Hi there.
This happened on Win 10, latest update, via steam. All programs have latest updates here.
It seems something is wrong with the launcher in a manner that permanently breaks my ability to launch RA3. I believe it is related to this thread as the problem is similar (and recent, I recall a year or two ago CnC launcher worked when I still had the game back then). I'll try to give as much detail as possible.
Installed CnC RA3. Ran the game. It works perfectly.
Installed launcher. Tried to run from here. Failed to launch. (The small screen with RA3 pops up, then after 5 seconds closes itself)
I then get the following error: "CA public key patching routine failed"
From this point forward the error never appears again. (except once after a RA3 reinstall and first launcher use attempt. )
I now follow the guidelines under "common issues and solutions" I also read here about the hook feature and apply it.
New settings on launcher & game itself:
Always run as admin (In properties, both apps)
Windows XP service pack 2 compatibilities (both apps)
Hook "enabled"
Again, game fails to launch. Same as before, Small window opening screen appears, nothing happens for 5 seconds, closes.
This happens through both the hook (steam) and directly from launcher.
New problem: game now no longer works at all from this point forward (via steam launch and direct .exe launch).
Try activating/deactivating hook.
Try switching between Win XP service pack 2 and 3 compatibility modes (both game and launcher)
Nothing works. Can't launch the game from steam nor launcher.
Note: at this point steam launch fails regardless of hook. In other words, the game simply doesn't work at all and can't launch regardless of CnC online launcher.
I check running programs via ctrl + alt + delete. Both launcher and game isn't there.
I only use win defender antivirus. Go look there if anything happened. Last "blocked" program event was 2023/12/28. (over 2 months ago).
I tried restarting my pc at this point in an attempt to "close" some hidden process.
Open steam immediately, run game via steam (no hook, CnC online launcher is closed), fails to launch (small red launching screen pops up and closes again).
Check file integrity of game via steam. All files look good
I try to reinstall RA3. Uninstall via steam, redownload, install again.
Now a new problem has emerged...
Fresh install doesn't work at all when launching from steam. (At this point CnC online was not "hooked" nor open, not even as a background process. The game itself is now broken regardless of launcher).
Even though it was in Win XP compatibility mode, "CA public key patching routine failed" error appears once and never again upon first attempt to launch from launcher after RA3 game reinstall.
The problem is now worse than it was before reinstall:
No small window pops up anymore. It simply says "launching" for a second in steam then nothing happens and green "play" button reappears as if the game was never launched. The red screen only appears briefly when opening via launcher.
I try again what I did initially:
Try activating/deactivating hook.
Try switching between Win XP service pack 2 and 3 compatibility modes (both game and launcher), I also play with vista compatibility here. Tried leaving the game itself on vista compatibility (where it was initially) as I switch between XP service packs for launcher.
Nothing works. Can't launch the game from steam nor launcher, regardless of if hook is on or off, regardless on if launcher is open or closed.
Tried disabling "cloud" features in steam. Didn't help.
At some point a new error regarding a "tunneling error to server" pops up after switching between compatibility modes. This never happens again.
Try checking game file integrity. All looks good. Game won't launch. Says "launching" in steam for 2 seconds but nothing happens and the green "play" button simply reappears as if nothing happened.
Uninstall CnC online launcher via initial installation package (which was in my "downloads" folder, don't know if permissions attributed to "downloads" folder is a factor here.).
Game still won't launch.
I try playing with compatibility settings of game itself again. (Note, full admin privileges' on, CnC online launcher is uninstalled at this point).
Doesn't work (Both XP and vista, several service packs).
Opening .exe file from Win file explorer at least opens the initial red "start up" screen again. Yet sadly, game won't launch. The red screen simply disappears after a while. Interestingly, this screen doesn't pop up when opening from steam.
Try checking game file integrity. All looks good. Game won't launch.
I try fresh reinstall of CnC online. Game won't launch. No errors. I play around with settings again. I try a pc restart
I uninstall CnC online again and make an assumption the issue rests with the game.
Go to RA3 support forms and play with res settings via a text editor. Ignore DX9 install advice as the game ran perfectly initially.
Game won't launch even when I made sure CnC online is nowhere on my pc.
At this point I'm simply worried of the fact that the game itself is permanently broken now, especially since I've already seen a fresh install doesn't fix it.
I come here to type this post, realize I don't have an error log file since CnC online was uninstalled, so I thus reinstall it.
Couldn't find the %TEMP% error file you want.
Run CnC online, try to launch RA3, it fails. I play with compatibility settings and open/close it a few times. Fails. Attached you will see the "CNCOnline_Log.txt" file that is requested in "error reporting" section. It seems this was generated just now and doesn't contain info on initial errors.
Good luck
Attached Files
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CNCOnline_Log.txt 602bytes
16 downloads
