Computer games are a great way to “kill time”, have fun and just relax. Even without being an inveterate gamer, a person often has his own preferences in the field of game dev. Someone loves shooters, someone can not live without strategies.
Back in 2006, the real event was the release of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. The game has gained millions of fans around the world. The latest version, Call of Pripyat, was released in 2009, after which the number of fans of the game increased sharply: the atmosphere of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is so exciting that even adults are able to sit behind it for hours.
Unfortunately, many users complain that the XRay Engine error does not allow them to get any pleasure from the game. What is its appearance connected with and how to get rid of it? This is what our article is dedicated to.
What is XRay?
In order to find out how to solve the problem, you need to understand in more detail its root cause. To begin with, XRay is a game engine that is used in all parts of Stalker.
It was created specifically for this game, and this happened back in 2001. Since the STALKER project itself turned out to be just an epic “long-term construction”, he saw the light only five years later. At first, the developers intended to use it exclusively with DirectX 8, but by the time the first part of the trilogy was released, they added support for DirectX 9. In 2008, when the long-suffering Clear Sky was announced, they added the 10th version.
Finally, “Call of Pripyat” also received DirectX 11. However, given some “roughnesses” in the game code itself, the engine was not able to reach its full potential.
What is the manifestation of the error?
This moment cannot be confused with anything. The game suddenly stops, after which it crashes to the desktop. Since the big bug is shown in the dialog box with the error code description, the XRay Engine in fan forums is often called the “green trouble” and the “bug bug”.
However, quite the lyrics. What is the reason for the appearance of the "bug"?
Reasons for the appearance
Alas, there is simply no definite answer to such a burning question. The developers from GSC did not particularly comment on the reasons even during the period when the company still existed, and now it is completely pointless to hope for detailed answers.
Using the trial and error method, it was found out that most often the game “flies” on the computers of those users who do not have fresh drivers installed on the video card. So if you do not know what specific version of this software is installed on your machine, it's time to start updating it.
Updating the game itself
If you have witnessed the emergence of "Clear Sky", then remember all those "flattering" epithets that players awarded developers. And it was for what! It was actually completely impossible to play, and the XRay Engine error was still “flowers”!
What are only the immortal snipers and the completely empty "Dark Valley"! It turned out to be normal to play only with the addition of 1.5.04, and all the saveings that were made on previous versions did not work. In a word, if you have the Internet, do not be lazy and go to the developer's site. All existing patches for all games in the series are there, so they only need to be downloaded and installed. In this case, the XRay Engine error in the "Stalker" will probably appear much less often.
Pirated versions
Since the developers did not take into account the interests of end users too much, the well-known StarForce system protects the game from illegal copying. It is not surprising that many users prefer to download NoDVD even when they have a licensed game disc in their hands.
Unfortunately, many of these "pills" just cause the appearance of an XRay Engine error. What to do if you do not want to spoil the StarForce operating system, but also constantly see the “green bug” do not burn with desire?
Alas, there is only one way out. Buy the game on Steam. Since the game is also available to foreign users in this digital content store (for whom StarForce is prohibited in principle), you will definitely get rid of the problem.
Other reasons
Another important factor that can contribute to the occurrence of an error may be your computer hardware. Too new or old components may well not get along with the mysterious Ukrainian engine, after which the XRay Engine error will constantly haunt you. "Call of Pripyat" at the moment is the most "fresh" version of the game, in which the problem with iron is least likely to occur. “Shadow of Chernobyl” and “Clear Skies” are much older in this respect, and therefore they often refuse to be friends with new video cards.
Mods
When the Stalker was just released, the enthusiasm of the players knew no bounds. The game really gave a feeling of almost limitless freedom. GG could go anywhere, being almost unlimited in the direction of its movement. Time passed, enthusiasm became less and less.
It became clear that the developers are not going to return the cut-out locations, and the action in the game is not enough. It was then that MODs (modifications of the game) appeared, sometimes making truly global changes to Stalker.
The most famous was the AMK project, without which gamers with the experience of passing the Shadow of Chernobyl now are not advised at all. Some mods were very successful, some not very. But almost all of them have an XRay Engine error. “Call of Pripyat” is subject to this phenomenon much less for the reason that the mods for this game are much less.
So if you use MOD, there is only one way out - to communicate with its developer directly or to shovel hundreds of pages of forums, where players sometimes post good home-made "patches", which in certain conditions are really able to eliminate this error. Of course, one can not always hope for this, since in the case of the XRay Engine (“Call of Pripyat” in particular), it is difficult to say anything concrete.
Cheats
Other players who find some levels unnecessarily difficult are often too keen on cheats, with which you can build an unlimited number of weapons and equipment for yourself, get the best artifacts at your disposal.
As usual, you have to pay for everything. In this particular case, this is reflected in the loss of stability of the program, when the XRay Engine error in the "Stalker" begins to crawl out every few seconds. If this happens, try simply looking for a different version of the cheat. Fortunately, today on the Internet they can be found in thousands of copies. Finally, try to pass the difficult level honestly! Perhaps this way you will get much more pleasure from the game.
"Shamanism"
Alas, even the most logical and correct, at first glance, methods fail when it comes to this game engine. For example, if you are playing with a non-native permission, this may well be the cause of this error.
The resolution of your monitor is 1280x1024, but do you prefer to play on 800x600? It is likely that in the "Stalker" XRay Engine appears precisely because of this. Change the resolution to native (recommended for this monitor). In some cases, such a simple measure helps to completely eliminate the error.
Sometimes a problem occurs when you have a too small swap file. Ideally, its size should be twice the amount of RAM.
How to increase paging file size?
In fact, this is completely uncomplicated. To do this, right-click on “My Computer”, and then select the “Properties” item in the context menu. In the dialog box that opens, select the "Advanced system settings" option. Click on the “Options” button in the “Performance” item, and then select the “Advanced” tab. Then you need to click “Change” in the item “Virtual memory”, then enter the value you want there and left-click on “OK”.
Occasionally, a game can be started if the system has less than 512 MB of memory, but you should not do this: the XRay Engine error and terrible “brakes” still will not allow you to play.
Finally, it is necessary to say about the features of the game itself. It is advisable to disable extra points to improve the image. This statement is especially true when it comes to the "Stalker Call of Pripyat." XRay Engine very often appeared in version 1.6.0, when the player tried to set the maximum quality settings.
And more about the drivers. It is not so rare that an error annoys those users who have a discrete audio card in their computer. Try updating the drivers for it, and in especially difficult cases, disconnect the device from the Control Panel. Attention! Do this carefully, as otherwise you may lose all the sound on your computer.
What can be said at the end of our story? We wish you no mistakes to prevent you from setting new game records! We hope that our recommendations will help you in this matter.