Support: We Were Here Forever

Are you having trouble getting the game to start? Getting disconnected all the time?

Check what steps you can take to remedy the situation.

Technical Support & Troubleshooting

Common Solutions

Restart the game
Switch roles in the lobby
Run the game as administrator

Check the minimum requirements

Clear save / config files
Verify file integrity

Check Firewall settings and whitelist programs
Unplug all unnecessary USB devices
Turn off any enabled overlay
Close software that can interfere with the game and sound (joystick or controller drivers)
Update your graphics card driver
Update your Windows
Set your Windows time correctly
Install the game on an SSD

I get a Unity loading screen pop-up when launching the game.

Make sure your drivers are up to date and try to restart the game and pick the “DX 12” option to launch the game.

You could also try to do this manually:
Change the launch options of the game in steam by adding -force-d3d12 to your launch options.

You can do this by going to the game in your Steam library and right clicking to go to “Properties”. Then in the “General” tab you can add launch options at the bottom. (see screenshot below)

I get an infinite black loading screen when trying to launch the game the first time.

This is often related to the PC specs or graphics card. Make sure you meet the minimum requirements to play. For We Were Here Forever, we do not support integrated graphic cards or versions older than Windows 10. Be sure that your drivers are up to date.

Media Feature Pack (For windows N version users)

Make sure the Windows Media Feature Pack is installed for your version of windows. This is required for the playback of certain videos within the game. The windows 10 version can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/mediafeaturepack

DirectX version

Make sure your operating system is updated with the latest version of DirectX. Information on how to do this can be found here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-install-the-latest-version-of-directx-d1f5ffa5-dae2-246c-91b1-ee1e973ed8c2 . By default we require DirectX 12 with the latest feature set to be installed, however there is also a launch option available for DirectX 12 manually. This might resolve some issues for certain older hardware.

Microsoft Media Foundation

It could be that the Microsoft Media Foundation is not installed on your machine or a newer version of Microsoft Media Foundation is required. To install the necessary libraries please install the Media Feature Pack from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/search/result.aspx?q=Media+Feature+Pack for your version of Windows.

Nvidia Control panel

Disable “Optimize for Computer Performace” 3D setting in your Nvidia control panel.

CCCP Codec Pack

You could also try to download this pack:
https://download.cnet.com/Combined-Community-Codec-Pack/3000-2139_4-10966585.html

I lost my progress.

Progress in our games is automatically saved. Most of the puzzles have a checkpoint after completing the entire puzzle and entering the next room, so keep that in mind. If you somehow lost your progress, we are very sorry. This might have happened when closing the game incorrectly or losing power/internet while being in the middle of a puzzle.

You could try to manually turn on the checkpoints by going to the config file. This can only be done for We Were Here Too or Together. The save files for We Were Here are not saved locally so we recommend using a walkthrough to quickly pass through previously done puzzles. The save files for We Were Here Forever are saved in the back-end and cannot be accessed. You can start a new journey and manually select a new checkpoint if you have issues with your savefile.

My game keeps crashing.

PC:

Make sure you meet the minimum requirements to play, update your drivers and make sure to not use an integrated graphics card.
You could try to launch the game by trying both of the launch options in the pop-up window.
Double check if your system’s time is set correctly to match your timezone.
Delete the “lib_burst_generated.dll” file, which you can find in your Steam / Epic installation folder in:

WWH4\We Were Here Forever _Data\Plugins\x86_64

If none of the above works, you could change the launch options of the game manually in Steam by adding -force-d3d11 or -force-d3d12 to your launch options.

You can do this by going to the game in your Steam library and right clicking to go to “Properties”. Then in the “General” tab you can add launch options at the bottom.

If this didn’t help, don’t forget to remove these lines again.

Console:

Make sure you have a stable internet connection and that both players are connecting to the same region in the in-game settings.
You could try to improve your DNS settings to improve your connection.
Make sure you’re not using a public network. You could try switching networks (for example your phone’s hotspot) to test if this issue is network-related.

I experience low FPS while playing.

