game stuck initializing forever

[big bungo]

i just installed the game for the first time. no mods, one dlc that game with my game. i launch game and it's stuck "initializing game" endlessly. i sat and waited for 20 minutes before giving up and alt+f4ing. why is this happening? this is a fresh install, and i've never played the game before. i've tried deleting the folder, verifying file integrity, nothing works. what am i supposed to do?

[Rustling Leaves]

Nearly identical situation here, but right around the 20 minute mark I finally started hearing the main screen music, and after that it took less than 20 minutes to finally load the main screen. I was able to open the settings, but trying to click on the "account" button was too much and it got buggy :D
I've been playing the game on a pc, was trying to play it on laptop as I'm not in the same place as said pc rn, but apparently the cloud saves don't even work (there was only "new game", no "continue" or "load", and after a quick search that seems to be a common unsolved issue).

[big bungo]

Originally posted by Rustling Leaves:

Nearly identical situation here, but right around the 20 minute mark I finally started hearing the main screen music, and after that it took less than 20 minutes to finally load the main screen. I was able to open the settings, but trying to click on the "account" button was too much and it got buggy :D
I've been playing the game on a pc, was trying to play it on laptop as I'm not in the same place as said pc rn, but apparently the cloud saves don't even work (there was only "new game", no "continue" or "load", and after a quick search that seems to be a common unsolved issue).

for me, i can't even get that far. i never heard the main menu music, nothing. it just kept initializing, and initializing, and initializing.

no matter what i do, i get nothing. i've tried literally everything every post about this issue suggests to do. i'm really frustrated. i bought the game over a year ago so i can't even get a refund.

[Rustling Leaves]

Originally posted by big bungo:

Originally posted by Rustling Leaves:

Nearly identical situation here, but right around the 20 minute mark I finally started hearing the main screen music, and after that it took less than 20 minutes to finally load the main screen. I was able to open the settings, but trying to click on the "account" button was too much and it got buggy :D
I've been playing the game on a pc, was trying to play it on laptop as I'm not in the same place as said pc rn, but apparently the cloud saves don't even work (there was only "new game", no "continue" or "load", and after a quick search that seems to be a common unsolved issue).

for me, i can't even get that far. i never heard the main menu music, nothing. it just kept initializing, and initializing, and initializing.

no matter what i do, i get nothing. i've tried literally everything every post about this issue suggests to do. i'm really frustrated. i bought the game over a year ago so i can't even get a refund.

I feel ya there buddy. What kind of specs do you have? (I don't understand much at all about them, but whether you have high or low specs or whatever may be relevant.)

[big bungo]

Originally posted by Rustling Leaves:

I feel ya there buddy. What kind of specs do you have? (I don't understand much at all about them, but whether you have high or low specs or whatever may be relevant.)

my specs meet the recommended specs listed for the game on the steam page. exceeds it in some places, even. i've got an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card, 16GB RAM, and an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X processor. i don't believe this is a spec issue all things considered :(

[jpcerutti]

Originally posted by big bungo:

Originally posted by Rustling Leaves:

I feel ya there buddy. What kind of specs do you have? (I don't understand much at all about them, but whether you have high or low specs or whatever may be relevant.)

my specs meet the recommended specs listed for the game on the steam page. exceeds it in some places, even. i've got an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card, 16GB RAM, and an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X processor. i don't believe this is a spec issue all things considered :(

Graphics are an issue no matter what card you have. You would think they aren't with a map and little icon game, but you'd be wrong. Cap frame rates. Turn off V-Sync. Limit effects and graphics. Graphics will eat that card up and spit it out as hot plastic slag.

Edit: I have a RTX 2080, 64GB RAM, and an i9 Intel and I have frame rates capped at 60 and V-Sync off to keep the game playable and the cooling fans from screaming. I use mods, I don't remember what my initialization time was, that was more than a few years back, but each initial loadup takes about 4-5 minutes now.

[big bungo]

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

Graphics are an issue no matter what card you have. You would think they aren't with a map and little icon game, but you'd be wrong. Cap frame rates. Turn off V-Sync. Limit effects and graphics. Graphics will eat that card up and spit it out as hot plastic slag.

Edit: I have a RTX 2080, 64GB RAM, and an i9 Intel and I have frame rates capped at 60 and V-Sync off to keep the game playable and the cooling fans from screaming. I use mods, I don't remember what my initialization time was, that was more than a few years back, but each initial loadup takes about 4-5 minutes now.

i'm well aware. however, i can't even get to the main menu of the game so i can't make a judgement on whether the game will run smoothly on my computer. i was simply stating that my specs meet the recommended specs listed on the steam page, and that i don't think my issue is caused by my specs. my post is not about my game lagging. it's about it not even making it to the main menu.

again, this is the first time i've EVER installed the game. no mods. no dlc. never even launched the game before the day of making the post.

[jpcerutti]

Originally posted by big bungo:

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

Graphics are an issue no matter what card you have. You would think they aren't with a map and little icon game, but you'd be wrong. Cap frame rates. Turn off V-Sync. Limit effects and graphics. Graphics will eat that card up and spit it out as hot plastic slag.

