If you are having an issue that affects your ability to play Oxygen Not Included such as major graphical issues, crashing issues, or performance problems, there are a few things you should do before reporting the problem. Choose your platform via the links below:
WINDOWS PC
MAC OSX
LINUX
WINDOWS PC
General Troubleshooting Steps
Verify the integrity of your game's files on Steam - Verifying the integrity of your game files ensures that there are no game files missing and corrupted files are replaced.
- Right-click Oxygen Not Included. in your Steam Library > "Properties"
- Select the "Installed Files" tab;
- Click the "Verify Integrity of Game Files" button
- When the process is complete, launch Oxygen Not Included
Verify the game files for Oxygen Not Included on Epic Games Launcher - Verifying the game's files on Epic Games Launcher ensures that there are no game files missing and corrupted files are replaced.
- Navigate to Oxygen Not Included in your game Library and click on the three dots;
- Click "Verify" in the drop-down navigation;
- When the process is complete, launch Oxygen Not Included
Ensure that there are no programs running that may interfere with Steam - If you are encountering issues or poor performance, you may want to check if you have any applications/programs running that potentially, negatively affecting Steam. Please visit Steam Support's guide for more information on this.
Download and install the latest operating system Updates - Ensure that your OS has been updated to the latest version. Most issues with crashes, errors, or with Visual VC++ (and various software) generally are due to out-of-date operating system patches.
Check and update your drivers - Outdated graphics or audio drivers are two of the first things to check when any software is having problems. Make sure that all of your drivers are updated to the latest version.
Check your system specs - Make sure your system meets Oxygen Not Included's system requirements. If it does not, you are still welcome to file a report; just make sure to let us know what the the computer specs are.
Disable Mods - It could be that one or more of the mods you have installed is causing an issue with your game. Try disabling your mods to see if that resolves your issue. Also, please check that the mod you are trying to use is compatible with your version of the game.
If you are sure that the issue is being caused by an outdated or broken mod, delete the mod files from your Steam folder for Oxygen Not Included. Once all mod files have been deleted from your Steam folder for the game, unsubscribe all of your Oxygen Not Included mods from the Steam Workshop. This will ensure that any mods that may have been causing issues are completely removed from your Steam folder.
Security software - Unfortunately malware, firewall and virus protection programs can be a bit unpredictable at times. Try disabling anything you have running temporarily then try running the game again.
3rd-Party Software - Pop-up blockers, ad-blockers, and other types of software running in the background can sometimes cause problems. Turn off anything you have running in the background then try running the game again.
Often, the problems that users are experiencing are a result of local game files being corrupted, or incompletely downloaded. These problems include missing textures or effects, or crashing when loading specific areas or items, while the game generally runs fine.
RivaTuner / MSI Afterburner - If your system is displaying a black screen when trying to launch Oxygen Not Included, check to see if RivaTuner Statistics server or MSI Afterburner is running in the background. If so, close down the program as some users have encountered these software causing conflicts with the game.
Ensure that your system is running the game with a a dedicated GPU (Not Integrated)
Some laptops with NVIDIA or AMD graphics cards actually contain two graphics chips; an Intel integrated chip for power-saving and a dedicated NVIDIA or AMD chip for high-performance uses such as gaming. Your graphics driver will detect which chip to use based on the program that you're running, but may not correctly detect that the high performance chip is required to run Oxygen Not Included.
You will have to go into your AMD (CCC Control Panel/AMD Radeon Settings) or NVIDIA Control Panel and force your dedicated GPU to launch and run Oxygen Not Included. instead of your integrated Intel card.
OneDrive - If your game is crashing at launch, and you have Microsoft OneDrive enabled, OneDrive may be preventing access to Oxygen Not Included files or folders and is causing the crash. For example, if your save file location looks something like this: C:\Users\{YourUserName}\OneDrive\Documents\Klei\OxygenNotIncluded\
PLEASE NOTE, the OneDrive workaround below assumes that you are familiar with how files work on Windows, and requires you to tinker with certain game folders/files. It is IMPORTANT to make a copy of your \OxygenNotIncluded\ folder (which is found in your Documents folder at \{YourUserName}\OneDrive\Documents\Klei\ ) and place that folder copy in a different location BEFORE going forward.
Once you have a backup copy of the folder in a different location, rename the \Klei\OxygenNotIncluded\ folder to \OxygenNotIncluded.old\ and then try to run the game. This will try and recreate the required folders (and possibly restoring permissions outside of OneDrive)
If that does not work, you can also disable OneDrive temporarily before running the game once, so that other, future folders that are created are outside OneDrive. You can find information on this from the Microsoft Support website.
Controlled Folder Access
If you currently have Windows Ransomware Protection enabled, it may block the game from being able to access, read, or write files on the hard drive. If so, you will need to allow the game’s .exe file (OxygenNotIncluded.exe) through the Controlled Folder Access, in order for the game to be able to do so. Here’s how to do this:
1) Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection;
In Virus & threat protection, scroll down to Ransomware Protection, click on “Manage ransomware protection”
2) Check to see if Controlled folder access is ON, if it is, click on “Allow an App through Controlled folder access”
3) Click on + Add an allowed app > choose “Recently Blocked Apps” if Oxygen Not Included was blocked previously or choose “Browse All Apps” and manually add Oxygen Not Included. Each of these options will add OxygenNotIncluded.exe to the allowed apps within Windows' controlled folder access. If you are not sure where the OxygenNotIncluded.exe file is located, generally it is within your Steam folders at \steam\steamapps\common\oxygennotincluded\ or if you are playing on Epic Games Launcher, the file is generally located at \Epic Games\OxygenNotIncluded\.
4) Once added, launch Oxygen Not Included once more.
