NS2 Tech Support FAQ (updated January 6th, 2014)

FlayraFlayra Game Director, Unknown Worlds EntertainmentSan Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
edited January 2014 in Technical Support
With the recent influx of players due to our Steam holiday sales and the Jumble Bundle, we are seeing the following problems.

KNOWN ISSUES & SOLUTIONS

Game keeps asking you to Optimize Shaders, and then says you need to verify the integrity of the cache.
Exit the game. Find NS2 in your games list, right-click it and click "Properties". Click "Local Files" and then choose "Verify integrity of game cache". It should tell you that some files were invalid, and it will automatically download them again. Run the game after this is done, let the game optimize shaders and it should work now.

Game doesn't support Mac/OS X
NS2 does NOT support Mac. We worked on this awhile, but we never finished it. I don't know where it was listed as supporting Mac, but this was a mistake. If you bought the game through Steam and want your money refunded, you have to contact Valve support. For Humble Bundle, you can contact them here.

When I´m connecting to a server, the connection fails. I´ve already checked if I´m connected to steam and if the same problem occurs also in other games.
This may be resolved by lowering the pings per minute setting in Steam. You can do this in the Steam settings under the "Downloads" tab and setting the "Game server browser: max pings / minute" pull down to 500.

The game "tabs back" to the desktop when you start it, even though it's still running.
The game seems to be incorrectly auto-detecting a resolution that isn't supported by your monitor. Find your system_options.xml file in your %appdata%\Natural Selection 2 folder (open Explorer, type %appdata% then hit enter, then browse to the Natural Selection 2 folder). Open it up with Notepad or other editor, then find this line:

<window-mode>fullscreen</window-mode>

...and change it to:

<window-mode>windowed</window-mode>

Then run the game again. You should now be able to play around and find a resolution that works in full-screen.

Main game menu not working - stuck at blank screen
This problem is caused by Steam not properly removing files when it updates. You should be able to fix it with the following:
- Uninstall NS2
- Find your NS2 directory, and remove all remaining files. The directory should be something like C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Natural Selection 2.
- Reinstall NS2 through Steam normally

The game doesn't start under Linux
There is a problem with the game not working under some versions of Linux. We're not sure what's causing this or how to fix it, so unfortunately you'll probably have to figure it out yourself through these forums and other players, or get a refund from Valve and/or Humble Bundle (above).

After opening menu, some graphics options are blank, the decal life slider is to the far left, even beyond a selectable point. Options can be changed, but neither the "back" nor "apply" buttons will work. Settings cannot be applied, menu cannot be closed or backed out of, and only way to quit game is to use the console command.

This is triggered by one of your settings values being outside of the range of expected values.

There should be a file in this location that stores your settings:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<steamid>\4920\remote\options.xml

If you delete the line:
<marineVariant>6</marineVariant>

...and then start the game, it should work.

I changed the resolution and then got a black screen and could still hear the game (at a very low fps). Now the game won't start - I get a "Couldn't Initialize Render Device" error.
It seems that the selected resolution is not support on your machine. This can be fixed by deleting the system_options.xml file in the %appdata%\Natural Selection 2 directory. You can find this directory easily by opening Explorer, typing "%appdata%" (no quotes), and hitting enter.

I get a crash dialog from GLSLCompiler.exe.

Switch away from OpenGL to DirectX. You may also be able to fix by deleting the system_options.xml file in the %appdata%\Natural Selection 2 directory. You can find this directory easily by opening Explorer, typing "%appdata%" (no quotes), and hitting enter.

OTHER ISSUES
If your problem isn't listed here, browse this Tech Support problem and you may see an answer there. Otherwise, we may be able to help you with your individual problem. To get support from us:
- Go into your \Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Natural Selection 2 directory (usually C:\ but could be a different drive).
- Find TechSupport.exe in that directory and run it, following the prompts for it to gather lots of info about your system.
- Click "Save", then send that file to us at tech-support@unknownworlds.com.

