[2020] launcher is broken, game won't launch, already tried reinstalling multiple times.

I removed some unacceptable text from your post. Please don't be insulting when you post, it doesn't help and won't get your problem fixed faster.

Mikesrevenge said: The idea of having a separate launcher after buying a game from a service like steam that already has all the functionality needed for mods and dlc

FYI there always was a launcher for this game that handled enabling/disabling mods, they were never handled by Steam. The only difference is now is the launcher is a separate app with its own dev team, so only one installation handles all the games instead of each one having its own launcher.


The launcher has installed and updated to 2020.15 successfully, according to those logs. But is having a Windows permissions problem trying to run:

2020-12-10 19:59:14 [launcher] [ERROR] Couldn't start the launcher:
%s fork/exec C:\Users\mckyi\AppData\Local\Programs\Paradox Interactive\launcher-v2.2020.15\Paradox Launcher.exe: The requested operation requires elevation.
2020-12-10 19:59:18 [main] [CRITICAL] fork/exec C:\Users\mckyi\AppData\Local\Programs\Paradox Interactive\launcher-v2.2020.15\Paradox Launcher.exe: The requested operation requires elevation.

I'm frankly not sure what could cause that, especially as it did work at one point, according to your narrative. You have specifically added the launcher .exe from that folder to the Ransomware exclusion list?

What if you run steam.exe as the Windows Admin user, does it get past that point?  

Mikesrevenge said: Perhaps is their a way to install mods without having to use the launcher to run them or are mods strictly tied to the launcher?

1. Find the file "dlc_load.json", located in Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/
2. Right click it and select Edit (this can be done in any text editor)
3. To enable mods, add them to the "enabled_mods" list

This is what your file should look like:

{
"disabled_dlcs":[],
"enabled_mods":["mod/ugc_1792575623.mod"]
}

You get those mod ugc_ filenames from the Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/mod/ folder.

Mikesrevenge said: By any chance does the launcher look for the game in a specific location?

It should find it wherever it is installed; all my games are on D: and it all works fine. I suspect you may have an new issue; if you run stellaris.exe from the new location does it start okay or error also?