Problems with a Silent Hill game on PC? [Sollutions]
Posted: 05 Nov 2009
I've noticed more than a few topics just on the front page alone regarding problems with the PC versions of various Silent Hill games. Well, it so happens I own 2, 3, 4, and Homecoming on PC, and I've encountered what seems like the majority of known issues with them.
More importantly, however, I've personally resolved those issues, and assisted numerous friends in doing so. And as such, I'd like to submit the following, for the community's benefit.
The Nature of Ports
I'd like to start by explaining what a PC port actually is, beyond the obvious "game X on PC". A PC port of a console game is typically undertaken by a third party; a subdeveloper contracted specifically for that purpose. This creditation to this third party is often missed, but if you compare the credits from the original console version to the PC version, they will stand out.
Silent Hill 2 (PC) was ported by Creature Labs
Silent Hill 3 (PC) was ported by Konami TYO (the only one ported by Konami themselves)
Silent Hill 4 (PC) was ported by Vivendi
Silent Hill: Homecoming (PC) was ported by Double Helix themselves.
Furthermore, Silent Hill 2 (PC) is based on the PS2 Director's Cut edition, Silent Hill 3 & 4 (PC) are based on the original PS2 versions, and Silent Hill: Homecoming is based on the Xbox360 version.
A port is accomplished by creating a software shell which enables the PC to mimick the running processes of the original console in order to open and render/process the original game content. Porting is essentially a form of emulation, a legal form of emulation.
However, it is due to this nature that ports are often glitchy by comparison to the original product (the original console version). And that's the end of the long-winded part.
Silent Hill 2 (PC)
Issue: The textures are all messed up / everything looks wrong / some objects are invisible or incomplete.
Explanation: The PC version of Silent Hill 2 hates anti-aliasing. This doesn't appear to be an issue for ALL people, certain graphics cards (mostly newer ones) appear to bypass this issue entirely. The game also dislikes Nvidia chipsets in particular.
Sollution: Disable anti-aliasing through your graphics card's configuration software/control panel. If possible, set it to "application contolled" wherever applicable to minimize potential for graphical errors. If you own a Nvidia card in particular, and the above steps do not help, seek out the "Silent Hill 2 Nvidia patch" (that term in a search should locate it fairly easily).
Issue: The game locks up / lags horribly / there's an insane delay between pressing buttons and actions occurring.
Explanation: The PC version of Silent Hill 2 hates multi-core systems, passionately.
Sollution: Alt-tab out of the game before proceeding past the main menu. Go into your taskmanager, and locate the "sh2pc.exe" process (in the processes tab list, not the applications tab list). Right click on it, and select "Set Affinity...". If you have a dual core processor, uncheck CPU 0. If you have a triple core processor, uncheck CPU 0 and CPU 2. If you have a quad core processor, uncheck CPU 0, CPU 2, and CPU 3. Leaving only CPU 1 checked in each case. Alt-tab back into Silent Hill 2, and it should run perfectly from then on. (you will need to do this every time you fire up SH2).
Issue: The sound locks up / loops infinetely in an odd way / seems off...
Explanation: There isn't an exact explanation as to why this occurs. It's associated with the multi-core problem, but why exactly it happens is unknown.
Sollution: Ensure the above process for multi-core systems does not resolve the issue. If it doesn't, do a search (via google, for example), for "silent hill 2 pc sound fix", to find the sound patch that should correct the problem for you.
Issue: I did everything necessary for [Insert ending here], but got a different ending...
Explanation: Either you messed up somewhere, or you've just encountered one of the most obnoxious glitches in the PC version of Silent Hill 2; the ending bug.
Sollution: Try again. Sorry, but that's all you can do. The ending bug is completely random, and I've never discovered any way to fix it short of simply starting a new game and going for it again. It doesn't seem to occur twice in a row, if that's any conselation.
Silent Hill 3 (PC)
Issue: Every time I try to load a save, the game crashes!
