Windows 64 bit community workaround

[Ivan M.]

I have a similar problem, I get in game and when I go to click on any building my game completely freezes and I cant do anything

[Fubarbrickdust]

Heya Chaps,

Thought I'd chime in with my experience of giving this workaround a go - I'm quite new to the game and the forums so probably don't have the wealth of knowledge and experience with KSP as some. However, I thought I'd give it [the workaround] a go as I was starting to explore some of the awesome mods around...and of course, started to experience KSP being brought to it's knees and crashing regularly, and in some cases not even managing to load!

At first I found this quite surprising as it isn't a ma-hoosive amount of mods I'm toying with, and, I'd consider the rig I've got to be somewhat of a beast so I was slightly perplexed...but then I did some research...

Anyhow, I'm happy to report that in this particular case the workaround has been a resounding success! KSP (x64) is running like a dream, it hasn't crashed AT ALL since making the switch, is taken everything I can throw at it thus far, and, I'll even go as far as to say that it's given quite the performance boost in general, even over vanilla/modless KSP...It certainly feels like the smoothest KSP experience I've had since I started playing.

There were a few teething issues - Either 'Hotrockets' or the associated 'smokescreen FX' mod kept causing KSP to reset all it's settings. I did experience the left/right mouse button bug, but only once and it was fixed in a jiffy. And I do encounter the 'fully upgraded KSC buildings' bug every now and then, but it's purely cosmetic and easily fixed by entering/exiting the VAC building - All of these things I'm more than happy to live with for the benefits gained!

For those that are curious, here's the list of mods that I'm using so far and the relevant specs of my rig:

Astronomers Visual Pack - Interstellar V2...all of it, high clouds and the 4K options for the other stuff (KSP wouldn't even boot up for me with this previously)

Kerbal Engineer Redux

Kerbal Alarm Clock

Collision FX

Chatterer

Enhanced Navball

NavballUpDefault

Navball Docking Alignment Indicator

Planetshine

Contracts Window +

Capcom

EVA Enhancements

Engine Lighting

ScienceAlarm & NoMoreScienceGrinding - (this is the only one I feel a bit 'cheaty' about...but at least it's not ForScience, that would take the biscuit! I may well take them off)

I've been keeping an eye on HWiNFO while playing and the VM's never gone over 10gb (peaked at just over 9gb) and normally floats mid way between 6-7gb

Relevant bits of my Rig: i7 4790K,Samsung 840pro 256gb SSD, 8gb ram, MSI GTX 980ti, 1440p monitor.

Anyhow, that's it really - just thought I'd report in on my findings. Hopefully it'll inspire others to a least give the workaround a go if they're running into similar stability issues...it's super easy thanks to the instructions provided in the initial post and only took 5mins after downloading the relevant Unity version. Completely safe too if you test it on a 2nd copy of KSP. I literally copied it from my Steam directory and used the copy as a guinea pig.

There's nothing to lose by trying...

Edited October 25, 2015 by Fubarbrickdust

[MrMeeb]

Overall, my upgrade has been a success (and a well worthwhile one at that). However, I am suffering from a few problems, and I was wondering if there were any fixes.

1) The game crashes if I try and launch directly from the launchpad or runway - when I click on them and select a vessel and select launch, it always crashes.

2) The game also crashes if I try and select a craft from the tracking station (a bit more annoying). I don't think this one happens 100% of the time, but it happens enough to be noticeable

3) Probably related to 1, I can't make the vessel launch from another launchpad using Kerbin Side.

[gamerscircle]

As a new player to KSP, I followed the directions and got some help and it seems to be pretty stable so far. The Right Mouse / Left Mouse click thing, I only get when I alt+ tab / windows key to get the desktop... and it is only in the OS for a couple of click? I have the building upgraded issue, I see a slight overlay of the VAB when I exit, but it goes away.

Is there a list of mods that are not 64bit friendly?

[Fwiffo]

I'm seeing very promising initial results after switching to 64-bit using this unofficial workaround, and want to share my experience so far.

Under 32-bit, my high part count ships were really lagging, and I as I added more mods I started to get memory-related crashes - mostly at game bootup. Things got particularly problematic when I tried to add Astronomer's Visual Pack Interstellar V2 along with it's 48MB texture detail1.png (that file seemed to be the straw the broke the camel's back). I tried a number of workarounds:

- replacing detail1.png with the original 494kb version from EVE (helped)

- a converted dds alternative

- running under DirectX 11 instead of 9 (via "-force-d3d11")

- using OpenGL (via "-force-opengl")

- using Active Texture Management with combinations of the previous two

Interestingly, I noticed framerates actually sped up when ATM was in use (although some of textures didn't look quite as sharp?). OpenGL + ATM seemed to give the best experience in terms of stability, although I sense DirectX 11 may have been marginally faster in some circumstances. But either way, I still had some occasional crashing problems.

