2024 seems to be the year for city-building and simulation-focused games. At least that is what it seems to be so far, with numerous games launching in this genre in recent times. That brings us to Norland, a game released on July 18, 2024, that is still in early access and the twist it brings is the medieval setting. Yes, you will be managing an empire, tackling political issues, maintaining supremacy, and taking on the enemies of your realm. While the game is pretty light on the system, some players might be facing crashing issues while launching it. If you are reading this guide, chances are that you too are encountering the same. If so, consider reading this guide for workarounds to fix the issue.
Norland is still in its Early Access phase, and it is not surprising or unexpected to run into some issues that arise during this period. All that truly matters now is how the developers respond to these inconsistencies and work towards smoothing out the game for its full release. On that note, have the developers addressed this issue? Well, keep reading till the end to find out.
Norland crashing during launch: How to fix it
First of all, the developers have been responding to players’ reports regarding the crashes, so at least they are aware of the issue and have suggested some general workarounds. However, there is no official fix or any sure-fire workaround for the issue yet. Anyway, you should still give these workarounds a try:
Restart the Game and Run as Administrator
First, after the game crashes, check whether its process is running in the background via the Task Manager. If yes, end the process, and then launch the game. If the issue persists, restart your PC. Also, running the game as an administrator can help too. Just right-click on the game’s shortcut or executable file and select “Run as administrator” from the context menu.
Delete Save Files from the Demo
If you played the demo version of Norland prior to its recent early access release, leftover save files from that version might conflict with the current version of the game. So, deleting those save files might fix the issue. To do this, navigate to the directory where the game saves its files (usually in this directory: C/Users/{yourusername folder}/AppData/Local/Strategy/saves) and remove any saved files associated with the demo version.
Update GPU Drivers
Outdated GPU drivers are the most common cause of crashing issues. So, keep your graphics drivers up to date! To update your GPU drivers, visit the official website of your GPU manufacturer (such as NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel), download the latest drivers for your graphics card model, and install them following the provided instructions. After installation, restart your system and then launch the game.
Verify Game Files
Verifying the integrity of game files can address problems caused by missing or corrupted files, due to which the game might be crashing. On Steam, you can verify game files by heading to the Library tab, right-clicking on Norland, and selecting “Properties”. Then, select the “Installed Files” tab and click on “Verify Integrity of Game Files”. Start the game after the verification process is finished and check if this fixed the issue.
Whitelist the Game
Sometimes, antivirus software can mistakenly block game files, leading to crashes or other issues. To resolve this, you can whitelist the game in your security software. Make sure to add Norland’s executable file and its installation directory to the list of exceptions in your antivirus program.
Check for Game Updates and Hotfixes
Developers will hopefully release updates and hotfixes to address these known issues and improve game performance. There might be some pending hotfixes and patches with fixes for this issue. So, be sure to regularly check for recent updates for Norland. If a new update is pending, install it and then launch the game.
Reinstall the Game
If nothing works out, reinstalling the game might be necessary. First, uninstall Norland from your game library, and delete all residual files from the game’s installation directory. Then, re-download and install the game from Steam. Hopefully, this will fix the issue.
For now, these are the only workarounds that are worth trying until the developers release a fix. That said, we hope you were able to get back into the game. Now, before you leave, don’t forget to bookmark DigiStatement for more guides and news on all things gaming. Read more: Xbox Error code 0x87e107e2: How to fix it
