HELP My Game Won't Start (Including Mac Flickering/Black Screen)

[David Estes Creations]

If you're getting stuck on the launcher, or your screen launches to a flickering or solid color screen, there is a workaround!
First, you can try to add these launch parameters before starting the game:

• On Steam, right-click Big Ambitions and go to "Properties".
  
• In the "General" tab, add this to the "Launch Options" section:
  
• -screen-quality Low -screen-fullscreen 0 -screen-width 1024 -screen-height 768

Disable "Game Mode" for the Mac, as that can sometimes cause issues.

Restarting the computer sometimes fixes it, and if not, reinstalling the game often does the trick.

If it's still not working, reverting versions might clear the issue:

• On Steam, right-click Big Ambitions and go to "Properties".
  
• Under "Betas", choose "EA 0.5".
  
• Then let the game update back to EA 0.5.
  
• Try to launch the game, then exit the game.
  
• Go back to "Properties" and select "None" to switch to the current version.
  
• Let the game update to the latest version.
  
• Try to launch the game.

---

Otherwise, if your game won't launch, here are some steps to try:

Uninstall Demo or Playtest Versions from Steam, if installed:
1. On Steam, delete the demo or playtest versions.
2. Test the game

Clear savegame data
1. Inside your Steam library, right-click Big Ambitions and select Properties
2. Under General remove the tick in "Keep games saves in the Steam Cloud for Big Ambitions" and close the window.
3. Press Win key + R (Run) and enter: %userprofile%\appdata\locallow\Hovgaard Games\
4. Rename the "Big Ambitions" folder to "Big Ambitions_old"
5. Test the game.

Clear registration database data
1. Press Win key + R and enter regedit
2. Navigate to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\
3. Find and delete the folder called "Hovgaard Games"
4. Test the game.

Reinstall game:
1. Uninstall Big Ambitions
2. Delete the following folder: {drive letter}:\Steam\steamapps\common\Big Ambitions
3. Reinstall Big Ambitions
4. Test the game.

[mirzazadeh2000]

any suggestions for M1 Mac users as to why the game wont start? TIA

[David Estes Creations]

Originally posted by mirzazadeh2000:

any suggestions for M1 Mac users as to why the game wont start? TIA

Hello - we'll need more info about the type of mac in order to answer!

[El Presidente]

Is there a launch command I can use to force a resolution as the game keeps crashing because it can't set the resolution.

[ferral97]

hi mine load to where the writting comes up on screen n has continue at bottom n thats it i cant click continue theres no cursor

[Axalotal]

Originally posted by ferral97:

hi mine load to where the writting comes up on screen n has continue at bottom n thats it i cant click continue theres no cursor

I'm having the same problem

[Panzer]

I followed all the instructions,
loading screen stays at 45% and switches to desktop.
What else can I do about this problem? How can you help?

[David Estes Creations]

Originally posted by Panzer:

I followed all the instructions,
loading screen stays at 45% and switches to desktop.
What else can I do about this problem? How can you help?

This issue you're having is something impacting a group of players due to some updates in this recent patch to prevent crashing. The devs are working to fix it with a new patch soon!

[ProTayaan]

Originally posted by David Estes Creations:

Originally posted by Panzer:

I followed all the instructions,
loading screen stays at 45% and switches to desktop.
What else can I do about this problem? How can you help?

This issue you're having is something impacting a group of players due to some updates in this recent patch to prevent crashing. The devs are working to fix it with a new patch soon!

I'm currently having the same issue with the loading screen crashing at 45%. Thanks for the update

[o.sander]

die noch problema haben laded dies runter https://www.dllme.com/dll/files/lib_burst_generated/349e8855bd0d5bf845fc6e1debc853c5
und endpacke dies da rein C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Big Ambitions
C:\Windows\System32
C:\Windows\System
ps endpacken und nicht das ganze rein

[CrashSerious]

Many months back I purchased this game and had to return it because it would start up, but you couldn't get past a certain point in loading a new game. I had a AMD Radeon RX 570 card which should have ran it just fine. The card was kind of flaky though and would sometimes leave artifacts on the screen, screen tearing in high graphics games, and lose sync and blank the monitor.

I upgraded the card to a Radeon RX 6650 XT-- and now teh game works in the same system, just a new video card!

[David Estes Creations]

Originally posted by CrashSerious:

Many months back I purchased this game and had to return it because it would start up, but you couldn't get past a certain point in loading a new game. I had a AMD Radeon RX 570 card which should have ran it just fine. The card was kind of flaky though and would sometimes leave artifacts on the screen, screen tearing in high graphics games, and lose sync and blank the monitor.

I upgraded the card to a Radeon RX 6650 XT-- and now teh game works in the same system, just a new video card!

Glad it's working now! The game definitely needs a good video card right now to run smoothly, so that makes sense! Enjoy your new empire on the new graphics card!

[denparf]

Originally posted by David Estes Creations:

Originally posted by mirzazadeh2000:

any suggestions for M1 Mac users as to why the game wont start? TIA

Hello - we'll need more info about the type of mac in order to answer!

I am using 13-inch, M1, 2020 and the "Start Game" button doesn't work in the main menu

[David Estes Creations]

Originally posted by denparf:

I am using 13-inch, M1, 2020 and the "Start Game" button doesn't work in the main menu

Hello - what happens when you press start?

[d_wood8133]

any update on when the next update will be released to allow the game to load past 45%

[David Estes Creations]

Originally posted by d_wood8133:

any update on when the next update will be released to allow the game to load past 45%

Hello! EA 0.2 will be released Monday morning (CEST). We've updated Unity versions again to try to avoid the issue presented by that DLL file, so hopefully that is gone Monday!

The problem is a certain DLL file is causing issues with some people's systems. But, if you delete "lib_burst_generated.dll" from your Big Ambition game files, it should allow the files to load properly. If there are any issues like that reported in the new versions, I'll report them in the pinned "known bugs" post!