Doesn't launch with Steam

I'm not sure whether this is a Steam bug or a C2 bug, but I can't launch Construct 2 Personal on Steam with Windows XP Service Pack 3.

I'm using a Windows XP fully updated and I've tried all of these steps:

-Reinstalling Steam

-Reinstalling Construct 2

-Validated/verified the appcache

-Restarted my computer

-Fixed my registry

-Disabled firewalls etc.

All of these things with a lot of different combinations, but without success.

I can see that Steam is about to open a new window, but it just flashes for a second and hides again. When I click on "Launch" multiple times, after a while, it says that Construct 2 is already active when it's not?

Sometimes I also get an error message telling me that it failed to "start game with shared content, please update construct 2 free".

Not sure if I posted this the correct place though, but any ideas? This is so annoying because there's nothing more I'd like to do right now than to play with C2!<img src="smileys/smiley19.gif" border="0" align="middle" />

Thanks,

Christoffer

Have you tried updating your graphics card driver? That can cause problems sometimes.

I get this message when I use Intel Detect:

A customized computer manufacturer driver is installed on your computer. The Intel Driver Update Utility is not able to update the driver. Installing a generic Intel driver instead of the customized computer manufacturer driver may cause technical issues. Contact your computer manufacturer for the latest driver for your computer.

I think it's time to run a virtual machine on my Mac. That should help with the graphics card related bugs, I assume?

Thanks.

Yeah, that's a bad sign, since it means your PC/laptop manufacturer has likely given you very old drivers and not bothered to update them. You can try checking from your manufacturer's website for drivers (e.g. the Dell website if it's a Dell PC), but they still might be old ones.

A format and update to Windows 7 would likely also give you better drivers too, since many graphics card vendors don't bother updating XP any more either. (And even if it's not the problem, it might fix it anyway :P)

I see, but what'd you recommend using, W8 or W7? I'm a Mac guy so I don't keep updated in the Windows world, but I've heard some bad rumors about W8.

I really appreciate your help so far!

The Windows 8 is useless for a Mac user like you and me unless you develop for it. It's pretty cool, but in the case of virtual machines it's useless.

I see! Windows 7 it is then! ;)

I tested it on a Virtual Machine today with XP on my Mac. The same thing happened, so I think it's actually a Construct 2 bug. I then borrowed a W7 laptop from a friend of mine and testet it, and there it worked just fine!

Just wanted to let you know ;)

Today I just got Windows 8 installed on my Mac, which I bought only to use C2. Does it work? Nope! The exact same error message occurs, and I really doubt it has anything to do with my graphics driver which is fully updated.

This is a major bummer, as I can't switch to Windows 7 now. The only OS C2 has worked with is W7 in my experience, which I occasionally borrow from a friend when it's available. The reason I bought W8 was to test out my games as W8 apps.

I advice you guys to consider fixing this bug as it impacts a LOT of users. I posted this problem on the Steam page as well, and others have answered that they have the same problem and don't know of any solutions.

In short, I can't use the C2 I've PAYED FOR before you fix this...

It would probably help if you share your system specs, as that's the only way this is likely to get resolved. I find it unlikely that this is linked to Windows 8 - your friend's laptop likely has different specs, so I wouldn't recommend drawing conclusions from there.

chrisriis - does the standalone version from our site work? (You will only get the free edition though since the license from Steam works differently)

Ashley - The free standalone version works perfectly on all my PCs, so it should have something to do with the communication between Steam and Construct.

This is what happens: You launch Construct from Steam, and then a Steam-window flashes for 1 sec or something at the bottom of the screen (as if it's about to launch), but then nothing happens. If you click on Launch again/multiple times, it will tell you that the app is already launched.

I hope this helps :)

It's strange because AFAIK it works for 99% of people using it on Steam. The Steam version is also almost totally identical to the version from our site, apart from the small change that instead of loading a license file, it asks Steam whether the app is purchased. So my best guess is it's somehow a problem with Steam.

I'd try to see if you can launch the EXE from the steamapps/common/Construct2 folder. If you can launch that (it'll be in free mode) then it's definitely an issue with Steam initializing something. If it doesn't open, then it's an issue with the download from Steam.

If it's a problem with Steam initializing, uninstall C2 from Steam (all versions), then reinstall Steam. (Easiest thing to do is remove everything but Steam.exe and SteamApps folder. I recommend backing up all those files to a copied folder before doing so *excluding the SteamApps folder as it's all your games*)

If you still have problems after that contact Steam support.

Thndr - I've tried these steps without any luck, but thanks anyway. I agree that it may have something to do with the Steam init.

UPDATE: It works if you allow beta updates in Steam. This is not an ideal solution, but at least a workaround for now.