Mass Effect fix not quite working
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I've been holding off on ME3 for quite some time now, as I wanted to experience the whole series from start in 3D. Right now I have the time to do so, but sadly I discovered that the Helix fix posted for Mass Effect by Mana84 doesn't quite work anymore. The issue is that all of the icons in the UI disappear with either of the fixes. Meaning skill icons and so on, which are quite an essential part of the fighting in the game. I'm on 337.88 drivers, if that's of any help. I did not yet try to roll back the drivers. I've yet to try a proper reinstall as well, but I'm not sure if that would be of any help. [edit:] And the icons of course return when deleting the fix, hence being sceptical about reinstall helping. Does anyone else have ME still installed and could check if they experience the same thing or if this has something to do with my install/hardware/anything? Does anyone have the documentation on the fix, as perhaps it would be possible to pinpoint the offending override? Thanks in advance. [edit:] This has been solved, please scroll down the thread for simple "fix."
I've been holding off on ME3 for quite some time now, as I wanted to experience the whole series from start in 3D. Right now I have the time to do so, but sadly I discovered that the Helix fix posted for Mass Effect by Mana84 doesn't quite work anymore.

The issue is that all of the icons in the UI disappear with either of the fixes. Meaning skill icons and so on, which are quite an essential part of the fighting in the game.

I'm on 337.88 drivers, if that's of any help. I did not yet try to roll back the drivers. I've yet to try a proper reinstall as well, but I'm not sure if that would be of any help. [edit:] And the icons of course return when deleting the fix, hence being sceptical about reinstall helping.


Does anyone else have ME still installed and could check if they experience the same thing or if this has something to do with my install/hardware/anything? Does anyone have the documentation on the fix, as perhaps it would be possible to pinpoint the offending override?


Thanks in advance.


[edit:] This has been solved, please scroll down the thread for simple "fix."

#1
Posted 12/07/2014 11:19 AM   
I am redownloading the game as we speak;)) Will give it a go and let you know what I see;))
I am redownloading the game as we speak;))
Will give it a go and let you know what I see;))

1x Palit RTX 2080Ti Pro Gaming OC(watercooled and overclocked to hell)
3x 3D Vision Ready Asus VG278HE monitors (5760x1080).
Intel i9 9900K (overclocked to 5.3 and watercooled ofc).
Asus Maximus XI Hero Mobo.
16 GB Team Group T-Force Dark Pro DDR4 @ 3600.
Lots of Disks:
- Raid 0 - 256GB Sandisk Extreme SSD.
- Raid 0 - WD Black - 2TB.
- SanDisk SSD PLUS 480 GB.
- Intel 760p 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
Creative Sound Blaster Z.
Windows 10 x64 Pro.
etc


My website with my fixes and OpenGL to 3D Vision wrapper:
http://3dsurroundgaming.com

(If you like some of the stuff that I've done and want to donate something, you can do it with PayPal at tavyhome@gmail.com)

#2
Posted 12/07/2014 12:01 PM   
Cool, thanks. Please post your findings!
Cool, thanks. Please post your findings!

#3
Posted 12/07/2014 12:09 PM   
I just tested intensively. The fix works exactly as described. No icons are missing. Key Presets are working as well. This is on the latest version from Steam/Origin and the 344.75 Nvidia Driver set. Try updating the drivers to latest version and see if that solves it for you.
I just tested intensively.

The fix works exactly as described. No icons are missing. Key Presets are working as well.
This is on the latest version from Steam/Origin and the 344.75 Nvidia Driver set.

Try updating the drivers to latest version and see if that solves it for you.