PC:

First of all, make sure your PC meets the minimum requirements to play and that you’re not using an integrated graphics card. If you do, then make sure to update your graphics driver and your Windows. Also check your task manager and see if there are any programs running that require a lot of your PC and close these tasks.

Another thing to try is to launch the game using both of the launch options that pop-up in the small screen. If these don’t work, you can add -force-d3d11 to your launch options in Steam. If that didn’t help, make sure to remove this line again.

If the issue persists, search in your taskbar for ‘View advanced system settings’ and in the ‘Advanced’ tab go to ‘Settings’. In the ‘Visual Effects’ tab, set the option to ‘Custom’. In the ‘Advanced’ tab, click on ‘Change’. Here, set the initial size and the maximum size to 4096.

Console:

Keep in mind that you could experience longer loading screens when playing with a friend who plays on an older generation console.

I can’t hear the other player or they can’t hear me.

For PC users:

Make sure you have a working microphone by testing the mic in another app (for instance, Discord or Skype). Make sure the mic you want to use is set as your default mic in your computer sound settings. When in-game, select the same microphone in the audio settings. Instead of “create a room” click on “invite a friend” to directly invite your friend. Also, do not speak at the same time as your partner, just like real walkie-talkies you won’t be able to hear the other when talking simultaneously. If this does not work, try unplugging all unnecessary USB devices and only leave the necessary devices plugged and see if this works. Run the game as administrator and whitelist the game in your Firewall and Anti-Virus settings. Make sure the sound levels of your mic in both your PC settings as well as the in-game settings are high enough.

Finally, it could be that your router is blocking voice chat. In order to fix this, you could try to open these ports:

For Console users:

This is most likely an issue related to your console settings rather than the game. Try checking your console’s privacy settings and see if they allow for voice-chatting. Also make sure your mic is not broken, check if you might have accidentally blocked or muted your partner, or if the in-game chat volume is not muted. In case you’re playing in an Xbox party, this might cause the mic focus to be redirected to the party instead of to the game, so see if you can change this or do not use the party. If all of these solutions don’t help, it might be your internet connection (router) that is blocking voice connections.

I can’t connect to the game/voice server.

Make sure that you play in a region that is supported by the game.
If you are using a VPN, try switching regions.
Check your in-game region in the settings and make sure it matches your region.
Make sure you play on Windows 10 (or higher) and that your Windows is updated.
Check if your Windows time is set correctly.
Whitelist the game in your Anti Virus & Firewall settings.
Verify your Steam integrity files.
Make sure you meet the minimum requirements to play.
It could also be that your router is blocking voice chat. In order to fix this, you could try to open these ports:

I’ve encountered a bug, how do I report it?

Have you experienced a bug that has not been mentioned in our in-game issues yet? Then it would help us a lot if you could report this to us. We will need a clear description of the bug and how the bug got triggered / what you did prior to the bug occurring, a screenshot or video of the bug, and your player log files. To find your player log files, paste the following rule in your folder destination, make sure to change the username to the correct username:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Total Mayhem Games\We Were Here Forever

You can contact our support team by either sending your bug in the bug channel in our Discord server or by sending it to support@totalmayhemgames.com.

How do I collect my player log files?

To find your player log files, paste the following rule in your folder destination, make sure to change the username to the correct username:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Total Mayhem Games\We Were Here Forever

In case you are still experiencing an issue or bug and none of the proposed solutions helped, these log files can be used to contact our support team by either sending them to a mod in our Discord server or to support@totalmayhemgames.com

I can't find any people in the lobby.

Make sure you have the cross-play toggle enabled in the settings. If you play on PlayStation, make sure your NAT type is set to ‘open’ and not to ‘strict’ or ‘moderate’. You can always look for a partner in our Discord server or wait for the busier hours (usually in the evenings or weekends) to have more chances on finding a partner.

Stuck on Authenticating User or Retrieving Remote Settings.