Explanation: There isn't one. This is one of the most random glitches there is. It can happen to a copy of SH3 that has worked fine for an existing period of time, and it can happen off a clean install.
Sollution: I cannot discuss specifics without disrespecting the rules of this forum. All I will say is: find yourself a cracked exe for the game. It solves the problem, for some curious reason.
Issue: The graphics are majorly messed up / The graphics look horrible / The graphics are glitched
Explanation: SH3 has numerous graphics settings. As a rule, the game dislikes widescreen resolutions, hates being windowed, and despises the texture resolution being set higher than 2048x2048.
Sollution: Avoid playing windowed if you can. Try to stick to letterbox resolutions, but if you want/need to go widescreen, adjust the texture resolution to suit (1024x2048 works best).
Alternate: There are known cases of the PC version of Silent Hill 3 simply not liking certain graphics cards. This is true of most games, but less prevelant with games that aren't ports. If you own a high-end graphics card/system in general, go nuts: set the AA and ASF to 16X, and Ambient Occulasion on. You can do some impressive things with SH3's graphics if you push it.
Silent Hill 4 (PC)
Issue: The game crashes when I try to pick up the Temptation Placard / Activate the Cynthia Cutscene.
Explanation: There are 3 versions of the PC Port of Silent Hill 4; the US version, the European version, and the multi-region version. For some peculiar reason, the US version is prone to this glitch. But it has been known to happen to the multi-region version as well.
Sollution: Once more I cannot go into specifics in order to respect the rules of this forum. Simple answer; get a cracked exe. It fixes the problem for some curious reason.
Issue: The controls are HORRIBLE!
Explanation: Vivendi -fail- at porting console games. It's that simple.
Sollution: Play the game with a controller if you can. Else grin and bear it, I'm afraid. One thing however; if you find that the first-person segments are PARTICULARLY annoying, turn down your mouse sensitivity. It helps.
Issue: The game seems to be running slow, but I know my system is at or above spec.
Explanation: Vivendi + porting console games = fail. Gameplay runs at proper speed but the cutscenes always seem to have the slightest element of slowmotion going on.
Sollution: There isn't one. Curiously, not everyone actually gets this either. It's incredibly random, as a matter of fact, even when you do get it, it doesn't effect every cutscene in the game.
I've saved what is easily the biggest headache for last...
Silent Hill: Homecoming (PC)
Issue: Black screen on startup or immediately after initial loading screen.
Explanation: This issue is particularly preveleant in the downloaded (Steam) version of the game. No one is precisely sure WHAT it's problem is, on this one.
Sollution: Window mode. If you're in Window mode and it happens, switch back to full-screen mode. For some reason, that's all it takes to fix. Some people can run the game windowed, some can run it full-screen, some can run it both. The damn game seems to like changing it's mind.
Issue: How do I run SH:H in windowed mode?
Explanation: Not necessary
Sollution: Go into the "Engine" folder of Homecoming, and open the file "vars_pc.cfg" in a plain text editor (notepad is the best). Look for the line that says "Fullscreen=true" and change true to false (it shuld read "Fullscreen=false". Save the file (not save as, ensure the .cfg extension is not changed). The game is now in windowed mode. Reverse the process to full-screen it again.
Extra: I do not recommend running the game in windowed mode if you can avoid it. Windowed mode seems to attract EVEN MORE problems. On the other hand ... it also seems to fix certain problems. You really can't win with this game's issues.
Issue: The bookshelf in the Alex's bedroom is making me want to hurt children.
Explanation: The PC version of Homecoming has particularly bad issues with mouse-coordinate tracking. That is, the game has trouble recognizing that the mouse cursor is actually where the on-screen graphic indicates it to be.
Sollution: Persistence and guess-work. This applies to almost all puzzles in which the mouse must be used. Where you have to click to actually hit/drag certain objects doesn't always make sense in the context of the on-screen image; for example, to drag the books, you sometimes have to grab them in a specific (and yet random) spot, and sometimes even move the mouse up or down before you can drag it across. Sometimes it works first try. This problem is quite random.
