Can't Save Game (PC Full Version)

[dhm116]

After entering Rapture and attempting to save, the game just hangs. If I kill the process or end the task and attempt to restart the game, all of my settings are lost despite them being previously saved (I verified my settings were saved by exiting and restarting several times).

I've got a P4 3.4 with 1gig of ram and a 7600GT video card with the latest NVidia beta drivers on XP.

The game seems to run just fine, I just can't save my game and I lose all of my video/audio/control settings after it crashes - which kind of makes it pointless for me to play this game until this is fixed.

Anybody else experiencing this or know of any fixes?

[Dakhath]

The game seems to crash when autosaving. As soon as I try to save manually, it crashes completely too. Running in dx9 mode. Crashes immediately after intro movie if running in dx10.

Using a Dell laptop, w/ Vista, 2G RAM, 8600 GT

[M-O-S]

can't save, either - crashes to desktop

whenever i want to use a thing, like the one "hole in bathroom wall" - crashes to desktop

whenever i press "m" - crashes to desktop

[dhm116]

bump

I'm surprised to see not many others are experiencing this issue...

[davun]

I signed up just now to mention I have exactly the same problem, and almost exactly same specs as original poster. Extremely annoying bug. Game also hangs after about 15-20 mins of play, and the only way out is hard reboot. And it also never remembers my custom settings.

[dhm116]

After entering Rapture and attempting to save, the game just hangs. If I kill the process or end the task and attempt to restart the game, all of my settings are lost despite them being previously saved (I verified my settings were saved by exiting and restarting several times).

I've got a P4 3.4 with 1gig of ram and a 7600GT video card with the latest NVidia beta drivers on XP.

The game seems to run just fine, I just can't save my game and I lose all of my video/audio/control settings after it crashes - which kind of makes it pointless for me to play this game until this is fixed.

Anybody else experiencing this or know of any fixes?

I forgot to mention in this post that I am experiencing this issue with the Retail Box version.

[HykCraft]

Sounds like the video drivers are crashing when it goes to different screens. Do this:

Right click on the Bioshock.exe shortcut, go to the Compatibility tab, and checkmark "Disable Visual Themes."

Try saving again.

[dhm116]

Sounds like the video drivers are crashing when it goes to different screens. Do this:

Right click on the Bioshock.exe shortcut, go to the Compatibility tab, and checkmark "Disable Visual Themes."

Try saving again.

I appreciate the suggestion, but there was no change after disabling visual themes - I still could not save.

I seem to be able to access the map/diary/etc. screens just fine, as well as the menu screens, however I simply cannot quick save or manually save. I also verified that progressing to the next level (the medical lab or something like that) also caused a system lockup.

So now, not only can I not save my progress, I cannot even proceed through the game beyond the first level :/

[firefo-X-]

who need to save :P ^^


but same problem here with windows vista 32bit

[Nebunu]

well... the old nvidia drivers worked with bioshock demo... imo downgrade

[dhm116]

well... the old nvidia drivers worked with bioshock demo... imo downgrade

I did try installing the latest official Nvidia drivers (162.18 for XP) and I was actually able to save my game with no problems. I'll post back with an update as I get a chance to thoroughly test saving multiple times throughout the game.

[davun]

alright dudes, here's the answer. Finally got this solved. I did a couple of things for my setup, I've got a geForce 7600 GS, which is fairly old, but still runs the game quite nicely. Not sure exactly what was the real answer, but I suspect:
1) goto here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...2fcUiBFg%3d%3d
make sure you have the most up to date directx. Once I did this, suddently I can save games, get to the next level without crash to desktop, etc. However, I also did:
2) reinstalled the pre-beta nvidia driver, as I suspect the beta driver is for newer cards that are still being brought under control
3) modified the virtual memory settings, described in the game's readme.

Good luck to all.

