Episode 2 Cutscene Fix

[reaper512]

My goal here is for a sticky because this problem has been faced by many. I have found a solution for the issues of the cutscenes in Episode 2 (as in lags, and no sound. To fix it simply right click the game in steam -> Properties. From there, click set launch options and enter the following: -dxlevel 98 -heapsize 256000 .

I know this helped for me and Episode 2 runs without flaw.

 

[AciD]

-dx_level 98 ?
Ok I'try

 

[reaper512]

yeah i thought that was weird too, however i think its supposed to mean 9.8

 

[diluted]

There is no DirectX 9.8...

As far as I know, the only values for -dxlevel are 90, 81, 80, and 70.

 

[reaper512]

fine then, dont try it, i didnt post a steam support request or anything....

seeing as though some guy named thomas from the steam support site didnt tell me to do that.... hmmm.... no dont try it

 

[Wu_Tom]

Ok Reaper, I've tried what you said. I copied and pasted the text into the launch options and started the game but now it runs even worse and lags on every part of the game not just the cutscene.

Is what you typed above EXACTLY what Steam support told you to type in? This problem is driving me mad.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[ohnoro]

I also tried what Reaper said and now my game is running way slower than before, just like you Wu_Tom. Has anyone else had any luck with this? What are we doing wrong? Is there any way to undo the damage this has done?

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[AciD]

Hm
normaly get 30 fps now 15
water texture broken-not valid dxlevel
portal storm broken etc.

 

[Wu_Tom]

SOMEBODY must have the solution to this! Why havn't Steam/Valve got a patch for it when so many people are experiencing the same problem?

 

[ohnoro]

Here is a link to another forum discussing the same problem.

*SPOILER WARNING*

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2episodetwo/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-38919752&pid=942003

I'm gonna try what they say and I'll let you know how it goes.

[edit]
Ok well it didn't work for me, the game just ran even worse.
How have we not got a decent answer for this yet? Is anyone getting anywhere?

 

[Iron_cube]

HA, and everyone thought we dx8ers were worthless peices of low-end shit!

At least we didn't have the ending ruined :cheese:

/hugs nvidia 5200

 

[Zephos]

Ok, I found the solution on the steampowered forums, I think you need to go into the launch options for Episode Two (right click in steam, click on it) and add "-loadlimit 25600" (without quotations, obviously).

I'm pretty sure (ie don't hold me to it) this is what they said to add, and it fixed mine perfectly.

 

[Wu_Tom]

Cheers Zephos, I'll try that out later.

Iron_cube you've got the same graphics card as I've got. Is the game running ok for you on dx8?

 

[ohnoro]

Ok guys, I've been making all these changes to the launch options and none of them have worked but my game is running really badly. Is there any way to reset the Launch Options to default, or do I just need to reinstall?
Thanks guys.

 

[Iron_cube]

Cheers Zephos, I'll try that out later.

Iron_cube you've got the same graphics card as I've got. Is the game running ok for you on dx8?

Absolutely!

Although I have 1512 RAM, not sure if it's actually playable with 512.

 

[Zephos]

Absolutely!

Although I have 1512 RAM, not sure if it's actually playable with 512.

It will run on 512, just a hell of a lot of stutter when coming out of a load screen or when travelling long distances in the car.

 

[Barnacle Calhoun]

I too had an issue with the 'cutscenes' slowing to a crawl.
Adding the parameter "-heapsize 256000" (without the quotes) fixed the problem.

I have to credit one Happy_Barnacle over at steampowered support forums who had this to say...

I had this problem, and I did this:

Right click on Episode 2 (in Steam). Then go to properties, and then launch options.

Copy and paste this:

-heapsize 256000

and click OK.

My 'cutscenes' are now as smooth and dramatic as they were intended to be. *tears up* ;( :cheese:

Hey Ohnoro; Wu_Tom (and anyone else this concerns), I tried adding the parameters that were stated in the first post of this topic in an attempt to recreate your "game running really badly" problem. Doing this did in fact make matters worse for me as well. This made the game itself run like the slow and choppy 'cutscenes' were, around 5-10 fps. Even the menus were nearly impossible to navigate.

While I have no way of knowing what other parameters you may have tried, I'm thinking it was the '-dxlevel 98' that has buggered your game. I was able to undo this nastiness very easily. To undo this and hopefully get your game back to normal, try adding "-dxlevel 80" (without the quotes), followed by "-heapsize 256000" (without the quotes) to fix your 'cutscenes'. Make sure there's a space between each. Hope that helps.

Oh and... great forum! :waves:

 

[Zephos]

"-heapsize 256000"

****! That's the one! Hope I didn't screw up anybody's game by giving the wrong one

(I was sort of close)

 

[pomegranate]

Here's hoping this will fix this problem for me...

 

[ohnoro]

While I have no way of knowing what other parameters you may have tried, I'm thinking it was the '-dxlevel 98' that has buggered your game. I was able to undo this nastiness very easily. To undo this and hopefully get your game back to normal, try adding "-dxlevel 80" (without the quotes), followed by "-heapsize 256000" (without the quotes) to fix your 'cutscenes'. Make sure there's a space between each. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the heads up. I will give this a go and see what happens. It couldn't really make things any worse!

 

[Wu_Tom]

Ok I tried what you suggested Barnacle Calhoun and, for a minute at least, it improved things. The menus run smoothly now, as does the rest of the game. When I try the cutscene again it gets a little bit further into it than before but still freezes up eventually and I need to restart.

So back to square one...

 

[ohnoro]

Ah, that's a bummer Wu_Tom. It worked fine for me. The cutscene was a little jerky to begin with, but it worked ok. I tip my hat to you, Barnacle. I owe you one! How about those Hunters, huh?

 

[Operational]

Heh, you know I might have this issue and not even know it since the first thing I did before playing Episode Two was to add "-heapsize 524288" to its launch options.