Well, after doing a complete uninstall and reinstall of everything, along with the required 532 computer restarts, I'm still getting the same problem with the latest (Nov. 2) patch as before - run SotS2.exe or click play from steam - get start screen with "Options" and "Play", click play - and get a brief flicker and everything disappears. No log file, nothing. It happens so fast its almost like it never gets to the point of trying to run the actual program. I am beginning to wonder if there is some kind of hardware incompatibility, but the lack of info is very frustrating. If it is because of hardware, I'd at least like to know, so I can give up and get a refund - here is my setup:
AMD Athlon LE-1620 2.4 GHz
4 Gig RAM
Windows Vista Home Basic SP1
All drivers and patches up to date
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 integrated