Hoi 3 not loading

[Gucciepic13]

Hello I recently bought HOI3 and it does not load when I click to play the screen shrinks it plays music and shows the cursor but game does not appear

[GIJoe597]

There are many threads with suggestions on here. But I am going to suggest you refund this version and get the GOG.com version.

[ACG_Seb]

Hi Poppythechicken,

No need for a refund
Ok here goes ... I play ultra widescreen 3440x1440 in windows 11 and have got it working. This should work for both win10 and win 11 and make it stable

1) In your main game folder change the settings .txt file change the lines

size=
{
x=1024
y=768
}

to your resolution ie 1920x1080 would become

size=
{
x=1920
y=1080
}

THEN CHANGE THE LINE

fullScreen=yes
to
fullScreen=no

2) your documents folder find .... Documents\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron III open the settings txt there and do exactly the same (This is for windows 10 + 11)

size=
{
x=1024
y=768
}

to your resolution

THEN CHANGE THE LINE (again)

fullScreen=yes
to
fullScreen=no

3) Download podcat's TFH.exe from

https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003555778-Hearts-of-Iron-III-Replacement-executable-Podcat-s-exe-that-might-help-with-problems-on-Windows-10-?product=gog

and replace the original .exe

4) drop the dinput8.dll from
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14ZiJl1XJJ-F5ALCLxe8KQNoFW_7thAI2/view?usp=drive_link

into the game directory.

5) It should work perfectly ...

I hope that helps ... when I get a moment I'll do a more full guide.

[yoimcalvin]

Hey Seb,

I have a similar issue, mind helping out?

I tried your fixes, but it is showing up as 'file exception, virtualfilesystem.cpp line: 624' et al
It is showing up as missing some files, but I tried revalidating game files, its not showing up with anything missing.

Thanks.

[smokedyalol]

Originally posted by Seb:

Hi Poppythechicken,

No need for a refund
Ok here goes ... I play ultra widescreen 3440x1440 in windows 11 and have got it working. This should work for both win10 and win 11 and make it stable

1) In your main game folder change the settings .txt file change the lines

size=
{
x=1024
y=768
}

to your resolution ie 1920x1080 would become

size=
{
x=1920
y=1080
}

THEN CHANGE THE LINE

fullScreen=yes
to
fullScreen=no

2) your documents folder find .... Documents\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron III open the settings txt there and do exactly the same (This is for windows 10 + 11)

size=
{
x=1024
y=768
}

to your resolution

THEN CHANGE THE LINE (again)

fullScreen=yes
to
fullScreen=no

3) Download podcat's TFH.exe from

https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003555778-Hearts-of-Iron-III-Replacement-executable-Podcat-s-exe-that-might-help-with-problems-on-Windows-10-?product=gog

and replace the original .exe

4) drop the dinput8.dll from
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14ZiJl1XJJ-F5ALCLxe8KQNoFW_7thAI2/view?usp=drive_link

into the game directory.

5) It should work perfectly ...

I hope that helps ... when I get a moment I'll do a more full guide.

hi where do i find the game directory do i just put it in the hearts of iron 3 folder or does it need to be a specific folder im super new to to stuff like this.

[Montecalm]

Go into your steam library and click on manage, then browse local files.

[mjanchev]

Hey Seb, I have Windows 11 Pro. Don't know if that might be the reason why the game is not loading for me as well. I did all the steps you mentioned except the 2nd one "Documents\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron III" as I simply cannot generate the folder in 'Documents' because the game won't loading, despite all the other steps done.
So, do you have an idea why is that ;d Thanks :)

[mjanchev]

I just tried something posted ago. It runs, but it throws me out of the splash screen ;d

bradclark1 29 Oct @ 10:40pm 
    
In your steam HOI 3 folder .
All I did was change compatibility on hoi3_tfh.exe to winxp sp3 compatibility and check the "disable full-screen optimisations" below.
You also have to start the game directly from this exe file. Just make a shortcut wherever you like.
The steam ffolder has TFH in it so just do the above. I got this from Paradox forum
It works! If its not inthere uninstall and reinstall. it's in there

[paulrs]

Originally posted by ACG_Seb:

Hi Poppythechicken,

This worked perfectly for me. I bought the the game and add ons via GoG. Installed both and then followed the instructions below. Now working and loading perfectly in a Win 11 environment.

Nice One!


No need for a refund
Ok here goes ... I play ultra widescreen 3440x1440 in windows 11 and have got it working. This should work for both win10 and win 11 and make it stable

1) In your main game folder change the settings .txt file change the lines

size=
{
x=1024
y=768
}

to your resolution ie 1920x1080 would become

size=
{
x=1920
y=1080
}

THEN CHANGE THE LINE

fullScreen=yes
to
fullScreen=no

2) your documents folder find .... Documents\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron III open the settings txt there and do exactly the same (This is for windows 10 + 11)

size=
{
x=1024
y=768
}

to your resolution

THEN CHANGE THE LINE (again)

fullScreen=yes
to
fullScreen=no

3) Download podcat's TFH.exe from

https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003555778-Hearts-of-Iron-III-Replacement-executable-Podcat-s-exe-that-might-help-with-problems-on-Windows-10-?product=gog

and replace the original .exe

4) drop the dinput8.dll from
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14ZiJl1XJJ-F5ALCLxe8KQNoFW_7thAI2/view?usp=drive_link

into the game directory.

5) It should work perfectly ...

I hope that helps ... when I get a moment I'll do a more full guide.

[III./ZG76_saipan 17]

joke game cant work win 11

[AmpleNickel4262]

Anybody know how to fix disappearing counters (they don't' appear but flicker into existence when scrolling/zooming)

[Montecalm]

Originally posted by III./ZG76_saipan 17:

joke game cant work win 11

I am running it with Win 11 without problems and no crashes. The problem is on your end with your pc.

[jjcv2304]

I can't believe that people are using 3rd party exes to get a game, that is currently been sold, running. That sounds like a fantastic way to get in all kind of issues: malware, memory leaks, ... If it doesn't work...return it.

[GIJoe597]

Originally posted by jjcv2304:

I can't believe that people are using 3rd party exes to get a game, that is currently been sold, running. That sounds like a fantastic way to get in all kind of issues: malware, memory leaks, ... If it doesn't work...return it.

I am not 100% sure what 3rd party software you are typing about but podcat.exe is made by one of the developers of the game, Podcat. He made it on his own time to help extend the life of the game. It is offered on the Official Paradox website.