RTRPE v1.7 status report(it is not released yet)

[florin80]

Marcus has asked me to post the PMs he had sent me so you know how things are with the mod. The are 2 messages and I`ll quote them bellow.
This being said, we should all support Marcus with his RL problems and not press him for a quick release. I want to send my best wishes to him and his familly and I hope all will be well.
PS: you might want to think about increasing his reputation for all the hard work he`s been doing for this mod.

Ave Florin,

With the RTR Forums offline, I've been working pretty much on my own with help from Candelarius. Work has taken over my time, but things have quieted down to normal and I'm again working on my last update for a v1.7 release. Here is a short list of items for the v1.7 release which I hope to have ready by the weekend of 19-20 August.

* Crimson's Cavalry Charge Rebalance from 7-10-2006 that arrived too late for inclusion in the v1.6 patch.
* The completed Briton AOR Optional Add-on.
* Some city name corrections to help prevent some possible CTD's.
* A complete review and update of the resource listings of the descr_region.txt and descr_strat.txt files. I found several errors, one that was preventing Carthage from recruiting elephants. Some of these errors may also have been causing CTD's for the game engine during the AI turns.
* A small graphics update to Becksim's Gladius Loading Bar to align the graphics properly with the rest of the UI.

That's pretty much it. All the items are complete except the review/update of the resource listings, which is a slow tedious process of editing and comparing the listings in the two files. I may just release v1.7 as a full install and follow it with a v1.8 full install this weekend if I don't have the files finished updating by then.

Oh, a quick review turned up 2 more things for th ev1.7 release.

* Correct build times for Auxilia Phase I Building in EDB file for Greek culture factions. This was reported to me by Crymson.
* Looking at returning the "descr_grass.txt" file to its Vanilla RTW version to reduce the FPS reduction by the current file. This was suggested by Panama Red 51 and Crymson.

I also had Sarkiss report to me about a sound file problem for Rhodian Slingers. I found the source for the erroneous arrow fire sound that is heard along with the slinger sound. Its the Vanilla RTW events.dat and events.idx files in the Data\Sounds folder. If you install any of th eoptional music add-ons, like my RTR Music Remix Add-on, these two files are either deleted or renamed, thereby disabling their use by the game engine. The regular unit sound files tell the game engine the correct sound files to use, but the events.dat and events.idx files also contain info telling the game engine use the arrow sound file for certain unit types or faction units and so the game engine plays both sound files. By renaming/disabling the 2 "events" files, this problem is eliminated, but there will be no in-game music unless the music files are uncompressed from the 2 "music" files in the Data\Sounds folder, such as by installing an music add-on, like my RTR Music Remix Add-on. Its the only way to correct the proble right now since no unpacker program exists for the "events" files, lik ethe one for the "music" "SFX" and "Voice" files from Vercingetorix, available from the TWCenter Downloads.

I never noticed the problem since I use my RTR Music Remix Add-on.

Vale,
Marcus Camillus

Thanks Florin. Sorry for disappear most of this week. I'm currently dealing with a family medical crisis. My wife was admitted to the hospital this past Tuesday for a serious infection and severe blood loss from when our family doctor while attempting to treat a possible spider bite, he nicked her main arterary in her arm. She was rushed to a local hospital and is doing very well now. She is recovering from the blood loss and is now responding well to antibiotic treatment for the infection that was inadvertantly given access to her whole body via the nicked main arterary and her circulatory system.

It looks like she will hopefully be released tomorrow morning so I can bring her home. Between work, sleep, getting the kids up and to school each day and visiting my wife at the hospital, I have had no free time at all. With her coming home hopefully tomorrow, I should be available more starting this weekend.

Concerning the minor bug reported by Sarkiss, I do have that report from him. I need to go back through the RTR/RTW files to refresh my memory as to whether this is a problem actually or a quirk of the unit building/auxilia building system of RTR. If I remember correct, its something that is not a problem, but I forget the exact details. After this weekend, I'll take a look at it again and post info concerning this issue.

Concerning the status of RTRPE v1.7, I should ave time this weekend to post. You can post now a copy of my PM, including this PM, if you do not mind. Once I have time, I can then post a more updated status.

Concerning a RTRPE v1.7 release, I think I review and compile a final build this weekend, minus a full new descr_strat.txt file with updated resource listing. I release it as a new full install of about 225MB and when I complete the review/update of the descr_strat.txt file, I can release a new v1.8 release that should be a final release for RTRPE.

After that, I'll continue to provide support, but plan to concentrate on finishing my 4tpy mod, especially the Roman Leadership system portion of it.

My next project after that is something new, a series of smaller campaigns covering various periods and/or wars of the Roman Republic/Empire time frame. I have several sources for territory sizes and locations of military forces, along with the extent of "civilized" cultivated and built-up areas for different time frames. I'm hoping to release them as either "Provincial campaigns" for an RTR Platinum install, or as add-on mods using the "-mod:my_mod" option switch.

I think the game events could be handled in a more realistic manner by setting up campaigns with a more limited time frame and very specific victory results. The large time frame of a complete RTR Platinum campaign starts to result in less historical results, or even historical possibilities. Plus, I think only a few people actually play through a whole 280 years of a campaign. Being able to offer smaller campaigns for specific time frames or wars will allow people to pick and choose a type of campaign that they might be interested in at the moment. One of my sources for info is an old wargame called "Imperium Romanum II" that I used to play and thoroughly enjoyed. I was a member of a small wargame club where we used this strategic campaign style wargame and used several other methods to simulate the tactical battles themselves. We did everything from using a combination of 3 other tactical wargames called "Legion", "Spartan", and "Chariot". We also used for a time a few minature rules sets and 15mm minatures. I really loved the painted minature Roman Legion I once owned.

Anyway, that's my current plans right now, subject to the whims of fate and work schedules.

Vale,
Marcus Camillus

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

Gods! Poor Marcus, hope his wife is better soon. And that he sues that idiot doctor, he's obviously dangerously incompetent!

[Black Francis]

Best wishes to Marcus and his wife. I would make her a cup of tea myself if I could.

As for 1.7 and the possibility of 1.8!!!!!! I would rather wait longer and have a complete and final 1.7 with no 1.8 on the cards.

[Sarkiss]

Best wishes to Marcus and his wife. I would make her a cup of tea myself if I could.

As for 1.7 and the possibility of 1.8!!!!!! I would rather wait longer and have a complete and final 1.7 with no 1.8 on the cards.

ill just wait for whatever the final FULL installation be, whether its 1.7 or 1.8. we've waited for over a months and i'm happy to wait for another week or two just to see final full pack.
we need 1 full install so the MP games can be played too.

and once again, hope everything settles down fine for you Marcus. suing that bastard might be a good idea.
best wishes.

[boofhead]

Very thoughtful letting us know what's going on & everything despite his current difficulties.

[Empedocles]

Best wishes to MC and his family. Hope everything turns out fine.
Best regards,

Diego, from Argentina

[Gaias]

Ofcourse he should take all the time he needs to finish the necessary updates to RTRE, as I would rather have a complete update, instead of having to start again for a possible bug.

Best wishes to you and your wife Marcus. I hope there is no complications after she arrives home.

[joecool250]

will 1.7 be save game compatible?

[Saxon]

Didn't realize there was so much family trouble effecting RTR, glad everythings worked out. And to second the comments above, I would perfer a complete 1.7 rather than having to download 1.8.

[Candelarius]

I agree, I would rather have a complete 1.7 rather than two new patches...I want to play through a whole campaign and not have to restart another.

I'll suggest this to Marcus.

[Black Francis]

I agree, I would rather have a complete 1.7 rather than two new patches...I want to play through a whole campaign and not have to restart another.

I'll suggest this to Marcus.

Thanks.

We are eager but understanding fans.

[Siddyus]

I was expecting an additional 3 more factions. Oh well, that should cover it up as I await for the release of RTR 7. Good patch anyway... *salutes*

[Cheexsta]

Have we discovered the cause of the 67BC CTD yet? It seems to be causing problems for some players and sounds quite frustrating...

[wipeout140]

Have we discovered the cause of the 67BC CTD yet? It seems to be causing problems for some players and sounds quite frustrating...

Its was 66BC CTD and think in post i have read they have a solution. Also have not download RTRPE yet but donwload final version would have FULL 1.7 then second patch later on.

All Best Marcus Camillus

[anunnak]

Damn...i for one would like to see 1.7 released this weekend...as in today if it's ready...i'we been wating long to play the mod yakaspat made.

[joecool250]

well i am just hoping i can keep playing my game from 1.6 and be able to get past 66 BC.

[boofhead]

well i am just hoping i can keep playing my game from 1.6 and be able to get past 66 BC.

I thought they fixed this with a small patch back on RTR.org. Something about the spelling of 'Vestal' as 'Vestral' or something in the text files? Don't quote me on that, but I think it was rectified.

[florin80]

I thought they fixed this with a small patch back on RTR.org. Something about the spelling of 'Vestal' as 'Vestral' or something in the text files? Don't quote me on that, but I think it was rectified.

That`s a different thing. The Vestals event occurs in 130 BC in RTR(AFAIK).
EDIT: The vestal CTD and the 66 BC CTD are 2 different problems. The first was fixed. It was a typo in the descr_events file. The second will hopefully be fixed too. If Marcus is correct, it has something to do with the civil war.

[joecool250]

well apperantly not, because the vestal virgin event is still there, and its still crashing on 66 BC.

[joecool250]

if someone has a patch let me know, but i thought it would be corrected in PE, but apperantly not.