So I found this thread and tried out 64 bit (using KSP 1.0.4). My first impressions were magical! No more game-load crashes, and the whole game got a little bit perkier. Switching between scenes got slightly faster (e.g. jumping from Space Center to Research / Mission Control buildings). Everything to do with high part count ships improved - i.e. less chopiness in the VAB during editing (e.g. faster response when you click a complex subtree, hit CTRL+Z and then move the transparent part around). More responsive camera panning on the launch pad and during launch. Slightly better framerates taking ships through the volumetric cloud layer. I very quickly knew I wanted to get this to work for my regular Kerbal-playing, even if it meant some time and care up front to achieve that.

I tested various scenarios (launches, flying around a spaceplane, high part count space stations, etc). I did notice an occasional issue similar to one which two users reported here:

My game keeps freezing after sometime, no crash like with the 32 bit version, just either it freezes during a flight and then I have to click a few times and KSP stops responding or when im launching a vessel the game freezes and says it stopped responding.

Just wanted to note I had the same problem. There are a few others earlier in the thread who noted the same. For me it seemed to happen around 6GB RAM use (I have 16GB). Has anyone found any cause or resolution for this issue?

I was able to semi-consistently reproduce the game freeze by exploding complex rockets during takeoff. When the game froze the last line in my KSP.log would look something like this:

RPMVesselComputer: Awake for vessel (no name) blah blah blah

Removing all of RasterPropMonitor (JSI directory) seemed to help. In any case I will keep monitoring. I'm curious if anyone else is using 64-bit KSP on Windows successfully with Raster Prop Monitor v0.23.2. Most of the posted mod lists in this thread don't include that one (although one does, and another includes "Raster Prop Monitor core"). Of course it's entirely I'm on the wrong track with this. EDIT: That log line was a red herring and I'm pretty sure this issue ended up being caused by a combination of two mods, described here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/24786-1-0-x-Kerbal-Alarm-Clock-v3-4-0-0-%28June-27%29?p=2317397&viewfull=1#post2317397

The mod list I'm currently using is below, and I'm going to keep running with 64-bit and see how things go. While I'm sure running under Linux is a dream, I have no interest in setting up dual-boot just for one game. I like being able to flip back and forth between my hundreds of other primary applications and KSP at will.

I recognize this is unsupported, use-at-my-own-risk ground that I'm trodding on. And yes, before filing any bug reports with mod developers I will try to narrow down to see if they're reproducible under 32-bit, first. I understand why 64-bit has gotten a "bad rep" in particular by a couple of the modders, but I really wish there wasn't so much unilateral backlash against it. It really does seem to be a promising option for people who run lots of mods and need a performance and (hopefully) stability pick-me-up.

I'm running Windows 7, and have a powerful computer (specs below, from my xtremesystems signature). I've even managed to get a debug version of Unity / KSP going where I can interactively debug and step through mod code using Visual Studio while the game is running (I was working on some personal adjustments in the Advanced Fly By Wire mod to make better use of my Saitek X52 joystick). So, basically, I'm competent and I'd like to be the one who makes the choices on what I run. It's fine if modders and Squad don't want to support me, and I appreciate the rainbow kitten reminders - but in the end, please leave the choice to me, the user, rather than making it difficult for me to recklessly explore these bitness frontiers in true Kerbal-like fashion!

-Fwiffo

---

My mods:

000_Toolbar
BoulderCo
Chatterer
ChuteSafetyIndicator
ContractsWindow
Crowd Sourced Science
DistantObject
EnhancedNavBall
EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements
JSI
KAS
KerbalEngineer
KerbalScienceFoundation
KIS
KSPTweaks
LightsOut
MechJeb2
MyFlag
NavyFish
PlanetShine
PortraitStats
PreciseNode
ProceduralFairings
QuickGoTo
QuickStart
RCSBuildAid
RcsSounds
SCANsat
ShipEffects
ShipManifest
Squad
StageRecovery
StockBugFixModules
TextureReplacer
TriggerTech
UbioWeldingLtd
VesselView
WaterSounds
WheelSounds

My specs:

Primary workstation (circa 2010 + upgrades):

• Hex-core Xeon E5645, 2.4GHz stock, @3.6GHz / 1.336V
  
• Noctua NH-D14
  
• Asus P6T6 WS Revolution
  
• 48GB ECC RAM @1443MHz / CAS8 (3x Kingston KVR13E9/8I, 3x Kingston/Hynix KVR13E9/8HM)
  
