Ranch Simulator

Ranch Simulator

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RedPandaViking  [developer] 15 Feb, 2022 @ 2:20pm
Common fixes for possible issues
Please find below a range of fixes for crashing, blurry textures and save issues.
If none of these help with your issue, please feel free to get in contact with our team over at support.excalibur-games.com
Please included in your ticket as many details of the issue as possible, a DxDiag report and a save file where possible.

How to produce a DxDiag report
To create a DxDiag report, please do the following
- Press the windows key + R on your keyboard to open the run console
- Type DxDiag and click ok to open the direct x diagnostic report program
- Click “yes” on any pop ups in relation to the program
- Once the program has opened, wait for the green progress bar to fill up, representing the progress of the report generation
- Once the report has generated, click on Save All Information to save the report.

How to locate your save data
The save data for the game is located in AppData\Local\Ranch_Simulator\Saved\SaveGames
You can get to this location easily by doing the following
- Press the windows key and R together to open the run command
- Type in %appdata%/../local/Ranch_Simulator/Saved/SaveGames and press ok

Games Minimum requirements
Please also be aware of the system requirements as stated on the store page. Being below these may cause issues.

MINIMUM:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K or AMD FX-8310
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon RX 470
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 15 GB available space
Last edited by RedPandaViking; 5 Dec, 2024 @ 3:35pm

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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
RedPandaViking  [developer] 15 Feb, 2022 @ 2:24pm 
I am unable to refuel my vehicle.

If you are having issues trying to refuel your vehicle at the start of the game. Please make sure you have picked up the cash which is found in the chest in the attic.
You will need some money to purchase the fuel.

My game doesn't open, but says it is playing

If you have clicked on play, but the game doesn't seem to launch. however, steam says it should be running, then try some of the following steps

Check Task Manger for certain tasks

At certain points, Ranch Simulator will check for new SDK updates for the Epic Online Services (What runs the multiplayer aspect of the game) However, sometimes these may get stuck due to permission issues.

Open the task manager and close anything which mentions "Epic online services"

Reinstall the game on an alternative drive
Sometimes installing the game to a difference hard drive or location can fix this issue.

My game is crashing, what do I do?

Game crashing can be caused by any number of issues, thankfully many of these can be addressed relatively easily.

Verify your game files
Verifying your files can often fix crash on launch issues.

- Go to Steam library
- Right click on ''Ranch Simulator''
- Select ''Properties''
- Head to ''Local Files''
- Select ''Verify integrity of game files...'

Check your video drivers
Out of date video drivers can cause many issues with games, keeping these up to date is always the best approach for all games you place.

For the latest Nvidia drivers, please head to - NVidia Drivers[www.nvidia.co.uk]
For the latest AMD drivers, please head to - AMD Drivers[www.amd.com]

Turn off Desktop/ resolution scaling
We have found that sometimes, windows resolution/desktop scaling can cause issues with the game. You can turn this off specifically for the game by doing the following;

You can turn off scaling per application by doing the following
- Navigate to the game’s installation directory
- Right click on the games executable and go to properties
- Go to the compatibility tab and then click on "change high DPI settings"
- Tick the "Override high dpi scaling behaviour" and make sure the drop box is set to Application

Make sure the game is utilising your graphics card correctly

Some pcs will have both an integrated graphics card and a dedicated graphics card. However, in some cases the game will try to load up using the less powerful integrated card. To solve this, you can do the following;

- Right click on the desktop and go to display settings
- Scroll down and click on graphic settings
- Click Browse in the "Choose an app to set preference" section and navigate to the installation directory for the game
- Click on the games main executable and click add, the game should now appear as a selectable option
- Click the game and then select options and make sure the game is set to high performance. it will then display what graphics card it uses

Some graphic cards may also have Boost modes, OC modes or low power modes. These different modes can cause instability in games at times and may be worth turning off if you are experiencing issues.

