Simply put, the launcher runs, and I can select options, but as soon as I attempt to then start the actual game it crashes--no splash screens, no intro, no menu, just an immediate crash.

I did once manage to get the thing running, but that was using my computer's integrated graphics chip rather than its dedicated one, and the game both looked and ran less well than I might have hoped. Further, I have not thus far managed to repeat this feat.

In the course of attempting to get the game to run, I've tried a number of things. Offhand: running with the integrated graphics chip (as mentioned above); disabling the integrated graphics chip; explicitly assigning the game to be run by the dedicated graphics chip in the NVidia Control Panel; running in compatibility mode (for Windows 7, specifically); disabling DirectX 11 in the launcher; running the game with the "-nosound" parameter; and tweaking various graphics options.

It may be worth noting that, if I recall correctly, running the launcher with the integrated graphics chip results in it automatically selecting that the game be rendered by something along the lines of "Microsoft Basic Renderer"--and that then attempting to select the dedicated graphics chip causes the launcher to crash.

Does anyone know how I might get the thing to work...? (Ideally on the dedicated graphics chip, for a (hopefully) better experience.)

System details:

OS: Windows 8
Computer: Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series
CPU: Core i7 2.4GHz (4-core)
RAM: 8GB
Graphics: GeForce 840M, 2GB (+Intel integrated)

[UPDATE]

I took this to GOG's support--who were very helpful, let me say!

Alas, however, it seems that the game isn't likely to work on my system. :/

So, perhaps on some future machine I'll be able to play the game, but for now it goes into the backlog...