Extra: The switch that is revealed by moving the books is even worse. You typically have to click beside it to actually hit it.
Issue: The game locks up at seemingly random intervals before continuing, but the sound/dialogue continues.
Explanation: Homecoming uses a combination of on-demand loading, and area-transition loads. The on-demand loading ... doesn't always work right. What's worse is that the lag-effect it creates actually increases over time. This issue seems to be particularly attracted by windowed mode and alt-tabbing. However, I've seen it happen in fullscreen mode as well. There is no reliable way to fix it.
Issue: I loaded my game in the church and my plates have all gone wrong!
Explanation: The plate puzzle in the Church is PAINFULLY bugged.
Sollution: Do NOT save with any of the plates in your inventory. Save before attempting the puzzle, and/or after, not in the process of it, or this is almost certain to happen to you; and yes, you have to start your game over again if it happens (unless you have a seperate save near the church).
Issue: Alex keeps dodging in the opposite direction I tell him.
Explanation: Alex was dropped on his head as a child. Often.
Sollution: There is no ideal sollution to this problem. Try not to be holding a direction when you dodge, Alex usually auto-dodges the right way.
Issue: Firearm shots seem to lag / shots dont always fire when I pull the trigger
Explanation: Homecoming's mouse code is REALLY bad.
Sollution: Lower your double-clicking speed (the setting itself, in your mouse options, through the windows control panel). Or consider using keys for attack buttons. Or use a controller, for that matter.
Issue: I woke up in a jail cell and I cant get out!
Explanation. This is actually a normal part of the game. You are automatically released from the cell after a moderate length of time (or a shorter period of time if you actually inspect everything in the cell). Ironically, however, there is also a bug that can rarely occur here, where Wheeler never actually enters the room.
Sollution: Re-load your save prior to this point. It never happens twice in a row, thankfully.
That's about all I can think of, off the top of my head. I hope it helps folks out there. But if you have any other issues, by all means, drop me a line in here and I'll add the problem and sollution for you (if I know it, at least; can't promise I know them all. I can't even remember them all off the top of my head :p)
More importantly, however, I've personally resolved those issues, and assisted numerous friends in doing so. And as such, I'd like to submit the following, for the community's benefit.
The Nature of Ports
I'd like to start by explaining what a PC port actually is, beyond the obvious "game X on PC". A PC port of a console game is typically undertaken by a third party; a subdeveloper contracted specifically for that purpose. This creditation to this third party is often missed, but if you compare the credits from the original console version to the PC version, they will stand out.
Silent Hill 2 (PC) was ported by Creature Labs
Silent Hill 3 (PC) was ported by Konami TYO (the only one ported by Konami themselves)
Silent Hill 4 (PC) was ported by Vivendi
Silent Hill: Homecoming (PC) was ported by Double Helix themselves.
Furthermore, Silent Hill 2 (PC) is based on the PS2 Director's Cut edition, Silent Hill 3 & 4 (PC) are based on the original PS2 versions, and Silent Hill: Homecoming is based on the Xbox360 version.
A port is accomplished by creating a software shell which enables the PC to mimick the running processes of the original console in order to open and render/process the original game content. Porting is essentially a form of emulation, a legal form of emulation.
However, it is due to this nature that ports are often glitchy by comparison to the original product (the original console version). And that's the end of the long-winded part.
Silent Hill 2 (PC)
Issue: The textures are all messed up / everything looks wrong / some objects are invisible or incomplete.
Explanation: The PC version of Silent Hill 2 hates anti-aliasing. This doesn't appear to be an issue for ALL people, certain graphics cards (mostly newer ones) appear to bypass this issue entirely. The game also dislikes Nvidia chipsets in particular.
Sollution: Disable anti-aliasing through your graphics card's configuration software/control panel. If possible, set it to "application contolled" wherever applicable to minimize potential for graphical errors. If you own a Nvidia card in particular, and the above steps do not help, seek out the "Silent Hill 2 Nvidia patch" (that term in a search should locate it fairly easily).
