For a mission-load crash or freeze, record the exact mission and build, verify Steam files, then disable DLSS and Frame Generation separately while preserving the affected save and logs.
Classify the loading failure
Distinguish three symptoms: a loading screen that continues without completion, a window that becomes unresponsive, and a direct exit to the desktop. Record whether it happens when starting an expedition, landing in a mission, entering a named arena, or returning to the colony.
Also test whether every save and mission fails or only one state reproduces it. That boundary matters more than assuming all loading problems share one repair.
Apply the official first checks
Install the latest patch, then use the developer sequence:
- verify Steam game files;
- disable DLSS and retest; and
- disable Frame Generation and retest.
Change one item at a time. If only a specific save or mission fails, keep that save available for reporting instead of deleting the whole LocalLow folder.
Use AG-12 as build context, not a universal fix
AG-12 fixed several specific cases in that build: some save-loading failures, a Scourgeborn Arena crash, a Borderless-mode crash involving FSR Frame Generation, and tutorial-battle loading behavior. Those notes can identify a historical match and justify updating.
They do not prove that every present mission-load failure has the same cause. Record the current build and symptom before citing AG-12, and do not enable or disable an unrelated feature merely because it appeared in an old fix list.
Preserve the save, log, and environment
Exit the game before copying save data. Keep the original and a backup rather than overwriting the only copy. Collect hardware, Windows version, storage type, video settings, display mode, reproduction steps, and the relevant log and save requested by support.
The save-location guide separates official Steam Cloud and automatic-backup facts from the independently documented local Windows path.
Treat case reports as case reports
In one return-to-base discussion, moderator guidance included waiting for loading, verifying files, checking SSD installation context, and submitting specifications, settings, logs, and saves. Another mission-load thread includes official or moderator platform context. These are useful reporting patterns, but they do not guarantee that waiting, an SSD, or one launch option repairs every case.
Keep Windows and Proton branches separate
The supplied official requirements list Windows. A Linux or Proton -dx11 experiment reported by an individual user is not an official guarantee. If reproducing outside Windows, label the platform clearly and keep that experiment out of the main supported sequence.
Escalate with a narrow reproduction
If the official checks do not help, report the exact build, mission, failure type, save scope, hardware, settings, and logs. State which step changed nothing. Do not delete all saves, all configuration, or the whole LocalLow tree before support can inspect the evidence.
If the symptom is an objective that stops advancing rather than a load failure, use the Space Resources softlock guide to separate the historical tutorial-order issue from the shipped flow fix.