Hello! This is my first time posting.  I dont normally join forums, but i really really really want to play this game.

So.. where to begin.

I bought the full version Galactic Civilization 3: Retribution pack that was on Steam for $99.98+tax.  It contained ALL DLC and content that has been released so far.  Kinda like a GOTY edition.

I LOVE fleet based civilization style games and i have been looking for one like GalCiv3 for a LONG LONG time. When I found it i was ecstatic!

I bought it, downloaded it, installed it and ran it.  Initially no problems.  Was able to play first few days.  Even create a civilization and modify some ship names (for easier tracking in game) that saved with no issues.  Played many hours over a few days to try and familiarize myself with the game and its mechanics. All was good.

a few days after getting the game, i decided to check out the Steam Workshop and see if i couldnt download some Star Trek related ships because I really wanted to make a Borg race.  Im now aware its been done many times over, but still i had to see if i could find some.  So i selected a few Star Trek and Star wars collections and a few other scifi show stuff i found interesting that were under Most Popular.  I figured, if the workshop had them, they should be certified-ish files that should work.  Otherwise, why would they be under Most Popular of All Time?

So... I launch the game and it starts having all kinds of issues.  I notice at first that the crashlog wasnt showing.  I have gone into the registry and deleted the option of it "not displaying the crash log box" thing.  Crashlog still does NOT show up.  Game itself starts launching, gets to the main big loading screen with the two opposing races and a fleet in the background with the game name in the center and a huge LOADING... in the middle-ish area...

I notice when i run TASK MANAGER that GALCIV3 it has 3 operations going.  I look and i see:

Galactic Civilization 3 Retribution
StardockCrashlog
GalCiv3Retribution: Redistribution 4.01 .... (in red) NOT RESPONDING

Cant select the crash log, game is still 'loading' in the background with music still playing. The task manager shows the top and bottom lines as using computer power, memory, etc and it is fluctuating.

So i cant tell what the error is or why.

A few times of trying this, i would just let it sit for a little, and the game would eventually load in and allow me to get to the main menu where i could start a game, build stuff, etc.  But if i went to ship design, it wouldnt ever save my ships (the GalCivCrusade folder has FULL permissions with the one and only admin user on the personal laptop) saying the folder didnt have write permissions.  At main menu under options i have selected it to Enable Mods and Skip Intro and tweaked a few other settings and saved them.  The game notifies me that i have to restart to have the new options implemented. So i exit the game, reload, and NONE OF MY SETTINGS saved.  I tried this 8 times.  Each time it did NOT save my settings.

I noticed once or twice before the crash log stopped showing up, even with the option to have it disappear not selected, that it mentioned a civilization i had was having a xml text problem.  So i just deleted the race and attached ships and reloaded the game.

The game did the usual thing i wrote about above where the redistribution was NOT RESPONDING and after waiting a little, the game loaded in and ALL my settings i had made before, my civilization i had created before downloading other workshop stuff was gone, and all my main menu options to skip intro, allow mods, and tweaked settings were all GONE.  Back to whatever it decided DEFAULT was.

I got super frustrated that this game i got a teaseful taste of just suddenly stopped working.  So i went online to google and starting looking.

1. I tried the new admin trick.  It didnt work.  I deleted that profile afterwards.

2. I uninstalled, cleared folders, and reinstalled the game.  It worked for a little, the the redistribution not responding error started again and the spacedockcrashlog stopped showing up again (me NOT having touched the settings for it after reinstall at all)

3. I downloaded and ran the GalCiv3 permission rewrite.  It didnt work.

4. I tried taking out ALL Steam Workshop things and running and it still crashes. I tried adding a few and reintroducing them through the in-game mod selection when the game would load in through a not responding redistribution error, and it still wont show up any of them.  None of the extra civilizations/factions/ship designs EVER showed up. Couldnt ever select any of them at new game or find any ships under design ships using preexisting models to choose from (always only let me select core races and their respective ship designs, nothing else).  Not entirely sure if i got them added correctly, but the Synchronizing Steam Workshop Items did run for like a gosh darn hour and a half before going back to the game....

5. I tried the verification.  The first few times. no issues. after getting the workshop items, four issues. Found the files and removed them (workshop items). Game loaded in again. But began crashing shortly after again.

6. I have enough requirements on my system to run the game at High custom settings at 1920x1080. But i do not have enough video ram/rom (cant remember which) that allows me to access/play maps that were more than 16 gigs worth of video memory. I have a Asus Predator laptop from 2018. 

System:

Windows 10 Home

Manufacturer: Acer

Model: Predator G5-793

Processor: Inel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.80 GHz  2.80Ghz

Installed Memory (RAM): 16.0 GB

System Type: 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor

Now when i run the game...  It just loads the Space Dock, the initial splash screen and then...Nothing.  Doesnt even go past the main face off screen with the LOADING... in it.  Cant get the crash log to show to find what the error is, cant get this potentially awesome to me game to work.  I dont want to believe i just wasted $100 on something that just wont work after initially working.  I dont know what else to try.  

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I would REALLY like to play this game, but im getting to the point of completely giving up with all these issues i cant figure out anymore and writing off the $100 as a loss.