Age Of Wonders 4 puts you in the shoes of a ruler of a magical realm where you need to use different strategies and turn-based combat to expand your empire. Despite being praised widely by critics and fans alike, the game has some major issues with players reporting crashes, freezes or stutters during loading.
This guide will tell you how to fix Age of Wonders 4 not loading or launching.
Age of Wonders 4 Not Launching, Crashing,Freezing & Loading
There are a couple of solutions to fix this issue which includes the following troubleshooting methods:
1. Verify the integrity of game files
The easiest way to fix any potential crash or stutter during loading is to check for any corrupted or missing game files. Launch Steam and then right-click on Age of Wonders in the game library to select the properties option. Head over to the Local Files tab and then click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
2. Switch to the “hotfix” branch
If you are facing issues with the stable branch of the game then it is probably best to switch to the beta branch as it can contain potential hotfixes to prevent the crashing issue.
Open Steam and then right-click on Age of Wonders 4 in your library to select the Properties option. Go to the Betas tab and choose the hotfix-Branch of emergency fixes option. After selecting it, the game will download and install an update containing hotfixes that can fix the crashing issue.
3. Remove the “Video.DisplayAdapterID” file from the Documents folder.
The third troubleshooting method requires you to navigate to the save location of the game in the Documents Folder. Navigate to the following directory and open the following file: Documents\Paradox Interactive\Age of Wonders 4\Config\PlatformSettings0.cfg
Use a text editor like Notepad to edit the file and remove the following line: Video.DisplayAdapterID.Change the Video.DisplayAdapterName to the name of the graphics card currently installed on your computer.
4. Bypass Paradox Games Launcher
If you are using the Paradox Launcher to start the game then it’s better to launch the game directly from the folder itself instead of using the launcher.
Open Steam and then right-click on Age of Wonders 4 to select the Browse Local Files option. This will open the game’s directory where you can directly launch the game by double-clicking on the .exe file instead of using the Paradox Launcher.
5. Update your graphic card drivers.
If you are using an older or outdated version of a graphics card driver then it is highly recommended that you update to the latest version of the GPU drivers available. This will fix any crashes or stutters that you encounter with the game.
Head over to the website of your graphics card vendor such as AMD, NVIDIA or Intel and download the latest version available for your computer. Make sure to perform a clean install if you are facing issues.
Hopefully, these methods will fix any crashing issues that you encounter with the game!