Sins of a Solar Empire Technical FAQ

Frogboy

Join Date 03/2001

+2394

Sins of a Solar Empire Technical FAQ

You have problems? Read here first

You've got Sins of a Solar Empire home. You've installed it and you go to play and POW. Something goes wrong! What the heck? Look in here to see if your issue is addressed. If not, make a post and we'll do our best to help you out!

My multiplayer games keep crashing!

Almost all of the crash reports we've received in this regard were caused by some of the players using Mods that the other players weren't. If you're going to use Mods in a multiplayer game, either all players must use the same Mod (and version) or no Mods can be used. Otherwise this will create stability issues and de-sync problems the longer you play.

My game is crashing for another reason...

If you had the game installed on your PC previously (i.e., during the beta), you must uninstall it before installing the final game.

I have an NVIDIA card and my game or video driver keeps crashing!

NVIDIA has resolved this issue as of driver version 174. Check NVIDIA's website for the latest version (if you have a laptop and the OEM does not have the latest version, try laptopvideo2go.com instead).

Where are the files kept for Sins of a Solar Empire (such as screenshots and such?)

Vista:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\

XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\

Please note these directories may be Hidden by default. To unhide them, go to your Control Panel -> Folder Options -> View and set yourself to view hidden files and folders.

Note: If you're running the game through Stardock Central under Windows Vista, it will save your game settings under an Admin folder: C:\Users\ADMIN_NAME\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\

We are working to correct this behavior.

Why does the direct digital download version cost $5 more than game costs at the store?

The direct version is the Collector's Edition which includes additional non-game content such as a music CD (which you can download), PDF files of maps and tech trees, and a Windows theme.

Where is my Sins settings file found?

This file is located at:

Vista:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting\user.setting

XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting\user.setting

Please note these directories may be Hidden by default. To unhide them, go to your Control Panel -> Folder Options -> View and set yourself to view hidden files and folders.

The game blue screens or I get video corruption when I play.

Make sure you have the latest drivers for your video and sound card. This is particularly important if you have an older video card. The game will have problems on outdated drivers.

The game crashes in Vista.

This could be due to a known Vista bug which can be addressed here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=940105

How can I open my settings file if I need to change something?

You can open this and most Sins files with a simple text editor such as Notepad. We strongly recommend against using programs like Microsoft Word, however, as they introduce their own hidden formatting elements that may cause crashes.

My game has crashed and told me it saved a "minidump" file. What do I do?

Please open Windows Explorer to the location below and see if your dump file is there.

XP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp\Sins Dump

Vista: C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp\Sins Dump

If there is a minidump file present, please zip it up along with a copy of a dxdiag from your PC and a description of what you were doing when it occurred to support(at)ironcladgames(dot)com. Please note that you must provide your Sins of a Solar Empire serial number in your email to receive support (anti-piracy measure).

My game has a bug, what do I do?

You can send the save and/or recorded game that recreates the bug along with a description of how it occurred to us. Using the info above, locate the save/recorded game and compress it into either .zip or .rar format, then email it to us at support(at)ironcladgames(dot)com. Please note that you must provide your Sins of a Solar Empire serial number in your email to receive support (anti-piracy measure).

I try to start Sins but I get an "Audio Engine Failed To Initialize" error.

This is an indication that your sound card drivers are out-of-date, that you don't have a sound card, or that you don't have any speakers connected (Vista). Please try installing a valid, up-to-date sound driver for your system. A sound card is required to play the game.

I try to start Sins but the screen is a mess of color or is black and never loads the game.

Possible solutions:

Try turning off movies in the user.setting by changing ShowIntroMovies TRUE to ShowIntroMovies FALSE.

Try manually changing the resolution of the game in user.setting by changing the values associated with WINDOWEDWIDTH and WINDOWEDHEIGHT.

Try manually changing the MULTISAMPLETYPE setting to a value between 0 and 4 in the user.setting file.

Try updating your sound card drivers to their latest version (this is especially important on brand new machines).

Make sure you video drivers are up to date.

Make sure you have the latest DirectX 9c.

Try manually reducing all your texture levels in user.setting (set them to 0 for the lowest setting).

Try updating to the latest version of Sins using Stardock Central.

Try running in windowed mode (ISWINDOWED FALSE to TRUE) also set in user.setting.

Try reinstalling Sins (make sure you uninstall and manually delete anything that might have been left over)

Try changing the game resolution to the same resolution as your desktop.

I can't connect to Ironclad Online (ICO) or any LAN games.

