City Revolt - questions and CTDs

**Makanyane** · 01-06-2007, 19:19

Haven't got any further on the root cause of the CTD but have an idea that seems to work for handling the indestructible building and providing a low stat unit that doesn't keep getting recruited by the AI throughout the game.
Solution does mean that all settlements can always recruit one unit even without barracks etc. and will mean that you do always get an army generated by revolts

(pinching ideas slightly from CI and RTRPE fix, sorry chaps...)
Set indestructible building as settlement_min village so it doesn't appear in browser. Place indestructible building 1st in each settlement in descr_strat so its first in built building display, make small tga for built building either look like part of UI background or mod logo. Give it recruitment lines for factions own units like

recruit "militia albion" 0 requires factions { empire_west, } and not building_present_min_level barracks muster_field

and before you all say 'you can't use building conditionals in 1.6'. Proviso is don't give building any other capability other than recruitment and make the 'building_constructed.tga' too tall (I just used 360 x 500 pixels high). That tga displays all over the scroll that opens if nosy user right clicks the 'building', scroll doesn't get scroll bar either - so user cannot click the (now invisible) recruitment line

Does seem to work and I have tested on forced revolt with no other recruit buildings present, but eagerly await everyone telling me why its wrong.....

**Dol Guldur** · 01-06-2007, 20:50

Hey, you pinched...j/k

I am still toying with the invisible building idea; what we have at present serves but there are some global tweaks (base building capabilities) that I would like to keep hidden simply to balance the game more effectively. Our original base building idea was indeed global and to be a part of the UI; but I found it far better to have regional buildings to address the differing areas of Middle-earth and their affect upon the races/factions. No reason why I can't have a global one too though - especially if it can kill two birds with one stone. The idea that the 'revolt unit' disappears after building a first building / or muster field is appealing.

EDIT: Hmmm..forgot about the bonus incompatabilitywith recruitment lines dependent upon buildings. I shall probably make it a visible building then. Oh dear, I shall have to be creative....

**Bonny** · 01-06-2007, 23:41

I haven't read all of your diskussion but here is my expirience with it in EB:

The current EB version has some Problems with settlements rebelling to a faction = CTD if no recruitment is available but mercs hireable.
For example a carthagian army conquers an Aedui settlement, destroys every destrucable building and moves one leaving a settlment with 0% loyality, after ~two turns the city revolts, bang CTD.

EB 0.8 had many unit graphik Bugs, too, which have been resolved by Aymar.
While repairing the bugged models/textures he found many faction ownership and recruitment errors, especially regarding faction/regional units that use the merc trick to have different skins on the same model (for example: late Hastati/Prinzipes are using the same model, the hastati are using the faction slot and the prinzipes the merc one).

Aymar released an intern 0.81 update, which has been tested and enhanced with much other stuff, unitl now. But the best thing was, in the new version we haven't encountered the reblling City CTD, yet. I have made test's with different factions

No recruitment available (barracks destroyed), mercs available
Rebelling to faction, settlement full of mercs

No recruitment available (barracks destroyed), no mercs available
Rebelling to faction, settlement empty

Recruitment available, mercs available
rebelling to faction settlement full of (high expierieneced)factions units/regionals, mercs

Recruitment available, mercs not
rebelling t faction settlement full of (high expierieineced)factions units/regionals

**Makanyane** · 01-07-2007, 00:26

Aargh, just when I thought we were all coming to same conclusion...

thanks anyway Bonny, for info. Can you explain what you mean by the merc trick? We're getting same problem in 'vanilla' BI (with peasants removed) and in that mercs have only merc and slave texture and slave EDU ownership, do you think that DMB set up is part of issue? (I'm stumped as to why DMB would come in to it at settlement revolt stage)

when you were testing did you leave any garrison in settlement about to revolt? Recent finding seems to be that for 'vanilla' without peasants and also my mod leaving one unit (and one unit only) as garrison gives smooth transition through revolt without CTD.

Originally Posted by Dol Guldur

EDIT: Hmmm..forgot about the bonus incompatabilitywith recruitment lines dependent upon buildings. I shall probably make it a visible building then. Oh dear, I shall have to be creative....

