Fear 3 Crashes, Stuttering, Freezes, FOV, Performance, Graphics Fixes
If you are among the unlucky guys who are experiencing almost every kind of issue in an attempt to play Fear 3, then you should really start looking for workarounds in the troubleshooting guide that follows, without wasting your time reading this intro.
Fear 3 Troubleshooting Guide
1# Game Runs in Windowed, All Options Grey-ed Out
Mostly the problem is other way around but Fear 3 has found a way to automatically start windowed. This is the games setting file:
%AppData%\Day 1 Studios\FEAR3\SharedData.settings
I figure you need to edit ‘renderResolution’.. hit and trial may work. I don’t have any specific instructions on how you can resolve this that’s why I am only giving you the direction of what you can do. Hopefully Devs will fix the issue in the upcoming patch.
If you figure it out though, do share as lot of guys may be facing this issue. Also, you would need hex-editor for this, since it is a binary file you would be editing.
Note. Make sure you backup the original file.
2# F3ar Stuttering Fix
If you move or strafe the screen jitters or stutters, making the game unplayable at times. Disable HID devices in the device manager and see if it fixes the issue. Update to latest video card drivers, since some of the guys have this issue resolved by just updating the drivers.
Performance Tips
Disable AA. Disable DX11 and instead of MSAA use FXAA. That should improve performance.
3# Freezing Intro Video, Loading Screen
When you start the game, the game freezes at the loading screen. The intro video starts very slowly, and freezes. If you are experiencing this issue, try adding Fear 3 in your firewall exceptions list, update your video card drivers, and try running the game in DirectX 9.
How to Force DirectX 9
Set launch options with either -dx9 or -d3d9 in Steam to force DirectX 9. Why you would need that ? for most of the crashes, freezes, bad scaling and resolution issues.
4# Fear 3 Low FPS, Sudden Drop in Performance
If your game is skipping frames, while you framerates are constant, you may need to start the game at medium settings. Just to give the game enough time to render all these effects. Or try the performance tips above, disabling AA alone will give you huge performance boost such is the poor optimization of the game.
5# Fear 3 Crashes
If your game is crashing randomly, update the game to the latest patch, and make sure you have Steam.exe and Fear 3.exe added to exceptions list of your antivirus.
6# Fear 3 Computer Locks Up
Rare issue, not sure what to recommend but some of you may experience random lock ups while playing the game.
7# Fear 3 Xbox 360 Controller
Wireless Xbox 360 controller may not work well with the game.
8# Display Driver Crash
Fear 3 crashes after sometime in the game, giving an error that display driver has stopped or has recovered from serious problem or something along the lines. Make sure you have updated DirectX and your video card drivers. Close all applications before starting the game as it can also be an application conflict.
9# Fear 3 Freezes, Crash to Desktop
After playing the game for sometime, it freezes followed by a crash to desktop. If you are experiencing this issue, you should follow the recommendations in #5.
10# Fear 3 Stuttering Framerate Drop
This effect is on all video settings no matter what setting you disable or enable even if you run the game on low settings. Fear 3 doesn’t really optimize AA to an extent it should, so disabling it can boost performance. Or so to say, it’s a performance eater setting of the game.
11# Fear 3 Motion Blur
12# Fear 3 Head Bob and FOV
Have nothing on this, looking to find something to all the guys experience difficulties playing the game with limited FOV settings of the game.
13# Fear 3 Xbox 360/PS3 Can’t Join Games
I think it would work out in a couple of tries, sometimes right after the release of the game, servers are quite overloaded which results in few of these issues. Be patient as the devs resolve it.
14# Fear 3 Xbox 360/PS3 Pass Code Not Working
You may want to contact customer support if your pass code is not working. ‘support at wbgames.com’ You can email these guys and they will help you out with this issue.
15# Fear 3 Multiplayer Ports Forwarding
TCP/UDP 4098-4101, 8766, 27016
16# Fear 3 Doesn’t Install
Exit Steam then delete or rename your ClientRegisrty.blob file. Restart Steam, sign back in and then verify your game cache by going to Library/FEAR3/properties/local files/verify integrity of game cache.
If you face any other issue, let me know, and I will try to help you out.
Find us on Digg
Our YouTube Channel
I try every hack on the FOV and nothing… is hardcoded.
To get Wireless XBOX 360 Controller working:
google and install “xbox 360 controller emulator” onto the game directory and configure your controller with the built in config utlility. the emulator will consist of the config ulility and the xinput…dll. Once you configure the program properly, it will create a “x360ce.ini” file in the directory with your preferences. close the config utility and run the game. if done right you should hear a sound as you run the game.
How you modify SharedData.settings with a Hex editor, it’s not easy :s
Thanks
If you’re anything like me, you will find one of the most frustrating part about PC games that are ported from console the lack of configuration control you’ll get with most games. Fear 3 is no exception to this rule, with motion blur enabled by default with no easy way to turn it off, and no way to do so via the tried and tested method of messing with configuration options.
So then how are you supposed to turn it off? well we’re about to tell you.
Install a hex editor of your choice and open the games main executable file, when open search for the following hex:
61636820746F000043616D65726152
Once found, change it to this:
61636820746F00004E6F426C757252
How to run Fear 3 in Directx 9 ? I didnt quite get it.
1. Right-click on the game title under the Library in Steam and select Properties.
2. Under the General tab click the Set launch options… button.
3. Enter the launch options you wish to apply (be sure to separate each code with a space) and click OK.
4. Close the game’s Properties window and launch the game.
I’m sure this game is great…shame that it crashes everytime at the first level scene. Is it a steam related issue? will try to turn off in game steam crap and see if it’ll run.
I tried to change texture quality to maximum.
No effect. How i can change this?
These textures are very bad.
i have a huge problem in FEAR 3…slow mo is always on and i can’t turn it off…plzz helep me solve this because I like this game and i wanna play it…everything was ok until i came to fight mech in interval 4 then all the problems began.It’s so annoying to play with slow mo allways on :/
I have a problem is interval4 suberbs.after Alma attacks us and takes us to a dark path with fettle telling that she is full of rage.Well! i completed that but after we return to realty the game shows that we are falling endlessly and die.This happens every time no matter what i do.
why it only appear just small image then after a few seconds nothing happen
when i Sprint in a multiplayer game it keeps zoomed-in but only as a client, as host i don’t have this problem then i can sprint an the screen returns to normal
The game still freezes on the intro video.i tried the dx9 thing still does it.
stuck at interval 7. after finding beckett the cut screen doesnt come. guys any help?