Edit: I have a RTX 2080, 64GB RAM, and an i9 Intel and I have frame rates capped at 60 and V-Sync off to keep the game playable and the cooling fans from screaming. I use mods, I don't remember what my initialization time was, that was more than a few years back, but each initial loadup takes about 4-5 minutes now.

i'm well aware. however, i can't even get to the main menu of the game so i can't make a judgement on whether the game will run smoothly on my computer. i was simply stating that my specs meet the recommended specs listed on the steam page, and that i don't think my issue is caused by my specs. my post is not about my game lagging. it's about it not even making it to the main menu.

again, this is the first time i've EVER installed the game. no mods. no dlc. never even launched the game before the day of making the post.

Okay. My post isn't about lagging either, it is that minimum specs are minimum and about as accurate as 'suggested retail price'.

Who's OS? Those that are not Windows have their own issues. You got V-Sync disabled? That seems to be a common issue. Your swap file on the same drive as the game? That seems to be a common issue.

[big bungo]

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

Okay. My post isn't about lagging either, it is that minimum specs are minimum and about as accurate as 'suggested retail price'.

Who's OS? Those that are not Windows have their own issues. You got V-Sync disabled? That seems to be a common issue. Your swap file on the same drive as the game? That seems to be a common issue.

i said that i meet the recommended specs, not the minimum, and that i exceed some of the recommended specs.

i'm on windows 10, 64-bit. i can't check if v-sync is on because i can't get past the loading screen. i can't get to the main menu to get into the options. i have no idea what a "swap file" is. what is that and how would i check?

[jpcerutti]

Well, at least it's not Mac or Linux.

Not sure why you feel the urge to argue about overly optimistic specs they put out 4 years ago before every DLC updated the game, but okay. I'm not the manufacturer brother, I'm the free help, and specs for games are overoptimistic gar-bage they spit out to sell games. The only guarantee is if you do not meet specs it will not run no matter what you do. If you want to test my theory, go to CK3 in your steam library - properties - beta - 1.1.1 (chevron). THAT is the version they put out specs for.

Go to your NVIDA account and look at and adjust your settings - I don't have your card so I don't know what you will see specifically, but I have a picture of the CK3 game and can set and limit settings from there in my NVIDA account. Set it there.

If you don't have multiple drives your swap file will be on the same drive as the game. It is where the programs read/write to as they move information. If you have multiple drives you can either make room on your C drive for CK3, or, you can look up/google what a swap file is and how to move it. I would recommend moving other things from the C drive so there's room for CK3. If you don't set up a swap file correctly you can brick your computer til that gets fixed.

[big bungo]

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

Well, at least it's not Mac or Linux.

Not sure why you feel the urge to argue about overly optimistic specs they put out 4 years ago before every DLC updated the game, but okay. I'm not the manufacturer brother, I'm the free help, and specs for games are overoptimistic gar-bage they spit out to sell games. The only guarantee is if you do not meet specs it will not run no matter what you do. If you want to test my theory, go to CK3 in your steam library - properties - beta - 1.1.1 (chevron). THAT is the version they put out specs for.

Go to your NVIDA account and look at and adjust your settings - I don't have your card so I don't know what you will see specifically, but I have a picture of the CK3 game and can set and limit settings from there in my NVIDA account. Set it there.

If you don't have multiple drives your swap file will be on the same drive as the game. It is where the programs read/write to as they move information. If you have multiple drives you can either make room on your C drive for CK3, or, you can look up/google what a swap file is and how to move it. I would recommend moving other things from the C drive so there's room for CK3. If you don't set up a swap file correctly you can brick your computer til that gets fixed.

i'm not trying to argue, you're taking what i'm saying as hostile even though i'm just trying to respond to what you're saying. i apologize that the way i talk comes off rudely, it isn't my intention to be rude or start arguments. i just wanted to make it known that my specs meet the recommended specs listed, so i should in theory be able to run CK3 fine.

i've checked my nvidia control panel and geforce experience things, nvidia control panel is set to "use program setting", CK3 doesn't appear in the program list so i can't adjust it from there, and in geforce experience there is no option for v-sync.

if i need a swap file to run CK3 then i guess i just won't play it and i'll have to deal with the wasted money. i'm not tech savvy and can see myself messing it up. i'm not going to risk bricking my computer for a game i've never played. i'm not in a financial situation that would allow me to pay for someone to fix a bricked computer. thanks for the info regardless.

[jpcerutti]

Originally posted by big bungo:

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

Well, at least it's not Mac or Linux.

Not sure why you feel the urge to argue about overly optimistic specs they put out 4 years ago before every DLC updated the game, but okay. I'm not the manufacturer brother, I'm the free help, and specs for games are overoptimistic gar-bage they spit out to sell games. The only guarantee is if you do not meet specs it will not run no matter what you do. If you want to test my theory, go to CK3 in your steam library - properties - beta - 1.1.1 (chevron). THAT is the version they put out specs for.

Go to your NVIDA account and look at and adjust your settings - I don't have your card so I don't know what you will see specifically, but I have a picture of the CK3 game and can set and limit settings from there in my NVIDA account. Set it there.

If you don't have multiple drives your swap file will be on the same drive as the game. It is where the programs read/write to as they move information. If you have multiple drives you can either make room on your C drive for CK3, or, you can look up/google what a swap file is and how to move it. I would recommend moving other things from the C drive so there's room for CK3. If you don't set up a swap file correctly you can brick your computer til that gets fixed.

i'm not trying to argue, you're taking what i'm saying as hostile even though i'm just trying to respond to what you're saying. i apologize that the way i talk comes off rudely, it isn't my intention to be rude or start arguments. i just wanted to make it known that my specs meet the recommended specs listed, so i should in theory be able to run CK3 fine.

i've checked my nvidia control panel and geforce experience things, nvidia control panel is set to "use program setting", CK3 doesn't appear in the program list so i can't adjust it from there, and in geforce experience there is no option for v-sync.

if i need a swap file to run CK3 then i guess i just won't play it and i'll have to deal with the wasted money. i'm not tech savvy and can see myself messing it up. i'm not going to risk bricking my computer for a game i've never played. i'm not in a financial situation that would allow me to pay for someone to fix a bricked computer. thanks for the info regardless.

I'm not hostile, just blunt. I don't think you're hostile, just hung up on specs which will only indirectly be the issue IF they are an issue.

Just move other programs or files from the C drive to other drives to make room to install CK3 on the C drive.

Somewhere on your computer you have to be able to set your graphics settings. If you have an NVIDA account you can do it there too. You have to figure out how to do that, I do not have your rig or your card and cannot walk you through it.

Don't give up too easy and let them eat your money man.

If you don't like what I'm doing or saying go to the paid professional help site for the game - they are better than the free Steam help to begin with.

Paradox Forums - Crusader Kings III - Tech Support

[big bungo]

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

I'm not hostile, just blunt. I don't think you're hostile, just hung up on specs which will only indirectly be the issue IF they are an issue.

Just move other programs or files from the C drive to other drives to make room to install CK3 on the C drive.

Somewhere on your computer you have to be able to set your graphics settings. If you have an NVIDA account you can do it there too. You have to figure out how to do that, I do not have your rig or your card and cannot walk you through it.

Don't give up too easy and let them eat your money man.

If you don't like what I'm doing or saying go to the paid professional help site for the game - they are better than the free Steam help to begin with.

Paradox Forums - Crusader Kings III - Tech Support

sorry, i was getting hung up on specs because i was confused why my specs would matter in this situation. the only reason why i mentioned them was because i was asked what my specs are :(

i managed to find the setting in NVIDIA, v-sync was indeed disabled. i've turned it on, so hopefully that'll make a difference.

i installed CK3 to an internal drive that had plenty of space on it (over 400GB) but i can try to reinstall it on the C drive if you believe that could help. it has 122GB of space remaining on it. will report back when i reinstall and launch the game

[jpcerutti]

Originally posted by big bungo:

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

I'm not hostile, just blunt. I don't think you're hostile, just hung up on specs which will only indirectly be the issue IF they are an issue.

Just move other programs or files from the C drive to other drives to make room to install CK3 on the C drive.

Somewhere on your computer you have to be able to set your graphics settings. If you have an NVIDA account you can do it there too. You have to figure out how to do that, I do not have your rig or your card and cannot walk you through it.

Don't give up too easy and let them eat your money man.

If you don't like what I'm doing or saying go to the paid professional help site for the game - they are better than the free Steam help to begin with.

Paradox Forums - Crusader Kings III - Tech Support

sorry, i was getting hung up on specs because i was confused why my specs would matter in this situation. the only reason why i mentioned them was because i was asked what my specs are :(

i managed to find the setting in NVIDIA, v-sync was indeed disabled. i've turned it on, so hopefully that'll make a difference.

i installed CK3 to an internal drive that had plenty of space on it (over 400GB) but i can try to reinstall it on the C drive if you believe that could help. it has 122GB of space remaining on it. will report back when i reinstall and launch the game

No! V-Sync off please. It being on was an issue for some folks. leaving it on will give your card a hard time when the program does load. Do let us know if putting it on C drive worked.

[big bungo]

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

No! V-Sync off please. It being on was an issue for some folks. leaving it on will give your card a hard time when the program does load. Do let us know if putting it on C drive worked.

ohhhh! i misunderstood, i'll turn it back off then. good thing i saw this, i was about to launch the game haha. v-sync is back off, launching game now

[big bungo]

Originally posted by jpcerutti:

No! V-Sync off please. It being on was an issue for some folks. leaving it on will give your card a hard time when the program does load. Do let us know if putting it on C drive worked.

update: it worked! i'm so relieved. i guess the drive i had it installed to really was the problem, how bizarre. i really should keep drives in mind when installing games.

thanks for working me through this, and sorry for all the confusion earlier. and thank you for telling me not to give up, otherwise i probably would have haha. i'm excited to finally give this game a try