Can someone help me? I installed the game, but after entering my credentials and login, the game just keeps loading
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Hi there! Just a thought: Did you download all the planet data? Check in “Tools” > “Planet Data” in the initial start screen. I somehow recall that you need to check the boxes to download. Depending on what planet you are on, you might be missing some of the planet data. In this case, the loader will get stuck because it is downloading the missing data. Just an idea to check out. Good luck there, and I hope you can resolve the issue!
The Admiral
I don’t know if your suggestion worked for him or not but I think the launcher was updated to automatically download all planet and space data on install. You no longer tell it to. The entire system is only somewhat over 35 GB so it isn’t huge.
There can be install issues. Incomplete data downloads and the like. You can try an uninstall/reinstall but once you uninstall reboot then install. If the normal launcher still won’t work you can install using Steam. It has certain limitations but it doesn’t cost anything.
Oh yeah. I forgot. Make sure you add a firewall and antivirus exception in your antivirus software just in case EU is blocked.
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Thanks for your reply here! I did not know that the download is now automatic. That must have changed quite recently then. Some weeks ago, I got myself a new PC and installed the whole game from scratch, but I still needed to click each box to enable the planet data downloads. But be it as it may, it is best to check on that, and wait for all planet data to download before hitting that “play” button, then quit the launcher, restart the game and then press the “play” button once it is green, as sometimes some download is marked as “100%” but something got corrupted or is incomplete. I had this issue a few times. The “Play” button will be green even if some data are still in download. That would make the launcher get stuck then, as it still needs to finish the download.
And well … I had a little smirk on my face reading “only somewhat over 35 GB” 
That’s not a small amount in my book, but then, I am old and my first PC had a HD the size of a brick that could hold 20 MB (yes, tha’s a “M” not a “G” or “T” LOL) Joke aside, depending on where you are and the time you download, getting 35 GB from MA’s servers can take quite a few hours, sadly.
Unfortunately we don’t have much information in the OP to efficiently help. Indeed, it would be helpful to know the source of the installer (Steam or the one on MA’s website). I would always opt for the original installer, not the Steam one, but that’s just me. I never had problems with it over the years. But thinking about it now, the “keeps loading” in the OP might mean something else: For me, the login process is quite fragile. Quite often, I get an error message (“Connection lost…”) on the loading stages (I think these are “Connecting”, “Authorizing”, “Loading”). The error occurs typically at stage 2, while an error message “You are already logged in…” occurs sometimes on stage 3. However, sometimes I get no message whatsoever (due to bad timing of the loading process and a brief internet hiccup, that’s my best guess), and the whole loading screen just freezes. Now, playing EU for more than two decades now, I pretty much know how fast I get through the loading stages. If it takes too long, even without an error message, I know it is stuck and I kill the process and restart the game. This happens very rarely, but it does happen. Just killing all the EU-related processes and restarting the game would suffice then. But again, to identify the problem, we would need a bit more information to be helpful.
The Admiral
I already installed it through Steam and it didn’t work either. I also tried reinstalling through the launcher and it didn’t work either. The same thing happens through Steam.
I already changed the modem ports and it still doesn’t work.
Hi there! Thanks for the update on your situation! Holy moly, that seems to be a tricky one. In all those years, I never experienced anything like it.
OK, so, Steam installation does not work, and the proper launcher install from MA’s website does not work either. Strange. I guess my next questions to pin down the problem would be:
(1) Which OS do you use? Windows 10 or 11?
(2) What exactly happens? Could you please describe exactly where it gets stuck, and what you do before?
The first question is important, as Windows 10 is now no longer supported with security updates. This is the reason why I bought myself a new PC, as I could not get Windows 11 to install on my old one. Now, concerning a check of the Firewall and anti-virus settings mentioned by Starburst, I did not change any settings on my new PC with Windows 11, and it worked out of the box. I am not sure, but if there is a firewall problem, the “Play” button would not get green, as the launcher performs a communication with the server to check on, and eventually download, updates. This would not work if there is a firewall block on your side. Personally, in all those years with plenty of installs, I never had problems in this regard. I even run for a period the game on a Mac at work behind a pretty secure firewall (please don’t tell my boss LOL). From what I gathered, EU does not require fancy ports to be open. It most certainly is one of the best and forgiving MMOs in this regard. Also, if you downloaded the game, your physical internet connection is most certainly not the problem. So, I would say, there is no need to change ports around on your modem.
However, with that being said, the anti-virus software you have might block you. My best advice here is to temporarily disable your anti-virus protection, and see if it works. If it does, you know the source of the problem. You just re-enable your protection and tinker around with the settings until you get the game to start. If it does not, then your problem lies somewhere else.
