Thank you for the response! I finally fixed it by modding a fresh copy of the GlobalDefs file from the game directory. All works fine now. I suspect that I somehow started with a wrong or outdated copy of that file.
It turns out that it was likely caused by a mod to increase trait and ability points for custom races. Once I disabled mods I was able to start with a custom faction. The only changes in GalCiv3GlobalDefs.xml were the following (was experimenting with different values to see what was breaking the game): 24 8 As it turns
Every time I try to start a new game with a custom faction the game crashes to the desktop. I'm opted in to the latest 3.5 beta patch. I have tried creating a completely new faction as well as making a copy of an existing faction. I have also tried creating during new game setup as well as in the faction creator. I am able to start new games just fine with any of the default factions. One thing I notice is that it always has the same lines in the error log: