Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a strategy game that brings all of the tactical mechanics and in-depth empire-building of the previous Age of Wonders entries into a sci-fi setting. Age of Wonders: Planetfall is not a demanding game and runs pretty well on a variety of systems. Despite that, PC users report errors and issues with Age of Wonders: Planetfall like the game crashing at startup, application load error, dowser.exe not found, Bootstrapper error, AowPf_Debug.exe-System Error, and more. Here I have compiled fixes and workarounds to all of the errors and issues being faced by PC players so that they can play the game without any hindrance.
Age of Wonders: Planetfall Bootstrapper Error And Crash Fixes That’ll Help
Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a 4X turn-based strategy game and the fifth installment in the franchise. The PC version of any game is bound to have issues and Age of Wonders: Planetfall does have some errors of its own.
Age of Wonders: Planetfall players are reporting issues like missing DLL files, a black screen, Missing Bootstrapper-v2.exe, and more. The following are the errors and issues that players are experiencing along with their possible fixes and workarounds.
dowser.exe Not Found Fix
PC users report that they are experiencing the dowser.exe Not Found error when they launch Age of Wonders: Planetfall. The following are the fixes that’ll help PC users resolve the error.
1- Verify Game Files
The reason why you are experiencing the “dowser.exe Not Found” error is that the executable for Age of Wonders: Planetfall is missing for the game. Verify game files to fix the error.
- Right-click Age of Wonders: Planetfall in your Steam library
- Select Properties
- Go to the Installed Files tab and click on “Verify Integrity of game files”
- Let the scan complete and Steam will download the missing executable
- Launch Age of Wonders: Planetfall and the “dowser.exe Not Found” error is fixed
2- Launch The Game Through AowPF_Debug
If verifying the game files hasn’t fixed the dowser.exe Not Found error, then you can launch Age of Wonders: Planetfall directly through “AowPF_Debug”. Right-click Age of Wonders: Planetfall in Steam Library> Manage > Browse local files. A new explorer window will open with the game files. Double-click the “AowPF_Debug” and Age of Wonders: Planetfall will launch without the error.
Game Not Launching, Crash On Startup Fix
PC users report that Age of Wonders: Planetfall is crashing at startup. There are multiple reasons why it’s crashing and the following are the fixes that’ll help PC users fix it.
1- Disable Anti-Virus
Your anti-virus software has falsely detected the game’s executable as malware and has quarantined it which is why Age of Wonders: Planetfall is crashing at startup. Either disable real-time protection or exclude the game folder from the anti-virus, I recommend the latter. After that, verify game files by right-clicking Age of Wonders: Planetfall in your Steam library > properties > Install files > click “Verify integrity of game files”.
2- Install/Repiar Visual C++ Redistributables
You are missing important Visual C++ files required for Age of Wonders: Planetfall to work or the file has been corrupted. Install or repair the Visual C++ Redistributables and the game will launch without crashing.
- Open the Steam library and type ‘Steamworks’ in the search bar
- Right-click “Steamworks Common Redistributables” > Manage > Browse local files
- A new Explorer window will open
- Go to _CommonRedist\vcredist
- There are folders with names in years starting from 2010
- Open each folder and run the VC_redis, both x64 and x86 versions
- Install or repair Visual C++ Redistributables and restart your PC
Application Load Error Fix
PC users report that they are unable to play Age of Wonders: Planetfall as the game is crashing at launch with the Application Load Error. This error is related to the system being unable to access game files or its executable. There are multiple reasons why you are experiencing the Application Load Error and the following are the fixes that’ll help you resolve it.
1- Clear Steam Download Cache
One reason for the Application Load Error is the Steam Download cache. Clearing the cache will fix the Application Load Error. Open Steam settings > Downloads > click on “Clear Cache”.
2- Run The Game As An Administrator
Lack of admin rights is the reason for Age of Wonders: Planetfall crashing at startup with the Applocation Load Error. Running the game as an administrator will fix the Application Load Error.
Right-click Age of Wonders: Planetfall in your Steam library > Manage > browse local files
A new Explorer window will open with game files
Right-click the executable
Select properties > Compatibility tab > check “Run this program as an administrator” and apply changes.
3- Disable Fullscreen Optimizations
Disabling fullscreen optimizations is another fix for the Application Load Error.
- Right-click Age of Wonders: Planetfall in your Steam library > Manage > Browse local files
- A new window will open containing game files
- Right-click the game executable and select Properties
- Go to the Compatibility tab, check “Disable Fullscreen optimizations” and apply the changes
AowPf_Debug.exe-System Error Fix
Age of Wonders: Planetfall players are reporting that when they start the game they get the following error.