Concerning question (2), to pin down the problem, one would need to know how far you get in the launcher, and what you see on the screen when you get stuck. Also, I would suggest that you go into the “Tools” > “Options” menu and check there. I would propose to check “Disable Streaming”, and enable “Safe Mode” to see if it is a problem with your graphics card. On my old PC, I had lately problems with sudden black screens while ingame, and the reason was a problem with the graphics card. That “Safe Mode” will limit the demands on the graphics card to the bare basics, so should always work. Also loading the game with “Windows Mode” enabled would help to identify the problem, as in this case you would see eventual system error messages popping up.
In any case, it would be helpful if you could tell us what exactly happens after you press the “Play” button. Do you see any text “Connecting”, “Authenticating” or “Loading”?
The Admiral
All of that @Admiral_Adama are very viable and solid troubleshooting steps. I did catch something that was a problem for me. If I installed from Steam, then tried to install normally with the launcher, the launcher install always failed. A search said this is a common occurrence with Steam installs. It has something to do with the registry entries that Steam leaves behind. Use regedit (be sure to backup your registry and remember where you saved the backup and I recommend creating a Restore Point) and go to this folder in your registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\MindArk
. Look for folders Entropia Universe, InstallPath, ClientPath, LauncherPath, Version, UpdateURL after uninstalling Entropia Universe with the Steam Client. Steam also leaves behind these entries: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\MindArk.
This causes FMOD errors (the one I got), Missing DLL errors, Wrong audio device initialization, Launcher failing to repair, ClienLoader pointing to the wrong folder.
Just go to those and delete the entire MindArk entries and reboot your machine. That will resolve the Steam install deal, but that doesn’t mean it will fix your main issue of not getting the launcher to install. It’s just that if you don’t do that, I can almost guarantee it will not work.
If nothing @Admiral_Adama has suggested or this works, you’re down to having system level corruption. Open a command window in (Admin) mode. Type “sfc /scannow” and let it run until it finishes. See if it says it found errors and corrected them. If it says it found no corruption that is good. Regardless of whether it repairs files or doesn’t repair files, then type “DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth”. Don’t type quotes on either of those commands because I don’t, but it may not make a difference. I’m not sure. Let it complete.
If it’s successful reboot your machine. That will repair any Windows corruption that could prevent Entropia Universe from installing. After that make sure by typing, “sfc /scannow” again and letting it finish. If you still can’t get the install to work, go to Support on the Entropia Universe and ask for help by filing a Support Case, and let them help you if they can. If you don’t want to do that, then you are left with Resetting your PC or a Reinstall of Windows from a USB drive. Instructions for how to do that can be obtained from a simple search because EVERYBODY does it repeatedly due to Windows being Windows.
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We are aware of this issue, and have a fix which is planned to be included in a patch scheduled for tomorrow.
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Excellent @Ludvig_MindArk and thanks for taking care of it.
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Great, it seems MA is on the case. Very much appreciated, indeed!
To be honest, I did not expect, and I am very surprised to see, that the problem lies with the launcher itself. Over the years, I must have installed the game from scratch perhaps two dozen times, on different systems (even once on and old rig running on OpenBSD). Not a single time I had problems, just some tinkering was required from time to time. But then I read Starburst’s last reply, and I realized that things have changed somewhat. Frankly, I had no idea that Steam can mess up your system to that degree. If you don’t mind me asking, Starburst, is that a Steam problem (by imposing certain rules), or a problem of the EU Steam installer? Just wondering. Either way, it just adds another page to my book of why to never use Steam, or, more generally, why to always try to go to the source when it comes to software
But with that being said, I hope that tomorrow’s update fixes the problem. Surely, a clean swipe along the lines Starburst described is the best cause of action before re-installing Entropia after the update/patch tomorrow, just to make sure that all is back to baseline. Fingers crossed, and good luck!
The Admiral
I have no idea who is responsible, but I tend to blame Steam for insisting on removing the Launcher. There’s no reason they could not have fired it up instead of directly launching the game with predetermined settings. They are assuming everyone wants to play in full screen mode which is a bad assumption.
Some of us run other software underneath EU such as Artemis, LBML, or Streamlab or OBS. It’s not possible to control that properly Alt + Tab out of the game constantly. It can screw with things like THX Spatial Sound or other things running in the background.
I understand MindArk’s decision to release EU on Steam. They get publicity and an introduction to the gaming community they haven’t had in years, so that makes sense, but they did pay a price for it or rather we did.
EU is an RCE game not a Press the button and play game. I just tested the fix I provided in the above post and cleaned my install from Steam and installed the Launcher. Steam restricts me too much. I like my freedom to do as I please with my games.
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