EU4 Microsoft Store Edition

[Shaliach]

Greetings,
I have seen this posted before in other sections of this forum and it seems to be getting overlooked.

As of this moment you cant earn any achievements in the game when using the microsoft store edition (aka xbox game app version).

The checksum checks out.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled multiple times and verified files.
There are no mods installed and i have deleted all the paradox folders in my computer before installing it.
Theres also no dlc, its a pristine version.
Defaulting all the options does nothing and enabling ironman mode obviously still doesnt allow achievements.

Because im an xbox ecosystem user, the ultimate game pass allows a unified achievement system without having to use steam therefore its bothering me to no end
that i cant start knocking of the achievements for EU4.

By the way, clicking the play button on the app itself will always give a launcher error because you cant specify to run the game in administrator mode and you have to actually right click the desktop shortcut and do it manually, this is also a problem and im not sure if its part of the reason achievements do not work.

Thank you for your time.

 

[grotaclas]

By the way, clicking the play button on the app itself will always give a launcher error because you cant specify to run the game in administrator mode and you have to actually right click the desktop shortcut and do it manually, this is also a problem and im not sure if its part of the reason achievements do not work.

which launcher error do you get? When you right click the desktop shortcut does it bypass the launcher? Are you specifying to run the game as admin when right clicking the desktop shortcut? Eu4 should not be run as an admin and if you configure eu4.exe to always run as an admin, the launcher has problems starting eu4(this can be fixed by disabling the option to run eu4 as admin).

Disclaimer: I'm not working for Paradox. I'm just trying to help people.

 

[Shaliach]

which launcher error do you get? When you right click the desktop shortcut does it bypass the launcher? Are you specifying to run the game as admin when right clicking the desktop shortcut? Eu4 should not be run as an admin and if you configure eu4.exe to always run as an admin, the launcher has problems starting eu4(this can be fixed by disabling the option to run eu4 as admin).

Disclaimer: I'm not working for Paradox. I'm just trying to help people.

So, the Xbox Game App, is a UWP app, as such it behaves as any other that you find in the microsoft store, it cannot be run in administrator mode, so games that require it, will have issues.

So when i press play in the app, to start EU4 the paradox launcher will give this error if it isnt running with admin rights.

the launcher doesnt get bypassed or anything of the sort.
the only way for it to open is to create a desktop shortcut not as you usually do, but through the app. in the game management section.

then you go to your desktop and right click it and run as admin as you do anything else.
and the launcher opens normally, like it does with crusader kings 3 or prison architect.
Btw CK3 achievements work

But with EU4 when you are starting a new game and check the ironman mode, it says "achievements cannot be earned in this session"
like it would say with any non ironman compatible mods or if you messed with the game files.
But as i said theres no mods and its a fresh install.

Thanks for the help. ive seen other people struggling with this too, but i havent seen a response from paradox or a solution yet.

 

[grotaclas]

So when i press play in the app, to start EU4 the paradox launcher will give this error if it isnt running with admin rights.

I have not seen this particular error before. @AndrewT might be able to help better. To me it looks like the launcher installation is broken in some way. Does the file "C:\xb\Europa Universalis IV\Content\Launcher\launcher-bin\ressources\app.asar" exist?

But with EU4 when you are starting a new game and check the ironman mode, it says "achievements cannot be earned in this session"
like it would say with any non ironman compatibale mods or if you messed with the game files.
But as i said theres no mods and its a fresh install.

Usually the game gives a reason for why achievements can't be earned. Does it say anything more? If it says "EU4 is running a mod or is altered in other ways.", which checksum is displayed in the main menu? (the checksum in the launcher doesn't count). Also have a look in the "Playsets" section of the launcher to make sure that there are no active mods there. In some cases mods are downloaded and activated automatically by the launcher without you knowing about it.

 

[Shaliach]

I have not seen this particular error before. @AndrewT might be able to help better. To me it looks like the launcher installation is broken in some way. Does the file "C:\xb\Europa Universalis IV\Content\Launcher\launcher-bin\ressources\app.asar" exist?

yes it does. and no the launcher is not broken

Usually the game gives a reason for why achievements can't be earned. Does it say anything more? If it says "EU4 is running a mod or is altered in other ways.", which checksum is displayed in the main menu? (the checksum in the launcher doesn't count). Also have a look in the "Playsets" section of the launcher to make sure that there are no active mods there. In some cases mods are downloaded and activated automatically by the launcher without you knowing about it.

im using no mods.

theres no reason given, no tooltips either. checksum is that one.

 

[AndrewT]

To me it looks like the launcher installation is broken in some way. Does the file "C:\xb\Europa Universalis IV\Content\Launcher\launcher-bin\ressources\app.asar" exist?

yes it does. and no the launcher is not broken

That is not at all a normal place for the launcher to be on this edition of the game. It is in fact in the same hidden folder structure the game is installed into - that's where my copy of that file is for instance.

Have you done anything unusual with the game installation here?

 

[Shaliach]

That is not at all a normal place for the launcher to be on this edition of the game. It is in fact in the same hidden folder structure the game is installed into - that's where my copy of that file is for instance.

Have you done anything unusual with the game installation here?

no, i am prompted to choose the install location of the game, or i can move it like im showing it here, but its the same with a new install.

after that i do nothing.

i know Steam places files in the appdata folder but i havent seen any evidence of this in this version of the game.

