ATW2: Eastern Empires v0.9 Released

[macsen rufus]

I've made a v0.9 release of ATW2: Eastern Empires which includes Rise of Persia, Alexander and Successors scenarios. There is a link to it in the downloads thread (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?86348-Ancient-Tw-Download-Links).

It's v0.9 as there will be further additions (not least some new BIFs from Dimitrios the Samian) to be added before it's a full v1 release.

As usual, point your installer to a new, clean copy of MTW with VI, v2.01. It will install safely over a copy of the Beta version, though saved games will not work due to changes in the prod files (so if you're mid-campaign maybe finish that off first ~D). As with the Beta, it ought to work with the Steam version of MTW, but be sure to check your screen resolution if you see any strange graphics...

It's not fully tested as a fresh install yet, so please report any problems here should they arise :bow:

[dimitrios the samian]

Downloaded !
Congratulations once again Macsen Rufus .
A 0.9 is a good idea , so when the new Bifs arrive you can release a full 1.0 & on it goes as more will follow .

[Leith]

Hi everyone! This v0.9 release of ATW2: Eastern Empires is probably the worst since BKB's Age of Warlords. Let me elaborate: I started the mod and was happy to see the new loading screen. I usually experiment with custom battles before playing the main campaign to figure out which faction I would enjoy the most. So I went to custom battles for the Successors scenario only to find that no matter what factions you choose, you will CTD after the loading screen, let alone the many missing unit icons. So I exited and created the missing icons and fired MTW again only to experience the same CTDS. So I gave up on my favourite part of this mod and decided to try Alexander's custom battles only to CTD as soon as I clicked on Alexander in the custom battle's menu. Then I was forced to try my least favourite part of the mod, Rise of Persia only to CTD as soon as the loading screen started.

Having completely given up on custom battles, I tried the Successor campaign and chose the Seleucids and at the end of the loading screen, you guessed it, I CTDed. I tried the Armenians and as soon as I clicked the map, I CTDed again. So I decided to check the Ptolemies and surprisingly I didn't CTD on my first turn cause it happened on turn 4 when I was checking the info pic of one of the new buildings. Luckily I saved the game before the CTD but on turn 6 while checking one of the new units I CTDed because it had no info pic, just like many other units. At that point I simply uninstalled and deleted the mod. Sorry but even a beta should not have been so completely unplayable.

[macsen rufus]

Sorry to hear that, Leith - sounds like something very important is missing from the installer. I shall try a re-install and see what is amiss. For now I will kill the link.

[dimitrios the samian]

yehh Leith ...... maybe you got a corrupt download ~:confused:
Either way , im sure you'll fix it macsen , we really need our Custom Battles too ! ~:)

[macsen rufus]

There's definitely stuff missing - I've found most of it already. Let's say it's a good example of why you shouldn't do stuff at 3am.... :no:

I'll do v0.91 when I've tested it out myself.

[dimitrios the samian]

on ya mac ! .... :bow:

[macsen rufus]

OK, I think I've sorted the major problem - I hadn't updated the folders containing shields for the stratmap army pieces, and had assumed everything was up to date when I made the installer. A handful of icons and infopics were also missing, but that's small beer in comparison...

I have a v0.91 copy working now, but will play through a bit more before making a new installer. I'm also going through the custom battle settings with a fine-tooth comb. We should be back on track before the weekend - I've done all the work I need to this week, so the next few days are clear (once I've caught up on sleep after night shifts ...)

When I'm satisfied that v0.91 does everything my working copy does, I'll replace the uploaded file and open up the download link again.

[dimitrios the samian]

Great news mac !
Extra thnx for putting in the extra time & getting Custom Battles working also :bow:
In hindsight designating it v0.9 was a good idea .
Gives us ample room & time to have it just perfect by the time it gets to 1 .:yes:

[macsen rufus]

:wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall:

v0.91 is working fine .... except for one thing, which is driving me round the bend!

