Game Failing to Launch after the Latest Update? Reinstall UE4SS!

[Evelyn, Sheath Cleaner]

If your Palworld installation was previously modded, there's a good chance you installed UE4SS manually (which was recommended, don't worry) as a requirement for many of the mods out there. If you use Vortex mod manager, it probably did it for you. Those files do not go away upon an update, and UE4SS seems to break upon every update.

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If your game DOES NOT start up at all (as in, doesn't show a black screen, a crash log, or anything), UE4SS is the culprit and needs to be uninstalled, but it seems you can simply reinstall it immediately afterward.

To uninstall UE4SS, go to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Palworld\Pal\Binaries\Win64 (This may be different for you) and delete all 3 of the UE4SS files in there.

You may still continue to crash afterward due to broken mods, but the game should now at least start and show a crash report when you do crash. Not sure what it is about the old installation of the same mod that breaks this way, but I've had this same issue with every update, so I'm confident it'll continue to happen with every update.

Afterwards, you can manually reinstall UE4SS from:
https://github.com/UE4SS-RE/RE-UE4SS/releases
Or you can let Vortex do it automatically next time you deploy your mods.

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If your game DOES start for a moment and then crashes with a serialization error of any kind, you have a broken or conflicting mod in your load order. Refer to this list for a list of some of them that are broken, here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1623730/discussions/0/4353366080398176331/

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If your game DOES start for a moment and then crashes with an access violation error, ensure that your UE4SS-settings.ini located in:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Palworld\Pal\Binaries\Win64 (by default)
has "bUseUObjectArrayCache" set to false.

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If nothing is working, uninstall Palworld through Steam, then go to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Palworld (or wherever your Palworld installation was at)
and delete anything remaining within, then reinstall Palworld.

Your Palworld saves aren't in there, so they should be safe, but if you'd like to back them up beforehand to be safe, I BELIEVE they're kept here:
%appdata%/Local/Pal/Saved

Once you install Palworld again, it should be clean and ready to play. If not, post your issue here and I'll assist.

[Evelyn, Sheath Cleaner]

If this helped you, leave a comment to keep this bumped to the first page to help the folk coming here for a solution.

[natty Nito]

Thank you! After removing UE4SS, the game stopped crashing.

[The Shadow Monarch]

my guy!!

[Gatlock]

trying to find a fix... and wtf? trying to remove it it just installs itself?

[Evelyn, Sheath Cleaner]

Originally posted by Gatlock:

trying to find a fix... and wtf? trying to remove it it just installs itself?

It shouldn't have the capability to do that itself; perhaps you have it as a mod in a mod manager, or the mod manager is injecting it on it's own?

EDIT: The same happened to me upon inspection. However these new files seem to work fine. I'll have to investigate further. Perhaps the dwmapi.dll file is recreating the UE4SS files when it sees they aren't there, as I never did delete it.

[Jaquento]

if you use vortex from nexus mods it reinstalls ue4ss

[Ferry]

Feels like a thread like this should be at the front

[Jessia]

Bummer, my favorite mods use UE4SS so I won't be playing the game until it's fixed. Wish pocketpair just gave us an option to remove all building restrictions, auto run key and have more bases for private servers. Game gets boring very fast for me without those.

[Evelyn, Sheath Cleaner]

Okay, so after a bit more research, once UE4SS has been deleted and reinstalled, it appears to function again, as well as mods that rely on it. I don't use any of the "less building restrictions" mods so I can't attest to them working personally, but it would be worth a shot.

If your game refuses to start up at all (as in, doesn't show a black screen, a crash log, or anything), UE4SS does needs to be deleted, but it seems you can simply reinstall it immediately afterward. Not sure what could be causing this, but I've had this issue with every update, so I'm confident it'll continue to happen with every update.

If your game DOES start for a moment and then crashes with a serialization error of any kind, you have a broken or conflicting mod in your load order. Refer to this list for a list of some of them that are broken.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1623730/discussions/0/4353366080398176331/

If your game DOES start for a moment and then crashes with an access violation error, ensure that your UE4SS-settings.ini located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Palworld\Pal\Binaries\Win64 (by default) has "bUseUObjectArrayCache" set to false.

If your game crashes after reaching the main menu, then you'll have to do a little troubleshooting yourself to find the exact issue, or post your issue here and I'll assist.

I've edited the OP to reflect this new information; hopefully it'll help a wider range of people now.

[Ferry]

Originally posted by Evelyn:

Okay, so after a bit more research, once UE4SS has been deleted and reinstalled, it appears to function again, as well as mods that rely on it. I don't use any of the "less building restrictions" mods so I can't attest to them working personally, but it would be worth a shot.

If your game refuses to start up at all (as in, doesn't show a black screen, a crash log, or anything), UE4SS does needs to be deleted, but it seems you can simply reinstall it immediately afterward. Not sure what could be causing this, but I've had this issue with every update, so I'm confident it'll continue to happen with every update.

If your game DOES start for a moment and then crashes with a serialization error of any kind, you have a broken or conflicting mod in your load order. Refer to this list for a list of some of them that are broken.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1623730/discussions/0/4353366080398176331/

If your game DOES start for a moment and then crashes with an access violation error, ensure that your UE4SS-settings.ini located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Palworld\Pal\Binaries\Win64 (by default) has "bUseUObjectArrayCache" set to false.

If your game crashes after reaching the main menu, then you'll have to do a little troubleshooting yourself to find the exact issue, or post your issue here and I'll assist.

I've edited the OP to reflect this new information; hopefully it'll help a wider range of people now.

Gotta keep this in mind incase I get issues

[Nerdex]

Originally posted by Evelyn:

If this helped you, leave a comment to keep this bumped to the first page to help the folk coming here for a solution.

FIXED MY ISSUE!

[Ferry]

Originally posted by Nerdex:

Originally posted by Evelyn:

If this helped you, leave a comment to keep this bumped to the first page to help the folk coming here for a solution.

FIXED MY ISSUE!

Yeah, it also helps alot its quite detailed.

[BongoThe]

never downloaded u-whatever. i just bought the game and literally can't play it.

[Evelyn, Sheath Cleaner]

Originally posted by BongoThe:

never downloaded u-whatever. i just bought the game and literally can't play it.

Okay? Provide more details as to your issue, and I'll see if I can help :P

[BongoThe]

Originally posted by Evelyn:

Originally posted by BongoThe:

never downloaded u-whatever. i just bought the game and literally can't play it.

Okay? Provide more details as to your issue, and I'll see if I can help :P

i just bought the game. i haven't even seen the main menu because every time i try to launch the game it crashes instantly.