Selected Save Game could not be loaded. Downloadable Content missing.
Ok, so after weeks of solving other people's problems I've finally decided to sit down and play for a few minutes. I had played for half an hour or so back when I first got it working a few weeks back and tried resuming my game. Here's the error I received:
Selected Save Game could not be loaded. Downloadable Content missing. Module(s) in question: Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station
First of all, I'm not even sure I got those modules, since I bought the game on Origin by itself and I don't recall them being mentioned. Second, I've done nothing to my installlation of the game since I got it working other than playing it a couple of times that day. The error affects all of my saved games.
Just prior to receiving this error I received an error indicating that I had local saved games that weren't on the server. I _thinK_ I told it to use those, but honestly I'm short on sleep and I don't remember. It sounds like something I would do.
I've looked around and there are people with similar errors on ME2. I've found little in the way of solutions that don't involve losing the saved game. (I don't actually mind that, since I've invested very little time so far, but it would be good to know that I won't have this happen again when I do care)
So, anybody else have an issue like this or have any idea what I can do?
Edit: It turns out that another possible cause is that the DLC has difficulties with non-English settings. So if you're getting this error you might need to change the game back to English.
Ok, let's see if I can work out my steps.
THE PROBLEM:
Loading any of my saved games suddenly brought up a message that read "Selected Save Game could not be loaded. Downloadable Content missing. Module(s) in question: Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station"
I bought ME1 as a standalone game, which to the best of my knowledge did not come with either of these DLC. BDtS is free, but I didn't know that when this started. Either way, I had not installed either, and Origin had no mention of Pinnacle Station in my games list. However MassEffectConfig.exe did have mention of it, including a serial key for both DLC. Both keys had reached their maximum number of activations.
THE (HYPOTHETICAL) CAUSE:
ME1 thinks I had DLC that I did not, and some of it can incluence the game. How and why there was a change between when I played in August and when I resumed playing in September, I have no idea.
THE SOLUTION:
1. You're going to need to get the Pinnacle Station DLC. I can't say how this will go for you, since this is not free, but since I had this issue they gave me a copy at no charge. It wasn't clear to me if they realized that I hadn't purchased it, or if I was actually entitled to it. (IMO, I was entitled after the hours I've spent on this) If they want you to buy it, explain that you didn't have it in the first place, and holding your saved games hostage seems a little beyond the pale. (Feel free to use your own adjectives. I certainly wanted to.)
Two things might happen at this point. Either:
- a; it will appear in Origin as not installed. If this is the case, you can probably skip step 2. Just install the DLC and then open ME and see if the error message still mentions it. If it doesn't, skip step 2. If it does, continue to step 2.
- b; It will appear in Origin as installed. This is what happened to me. Try running ME and see if the error message has changed. If, like me, it didn't, continue to step 2.
2. Uninstall Mass Effect. :robotsurprised: Yeah. I resisted this, but assuming the fact is, something is wrong with the installation. You have no choice if you want to continue to access your existing games. (Further, there's no reason to think that this might not occur again in the future. Get it over with.) Once uninstalled, reinstall it via Origin.
3. You're going to need the other DLC. To get BDtS, you will first need to download it here:
http://lvlt.bioware.cdn.ea.com/bioware/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect/dlc/MassEffect_BDtS_EFIGS.exe
The above link is the newer version of BDtS, which can be differentiated from the original one by the fact that it doesn't require a product key, and by the fact that it's around 2.6x larger. So instead of around 300MB, it's a bit over 800MB. If you, like me, accidentally had the old one, give up on it and get the new larger one.
Installing BDtS is easy. Just make sure that Origin is open, then go to wherever you downloaded the file and run it.
4. Install Pinnacle Station. This should be done through Origin. Nothing to this step.
Once you've
been subjected torun through all of this, run Mass Effect again and try loading your game. It should work!