1x Palit RTX 2080Ti Pro Gaming OC(watercooled and overclocked to hell)
3x 3D Vision Ready Asus VG278HE monitors (5760x1080).
Intel i9 9900K (overclocked to 5.3 and watercooled ofc).
Asus Maximus XI Hero Mobo.
16 GB Team Group T-Force Dark Pro DDR4 @ 3600.
Lots of Disks:
- Raid 0 - 256GB Sandisk Extreme SSD.
- Raid 0 - WD Black - 2TB.
- SanDisk SSD PLUS 480 GB.
- Intel 760p 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
Creative Sound Blaster Z.
Windows 10 x64 Pro.
etc


My website with my fixes and OpenGL to 3D Vision wrapper:
http://3dsurroundgaming.com

(If you like some of the stuff that I've done and want to donate something, you can do it with PayPal at tavyhome@gmail.com)

#4
Posted 12/07/2014 04:13 PM   
Thank you. I'll start by changing the drivers then. I did try multiple times with the fix and then removing the files. Every time the fix wasn't in, all the icons worked just fine. And vice versa, of course. [edit:] Yep, works perfectly fine with the newest drivers so far. The icons show up just as they're supposed to. ..Except that the FPS is pretty horrible now. I thought I had forgotten to turn on the SLI after installing the newer drivers, but nope. Just the drivers somehow giving way lower FPS. I guess I'll just roll back to some which work and which won't gimp the FPS as well. [edit2:] Yep. Even older drivers (335.23) gave a SIGNIFICANT boost to FPS and the icons still work. Night and day FPS-wise -- why the hell is this the case? >:( Clearly it would be just too easy if the latest drivers would simply _work_.
Thank you. I'll start by changing the drivers then. I did try multiple times with the fix and then removing the files. Every time the fix wasn't in, all the icons worked just fine. And vice versa, of course.

[edit:] Yep, works perfectly fine with the newest drivers so far. The icons show up just as they're supposed to.

..Except that the FPS is pretty horrible now. I thought I had forgotten to turn on the SLI after installing the newer drivers, but nope. Just the drivers somehow giving way lower FPS. I guess I'll just roll back to some which work and which won't gimp the FPS as well.

[edit2:] Yep. Even older drivers (335.23) gave a SIGNIFICANT boost to FPS and the icons still work. Night and day FPS-wise -- why the hell is this the case? >:( Clearly it would be just too easy if the latest drivers would simply _work_.

#5
Posted 12/07/2014 06:00 PM   
Happened again, so I ruled out the drivers having been the cause the first time. However, the FPS-issue remains with the latest drivers (344.75). This was consistent after multiple tests. After a lot of fiddling around and ruling out possible causes, there's something about the shader cache that makes the icons get "corrupted" for me. They simply do not show up at all - whether it's in 2D or 3D until removing the fix. Clearing out the shader cache before starting the game has consistenly fixed the issue now, however. My sessions have been short, but this has not cropped up (so far) prior to restarting the game. Just posting this in case anyone ever runs into this same issue. Simply clear your shader cache and endure the extra 10s for the game to start.
Happened again, so I ruled out the drivers having been the cause the first time. However, the FPS-issue remains with the latest drivers (344.75). This was consistent after multiple tests.

After a lot of fiddling around and ruling out possible causes, there's something about the shader cache that makes the icons get "corrupted" for me. They simply do not show up at all - whether it's in 2D or 3D until removing the fix. Clearing out the shader cache before starting the game has consistenly fixed the issue now, however. My sessions have been short, but this has not cropped up (so far) prior to restarting the game.


Just posting this in case anyone ever runs into this same issue. Simply clear your shader cache and endure the extra 10s for the game to start.

#6
Posted 12/08/2014 02:03 PM   
Perhaps you're launching the game in DX11? The shaders are for DX9
Perhaps you're launching the game in DX11? The shaders are for DX9

#7
Posted 12/08/2014 02:24 PM   
[quote="D-Man11"]Perhaps you're launching the game in DX11? The shaders are for DX9[/quote] I'm fairly certain DX11 isn't even an option in the engine. Regardless, that would not explain the symptoms: the fix was clearly working in all other areas but with few specific shaders in the menu (which in all likelihood wouldn't be on top of the list of shaders to break in the process - quite the opposite). It wouldn't also quite explain why it is now getting consistently resolved by the method mentioned above of simply clearing the game's shader cache manually. Regardless, like said, the issue is pretty much solved now. It's not a complete cure as I don't know what causes the few particular shaders to be cached in such a way that they bug out, but the fix is very simple and takes only mere seconds to do when starting a new session.
D-Man11 said:Perhaps you're launching the game in DX11? The shaders are for DX9

I'm fairly certain DX11 isn't even an option in the engine. Regardless, that would not explain the symptoms: the fix was clearly working in all other areas but with few specific shaders in the menu (which in all likelihood wouldn't be on top of the list of shaders to break in the process - quite the opposite). It wouldn't also quite explain why it is now getting consistently resolved by the method mentioned above of simply clearing the game's shader cache manually.