We can't promise to look into every problem, but if we're not overwhelmed with other things and/or you write us nicely, that will increase the likelihood.

Comments

  • OnosFactoryOnosFactory New Zealand Join Date: 2008-07-16 Member: 64637Members
    Thank you for the Steam pings suggestion, I have lowered mine to 500, however note I found it under 'In-Game' in Steam Settings.
  • hotshot0233hotshot0233 Louisville, KY Join Date: 2013-11-06 Member: 189082Members
    I also have an idea, we could fix these issues. The game worked perfectly for me till about 2 months ago. I have almost 300 hours logged and still haven't played the past two months. I paid money for this and its kind of ridiculous that it is unplayable. I've uninstalled and re-installed many times, verified my game cache countless times, and deleted suggested files and verified again per suggestions in other post. Now I can finally get in the game, and happily play in the menu but no matter what game I try to join is ALWAYS says my files do not match the servers no matter what I do. I love this game but whatever happened to it completely ruined it. Its old enough now the major bugs should be fixed.
  • hotshot0233hotshot0233 Louisville, KY Join Date: 2013-11-06 Member: 189082Members
    Sorry to come off as an @$$ but i'm really aggitated I can't play my favorite game that I have recommended to many of my friends.
  • tuxatortuxator Join Date: 2010-01-07 Member: 69958Members, Reinforced - Gold
  • ConfusedConfused Wait. What? Join Date: 2003-01-28 Member: 12904Members, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester
    @hotshot0233, if you start up a thread using the guidelines here people typically would be happy to help you. It is after all what this forum is for.

  • OrigbootlegOrigbootleg Sulphur, LA Join Date: 2014-01-09 Member: 192860Members
    Well, my recent issue is that I continually rubber-band at random times when playing to the point of the game being unplayable. I'll get into a combat situation and either at the beginning of the confrontation or in the middle of it, I'll freeze for 2 seconds and then warp to my location or, of course, die. The game ran fine on medium settings a few months ago and my internet quality/machine quality has not changed since then. I even turned settings down to the lowest and my game ran silky-smooth when it wasn't rubber-banding, so I doubt it's anything but server issues. I am looking for a fix, but as it stands I can't play the game because I can do nothing when I do.
  • ikirikir Join Date: 2003-07-19 Member: 18265Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Gold
    I hope Mac OS X version is still in works, many friends already bought it to play at release day!
  • TrollosaurusHaxTrollosaurusHax OC, CA Join Date: 2014-01-09 Member: 192873Members
    Thank you Flayra, a good post for all the right reasons. As a 10 year NS1 vet, I too spend lots of time helping the newbs and building this community (including donations and generating sales). BUT, your list is missing a big item my friend, and it's a bummer too. It makes me think of all the people we've lost, and less about the new ones we've gained. And all they wanted was to play ns2.

    Anyways, I'm talking about the "Reinforced patch" Build 253 (from over 4 months ago) and the hell it unleashed on so many people. Both 32 and 64bit systems alike (usually 4gb ram related) are still having memory errors and crashing hourly during play. For a 32bit game like NS2, it sure demands a lot from our computers. Even one of my own systems to this day cannot run this game anymore. I've helped many people with their systems (and I'm happy to do so), but when it comes to "this problem" there are only a few things I can walk them through, and then it's left up to chance (like the random kind). Sometimes that even includes various overclock support to help turn these kid's 20 minutes of game time into 40 before their next crash+reboot cycle. And I thought 253 opened the funding flood gates?

    Yes 4 months is a long time but they've also made a lot of progress. Since even before the Reinforced patch, their performance enhancements has made huge strides and I've thanked them for their work... like with $$$. And if I wasn't a beginner programmer, I would help like SamusDroid does. And I appreciate your bottom comments about 1 on 1 help to people if you're able. That kinda stuff really grows the game; so imagine what solving this memory problem will achieve.

