question: changing unit points

[belliger]

hi. i have a question for the RTW/EB veterans:

into export_descr_unit.txt and change the points of some units, what can happen?

for example upgrading morale points, or adding new attributes(like testudo, hardy, saddle etc. ), does it crash? will it affect properly the game? or umproperly?

[Korlon]

It won't crash. It will affect the units you edit of course. It's also save compatible.

[Watchman]

Well, it's not like it was impossible to make modifications that crashed the game mind you...

[belliger]

thamk you thank tou

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Remember to change the one in the "sp game edu backup" file as well, if you are using the trivial script.

[belliger]

another question (i apologize.-..) :
this 'trivial script', that all the people are always mentioning, sounds me like a sort of foggy, cruel threat that hangs over my inexperienced head/pc/game.
is it (as i think) something that works already in my pc?
can you readdress me to any place where i can read about what it really is, and get something like garlic - cross - exorcism to deal with?

thanks

[belliger]

sorry to disturb again, but where is this 'sp game edu backup' file? i made a research on the EB folder, but i couldn't find it out....

[belliger]

hi marcus.

i found the 'sp game edu backup' folder, into the EB folder.

you were right: my changes - made yesterday - are not on the 'today' EDU file; completely disappeared.

you mean that i have to make the same changes in both the files, in both the folders? : data and sp game ? what about to do changes in one EDU file, copy it and paste (overwrite) into the other folder? could it work?

thanks
belliger

[bovi]

Edit the one under sp backup and the trivial script will propagate it to your game.

[belliger]

thank you bovi.
i am gonna do as you propose

[belliger]

HELP .
I made changes in EDU.txt into DATA folder, then copied and pasted into SP game EDU folder (overwriting the existing file).

then i launched the EB game (a copy that i have on the My Documents folder),
but, after a brief image of the opening screen .... CTD !

i tried to restart, re-overwriting the original EDU.txt file, but always CTD.


and, moreover and desperate ..... even the other copy i have still on the hard disk does CTD .
what what happened?
what should i do?

[Watchman]

Can you describe the nature of these changes ? There's a few which can mess things up, and of course a simple typo will get you a syntax error... (...been there... )

[belliger]

oh, i made a lot of changes.
i intervened on about 40 units to make them more powerful, making higher the number of javelins, the morale, and so on. gave more arrows and bullets.
i added saddle to some cavalry units, changed the slashing sword in piercing sword sometimes, added the ap (armour piercing) attribute, added also testudo attribute
hide_long_grass to some units (also to few cavalry units), and so on.
didn't change the nature of the units, didn't give them weapons they shouldn't have (didn't give horses to infantrymen, 'f course),

so, i intervened quite a lot on this EDU.txt file...
i intervened on it on the EB/DATA folder, then copied and parted into the SP GAME EDU BACKUP folder.

have to say, i worked quite a lot....

if i loose all this job, i could become quite ... sad

[Watchman]

Keep backups. Anyway, doesn't the error message tell what gives ?

[Megas Pyrrhos]

Not if he's using Vista. At least that was my problem when I modified the character_traits.txt file. Wouldn't tell me what had gone astray. Still couldn't get it to work right, even after I commented out everything I added.

[belliger]

i don't use Vista (yet - maybe never, as i heard about it...). this is what happens:
1 - run EB.
2 - the monitor opens the typical EB opening screen
3 - after some seconds it comes back directly to desktop (ctd).
another question:
how can i paste s file to these posts? so i could show you how the modified EDU.txt file is...

i tell you guys, i am sure i typed all the changes correctly: no spaces, no capital letters, no errors in the words, no wrong positions ...

[beatoangelico]

it could probably be just a typo, in the EDU they often cause errorless CTDs (I'm balancing the EDU for another mod and one day I've lost 2 hours due a stupid typo)

[Watchman]

In other words, Vista sucks a fatty one.
Anyways.
The -show_err switch in the desktop shortcut should give you an error-message box in the case of a CTD caused by a mistake in the files themselves. That's very useful for tracking down those pesky little syntax errors and typos that render something nonfunctional, so you should try that.
...
...although, do you still *get* that shortcut with all the appropriate switches with 1.1 ? I don't remember.

[belliger]

well, ... i tried to apply this -show_err switch,
and it seems ('seems' because i don't know if i applied the switch in the proper place) to redirect me to the EBTrivialScript.exe icon (into the EBTrivialScript folder).

i clicked on this icon, and it answered 'row: 0 Description: Failed to open file '.
what does it mean?