Issue: The game locks up / lags horribly / there's an insane delay between pressing buttons and actions occurring.
Explanation: The PC version of Silent Hill 2 hates multi-core systems, passionately.
Sollution: Alt-tab out of the game before proceeding past the main menu. Go into your taskmanager, and locate the "sh2pc.exe" process (in the processes tab list, not the applications tab list). Right click on it, and select "Set Affinity...". If you have a dual core processor, uncheck CPU 0. If you have a triple core processor, uncheck CPU 0 and CPU 2. If you have a quad core processor, uncheck CPU 0, CPU 2, and CPU 3. Leaving only CPU 1 checked in each case. Alt-tab back into Silent Hill 2, and it should run perfectly from then on. (you will need to do this every time you fire up SH2).
Issue: The sound locks up / loops infinetely in an odd way / seems off...
Explanation: There isn't an exact explanation as to why this occurs. It's associated with the multi-core problem, but why exactly it happens is unknown.
Sollution: Ensure the above process for multi-core systems does not resolve the issue. If it doesn't, do a search (via google, for example), for "silent hill 2 pc sound fix", to find the sound patch that should correct the problem for you.
Issue: I did everything necessary for [Insert ending here], but got a different ending...
Explanation: Either you messed up somewhere, or you've just encountered one of the most obnoxious glitches in the PC version of Silent Hill 2; the ending bug.
Sollution: Try again. Sorry, but that's all you can do. The ending bug is completely random, and I've never discovered any way to fix it short of simply starting a new game and going for it again. It doesn't seem to occur twice in a row, if that's any conselation.
Silent Hill 3 (PC)
Issue: Every time I try to load a save, the game crashes!
Explanation: There isn't one. This is one of the most random glitches there is. It can happen to a copy of SH3 that has worked fine for an existing period of time, and it can happen off a clean install.
Sollution: I cannot discuss specifics without disrespecting the rules of this forum. All I will say is: find yourself a cracked exe for the game. It solves the problem, for some curious reason.
Issue: The graphics are majorly messed up / The graphics look horrible / The graphics are glitched
Explanation: SH3 has numerous graphics settings. As a rule, the game dislikes widescreen resolutions, hates being windowed, and despises the texture resolution being set higher than 2048x2048.
Sollution: Avoid playing windowed if you can. Try to stick to letterbox resolutions, but if you want/need to go widescreen, adjust the texture resolution to suit (1024x2048 works best).
Alternate: There are known cases of the PC version of Silent Hill 3 simply not liking certain graphics cards. This is true of most games, but less prevelant with games that aren't ports. If you own a high-end graphics card/system in general, go nuts: set the AA and ASF to 16X, and Ambient Occulasion on. You can do some impressive things with SH3's graphics if you push it.
Silent Hill 4 (PC)
Issue: The game crashes when I try to pick up the Temptation Placard / Activate the Cynthia Cutscene.
Explanation: There are 3 versions of the PC Port of Silent Hill 4; the US version, the European version, and the multi-region version. For some peculiar reason, the US version is prone to this glitch. But it has been known to happen to the multi-region version as well.
Sollution: Once more I cannot go into specifics in order to respect the rules of this forum. Simple answer; get a cracked exe. It fixes the problem for some curious reason.
Issue: The controls are HORRIBLE!
Explanation: Vivendi -fail- at porting console games. It's that simple.
Sollution: Play the game with a controller if you can. Else grin and bear it, I'm afraid. One thing however; if you find that the first-person segments are PARTICULARLY annoying, turn down your mouse sensitivity. It helps.
Issue: The game seems to be running slow, but I know my system is at or above spec.
Explanation: Vivendi + porting console games = fail. Gameplay runs at proper speed but the cutscenes always seem to have the slightest element of slowmotion going on.
