Steam tries to run an ancient Visual C++ installer and Ubisoft Connect installer via the `installscript.vdf` file in the game folder. On modern systems, it fails silently, and Steam just hangs


1. Install all Visual C++ runtimes yourself
Ubisoft says the game needs the 2010 version, but for the sake of troubleshooting I recommend this full package, it installs every version from 2005 to 2015, in one go.

This fixed Far Cry 3 for me, and it’s helped with other older games too.

👉 Visual C++ All-in-One Installer (TechPowerUp)[www.techpowerup.com]

Run the `.bat` file as Administrator and let it install everything.

2. Delete the broken install script
This prevents Steam from getting stuck every time you launch the game.

Navigate to:

Delete:

Even if you bought the game on Steam and want to play on Steam, Ubisoft requires their launcher. If Ubisoft Connect is missing or broken, the game won’t launch, and let’s be real: Ubisoft Connect is hot garbage...


Ubisoft has a habit of breaking its own launcher. Some recent versions crash on install or throw the dreaded “NSIS ERROR.”


1. Try the latest official version:
https://ubisoftconnect.com

2. If it crashes or shows "NSIS ERROR":
Use an older installer from the link below. It has a full archive of previous versions.
Pick one that works, once installed, it will auto-update to the latest version anyway.

👉 Ubisoft Connect – Older Versions (Uptodown Mirror)[uplay.en.uptodown.com]


3. Log in and link your Steam account
Launch Ubisoft Connect and log in. You should see Far Cry 3 in your library (with a Steam icon).
If not, restart both Ubisoft Connect and Steam, and make sure your accounts are linked.

Run the game on Steam. Once the game opens:

• Launch Far Cry 3
  
• Go to Options > Display
  
• Set:
  - Fullscreen. Always.
  - DirectX 11 (only use DX9 if DX11 causes problems)
  - Your native resolution
  - V-Sync: ON (matches the game’s frame-rate to your monitor’s refresh rate, e.g., 60Hz = 60 FPS max)
  - GPU Max Buffered Frames: 1 (1 = 60 FPS, 2 = 30 FPS cap)
  
• Save and restart the game

This locks in your settings and prevents some crashes later on.

If you've made it past the intro and played for 5–10 minutes, you've probably already run into it, a sudden crash right in the middle of gameplay. It’s not a one-time bug. It will keep happening unless you fix it.


Far Cry 3 is a 32-bit game and can only access 2GB of RAM by default. Once it hits that limit, it crashes, usually after a few minutes.

Credit where it’s due: this excellent guide by Prateek HyperBeast explains the issue in depth. Linked below:

https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3151589566
But for now, I’ll summarize what works.


1. Enable Large Address Aware (LAA)
This allows the game to use more than 2GB of RAM. Essential.

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/large-address-aware.112556/

• Download and open the tool
  
• Select farcry3.exe from:
  
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Far Cry 3\bin
• Check the box, click Save
  
• Repeat for farcry3_d3d11.exe

With LAA enabled, the game can run for hours without crashing due to memory limits.
It may still crash for other reasons (this is Far Cry 3), but not because of RAM.

Even after fixing crashes, you may run into massive stutters or full freezes, especially during long sessions. On one of my systems it happened after hours of play, on another after a day.


The game struggles with modern CPUs (too many threads), and overlays or Windows security features like Control Flow Guard can interfere.


1. Set CPU Affinity
This tells the game to avoid CPU 0, which sometimes helps smooth things out.

• Launch Far Cry 3
  
• Open Task Manager
  
• Go to Details tab → Right-click farcry3_d3d11.exe → Set Affinity
  
• Uncheck CPU 0, leave others checked

2. Limit the CPU cores
Far Cry 3 runs poorly on CPUs with lots of threads. Limiting it to 4 cores helps reduce stuttering.

• Launch the game
  
• Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc)
  
• Go to Details tab
  
• Right-click farcry3_d3d11.exe → Set Affinity
  
• Uncheck all CPUs except 4 (e.g., CPU 1–4, avoid 0 single we just did that on step 1).

This must be done each time you run the game. You can use a tool like Process Lasso if you want to make this permanent.

3. Disable Control Flow Guard (CFG)
This Windows security feature can cause freezing in older games.

• Search for Exploit Protection in the Start Menu
  
• Open it and go to the Program Settings tab
  
• Click + Add program to customize → Choose exact file path
  
• Go to:
  
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Far Cry 3\bin
• Repeat the following for each of these files:
  farcry3.exe
  farcry3_d3d11.exe
  FC3UpdaterSteam.exe
  upc.exe
  
• For each one:
  - Scroll to Control Flow Guard (CFG)
  - Check Override system settings
  - Set to Off, click Apply

This is a one-time fix that significantly reduced freezing for me. If you're only doing one thing from Step 5, make it disabling Control Flow Guard.

4. Disable all overlays

• Turn off the Discord overlay
  
• Turn off the NVIDIA/AMD overlay
  
• Turn off the Ubisoft overlay (but leave cloud saves enabled in case your local save corrupts)
  
  
  
• Note: The Steam overlay worked fine for me, I used it to track achievements and also to see my frame-rate.
  
  

5. Disable global V-Sync in your GPU control panel
Let the game handle it, or force it off entirely if you're using G-Sync or FreeSync.

Some of you guys are finding that achievements do show up in Ubisoft Connect but don’t unlock on Steam. This could potentially be that Steam isn’t “hooked” into the game session, or synced in terms of applications runtime, so you get no overlay and no achievements. It can also be caused by Windows compatibility settings or other overlays blocking Steam from injecting properly.