For Steam users:

You’re going to have to delete your cloud save. Steam doesn’t offer a possibility for this, but one of our developers has created a small tool for this. Don’t worry, this will not delete your progression, only some settings in the menu will have to get applied again.

Download the tool here: https://github.com/opstal-thomas/SteamCloudSaveManager/releases/download/Version-1.0/SteamCloudSaveManager.zip
Extract the .zip file and launch the .exe file.
You’ll have to enter the number 1341290 and then you can delete your saves.

For Epic users:

Exit the Game.
Open your Windows Credential Manager.
Delete the Epic Entry, it should start with EOS.
Open the game.

I am located in Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates and I can't connect to the voice server.

Unfortunately, these countries place restrictions on the voice servers we use. When you get the pop-up window saying “the connection to the voice server failed”, you can select “cancel” and should be able to bypass this window and continue playing after that. You will have to use a third party app to be able to communicate with your partner. Note that you cannot bypass this window for our older games We Were Here, We Were Here Too and We Were Here Together.

If you’d really like to use the walkie-talkies, you could try using a VPN to connect to a different country. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a smooth and stable gameplay experience when trying to play our games over VPN. Our games are not made to run perfectly on a VPN and are using certain voice and game servers to establish a stable connection, which can be interrupted when using a VPN.

I use a VPN but experience connection issues.

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a smooth and stable gameplay experience when trying to play our games over VPN. Our games are not made to run perfectly on a VPN and are using certain voice and game servers to establish a stable connection, which can be interrupted when using a VPN.

I want to bypass the "connecting to voice server" window.

Go to this hidden folder, make sure to change the drive and your username to the correct one.
- C:\Users%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Total Mayhem Games\We Were Here Forever\Data
Delete the ‘Data’ folder. The game will generate a new folder when it restarts.
When restarting the game, you should be able to skip the voice server window and use your own third party app for communicating.

I still need help.

You can contact our team via our Discord server, Twitter or support@totalmayhemgames.com. In case of specific technical issues/bugs, make sure to include:

A clear description of your problem
Which game and platform you’re playing on
Player log files (when playing on PC)
- Can be found in: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Total Mayhem Games\We Were Here Forever
Preferably a screenshot or video
Make sure to submit the crash report when a blue screen is displayed if you are playing on Playstation 4 or 5 (by clicking on ‘report problem’).

Game Bugs

I cannot progress because I have a duplicated astrolabe piece in my hands.

Our developers are aware of this bug. Sometimes this is just a visual bug. Let the person with empty hands steal the astrolabe piece from the other player’s hands. You could repeat this several times. The piece should disappear and you should be able to continue and interact now. If this doesn’t work, try restarting the game and switching roles in the lobby or loading in a previous checkpoint.

I duplicated an astrolabe piece and now I can skip an entire chapter.

The door of the next room doesn’t open and now I’m locked.

Restart the game and try switching roles in the lobby. If this doesn’t work, load in a previous checkpoint. You might need to redo a part of a puzzle. You can use a guide to redo this more easily.

I cannot pick up any item at The Forge puzzle.

To be able to interact with the items at this puzzle, players are required to first start the timer by both pulling the lever. Once the clock starts ticking, you can interact with the items.

My camera keeps spinning.

Make sure to unplug any unnecessary USB devices and disable software or drivers that might interfere with the game (joystick or controller drivers)

I can duplicate pipes in the puzzles.

We recommend restarting the game. If this did not fix it, you could try to swap roles in the lobby. In case this bug occurred, we would appreciate it if you could send your player log files to us via our Discord server or support@totalmayhemgames.com so that our developers can look into this.

I completed the Arena puzzle correctly but still fell through the floor.

I can't dig in the Graveyard puzzle.

Some people have reported to not be able to dig the piles in the Graveyard. Be aware of spoilers ahead:

Go back to the lobby of the game, switch roles, and try again. After finishing the puzzle and reaching the next point, you can switch back to your prefered roles again.

Keep in mind that with this puzzle, the solution is randomized for all players and each time you restart the puzzle. There are 4 piles but only one of the 4 is interactable each time. Also, you do not need your pickaxe so try to dig without holding the pickaxe in your hand. You can also try to crouch to see if the prompt shows up then.

