Beta Testing: Advanced Beta Testing - Things to look for

[Squid]

This post should be for more advanced stuff, and is based on what I'm finding could still be improved from a bug/playability point of view with 1.5. Most of these require that you have some familiarity with the text files themselves.

• If a region has a resource on the campaign map (i.e. the little models) make sure the unit has the resource listed in descr_regions.txt
• Make sure all regions are listed in descr_mercenaries.txt
• Make sure all regions are listed in descr_strat.txt

If you have any other items that should be added to this list to check for please post it

[Father Jack]

If a region has a resource on the campaign map (i.e. the little models) make sure the unit has the resource listed in descr_regions.txt

dvk already has me working on this aspect. Or atleast providing a list of what resources are in what region due to the new map screwing up the resource allocation.

[Squid]

It's appreciated, but there are hundreds if not thousands of resources, probably a concerted effort to check it out by multiple people would make it go faster.

[Father Jack]

Yeh that is true, all I have been asked is to provide a list of what resource, including the small towns, are in what region. I have no idea how long it will take but it looks like tedious work.

[Squid]

Also, this thread is meant to be a list of things that need to be tested before we release, many are difficult if not impossible to test from in the game itself.

[dvk901]

Every region is in descr_strat.txt........I can guarantee that because I did a region by region comparison of it to descr_regions.txt. Actually found one region missing fron DS after the map came back from NR.

The reason I'm having Macky give me a list of every region resource icon that SHOWS on the Camapign map when you are in it is because I can then do a comparison to descr_regions.txt and see if that region actually HAS the resource that shows. What I'm looking for are the mistakes....well, that's the wrong word....the errors where a resource is listed in descr_strat but not descr_regions, or vica-versa. I know that a lot of resources are right...because I set them all up once. But all the changes have left many abandoned and in the wrong places...so I'm just looking for the bad ones.

descr_mercenaries.txt is another story...I haven't checked it yet.

[Squid]

Yes that's exactly what I meant. I haven't, and won't, do a thorough check of 1.5b, but I'm sure there are many resources that don't match up. When trying to track down a reported bug (I'm hoping to release 1.5c, which will be the final patch, and this time I really mean it), where Olypus had an iron resource but wasn't able to build a forge/blacksmith, and I found both the timber and marble resource in the region (on the campaign map) were not in descr_regions. For spliting the work up, I figured it would be faster and less error prone, as I'm sure one person looking at resource after resource would start to see things, I know I would.

As for descr_mercenaries.txt, by my count we were missing ~75 regions from descr_mercenaries.txt in 1.5b.

[dvk901]

Judas H. If I'd known you couldn't build forts if they weren't in there I would've payed more attention to it. Never occurred to me. So as I've said b4, RS2 will be a culmination of many lessons learned from RS1.5.

[Squid]

I'm thinking the tester made a mistake in testing the problem. I just loaded up a brand new campaign and took an army into Moesia (the region originally reported as having the problem) and can build a fort without a problem, even though the settlement isn't listed in descr_mercenaries.txt. I'm actually betting the user in question just had a flood in the region, and that for reason either adding the region to descr_mercenaries.txt or the regenerating of the map.rwm file made the problem with floods about not being able to build forts/watchtowers go away.

[tone]

OK, basically if you get a CTD because of a missing or wrong sprite, if you reload those same units it won't happen which makes you think that there isn't a problem with an individual unit.

So what you have to do if you get a CTD with no error message is to restart RTW and do a custom battle with a completely different two armies or even one unit on each side (ones that you know that there are no issues with), let it load, then exit that battle.

Now you can reload the problem units one or two at a time to try and identify the problem. Any time you get a CTD you need to repeat that process of flushing out the game's memory in order to get it to CTD again.

[dvk901]

Please post regular screens of opposing army compositions for you faction's enemies so we can keep an eye on what the AI is recruiting.