For some reason I can't fathom, the Alexander scenario just will not work for custom battles. RoP and Sux both work fine, but Alex always crashes on custom battles. I've tried everything I can think of to get it working - edited all the prod_file custom settings 10+ times and still the same result. I don't think it's in the prod_file, though, as the RoP startpos managed to pull the right data from the Alex prod file.... it just won't work from the Alex startpos.

I simply cannot see any differences between the startpos files that would cause custom battles to not work for Alex. Whatever it is, it doesn't interfere with campaign mode - that plays perfectly.

I thought at one point it might be down to dates and era transitions, even though each startpos/prod file set should be independent the way it is set up, but I still get the same problem in an install with only Alex in it.

I'm going round in circles now. I can't believe that everything works in the other two scenarios but not Alex....

[dimitrios the samian]

mac ...
its ok by me if Alex CB do not work ......
To be honest , the whole campaign will see little action by me as its does not simulate it well enough & that is no dis to your skills in anyway ! .... its just so darn difficult to recreate Alexanders life & battles ~;) .

In fact ...if you are interested ....... I have a great idea on trying to maker one , but it would have to be on an older separate install ..... more on that later .
But !!!
Well done on making CB's a reality for our other two scenarios :bow:

[macsen rufus]

It's not about the results any more ..... it's about not being beaten :laugh4:

What really bugs me, is that this is the simplest era out of the three - there are only 6 factions in it! And I can't stand having something going on that I can't understand...

I think ultimately, the way to go for Alex is to make a series of Historical Battles, because that's pretty much all Alex himself did ~D I know HTW had some set up, but I don't have it installed at present due to lack of disk space, so can't look it up right now. And I have a horrible feeling that if custom battles don't work for that startpos, then Historical Battles may not either.

[dimitrios the samian]

that's the way mac ... never give up !!
about Alexander .... some Historical Battles would be very welcomed & popular .
Im sure you can run them of the Successors Startpos .

Anyway ..... at a later time give some thought to a ..... "WHAT IF" Alexander Campaign .
Breifly , build it on the Version that kings die at 65 , & set it up so Alexander is back in Greece never died & sets of 32 yrs of age to conquer Europe beginning with Italy & other countries bordering Greece ofcourse ...should be fun & challenging ..... map & figures already made ~;)

[YanBG]

This bug got me interested... :D

-You are sure it's the startpos? You have replaced it and it worked?
-What about removing data from the startpos?
-Removing civs from the prod_file?
-Do you have vikings in there for the pillaging?
-It could be due to a hardcoded mechanic.
-Are you using the non-custom folders with heraldy on their shields?
-Is the crash connected with a specific unit(s), or you weren't able to isolate it, e.g. crashes always?
-What about the battlemaps? Are they different for the CB than through the campagn map?

[macsen rufus]

This bug got me interested... :D

-You are sure it's the startpos? You have replaced it and it worked?
-What about removing data from the startpos?
-Removing civs from the prod_file?
-Do you have vikings in there for the pillaging?
-It could be due to a hardcoded mechanic.
-Are you using the non-custom folders with heraldy on their shields?
-Is the crash connected with a specific unit(s), or you weren't able to isolate it, e.g. crashes always?
-What about the battlemaps? Are they different for the CB than through the campagn map?

Hi YanBG,



In order:

- not entirely sure - each scenario has its own startpos, fac_spec, and reg_spec files, and all use the same textures sub-dirs - but campaigns all work fine - any problems here would crash the campaign as well as CB, I suspect
- I've been through it all, time and again, and everything looks hunky dory in everything that doesn't relate solely to campaign mode
- all CB settings in the prod file are fully consistent with faction and culture availability in campaign mode
- FN_07 is not used
- it could.... but if so I can't imagine what could trigger it here and not in the other two eras **
- the whole mod is fac-shield safe, but even so the same textures are used in all eras and work in campaign mode
- crash occurs at the point of selecting the era in the custom battle menu, before it sees any maps, units or even faction selection screens!
- all exactly the same for campaign and the two eras that DO work in CB mode.....

