[2020] Federations Broke Stellaris Launcher

Please try this:

- exit the Steam app entirely
- uninstall Paradox Launcher v2 from the Windows "Apps and features" utility, if still present.

Delete the following folders if still present:

- C:/users//AppData/Local/Programs/Paradox Interactive/
- C:/users//AppData/Local/Paradox Interactive/
- C:/users//AppData/Roaming/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2/
To see the AppData folder you'll need to enable View Hidden Items in File Explorer.

- run steam.exe as the Windows Admin user

- run the game from the PLAY button in Steam

IF that doesn't help, in this folder are some .log files:
C:/users//AppData/Local/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2/
Please attach them here.
\  

Certainly, but I need to be 100% sure you've done every step of the process I've devised for launcher issues.

FYI this is not a known issue with the launcher. What could break it between one time it runs and the next time I'm really not sure.

Did you read my bit about the launcher logs? If I can get those next time the problem happens please.  

Those logs go back 10 days so I'm afraid you can't have gone through my process above. In addition it's still using an old installer somehow, plus some other weird problems:

2020-10-18 17:05:05 [launcher] [ERROR] Couldn't start the launcher:
%s fork/exec C:\Users\Faggot\AppData\Local\Programs\Paradox Interactive\launcher-v2--openbeta--2020.13-rc.4\Paradox Launcher.exe: This version of %1 is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need a x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.

2020-10-18 17:05:06 [main] [CRITICAL] fork/exec C:\Users\Faggot\AppData\Local\Programs\Paradox Interactive\launcher-v2--openbeta--2020.13-rc.4\Paradox Launcher.exe: This version of %! (MISSING)is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need a x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.

Never seen those before and not 100% sure what to make of them, to be honest.


Let's try forcing an update of the launcher.

Download the installer package for Windows: https://forumcontent.paradoxplaza.com/emailsignatures/2020.13-win-prod.zip

Unpack the file you just downloaded and place the three files in the Steam folder for the game you're having issues with. If asked if you want to replace already existing files click "yes" - that's a sign you are in the right place!

Then please repeat the launcher reinstall procedure from before.

Don't opt into the beta of the launcher for the time being.

Let us see new logs if there are still problems then.  

Now you are only on launcher 2020.3 when 2020.13 is the current one. How that is possible using the 2020.13 installer files I linked for you above I cannot see. Are you confident you got the three files in the right place, they overwrote the three older ones?  

09richardk said: Yes. I can't imagine how or why the correct game files weren't downloaded after my fresh install, especially.

To be clear, you did manually extract the three files from the .zip I linked and move them to the Steam-Stellaris folder? So they overwrote the ones that Steam put there?  

What launcher version do you see now? Please attach the launcher logs, thanks.