devs create their game packages WITH a specific generation of drivers, and if there are outdated drivers on the end user machine, then Unreal Engine is looking for files that don't exist. That's why a driver re-install often solves many, many issues)
3.) Downgrading GPU drivers (if your current drivers are up to date, downgrade to the previous driver version. This can also solve many issues, because of the same reason mentioned above: If your dev has created the game package with an older driver version, and the newest generation of drivers is not fully backwards compatible yet, then this can also lead to issues with the game package)
4.) Disabling "Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling" in the Display Settings of Windows
5.) Disabling GPU Overclocking (When Geforce Experience is open, press Alt+Z click on "Performance Settings" and reset them). You can also use MSI afterburner for this (but this obviously only makes sense if you've actively overclocked your GPU in the past)
6.) Capping your framerate at 60 FPS via Nvidia's Program related settings, right click on desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel to get there (this is something I will do myself during the next cook, so the game should be capped in future versions to 60 FPS automatically)
7.) Performing a Windows File verification check (Type "Command Prompt" into the search bar on the lower left side, then right click on the black "Command Prompt" logo and select "Run As Administrator" then type "sfc /scannow" into the entry field
8.) Going into the device manager and click on "Display Adapters". Ideally only your main GPU should appear there. If there are multiple GPUs installed, then this can lead to problems. Deactivate the ones that you don't recognize by clicking on "Properties" and then on the "Drivers" tab. Also check the driver versions of each one installed.
9.) Windows Updates ... I know ... I know ... the reason why everyone always suggests to update your windows to the newest version is DirectX11 and DirectX12. They are automatically updated through each new Windows Update, and if they are out of date it can lead to a complete shit show. Microsoft also offers a compilation of legacy directX versions for older games and older systems on their site. You can find them here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35
10.) If you have issues with other games as well, that points towards hardware problems.
If you encounter a variety of strange errors across the board, including file names changing or symbols disappearing, sudden freezes or non-responsiveness that points towards a faulty RAM stick (especially if the RAM specifications displayed in your PC info does not correspond with the amount of RAM you have installed). RAM issues are sneaky and difficult to recognize. One day everything is fine, the next day everything is fucked and you have no idea why. Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. This tool will clear your RAM and test each section of it, by copying data onto each section and then recalling it to see if the data copied and the data it collected are identical. It does this for every memory section. If it encounters a mismatch, that points towards a faulty RAM stick. In that case the way to go is to individually remove each RAM stick and run the memory diagnostic again. Use labels for each stick, so you don't get confused regarding which one is broken and which one is fine.
IMPORTANT: Faulty RAM sticks are common. They can be broken from the get go. Even a freshly built PC doesn't exclude RAM issues. If you've recently purchased new RAM sticks and notice memory diagnostic issues, take a picture of the memory diagnostic results and contact the seller to demand a replacement or refund. They are well aware that this is a common issue.
A GPU with a very high temperature points toward dust inside the case, a broken GPU fan or ventilation issues inside the casing.
Frequent restarts that you didn't initiate, or the PC suddenly not starting up after a crash could point toward a faulty PSU.
And (unfortunately) some fatal errors appear to be related to the GPU not sitting tightly in its slot. Modern GPUs are heavy, and depending on how they are set up they can start to "bend" downwards, which can lead to them getting dislodged slightly. This is often enough to create fatal crashes across the board.
Also check your installed HDs. If you notice a hard drive taking incredibly long to load, when you notice noise or ticking coming from your PC, or notice that it's symbol disappears from time to time when you check your setup in the Windows Explorer, that points toward a faulty Hard Drive. There are tools in Windows to check each hardware component for issues. To check your Hard Drive type: "CHKDSK" into the search box at the bottom and run the command. Windows will automatically check your HDs for issues and fix them if possible.
Google how to access each of these tools in Windows (DON'T DOWNLOAD ANY THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE!) all of these analytical tools are pre-installed on all versions of Windows. Downloading third party software almost always makes things worse.
11.) Make sure that Windows Defender and Windows Virus & Threat Protection haven't quarantined or interfered with your game. Type "Windows Security" into the search bar at the bottom and check the Windows Defender and Virus & Threat Protection settings. Exclude the game from any file checks and mark it as "safe" across the board, including Firewall.
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