This is NOT a Step-By-Step Guide, you don't have to follow these steps in any specific order.
These fixes are just collected solutions to potential problems.

Credit goes to the entire Sacred 2 community.
Good Luck, and I hope you find a fix!

I can not recommend this community patch because of the sketchyness of it and the fact that it has put a trojan virus on my system in the past that had embedded itself in one of the exe files.

Because DarkMatters is using a install tool in the exe format to make it easier to install this patch, they also throw security out the window. I don't trust these guys to do the necessary scanning with multiple AVA's to make sure that it's safe for the community. (and they have not provided such logs that I'm aware of)

But, if you do, and you want this patch.
Then at the very least download it directly from their forums over at
http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/91-community-patch/ (latest ver since 2018/03/19)

Unfortunately, this patch does not just fix bugs, it also adds to the game in form of new items, quests, etc. So if you want the vanilla experience then this might not be for you. But if you've completed the game and want something new and fresh, then this is definitely for you.

From what I hear, this patch is supported by official developers that worked on Sacred 2.

You do this by right clicking Steam.exe and selecting properties,
then going to the compatability tab. (Make sure you exited Steam first.)

(Compatability mode is optional, but Administrator required)



Steam will give you a warning that it is running in compatability mode,
simply press Cancel to continue.

This is the most common fix for when Sacred 2 does not start.


You do this by right clicking Sacred2 in the sacred 2 folder, located at..
..\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sacred 2 Gold\system\sacred2.exe
select properties and go to the compatability tab.

This should work incase setting Steam compatabilty does not work.


You do this by right clicking Sacred2 in the sacred 2 folder, located at..
..\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sacred 2 Gold\system\sacred2.exe
select properties and go to the compatability tab.

This seem to work for some people, where XP-SP3 have failed.

Add some "Command Line Parameters" to the execution of the game
To skip or disable certain features that might cause problems.

You do this by right clicking the game in the Steam Library list, select properties.
In properties click on the [SET LAUNCH OPTIONS...] button and add the following.

-skipopenal -nocpubinding
You can add both of those by simply putting them next to each other -skipopenal -nocpubinding



(If you're interested in learning about these things, look up this website[vgstrategies.about.com])

Sacred 2 is now considered and old game, it needs the older redistributables to work properly.
Luckily, these are provided with the game and can (should) be easily installable.

There are three redist installations located in ..\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sacred 2 Gold\redist\
First run VC, then DirectX and finally PhysX. Then reboot your computer.

If you run into issues while installing these, try doing it in administrator mode.
Right click the files and select "run/open as administrator".

If Steam ends up in a never ending loop of attempting to install the Redist packs, you can rename the redist folder to prevent Steam from attempting to install them.

The redist folder is located at
..\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sacred 2 Gold\redist\

Renaming the folder or deleting it should work.

This fix is only if you're running on a Desktop PC rather than a Laptop.

Go to ..\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sacred 2 Gold\system\ and rename..
LaptopGaming_xp.dll to LaptopGaming_xp.dll.bak
LaptopGaming_vista.dll to LaptopGaming_vista.dll.bak

Files from old Non-Steam installations of Sacred 2 may cause errors with the Steam version of Sacred 2.

If you have installed a Non-Steam version, locate the "Options.txt" file in
C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Ascaron Entertainment\Sacred 2\
And delete it.

If you're getting a PhysX Loader related error on startup, copy all the *.DLL files from..
..\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\PhysX\Common\
to
..\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sacred 2 Gold\system\

This start-up error is very likely related to the fact that the graphics card is not supported,
or simply not good enough to run the game.

This error may be caused by several factors..
- Old graphics card drivers.
- Old PhysX installation.
- Old DX9 version.

I would suggest installing the latest graphics card drivers, uninstall PhysX and get the latest
PhysX directly from nVidia's website, and then install DirectX 9 from Microsoft's website.

Then follow fixes 1.a, 1.b and 2 from this guide.

If the menus are all invisible, change region format to English (united states).
Control Panel > Region > Formats tab, Format.

Any application that puts an overlay over the game, for example Fraps, Dxtory, Afterburner, Discord et cetera, may cause the game to crash on startup.

Simply turning these applications off before starting the game, will solve this issue.

If the game is added to Razer Cortex software, the game may not start at all.
Simply remove it from the game list in Razer Cortex.

The game may not launch at all if started in Fullscreen under Windows 10, this might apply to Windows 11 as well.

To disable fullscreen just open the optionsDefault.txt file and change the line "fullscreen = 1," to "fullscreen = 0," without the quotation marks ("). Save and launch the game.

Following is the comment from HurDerp with said persons findings.

HurDerp 10 Dec, 2022
I've follow everything in this guide. However, the game still did not lunch under Windows 10.
The problem was the "fullscreen" option. Here's what I did.
I've copied and paste these line in the "optionsDefault.txt" file.

video = {
detail_env = 33,
detail_fx = 2,
detail_gfx = 3,
detail_grass = 1500,
detail_grnd = 4,
detail_light = 33,
detail_physx = 1,
detail_shd = 4,
detail_tex = 3,
fsaa = 3,
fullscreen = 0,
gamma = 19,
hardware_mouse = 1,
height = 1440,
quality = 5,
scaleUI = 1,
simplepointlight = 0,
vsync = 1,
weather = 1,
width = 2560,
}

The resolution (height and width) can be changed according to your screen but it is important to have "fullscreen = 0"
This will force the game to start in "window mode".

I hope this help someone.