AndrewT

Disabling mods does not remove effects they have already had on the saved game file.

You could try the User Mods forum here, or contact taht mod's author.


Do let us know here if you have any problem with a galaxy that's never had any mods used in it!  

Every time there is a game or launcher update, you get a new .exe file. Avast or any AV app will be suspicious of a changed .exe file , after all from its perspective that change might be from a malware infection.

So whatever you need to do to get a particular game or launcher version running, you may need to do again after an update of those.  

You sent me a picture of someone else's launcher?

Can we see yours please?  

You don't have to turn off Avast or AVG, just tell them to leave stellaris.exe and paradox launcher.exe alone! Their support ought to be able to help you with that.

Why those two AV apps are so troublesome with our games in general (not just Stellaris FYI) I have no idea, but especially with Avast it has happened many times over the years. Something in their detection processes logs false positives on some of our apps, even unrelated ones.

I don't recall any similar issues with Malwarebytes, for one.  

That has fixed the launcher problem, you now have a separate issue with the game, most likely.

What happens when you run eu4.exe directly from File Explorer? Does it start when run that way?  

There was no settings.txt either, is that right?

In the game launcher please set Display mode to Borderless. THEN go here:

Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads

This article lists the download links for the latest versions of Visual C++ Redistributable packages. support.microsoft.com And run the x86 and x64 installers there. ... Read more

That launcher is really old. And you are on game version 1.17 ... ?

If you have opted into any older game version in the Steam Betas tab for the game, so you get onto the current patch 1.34.x . Does the launcher update itself too then? It ought to be 2021.10.1  

I am not aware of an MP issue on Macs when playing with Windows users, no.


Does this happen in any new test game you might start, or just in one particular campaign?

Does it matter who is host?

Any mods involved?

If you all use the same in-game language - English preferably - is it any better?  

Has this game ever worked for you? Or never yet?

I see you have CK2 and Stellaris, do they work okay for you?

You may as well update that nVidia driver to December 2021:
Download Drivers | NVIDIA
IF that doesn't help:
Please attach here your Documents/Paradox Interactive/EU4 Gamepass/settings.txt and pdx_settings.txt .
From your Documents/Paradox Interactive/EU4 Gamepass/logs/ folder, attach here system.log , error.log .  

Sorry, but I don't work overnight, only my daylight hours.


Just to be clear you are saying the current game version 1.32.x is started okay with an older launcher, but not the most recent one 2021.10.1?

What happens if you run eu4.exe directly from File Explorer?  

Mikke II said: I tried following your steps exactly. The launcher download took a long time and seems the revision changed but game still failed to start.

1. I uninstalled / reinstalled the game
2. I downloaded the new launcher and copied it into the STEAM installation folder and replaced the existing files
3. I deleted the launcher app in windows + all the 3 folders manually
4. I started the game in STEAM. The launcher download was not successful

Screenshots and log files below. Please help to let me know how to proceed.

...

Read more

Let's try forcing an update of the launcher.

Download the installer package: https://forumcontent.paradoxplaza.com/emailsignatures/2021.8-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:

- 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/Roa... Read more

In the game launcher please set Display mode to Borderless. THEN go here:

Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads

This article lists the download links for the latest versions of Visual C++ Redistributable packages. support.microsoft.com And run the x86 and x64 installers there.

IF that doesn't help, Has the game ever run OK on thi... Read more

From that trace the crash is in the Intel video driver. This game is not supported on Intel video systems, but that normally just means it runs slow, not crashes.


DXDIAG is a program you run from the Windows search box on the task bar. After running it will open a window and start collecting info with a progress bar in the lower-left corner. When it completes click the 'save all information' button and save it to a file then attach that file here.

Please attach here your Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/settings.txt and pdx_settings.txt .
From your Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/logs/ folder, attach here system.log  

In this folder are some .log files:
C:/users//AppData/Local/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2/
Please attach them here.  

angryguy said: I don't see an error log anywhere, and have no idea how to create one.

You don't need to make it, it's there already. I detailed the location in post #2 above, are you having some trouble following that?  

It is possible to tell the game and launcher to store saves and log files and settings elsewhere, but it is fiddly, and might need to be redone nay time there was a game update. A better approach is to fix the root cause of the problem IMO.

Did you try the launcher beta, as I suggested?

Failing that you may need to get AVG's help in setting this up to work properly - I know it is possible because other AVG users have done it.  

These all read like antivirus app issues, and AVG is known to have a problem with the current launcher version 2021.10.1 . What if you opt into the beta of the next launcher version 2022.1 ? That's done in Launcher Settings.

That aside there must be more you need to do in AVG to allow the launcher and game to read and write where they like. You may need help from their support for that.

I assume running stellaris.exe directly at least allows you into the game?  

Please do a full **clean** re-install:

- move any valued save games elsewhere, and user_empire_designs.txt from /Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/ if you have made any custom empires or races.
- "uninstall" in Steam-Stellaris
- manually delete both the Steam/SteamApps/common/Stellaris AND Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris folders
- re-install game in Steam, run a Steam Verify when done.
- add stellaris.exe to the exceptions list of your antivirus app; ESPECIALLY if you have Windows Defender, add it to the Ransomware "Apps Allowed Through" list.
- start the game with no mods active and test

In particular you need to make sure there are no files or folders left under either the Steam Stellaris or Documents Stellaris locations, before installing again.  

Did you try everything up in post #6 ?