TCIS's Guide To Fixing Common KSP Issues

[Chel]

Ever installed a mod or addon to the game, and the game's failed to load, crashes a lot, or glitches? Ever had so many things that the game crashes frequently? Ever wanted to fix some common glitches in the game? Then this is for you!

NOTE: THIS GUIDE RELATES TO CERTAIN ISSUES FROM INSTALLATION OF MODS. I MAY USE SOME MODS AS EXAMPLES IN THE GUIDE.

Part 1: Finding The Crash Folder

So your game crashed. Games do sometime crash, as nothing is completely bug or issue-free. But sometimes, other programs, like mods, can cause crashes. Let's take a look at the first time your game crashed. When KSP crashes, in the root folder (the folder named Kerbal Space Program, where all the game files are kept), there should be a file with some numbers. E.g: 2017-06-15_172518. That's a crash that I had yesterday. What this means is this: 2017 is the current year. 06 is the current month. 15 was the day that the crash happened (yesterday). Then, the other numbers: 17, means 5pm. 25 is the 25th minute, and 18 was the second. So that means 'Crash happened on the 15th of June, 2017, at 25 minutes and 18 seconds past 5pm'.

In that folder, should be a 'crash.log', an 'output_log', and an 'error'. The 'output_log' is important, as when you open it, although it might be just random numbers and letters, down all the way to the bottom, shows the reason why the game crashed. This is marked with a 'Crash!!!'. If you have persistent crashes, then check out the Forum's technical support page. Simply upload your output_log, and they will provide assistance. But that isn't the point of this guide! This is how to manually fix some common issues.

Part 2: Possible Reasons

There are many reasons why KSP may crash. Sometimes, it's a crash, because you built a massive craft and the game couldn't handle it. Sometimes the game crashes do to bugs, that are often fixed in later updates. But usually, crashes are because of mods, or memory. Some mods completely change the gameplay, and the game simply can't handle the changes, so it crashes. Sometimes, it's because of glitches with a mod, or bugs, or even just incorrect installation of a mod. But usually, the main culprit is memory.

Part 3: Memory

KSP in 32-bit, means that it has 2³² (2 bits and 32 bytes) of spare memory. You might think that it's a lot, but the game files, and all the stock parts, usually make that memory down to about half. KSP 64-bit is better, but only if your computer can handle it. 64-bit means 4⁶⁴ (4 bits and 64 bytes) of memory, allowing more mods to be installed, but 64-bit is also sometimes prone to issues, even in stock KSP. When you install one mod, depending on the size, it can cause memory strain. Memory strain leads to longer loading times, and less performance. Most crashes happen because the game is out of memory. That means that you need to either delete some mods, or run KSP in 'openGL'. "What's 'openGL?" I hear you ask. OpenGL is a mode for KSP that reduces memory usage. You can run KSP through OpenGL by going to the game (KSP.exe) in your root folder (if you don't use Steam. This guide is for non-steam users!), right click it, and select 'Create Shortcut'. Then, in the 'Target' box, type the following in: -force-opengl . Then pick a place to put it at, like your desktop or a 'Games' folder or whatever. If you don't want to do that, then you'll have to delete some mods, I'm afraid.

Part 4: Non-Memory Issues

Sometimes, the issue isn't with your memory. It may just be because the mod has a few glitches or bugs in it. For example, I have a mod where for some reason, when I launch a craft with a particular piece on it from the mod, the craft will glitch out and crash the game. I just simply deleted that part, and the game works fine. But sometimes, it's an actual problem. If your game fails to load, then before closing it, press 'Alt+F12'. This will bring up the Debug Menu. Go over to the 'Debug' option, and it will show everything that's being loaded. If the game has stopped loading, then scroll down to the bottom of the list, and at the very bottom, it should show you why (e.g. ModuleManager: Out of memory!, Instance not set to a reference of a part). Then, close the game, and delete the part's that causing it, or delete some mods to relieve memory stress. These are quick fixes, though, and those should fix your problems. If not, PM me about your issue, providing a link to your output_log on dropbox (it's free, and sign up is only about 30 seconds!)

Hope this helps you all, TCIS

 

 

Edited June 21, 2017 by The_Cat_In_Space

[Pretorian28715]

@The_Cat_In_Space regarding the Memory section: -

32-bit Software can only use 2³² bits for Memory not 32GB (GigaBytes) as stated, this equals approx. 4GB.

64-bit Software can use up to 2⁴⁸ bits for Memory approx. 256TB (TeraBytes) [if anyone has a PC with that much please let me know]

this is the problem with KSP and RAM, as in 32-bit it could cause Memory Leaks.

[Chel]

On ‎17‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 1:11 AM, Pretorian28715 said:

@The_Cat_In_Space regarding the Memory section: -

32-bit Software can only use 2³² bits for Memory not 32GB (GigaBytes) as stated, this equals approx. 4GB.

64-bit Software can use up to 2⁴⁸ bits for Memory approx. 256TB (TeraBytes) [if anyone has a PC with that much please let me know]

this is the problem with KSP and RAM, as in 32-bit it could cause Memory Leaks.

Ok, I'll change it! Don't want to be misleading to my fellow players!

On ‎17‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 1:11 AM, Pretorian28715 said:

@The_Cat_In_Space regarding the Memory section: -

32-bit Software can only use 2³² bits for Memory not 32GB (GigaBytes) as stated, this equals approx. 4GB.

64-bit Software can use up to 2⁴⁸ bits for Memory approx. 256TB (TeraBytes) [if anyone has a PC with that much please let me know]

this is the problem with KSP and RAM, as in 32-bit it could cause Memory Leaks.

Edited it, here you go: KSP in 32-bit, means that it has 2³² (2 bits and 32 bytes) of spare memory. You might think that it's a lot, but the game files, and all the stock parts, usually make that memory down to about half. KSP 64-bit is better, but only if your computer can handle it. 64-bit means 4⁶⁴ (4 bits and 64 bytes) of memory

[Pretorian28715]

5 hours ago, The_Cat_In_Space said:

Edited it, here you go: KSP in 32-bit, means that it has 2³² (2 bits and 32 bytes) of spare memory. You might think that it's a lot, but the game files, and all the stock parts, usually make that memory down to about half. KSP 64-bit is better, but only if your computer can handle it. 64-bit means 4⁶⁴ (4 bits and 64 bytes) of memory

Hi TCIS, sorry need to correct that again: -

32-bit means that a program can only access 2^32 bits of RAM, so about 4 GigaBytes.

64-bit means that a program can access up to 2^48 bits of ram, so up to 256 TeraBytes.

see: 3GB Limit, Ram Limits (although it refers to Vista its still Relevant) gives an example calculation for address space.

[Gordon Fecyk]

On ‎6‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 5:50 PM, The_Cat_In_Space said:

(if you don't use Steam. This guide is for non-steam users!),

As a Steam user, this works for me as well. A Steam KSP customer doesn't need to launch KSP from within Steam.