• Areca ARC-1882ix-24 w/ 4GB BBU cache
  
• 4x 256GB Samsung 840 Pro, 25% spare, RAID0 boot
  
• 8x 4TB Hitachi Deskstar 7K4000
  
• EVGA GTX 690 4GB GDDR5
  
• Mellanox MHGH28-XTC 4X DDR Infiniband
  
• Adaptec AVA-2903B (for Epson Perfection 1200S) via PEX 8111 PCIe x1 to PCI adapter
  
• Syba SD-PEX50023 PCIe x1 to parallel / serial (for legacy h/w programmer)
  
• Matrix Orbital BLK202A-GW LCD w/ 3x DS18S20 temp probes (linked to OHM)
  
• Rosewill RCR-FD400 media reader, stock 3.5" floppy replaced w/ slim USB model
  
• Silverstone ST1500 PSU
  
• Coolermaster ATCS 840 case (top fans flipped upside down, beneath custom dust filter)
  
• Assorted NF-P12 and NF-S12B chassis fans
  
• 3x LOGISYS ML12WT LED sticks on 5V-to-12V up-converter tapped into 5V ATX stanby power, triggered by magnetic reed switch
  (internal case lighting comes on when you open the case, even when powered off!)
  
• 2x SuperMicro M14T drive cage (fan removed)
  
• 2x TrippLite S510-18N SFF-8087 to 4-in-1 SFF-8484
  
• Dell UltraSharp U3011
  
• 2x Samsung SyncMaster 213T
  
• Acer H5360 3D Projector
  
• Kinesis Contoured Keyboard
  
• Saitek X52 Pro Flight Controls
  
• 24x7 Prime95 stable, several Memtest86 passes
  

+ Dell M6600 laptop / 2x PM830 RAID0 / 32GB RAM

+ 24-Bay whitebox SAN / Norco RPC-4224 / Asus P6T6 / Intel i7-920 / 24GB ECC RAM (for eventual Xeon)

+ Toshiba M7 Tablet PC / 120GB Intel 320 G3 SSD

+ various iPhone & Android gizmos

+ TRS-80

Edited November 27, 2015 by Fwiffo

[antilochus]

Removing all of RasterPropMonitor (JSI directory) seemed to help.

Interesting. Will test this out over the weekend.

While I'm sure running under Linux is a dream, I have no interest in setting up dual-boot just for one game. I like being able to flip back and forth between my hundreds of other primary applications and KSP at will.

I am on Linux x64 now. KSP has never crashed and all mods work out of the box. but... graphics aren't as good in opengl as in DX9 (shadows and lighting both lower quality or buggy) and in my experience windows fps>linux fps. Hopefully RPM is the culprit and I can get it going.

[Fwiffo]

Interesting. Will test this out over the weekend.

Thanks antilichus! Admittedly I haven't done a thorough job troubleshooting so I'm not 100% sure it's RasterPropMon, but I'd love to know if you or anyone else sees any problems with it on Windows KSP x64. I'm going to be traveling for a couple weeks so I won't get a chance to investigate further right away.

[antilochus]

Thanks antilichus! Admittedly I haven't done a thorough job troubleshooting so I'm not 100% sure it's RasterPropMon, but I'd love to know if you or anyone else sees any problems with it on Windows KSP x64. I'm going to be traveling for a couple weeks so I won't get a chance to investigate further right away.

Just got a crash after almost exactly 30 minutes of gameplay. Nothing suspicious in KSP.log or output.log, I'm going to see if I can replicate. No JSI / RPM now.

[Momocody]

Does the newest version of MechJeb work with this?

[Galenmacil]

Thanks a lot for posting this tutorial on how to "unofficially" use KSP in 64 bit mode!

Like most people noticed, there is a few minor "reversible" problems (switching to desktop cause mouse button to reverse, weird images during scene transition, Space Center building showing as fully upgraded...).

Other observations:

- TrackIR do not work. I had to download this 64 bit TrackIRUnity.DLL and replace the corresponding file in "[KSP Folder]\KSP_Data\Managed\". All hail GitHub!

- Advanced Fly-By-Wire mod do not work. Special case of .DLL located in the main directory of KSP. I managed to make it work by downloading alternate 64 bit .DLL files: (Simple DirectMedia Layer 2 and XInputDotNet).

- Lower right kerbal portrait is in "skip motion".

- Frame rate is way faster. This could be related to using Direct X instead of OpenGL.

- Hiccups and stuttering are still present. Including sound "distortion" when this happens.