Make sure your software firewall (including the Windows Firewall) has not blocked Sins of a Solar Empire. With some firewalls it may appear that Sins has frozen, as the firewall is waiting to receive confirmation to proceed. You may need to exit Sins and restart the game in Windowed mode (IsWindowed in user.setting) in order to get around the firewall's pop-up. Alternatively, you could configure your firewall prior to starting Sins. You also have to be able to connect to both port 6000 and port 7000 on ICO.

Sins won't continue when I try to host a multiplayer game.

Your TCP/IP or Winsock settings could be corrupted. To confirm this, turn on logging (using the instructions above) and attempt to host a game again. If your log file is filled with "Socket'ServerAcceptedSocket0' failed recv: An operation was attempted on something that is not a socket." then this is most likely the problem.

The solution to fixing your corrupted settings can be found here.

Other players aren't able to connect to the game I'm hosting.

As of version 1.11, Sins uses Alloy by default so no one should have problems hosting. However, if you choose to disable Alloy in the online hosting options, the following is how to make sure you are capable of hosting. (Note that in some situations you won't have the rights to the make the following changes and Alloy is your best bet - this is typical of tight corporate networks or a university campus situation).

Your user.setting file has an entry for GameHostPort (default is 6112). Make sure your router has this Port Forwarded to your computer's IP address or has UPnP enabled. If you use Port Forwarding, it's important that you set your PC to have a static IP address to maintain your settings.

XP
C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting

Vista
C:\Users\yourname\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting

All computers behind a router should have their own unique GameHostPort setup in case the original host leaves and a new host for the game is needed. Be sure to restart your game after changing these settings. Keep in mind these are NOT the ICO ports of 6000 and 7000 (see above).

Example (computers behind router):

Computer IP                user.settings -> GameHostPort                  Router Port Forwarding Setting

192.168.1.47                             6112 6001 ->                                       192.168.1.47
192.168.1.201                           6113 6002 ->                                       192.168.1.201
192.168.1.35                             6114 6003 ->                                       192.168.1.35

Q: Where can I get more help with setting up my computer for multiplayer?

One site we recommend is: http://portforward.com/default.htm

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I can play the game fine except for sometimes it randomly freezes for a few seconds ,up to about 10 or so before it goes smooth again. And I KNOW my computer can handle the game on max easily. I also get the minidump error when I go to watch a record game. Anytime I click to watch a recorded game, it starts to load, then the sound loops and it crashes with minidump. Well.. my pc shows the error but the application doesn't actually crash but does in fact quit loading. I'm running WinXP Pro SP2. Any help on that I would greatly appreciate. Thanks.

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Replays from previous versions probably won't work. So if you have v1.02 a replay from v1.01 will likely crash.

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Oh ok thanks.

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The game tells me screenshots are saved but there are still no screens. I searched in All Users and in MyUser Folder but only the AllUsers contains an Ironclad/Sins folder. But there is no Screenshot folder and if I try to enter the path as it should be I get an error that the folder does not exist. I have all hidden and system files shown.

USB Missile Launcher?! I need one!!!

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Why isn't this game SMP/Multi-threaded? On my dual Opteron setup only cpu 1, core 1 sits at 100% while the game is running, and the other core on cpu 1 is idle, along with cpu 2 and both it's cores, I checked to make sure the game's affinity was set to all 4 cores and it was. It can be such a big game, and not taking advantage of either boggles my mind considering this is 2008, and those things have been around the block since forever ago, and a ton of games are using at least multi-thread tech. Games like Supreme Commander demand it :/ Why doesn't this game when it's sooo much bigger? -.-

Still a great game, but I was thinking of removing the unit caps, and I'm not too sure I want to if that one core is going to explode from all the calculations it's going to have to do when 50000000 pieces are running around different solar systems while the other cores are drinking a coors and watching TV laughing. :/

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Yarlen

Join Date 01/2005

+365

If you're having screenshot trouble, please try remapping the screenshot key. I have issues too, but nobody believes me (or at least they think I have other issues).

Sins does use some multi-threading, but only for texture loading.

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uhhhhhh...

If this is multi-threading then I'm a chicken.

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Why does my game constantly freeze (well most of the time) where it just stops completely telling my tv theres no pc signal? It happens a whole lot during combat where I'll franticly zoom in and out. During combat it does it none the less especially when someone starts phase jumping.

During the early course of the game it's doesn't happen much but during most of the battles (all of which I watch)it always does this. The loading works fine but during these battles it freezes up making it unplayable if you can bear the 10 minute battle which should of lasted 5 minutes. I tried winding down the graphics but the doesn't do much.

Damn Vista...

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Where are the files kept for Sins of a Solar Empire (such as screenshots and such?)

Vista:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\
XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\
Please note these directories may be Hidden by default. To unhide them, go to your Control Panel -> Folder Options -> View and set yourself to view hidden files and folders.

