Black screen over the main menu

[-->TheFakeSlimShady<--]

The game works normally until it gets to the main menu, where I can hear the soundtrack normally and even click singleplayer, multiplayer, exit and more, but I can´t see them due to a black screen over them. I don´t have such a problem with the first part of the game (AoE: Definitive Edition).

Please help!

[FE_ag]

Hi Iv@N,

Thank you for your report! Is this a recent issue that you're experiencing?

Here are a few steps that may solve it:

1. Verify your files in the Steam Library -> Age of Empires II -> Right click -> Properties -> Local files -> Verify.

2. Add the whole game folder to your antivirus exception list. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE is the default

3. Update your graphic drivers and check Windows updates.

4. Close as many programs as possible before starting the game.

5. Disable Enhanced Graphics if you have them enabled.

Please comment again if this issue persists after these steps!

[CUE]

I have the same problem, black screen since the February 1 update, and they have never fixed it.

[FE_ag]

Hi CUE,
Thank you for your comment. Have you tried the steps above to see if they solve the problem? Issues that occur right after an update can often be solved with those steps.

[CUE]

You always say the same answer, every month, assuming that it is the user's fault and not the game. I have tried all that and much more, but I have been unable to play for 7 months now.

A "black" copy from before February works perfectly, there is something in that update that causes the game to not work.

[FE_ag]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von CUE:

You always say the same answer, every month, assuming that it is the user's fault and not the game. I have tried all that and much more, but I have been unable to play for 7 months now.

A "black" copy from before February works perfectly, there is something in that update that causes the game to not work.

Hi CUE,

We offer some first steps in response to selected issues for two reasons:
1) If the steps are successful, the issue is resolved very quickly for the player.
2) If the steps are not successful, we can investigate further knowing that it is not a local issue.

I'm happy to investigate your case if you can verify that the shared steps did not help! If you tried these seven months ago, please do try them again now, especially since there have been updates since.

Thank you!

[CUE]

Every update I test the game, but it doesn't work. Then I uninstall it, deleting the game/settings folder to start as if it was the first time. I install the game again, verify the files, add it to the antivirus, try with several versions of the graphics drivers, deleting them previously with DDU... but nothing works.

And this happens with every update. I have sent you logs, even the extended ones, but nobody seems to do anything. I'm not happy, I've paid for a game and several DLC, I've played more than 450 hours without any problems, and suddenly it stops working in an update.

It's something related to nVidia, that's for sure. If I disable the nVidia in the device manager I can play with the integrated Intel, but at 4-6 fps.

[FE_ag]

To clarify, did you try all the steps shared when the latest update was released? Including disabling mods and enhanced graphics? We only recommend using the latest version of your graphics drivers as well as the latest version of Windows.

A definitive yes to this question is needed, so we can investigate.

If yes, could you please share a quick video of you attempting to launch the game and start a Single Player Skirmish match, so we can observe the issue?

Assuming you are on Windows 10 you can do this by pressing Windows Key + Alt + R to start screen recording. You can then find the file here: C:\\Users\YourUser\Videos\Capture You can send that file to us via gofile.io (please share the generated link here in a comment).

Please also share your DxDiags (https://support.ageofempires.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052783111-How-to-find-information-for-troubleshooting-with-Support).

Thank you!

[CUE]

Are you laughing at me? I've already told you that in every update I try all those steps and more. And no, I don't have any active mods, I'm not subscribed to any and I always disable the ones for events.

Share a video? The menu is a black screen, I only hear music in the background, but I can't run a game.

What does XGS do with all the files sent? Do they throw it directly to the recycle bin? I have sent the dxdiags, logs and extended logs several times, to support, on the forum, to IkoKnight, who confirmed that my ticket is still open. Tell me where I can send everything again and get them to listen to me, as I can see that they don't on the forum.

[FE_ag]

You can share the relevant files with us via gofile.io - simply share the generated link in this thread.

Please include your dxdiag and a short video of you attempting to launch the game and observing the issue.

Please also describe how you exit the game, do you simply use Alt + F4?

