AoW: Planetfall - Issue with Localization mod

[Peats]

One line summary of your issue
Issue with Localization mod

What platform are you running the game on?
Steam

What operating system do you use?
Windows 7

Which version of the game are you running?
1.404.43827

What expansions do you have installed?
Revelations, Invasions, Star King

Please explain your issue is in as much detail as possible.
I'm the author of the Italian Language Pack mod for AOW: Planetfall. As its title implies, the mod translated the game into Italian (it also includes all expansions). I've spent a good portion of 2020 working on it.
Here is a link to the mod:

Steam Workshop::Italian Language Pack

steamcommunity.com

On 7th of September, I've started receiving numerous reports from other users saying that the mod wasn't working anymore. Some of them had been playing the game in the morning, then came back to it in the afternoon to find out that it had inexplicably gone back to the English language. I tried to help them in various ways (reinstalling the game or the mod didn't help) to no avail. I also tried updating the mod through the modding tools... and that's when the mod stopped working for me as well!

The "Italian" option still appears in the languages menu, but selecting it does nothing. Once the game is restarted, the selected language is still "English".

I don't know what caused this problem in the first place and therefore I don't know how to solve it, so I would be very grateful if you could help me. I've worked countless hours on this so it's very important for me that I find a solution.

Any reply will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Have you tried verifying your files?
Yes

Steps to reproduce the issue
Please check the description of the issue.

Attach DxDiag (PC) or System Info log (Mac)
File(s) attached

Attach screenshot / video
File(s) attached

 

[AndrewT]

We saw this issue reported in any game that used our launcher v2 , when the user had opted into the beta version 2021.7-rc. That should be fixed now 2021.7 is officially out.

So what launcher versions are these users seeing?

 

[Peats]

My launcher says I'm using version 2021.7.1, but the problem is still there.
I've tried verifying the game files on Steam again, but it hasn't helped.

 

[AndrewT]

I see, so this is probably not the issue I referred to, which we have no reports of under 2021.7

I'm frankly not sure what else to look at. What antivirus app do you use? have you added the new paradox launcher.exe to its exceptions lists?

 

[Peats]

Other users suspected that the problem was connected to their antiviruses. Some even tried unistalling the software, but apparently to no avail.

Although, I found a temporary solution.
I just have to start the game, select the ITALIAN language on the menu and then go back to windows.
Then I have to restart the game via the .exe file (AowPF) contained in the planetfall directory. This starts the game without opening the launcher. The mod works correctly this way. Several people have tried this and it works for them too... so I suppose the problem really has something to do with the launcher?

It's weird because none of us ever opted into the beta releases of the launcher.

 

[AndrewT]

Well, as I say this was a bug when 2021.7 was in beta - I had maybe 20 or 30 reports at that time in several different games - but I've had literally 0 since 2021.7 was officially released.

The latest launcher support thread is here:

New launcher beta: 2021.7-rc.5

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...

forum.paradoxplaza.com

I think our best move now is if you post this situation there in detail, and tag @ Deuterium Oxide in that post.

BTW I assume this is not the only translation mod for this game - do you know if this issue affects the others?

 

[Peats]

As far as I know, this is the only translation mod in the Planetfall Steam Workshop.
I'm going to write about my issue in the thread you linked, thanks!