Bulletstorm PC Troubleshooting Guide

Complete Bulletstorm PC troubleshooting guide with all the corresponding fixes and workarounds for the current issues of the game.

Bulletstorm on PC is plagued by several issues thanks to the integration of Games For Windows Live – one of the most questionable DRM services. If that wasn’t enough Bulletstorm also comes with several graphics bugs and performance issues due to PhysX. The following are the general issues faced by the majority and their corresponding workarounds and fixes courtesy of our Bulletstorm PC Troubleshooting guide.

Bulletstorm PC Troubleshooting

1# Error Reading From File
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA\Bulletstorm\StormGame\CookedPCConsole\SP_ UC_Tunnels_Part_2.upk.Veri
If you are getting this error, make sure you have updated .Net Framework, have installed all the latest updates for Windows 7 and have an updated DirectX. Most probably updating .Net Framework would do the trick. Try to install these from the Game Disk or installation folder of the game as these files are included with it.

2# Bulletstorm PhysX Problem – PhysX Install Issues
Using hardware-accelerated PhysX has been requested, but the drivers were out of date. Please download the latest drivers http://www.nvidia.com/object/physx FATAL ERROR – Exiting
Install PhysX that comes with the game from the installation directory.

Or

Copy files from:
C:\Program Files(x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\PhysX\Common\
and paste them to \Binaries\Win32\PhysXLocal\ of the game directory.

3# Bulletstorm Bad Graphics – Graphics Bug
If you are experiencing bad graphics or different graphics bugs, you can choose to run the game on DirectX 10 or DirectX 9 whatever suits your video card better.

In Config folder of the game directory, open ‘BaseEngine.ini’ – Here search for “AllowD3D10” and put true or false or allowing or disallowing DirectX 10. If you disallow it, the game will automatically run on DirectX 9.

4# Bulletstorm (PC) Buggy Menu – Graphics Bugs
If you are seeing the graphics on the start menu and in-game like:

  • Black lines on the floor moving with the character.
  • Blocky shadows (sometimes just spazzy shadows).
  • Strange 16 bit color depth effect on textures.
  • Backgrounds turn black except for characters.

Right now there is no good fix but you can do change the “bUseMaxQualityMode=False” to “bUseMaxQualityMode=True”
in the game configuration file but that would cause serious performance issues. Also you can revert back the changes after the game updates and the ini files will be encrypted.

5# Bulletstorm – No GFWL Overlay
If you are facing GFWL overlay issues like Home key has no functionality and when you try to enter the game, pressing SPACE to sign in just closes the prompt and returns you to the main splash screen. Try to update GFWL manually and see that works. If it doesn’t wait for the patch.

6# Bulletstorm – Can’t Save
This issue has also raised due to GFWL overlay not working properly in Bulletstorm.

7# Bulletstorm Your Live ID is Locked!
If you get an error like this when you try to log in Games For Windows Live – Contact Support here.

8# Bulletstorm – Low Performance
If you are experiencing low performance with Bulletstorm on PC – Make sure you have updated video card drivers, have installed PhysX from the disk of the game and have DirectX updated and installed.

9# Bulletstorm – Random Crashes
If the game is crashing randomly after playing the game for X amount of time – make sure your video card is not overheated. If you are on SLI or Crossfire – try to disable the other GPU – run the game on single video card.

10# Bulletstorm Multiplayer – Connection Issues
If you are experiencing connection issues with the multiplayer of the game. Try port forwarding following ports – TCP 80, UDP 88, UDP 3074, TCP 3074, UDP 53, TCP 53.

11# “Zero-Day Piracy” Error – GFWL Bulletstorm
You have installed the game successfully, but before you can run it for the first time, it says you must connect to GFWL to “verify the release date of your game”. When you click “Continue”, you get the error “Games for Windows – LIVE cannot connect to the LIVE Service. Please make sure your computer is connected to the internet.” Refer to GFWL Fixes below for some workarounds to resolve this issue.

If you face any other issue, let us know and we will try to help you resolve it.

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Zawad Iftikhar is the founder of SegmentNext.com, an FPS enthusiast and a Call of Duty veteran, having participated multiple eSports competition.