Age of Wonders: Planetfall
The code execution cannot proceed because MSVCP140.dll was not found.
As the error message suggests, you are missing a dll file required to run Age of Wonders: Planetfall. The following are the fixes that’ll help you fix the AowPf_Debug.exe-System error.
1- Update Windows
The AowPf_Debug.exe-System error is popping up due to missing or corrupt .dll file. Outdated Windows is the reason why you are experiencing the error. Update your Windows OS and the error will be fixed. Open Windows Settings > Windows Update > click “Check for Updates” > install the updates and restart your PC. Launch Age of Wonders: Planetfall and the error is now fixed.
2- Install/Repiar Visual C++ Redistributables
MSVCP140.dll or similar dll files are part of the Visual C++ Redistributables. These Redistributables are required to run any game on Windows and your system is either missing it or the dll has been corrupted. Install or repair the Visual C++ Redistributables to fix the AowPf_Debug.exe-System error.
- Open the Steam library and type ‘Steamworks’ in the search bar
- Right-click “Steamworks Common Redistributables” > Manage > Browse local files
- A new Explorer window will open
- Go to _CommonRedist\vcredist
- There are folders with names in years starting from 2010
- Open each folder and run the VC_redis, both x64 and x86 versions
- Install or repair Visual C++ Redistributables and restart your PC
3- Manually Download The Missing dll
There is another way to fix this too but, I don’t personally recommend it as it can potentially compromise your system. So do it at your own risk. You can manually download the “MSVCP140.dll” file from the internet by searching it on Google and copying it to the game’s install folder.
Low FPS, Stuttering, Performance Fix
Despite not being a demanding game, Age of Wonders: Planetfall is still facing performance issues. Here are a few things that will help you eliminate stuttering from the game and boost FPS.
1- Update GPU Driver
Ensure you have the latest GPU driver installed. If you update your GPU driver, ensure that you do a clean isntallation.
2- Nvidia Control Panel Tweaks
Open Nvidia Control Panel> Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings > Select the game from the list and if it isn’t there then add it. Make the following changes.
Anti-aliasing Mode – “Application Controlled”
CUDA GPUs – “All”
Set Power Management to “Prefer Maximum Performance”
Shader Cache – “On” only if you are using an HDD. Don’t need to enable it for an SSD.
Set Texture filtering – Quality to “High Performance”
Triple Buffering – “Off”
Set Vertical Syn to “Fast”
This will eliminate stuttering and potentially boost FPS while playing Age of Wonders: Planetfall.
Paradox Launcher Not Starting, Missing Bootstrapper-v2.exe Fix
Players are reporting that when they play Age of Wonders: Planetfall they get the error “Paradox launcher won’t launch. System can’t find bootstrapper-v2.exe”. The following are the fixes that will help PC users fix the Bootstrapper error.
1- Disable Anti-Virus
The reason why you are experiencing the Missing Bootstrapper-v2.exe error is that Windows Defender or your anti-virus software detected the file as a virus and has probably quarantined it. Either disable real-time protection or exclude the game folder from the anti-virus, I recommend the latter. After that, right-click Age of Wonders: Planetfall in your Steam library > properties > Install files > click “Verify integrity of game files”. This will fix the Missing Bootstrapper-v2.exe error.
2- Delete Paradox Launcher And All Related Files
Another fix for the Missing Bootstrapper-v2.exe is to delete the Paradox Launcher and all related files. Close Steam and open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed Apps > delete Paradox Launcher. After that, go to the following paths and delete these folders to fix the Missing Bootstrapper-v2.exe error.
C:/users/’your username’/AppData/Local/Programs/Paradox Interactive/
C:/users/’your username’/AppData/Local/Paradox Interactive/
C:/users/’your username’/AppData/Roaming/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2
Black Screen Fix
This is a common issue in PC games and is probably not a critical one. Start Age of Wonders: Planetfall and when the black screen appears, press “Alt + Enter”. The game will go into the windowed mode and will start to display. Go to the video settings and change the resolution to your monitor’s native resolution and you’ll be able to play the game in fullscreen.
That is all for our Age of Wonders: Planetfall errors along with their fixes and workarounds so that you can play the game without any problem. If you are facing errors and issues with other PC games or your PC then also see our hub for commonly occurring PC errors and their fixes.