Resolve BackBuffer GPU Error

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Resolve BackBuffer GPU Error

Dax
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Post by Dax » Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:17 pm

I've been playing on the Megapatch with updates 1-3 just fine. Downloaded update 4 before starting B7M1, which I would be starting for the first time. As the mission tried to load (at the briefing summary screen), I got three or four error messages in quick succession. The first ones were all the same: "The GPU device instance has been suspended. Use GetDeviceRemovedReason to determine the appropriate action." The final one was the same but had this as the header: "Resolve BackBuffer."

I'm not a programmer, but I did try searching for possible solutions both on the forum and on the web and just wasn't able to come up with anything that made sense to me. I also tried uninstalling all XWAU stuff, then reinstalling up to patch v3 to see if v4 was the problem. No change.

I hope this clarifies my earlier posts at the bottom of an older thread. Now creating this new thread to more directly address/update the problem. Any help from wiser souls than I will be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if I've left out important info that would help. Bummed over here that I can't play Endor. :hilfe:

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Ace Antilles
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Post by Ace Antilles » Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:56 pm

I don't believe this is a XWAU issue. I'm no expert but from what I can see online this is a graphics card issue with some games.
Possibly to do with overclocking or drivers. Try updating your drivers for one thing.
if you google it there are a few scenarios with fixes but if they work I couldn't say.
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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Thu Jul 01, 2021 9:06 pm

@Dax Can you try running the same mission again, but disabling the effects? You can disable the effects using the Babu Frik configurator.

Dax
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Post by Dax » Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:02 am

Ace Antilles wrote:
Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:56 pm
I don't believe this is a XWAU issue. I'm no expert but from what I can see online this is a graphics card issue with some games.
Possibly to do with overclocking or drivers. Try updating your drivers for one thing.
if you google it there are a few scenarios with fixes but if they work I couldn't say.
blue_max wrote:
Thu Jul 01, 2021 9:06 pm
@Dax Can you try running the same mission again, but disabling the effects? You can disable the effects using the Babu Frik configurator.
I'm running on an old-ish machine with a i5 processor. Double-checking the drivers on the graphics card, they are up-to-date.

I already run the game with the effects disabled because the FPS are too low with effects to be playable (unfortunately). So that was the scenario when the error occurred.

I did find this old thread, which I think suggests the issue may be in the code?? It's a bit over my head though. http://www.xwaupgrade.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=11484

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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:45 pm

Dax wrote:
Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:02 am
I'm running on an old-ish machine with a i5 processor. Double-checking the drivers on the graphics card, they are up-to-date.

I already run the game with the effects disabled because the FPS are too low with effects to be playable (unfortunately). So that was the scenario when the error occurred.

I did find this old thread, which I think suggests the issue may be in the code?? It's a bit over my head though. http://www.xwaupgrade.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=11484
How old-ish is your video card? It may not have enough RAM to run the game. Briefly speaking, "Resolving" a buffer is an operation that transforms an MSAA-texture into a non-MSAA texture. You can try disabling MSAA to see if that helps. In order to do that, open your DDraw.cfg file and find the line that says:

Code: Select all

EnableMultisamplingAntialiasing = 0
Make sure it says "0" in there. You can also try setting "MSAACount = 1" (if you don't see that line, just add it).

Another thing you can try is reducing your desktop resolution. Try running at 1920x1080 or lower, to see if that helps.

I did check the thread you're quoting, but I don't think it applies here. In that thread, Reimar is saying that ResolveSubResource function was being called with wrong parameters, but that problem has since been fixed. If you're using XWAU, you probably are using Jeremy's ddraw and I think the line in question would be this one:

https://github.com/JeremyAnsel/xwa_ddra ... e.cpp#L500

(Summary: it looks fine)

Another thing you can try is running without hardware acceleration, but the game may be unplayable.

Dax
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Post by Dax » Sat Jul 03, 2021 3:53 am

Doing my best to keep a clear record here, in case others encounter this problem in the future, so you guys don't have to repeat yourselves.

I don't know about the memory of the graphics card itself, but the most up-to-date driver for it is 2016 if that gives you any indication. It's Intel. The laptop RAM is 8 gigs. Resolution was already at 1366x768.

