Mass Effect 2 1.01 patch released, dual-core slowdown still present?
BioWare’s pushed out Mass Effect 2 1.01 for PC users. It comes with a solid collection of fixes, which you’ll find below:
* Fixed video hitching and crashes related to single core machines.
* Single core users may experience short periods of black screen that may last up a few seconds between level loads, cinematic transitions or movies.
* In rare cases, some single core users may notice dialog lines in certain conversations may be delayed up to a few seconds.
* Fixed an issue where it appears ammunition can be picked up, but can’t.
* Fixed an issue where all Codex entries were marked as ‘viewed’, even if the player chose not to view them.
* Fixed an issue where weapon icons are re-organized after downloadable content is used.
* Fixed an issue where pressing F9 after the mission completion screen reset Shepard to Level 1.
* Fixed an issue where remapping the right mouse button blocks camera control in the command HUD.
* Fixed an issue where remapping the ‘use’ command affects the decryption minigame.
* Fixed an issue where users were not prompted to restart when logging in to a different EA Online account.
* Fixed an issue where movies do not play in DLC.
* It is recommended that players reset their keyboard mapping to default values to ensure proper vehicle control.
* Added useful messaging during the ME1 save game import.
* Weapon icon for henchmen never changes from Collector Assault Rifle.
* Czech language – Issues with Czech localization (subtitles) were amended, all text was corrected and improved.
* Fixed an issue where the Mass Effect 2 launcher was being associated with files that have no extension.
* Fixed an issue where uninstalling the game under Windows Vista or Windows 7 might uninstall Mass Effect 1.
I’ve emphasised the fixes that relate to CPUs. While none of them explicitly state that the slow dual-core loading times (that MassAffinity nicely addresses) have been rectified, it’s not entirely insane to think one of the aforementioned singe-core tweaks may have done the trick.
Sadly, I haven’t found any conclusive evidence to suggest this is true. So far, I’ve only found this thread on BioWare’s Social Network, which seems to indicate that the slow load times are still present. It’d be great if any ME2 players out there could confirm whether they’re still encountering the problem, so I can update the original MassAffinity post.
On an unrelated note, I found the following bug hilarious:
Fixed an issue where uninstalling the game under Windows Vista or Windows 7 might uninstall Mass Effect 1
According to ME2 Technical Director Derek French, Windows itself is to blame for this nasty blighter:
That is actually a bug that Microsoft introduced in Vista and 7. We keep our uninstallers in a common location and if you don’t encase the full path to the Uninstaller in double-quotes, Windows will just pick another random executable from that directory and run it, instead of the executable the you explicitly entered. It is pretty crazy when you tell Windows to run ‘Uninstall Mass Effect 2.exe’ and Windows decides to run ‘Uninstall Mass Effect.exe’
Best. Feature. Ever.
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I just tested it on my Core 2 Duo 8400 with Windows 7 x64. And the slow dual-core loading times are still here. Shit!
Guillem said this on February 22nd, 2010 at 5:27 pm
@Guillem: That’s a shame. Oh well, I guess there’s always 1.02… :P
Logan said this on February 22nd, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Ironically, I tested MF2 with a “non genuine” version of the game … and it run perfectly smooth, with no slow loading times at all!! So, as the game was MAGNIFICENT and TREMENDOUS, pure art work, I bought the game (collectors edition!), to continue my save game from MF1. AND to have all DLC, patches, and official stuff.
And the “genuine” MF2 game works well but with those fucking slow loading times. Amazing! The non genuine works better!
At least the uninstall of the “non genuine” version of MF2 did not erase my Mass Effect 1 installation/savegames :D
So, I might be lucky! or half lucky :D
Guillem said this on February 23rd, 2010 at 12:37 pm
[…] I’m not normally one to post about a graphics driver update, even if they do excite my eyebrows from time to time, but the WHQL-certified 196.75s for NVIDIA’s GeForce cards includes a fix that allows users to override the AA settings for Mass Effect 2. I believe this renders the executable rename feature of MassAffinity obsolete… but not the program itself. You’ll still need it to get around the silly dual-core slow down bug the game seems adamant on keeping, even after a patch. […]
Playwrite: NVIDIA Forceware 196.75 adds anti-aliasing support for Mass Effect 2 said this on March 2nd, 2010 at 8:03 pm
The ME2 patch 1.01 actually introduced the dual-core slow loading bug for me. I had no problems on version 1.00, but after patch 1.01 every loading screen behaved like I had a single-core CPU, loading times tripled or quadrupled in some cases. I also had the black screens mentioned in the 2nd bolded piece of text in the patch notes above.
I’m running on an E8400 3.0ghz with Win 7 64-bit ultimate.
Without Mass Affinity I’d be going crazy right now.
Amarinth said this on March 29th, 2010 at 6:03 am