[dhm116]

alright dudes, here's the answer. Finally got this solved. I did a couple of things for my setup, I've got a geForce 7600 GS, which is fairly old, but still runs the game quite nicely. Not sure exactly what was the real answer, but I suspect:
1) goto here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...2fcUiBFg%3d%3d
make sure you have the most up to date directx. Once I did this, suddently I can save games, get to the next level without crash to desktop, etc. However, I also did:
2) reinstalled the pre-beta nvidia driver, as I suspect the beta driver is for newer cards that are still being brought under control
3) modified the virtual memory settings, described in the game's readme.

Good luck to all.

I already had the latest DirectX (DX update didn't update anything), had the latest non-beta NVidia drivers and had the virtual memory settings configured.

I was able to save my game a couple times, then upon entering the Medical Lab the game crashed. Now the game crashes every time I try to continue from the last save - so it seems like there is still an unresolved issue here.

Thanks for the suggestions though!

[davun]

I've found that once it crashes ( or becomes unplayably slow due to a memory leak I believe ), I must reboot the computer before I can continue a save game. So basically, I play for 40 mins or so, have to exit the game, reboot the computer, continue from my save. This actually works for me. Pretty shameful for an AAA game. Getting the save games to work is a tricky business. However, I have also found that once I've exited the game, most attempts to restart the game will simply crash to desktop, so I don't bother anymore. Reboot -> play is the only way it will work.

[Agent808]

My game plays really well except for the occasional visual glitch every so often. Anyways, as soon as i try to save it freezes up on me until i ctrl alt del and exit out of the game. My drivers are up to date but i cant get it to save what so ever. any help would be appreciated. i really hope they just release a patch but i havent seen many other people that are experiencing this problem.

[Shligaloe]

I've been having the same problem for a while now. I have 2 SLI linked 7600 GS video cards and am running with the most current beta drivers on Windows Xp 64 bit. Random Crashes but works for 2-10 minutes with vsync and shaders off. This game has been destroying my week.

[Agent808]

i dont even want to play too far into the game knowing that i wont be able to save. first cnc 3 now this bummer

[Adde1]

can't save, either - crashes to desktop

whenever i want to use a thing, like the one "hole in bathroom wall" - crashes to desktop

whenever i press "m" - crashes to desktop

I have exactly the same problems as above. Started it in DX 9 since it would only crash in DX 10 also

[1up]

I am having the same problem, not being able to autosave or manual save. If I try, the game will hang and the sound clip will just repeat over and over. I can't even ctrl-alt-del out to end the task. I have to do a hard reboot. Then of course I lose all of my custom settings which makes me want to stab myself in the liver with a dirty spoon.

AMD FX55
1GB ram
Dual 6800 Ultras in SLI
Win XP 32bit
DirectX 9.0c
I can't run the latest beta Nvidia drivers because they don't recognize my video cards for some reason. So I am using 162.18.

Please post suggestions to try!
Thanks,
Bill

[Adde1]

I have exactly the same problems as above. Started it in DX 9 since it would only crash in DX 10 also

I actually came past this by turning off the detailed shadings in the graphics. I could actually play for a while. But now the game freezed as I entered the Medal Pavillion (or something like that) instead

[1up]

As a followup, here is what I did so that I can now save my games without crashing and I am through the medical facility level too:

Installed directx web update as suggested earlier by someone. I was at 9.0c before and still am, but it did do an update.

Loaded nvidia drivers 163.44 (I was at 162.18)
Loaded Creative X-fi beta drivers
Under Options, turned off high detail shaders (will turn back on to see if that had any effect on stability)

Bill

[Teira]

I can't believe an issue like this got past alpha, let alone beta, and all the way into final release. Not being able to save is kind of a big issue.

I did the vista virtual memory hotfix, I disabled high detail shaders, I can't update DX as I'm already at 10, I turned off vertical sync, ran it under DX9 and DX10, admin mode and not, XPSP2 compatability mode and not, and I can't install those beta nvidia drivers 'cause I'm running a mobile card. All my drivers are up to date, bioshock is just being a hater.