Sollution: There isn't one. Curiously, not everyone actually gets this either. It's incredibly random, as a matter of fact, even when you do get it, it doesn't effect every cutscene in the game.
I've saved what is easily the biggest headache for last...
Silent Hill: Homecoming (PC)
Issue: Black screen on startup or immediately after initial loading screen.
Explanation: This issue is particularly preveleant in the downloaded (Steam) version of the game. No one is precisely sure WHAT it's problem is, on this one.
Sollution: Window mode. If you're in Window mode and it happens, switch back to full-screen mode. For some reason, that's all it takes to fix. Some people can run the game windowed, some can run it full-screen, some can run it both. The damn game seems to like changing it's mind.
Issue: How do I run SH:H in windowed mode?
Explanation: Not necessary
Sollution: Go into the "Engine" folder of Homecoming, and open the file "vars_pc.cfg" in a plain text editor (notepad is the best). Look for the line that says "Fullscreen=true" and change true to false (it shuld read "Fullscreen=false". Save the file (not save as, ensure the .cfg extension is not changed). The game is now in windowed mode. Reverse the process to full-screen it again.
Extra: I do not recommend running the game in windowed mode if you can avoid it. Windowed mode seems to attract EVEN MORE problems. On the other hand ... it also seems to fix certain problems. You really can't win with this game's issues.
Issue: The bookshelf in the Alex's bedroom is making me want to hurt children.
Explanation: The PC version of Homecoming has particularly bad issues with mouse-coordinate tracking. That is, the game has trouble recognizing that the mouse cursor is actually where the on-screen graphic indicates it to be.
Sollution: Persistence and guess-work. This applies to almost all puzzles in which the mouse must be used. Where you have to click to actually hit/drag certain objects doesn't always make sense in the context of the on-screen image; for example, to drag the books, you sometimes have to grab them in a specific (and yet random) spot, and sometimes even move the mouse up or down before you can drag it across. Sometimes it works first try. This problem is quite random.
Extra: The switch that is revealed by moving the books is even worse. You typically have to click beside it to actually hit it.
Issue: The game locks up at seemingly random intervals before continuing, but the sound/dialogue continues.
Explanation: Homecoming uses a combination of on-demand loading, and area-transition loads. The on-demand loading ... doesn't always work right. What's worse is that the lag-effect it creates actually increases over time. This issue seems to be particularly attracted by windowed mode and alt-tabbing. However, I've seen it happen in fullscreen mode as well. There is no reliable way to fix it.
Issue: I loaded my game in the church and my plates have all gone wrong!
Explanation: The plate puzzle in the Church is PAINFULLY bugged.
Sollution: Do NOT save with any of the plates in your inventory. Save before attempting the puzzle, and/or after, not in the process of it, or this is almost certain to happen to you; and yes, you have to start your game over again if it happens (unless you have a seperate save near the church).
Issue: Alex keeps dodging in the opposite direction I tell him.
Explanation: Alex was dropped on his head as a child. Often.
Sollution: There is no ideal sollution to this problem. Try not to be holding a direction when you dodge, Alex usually auto-dodges the right way.
Issue: Firearm shots seem to lag / shots dont always fire when I pull the trigger
Explanation: Homecoming's mouse code is REALLY bad.
Sollution: Lower your double-clicking speed (the setting itself, in your mouse options, through the windows control panel). Or consider using keys for attack buttons. Or use a controller, for that matter.
Issue: I woke up in a jail cell and I cant get out!
Explanation. This is actually a normal part of the game. You are automatically released from the cell after a moderate length of time (or a shorter period of time if you actually inspect everything in the cell). Ironically, however, there is also a bug that can rarely occur here, where Wheeler never actually enters the room.
Sollution: Re-load your save prior to this point. It never happens twice in a row, thankfully.
That's about all I can think of, off the top of my head. I hope it helps folks out there. But if you have any other issues, by all means, drop me a line in here and I'll add the problem and sollution for you (if I know it, at least; can't promise I know them all. I can't even remember them all off the top of my head :p)