9800GX2 & S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl Menu Flicker Solution

Necrosis · Apr 20, 2008, 01:34 AM

Well solution for me anyway...

I had never played Stalker, so decided to finally install it after purchasing it a year ago. Installed Stalker patched to v1.00005 then to v1.00006. I'm also using the latest official drivers (174.74).

Start the game goes there the regular PR crap. Once I made it to the actual game menu it flickered from the menu to a screen with red/blue/white boxes and I couldn't manipulate anything in the menu. I had to switch back out to my desktop then kill the process. I don't have any crazy settings under my Nvidia control panel so I knew that wasn't it. However, did some searching found a few people w/ the same issue, but others did not have it.

To make a long story short the solution is to alter the resolution at the end of the 'user.ltx' to whatever you want it to be. BTW, I didn't figure this out on my own found it on another site by a user named 'Skinner'.

Janus_au · May 17, 2008, 06:23 PM

Hey Necrosis, I joined up after seeing finding your post as this is the exact same issue I am having with the exact same card and drivers.

I was hoping you could give me a little more info on how you fixed the problem. I have looked in my STALKER folder for the "user.ltx" file that you say has to be edited but I am unable to find it. Where exactly is the file?

On a side note I must say that this game really is terrible. I put the game on my last machine and had all kinds or issues with the final one being it locking up constantly right at the end of the game, resulting in me never finishing it. So when I got my new machine I though I would put it on and hopefully be able to actually finish it, however, this time I can't even start it. I can't believe that a company can get away with releasing a game like this, let alone the complete lack of support they have offered to their customers.

The only game I have had that is buggier was Outcast which, whilst being a fantastic game, had to be patched twice before it could even be installed. But at least once it was patched and installed it would actually work.

Necrosis · May 17, 2008, 07:44 PM

Users/Public/Public Documents/STALKER-SHOC

That is where it is for me.

What do you have the game patched to?

Janus_au · May 18, 2008, 06:13 PM

I completely forgot that STALKER installs stuff there, I was looking in the actual main install directory.

Followed the path you specified, found the file, made the changes (from 1024x768 to 1600x1200) and the game now works like a charm....well at least until I hit the next bug.

To answer your question I also have my game patched to v1.00006.

Thank you so much for your help, hopefully I will actually get to finish this game this time.

Necrosis · May 18, 2008, 08:35 PM

I've been enjoying the game thus far. The biggest problem for me is what I call action points. What I mean is the area and/or item needed to complete a mission. Either they're impossible to find or really hard to activate.

Apr 20, 2008, 01:34 AM	#1
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	9800GX2 & S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl Menu Flicker Solution Well solution for me anyway... I had never played Stalker, so decided to finally install it after purchasing it a year ago. Installed Stalker patched to v1.00005 then to v1.00006. I'm also using the latest official drivers (174.74). Start the game goes there the regular PR crap. Once I made it to the actual game menu it flickered from the menu to a screen with red/blue/white boxes and I couldn't manipulate anything in the menu. I had to switch back out to my desktop then kill the process. I don't have any crazy settings under my Nvidia control panel so I knew that wasn't it. However, did some searching found a few people w/ the same issue, but others did not have it. To make a long story short the solution is to alter the resolution at the end of the 'user.ltx' to whatever you want it to be. BTW, I didn't figure this out on my own found it on another site by a user named 'Skinner'.

May 17, 2008, 06:23 PM	#2
Janus_au DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Hey Necrosis, I joined up after seeing finding your post as this is the exact same issue I am having with the exact same card and drivers. I was hoping you could give me a little more info on how you fixed the problem. I have looked in my STALKER folder for the "user.ltx" file that you say has to be edited but I am unable to find it. Where exactly is the file? On a side note I must say that this game really is terrible. I put the game on my last machine and had all kinds or issues with the final one being it locking up constantly right at the end of the game, resulting in me never finishing it. So when I got my new machine I though I would put it on and hopefully be able to actually finish it, however, this time I can't even start it. I can't believe that a company can get away with releasing a game like this, let alone the complete lack of support they have offered to their customers. The only game I have had that is buggier was Outcast which, whilst being a fantastic game, had to be patched twice before it could even be installed. But at least once it was patched and installed it would actually work.

May 17, 2008, 07:44 PM	Thread Starter #3
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Users/Public/Public Documents/STALKER-SHOC That is where it is for me. What do you have the game patched to?

May 18, 2008, 06:13 PM	#4
Janus_au DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	I completely forgot that STALKER installs stuff there, I was looking in the actual main install directory. Followed the path you specified, found the file, made the changes (from 1024x768 to 1600x1200) and the game now works like a charm....well at least until I hit the next bug. To answer your question I also have my game patched to v1.00006. Thank you so much for your help, hopefully I will actually get to finish this game this time.

May 18, 2008, 08:35 PM	Thread Starter #5
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I've been enjoying the game thus far. The biggest problem for me is what I call action points. What I mean is the area and/or item needed to complete a mission. Either they're impossible to find or really hard to activate.