Windows - F.E.A.R. | Crashing on startup

[RavenMacDaddy]

Other issues #2688 are seemingly not applicable, as Linux/Wine/Proton isn't involved.

So far, no matter which stable version — or artifact — I'm using, the game always has a delayed crash upon startup; the legal text or any graphics for that matter aren't rendered at all.

I'm running out of ideas on what to attempt next to be able to use DXVK for the title.

For reference, I want to utilize it for using RTX HDR with the game; at the time of writing, unless I'm missing something, this can't be used with the D3D9 API.

Software information

F.E.A.R. (from GoG) — v1.08

• No difference if other resolutions than native (3440x1440) are used, e.g., 1080p
• No difference if overlays like RTSS aren't running

System information

• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4070 SUPER
• Driver: 566.36
• Wine version: N/A
• DXVK version: 2.5.3 (latest stable at the time of writing)

Apitrace file(s)

I'm obviously missing something; how am I supposed to run a trace with d3d9.dll when I'm using the same as a wrapper to Vulkan?

For instructions on how to use apitrace, see: https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/wiki/Using-Apitrace

Log files

Config_d3d9.log

[Blisto91]

Hi there. Please attach the dxvk log that should appear next to the games exe. I am not immediatly seeing any issue on Linux when using 2.5.3

[RavenMacDaddy]

Config_d3d9.log

Interestingly, what I assume is Config.exe is what's mainly involved, rather than fear.exe — based on the name of the log file.

[Blisto91]

It should produce a log for the fear exe too.
I've just tried the Steam version on Windows with my RTX 4080, but it works fine.

[RavenMacDaddy]

I made a clean installation by downloading the backup installer from GoG — same result;

My main installation of the game includes several mods, so I wanted to make sure those weren't the culprit.

The contents of the log file that's produced is literally the same.

What I find interesting is that the rendering process seemingly gets nowhere, though this might be based on my ignorance;

Config_d3d9.log

Obviously, I'm executing fear.exe, so it's odd that only Config.exe is mentioned everywhere.

I'm honestly unsure what to troubleshoot next, as I imagine the game files of the Steam version ought to be the same, or at least not different in a way that's substantial for this particular issue.

Furthermore, I don't own a license on said platform to try it for myself.