 

[AndrewT]

i know Steam places files in the appdata folder

Actually, it does not. Steam only places files in the Steam/SteamApps/common/EU4 folder. The only files in AppData relating to this game are for our launcher, which are placed there by the launcher installer, not Steam.

But the Gamepass edition does not use that launcher, it comes with is owned canned one.

no, i am prompted to choose the install location of the game, or i can move it like im showing it here, but its the same with a new install.

Interesting, MS must have changed this since I last did an install - there was no option then where to place the game.

Does it make any difference if you start the game from the MS store app or the Xbox app?

 

[Shaliach]

Yes, thats what i meant, the launcher stays in the appdata folder with steam, whereas with this version it seems to stay within its own game folder.

Honestly i didnt even know you could launch it from the MS Store app, but the same thing occurs, the same javascript error, and when launched from the shortcut by right clicking and choosing run as admin, it works.

Ill reinforce my point, by saying that this doesnt seem to break anything. The achievements just dont work.
It seems its just an Eu4 thing...
I have played CK3 through the xbox game app, in the same manner, and the achievements did work.
And i launch it the same way, since the paradox launcher has the same issue in all of pdx games.

 

[AndrewT]

I have played CK3 through the xbox game app, in the same manner, and the achievements did work.

You get this same error with that launcher? Because it's a different version.

 

[Shaliach]

You get this same error with that launcher? Because it's a different version.

Its not exactly the same error because apparently with ck3 the launcher gets installed in a Windowapps folder in the same drive as the install folder

but at the same time it is, because it seems like an access violation error in both cases.

However i think this has nothing to do with how achievements do not work in EU4.
Since the current 3 pdx games i have installed with game pass on the pc, eu4, ck3 and prison architect all have this error, but only eu4 does not allow achievements to be earned, which makes me think its a different issue.

as you can see when enabling ironman mode in ck3 achievements work, despite the fact that i launch it in the same manner to avoid that error, so logically it seems that isnt the issue but something else. and as i said before this is something that is not happening to just me.

the launcher error might even be a problem exclusive to my computer, im not sure, account management rights in windows 10 is real annoying.

 

[AndrewT]

When you say you can't earn achievements, is that because you cannot get into Ironman mode? Or what exactly is happening in that regard?

If you click on the Achievements icon in the game does it show they are gettable?

 

[Shaliach]

you select ironman mode, and despite the fact that theres nothing wrong with the files and theres no mods installed, you cannot earn achievements.
you can start and play in ironman mode but you wont earn any achievements which makes it pointless tbf.

 

[AndrewT]

What version and checksum show in the main game menu?

 

[Shaliach]

v1.32.2.0 Songhai (1835)

 

[AndrewT]

That should be okay then. You are starting on 11/11/1444 , historical nations, normal or higher difficulty?

If that stuff is okay, what if you make a new Windows user on this machine, log into Windows as that, and try the game there?

 

[Shaliach]

That should be okay then. You are starting on 11/11/1444 , historical nations, normal or higher difficulty?

If that stuff is okay, what if you make a new Windows user on this machine, log into Windows as that, and try the game there?

Everything is on default, this should make iron man work, but it doesnt, changing difficulty to very hard or the opposite changes nothing.
infact i havent played in steam for a while but if i recall correctly activating ironman mode should override your options choices, like historical nations, etc.. right?

but as i said i dont change a thing.

however creating a new windows user account with admin rights does fix the launcher issues. not sure why it gives that error on my original microsoft account. but this does not fix the achievement issue, it still doesnt work... i tried out a few games to see if it was just a graphical glitch but it is not.

itd be cool to see some input from other xbox users.

 

[grotaclas]

if i recall correctly activating ironman mode should override your options choices, like historical nations, etc.. right?

No, ironman doesn't override these options and you can play the ironman games with them(but won't be eligible for achievements). But the steam version tells you the reason and gives you a button to change the option:

Maybe it is different on the Microsoft store version. You could try to move/delete the files settings.txt and gameplaysettings.txt in "Documents/Paradox Interactive/Europa Universalis IV" to restore the settings to their default values.

itd be cool to see some input from other xbox users.

You could ask in the main eu4 forum. Maybe it is a general problem, but it has not been widely reported, because there are so few people who play the microsoft store version and want to get achievements. Maybe there is somebody who normally plays the game on steam, but has the gamepass which includes eu4 and could just test it.

 

[ExSol]

As an Xbox user, I can attest that I also have the "Achievements CANNOT be earned this session" without changing any of the standard options.

I do not have any issues launching the game from the launcher HOWEVER the launcher/game does not recognize all my DLC. I posted a thread in technical support about this and the answer from basically "Seems like MS problem" or something along those lines. I still have that issue and as of a few days ago I was able to earn achievements but am no longer able to because now I get this issue.

 

[Shaliach]

As an Xbox user, I can attest that I also have the "Achievements CANNOT be earned this session" without changing any of the standard options.

I do not have any issues launching the game from the launcher HOWEVER the launcher/game does not recognize all my DLC. I posted a thread in technical support about this and the answer from basically "Seems like MS problem" or something along those lines. I still have that issue and as of a few days ago I was able to earn achievements but am no longer able to because now I get this issue.

oh i see, thanks for your input.
i suspected some technical issue outside of the common problems.
im not sure how long ago did microsoft extend game pass to pc or even introduced pc games that didnt have an xbox counterpart, such as EU4,
but im a recent user so i cant help but hope this is just because its a partly new.

You think the developers are aware of this and have tried to fix it, or does it fall on microsoft to fix it?