Limit framerate or settings if game crashes during gameplay

If you have the games settings to their max and without limits, the game will use as many resources as possible, this can cause crashes if these resources change or are pushed too much (Overheating etc)
If you find the game is crashing randomly or after a period of time, try turning on the FPS limiter to 60fps or a suitable frame rate. V-sync can also help limit resource usage as well. You can also lower some settings to get better frame rates and stability

Conflictions with other programs

Sadly, computer software can often be a bit of a wild west situation. There can be unknown conflicts between various software for unknown reasons.
We have identified issues with the following software so far
Virtual audio drivers (Asus Sonic Studio, VBaudio/Voicementer)
Virtual Video Drivers/Remote desktop software
Last edited by RedPandaViking; 28 Dec, 2022 @ 1:19pm
RedPandaViking  [developer] 15 Feb, 2022 @ 2:32pm 
My game is blurry or looks like crap, how do I fix this?

If your game isn’t looking as good as you expect it to look, you can try some of the following steps

For low end graphic cards, reduce the streaming pool size.

Reducing the streaming pool size reduces the amount of memory the game uses for displaying textures. If this is higher than the memory available, it can sometimes saturate this, creating texture display issues.

- Press the windows key + R on your keyboard to open the run console
- Type in %appdata%/../Local/Ranch_Simulator/Saved/Config/WindowsNoEditor and press ok
- Open Settings.ini file in a text editor.
- Add the line r.Streaming.PoolSize=2000

Reset graphical settings completely

Resetting your graphical settings can often fix strange issues with graphics or issues with accessing certain graphical options.
The best way to reset these is to delete the games configuration folder.

- Press the windows key and R together to open the run command
- Type in %appdata%/../local/Ranch_Simulator/Saved/ and press ok
- This should open the location of the config folder for the game, delete this folder (only the folder named config)

Turn off Desktop/ resolution scaling

Desktop or resolution scaling can also cause issues with how textures are displayed in game.
Turning this off can often address such issues.
See instructions in previous section.

Issues with saving your game or loading your saves?

Not being able to save your game or load an old save is always incredibly frustrating, but we will always try to help wherever we can.

Run the game as admin

Running the game as admin can often solve permission issues related to creating or updating save files.
Quit Steam completely and make sure it isn't minimised. Right click on Steams desktop icon or app listing in the start menu.
Then select "run as administrator" then launch Ranch Sim as normal.
If this isn't working, then try running the game directly as Admin.
You'll need to locate the installation directory for the game (Right click on the game in Steam, go to properties, then local files and browse)
Then right click on the games main executable file and then select "launch as administrator"

Make sure nothing else is blocking the game’s ability to save

Some anti-virus or security software may block the game from creating extra files when saving.
This will prevent you creating saves and configuration files.
You will need to whitelist the game in any such software if you do find that you are running into issues.

If your save is crashing the game when loading, it may be corrupted

Sadly, save files may become corrupted if the game quit unexpectedly or if the files were edited outside of the game. If you are able to create a new save, but not load an old one, then in most cases the save has become corrupted. We are happy to take a look at these saves if sent to us, you can find instructions on how to do this at the top of this post.

Loading a save and stuff is floating in the mountains

You have loaded an old save and now everything seems to be floating in the air up in the mountains, all your old stuff is raining down all over the mountain and other things may look strange or odd.

This happens with saves which were created prior to the building update. The building update made massive changes to the world and how the game functions. Save created prior to this point will not function correctly and should not be used.
RedPandaViking  [developer] 15 Feb, 2022 @ 2:35pm 
Multiplayer Issues
If you are experiencing multiplayer issues, we have a few suggestions which can help.

Make sure all players have played the tutorial

Please make sure that all players who are trying to connect have started their own game at some point and completed the tutorial quests up to the point of saving.

Check game versions
Make sure you are on the same version of the game as those you wish to play with. This is especially important around times when multiple versions of the game may be available (testing phases for new updates etc) Only those on the same version number can play together.