The moving pins in the first puzzle after the tutorial get stuck in each other.

This is a known issue that will be fixed in an upcoming patch. For now you can restart the game and reload your checkpoint.

I’m unable to rotate the bridge in Rockbury.

This is a known issue that will be fixed in an upcoming patch. For now, make sure you are not too close to the edge of the bridge or it will fail to rotate. If this doesn’t work, try restarting the game and reload your checkpoint.

I still need help.

You can contact our team via our Discord server, Twitter or support@totalmayhemgames.com. In case of specific technical issues/bugs, make sure to include:

A clear description of your problem
Which game and platform you’re playing on
Player log files (when playing on PC)
- Can be found in: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Total Mayhem Games\We Were Here Forever
Preferably a screenshot or video
Make sure to submit the crash report when a blue screen is displayed if you are playing on Playstation 4 or 5 (by clicking on ‘report problem’).

PC issues

Black screen when loading game for the first time.

Media Feature Pack (For windows N version users)

DirectX version

Microsoft Media Foundation

Nvidia Control panel

Disable “Optimize for Compute Performace” 3D setting in your Nvidia control panel.

Minimum System Requirements

Make sure you are using hardware that meets at least the minimum requirements.

We cannot guarantee that the game will function properly on computers that do not meet these requirements. We have seen Windows 7 giving our games issues in the past and decided to not support this version of Windows anymore. Microsoft also marked Windows7 as End of Life in early 2020. Information on how to upgrade your Windows can be found here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-7-end-of-life-support-information

BLACK SCREEN POTENTIAL FIX

In patch 1.0.23 and 1.0.24 , there’s a potential fix for the black screen issues. If you’re still experiencing this issue, please make sure your PC meets the minimum requirements, that you are not using an integrated graphics card. that you are using Windows 10 or higher and that your game as well as your drivers are updated.

Unity loading screen.

Make sure your drivers are up to date and try to restart the game and pick the “DX 11” option to launch the game. If you want to do this manually, you have to do the following steps.

Change the launch options of the game in steam by adding -force-d3d11 to your launch options.

You can do this by going to the game in your Steam library and right clicking to go to “Properties”. Then in the “General” tab you can add launch options at the bottom. (see screenshot below)

Also make sure your Windows is updated, you whitelisted the game in your Firewall & Anti-Virus settings, start the game as administrator and turn off your Steam beta program.

You can find more information on how to do the latter here:

https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmagic/unable-to-initialize-steam-api.html

If this keeps happening, you can delete the “Total Mayhem Games” folder found in:

c:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow

If the issue persists, please DM one of the community managers in the Discord server with your PC specs and your player log file, found in:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Total Mayhem Games\We Were Here Forever

Stuck on connecting to voice server / Retrieving friend list.

If you get this screen, make sure that you play in a region that is supported by the game.
If you are using a VPN, try switching regions.
Make sure you play on Windows and that your Windows is updated.
Check if your Windows time is set correctly.
Whitelist the game in your Anti Virus & Firewall settings.

Retrieving Friend List Stuck

Try to update all games in Steam that are paused. It could also be related to your friendlist being too long and full. If possible, try deleting some friends. Also try to launch the game from We Were Here Forever.exe, directly from your folder, instead of via Steam.

Remote Setting Failed.

If you get this message when trying to start the game, try turning off your Steam Cloud Sync.

Confession Booth Crash & Sound Loop.

When entering the confession booth the game crashes and the sound keeps looping. To fix this, run the game as administrator and launch the .exe. It passes the checkpoint and is a bit laggy behind the door but it should work after.

Kick when both players ‘Ready’.

What?

Windows 7 player gets kicked from lobby as soon as both players press ‘Ready’

How to solve?

We don’t support Windows 7 anymore. Some people have been able to solve this problem by running the game as an administrator.

Microphone doesn’t work.

What?

The microphone in-game does not work for one of you

How to solve?