** I've considered there may be a minimum number of factions for CB mode, but don't believe that, really - I have 6 factions in this era, compared to 8 in the vanilla Viking campaign. (I believe the American War of Independence expansion for Napoleonic used even fewer factions than I have here.) I've also checked number of units, and made sure there is no more than 22 in any class (due to the size of the unit selection grid) for any given faction.

All the prodfiles are identical apart from the era/faction/culture attirbutes which vary some units between eras (so deadpage coords will work across all). All references to inactive factions in the offending era's prodfile have been removed (see, I'm even trying things which I know aren't necessary, though probably come under 'good housekeeping').

It's still defying me - I've not done anything to the two working ones I haven't also done for this one, that's what is really annoying about it all... that and the horrible feeling it will be a big "DUH!" moment when I finally find the problem ~D

Anyway, thanks for the questions, it's always handy to have a fresh eye on things :bow:

EDIT TO ADD:

OK, I'm 99.99% sure the problem is NOT in the prod_file. I've just rolled back a bit, and my alex_prod works with RoP startpos for CBs - even having rolled back beyond all the culture/faction alignment tweaks, and with a full 38 infantry units available to the Persians. This absolutely rules out the prod_file as the source of the crash, IMHO, unless you spot any flaws in my logic... so it has to have something to do with startpos or associated files. And we're back on the other side of the circle again :no:

[YanBG]

How many eras you have? Maybe they have a limit, is Alex the last?

Or maybe it's something about the early/late periods timing, what is Alex startpos year and have you tried replacing it with vanilla?

[macsen rufus]

I've already tried fiddling with dates, to no avail. All the scenarios are set up using the Viking conventions (ie FN_## instead of FN_NAME; ID_LANDREG_## instead of ID_PROVINCE etc etc) so the three should all operate quite independently, even though in practice they all use the same map and the dates roll on, with era transitions not being a major part of the campaigns:

Rise of Persia - 'early'



cn_predefined::false
cn_title::"Rise of Persia"
cn_short_title::"Rise of Persia"

cd_predefined::true
cd_line::"Era_Description_ROP"
cd_predefined::true

cd_hidden:: TRUE

SetMapTexturesSubdir:: "Alex"

Prodfiles:: UNITPROD "ROP_unit_prod.txt" BUILDINGPROD "ROP_build_prod.txt"
//Prodfiles:: UNITPROD "SAlex_unit_prod.txt" BUILDINGPROD "ROP_build_prod.txt"

SetStartDate:: 140 // 560BC
SetPeriod:: EARLY
SetEarlyPeriodStartDate:: 100 // 600BC
SetHighPeriodStartDate:: 210 // 490BC
SetLatePeriodStartDate:: 320 // 380BC
SetGameEndDate:: 554 // 146BC


Alexander - 'high'



cn_predefined::false
cn_title::"Alexander"
cn_short_title::"Alexander"

cd_predefined::true
cd_line::"Era_Description_ALEX"
cd_predefined::true

cd_hidden:: TRUE

SetMapTexturesSubdir:: "Alex"

Prodfiles:: UNITPROD "SAlex_unit_prod.txt" BUILDINGPROD "SAlex_build_prod.txt"

SetStartDate:: 345 // 355BC
SetPeriod:: HIGH
SetEarlyPeriodStartDate:: 100 // 600BC
SetHighPeriodStartDate:: 210 // 490BC
SetLatePeriodStartDate:: 346 // 354BC
SetGameEndDate:: 554 // 146BC


Successors - 'late'



cn_predefined::false
cn_title::"Successors"
cn_short_title::"Successors"

cd_predefined::true
cd_line::"Era_Description_SUX"
cd_predefined::true

cd_hidden:: TRUE


SetMapTexturesSubdir:: "Alex"


Prodfiles:: UNITPROD "Sux_unit_prod.txt" BUILDINGPROD "Sux_build_prod.txt"

SetStartDate:: 399 // 301BC
SetPeriod:: LATE
SetEarlyPeriodStartDate:: 100 // 600BC
SetHighPeriodStartDate:: 210 // 490BC
SetLatePeriodStartDate:: 320 // 380BC
SetGameEndDate:: 600 // 100BC



The obvious difference you can see here - that Alex has a different period transition date to LATE - makes absolutely no difference in practice. (This was done so the era can be set to HIGH to avoid having two startpos files in LATE, but the campaign works just as well with either setting, and CB works just as badly with either!)