Are firewalls or antivirus programs blocking the game?

When first connecting to multiplayer, yourself and the host should receive a notification to allow the game through your firewall, however this doesn’t always appear.
If you are running into connection issues, you should double check that the game is allowed through your firewall, for windows standard firewall you can do the following.

- In the search bar, search for windows firewall (you want to find 'Allow apps to communicate through Windows Defender Firewall')
- Select 'change settings' (you may need to provide administrator details to access this)
- Scroll down to where you find Ranch Simulator / and tick the boxes for Private and Public
- Press OK at the bottom of the page

For other programs, you will need to consult their support site or team.

Trying running the game in admin mode

If you continue to experience issues, try running the game as administrator. You can find instructions on how to do this in a previous section.

Is the time on your pc accurate?

If the time on your pc is not accurate and appears different to the host pc or “server time” a connect will not be established. Please make sure that your pcs time is being set automatically for best results.
To check this, right click on the time in your taskbar and then select “adjust date and time”, Then make sure the option “set the time automatically” is switched on

Epic account connection keeps coming up

If the game is constantly prompting you to connect to an epic account.
Try switching to the UE4 beta branch, starting a new game and then quite.
Reinstall the default version of the game and then check the game.

Load up Steam and head to your Library
Right click on Ranch Simulator and then select ‘Properties’
Head to the Beta tab and in the drop down select ‘unreal_engine_4_branch’ (no password needed)
This will then download the old UE4 version for you


Check your network stability
An unstable connection can sometimes prevent your ability to join games or for others to join you.
you can check your network stability by using a variety of sites, sometimes a quick speed test using googles network speed tester can show some issues (Google “Speed Test” to use this) you can also use sites such as https://www.netmeter.co.uk/ping-test/ to check your ping and stability here.

Do you have the Epic Launcher installed?
Because we use the Epic Online Services (EOS) for our multiplayer match making services, this can interact with the Epic Launcher if you have this installed. If you find yourself running into issues still, you should make sure the Epic Launcher is up to date wherever possible.

- Open the Epic Launcher
- Click on your profile in the top right
- Click on Settings
- Any available updates should appear at the top
Last edited by RedPandaViking; 6 Nov, 2023 @ 3:10pm
RedPandaViking  [developer] 2 Mar, 2022 @ 3:08pm 
Input / Control issues

If you find you are having any sort of input issues or control issues, please try some of the following

Granary not filling up

When first building a Granary, please make sure you are pressing R to initially fill it up (Not E)

Once full, any troughs in the area will then refill automatically when completely empty. You can use E on a filled granary to manually fill nearby troughs, however this will only partially fill the troughs.

Xbox controls showing up

If you find that Xbox control prompts are showing up in your game, you can try deleting the config files first to reset the controls of the game.

- Press the windows key and R together to open the run command
- Type in %appdata%/../local/Ranch_Simulator/Saved/ and press ok
- This should open the location of the config folder for the game, delete this folder (only the folder named config)

If this doesn't work, you can also manually change the input type by doing the following

- Press the windows key + R on your keyboard to open the run console
- Type in %appdata%/../Local/Ranch_Simulator/Saved/Config/WindowsNoEditor and press ok
- Open input.ini file in a text editor.
- make sure it says PlayerKeyGroup=(TagName="KeyGroup.KeyboardMouse")) If it says anything else which mentions gamepad, change this to the above.

Changed an input and now certain areas of the game don't work.

If you have changed any inputs and the game no longer functions in the way you expect it, the best course of action would be to change these back to their defaults either through the in game controls menu, or by resetting the config files as mentioned previously

Using an xbox controller but keyboard prompts show up
If you are using an xbox controller, but the game still shows Keyboard prompts, make sure you don't have steam input turned on for the game.
Last edited by RedPandaViking; 6 Nov, 2023 @ 3:11pm
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