Regardless, like said, the issue is pretty much solved now. It's not a complete cure as I don't know what causes the few particular shaders to be cached in such a way that they bug out, but the fix is very simple and takes only mere seconds to do when starting a new session.

#8
Posted 12/08/2014 02:37 PM   
Very interesting thing about the 3D Performance you experience there with the latest drivers. What drivers did you find that work best for you? (3D performance wise) Also thx for the shader cache find;)) I know that newer versions of the drivers have a shader cache option in NVPanel. Have you tried to disable that one? Maybe it corrupts the fix shader cache somehow....
Very interesting thing about the 3D Performance you experience there with the latest drivers.
What drivers did you find that work best for you? (3D performance wise)

Also thx for the shader cache find;)) I know that newer versions of the drivers have a shader cache option in NVPanel. Have you tried to disable that one? Maybe it corrupts the fix shader cache somehow....

1x Palit RTX 2080Ti Pro Gaming OC(watercooled and overclocked to hell)
3x 3D Vision Ready Asus VG278HE monitors (5760x1080).
Intel i9 9900K (overclocked to 5.3 and watercooled ofc).
Asus Maximus XI Hero Mobo.
16 GB Team Group T-Force Dark Pro DDR4 @ 3600.
Lots of Disks:
- Raid 0 - 256GB Sandisk Extreme SSD.
- Raid 0 - WD Black - 2TB.
- SanDisk SSD PLUS 480 GB.
- Intel 760p 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
Creative Sound Blaster Z.
Windows 10 x64 Pro.
etc


My website with my fixes and OpenGL to 3D Vision wrapper:
http://3dsurroundgaming.com

(If you like some of the stuff that I've done and want to donate something, you can do it with PayPal at tavyhome@gmail.com)

#9
Posted 12/08/2014 03:00 PM   
The Helix Mod for Mass Effect has a "feature" built in to turn off the enemy indicators. You can toggle it this way: "F5/0 - keys switches between preset crosshair and enemies indicators on/off. it comes with related suggested depth/convergence settings. (but you can still edit them ingame and save with Ctrl+F7)." Sorry if this was already obvious, ruled out, or not actually the issue you are having, but sometimes the simplest explanation is right one. I am currently playing through this game right now, so i've tried to play around with all the things mana84 built into his fix. sidenote: Thank you to Helifax for the WidescreenFixer fix. Its great, and being able to toggle it on and off for the galaxy map is hugely convenient.
The Helix Mod for Mass Effect has a "feature" built in to turn off the enemy indicators. You can toggle it this way:

"F5/0 - keys switches between preset crosshair and enemies indicators on/off. it comes with related suggested depth/convergence settings. (but you can still edit them ingame and save with Ctrl+F7)."

Sorry if this was already obvious, ruled out, or not actually the issue you are having, but sometimes the simplest explanation is right one. I am currently playing through this game right now, so i've tried to play around with all the things mana84 built into his fix.

sidenote: Thank you to Helifax for the WidescreenFixer fix. Its great, and being able to toggle it on and off for the galaxy map is hugely convenient.

3D Vision Surround | Driver 359.00 | Windows 7
GTX 980 SLI | i7 3770K @ 4.2 GHz | 16 GB RAM
3x ASUS VG248QE w/ G-SYNC

#10
Posted 12/08/2014 03:44 PM   
Hey Helifax, any chance the shader cache is what's interfering with Dragon Age and Lords of the Fallen?
Hey Helifax, any chance the shader cache is what's interfering with Dragon Age and Lords of the Fallen?