Make sure you have a working microphone by testing the mic in another app (for instance, Discord or Skype).

Make sure the mic you want to use is set as your default mic in your computer sound settings. When in-game, select the same microphone in the audio settings.

Instead of “create a room” click on “invite a friend” to directly invite your friend.

Also do not speak at the same time as your partner, just like real walkie-talkies you won’t be able to hear the other when talking simultaneously.

If this does not work, try unplugging all unnecessary USB devices and only leave the necessary devices plugged and see if this works.

Run the game as administrator and whitelist the game in your Firewall and Anti-Virus settings.

Finally, make sure the sound levels of your mic in both your PC settings as well as the game settings are high enough

Game closes after showing the “Total Mayhem Games” logo.

What?

Player cannot start up the game and gets a black screen that closes after or before showing the TMG logo.

How to solve?

Check if the system time of your computer matches the exact time of your time zone. Even if this differs by just one minute, it can sometimes cause the game to not start up.

Game crashes after a few seconds.

What?

It seems like the game closes after a few seconds because of a crash, most likely due to your graphics card.

How to solve?

Make sure your driver is up to date. Another solution could be to change the launch options of the game in steam by adding -force-d3d11 to your launch options.

You can do this by going to the game in your Steam library and right clicking to go to “Properties”. Then in the “General” tab you can add launch options at the bottom. (see screenshot below)

Black screen when loading a checkpoint when hosting.

A temporary fix can be:

Restart the game. While in the lobby, the host needs to click on “switch roles” TWO times (so you’ve both had each type of walkie-talkie icon next to your name). After this, you can click on ready (no need for a restart). This fixed the problem for a lot of people.

Console issues

I’m stuck on the title screen.

This can happen when suspending the game for more than a minute. This is a known issue and will be fixed in an upcoming patch. For now you will have to reboot the game.

Microphone doesn’t work.

What?

The microphone in-game does not work for one of you

How to solve?

It could also be that your router is blocking voice chat. In order to fix this, you could try to open these ports:
https://doc.photonengine.com/en-us/realtime/current/connection-and-authentication/tcp-and-udp-port-numbers

https://support.unity.com/hc/en-us/articles/4407491745940-Vivox-What-IPs-and-ports-are-required-for-Vivox-V5-to-work-

How to port forward: https://www.hellotech.com/guide/for/how-to-port-forward

Me and my partner both play on PS4/PS5 but can’t join each other.

This could be because of your NAT type. You can find your NAT type at the bottom left of your main menu.

This can either be ‘Open’, ‘Moderate’ or ‘Strict’.

Players with NAT type ‘Strict’ can only play with players who have set their NAT type to ‘Open’. Refer to the following scheme to see if you and your partner can play together:

You can find more info about NAT Types here: https://portforward.com/nat-types/

To fix this, you’ll need to Port Forward.

Guide for PS4: https://portforward.com/playstation-4/
Guide for PS5: https://portforward.com/playstation-5/

I can’t hear the other player.

This is most likely an issue related to your console settings rather than the game. Try checking your console’s privacy settings and see if they allow for voice-chatting. You should have gotten a pop-up for this when booting the game. Also make sure your mic is not broken, check if you might have accidentally blocked or muted your partner, or if the in-game chat volume is not muted. In case you’re playing in an Xbox party, this might cause the mic focus to be redirected to the party instead of to the game, so see if you can change this or do not use the party. If all of these solutions don’t help, it might be your internet connection (router) that is blocking voice connections.

https://support.unity.com/hc/en-us/articles/4407491745940-Vivox-What-IPs-and-ports-are-required-for-Vivox-V5-to-work-

How to port forward: https://www.hellotech.com/guide/for/how-to-port-forward

My partner is blocked so I can't invite them on XBOX

Make sure you don’t have your partner blocked by accident.
Try inviting your partner directly through your friendlist.

