Game Troubleshooting Guide

This guide contains solutions to most common problems related to Sonic Adventure games and their mods.

Troubleshooting SA Mod Manager

Mods and codes don't appear

This means you haven't selected the Game's location, unlike the previous Mod Manager, this Manager can work anywhere and with multiple games, so you have to set the game path manually. Note that if you had the previous Mod Manager before, you can directly update from it to install the new one and it will automatically set the game path for you in that scenario.

SADX Game Location Error on the Steam Version

The Steam version of SADX is not supported by our tools. You can download and run the SADX Mod Installer to convert your game to the 2004 version and install the Mod Manager automatically.

How do I get mods to work on Steam Deck / Linux?

For SADX, you can follow the guide here.

For SA2, simply download the SA Mod Manager from its release page and put it in your SA2 folder, then run it through Protontricks. Please note that if you plan to use the Manager for both Adventure games on Linux, it is recommended to have a different copy of the Manager for each game, all in their respective game folder and just run them through Protontricks.

The game crashes when I click on Save And Play

• Make sure both your Manager and Loader are up to date/
• Make sure that you have all of the Visual C++ Runtimes (x86) installed. See Installing Mods for more details.
• If you're still having issues, check if your game starts fine without mods and codes (you can use the Profile feature in the Manager Config tab to save your mods list).

SADX Launcher displays an error: "Unable to detect SADX Mod Loader"

Go to your SADX game folder and delete AppLauncher.exe and the AppLauncher folder, then open the SA Mod Manager, click Game Config, Input and select Get AppLauncher to download the latest version.

Common Game Issues

Game doesn't Start (no Error Message)

If you have multiple monitors, try changing the Screen in SADX Mod Manager's Display tab.

"Windows Media Player 9 is not Installed" Error in SADX

SADX relies on Windows Media Player components, which are missing in some versions of Windows. To install Windows Media features on Windows 10, do the following:

1. In the Settings app, go to Apps, Apps & features, Optional features.

1. Click Add a feature, find Media Feature Pack and install it.
2. Restart your computer. The error should now be gone.

For other versions of Windows see this page for further instructions.

Missing Music and/or Character Voices

Check if your game has music and voice files. There should be ADX files in:

Sonic Adventure DX\SoundData\BGM\wma and Sonic Adventure DX\SoundData\voice_us\wma

or WMA files in:

Sonic Adventure DX\system\sounddata\BGM\wma and Sonic Adventure DX\system\sounddata\voice_us\wma.

If you can't find them, use the SADX Mod Installer or install the ADX Audio mod manually.

Make sure music and voices are enabled in the Mod Manager. In the Sound tab, make sure Music Volume and Voice Volume are not 0 and Enable Music is checked. In the Codes tab, make sure Disable Music and Disable Voices are unchecked.

Click the volume icon in Windows system tray and check if the sound is going through the correct output device. If you have multiple output devices and don't know which one is correct, try switching between them. For most cases, it should be Speakers or Headphones, or the model of your monitor if it has built-in speakers. Don't select S/PDIF or Optical if you aren't sure you're using it.

Missing Sound Effects

1. Check if your game has sound effect files. There should be DAT files in Sonic Adventure DX\SoundData\SE or in Sonic Adventure DX\system\sounddata\se. If they are missing, you need to reinstall the game or copy these files manually from the original game's CD 2. If you have the Steam version, reinstall it and use the SADX Mod Installer.
2. Click the volume icon in Windows system tray and check if the sound is going through the correct output device. If you have multiple output devices and don't know which one is correct, try switching between them. For most cases, it should be Speakers or Headphones, or the model of your monitor if it has built-in speakers. Don't select S/PDIF or Optical if you aren't using it.
3. Look for the file dsound.dll in your SADX folder. Try renaming this file to something else and see if sound effects come back.

The Game Skips Videos

1. Check if your game has video files. There should be MPG files in Sonic Adventure DX\system. The intro is called RE-US.mpg. If it is missing, you need to reinstall the game (and run the SADX Mod Installer if you have the Steam version).
2. Make sure the Disable Videos and Skip Intro codes are unchecked in the Mod Manager's Codes tab.
3. If you have any software that affects video playback, such as ffdshow, LAV, Smooth Video Project etc., you might need to disable or uninstall it.
4. See the steps for the "Windows Media Player 9 is not installed" error.

"DLL Error - The Specified Module could not be Found" Error on Loading a Mod

There are several things that can cause this error:

• The required Visual C++ runtimes are missing. Most mods are compiled with Visual Studio 2015-2022, so you need this runtime to load them. Older mods may be compiled with Visual Studio 2013 or 2012. Download and install all of the runtimes from this page.

• DirectX 9.0c end-user runtime is missing. Download and install all of the runtimes from this page.
• The mod is missing the DLL file. In the Mod Manager, right click the mod and select Verify integrity. If any errors are detected, let the Mod Manager repair the mod and try again. If no errors are found, contact the mod developer.
• The DLL file was compiled in Debug mode. If you have all the runtimes installed, the mod DLL file exists and you are still getting the error, contact the mod developer.

"Direct3D Reset Failed: D3DERR_INVALIDCALL" Error During Gameplay

This error occurs when the Direct3D device handle used by the game becomes invalid. This can happen when other 3D programs or games take control of the Direct3D device, or when User Account Control (UAC) dims the desktop. To avoid this issue, you can do the following:

1. Avoid running other programs (especially those that require elevation) while the game is running.
2. Enable "Resizable Window" in SADX Mod Manager's Graphics settings.

Can't rebind keyboard keys

Keyboard binds from the Steam version won't work on the modded game because the modded game is based on an old version of SADX that doesn't support custom keybinds. However, you can rebind keys with the Input mod and a configuration tool that is included in the SADX Mod Installer. After using the installer, select Configure Sonic Adventure DX on Steam or run AppLauncher.exe in the SADX folder, and you will be able to change keys in the Controls tab.

Input issues: Controller isn't detected, spinning camera, button layout is wrong etc.

1. Make sure Better Input is enabled in Input options in the Mod Manager.
2. Make sure your controller is detected and configured in SADX Launcher's Controls tab. If you don't have SADX Launcher, you can get it with the SADX Mod Installer.
3. If you are using Steam Input, try disabling it.

Issues with Sony DualShock or Nintendo Switch Pro controllers

1. Install ds4windows and use it in X360 emulation mode.
2. Run SADX Launcher and configure the axes and buttons as usual.

Where to get help

You can ask for help on the #troubleshooting channel on the x-hax Discord server.