[Watchman]

Where it's supposed to go is a desktop shortcut whose "target" (or whatever it's called in English) line should read something like

"C:\[path of RTW main folder]\RomeTW.exe" -mod:eb -show_err

and then run the game through that.

[belliger]

goood.
i will try!
thanks

[belliger]

hi. my desktop shortcut is like this: (at 'destination')
"C:\Documents and Settings\... \Rome - Total War - EB 1.1\EBTrivialScript\EBTrivialScript.exe" -s ebconfig.xml -runeb -type "Single Player"

i enclosed the s.c. how_err
and it is like this now:
"C:\Documents and Settings\...\Rome - Total War - EB 1.1\EBTrivialScript\EBTrivialScript.exe" -s ebconfig.xml -runeb -type "Single Player" -show_err

it now works with the original EDU.TXT, but NOT with the modified, and, moreover, the show_er does not appear...
qhat to do?
another question: when i modify EDU.TXT, should I put this file both in the DATA folder, sp EDU game folder, MP edu game folder?
thanks...

[Watchman]

Just make a shortcut of the vanilla RTW.exe with the switches mentioned above and run the game through that.

And, yes, the Trivialscript overwrites the EDU in the Data folder with the one in the "sp edu backup" folder.

[LorDBulA]

Proper RTW command line parameter is "show_err" or "show_error" ?

You can pass RTW parameters to ebconfig.xml file using syntax:

-rtwoptions " -show_err"

This syntax is not correct because it send -show_err parameter to Trivial Script and trivial script just doesnt know what to do with it.

"C:\Documents and Settings\...\Rome - Total War - EB 1.1\EBTrivialScript\EBTrivialScript.exe" -s ebconfig.xml -runeb -type "Single Player" -show_err

As mentioned above it should be:

"C:\Documents and Settings\...\Rome - Total War - EB 1.1\EBTrivialScript\EBTrivialScript.exe" -s ebconfig.xml -runeb -type "Single Player" -rtwoptions " -show_err"

[belliger]

thank you lord.
question (yes...) :
you typed all the message that should be in the shortcut.
in the end you wrote: -rtwoptions " -show_err"
are those -"- necessary?

[belliger]

well, one more info:
the shortcut hasn't the EB icon, just a typical windows icon. i don't know why it changes. should i wonder about it?

[Korlon]

Right click your shortcut and click on the properties section. Click on change icon and direct it to your EB directory to change it to the EB icon. Or you can use any other icon you want.

Change the icons of every application on the desktop! Change their names to correspond to what they should be. A hilarious prank!

[Tellos Athenaios]

I can assure you that Vista has nothing to do with RTW's (quite frankly, limited) ability to tell you what went wrong. (Ever tried to copy a beta of EB1.0 file by file; folder by folder over to see where the CTD came from? ... I have... )

However now you mention it: export_descr_characters_traits.txt (edct from now on!) is very sensitive. Basically put: if you tell Notepad to encode it's txt files in Unicode, and you then proceed to edit the edct --> CTD.

However, and here is where it becomes rather enjoyable, if you edit the Description files in anything but Unicode (UTF-8) you will get all sorts of weird 'character does not exist' symbols...

And for some files it doesn't make a blind bit of difference...?

So I suggest that if you encounter a CTD to what appears to've been a very, very non-CTD-able change (adding a comment on a separate line for instance; commenting out a Hidden attribute somewhere) --> try and change the encoding of your file... (Requires you to save as & overwrite the old one.)

[Tellos Athenaios]

thank you lord.
question (yes...) :
you typed all the message that should be in the shortcut.
in the end you wrote: -rtwoptions " -show_err"
are those -"- necessary?

Yes it is.

However if you want to rid yourself of the burden of proper syntax for your shortcut... You can always use the Configuration shortcut; and tick the boxes that apply to your desired configuration. Then Save & Exit; or run EB will apply & keep these settings preserved ...

[belliger]

other question:
now the game works, with the changes and so on.
but: i noticed =>
=> about cavalry - that i cannot change 'medium horse' with 'saddle horse'. it crashes
=> about infantry - i cannot add 'testudo' attribute to the units that don't have it on default. i explain: when i play a battle, the 'testudo' icn appears on the unit screen. but when i order it, the soldiers start to prepare for testudo => get in formation, square themselves .., but just before putting their shields... the game does CTD.

what to do????