Need to run steam to play?

[Jarwho]

The game isn't letting me play it as I "Have to run Steam and then open universe sandbox 2" even though I've tried it several times and it hasn't worked. please help!

[SapphireCarbuncle]

If you didn't have US2 in your library, I would say "buy the damn game."

But you have it, so I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps restarting your computer'll help?

[Jar]

Sorry for the issue. Users will occasionally report this issue, it seems like it can happen to a number of Steam games. Most users report back saying the issue resolved itself after some time.

First, please make sure you're launching Universe Sandbox ² directly from your Steam library, not a shortcut. Second, please make sure Steam is up-to-date. You can shut it down completely then restart, this usually helps.

[Machtyn]

I even went so far as to reinstall Steam and that failed. :(

Here's my process thus far:
1. Purchase game and install
2. Install got stuck on Microsoft VC Redist (2015) install
3. Manually install VC Redist packages
4. Start game and get stuck on Redist install
5. Uninstall game from Steam
6. Completely delete US2 folder ... and failed
7. Reboot computer
8. Completely delete US2 folder
9. Reinstall US2
10. Start game ... and failed with "Need Steam to run" error (I only launch from Steam client)
11. Restart Steam, restart game, fail
12. Download SteamSetup and reinstall Steam Client
13. Start Steam, start game ... and failed
14. Reboot computer
15. Start Steam, start game ... and failed

The game is actually running in the background with the popup asking me to have Steam running. ... With Steam's client UI running in the background. Go figure.

Oh, and mouse control does not work in the game. (I can't click the OK button, just click Enter key to close it.)

https://imgur.com/gallery/VCTPr

Windows 10 - all latest updates
AMD Phenom II 945
GeForce 1060
16GiB RAM
Lots of HDD space

[Dan Dixon]

I'm really sorry it's been so much trouble for you.

Looks like you've tried everything, but here's the list of things to try when you have this problem:
http://universesandbox.com/support/steamrequired

Did Microsoft VC Redist (2015) install ever install correctly for you?

[Machtyn]

Thanks, Dan. I'll look over that list. I wanted to answer your question. It appears the 2015 MS VC Redist x86 got installed, but x64 didn't. And when I tried to install x64, it didn't want to because I had 2017 MS VC Redist x64 installed.

I uninstalled all 2017 and 2015 redist packages, and installed 2015 x86 and x64 redist successfully. Starting the game produced the same result. I'll do a reboot here in a moment and then try that list.

I do have Universe Sandbox and really enjoy it. I'm looking forward to seeing the improved graphics and mathematics in the US2. (I'm also curious to know if you will be leveraging the parallel processing of graphics cards for the simulations.)