Other thought I had is if within limited circumstances it is necessary to use building conditional recruitment (in separate building from other bonuses to avoid that CTD) then you could possibly set up building initially without conditional, take screenie then make that screenie into the oversized construction.tga (possibly with adjustment as margins are different between text and pic.) - that obviously wouldn't be clickable but would give info without CTD. Problem is it wouldn't follow changing situation such as building / demolition of barracks so that would need to be explained within temporary initial unit name / or within description text.

**Dol Guldur** · 01-07-2007, 01:08

Makanyane, I like the way you think ;)

But here's what I've done. I have an info building (global prebuilt indestructable) which gives the player universal access to critical mod information (such as known CTDs and how to avoid them), whilst of course behind it all is the building-conditoned peasant unit set for each region by hidden resources according to faction and which disappears on the construction of that faction's first barracks building.

The invisible building was not clean enough for me, and this provide a means to inform the player too. (building title and image may be improved :) )

**Bonny** · 01-07-2007, 13:44

regarding the fourth age critical information:

it looks like you are using costum sounds, and at least some of them are compiled in 44khz, am i right?
If you play RTW with an EAX sound system (EAX2 or EAX3), 44khz sounds make the game freeze, EAX needs 22khz sound files to work properly.
(NTW2 had the same problem, with game freezes, because of an militiaunit used bullet sound which was compiled in 44khz)

the merc trick (as i understand it, but i haven't asked one of the real modders)

Code:

; Roman infantry - Hastati / Principes (Late)

type				roman_infantry_hastati_principes
skeleton			fs_pilum, fs_gladius
indiv_range			40
texture			        seleucid, eb/data/models_unit/textures/ebunit_Prome_new_unit_roman_late_Hastatii_Julii.TGA

texture		                merc, eb/data/models_unit/textures/ebunit_Prome_new_unit_roman_late_Principes_Julii.TGA
texture				slave, eb/data/models_unit/textures/ebunit_Prome_new_unit_roman_late_Hastatii_Julii.TGA
model_flexi_m			eb/data/models_unit/ebunit_Prome_new_unit_roman_late_HastatiiPrincipes_high.cas, 15
model_flexi_m			eb/data/models_unit/ebunit_Prome_new_unit_roman_late_HastatiiPrincipes_high.cas, 30
model_flexi_m			eb/data/models_unit/ebunit_Prome_new_unit_roman_late_HastatiiPrincipes_high.cas, 40
model_flexi			eb/data/models_unit/ebunit_Prome_new_unit_roman_late_HastatiiPrincipes_high.cas, max
model_sprite		seleucid, 60.0, eb/data/sprites/roman/ebsprite_roman_infantry_hastati_all.spr
model_sprite		merc, 60.0, eb/data/sprites/roman/ebsprite_roman_infantry_principes_merc.spr
model_sprite		slave, 60.0, eb/data/sprites/roman/ebsprite_roman_infantry_hastati_all.spr
model_tri			400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f

This is the EB dmb entry for late Hastati/Prinzipes

the seleucid texture path is highlighted red, it's the roman late hastati, which can be recruited after the first reform, by the romans.
The merc texture path is highlighted blue, it's the late Principes, which can also be recruited by the romans.
Now we have two different units for one faction edu, wich are using only one model slot.

The only problem is, that the pricinpes sprite ebsprite_roman_infantry_principes_merc.spr (merc path)
is not working, the game always uses the hastati sprites (seleucid path).
I think, this is the reason for this entry in vanilla RTW1.5 dmb

Code:

;;;;;; MERCENARIES ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

;Special versions of some soldiers, that have both slave and mercenary versions
;This is necessary to get correct sprites for the mercs

type				barb_cavalry_merc
skeleton			fs_hc_spearman										; combat spear
indiv_range			40
texture				merc, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_merc.tga
model_flexi			data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_cavalry_high.cas, 8
model_flexi			data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_cavalry_med.cas, 15
model_flexi			data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_cavalry_low.cas, 30
model_flexi			data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_cavalry_lowest.cas, max
model_sprite		60.0, data/sprites/barb_cavalry_merc_sprite.spr
model_tri			400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f