@ubi-thrupney
My issue got resolved. I had an unofficial mod installed, that caused the problem, because the mod was not updated for the new version yet. I completly forgot about the mod; kind of embarrassing. Its my own fault.

@ubi-thrupney
I do not have the HD Texture Pack installed.

@ubi-thrupney
Thanks for your help. I added a description to the ticket.

I can start the game as usual. The initial window with the "synchronizing/ PSO cache" message appears for a couple of seconds and then disappears as normal. Then the full screen window appears, with the black screen and the Uplay overlay message at the top right corner and the "yellow symbol" in the down right corner.

The yellow symbol is spinning for about 5-8 seconds. Then the window is closed. After that only the "oh no... a crash - send report" window appears.

Currently I am trying to follow the other tips provided in here and the ticket.

@ubi-thrupney
I followed the guide, no change. I prepared the files.

I can confirm this issue. Everyting worked fine this morning, but after the update the game always crashes at start.