Fix Abiotic Factor Fatal Error and Random Freezing

If your game is locking up or hitting a fatal error every time you interact with items like storage or coffee machines, you are likely dealing with a conflict in the game's voice chat plugin. This isn't a problem with your graphics card, so you don't need to worry about your hardware failing.

Why this happens

The game engine currently struggles with specific audio sample rates and high-end lighting features, which triggers a crash in the integrated voice chat module.

Steps

1. 01
   Right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar and open Sound Settings. Select your microphone, click More Sound Settings, go to the Recording tab, and right-click your microphone to open Properties.
2. 02
   Navigate to the Advanced tab and change the Default Format to 44,100 Hz. Click Apply and OK to save, then relaunch the game to see if the crashes stop.
3. 03
   If the issue persists, open Steam, right-click Abiotic Factor, select Properties, and type -dx11 into the Launch Options field. Close the window and launch the game to force it to use the more stable DirectX 11 API.
4. 04
   To disable performance-heavy rendering, navigate to C:/Users/[YourUsername]/AppData/Local/AbioticFactor/Saved/Config/Windows and open or create an Engine.ini file.
5. 05
   Paste the following lines into Engine.ini to disable problematic lighting effects: [/script/engine.renderersettings] r.Lumen.DiffuseIndirect.Allow=0, r.Lumen.Reflections.Allow=0, r.VolumetricCloud=0, r.VolumetricFog=0. Save the file and restart the game.
6. 06
   If none of the above work, go to Steam, right-click Abiotic Factor, select Properties, click Installed Files, and select Verify integrity of game files to repair any corrupted data.

Still not working?

If the game is still crashing after verifying your files, check your Event Viewer under Windows Logs > Application for any 'Application Error' entries referencing the game executable. If you see 'D3D' or 'DirectX' errors, perform a clean install of your GPU drivers using DDU, as a corrupted driver installation may be interfering with the game's render path.

Frequently asked questions

Will changing my microphone sample rate affect other games?

It is unlikely to cause issues in other games, but if you notice audio quality changes or issues with your microphone in other applications, you can simply revert the setting to your original sample rate.

Is it safe to modify the Engine.ini file?

Yes, modifying the Engine.ini file is a standard way to adjust performance settings in Unreal Engine games. If the game behaves poorly after your changes, you can simply delete the lines you added or delete the file entirely to reset your configuration.