I am running Windows XP Pro and my game files are 'not' at that location. They are here:

C:\Documents and Settings\Andy\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire

Snacko

Okay, I've done some snooping and I think I could have some answers for you.

From what I've experienced and from the best of my knowledge, launching SINS from Stardock Central (SDC) and launching it straight from the executable (Sins Of A Solar Empire.exe from wherever you chose to install it) puts your settings (and by extension your achievements and screenshots) in a totally different folder. Namely, launching it from SDC (at least for me in Vista 64) causes it to run as if I'm an administrator, so it places everything in C:\Users\ADMIN_NAME\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\ . But when I run it straight from the executable (or any shortcut that points to the executable), it places and uses the settings/screenshots/achievements from C:\Users\NORMAL_USER_NAME\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\ .

So depending on how you originally launched it and how you want to launch it, move the appropriate Ironclad Games folder to the respective folder (ie. launch from SDC = move it into the admin user's folder, launch from executable = move to your normal user's folder). Hope that helps.

This frustrated me for days, as I would launch from the Start menu and suddenly all my achievements would disappear and my game would be set to a 1024x768 resolution, when I knew that just a couple hours ago I had gotten several achievements and my video settings were set at a much higher res.

That said, none of this has fixed getting SINS to launch from steam without causing some weird font errors. Oh well, can't have everything I suppose.

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@ jwdR1

Apparently if you have the boxed version you can run with Windows 2000.

https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=408&aid=176363

Perhaps this could be added to FAQ?

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I am having a different, worse problem. I can not even install the game. I am running XP-64 SP2 on a brand new rig. I bought the game retail. Now, it seems to have broken my windows installer, after not installing the game. I get an Error 1719. Says that it can't access the windows installation service because I am running Windows in safe mode (which I am not)or that Windows Installer was not installed correctly, which it was, until I tried to install Sins of a Solar Empire. Help?

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I just purchased this game from WalMart today and was very excited to install it and get playing. Much to my frustration as soon as the screen states it's going to take a couple of minutes it stalls at this point: File: Activate.Ing, Directory: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\Sins of a Solar empire\ Then after a few minutes it states "ERROR reading from file D:\data\OFFLINE\E8A1B781\C430383C\Activate.Ing . Funny thing is I searched the disc and NO WHERE IS SUCHS A FILE "C430383C" found! There is however several "C430389C". Anyone else having this issue? What is the fix?

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To the 2 previous posters : contact support@stardock.com

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Yarlen

Join Date 01/2005

+365

jobiasRKD - Thank you for the information. We'll work on modifying SDC's behavior to avoid this.

Fatbil - I think you need to try Windows Update or the MS knowledgebase to reinstall Microsoft's installer stuff?

Rich50 - I'd say you received a bad DVD. You can try copying the entire DVD's contents to your hard drive and installing from there. Failing that I would return it for another copy.

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Thank you Xtanto! And thank you RiderRockon! BTW, My wife curses both of you!

I see someone posted how to install on Win2K using SDC too. Oh well, I already got the refund on my tokens and have the boxed version so I'll go that route.

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Is it possible to run without Shader support?

I'm experimenting with running it in VMWare Fusion on Mac OS X. (Yes, I have it installed in a VM. I also have a really nice Vista box with DX 10. This is an experiment, ok?). The game loads and runs (though the display size is completely blank in the Video section) and the User Interface works, and all the flat stuff (like logos) appears, but the 3D generated universe is just black. VMWare experimentally supports DX9 but without Shaders. Can shaders be turned off in "Sins"? Perhaps with a command line argument? (Yes, the graphics would be worse, but if it were playable, that would be interesting, wouldn't it?)

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Yarlen

Join Date 01/2005

+365

I don't think it is, but someone from Ironclad would know more.

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I have this same problem! Is there a fix for it or is it a bad DVD? Any work around?

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I've read through all the problems people have been having and didnt find anything similar to mine... I like the game but i think i would like it more if i could play online. I try to make an online account, but when i click create account i get an error saying i have the wrong version of Ironclad Online...what the heck is that suppose to mean. I've tried several different ways to make it work with no luck...HELP

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Nevermind found my problem fixed it and am enjoying the game

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Yarlen

Join Date 01/2005

+365

I have this same problem! Is there a fix for it or is it a bad DVD? Any work around?

You can try copying the DVD's files to your hard drive and installing from there. Short of that I would return it to the store for a new copy as it means you have a bad disc.

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Can some help me? When I try to log on to Ironclad I get an error. "Network Error: Disconnected from Ironclad online" I can't get online at all. Its really annoying.

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