I then went to the ddraw.cfg file. EnableMultisamplingAntialiasing was already set to 0. I added "MSAACount = 1" just below that line and tried the game again. No change in the crash instance.

Despite much googling and playing around with the control panel, I wasn't able to figure out how to run without hardware acceleration. I'm not sure if this is an older feature or what. I did a general search on the control panel and couldn't find anything. The instructions I found through google also weren't helpful. I do have Windows 10 set to prioritize video/game quality over battery life. XWA has high priority. My OS automatically updates, so it should be current.

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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Sun Jul 04, 2021 12:10 am

Dax wrote:
Sat Jul 03, 2021 3:53 am
I don't know about the memory of the graphics card itself, but the most up-to-date driver for it is 2016 if that gives you any indication. It's Intel. The laptop RAM is 8 gigs. Resolution was already at 1366x768.
Intel graphics cards are entry-level, that's the problem. Sure, they will run a few games, but they can't cope with more demanding apps. You can try lowering the desktop resolution even further (1280x720, for instance), to see if that helps.
I then went to the ddraw.cfg file. EnableMultisamplingAntialiasing was already set to 0. I added "MSAACount = 1" just below that line and tried the game again. No change in the crash instance.
Looks like MSAA is off, there's nothing else we can do here.
Despite much googling and playing around with the control panel, I wasn't able to figure out how to run without hardware acceleration.
Sorry, I should've been more explicit on this point. Hardware acceleration is enabled through the in-game menu. Press ESC and go to graphics options. You should see the option there.

Another thing you can try is to upload the core dump from the crash. I can take a look to see if there's anything else we can try. The core dumps are located here:

%localappdata%\CrashDumps

Look for something with a name like "XwingAlliance.exe.9084.dmp". Find the one with the most recent date, ZIP it and upload it.

Dax
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Post by Dax » Sun Jul 11, 2021 4:07 am

@blue_max Sorry for the long delay. Here's what I did...

In the game in Graphics options/Hardware only options, I turned Hardware MIP Mapping to OFF.
Also in Graphics options, I moved resolution to the lowest available (1042x...).

If I crossed my fingers and held my breath, the mission would load, and ultimately this allowed me to play the first stage of the Endor battle and get through to the cutscene. Sometimes I would get a general windows error to the effect of "the program ... encountered a problem" and it would shut down automatically. Other times the same GPU error would come up. But in the end, I could play the game.

Then I got to stage 2 of Endor, and back to the same old problem.

Having played some of it now, it really does seem like an issue of my system struggling to keep up with the number of objects in the field, because the battle is so large. Even being able to play stage 1 with reduced settings, I was getting some minor drag in the field while maneuvering. Is there anything else I might do to nudge things just a bit more to get those last levels in? If you still want to look at the crash log, I can pull.

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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Mon Jul 12, 2021 4:42 pm

@Dax thanks for the update on this issue. Since you were able to play through one of those missions, this confirms that the problem is that your videocard can't keep up with the demands the game is placing on it. I don't think uploading error logs or crash dumps will help now.

There's probably a more things you can try now:

* Lower down your desktop's resolution. You're already at the lowest in-game resolution, but you didn't mention what's your desktop's resolution. Both need to be at the lowest possible setting. That way, your GPU will consume less resources.
* Shut down all other running programs (I think you're probaby doing this already, but it doesn't hurt to check). If you can, disconnect from the web and shut down your antivirus (some can consume a lot of resources) while you're playing. Just make sure you re-activate your antivirus _before_ connecting to the web again.
* If the above fails, I'm afraid you'll have to finish the game playing the original version. Just make a backup copy of your pilot first (all the *.PLT files in your XWA directory) so that you don't lose your progress.

I'll let you know if I can think of anything else.

Dax
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Post by Dax » Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:58 am

I tried to shut down as much as I could, disconnected from the web, and lowered desktop resolution to match game resolution. Still no change. I'll just have to wait until I upgrade my system I guess. Bummer.

@blue_max I really appreciate your help, and hopefully these tips will help others in my situation.

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