1. Launch from Steam only

Always start the game from your Steam Library. If you start via Ubisoft Connect or the .exe, Steam might not register it. So don't create a desktop shortcut manually, don't launch it from Ubisoft Connect. When done correctly, Steam should be telling you that you are in fact running the game:


2. Test the overlay

While in-game press Shift+Tab. If the Steam overlay doesn’t open, Steam isn’t detecting the game. Check in Steam Settings → In-Game → Enable Steam Overlay while in-game.


3-A. Remove Compatibility/Admin settings

Changing compatibility settings works for some, and doesn’t for others. It seems to depend on your OS, drivers, and setup. Worth testing if you already have them enabled.



Note: I'm using Blood Dragon files just to illustrate the point, but do that on the files listed below:

Go to your Far Cry 3 folder → bin.
Right-click these files one by one:
Uncheck “Run this program as Administrator” and remove any Windows 7/8 compatibility mode.

3-B. Run Steam as Admin if needed
If you do need the EXEs as admin, launch Steam itself as admin too, so both match.

4. Kill other overlays
Turn off Discord, GeForce Experience, MSI Afterburner, Xbox Game Bar, and even the Ubisoft Connect overlay. Any of these may block Steam’s overlay.

I'm not a dev, just testing out possible solutions to issues you guys are having, can't guarantee that this will 100% work, it just seems like the logical troubleshooting areas to me.

Far Cry 3 doesn’t use Steam Cloud, at all. All saves are stored locally and synced only through Ubisoft Connect. This sometimes causes lost saves, corrupted syncs, or missing progress if you log into the wrong Ubisoft account, close it incorrectly, look at it wrong, and/or breathe lol (seriously Ubisoft Connect is absolute ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥).


1. Know where saves live
Local saves:

Config files:

2. Back them up
Copy the entire save folder somewhere safe. Do this regularly.

3. Force a resync if your save vanishes
– Turn off cloud sync in Ubisoft Connect.
– Start a new game and create a fresh save. Quit.
– Re-enable cloud sync. Launch again and when prompted, choose local save.


4. Check your Ubisoft account
Make sure you’re signed into the same Ubisoft account that’s linked to your Steam copy. Wrong account = missing saves.

5. As a last resort
Keep cloud sync disabled and just back up your local save folder manually.

Also, I mentioned this in Section 2, but make sure your Steam account and Ubisoft account are linked, you should see the steam logo on you library in the Ubisoft Connect app.


Try these options and let us know what you find.

To access the DLC content for Far Cry 3, you’ll need the Deluxe Edition of the game. I bought mine on Steam back in 2017, and it’s unclear how to get the Deluxe version now if you don’t already own it. I can’t find the Deluxe Edition or the DLC on the store, possibly because I already own it? I’m not entirely sure. If anyone has more clarity on this, feel free to share.

However, I can confirm I actually have the DLC by doing the following:

• Go to your Steam Library
  
• Right-click on Far Cry 3 → select Properties
  
• Click the DLC tab on the left-hand side
  
• You should see a list of 3 DLCs

These DLCs are downloaded as separate depots through Steam. You can see them listed here on SteamDB:

https://steamdb.info/app/220240/depots/


I was thinking of sharing the files with you guys, but because these are tied to the Deluxe Edition license, Steam will only download them/activate them/read them if your account is entitled to them. That means sharing the DLC files manually (like in a .zip) won’t work, they won’t be recognized or activated unless your Steam or Ubisoft account owns the Deluxe Edition.


As for Ubisoft Connect Rewards, there are a few unlockable items in-game, but nothing too exciting. You can check them out by doing the following:

• Open Ubisoft Connect
  
• Go to your Library → click on Far Cry 3
  
• On the right-hand side, click the Rewards card
  
• You’ll see a list of in-game rewards you can unlock

Most of them are cosmetic or dumb stuff, the only one worth mentioning is the “Revolving Gift”, an epic revolver you can buy from weapon vendors in-game once it’s unlocked. It's a fun weapon to mess around with.

As for Blood Dragon, I was planning to write a separate guide, but honestly, I found a few great resources that already cover everything you need.

In addition to everything from my own guide, I also followed these steps myself, and they worked without any issues, from the "connecting to the server/Blood Dragon service not available" error messages, to the intro skip.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I’ll just link the ones I found most helpful, especially Gay Lord’s Steam guide, which is detailed and well-explained:

https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2716441171

And u/teleguy_8187 on the Far Cry subreddit:

👉 Helpful Reddit comment by u/teleguy_8187 on the Far Cry subreddit


Also, I added these conditions to my launcher options on Steam:

• -skipintro
  
• -offline

If you follow those, you should be able to get Blood Dragon up and running with no problems.

For the most part, that is all I did to make the game playable on my systems, but here's some extra tips I found online:

• Make sure your graphics card drivers are up to date
  
• Keep Ubisoft Connect running in the background, don’t close it
  
• If having issues with permissions then Run Far Cry 3 as Administrator (right-click → Run as Admin)
  
• If the game stops launching:
  - Verify files via Steam
  - Reinstall Ubisoft Connect
  - Delete the GamerProfile.xml file from
  Documents\My Games\Far Cry 3\
  - You can edit the GamerProfile.xml file to change settings without opening the game.

You now have a fully working Far Cry 3 install on modern Windows, no more random crashes, freezes, or broken launchers in your way.

Have fun. And remember: