Order of the Sinking Star Performance & Troubleshooting

Choose evidence that matches your machine

Note whether you are playing the full game or the historical demo, then record your platform, game update, resolution or display mode, and the scene where the problem occurs. On PC, include the CPU, GPU and RAM; on Deck, include any forced Proton version. A room that runs smoothly does not establish how the zoomed-out overworld will behave.

The published PC requirements are a hardware checklist. They do not attach a target frame rate or resolution to either specification tier. For the console's TV and portable differences, use the Switch 2 performance observations; for handheld PC settings and controls, use the Steam Deck guide.

Sources: Steam — official Windows requirements · Noah Kupetsky, SteamDeckHQ — full-game review and Deck settings · Muskar / tarmo888 and other players — June demo performance discussion · Jordan Biordi, CGMagazine — Switch 2 review

What the available performance reports actually show

These accounts make the scene important: overworld views and some mirror interactions deserve checking when deciding whether a setup feels comfortable. They do not establish a shared technical cause. In particular, the June Windows figures cannot certify the launch game's optimization, and a reviewer's 60 FPS in most Deck areas is not a locked-60 guarantee.

Sources: Noah Kupetsky, SteamDeckHQ — full-game review and Deck settings · Jordan Biordi, CGMagazine — Switch 2 review · Muskar / tarmo888 and other players — June demo performance discussion

Steam SDK incompatibility: the October 9 fix

The developer's October 9 notes say the game was moved to an older Steam SDK to avoid compatibility problems. The requirement became SteamClient021, or Proton v9 and above. SteamClient021 is the interface name used in the announcement; it is not an instruction to find a consumer installer called “Steam version 21”.

Install the game update through Steam and keep the Steam client current before retesting a launch or compatibility failure. If you have manually pinned an older Proton release, check that override against the stated v9 minimum. The notes identify a compatibility fix; they do not say every crash, frame drop or cloud-save problem had that cause.

1. Record the failure before changing the setup

   Keep the exact error text, the platform and any forced Proton setting. Identify the action that causes it, such as launching the game or entering a particular room.

2. Apply the matching update

   Allow Steam to finish the full game's update. For the SDK issue, the relevant change is the October 9 announcement; a Proton override must meet its v9-or-later condition.

3. Repeat the same action

   Relaunch and try the operation that failed. Reaching the expected menu or room without that error is the useful check on your setup. If the same failure returns, keep the error and reproduction details for support rather than treating the patch announcement as proof it worked.

   Completion signal: The previously failing operation works on your updated installation, or you have a reproducible remaining failure to report.

Sources: Thekla / halfwaydownltd — Update notes for October 9 · Arc Games Support — How do I report a gameplay bug?

E_INVALIDARG on Proton: a later, tentative fix

The October 12 part 2 announcement specifically targets an E_INVALIDARG crash under Proton on Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Linux. Its wording is tentative: the developer hopes the update fixes it. This is a later issue than the October 9 SDK change, so updating only to that earlier patch does not cover the newer announcement.

If that exact error is your symptom, install the available full-game update, then retry the same action that produced it. A successful retry is evidence for your installation; another E_INVALIDARG failure should be reported with the current update and Proton version. The note is not a general Windows fix or proof of improved frame pacing.

Sources: Thekla / halfwaydownltd — Update notes for October 12 part 2 · Arc Games Support — How do I report a gameplay bug?

Other October 9 fixes to compare with your symptom

R2 no longer speeds up time after the first puzzle solve

The patch addresses this when starting with Skipping Stones. After updating, repeat that input in the matching situation; the note does not change every platform's control mapping.

Undo sometimes fails while on a Rover

The developer lists a fix for this particular undo failure. It does not describe recovering every already damaged save.

Checkpoint or aspect-ratio trouble in particular levels

The notes mention some Skipping Stones checkpoint repairs and aspect-ratio corrections in a few levels. They do not identify every affected room or establish a fix for a console TV-output fault.

Retest only the operation matching your problem. These are Steam update claims, not confirmation that PS5 or Switch 2 received the same build. No save deletion, reinstall loop or custom display driver is required by these notes.

Sources: Thekla / halfwaydownltd — Update notes for October 9

Send a useful report without discarding progress

Arc Games' official bug-report page directs Order of the Sinking Star players to the game's Discord server and its #bug-reports channel. It also offers a support-ticket route. Use the official reporting instructions to reach the current channel.

Include the exact symptom, reproduction steps, platform, installed update, hardware and relevant settings. If a patch changed the behavior, say what worked before and what happens now. Preserve your progress while investigating: the cited notes supply no general save-reset remedy. For a save mismatch, the cloud-save guidance addresses synchronization separately.

There is no matched rollback procedure or universal save-recovery method in these update notes. Avoid downgrading files or replacing a save merely to imitate another user's setup; ask support about the identified failure when the documented update does not resolve it.

Sources: Arc Games Support — How do I report a gameplay bug? · Thekla / halfwaydownltd — Update notes for October 9 · Thekla / halfwaydownltd — Update notes for October 12 part 2