Support and troubleshooting tips

Hello Travelers!

If you encounter a technical issue while playing Outer Wilds, please refer to the checklist below for possible solutions. If you need further assistance, please contact us at support@mobiusdigitalgames.com

If you find a solution that you'd like to share with other players, feel free to contact us at the same address as well!

Please send us the following information when emailing: support@mobiusdigitalgames.com​​  
  • Which version of Windows are you running
  • Screenshots are always helpful for verifying issues!
  • For controller or input specific issues:
    1. Which controllers are plugged in
    2. Under Steam>Settings>Controller>General Controller Settings (or when in Big Picture Mode, Settings>Controller Settings), find out which Configuration Support items are checked​
    3. In Outer Wilds, list the controllers found in the Set Default Controller option in the settings

Thanks for playing Outer Wilds and keep on exploring!

Important note! Your experiences may be different depending on your hardware.

Controller troubleshooting

Switch Pro Controller usage
  • Under Steam>Settings>Controller>General Controller Settings (or when in Big Picture Mode, Settings>Controller Settings), ensure that Switch Pro Configuration support is checked. 
    1. Outer Wilds does not support the Switch Pro controller and therefore is dependent on Steam to provide controller support.
    2. Note: In the Outer Wilds in-game settings menu, any controller that has Steam Configuration Support enabled will be displayed as an Xbox 360 controller.
    3. Note 2: Playstation Support is not required for PS4 DualShock4 controllers, but is required for any other DualShock controllers (e.g. DualShock3). That said, turning PlayStation Configuration support on for PS4 controllers will still work.
  • Reminder that Xbox and Nintendo button layouts have the same button letters, but A/B and X/Y are flipped.
    1. ​Uncheck “Use Nintendo Button Layout” to keep the default buttons in their Xbox button location (Our recommendation). Leave checked if the user wants to keep them swapped so the Xbox Button Prompts match the Switch controller’s button labels.
Picture
Inverted Joysticks: Check Steam Controller Configuration
  • In Steam, go to Outer Wilds, open Controller Configuration via the regular Steam app or in Big Picture Mode
In your Library go to your
In your Library go to your "Controller Configuration" for Outer Wilds
Go to
Go to "Manage Game"
  • Go to the individual Left and Right Joysticks and ensure that they are not Inverted
Go to
Go to "Left Joystick Move" and "LS Click"
With Style of Input Selected for
With Style of Input Selected for "Joystick Move" navigate to "Additional Settings"
Change the setting
Change the setting "Invert Vertical Axis" to Off
Check Setting for In-Game Default Controller     
  • Restart computer. Keep controllers plugged in throughout this process.
  • Start Outer Wilds
  • Open In-game Options menu and go to Input > Rebind Controls
In the In Game Settings under the
In the In Game Settings under the "Input" tab navigate to "Rebind Controls"
  • Ensure the correct controller is selected in Set Default Controller, and the correct Controller Profile is selected
Look for the
Look for the "Set Default Controller" options and check the correct boxes on