Connection issues on PlayStation

If you experience connectivity issues related to your internet connection, this might happen to you when you play over a WiFi connection. Plugging an internet cable in your console should improve this greatly. If you are unable to use a cable, you could try the following steps:

Log into your PlayStation
Head up to Settings
Find the Network Settings
Choose WiFi (ideally select LAN if you have a wired connection)
Select Custom
Connect to your home WiFi
Select automatic settings until you see the DNS screen
Choose Manual and enter 1.1.1.1 as you Primary DNS and 1.0.0.1 as your Secondary DNS which is CloudFlare’s DNS. IF this doesn’t increase your speed, you can also try to enter Google’s DNS which is: 8.8.8.8 for Primary DNS and 8.8.4.4 for the Secondary DNS.

Connection issues on Xbox

Open the guide by pressing the Xbox button on your controller.
Select Profile & system > Settings > General > Network settings.
Select Advanced settings from the Network screen options.
Select DNS settings.
Choose Manual and enter 1.1.1.1 as you Primary DNS and 1.0.0.1 as your Secondary DNS which is CloudFlare’s DNS. IF this doesn’t increase your speed, you can also try to enter Google’s DNS which is: 8.8.8.8 for Primary DNS and 8.8.4.4 for the Secondary DNS.

I still need help.

You can contact our team via our Discord server, Twitter or support@totalmayhemgames.com. In case of specific technical issues/bugs, make sure to include:

A clear description of your problem
Which game and platform you’re playing on
Player log files (when playing on PC)
- Can be found in: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Total Mayhem Games\We Were Here Forever
Preferably a screenshot or video
Make sure to submit the crash report when a blue screen is displayed if you are playing on Playstation 4 or 5 (by clicking on ‘report problem’).

Cross-Platform

How can I play with my friend on another platform?

Open the social panel by clicking on the icon of two Explorers, next to the settings (cogwheel).
Click on “Add Friend” and enter the name + tag. For example ‘TheLibrarian#1234’.
Click on “Add Friend” again and you will see that your friend is added to the “Friends” tab on the social panel.
You can now click the “Invite” button displayed next to them.

Can my friend on PC play with me on Xbox/PlayStation?

Yes, you can. The game supports Xbox One or higher, PlayStation 4 or higher and PCs with Windows 10 or higher.

Can all generations of Xbox/PlayStation play together as well?

Yes, the game supports cross-gen starting from Xbox One and PlayStation 4 or higher.

Can I play with a controller on PC?

Yes, the game has partial controller support for PC.

Me and my partner both play on PS4/PS5 but can’t join each other.

This could be because of your NAT type. You can find your NAT type at the bottom left of your main menu.

This can either be ‘Open’, ‘Moderate’ or ‘Strict’.

Players with NAT type ‘Strict’ can only play with players who have set their NAT type to ‘Open’. Refer to the following scheme to see if you and your partner can play together:

You can find more info about NAT Types here: https://portforward.com/nat-types/

To fix this, you’ll need to Port Forward.

Guide for PS4: https://portforward.com/playstation-4/
Guide for PS5: https://portforward.com/playstation-5/

I still need help.

You can contact our team via our Discord server, Twitter or support@totalmayhemgames.com. In case of specific technical issues/bugs, make sure to include:

A clear description of your problem
Which game and platform you’re playing on
Player log files (when playing on PC)
- Can be found in: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Total Mayhem Games\We Were Here Forever
Preferably a screenshot or video
Make sure to submit the crash report when a blue screen is displayed if you are playing on Playstation 4 or 5 (by clicking on ‘report problem’).

Patch Notes

Store & Purchases

I ordered a supporter’s pack but can’t find the contents.

To find the contents of the supporter’s pack, you have to right click the game in your library > properties > local files > browse. This brings you to the folder where you will also find extra folders.

I would like to refund a game.

For transactions made outside of the game client, please follow the guidelines of the store that processed your transaction. For more information you can visit:

Steam: https://help.steampowered.com/en/

Epic Games Store: https://www.epicgames.com/help/en-US/contact-us

Windows Store: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus/

PlayStation: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/store/

Xbox: https://support.xbox.com/en-CA/contact-us