    Please add this topic to your list along with maybe some performance suggestions, mod disabling, and other related basics; i'll paste a couple links below. And I love that Eclipse is back! A shining classic I wish more people could see. If we're here to help people, then let's keep important lists and info like yours as complete as possible. This game still has a long successful road ahead.

    The 32&64bit Memory Allocation Error:
    - forum link to the discussion --> forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/132243/32-bit-crashes-what-s-going-on-natural-selection-2/p1
    - forum link to its description --> unknownworlds.com/ns2/32bit/
  • VongardduduVongarddudu Britain Join Date: 2014-01-18 Member: 193257Members
    how do i redeem my reinforce code?
  • AceOfTitaniumAceOfTitanium Portugal Join Date: 2014-01-18 Member: 193270Members
    I have tried the "Main game menu not working - stuck at blank screen" but it didn't worked for me, i did everything exactly as you said. i'll try to post na image.
  • GISPGISP Battle Gorge Denmark Join Date: 2004-03-20 Member: 27460Members, Playtest Lead, Forum Moderators, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, Squad Five Gold, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Onos, WC 2013 - Gold, Subnautica Playtester, Forum staff
    how do i redeem my reinforce code?
    @Vongarddudu log into http://hive.naturalselection2.com/log-in using your forum details, and click Redeem Badges.

  • NeverLovedNeverLoved undefined Join Date: 2014-02-09 Member: 193891Members
    Hi. I'm running NS2 on Gentoo Linux amd64, with USE=steamruntine (to use runtime, which comes with Steam).
    I can't play NS2 - it runs, shows menu, but after pressing play and loading it is black screen with cursor (screenshot is in attachments). Game is _not_ freezing, cusrsor moves, steamoverlay works. Game cache is verified.
    I ran "steam steam://rungameid/4920 &> natural_selection.log" (can be found in attachments), there's a lot of LUA errors there.
    Sorry for my twisted english, it's not my native.
  • NeverLovedNeverLoved undefined Join Date: 2014-02-09 Member: 193891Members
    UPD: hardware is
    AMD FX8350
    GTX 650ti
    16gb ram

    nvidia-drivers-331.20
  • ConfusedConfused Wait. What? Join Date: 2003-01-28 Member: 12904Members, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester
    @NeverLoved

    Can you try the 263 steam beta?
    It should fix many linux issues.

    also: http://wiki.unknownworlds.com/ns2/Linux_Guide


  • RanczRancz Quebec Join Date: 2014-07-13 Member: 197410Members
    When I´m connecting to a server, the connection fails. I´ve already checked if I´m connected to steam and if the same problem occurs also in other games.
    This may be resolved by lowering the pings per minute setting in Steam. You can do this in the Steam settings under the "Downloads" tab and setting the "Game server browser: max pings / minute" pull down to 500.
    Tried that, didn't work at all, the servers still aren't showing, and I know my firewall isn't blocking NS2
  • ElMatriElMatri Argentina Join Date: 2014-07-23 Member: 197579Members
    Hello!!! A friend gave me a copy of this game as a present today, I've downloaded and installed everything and started playing. I've finished the tutorial and tried to connect to a server.... and I couldn't do it. I can see the servers on the list, tried to connect to several servers, but always got stuck on Authenticating...

    My computer specs: I5 3570K - 8GB RAM - GTX 660Ti

    My modem / router ADSL is a ZTE ZXHN H108N.

    This is the log after trying to join a server:

    http://pastebin.com/kB3tLRDB

    I've tried enabling dmz and the result is the same and lowering the max pings / minute solution for steam... still can't connect, I hope you can help, because I really liked the first Natural Selection!!

    Sorry about my english, it's not my native language...
  • ElMatriElMatri Argentina Join Date: 2014-07-23 Member: 197579Members
    Hello, anyone can help me out with this?
  • METROIDMETROID Join Date: 2012-10-31 Member: 165171Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    @ElMatri, try to disable A-V software and Firewalls, start ns2.exe with Administrator's rights.
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