Surviving Mars - Game starts in wrong monitor

[Godboss]

Description
Game starts in wrong monitor


Windows


Steam

What is your game version?
1011140

What DLC do you have installed?
Space Race, Green Planet, Below and Beyond, Stellaris Dome Set, Marsvision Song Contest, Colony Design Set, Project Laika, In-Dome Buildings Pack

Please explain your issue is in as much detail as possible.
I have a multi-monitor setup (x5) and no matter what I try it always starts in the wrong monitor rather than my primary screen. The only ways of fixing this is to disconnect all my monitors or play in windowed mode.

This only started happening after the latest DLC was launched, before it would launch on my primary monitor.

Can you replicate the issue?
It happens every time I launch the game


File(s) attached

 

[ellacharmed]

This started happening to all Saves after game is patched to v1011140 and new DLCs installed? ie Saves started prior to patch v1011140.
Does it also happen on Newly started game(s)? (I doubt it would, but just trying to establish which behaviors is the unexpected one, if any difference)

Apart from the game being updated to patch v1011140, do you also have the 3 just released DLCs? The form did not have sections for these yet, I believe.

And no other changes to the system was made? Graphic driver updates or Windows updates?

Does a reset of the game options and then a retweak of the Graphics and Display options restore the launching of game to the desired primary monitor?

I see that you have multi-GPU setups as well as the multi-monitors. Which one is designated as the primary monitor?
And instead of this primary monitor, which monitor did the game launched on?

Card name: Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 (HDMI, 3840 x 2160(p) (60.000Hz))
Monitor Model: LG Ultra HD
Monitor Id: GSM5B08

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (all below)

Monitor Model: 1975W (DisplayPort, 1366 x 768(p) (59.790Hz))
Monitor Id: AOC1975

Monitor Model: 2270W (DisplayPort, 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz))
Monitor Id: AOC2270

Monitor Model: 2270W (DVI, 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz))
Monitor Id: AOC2270

Monitor Model: Dell AW3821DW (DisplayPort, 3840 x 1600(p) (59.994Hz))
Monitor Id: DELA17F

 

[Godboss]

This started happening to all Saves after game is patched to v1011140 and new DLCs installed? ie Saves started prior to patch v1011140.
Does it also happen on Newly started game(s)? (I doubt it would, but just trying to establish which behaviors is the unexpected one, if any difference)

Apart from the game being updated to patch v1011140, do you also have the 3 just released DLCs? The form did not have sections for these yet, I believe.

And no other changes to the system was made? Graphic driver updates or Windows updates?

Does a reset of the game options and then a retweak of the Graphics and Display options restore the launching of game to the desired primary monitor?

I see that you have multi-GPU setups as well as the multi-monitors. Which one is designated as the primary monitor?
And instead of this primary monitor, which monitor did the game launched on?

Hi ellacharmed,

thanks for the above.

I will try to answer all your questions to the best of my ability.

This happens at game launch, so the question you pose about all the savegames and possible differences does not apply.

I do have all DLC installed.

No drivers or windows updates to the best of my knowledge, unless they happened automatically behind the scenes.

Primary Monitor is: Monitor Model: Dell AW3821DW (DisplayPort, 3840 x 1600(p) (59.994Hz))
Monitor Id: DELA17F

Actual Monitor the game is launched in is: Monitor Model: 1975W (DisplayPort, 1366 x 768(p) (59.790Hz))
Monitor Id: AOC1975


Just to make sure I follow the exact steps you are thinking of can you please explain how to handle this:

"Does a reset of the game options and then a retweak of the Graphics and Display options restore the launching of game to the desired primary monitor?"

Thank you again,

GB

 

[ellacharmed]

https://support.paradoxplaza.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002091034-Where-can-I-locate-my-save-games

1. You can rename the user folder temporarily and let the game generate a fresh set when you next launch the game. i.e rename the "Surviving Mars" folder in the path above to "Surviving Mars backup". You'd get a "factory settings" of the game then with no saves and have to relogin to Paradox.

or

2. Do it in game, go to Options and in any settings that deal with graphics to reset it back to defaults or auto-detect or whatever the option is to go back to "factory settings". Not in game to confirm at the moment


Whatever the outcome is, if you want to restore your saves back, you can copy+paste the .sav games from the Backup you made or just rename the "New" one and the Backup back and copy whatever files were generated in the "New" set to get the graphical settings (if indeed, settings are now corrected) into the "Backup" set.

Oh, is the primary designation for the monitors set in Windows? or, in Nvidia Control Panel?
And I guess, might as well be thorough, how do you launch the game? Via Steam or desktop shortcut or Nvidia's Game&Apps screen, or some other method?

 

[Godboss]

Hi ellacharmed,

Tried deleting the whole folder and relaunching, same behaviour.

Tried Reset under Display and Reset under Video Options, same behaviour.

Primary designation is managed through windows, but i double checked the nvidia control panel and both show the same primary monitor.

I launch the game via Steam.

Cheers

 

[ellacharmed]

Oof, sorry that nothing helped.
I'm out of ideas.

If you want to do further testing to give devs more data, you can try disabling the 3 new DLCs one at a time to pinpoint if the game starts exhibiting this behaviour on patch 1011140 with B&B content versus B&B + each of the new ones individually.

 

[Godboss]

Hi ellacharmed,

nothing to be sorry for, its the ungrateful process of troubleshooting. Not always we can find the answers we seek!

I have no idea how to disable DLCs on steam though, care to elaborate please?

 

[AndrewT]

I have no idea how to disable DLCs on steam though, care to elaborate please?

Click on the game in your Steam Library and go to Manage My DLCs there.

 

[ChoGGi_2]

It's not a fix or anything, but you could use borderless gaming to set which monitor it shows up in for windowed mode (and set it to fill the screen).

Releases · Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming

Play your favorite games in a borderless window; no more time consuming alt-tabs. - Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming

github.com

Though I do wonder if the nvsmartmaxapp is interfering somehow? You can try killing it off in taskmgr (probably just the x64 one, but doesn't hurt to kill both).

 

[Godboss]

It's not a fix or anything, but you could use borderless gaming to set which monitor it shows up in for windowed mode (and set it to fill the screen).

Releases · Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming

Play your favorite games in a borderless window; no more time consuming alt-tabs. - Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming

github.com

Though I do wonder if the nvsmartmaxapp is interfering somehow? You can try killing it off in taskmgr (probably just the x64 one, but doesn't hurt to kill both).

Unfortunately that too didn't seem to work.... I'll keep trying multiple ways of using it but it isn't an easy workaround nvsmartmaxapp is no longer running too.