Age of Wonders 4 – Tips for Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Guide

All credit goes to アンジェル !

Don’t forget that there is a branch available called Hotfix as mentioned in the OP. This has a potential fix for the frequent driver crashes.

You can easily switch branches through the Game Properties > Beta and selecting Hotfix from the Dropdown Menu.

You can find Game Logs Documents\Paradox Interactive\Age of Wonders 4\Logs

Verify your game’s files

File corruption can always happen with large downloads. And even if CrystalDiskInfo shows your hard drive/SSD to be in good health and your latest CHKDSK has found no problems, it is still worth taking the plunge.

Keep your drivers up to date, especially your graphics drivers – in doubt use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) first

Why DDU? For the same reason as 1. Over time, as you update your drivers, old remnant files can accumulate, or you may even have a corrupt driver installation from the past. This can distort your perception of “having the latest drivers”.

Many people have found that after reinstalling the drivers after using DDU, the game they were having problems with suddenly works. So give it a try!

Try using compatibility mode

Do not despair if it doesn’t work right away. The game is fresh and you have teams of support agents and developers to iron out all the kinks that people trip over. Windows compatibility mode can help to bridge the gap.

Tweaks (various)

• Increase your virtual RAM/pagefile, that often helps with memory related crashes, goes in the same direction as the official suggestion
• Increse shader cache (graphics drivers software settings)
• Run GPU at maximum performance

If using a dual Nvidia / Intel GPU, follow these steps:

1. Open Nvidia Control Panel
2. Click ‘Manage 3D Settings’
3. Go to ‘Program Settings’ and then select the game (if it is not in the list you can add it manually by clicking ‘Add’)
4. Scroll down to ‘Power Management Mode’
5. Set it to ‘Prefer Maximum Performance’ / ‘High Performance Processor’ instead of ‘Adaptive’
6. Close Nvidia Control Panel and launch the game

If using a dual AMD “Switchable Graphics” GPU, follow these steps:

1. Open AMD Catalyst Control Center
2. Under “Switchable Graphics”, select the High Performance section and select the game (if it is not in the list you can add it manually by clicking ‘Browse’)
3. Click ‘Apply’
4. Close AMD Catalyst Control Center and launch the game

Additionally, double-check your desktop / laptop’s power settings by performing the following:

1. If using a laptop, ensure the charger is connected
2. Open Control Panel
3. Select Power Options
4. Select “Change Plan Settings”
5. Select “Change advanced power settings”
6. From within the dropdown menu, select “High performance” and click ‘Apply’ then ‘OK’
7. Launch the game