Star Citizen Vulkan Crash

[ATO3FIX]

Clean Windows 11 install + all updates + driver updates.

Driver installed:
(Date: December 26, 2024

Driver Version: 32.0.101.6332 Non-WHQL and 32.0.101.6253 Non-WHQL)

Game: Star Citizen 4.0 Preview

Issue: Switching from DirectX11 to Vulkan results in immediate crashing after loading past the anti-cheat splash screen

Steps: Load the game normally in DX11. Switch to Vulkan in graphics settings, restart the game, reload. After the anti-cheat splash screen, the game will crash. However, extreme rare cases I have seen it load at times where it displays its optimising shaders, but this will also result in a crash.

Specs:

Intel Xeon E5-2690 V4
Intel Arc A750 8GB LE
64GB DDR4 ECC
750W Platinum PSU

Windows 11 is installed on a 500GB SSD drive.

Star Citizen is installed on a 1TB NVME drive that's in a PCI-E Adaptor.

Error displayed in Star Citizen log file:

Exception STATUS_CRYENGINE_FATAL_ERROR(0x2BADF00D) addr=0x00007FFA2EE3837A digest=13556302989d4ec43a77b364423ee9af
Run from internal: No
Is fatal error: Yes
- Fatal error message: [.../DisplaySystem/VulkanDisplay.cpp:609 CVulkanDisplay::WaitForPresentQueueSlot] (0x1) A fence or query has not yet completed. Acquire Next Image Failed
Is reported bug: No
Is GPU crash: No
Is Timeout: No
Is out of system memory: No
Is out of video memory: No

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, ATO3FIX.

Thank you for posting in our Community and providing detailed information about the game crashes you're experiencing with Star Citizen when switching to Vulkan. Based on the information you've provided, particularly the "Acquire Next Image Failed" error in the log file, it strongly suggests an issue related to the graphics driver or GPU synchronization.

Could you please confirm if Star Citizen was running smoothly and without any issues, particularly with DirectX 11, before you started experiencing these crashes with Vulkan? You mentioned updating your graphics drivers. We've recently released a newer driver version for the Intel Arc A750 8GB. As a first troubleshooting step, I highly recommend updating to this latest driver version. Please let me know if you have any questions or require further assistance

Additionally, if possible, please share any screenshots or videos that may help illustrate the issue you are experiencing.

Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JakeRummel]

Hi Von,

Can confirm, the crash is still occurring on the new driver, and has been for a while. 

I can confirm, DX11 runs smoothly and as expected with no crashing; crashing occurs as soon as you switch over to Vulkan. 

Just to throw my setup into the mix to help diagnose: 

- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

- Intel ARC A750

- 64GB DDR4 3200Mhz

--------------
-- FATAL ERROR (Thread #14112)
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z>
Fatal Error Thrown: [.../DisplaySystem/VulkanDisplay.cpp:609 CVulkanDisplay::WaitForPresentQueueSlot] (0x1) A fence or query has not yet completed. Acquire Next Image Failed
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z> Windows 10 64 bit (build 10.0.26100)
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z> System language: English
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z> Windows Directory: "C:\WINDOWS"
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z> Local time is 18:51:54 01/07/25, system running for 113 minutes
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z> 65450MB physical memory installed, 47166MB available, 27 percent of memory in use
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z> 5786MB working set, 9009MB commit size (9012MB peak), 56519MB left to commit (81834MB system wide commit limit)
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z> Current display mode is 2560x1440x32
<2025-01-07T18:51:54.561Z> IBM enhanced (101/102-key) keyboard and 16+ button mouse installed

Process Memory Status: 5786MB working set size, 9009MB commit size (9012MB peak), 56519MB left to commit
System Memory Status: 65450MB total physical, 47166MB free physical, 81834MB system wide commit limit

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Jake

[ATO3FIX]

Apologies for the late reply. Like Jake said above it's still crashing.... But! I've got further into the game this time on this driver.

Whereas previously, it would crash as soon as it passed the anti-cheat splash screen. On the latest driver it no longer crashes past the anti-cheat splash screen. I can get to the main menu of the game with the "Optimising Shaders" processing in the background. It will get to about 15-17% and the game will crash. I've tried multiple times and still crashes around 15-17% optimising shaders.

EDIT: To your last question, DX11 works fine but poor performance. Hence why I'd like to try Vulkan as soon as possible when it's working.

The last error posted is pretty much the same.

-- FATAL ERROR (Thread #11196)
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z>
Fatal Error Thrown: [.../DisplaySystem/VulkanDisplay.cpp:609 CVulkanDisplay::WaitForPresentQueueSlot] (0x1) A fence or query has not yet completed. Acquire Next Image Failed
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z> Windows 10 64 bit (build 10.0.26100)
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z> System language: English
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z> Windows Directory: "C:\WINDOWS"
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z> Local time is 18:43:39 01/08/25, system running for 640 minutes
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z> 65312MB physical memory installed, 50794MB available, 22 percent of memory in use
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z> 6770MB working set, 9411MB commit size (9611MB peak), 51385MB left to commit (69408MB system wide commit limit)
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z> Current display mode is 1920x1080x32
<2025-01-08T18:43:39.346Z> IBM enhanced (101/102-key) keyboard and 16+ button mouse installed

Process Memory Status: 6770MB working set size, 9411MB commit size (9611MB peak), 51385MB left to commit
System Memory Status: 65312MB total physical, 50794MB free physical, 69408MB system wide commit limit