High FRAME-RATE monitors

Adjusting your “maximum framerate”
  • Outer Wilds is built around a complex physics simulation designed to run at 60 updates per second.  This results in the perception of a maximum framerate of 60 FPS, as the ship, player, planets, and everything else in the game only “move” on those steps.  However, it is possible to override the target physics simulation rate for a smooth experience at higher framerates.
  • To override the physics simulation rate, create a new .txt file named “secretsettings.txt” in your “C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\Mobius Digital\Outer Wilds” directory.  In that file, add the line “PhysicsRate=120”, where 120 is the framerate you’re looking to achieve.  Save the file and re-launch the game.
  • Changing the physics simulation rate like this is not officially supported (due to it having a significant impact on performance), but should be stable at settings above 30.
Additional vsync settings
  • Some users have reported extreme choppiness running at lower framerates on higher framerate monitors.  In these cases, it’s possible that changing the vsync count can improve the situation by forcing the game to sync with the monitor at a more regular pace.
  • To override the vsync count, create a new .txt file named “secretsettings.txt” in your “C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\Mobius Digital\Outer Wilds” directory.  In that file, add the line “VSyncCount=X”, where X is the number of frames to sync on (i.e. 1 results in syncing every frame, 2 results in every other frame, 3 results in every third frame).  Save the file and re-launch the game.
  • Changing this setting like this is not officially supported, but should be safe.  A value of 0 results in vsync being disabled, and the value cannot go higher than 4.
Launching in borderless fullscreen window mode
  • Some users have reported that running Outer Wilds in windowed mode fixed their issues with Outer Wilds stuttering on higher framerate monitors.  This setting can be adjusted in Outer Wilds via the Graphics settings menu.
  • We currently do not have an in-game option for changing the game to borderless windowed, but this can be enabled via the command line option “-popupwindow”. 
  • To enable this, right-click on Outer Wilds in your Steam library and select Properties.  In the General menu, click Set Launch Options, type “-popupwindow”, and click OK. 
  • The next time you launch Outer Wilds, switching to windowed mode should automatically enable borderless windowed.​​

crashes

Reporting crashes
  • If you’re the type of player to send the developers crash information, please make sure that you include the Unity Player log.  This file is located at “C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\Mobius Digital\Outer Wilds\output_log.txt”.  This file is overwritten every time you launch Outer Wilds, so please make sure you haven’t run the game again since you last crashed if you want us to be able to extract crash info from it!  You can send it (and any other crash files that Unity has handed you) to support@mobiusdigitalgames.com.
Overclocking
  • Some users have reported that issues with frequent crashing were being caused by overclocked CPUs.  Outer Wilds is a very CPU-sensitive game, and reducing your CPU to a more stable clock rate may help.
Recovering corrupted save files
  • Outer Wilds keeps automated backups of your save files in “C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\Mobius Digital\Outer Wilds\Backup”.  If for some reason your save file gets lost or corrupted, the latest good save data from each profile may be recoverable from here. The game will prompt to restore these files if they are missing or unreadable at startup.
  • If you would like to do this manually, simply copy the items within “Outer Wilds\Backup\<profilename>\” to “Outer Wilds\SteamSaves\<profilename>” and re-launch the game. Of note is that you may have to disable Steam Cloud sync to have this save copying go through.  This can be done by right-clicking on Outer Wilds in your Steam library, selecting Properties, and unchecking “Enable Steam Cloud synchronization for Outer Wilds” in the Updates menu.  After doing this, copy the backup files to your save profile folder, re-launch Outer Wilds, and once you are done playing, (optionally) re-enable the Steam Cloud sync option.

Community found solutions

How to fix: No menu appears at startup
  • ​​This game has a plugin folder that contains various dlls. Some actually rely on other dlls that are not installed when you install the game from Steam.
  • If you're starting fresh with a new Windows install, such as after upgrading to the latest Windows feature update, your system will be missing the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019. The game won't show any error message--the plugin dll (in this case a plugin that handles a controller) will simply not load, causing the game to malfunction.
  • ​Here's where to get the missing files from Microsoft. Installed both the x86 and x64. Only get these from Microsoft; avoid "missing dll" sites: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

Troubleshooting Bluetooth Duel Shock 4
  • Pair your Duel Shock 4 with your PC's Bluetooth. (don't use DS4Windows) or  try to change DS4Windows to the "Hide DS4 Controller" setting enabled
  • Use the gamepad by FF1 profile (this makes the game see it as an Xbox controller)
  • In game under input->rebind controls change the controller profile to Xbox One and the Button Prompt Images to PS4.
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*Make sure that  "Steam input" to "Always on" in the steam settings (right click Outer Wilds in the library and go to properties, should be on first tab)*

High Performance Computers with FPS Issues
  If none of the other suggestions work for you, you can change the setting on your Windows computer to 'High performance' mode:
Continued Input Issues
  If none of the other suggestions work for you, try:
  • Resetting your controller in Steam to Generic Input Support and then changing it back to your preferred controller option
  • Uncheck the box next to "Set default controller" in the Input -> Rebinding Menu