Anything at all anyone can think of to try? The game runs beautifully, I just really need to be able to save. Saving is pretty chill. Some of my best times with games were when I was able to save. Not-saving killed my parents.

Related Specs:

2.4ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
4gig ram
nVidia GeForce 8600m GT 256mg vram

[Teira]

You know what? I've given up. I tried a couple more things, and I got to the point where the game locks up instead of simply exiting when I try to save, but either way it's a completely unacceptable bug that renders the game unplayable. 2k needs to release a patch immediately. I'm amazed that such major issues got past testing.

[Teira]

I lied about giving up. I'm now trying every fix for every problem anyone has listed in these forums, problem is, vista's decided to start hating now. Even with user account control turned off and full permissions allowed to everyone, it's marked my entire harddrive as read only, and when I turn it off, it turns it right back on again, so I can't edit my Defaults.ini file, and I assume it could also be interfering with saving (bioshock not being able to write to the disk). Thanks microsoft. Thanks for making this easy on me.

[dhm116]

I find it rather absurd that despite this topic being around since the day the game was released, not one single forum moderator has posted here regarding potential solutions, workarounds, etc. - not even a "we acknowledge this as an issue and we're working on it". I feel I have been extremely patient waiting for a solution to a problem that renders the game I paid honest money for completely unplayable. To still not be able to use what I paid for several weeks afterwards is starting to irritate me - this isn't a layaway program here.

I have never in my life seen a game released for sale with this many issues that did not have a patch immediately available the day the public could purchase the game or shortly thereafter (I am ignoring the "autopatcher" since there appears to be no documentation of this patch or what it actually patches). Perhaps I simply did not purchase a game that did have that kind of launch (and theoretically why I have never heard of it), but this is absolutely absurd.

What exactly were all the developers doing between the weeks-long period when this game went Gold and it's release date, since they all apparently went on vacation after the game was actually on store shelves? Don't get me wrong, the entire 2kgames team worked, I'm sure, extremely hard on this game for a very long period of time. I also know that they worked very hard to build up the hype for this game for quite some time.

To knowingly release a game with this many issues and then disappear for weeks after all the people that actually pay your salaries are left to "deal with it" until you get back is completely disrespectful. Take your vacation after you deliver a finished product that reflects all the hard work you put into it. In fact, take twice as long of a vacation to reward yourself for delivering a finished, working product - just don't take one for delivering me a box with a shiny new round plastic disc in it.

I hope every other gaming company takes not of what 2kgames did here and avoids it like the plague, as I'm sure every gamer that purchased BioShock and cannot play it for one reason or another from the time they purchased it will quite surely avoid 2kgames future releases...I know I will.

[Teira]

And now, the next day, changed nothing and the program won't even launch. Guess I have to chalk this up to a $50 loss. Thanks 2k.

[bloodylegend]

bump

I'm surprised to see not many others are experiencing this issue...

probably would report it as an issue considering i have similar specs to this paying customer. but because i cant get passed one of the loading screens without the game crashing i havent been in rapture very much yet.

[Fornowagain]

Come on what are you playing at? I can't get more than a few minutes before the game freezes after saving or changing levels. I didn't pay all this money for what has to be the MOST bug ridden game I ever NOT had the pleasure of playing. Sort it out.

[Fornowagain]

Come on what are you playing at? I can't get more than a few minutes before the game freezes after saving or changing levels. I didn't pay all this money for what has to be the MOST bug ridden game I ever NOT had the pleasure of playing. Sort it out.

Ip35 Pro
Q6600
Vista 64
4Gb ram
8800GTX
Latest drives and directX, all updates current.