Disk Write Error
If you are encountering an error similar to "Disk Write Error", this generally means that something on the computer is blocking the game (or the Steam client). A couple of things you can try:
Please ensure that your Windows user account profile has the proper administrator privilege/permissions to run programs, create and save/overwrite files on your hard drive. As well, please ensure that your Antivirus software is not actively blocking or quarantining the game from being able to run.
Once the above has been done, and the issue persists, please try the following steps:
1) Run the Steam client as an Administrator
2) Run Oxygen Not Included as an Administrator
(On Steam: \Steam\steamapps\common\OxygenNotIncluded\OxygenNotIncluded.exe)
(On Epic: \Epic Games\OxygenNotIncluded\OxygenNotIncluded.exe)
*If you are not sure how to find the OxygenNotIncluded.exe file on Steam, you can do so by right-clicking on Oxygen Not Included on your Steam Library > Click on "Properties" > Installed Files > click on the "Browse" button.
3) You can also ensure that Oxygen Not Included and your Steam client (or Epic Games Launcher) have both been added to your security software's and Windows Security's allowed/trusted programs list.
No audio when playing Oxygen Not Included
If you are able to run the game, but cannot hear any audio (even if sound levels are set in your game's options) the first thing you can do is to ensure is that your computer's audio drivers have been updated to the latest version.
If the issue persists:
- Go into your Windows Audio Settings;
- select "Change other sound settings";
- Click on PLAYBACK tab and right-click your default audio playback setting and choose "Properties"
- Click on the "Advanced" tab and on "Default Format", scroll down the list and set the value to 24-bit, 48000Hz.
- Click on the "Apply" button to complete the change.
From there, launch the game once more and you should find that the audio is back in order.
NOTE: If you have any audio software such as Nahimic 3D Sound, Nahimic 2, nVidia Software installed, try temporarily disabling it to see if that resolves the audio issue.
If you have tried all troubleshooting steps and are still unable to play the game, please report your issue in the Oxygen Not Included Bug Tracker with your logs and information for bug reports.
MAC OS X
General Troubleshooting Steps
- Right-click Oxygen Not Included. in your Steam Library > "Properties"
- Select the "Installed Files" tab;
- Click the "Verify Integrity of Game Files" button
- When the process is complete, launch Oxygen Not Included
- Navigate to Oxygen Not Included in your game Library and click on the three dots;
- Click "Verify" in the drop-down navigation;
- When the process is complete, launch Oxygen Not Included
Check your system specs - Make sure your system meets Oxygen Not Included's system requirements. If it does not, you are still welcome to file a report; just make sure to let us know what the the computer specs are.
Crashes on Startup / Poor Performance
If you are playing on a Mac system with two graphics cards (generally an integrated Intel GPU and a dedicated NVIDIA or AMD GPU), please try disabling "power saving mode" on your Mac as described here: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT202043 . This will force your system to use the dedicated GPU when running the game.
Missing art assets, Duplicants, Graphical Issues on Mac OS
There were some known compatibility issues between a subset of Mac integrated GPUs and the Oxygen Not Included engine in the past. The workaround steps listed below helped address those remaining graphical bugs.
- In Steam, Right-click on Oxygen Not Included in your game libray -> Choose "Properties"
- Under the General Tab, click on the text box/field under "Launch Options..."
- In the text field, add "-force-glcore" -> Click OK
- Try and launch and run the game once more to see if that resolves the issue.
Graphical Corruption / Invisible Duplicants or Structures
MacOS 10.12.6 - http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/120845/en-us
OS X 10.11.6 - http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/120846/en-us
IMPORTANT: Before downloading or installing the files, please read the release highlights and make sure that your operating system is the same version as the driver, and that your Mac system is among the ones that the driver supports.
Alternatively, if you have installed a driver from the NVIDIA website and are experiencing issues (especially if the driver is in BETA for your system), try disabling the web drivers and use your operating system's default drivers instead. You will find the instrcutions on how to do this under the "Additional Information" on the page you downloaded the drivers from.
Oxygen Not Included is not launching on Mac OS after November’s Cloud save update.
If you are unable to launch Oxygen Not Included after updating your game and encounter errors similar to these:
"Failed to start Oxygen Not Included:
OS Error 4294956486"
OR
"The application OxygenNotIncluded.app can't be opened"
Please follow these troubleshooting steps:
- Please verify the integrity of your game files to see if this resolves the issue.
- If verifying the game files does not resolve the issue, please try uninstalling, then re-installing the game.
- If the issue persists after re-installing the game, you may want to try the workaround posted by one of our players in the bug tracker. (Thanks nessumo!)
Please note, the workaround process in the link above assumes that you are familiar with how files work on Mac OS, and requires you to tinker with and delete certain game folders/files. It is IMPORTANT to make a copy of that folder and place that copy in a different location BEFORE deleting any files.
LINUX
General Troubleshooting Steps
- Right-click Oxygen Not Included. in your Steam Library > "Properties"
- Select the "Installed Files" tab;
- Click the "Verify Integrity of Game Files" button
- When the process is complete, launch Oxygen Not Included
Ensure that there are no programs running that may interfere with Steam - If you are encountering issues or poor performance, you may want to check if you have any applications/programs running that potentially, negatively affecting Steam. Please visit Steam Support's guide for more information on this.
Check and update your drivers - Outdated graphics or audio drivers are two of the first things to check when any software is having problems. Make sure that all of your drivers are updated to the latest version.
Check your system specs - Make sure your system meets Oxygen Not Included's system requirements. If it does not, you are still welcome to file a report; just make sure to let us know what the the computer specs are.
If you have tried all troubleshooting steps and are still unable to play the game, please report your issue in the Oxygen Not Included Bug Tracker with your logs and information for bug reports.