#11
Posted 12/08/2014 04:03 PM   
[quote="TURDxSANDWICH"]The Helix Mod for Mass Effect has a "feature" built in to turn off the enemy indicators. You can toggle it this way:[/quote] Yeah, it's in the readme. These are also not the skill/quickbar icons or menu icons that disappear. Those are just the crosshair and enemy indicators. But yes, sometimes it is indeed the obvious - just not this time. :) [quote="helifax"]What drivers did you find that work best for you? (3D performance wise)[/quote] To be fair, I didn't do any rigorous tests - I tried 3 different drivers in total, including the latest. I simply had framecounter on and ran around in Normandy to confirm my suspicion. All the drivers I've normally used (the one mentioned in OP) and the older one I tried were pretty much the same performance-wise. Only the newest drivers clearly tanked the FPS. I have no idea why, I could not find any clear reason for it. I also didn't try the disable yet, I was just tbh happy I found a work-around and did not proceed further. I'll give it a go at some point, perhaps on the weekend.
TURDxSANDWICH said:The Helix Mod for Mass Effect has a "feature" built in to turn off the enemy indicators. You can toggle it this way:

Yeah, it's in the readme. These are also not the skill/quickbar icons or menu icons that disappear. Those are just the crosshair and enemy indicators. But yes, sometimes it is indeed the obvious - just not this time. :)

helifax said:What drivers did you find that work best for you? (3D performance wise)

To be fair, I didn't do any rigorous tests - I tried 3 different drivers in total, including the latest. I simply had framecounter on and ran around in Normandy to confirm my suspicion. All the drivers I've normally used (the one mentioned in OP) and the older one I tried were pretty much the same performance-wise. Only the newest drivers clearly tanked the FPS. I have no idea why, I could not find any clear reason for it.

I also didn't try the disable yet, I was just tbh happy I found a work-around and did not proceed further. I'll give it a go at some point, perhaps on the weekend.

#12
Posted 12/08/2014 04:29 PM   
[quote="Pirateguybrush"]Hey Helifax, any chance the shader cache is what's interfering with Dragon Age and Lords of the Fallen?[/quote] I have tried that....and haven't seen any difference (except higher loading screens...) :( Was among the first things to try... @zynerd: Thanks for the clarification;)
Pirateguybrush said:Hey Helifax, any chance the shader cache is what's interfering with Dragon Age and Lords of the Fallen?


I have tried that....and haven't seen any difference (except higher loading screens...) :( Was among the first things to try...

@zynerd: Thanks for the clarification;)

1x Palit RTX 2080Ti Pro Gaming OC(watercooled and overclocked to hell)
3x 3D Vision Ready Asus VG278HE monitors (5760x1080).
Intel i9 9900K (overclocked to 5.3 and watercooled ofc).
Asus Maximus XI Hero Mobo.
16 GB Team Group T-Force Dark Pro DDR4 @ 3600.
Lots of Disks:
- Raid 0 - 256GB Sandisk Extreme SSD.
- Raid 0 - WD Black - 2TB.
- SanDisk SSD PLUS 480 GB.
- Intel 760p 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
Creative Sound Blaster Z.
Windows 10 x64 Pro.
etc


My website with my fixes and OpenGL to 3D Vision wrapper:
http://3dsurroundgaming.com

(If you like some of the stuff that I've done and want to donate something, you can do it with PayPal at tavyhome@gmail.com)

#13
Posted 12/08/2014 05:22 PM   
I cannot play it. It freezes almost instantly, forcing me to use Ctrl+Alt+Del. The longest I was able to go was around 3 minutes. The very beginning of the game - first talk with that alien, after going for a talk with a captain. detailed info: - 2500K @4,4GHz, RAM not OC'ed. - newest drivers (non beta) - gtx 760, no SLI - win7 64bit, 8GB RAM - audigy 2 card in PCI slot, connected to non-native PCI controller, since Sandy Bridge chipset didn't support it natively. Might be a culprit? I used a patch for using a x360 controller. The game is from Origin, all updates installed. The fix downloaded from helixmod. Also - the framerate is unacceptable, some fps drops, looks like it dips below 30fps every now and then. 1080p shouldn't be a problem for GTX760, I don't use any AA, only Anisotropic filtering is ON. Didn't try to toggle triple buffering yet, but it shouldn't have any meaning in regards of that freezes.
I cannot play it. It freezes almost instantly, forcing me to use Ctrl+Alt+Del. The longest I was able to go was around 3 minutes. The very beginning of the game - first talk with that alien, after going for a talk with a captain.

detailed info:

- 2500K @4,4GHz, RAM not OC'ed.
- newest drivers (non beta)
- gtx 760, no SLI
- win7 64bit, 8GB RAM
- audigy 2 card in PCI slot, connected to non-native PCI controller, since Sandy Bridge chipset didn't support it natively. Might be a culprit?