- Right-clicking on a part while controlling a vessel seems to get increasingly unresponsive the more time you spend in game: You have to click several times until the part window appear. Not a big issue if you use "Part Commander" mod.

- The game suddenly closed without warning right to the desktop. This happened twice so far in several hours of gameplay.

- Menu and Space Center "clickable area" became unusable right after accepting a contract. I could not click anywhere except on the exit button which showed a blank window. This happened only once too.

So far, my conclusion is that, while being highly playable and far more "endurant" than the 32 bit version, it is far from perfect.

I used to play KSP with over 93 mods (!) in 32-bit. Most are "functional" mods but I have a few "heavier ones" with parts and some textures upgrades as well. In 32 bit mode, the game would not even reach the main menu unless forcing it to run with the "-force-opengl" and, of course, using the Active Texture Compression mod by rbray89. Memory usage was around 2.2 GB after reaching the main menu. Once loaded and in control of a vessel, it was around 2.8 GB. And it would crash at around 3.3 GB! Not much room left. Needless to say, I had to play for maybe one or two sortie then it was time to restart...

But now, 64 bit here I come! I followed the original post to the letter and I also used KSP x64 Total Unfixer utility to force mod to behave in a 64 bit environment. To my amazement, the game started without any problem! I decided to remove the Active Texture Management mod (since I have plenty of VRAM available) and disabled texture compression and textures unloading from Texture Replacer. I also decided to launch the game in its default render mode, DirectX 9. All 92 mods are detected and load correctly. I have not tested every single parts and situation in details but I ran a quick game to verify FAR + DRE + Real Chute behaviors as those are the few mods I do not want to play without. No problem found so far. Memory usage while controlling a vessel in game was around 5.5 GB.

For those interested, here is the list of mod I use. This is on Windows 10 :

So yes, latest MechJeb, FAR, DRE, Realchute, etc. all load and work as expected. Some version used are from the latest developer build.

Speaking of 64 bit support for KSP: I know some modders do not take it kindly to forcing 64 operation... Since this is, after all, "The Internet", allow me to had my opinion on this matter. By the way, no one forces you to read it so...

Who we are: Kerbal Space Program addicts/junkies, either "Player", "Developer" or "Modder" or a mix of those.

What game we have: KSP 1.04 officially only in 32 bit. An "OK Programmed" game by the perspective of a common gamer. Has issues but still playable for the most part unless moded to the extreme. The game is available on steam for 39.99 USD but we could get it in discount for around half that price either about a year ago or during sales.

What computers we have: As gamer, you need a fairly decent machine so I would say most of us use a PC that is less than 3 years old. Price: around 1000$ for a standard gaming rig but this could go much higher for a custom made machine.

What we want as game: Perfection! Haha. This mean a rock stable, unrestricted memory access (i.e, 64 bit) fully optimized KSP build that use multiple cores for rendering/computing and/or GPU based physics/computation. We live in an era where a person can get and use, at home, a computer that can do more than 13 TFlops! If, and only if, we have proper software.

The Reality: Like a well known cyborg cop from the late 80's would say "We are only human". For the good parts and for the bad parts. I can say without uncertainties that we are ready to pay a lot more for "hardware" as we are for "software". Which might explain the current state of computer programming: powerful computing machines that are underutilized in pretty much every applications and aspect.

We should all agree that going 64 bit is the way to go. Unless you are perfectly satisfied with playing a non-moded KSP... But if you are reading this, chances are you like to mod it... a lot! Oh, by the way, we need modders! Yes, we need them. All of them! They are truly genius people. I say thank you to every single one of them for expanding the KSP universe. Now, there is some animosity concerning this topic. While I understand perfectly that you have the right to be respected as a modder, this is a totally open and customizable game. If someone wants to change a mod and have access to the source, it can be done as long as this stay a personal endeavor. Some common sense is required here. I suppose it is okay to get angry after someone who do not respect your work... for we are only human.

So, looking forward, I expect to see Squad officially re-supporting a 64 bit built. I also expect to see modders do their thing: create awesome expansion and modification for this game! But i do not expect to play a perfect game: Unity 5 might help with certain caveats of Unity 4 but it certainly won't bring ultimate performance and a bug free experience!

Final words: We should at least agree on one thing: A supported 64 bit build is going to be beneficial for everyone.

Edited November 9, 2015 by Galenmacil

[MadEwok]

Hey guys, I've just tried installing the GEMFX pack but it crashed before the game was finished loading, so i tried to use this 64 bit workaround. I couldnt find unity 4.6 so i downloaded unity 5.2.2f1 hoping it would work. I replaced the files as described, but as i launch the game i get an error message saying the game was unable to load mono.dll. Any idea how to fix this?