Please also check your log folder to see if any recent mdmp files were generated. They can be found in “C:\Users\USER\Games\Age of Empires 2 DE\logs” and have this format "AoE2DESteam-58115-2022.01.19-15.05.33.mdmp". If yes, please share these too.

Thanks.

[TheGodfather626]

Hey guys, any luck on getting it to work yet? I'm genuinely curious about this.

[TheGodfather626]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von CUE:

Every update I test the game, but it doesn't work. Then I uninstall it, deleting the game/settings folder to start as if it was the first time. I install the game again, verify the files, add it to the antivirus, try with several versions of the graphics drivers, deleting them previously with DDU... but nothing works.

Guys, I think I found a fix to this bug we all got and so far, it seems to be staying fixed, (Hopefully it'll work for you guys too.) Here's the chain of events from about 3-4 days ago to this morning:

(TL:DR at bottom)

1. Closed AoE2:DE after 5 minutes of the black screen.
2. Verified the files and tried again. (Failed.)
3. Pressed "Uninstall" on Steam and reinstalled the game pressed "Play". (Useless.)
4. Went to "C:\Users\{username}\Games\Age of Empires 2 DE\{userId}\mods" folder and accessed "mod-status.json" to turn off all mods and tried again. (Nada.)
5. Pressed "Uninstall" again, (this time made sure delete any AoE2:DE files that the uninstall missed), reinstalled, verified files, and then pressed play. (Failed, but the accessibility text reader was turned back on.)
6. Used the Voice AI to guide me to Settings -> Mods, then used it to help me uninstall my most recent mods (by name since AoE2:DE doesn't have a "Date Installed" tab). (Temporary Success. After deleting enough mods, the blackness when away I could get do the day's event challenge.)
7. The next day (after I turned off the game when I completed my challenge), the Black Screen bug came back, so I repeated Step 6, (This time, deleting random mods to figure out what was going on), and after deleting several mods, the bug went away again. (Again, Temporary Success, but at least I could do this day's challenge before testing what was causing this bug.)
8. The Next Morning, I tried just starting up the game and leaving it on for a few hours, just in case the bug could be waited out. (Failed, because I forgot to turn off Screen Saver Mode/Auto Sleep for this test and it froze my laptop, (by turning it off and on again, my laptop is fixed.)
9. Went to see how to update the drivers for my GPU (Nvidia GeForce MX150). Apparently, Nvidia's "GeForce Experience" (or "GFE" for short) App can update it relatively easy, so I downloaded and installed it. After making an (Free) account to use it and logging in, it took me to the homepage and I saw that AoE2:DE could be launched from GFE, (I would try it later if updating the drivers didn't fix it.)
10. After updating the drivers, I then went to Steam and pressed "Play" and by now, I was sick of the intro, so i skipped it. (Success.)
11. After doing the challenge for the day, I went to bed. When I woke up today, I went to check if it really was fixed (while I still had time.) I pressed "Play" and in a few seconds, I was in the main menu with no black screen again. (There was an issue in that I couldn't access multiplayer or the next event challenge, ("Error Code: 0xfffffffe" it told me) after a quick test, I found out that Steam was glitching, so I logged off and logged back into Steam, started up AoE2:DE again, now I can access the challenges again.), Suffice to say, I think it's fixed.

(TL:DR)

After trying a bunch of stuff, (Verified the files, uninstalling and reinstalling, File editing, etc.) I downloaded Nvidia's "GeForce Experience" app to update my GPU's drivers and it solved the problem.

[-->TheFakeSlimShady<--]

Thanks a lot to the developers and other guys for their help, the problem is solved. The problem was in the version of windows that I did not update. I hope that the other players will also solve the problem.
I have one more small request, and that is to add Croats and Serbs as playable civilizations in the future. :)

[TheGodfather626]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Iv@N 122:

Thanks a lot to the developers and other guys for their help, the problem is solved. The problem was in the version of windows that I did not update. I hope that the other players will also solve the problem.
I have one more small request, and that is to add Croats and Serbs as playable civilizations in the future. :)

Glad I could be of help!