Most complicated patch instructions....EVER!

[Parmenion]

This isn't a gripe, but merely an observation of how much difficulty a non-PC-literate dope like myself has been having with the patch.

I downloaded all the gumph from the relevant site and it even ran through a neat little installer for me - cool, I thought.

Then I had a look at the 'read me' that opened after the installer had run, and it said a lot of stuff I didn't rightly follow. Hadn't I just installed the patch though....? What was that screen for that said, 'Installing' on it?

Anyhoo, I went to my desktop and there's all these folders and RAR files on there...what the heck!

So after about 10 minutes more reading various posts here and at the .com I figured I have to move these two unpacker files into the Tools folder. Okay, so I do that, then I have to run the installer..... what's that exactly? There's nothing labelled as the installer anywhere....

So I spend another 10 minutes reading more posts and figure that the 'unpacker_all' is the file I'm after. I click on this and a DOS window opens and runs for about 15 minutes. (This must be the right thing because I can see it's actually doing something now).

This DOS window eventually closes. What now? Well the handy little 'read me' tells me it ain't over yet. I have to find and delete two files. Okay, so I spend another 5 minutes trying to find these two files, and I eventually do so and they're binned.

Cool, now you can run the patched game Parmenion.... which I do, but how do I know it's patched?

Most other games that I've patched have done all the work for me, maybe they have auto-installers or something. Then when the job is done they've had a note saying that my game is now patched, or even given me a little 'version number' on the loading screen or something.

As I said, this isn't a gripe, I'm just making a point that I've never seen such a complicated process in the 5 years that I've been a PC gamer.
There are bound to be plenty of 13-year old forum members out there that have no idea of what I'm on about, or sympathy for my confusion, but by the same token, there must be some dudes in their 30's who will say, "Word brother!"

Please agree with me....somebody...anybody...

[Grimmy]

I hear ya. I've been real passive about the bugs and whatnot but that patch thing, that seems pure amateur.

[sapi]

Ok, well, the issues you had occurred for two reasons.

1) The patch was zipped, and the auto-extractor doesn't make it clear exactly what it's going to do, because it isn't really designed for housing executable files, but rather for containing a directory for extraction in the case of programs which don't need to be installed per se

2) You also unpacked the game files, which you dont' need to do, and that was the cause of the delay - the patch itself took me about 20 seconds to install. The unpacker is simply a batch file which works through the command line, and that's why a cmd window popped up (it's also why you had to copy it to the m2tw directory, as it contains a relative rather than an absolute path to cater for people with varying install directories)

[Musashi]

The unpacker is basically only for people who want to mod the game btw.

[Parmenion]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I didn't know the unpacker was only for modders, maybe I missed that instruction somewhere.

I did create a folder especially for the patch, exactly as instructed in the 'read me'. Then when the patch was downloaded and 'installed' I was expecting to have to point it in the direction of a folder but that option wasn't there. All the files were simply dumped onto my desktop.

Apart from these difficulties, do you think my game is now patched?

[sapi]

Did you execute setup.exe? If not, go to where you extracted the files, do so, and follow the prompts.

Oh, and btw, you could point it in the direction of that folder - there was a browse option in the auto extractor.

[Pindar]

I did create a folder especially for the patch, exactly as instructed in the 'read me'.

This is what I did. I created a folder on my desktop. I saw there was an extract "part" (for lack of proper vocabulary) amoung the files now in the spiffy new folder which I clicked and it installed something (I think). But, what about all the other stuff (the files and RAR things) that are there in this folder I created?

(D)o you think my game is now patched?

This is my question.

Another question: where are the two files that need to be deleted (assuming I actually patched the game)?

[Parmenion]

I did run the setup.exe - it was one of the files on my desktop (my little experience in IT taught me that the .exe file was the money file).
Was that all that I needed to do?

Pindar, I searched for the two files to delete, I believe they are in the Tools folder somewhere - check the 'read me' for more details.

[Pindar]

Pindar, I searched for the two files to delete, I believe they are in the Tools folder somewhere - check the 'read me' for more details.

Hi Parmenion,

My tools folder only has an Unpacker folder. Inside that folder is another Unpacker and List_Contents "file".

[Pindar]

Are the two files that need deleting only a factor if one updates the "unpacker"? Is the unpacker separate from the patch itself or does one need to do both? I can't find the files to delete and wonder if they only appear after unpacking as it were.

[Musashi]

They're only if you use the unpacker.

The unpacker is not really part of the patch, it's just a tool for modders that the patch happens to install.

[www2]

Wth.....i just got the game two hours ago and i downloaded the patch from a mirror somewhere "miitw_p_update1_en" and all i had to do is run the patch and it it patched the game just fine ....or did it?

[Parmenion]

Pindar,
Sorry dude but I'm at work and I can't check my PC for you.

Anyway, what Musashi said is right. I think if we ran the 'setup.exe' we did good, and can forget about the unpacker.

Parmenion.

[Zatoichi]

I agree that this wasn't the most friendly of patching procedures, especially when compared to the previous TW patches. However, we did get the unpacker goodness, so I'm not complaining, but I do sympathise with the folks who are not especially computer literate.

With hindsight, maybe CA could have released the patch and unpacker as separate downloads rather than in one? I realise this could have lead to a different set of confused people than the ones we see here though...

[sapi]

Yes - to clear this up, you're patched if you've run setup.exe, and the splash screen/installer have come up (with the usual 'next' and 'cancel' buttons).

You're not patched if you've just extracted the archive - go and execute setup.exe

[Pindar]

Thank you for the replies. I think I'm patched then. Does the patch work with saved games?

[Grimmy]

I been thinking about this for a bit and I might need to reassess my previous comment on the issue.

Yeah, it was confuzeling but, I also remember having more than a few copies of RTW on my HD and having to go through the process of keeping a 1.0 copy as a baseline, then a 1.2 copy as a baseline to copy for mods that had to have that patch to work, same for 1.5/1.6.

With the patching system delivered as it was, I can now keep one baseline (clean) install and patch other installs as needed/desired without having to keep a seperate baseline install of each patched game.

So, maybe a bit of confusion in the beginning for us old folk used to the ol' standard, but also maybe much more flexible in the long run?

[Shahed]

Thank you for the replies. I think I'm patched then. Does the patch work with saved games?

Yes it does, you can carry on playing from your last save.

These are the files that only need to be deleted if you are going to use the unpacker:

\data\descr_geography_new.txt
\data\descr_geography_new.db

[Pindar]

Yes it does, you can carry on playing from your last save.

These are the files that only need to be deleted if you are going to use the unpacker:

\data\descr_geography_new.txt
\data\descr_geography_new.db

Thank you. I performed the unpacking and then was able to find the two files to delete as well.

[Orda Khan]

Makes me glad I didn't buy this game

........Orda

[past caring]

Some simple instructions for those that just wish to patch and do not want to use the unpacker.....

1) Create a new folder - call it whatever you want. This does not have to be in your MTW2 game folder. It doesn't even need to be on the same hard drive if you have more than one or a partitioned hard drive.

2) When you start the self-extractor you get an option to browse to the location you wish the files to be extracted to. Navigate to the folder you created and hit "install". If you don't mind the files being extracted to your desktop, don't worry about creating a new folder etc and just hit "install".

3) Open the folder you extracted the files to and find the setup.exe. Run this.

4) You're done.