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and whenever i try to use the new ksp.exe from unity i get the error message "There should be 'KSP.exe_Data'folder next to the executable". I did follow all the steps so i find it odd that i can't get it working.

[WWEdeadman]

Hey guys, I've just tried installing the GEMFX pack but it crashed before the game was finished loading, so i tried to use this 64 bit workaround. I couldnt find unity 4.6 so i downloaded unity 5.2.2f1 hoping it would work. I replaced the files as described, but as i launch the game i get an error message saying the game was unable to load mono.dll. Any idea how to fix this?

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and whenever i try to use the new ksp.exe from unity i get the error message "There should be 'KSP.exe_Data'folder next to the executable". I did follow all the steps so i find it odd that i can't get it working.

You can't just use a different Unity version. That just won't work. Also, the error you're getting looks like your exe file is called "KSP.exe.exe". Make sure you can see file endings, there is a windows option to turn that on. Google it if you need help finding it. (Alternatively just call the file "KSP" without the .exe, and it should apply the .exe ending the file already has, if you have the file endings hidden.) But again, you need to get the correct unity version for it to work at all.

[MadEwok]

You can't just use a different Unity version. That just won't work. Also, the error you're getting looks like your exe file is called "KSP.exe.exe". Make sure you can see file endings, there is a windows option to turn that on. Google it if you need help finding it. (Alternatively just call the file "KSP" without the .exe, and it should apply the .exe ending the file already has, if you have the file endings hidden.) But again, you need to get the correct unity version for it to work at all.

It worked! Thank you so much for taking the time to help me, have a great day cause i certainly will!

[MadEwok]

Just a minor question: I can't seem to be able to enter any of the space station buildings but the career one. Once i click the rocket building facility or the radar station my mouse just stops working, making the game unplayable. The left and right click buttons simply turn 100% unresponsive, and I just can't click anything at all apart from settings when i press escape. Even clicking back to main menu doesn't work. I searched this thread for others having the same issue but didn't find any fixes. Is there any way for me to solve this?

Edited November 9, 2015 by MadEwok

[Torgo]

Just a minor question: I can't seem to be able to enter any of the space station buildings but the career one. Once i click the rocket building facility or the radar station my mouse just stops working, making the game unplayable. The left and right click buttons simply turn 100% unresponsive, and I just can't click anything at all apart from settings when i press escape. Even clicking back to main menu doesn't work. I searched this thread for others having the same issue but didn't find any fixes. Is there any way for me to solve this?

try ALT-F12 and then Clear Input Lock

[MadEwok]

try ALT-F12 and then Clear Input Lock

I tried, it didn't work. Thanks for trying though.

[Joshwoo70]

so what are the instructions for 1.0.5?

[Galenmacil]

Wait a while and breath slowly until moders start to update their work.

Seriously, if it uses the same Unity version as 1.04 it should be exactly the same method.

[Joshwoo70]

1.0.5 should work for all mods..... AFAIK as i can see from the Streamers.

UPDATE:

Works for 1.0.5 SAME INSTRUCTIONS as OP

Edited November 10, 2015 by Joshwoo69

[simtom]

I just installed the 1.0.5 update and my game has become unplayable. I now get an "Time Warp Claw Error" message whenever I load a craft. When I then try to launch a rocket or plane it just starts to float around in the air. Also, IVA doesn't work.

http://i.imgur.com/q3SMfbf.png

https://youtu.be/2_bSHPO6F9I

I'm using about 25 mods (parts, tools and visual enhancements).

Returning to 32-bit is not an option since the game immediately crashes when loading the save file.

[Jim Kernan]

Did it overwrite the ksp.exe and mono.dll files you changed for Windows 64-bit?

[simtom]

Well I actually don't know but I guess it didn't since I still had the problem while running the 32-bit version of the game.

[Pe-Ter]

Could anybody send me those needed files via PM (sendspace.com, for example)? I ask because my two HDDs corrupt big files and cause installer integrity check to fail. Thus I can never install Unity 4.6.4 after downloading it using my browser. I could do that with my torrent client, but I see no torrent for Unity 4.6.4. I'd be really grateful for this help. Thank you.

EDIT: Thank you, I've recieved the files. I appreciate the help!

Edited November 10, 2015 by Pe-Ter

[Fubarbrickdust]

This [the workaround] is the very 1st thing tested with a fresh copy of 1.0.5 - So far so good. Exactly as with 1.0.4

I'll update with an edit if I encounter any issues but I've a feeling it'll be just fine...

[LuvSicGrl]

Why do you need the workaround when the launcher provides 64bit i don't get it.