New launcher beta: 2021.7-rc.5

[Deuterium Oxide]

Now, that was a long beta period! So long, we need a bit more of it! This is Launcher beta 2021.7-rc.5 and this is a big one!

Introduction
For quite some time we have been introducing distribution client functionality into the launcher v2, with the eventual goal of retiring the old v1 that has long been the mainstay client of our own distribution backend. The v1 client will still be available through Play Paradoxplaza but with time we hope to replace it with v2.

Hopefully this will end the confusion as to what the "Paradox Launcher" actually is - Seeing as v1 is a distribution client and v2 has been more of a splash screen - v2 will take on both roles in a short while, and this beta is the first user-facing step towards that goal.

But why, you ask? There are several reasons:

• Reduced maintenance burden with fewer pieces of software to security patch and keep up to date
• Ability to use distribution-type functionality in games that have need for it (seasonal content patches for example)
• More robust, and better maintained, download and install functionality
• Wider operating system support for the distribution platform. With v2 2021.7-rc.5 we extend the use of our own distribution backend for the first time to Mac users.

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What's new
The major new feature in this beta is the ability to start the launcher in standalone mode. In practical terms, this simply means starting the launcher executable directly from your operating system, rather than from a third-party client (such as the Steam client, GOG Galaxy, the Epic launcher etc). The launcher in standalone mode will connect to our distribution backend, retrieve your ownership and offer you games to install.

Please be aware that PDX ownership and game availability is separate and distinct from Steam, Epic etc. Likewise, the game versions available are different and will install in different locations as compared to Steam or other distribution clients.

What do I own?
If you ever bought something from the Paradox Plaza store, you'll have ownership of that game / DLC on our backend. We also integrate Steam ownership so that you should also be able to download and play games you own on Steam through the PDX Distribution system, and hence through the launcher.

As stated above, game availability is not the same as on Steam, and you may find that there are titles missing - This is normally due to the fact that older titles simply do not exist in versions that are adapted to the PDX ecosystem of services and hence not available through the PDX distribution channel.

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How do I help test it?
First of all, opt into the Beta. Please be aware that here be dragons - Is in beta for a reason after all. Once that is done, there are two different parts to test:

1. Test that nothing has been broken when it comes to starting the launcher the "regular" way through Steam etc.
2. Test that standalone mode works as anticipated
   1. You should see some titles (or no titles if you have no Steam or PDX ownership)
   2. You should be able to download and install games
   3. You should be able to play games you installed through the launcher

In order to run the launcher in standalone mode, do this:

Spoiler: Windows

Navigate to

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Programs\Paradox Interactive\launcher

Double-click on

bootstrapper-v2

Spoiler: MacOS

Navigate to

Users/<user>/Library/Application Support/Paradox Interactive

Double-click on

bootstrapper-v2

Spoiler: Linux

Run

~/.paradoxlauncher/boostrapper-v2

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But that's not all!

We have a raft of other features aside from standalone mode! Of course these also include the features previously announce for rc.2, but more stuff has snuck in there!

• Standalone mode (see above)
• Importing and exporting playsets to JSON files
• Better UI performance on long mods lists
• Fixed detection of newly connected / disconnected monitor
• Localization fixes
• Fixed links in Terms of Use document (that I'm sure all of you read carefully!)
• Removed spurious mod name truncation (again!)
• Fixed broken DLC ownership checks - GeForce NOW only
• Improved error handling when Xbox Game Pass app is not installed - GamePass only

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Soooo, that should be it. As you might anticipate, this has taken some time to get to a beta-ready state, and as such bugs are highly anticipated. Your help in finding these is appreciated! If all goes to plan, and no critical bugs that cannot be hot-fixed are found, this version will go live in three weeks, according to tradition.

Be well.
D2O

 

[Deuterium Oxide]

When will this update be fully released? Geforce isnt going to put the games back in GFN until the full update comes out, so im still waiting :/

The launcher beta typically runs for three weeks. This being one of the most chunky releases we have had, it might take a bit longer this time. Still, you should be aware that through we hope that the launcher fix is enough to get things going on GFN, we are not 100% certain yet - It could transpire that the game teams need to release a new GFN version as well.

It turns out that debugging stuff running on someone else's computer isn't hard enough, now we need to debug stuff that runs on someone else's computer that they rent from someone else that run their stuff in a custom standbox

 

[Deuterium Oxide]

İf they fixed dlc problem what are they waiting for? what is issue ?

The beta means we can get more certain that the fixes / new features we add do what we believe that they should - Sometimes they don't (see Agamidaes post above).

In this case, we are changing how ownership and DLC work. Imagine that we made a mistake, a tiny one where 1/10000 won't get to play with content they bought. This would result in thousands of people being upset with us and the ensuing shitstorm would be epic. And rightly so. The beta gives us a much better chance at catching these rare bugs, and that is why we have it.

 

[Deuterium Oxide]

I suppose there's some sort of conflict between the launcher and my mod? I've tried updating it but that made no difference. Just opening the launcher, immediately closing it and THEN launching the game via .exe is enough to make it go back to English and ignore my mod.
My launcher is using version 2021.7.1 and I've never opted into any betas, so I'm not sure where the problem is coming from.

Neither am I, to be honest - See, the launcher does one thing when it comes to loading mods: It writes a directives file indicating what mods to load that the game will then pick up once it is started. Hence, the launcher itself doesn't really do anything with the mods.

My theory is that the game is started with some arguments when started through the launcher and that those may be confusing things - particularly that would explain the observed behaviour. The launch arguments are given by the game team in the launcher_settings.json file (not strictly user servicable, but experimenting with it won't violate the EULA ) - Have you tried contacting Triumph about the issue as well?

 

[Triumph Jordi]

Neither am I, to be honest - See, the launcher does one thing when it comes to loading mods: It writes a directives file indicating what mods to load that the game will then pick up once it is started. Hence, the launcher itself doesn't really do anything with the mods.

My theory is that the game is started with some arguments when started through the launcher and that those may be confusing things - particularly that would explain the observed behaviour. The launch arguments are given by the game team in the launcher_settings.json file (not strictly user servicable, but experimenting with it won't violate the EULA ) - Have you tried contacting Triumph about the issue as well?

I have been looking into this issue the past week. When the user sets the language in game to Italian that is correctly written to the Game Settings & the Launcher Settings. The user then has to restart the game for all text changes to apply properly, however during that process the Launcher Settings are refreshed/overwritten returning the set language from "IT" to "EN". This occurs every time the launcher is loaded when starting the game (note that the language in the Game Settings is still set to "IT" at this point). As far as I know Launcher behaviour and the refreshing of launcher_settings.json on start of the launcher is not something that our game team touches.