Just Installed VI: Anything else to install?

**EatYerGreens** · 07-13-2005, 21:49

Just wondered if the VI expansion brings me totally up to date and can enable me to take part in MP etc.?

Just out of curiosity, I clicked the 'Files' link, at the top of the page and went to the 3D downloads site. There I found something called VI_201_Patch.zip. I've downloaded it but there was absolutely no description about what it fixes or why it's even needed.

I tried the FAQ link here but that page isn't a Q&A thing at all, so I'm still in the dark.

Any advice about it would be welcome. Typically, I've gone and started another Early era campaign prior to applying this patch. I'm only 9 years into it so far, so starting over won't be too much of a bind, if it's at all necessary.

I must say I like the new features, like announcements when generals acquire V&V's and the pre-battle screen is an excellent idea - control over the re-enforcements sequence at last!

**edyzmedieval** · 07-13-2005, 21:50

Well,

It fixes the 56 year old king death but it brings the bloat effect.....

**EatYerGreens** · 07-13-2005, 22:47

Originally Posted by edyzmedieval

Well,

It fixes the 56 year old king death but it brings the bloat effect.....

Thanks edyz. Bloat? LOL Maybe they were thinking of Henry VIIIth, but he's too late for the end of the period covered by the game?

Anyway, this is odd because the Readme.txt which pops up after the VI install (I did this last night so it's fresh in my mind) said it contains a fix to the 56-yr thing.

This was all news to me as I swear I've seen the odd King or Sultan, in v1.0 MTW, still going into battles in their 70's. I think the MTW v1.1 changes are now inbuilt into the VI upgrade, so maybe this was a problem which was actually introduced by 1.1 but was never a problem in 1.0?

Is it safe to apply the patch when I have a campaign in progress, or should I apply it and start from scratch?

**littlebktruck** · 07-14-2005, 00:21

In 1.1 I've had many a king live into his 60s and 70s.

What's the "bloat effect"?

**ichi** · 07-14-2005, 02:59

For online play, there's some mappacks and the samurai or napoleonic mod.

ichi

**edyzmedieval** · 07-14-2005, 21:56

VI brought the 56 year old bug.... It didn't have the bloat(or little)....

The patch fixed the 56 year, but brought the bloat to it's full power....

The bloat effect occurs when you are the most powerful faction and you have many provinces... Then, nobody wants to ally with you and when you attack somebody and his allies are the same as yours, they support the defender....

**EatYerGreens** · 07-15-2005, 23:34

Thanks for all the answers.

However, I'm still waiting for a response about whether it is safe to apply the patch when a campaign is already in progress?

In other words, is the 56-year death implemented entirely by the .exe or is there a danger that the tendency is somehow embedded in the game-saves? (eg "King X is due to die in T minus 6 years" goes into the saves?)

I'm only up to 1101 in my first post-VI campaign, so restarting won't be too much of a bind, though I'm already enthralled and would rather not have to repeat myself so soon.

**WesW** · 07-18-2005, 06:26

I don't think that installing the patch will mess up your current game. I'm not sure if the bug fixes will show up in a saved game when you resume, but there should not be a crash or anything. The only file contained in the patch is a new exe, btw.

**crpcarrot** · 07-19-2005, 16:45

what version does the game show when u are inj the main screen if it is 2.01 u dont need to install patch. the newer CD's may already include the patch

**Eternal Champion** · 07-19-2005, 17:45

I do know you can't go backwards, games in 1.1 can't be played in 1.0. I've seen post of guys saying they've never won due to patches coming out. But, I'm positive I finished my 1.0 games after installing 1.1 because it was frustrating that I had cool units I couldn't build anymore or replenish.

**Geezer57** · 07-19-2005, 17:49

Originally Posted by EatYerGreens

Just wondered if the VI expansion brings me totally up to date and can enable me to take part in MP etc.?

When Viking Invasion was first released, it updated Medieval - TW to version 2.00 and introduced the "56 year old King = dead" bug. So CA quickly released the v2.01 patch to correct this.

More recent VI CD's are already patched to v2.01, so before you patch your installation, check the intro screen when you first launch the game. If it indicates v2.01, you don't need to patch.

I have two VI CD's at home (bought the combo pack so I could have my son play multiplayer online with me) - one is v2.00, the other is v2.01, and doesn't need patching.

**EatYerGreens** · 07-20-2005, 12:15

Thanks for the answers, guys.

Now that you mentioned it, the opening screen on mine does say v2.01, so it sounds like I don't need to apply the patch after all.

It's a pity that the download site I visited didn't carry a detailed written description of exactly who needed it and what it was about. I think I spent more time in the queue than getting the download itself but, if I were using dial-up or a pay-as-you-go service provider, I'd be griping about wasted time/money/download allowance now...

However, I have to say I'm somewhat confused because, in spite of all this, I'm already on my third Byz emperor, with the previous two not having lived to see their 57th birthday... several other faction leaders dying of illnesses right on cue too. Last gamesave was 1135, so that's a mere 48 years into the game.

Perhaps I'd better run it again and double-check that version number.

FWIW, the CDs I bought were not a 'bundle', as such, they were separates, merely next to one another on the shelf. VI stayed unopened for best part of a year and, when I unwrapped it the other week, it seems like I paid full whack for it.

So my copy of VI is a year or more old and I'm guessing that if the 2.01 patch is less than a year old, then I'm going to need it.