=== Level Profile Statistics===
Frames : 2546
Entities : Min: 373 Max: 373 Avg: 373
Component Updates : Avg: 16
Component Events : Avg: 0
Memory (Committed) : Min: 8259.98 MB Max 9610.68
Memory (WorkingSet) : Min: 5657.14 MB Max 6932.37
Buckets : Avg |<16ms|<20ms|<25ms|<30ms|<35ms|<40ms|<45ms|<50ms|slower
CPU (MainThread) : 143.6 FPS ( 7.0 ms)|87.5%| 0.9%| 1.5%| 3.3%| 3.3%| 1.2%| 0.6%| 0.2%| 1.4%
CPU (WholeFrame) : 50.3 FPS (19.9 ms)|85.5%| 1.2%| 0.7%| 0.9%| 5.5%| 2.8%| 1.3%| 0.4%| 1.6%

Cloud Imperium Games public crash handler taking over...
Details for StarCitizen.exe (md5=996103a1527fa7f44c74ef2e48d7631a)...
* Base of Image : 0x00007FF7BAA20000 (mod), 0x00007FF7BAA20000 (modc)
* Size of Image : 295018496 (diskoh), 295018496 (memoh), 295018496 (mod), 295018496 (modc)
* Size of Code : 130449920 (diskoh), 130449920 (memoh)
* Size of Headers : 1024 (diskoh), 1024 (memoh)
* Size of Initialized Data : 164550144 (diskoh), 164550144 (memoh)
* Size of Uninitialized Data : 0 (diskoh), 0 (memoh)
* Checksum : 0 (diskoh), 0 (memoh)

Exception STATUS_CRYENGINE_FATAL_ERROR(0x2BADF00D) addr=0x00007FF861D1837A digest=13556302989d4ec43a77b364423ee9af
Run from internal: No
Is fatal error: Yes
- Fatal error message: [.../DisplaySystem/VulkanDisplay.cpp:609 CVulkanDisplay::WaitForPresentQueueSlot] (0x1) A fence or query has not yet completed. Acquire Next Image Failed
Is reported bug: No
Is GPU crash: No
Is Timeout: No
Is out of system memory: No
Is out of video memory: No

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, ATO3FIX.

I appreciate you for providing detailed information about the issue you're experiencing.

While I don't have an answer right now, I will continue my investigation and get back to you as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[ATO3FIX]

Tried the newest latest driver 

"Date: January 16, 2025

Driver Version: 32.0.101.6458_32.0.101.6257 WHQL"

Same crash during optimising shaders in the menu screen. Game logs show the same error just like my previous posts above.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, ATO3FIX.

I see that you tried the newest latest driver which is the, 32.0.101.6458_32.0.101.6257 WHQL. I would like to assure you that we are aware of the situation and are currently investigating the matter. While I am actively looking into the cause of the crash, please note that there is no specific timeline for a resolution at the moment. I appreciate your patience as we work to address this as quickly as possible.

Once we have more information or a potential fix, we will keep you updated. 

Thank you for your understanding

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Dovador]

I have the exact same issue as Ato3Fix.
The only difference in my hardware is the processor and RAM – I’m using an AMD 5700X and DDR5 RAM.

Other than that, the Vulkan renderer doesn’t work for me either.

[Felipe_Intel]

Hello all, this issue is still under investigation. When I have news to share, I will post them here. In the meantime we appreciate your patience. As a workaround, you can play the game using DX instead of Vulkan.

[JakeRummel]

It would be appreciated if this could be acknowledged in the patch notes that it's an underlying issue, to help others be aware not to try Vulkan 

[Dovador]

Hello,

Thank you for the response. I appreciate the information. However, I wanted to mention that using DX11 only partially resolves the issue, as I still experience frequent "micro-stutters" that significantly affect the gameplay experience.

I understand that Intel GPU users are quite rare in the Star Citizen community, but I still hope to be able to use Vulkan in the future.

Additionally, I want to commend the support team for their great work. It truly feels reassuring to be well taken care of.

[MaxWa]

Please add one more for this issue: DX11 works somewhat, but the performance is horrible. I experience microstutters every 10-15 seconds, even with everything set to low. With Vulkan, I get nice performance, but it crashes 1-2 minutes after loading into the game. So, while the performance is good, stability is the issue.

I am running an Asrock Steel Legend B580 - Ryzen 7800X3D

[JakeRummel]

In most cases, DX11 runs "fine" for me. Once the shaders have been cached/processed or what ever's going on under the hood, any areas previously visited (and therefore cached) run smoothly. New areas however, not so much! Game breaking stutters and lockups, almost unplayable and certainly turns you away from the playing the game at all. Need a fix here Intel!

[JakeRummel]

Hi All, have done some digging! The crash appears to occur when running the game at 1440p. By dropping the game down to 1080p, the Vulkan crash isn't present. Von, please direct your teams attention to this as it should help explain the issue. After discussions with other community members, they believe it's pointing to the game running out of buffer allocation at higher resolutions due to some arbitrary limits on vram allocation in Vulkan on Arc. I hope this helps!

[Felipe_Intel]

Thanks for the heads-up. I will communicate this to the drivers team. 

[Felipe_Intel]

Just tested with all latest versions (game and driver) and for me it crashes also with Vulkan + 1080p

[Dovador]

Hello everyone,
So, my experience is that you have to generate the shaders using DX11 in the game - basically, start and play with the DX11 setting.
After that, I launched the game in 1440p with upscaling set to performance and Vulkan enabled.
The game then showed that the shaders were being updated.
Once that process was complete, I started the game again, and since then, it has been running somewhat okay.
However, I suspect that this only works as long as the corresponding shaders were created with DX11 and then optimized for Vulkan.
I don’t have enough technical knowledge, but when I enter new areas in the game - where I assume new shaders need to be compiled—the game crashes.
At least, that’s my experience.
Maybe this helps someone, or perhaps someone here can try to reproduce it.