I used a patch for using a x360 controller.
The game is from Origin, all updates installed. The fix downloaded from helixmod.


Also - the framerate is unacceptable, some fps drops, looks like it dips below 30fps every now and then.
1080p shouldn't be a problem for GTX760, I don't use any AA, only Anisotropic filtering is ON.
Didn't try to toggle triple buffering yet, but it shouldn't have any meaning in regards of that freezes.

#14
Posted 12/22/2014 06:26 PM   
[quote="RonsonPL"]I cannot play it. It freezes almost instantly, forcing me to use Ctrl+Alt+Del. The longest I was able to go was around 3 minutes. The very beginning of the game - first talk with that alien, after going for a talk with a captain. detailed info: - 2500K @4,4GHz, RAM not OC'ed. - newest drivers (non beta) - gtx 760, no SLI - win7 64bit, 8GB RAM - audigy 2 card in PCI slot, connected to non-native PCI controller, since Sandy Bridge chipset didn't support it natively. Might be a culprit? I used a patch for using a x360 controller. The game is from Origin, all updates installed. The fix downloaded from helixmod. Also - the framerate is unacceptable, some fps drops, looks like it dips below 30fps every now and then. 1080p shouldn't be a problem for GTX760, I don't use any AA, only Anisotropic filtering is ON. Didn't try to toggle triple buffering yet, but it shouldn't have any meaning in regards of that freezes.[/quote] The fix itself most certainly isn't causing the crashes, there would've been multiple reports by now. The framerate drops probably occur as someone is using barrier/whatever other shielding abilities there are. I suspect this is related to the engine rather than the fix, though. I haven't encountered any other FPS drops nor can I find reports of others experiencing them outside of those few particular effects causing a significant dip. I'm afraid you'll have to troubleshoot your system first. Also, are you using any other mods? P.S. Virmire has a very broken shader on the water surface, which I was surprised no-one has mentioned. Doesn't really matter though, but I was just surprised to see it. Everything is doubled near the water surface and this segment lasts some 10-15 minutes.
RonsonPL said:I cannot play it. It freezes almost instantly, forcing me to use Ctrl+Alt+Del. The longest I was able to go was around 3 minutes. The very beginning of the game - first talk with that alien, after going for a talk with a captain.

detailed info:

- 2500K @4,4GHz, RAM not OC'ed.
- newest drivers (non beta)
- gtx 760, no SLI
- win7 64bit, 8GB RAM
- audigy 2 card in PCI slot, connected to non-native PCI controller, since Sandy Bridge chipset didn't support it natively. Might be a culprit?

I used a patch for using a x360 controller.
The game is from Origin, all updates installed. The fix downloaded from helixmod.


Also - the framerate is unacceptable, some fps drops, looks like it dips below 30fps every now and then.
1080p shouldn't be a problem for GTX760, I don't use any AA, only Anisotropic filtering is ON.
Didn't try to toggle triple buffering yet, but it shouldn't have any meaning in regards of that freezes.

The fix itself most certainly isn't causing the crashes, there would've been multiple reports by now.

The framerate drops probably occur as someone is using barrier/whatever other shielding abilities there are. I suspect this is related to the engine rather than the fix, though. I haven't encountered any other FPS drops nor can I find reports of others experiencing them outside of those few particular effects causing a significant dip.

I'm afraid you'll have to troubleshoot your system first. Also, are you using any other mods?


P.S. Virmire has a very broken shader on the water surface, which I was surprised no-one has mentioned. Doesn't really matter though, but I was just surprised to see it. Everything is doubled near the water surface and this segment lasts some 10-15 minutes.

#15
Posted 12/22/2014 07:39 PM   
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