The REM-ed out line in RoP is what makes RoP work with the Alex prodfile successfully in CB mode.... The active factions in Alex are all active in RoP, and the RoP factions which are not in Alex still work in CB with just the ALL_FACTION units. This applies whether or not the Alex prodfile has the inactive factions all edited out (except for leader units - without these the game won't load at all, obviously).

The Alex prodfiles and the _SPECIFIC files have been named as SAlex so the three eras are all represented by files in alphabetical order - you may wonder why, but naming of the files does make a difference! I have had previous encounters with problems that have been solved simply by changing the names of the prodfiles.... alas, this isn't one of those cases...

Anyway, I'm going back to the fray, I've thought of a couple of things I haven't tried yet....

[macsen rufus]

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Yes, I've cracked the problem that was holding up Custom Battles for the Alexander scenario... after trying all sorts of things, I finally went back to something I had discounted:


** I've considered there may be a minimum number of factions for CB mode, but don't believe that, really - I have 6 factions in this era, compared to 8 in the vanilla Viking campaign.

And guess what? There IS a minimum number of factions required for custom battles to work. Any fewer than 8 active factions will cause the CTD between the select era and the select factions menus. I shoulda believed it after all!

So now I have to decide whether to add a couple of factions to the campaign map, or have an extra startpos just for custom battles with two extra factions in it.

On the plus side, the startpos file has had a lot of work on it, cleaned up in all sorts of ways, and I will be able to give factions the massive rosters that I had at one time thought were the cause of the CTD :2thumbsup:



I also made a little discovery of something else I hadn't known before: that the pre-battle shields are assigned in the order the factions are declared, regardless of whether they are active or not.

This explains why some mods end up with the pre-battle shields not matching the factions on the pre-battle menu (I think this happens in PMTW for one, but I haven't checked it since I found this...) So, if you have say 20 factions set up for one startpos, and only a few in another, you still need to DECLARE all 20 in the second - and always in the same order - to ensure the shields still line up, otherwise you get this:


20 factions 3 factions

FN_00 SHL00 FN_00 SHL00 (Always rebels)
FN_01 SHL01 FN_02 SHL01
FN_02 SHL02 FN_04 SHL02
FN_03 SHL03 FN_20 SHL03
FN_04 SHL04
....
FN_20 SHL20



All the other shields and flags are tied specifically to the faction by the startpos SetShieldImage command, but the pre-battle shields 'float' and are assigned in order of the DeclareFaction irrespective of the SetActiveFaction command.


So I can now get on and pack up v0.91 for release.

[macsen rufus]

Right folks, v0.91 is now running and installs properly. The link to the installer is now active in the downloads thread.

The Alexander scenario now has the two necessary extra factions added. I've brought back the Argives, and added the Thebans. Because I rolled back the start date to early in Philip's reign (when Alex himslef was still only 1yo), I realised that the Macedonian conquest of Greece wasn't yet complete, so these factions would still be applicable. I've also beefed up the Macedonians' infrastructure in their remaining provinces, so the Mac AI gets a better start in life. And there are a few other little tweaks to hopefully make rebel armies a bit more fun...

[Leith]

Hello guys! I downloaded the mod and played custom battles mainly for a while. I can confirm that custom battles are working fine. I like unit variety and dimitrios' African hoplites stand out as probably the most good looking bif as far as the new bifs are concerned. Thanks for fixing the missing stuff and good luck!

[dimitrios the samian]

and dimitrios' African hoplites stand out as probably the most good looking bif as far as the new bifs are concerned

thanks Leith ..... :bow: .. its encouraging to be acknowledged & drumrolled also :bounce:
& seeing its only my second reskin , troops will only improve .

[dimitrios the samian]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQATsepKoLE

[dimitrios the samian]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfNZbCVQl0I