[Kuchinator]

I have the exact same problem. The game runs fine (although it takes a very long time to load), but every time I try to save or go through the hole my system hangs. I am running an Asus G1s notebook so I cannot update my drivers
2.2Ghz core 2 duo
2 gigs ram
32 bit vista home premium
8600m GT

[Agent808]

So i wrote an email to 2k support about our problem and they said they were going to get back to me within 24 hours. I didnt read that they wanted my dxdiag report so of course they didnt get back to me because i wrote to them about a week ago. anyways, i just sent them my updated question with my dxdiag log and i'm hoping they will get back to me soon. i will let you all know what they tell me.

[RabidWombat]

I've had exactly this bug, I had the beta nvidea drivers for a 7800 card that the demo insisted on. Installed 162.18 drivers and it worked fine - well, except for crashing 30mins into the game, but the saves worked

[Agent808]

I'm still waiting on a response from them about the problem but nothing. i will wait until tonight to email them again but i hope they respond quickly. i was thinking about just getting it for the 360, but if they arent going to try and help me with the pc version, why would i want to give them more of my money? i'm not mad yet and am sure they cant just easily solve the problem, but any response from them would be welcome.

[sirith]

Check if the Bioshock folder in My Documents is read only. It was for me, and I was having these problems.

[Agent808]

So i've been waiting for a reply from 2k support and its been longer then i would like. i understand if they are working on the problem or something, but how about a little reply telling me to be patient instead of not doing anything. i've written them twice and the first response they gave was that i was going to get a repsonse in 24 hours. that was like 2 weeks ago already. sorry 2k, this one customer might not mean much to you at this point, but you are slowly losing a fan. I know they have a lot on their plate, but, i've been dealing with microsoft support as well as EA support and they have been a lot more helpful with very quick responses. i dont mean to compare, but this is getting frustrating considering i should be able to run the game fine.

[Hackez]

So i've been waiting for a reply from 2k support and its been longer then i would like. i understand if they are working on the problem or something, but how about a little reply telling me to be patient instead of not doing anything. i've written them twice and the first response they gave was that i was going to get a repsonse in 24 hours. that was like 2 weeks ago already. sorry 2k, this one customer might not mean much to you at this point, but you are slowly losing a fan. I know they have a lot on their plate, but, i've been dealing with microsoft support as well as EA support and they have been a lot more helpful with very quick responses. i dont mean to compare, but this is getting frustrating considering i should be able to run the game fine.

Ensure your BioShock folder and the location of your saved game folder, normally under My Documents aren't set to ready only.

[cargasm]

the game freezes for me when i try to save and adjust brightness while in game

[Agent808]

I checked the save games folder which was in mydocu after someone posted that earlier but is it not supposed to be read only and can i just change that under the folder options?

[Agent808]

Not a single support tech has even been on this post and i've waited a month for a single reply to no avail. i'm tired of waiting and there are too many good games coming out to worry about trying to play this one. laters 2k, i hope i never have to play any of your games again no matter how good they may be. you guys are just too busy celebrating bioshock to care about people that cant even play it.

[jwark007]

Having the same problems. Experienced two application failed messages from Win XP. Had played through 2nd level (Medical). When I restarted game, program worked fine; until I tried to save progress. Bioshock returns a "Game failed to save" message, but the application continues to play okay. Quit to Windows and restarted game, same response--game fails to save. Restarted computer, restarted game, played to same point again, the got the same "failed to save" message. Using nVidia 162.18 driver (163.44 beta will not work with my system).

Am using this machine for games:
Falcon Mach V - Silverstone 600 watt
ASUS ASN-SLI 32 DLX Motherboard
Athlon 64 FX-60 dual core
Cosair TwinX 2048 (2x1024) PC3200
2 nVidia 7900GTX 512MB PCIE
BFG Agea PHYSX -128MB
WD Raptor 150GB 10,000 RPM SATA
Sony 16X DVD-ROM
Plextor 760A 16X DVD+-RW DL
On-board sound

Will try to uninstall and install to see if that solves problem.

jwark