Coincidence or conspiracy? (Game crashed and won't relaunch)

[OhHeyItsLee]

On the 29th September (one day before the recent paid update (A.K.A. Shattered Space DLC) my game crashed.

It's not unusual (to be loved by anyone), especially with more than a few mods enabled, but the crash was... weird.
The game hung as if my PC were about to throw BSOD hissy-fit, only without that horrible audio glitch that accompanies such a terrifying moment. But instead it just closed and that was it. No error, no BSOD, nothing. Just my desktop with anime tiddies as the wallpaper.

However, upon attempting to relaunch the game, it just worked! Well, according Todd Howard it would. But nopety-nope! Any attempts to launch the game were fruitless, like a welcoming basket filled with excrement instead of apples, bananas and pears.

I just find it very coincidental that the crash happened so close to the latest update's release, and only a version of the game since its release to works. Any and all attempts I've made to play the game as it was before 30th September have failed. I'm not saying there's a conspiracy to force players to update the game, but I'm also not saying that Apple don't do that either. Double-negatives are confusing, sorry.

I've been trying to figure out why the game won't launch for the better part of the last couple of days, and I may or may not have figured it out.

Anyway, After having tried pretty much everything mentioned online regarding this problem I'm having with Starfield right now, I decided to actually use my own brain a little bit. I didn't expect it to work, but my brain does indeed still function. Somewhat, at least.

My troubleshooting so far points to a couple of DLL files that the game relies on as the culprit.
More specifically, the two files seem to have disappeared abruptly and for apparently no reason. This gave me flashbacks to when I was 8 years old and my adopted pet snail did a runner -- mum still reassures me to this day that she didn't step on him, and I believe her. Come back to me, Johnathon!

Restoring a manual backup of the game's directory did absolutely nothing to help resolve my issues. I wouldn't expect it to help with my declining mental health in the first place, but it was worth a try, I suppose. Oh, and it also didn't help the game launch either.

Anyway, I'm restoring my manual backup of the game directory once again, but this time with the two DLL files on hand to throw back in there once the transfer from my external HDD to my internal SSD is complete.

If this works, I'll be sure to give myself such a hard pat on the back that I'll need medical assistance for tearing ligaments in my shoulder tissue from the attempt. Oh, and I'll also report back here whether or not this works in making the game launch like a Spacer with a damaged and leaking jetpack. Minus the ceiling, of course.

My backup transfer is only at 63% after composing this wall of text, so it might be a while before I can confirm whether or not this fixes my game.

Thank you for reading my partially fictional not-so-short story, that I'm titling 'A Waste Of Space And Time, Vol. 1'.

[OhHeyItsLee]

Well, it worked. I've fixed my game!

For reference in case I or anyone else has an issue with the game not launching at all, here's some info that may help:

The two DLL files that disappeared are 'libxess.dll' and 'steam_api64.dll'.

To restore the files properly, make a backup of your game's directory and then verify the game's files/integrity through Steam. This will restore the two DLL files and anything else that's not part of the default installation. The DLL files will be in the same folder as the game's executable file (Starfield.exe)

Copy the two restored DLL files and place them into the backup directory that you made. To reiterate, they need to be in the same folder as the game's executable file 'Starfield.exe'.

EDIT: Also, remember to put your now-fixed backup directory back where the game runs from. I don't think I need to add this step, but it's something that I'd easily forget... and I did. Just now before originally typing out this update. Don't be stupid, don't be me.

Job's done, launch the game (and Spacers) until your heart's content.

[Langkard]

Originally posted by OhHeyItsLee:

It's not unusual (to be loved by anyone)

Internet rules state you must include the following whenever using that line:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS1cLOIxsQ8&t=1s

Originally posted by OhHeyItsLee:

Well, it worked. I've fixed my game!

That's good news!

[OhHeyItsLee]

Originally posted by Langkard:

Originally posted by OhHeyItsLee:

It's not unusual (to be loved by anyone)

Internet rules state you must include the following whenever using that line:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS1cLOIxsQ8&t=1s

Originally posted by OhHeyItsLee:

Well, it worked. I've fixed my game!

That's good news!

Ohh Will Smith looks so young there! Sadly, I was too young to appreciate the Fresh Prince Of Bell Air when it was on TV back in the day. You've made my day with that clip though, so thanks!

As for fixing my game, it's still working but now planets are missing textures on the system map, so I'm going to see if it can be fixed by restoring the Texture BA2 files from my backup. Sometimes I get more satisfaction from fixing Bethesda games than I do actually playing them.

[AuddieD]

Did you uninstall Creation Kit 2.0? It will delete two files and I believe those are the two.

EDIT: The planet thing should fix if you quit to the main menu and reload the game. I had the same thing and it has never come back.

[OhHeyItsLee]

Originally posted by AuddieD:

Did you uninstall Creation Kit 2.0? It will delete two files and I believe those are the two.

EDIT: The planet thing should fix if you quit to the main menu and reload the game. I had the same thing and it has never come back.

I haven't uninstalled the CK at all, but the DLL files disappearing has happened once before (a couple of months ago-ish), so I'm blaming it on my PC being dead old and giving up slowly, at least for the time being.

As for the planet textures, your suggestion may very well have worked, but I've only seen your reply since trying something else besides restoring BA2 files, so I'll assume your solution to it was what worked!

One of the potential 'fixes' for my original issue was to create an exception for Starfield in the 'controlled folder access' feature on Windows 11. After reverting that and disabled the feature entirely (it was already turned off before all of this anyway), planet textures on the map are back. But again, I'll assume your suggestion is what fixed it.

Sorry for all the walls of text! Just imagine what I'm like in person. Actually, don't. You'll go insane!

[AuddieD]

Originally posted by OhHeyItsLee:

Originally posted by AuddieD:

Did you uninstall Creation Kit 2.0? It will delete two files and I believe those are the two.

EDIT: The planet thing should fix if you quit to the main menu and reload the game. I had the same thing and it has never come back.

I haven't uninstalled the CK at all, but the DLL files disappearing has happened once before (a couple of months ago-ish), so I'm blaming it on my PC being dead old and giving up slowly, at least for the time being.

As for the planet textures, your suggestion may very well have worked, but I've only seen your reply since trying something else besides restoring BA2 files, so I'll assume your solution to it was what worked!

One of the potential 'fixes' for my original issue was to create an exception for Starfield in the 'controlled folder access' feature on Windows 11. After reverting that and disabled the feature entirely (it was already turned off before all of this anyway), planet textures on the map are back. But again, I'll assume your suggestion is what fixed it.

Sorry for all the walls of text! Just imagine what I'm like in person. Actually, don't. You'll go insane!

One thing I have started doing is not letting games install in any system folder in Windows 11, including "Program FIles" and "Program Files (x86)". I also moved all of the library folders off the system drive so "My Documents" is nowhere near Windows system files or directories. Security is great until the security guard tackles you every time you enter your own building. lol