[TOT] The Test Of Time Patch Project

It looks fabulous, but of course, I can't get the launcher to work. I still run an XP computer for my old games. Is that a problem? Is file path an issue? I use a separate "Games" folder for Civ2. I have the ToT 64-bit patch already installed.

You need a clean ToT version 1.1 Civ2.exe, ie, no MastermindX patch.

Catfish said:

You need a clean ToT version 1.1 Civ2.exe, ie, no MastermindX patch.

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Thank you. A re-install should do the trick, eh?

Yeah, reinstall + official patch should do it.

Catfish said:

Yeah, reinstall + official patch should do it.

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I couldn't get that to install, which is why I used the Civ2XP64Patcher. Do I need the official patch?

The 64-bit compatibility patcher isn't a substitute for the official patch, it simply fixes the edit control bug that causes 64-bit machines to crash. The ToTPP includes that fix. For patch installation issues, see the Troubleshooting section of my FAQ page and my installation guide (see signature).

I've reinstalled ToT, the official patch installed fine this time, but TOTPPv.8 simply doesn't run. Do I need some sort of file like vBrun or something?

It won't launch at all? It may be that WinXP is missing some runtime libraries. I checked the ToTPP documentation; no info there. I've got more libraries than I can shake a stick at on my Win7 machine. Also check whether your security software may be causing interference by temporarily disabling it. I received an Avira Anti-virus false positive on the Civ2.exe for the last iteration of the ToTPP. Otherwise, you may have to wait until TheNamelessOne turns up.

Thanks. I'll persevere.

tecumseh said:

I've reinstalled ToT, the official patch installed fine this time, but TOTPPv.8 simply doesn't run. Do I need some sort of file like vBrun or something?

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It's the launcher itself that doesn't run, if I understand correctly? The project is very light on dependencies, from XP onwards all dependent libraries are included with the OS itself, so that's probably not it. There are no error messages at all to go by? Then maybe take a look in a tool like Process Explorer, to see what happens when you start it (does it run at all? is it killed immediately after starting? etc.).

Catfish said:

I'll second this one. The ability to launch custom mods (distinct from scenarios by the world-building phase) from their own folders via the @MAINMENU could prove very popular.

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Agreed, it sounds like a good idea. That would require some way to tell the game what the base type is (Original, Sci-fi or Fantasy). Probably I'll require something at the top of the rules file (like "@EXTENDS Original"), so I can easily populate the menu by iterating sub-directories and checking for these entries.

Catfish said:

Alternative media formats, eg, 24-bit colour PNGs (perhaps with with partial transparency), more modern video codec support (even official videos could be re-encoded with something more recent than the obsolete Indeo, which is no longer supported by Microsoft), better audio - better than the diabolical 8-bit, 22 kHz, PCM WAV files. I realise that this one's probably a bit out there.

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PNG support might be a bit tricky (decoding can be done with a library, but then it would need to be made to work with civ's internal structures). Video codec support, maybe, civ uses the normal VfW API (capable of decompressing all kinds of formats), but sends Indeo specific state data to the decompressor. New audio formats: same as PNG support. Though playback of better quality WAV files should not be that hard.

Catfish said:

Allow 15/16-bit (or 24-bit, see previous) colour Title pages.

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That's TITLE.gif right? Should be easy to check for bmp first, as with the terrain files.

I'll put the other suggestions on the list too.

TheNamelessOne said:

That's TITLE.gif right?

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Correct. Short and sweet.

I've nothing constructive to add to this thread other than praise and encouragement. Big thanks to TheNamelessOne for his work and Catfish for setting out desired features. Keep up the good work!

Had I found this thread sooner I would have been cheering you on all the way TheNamelessOne! Catfish and the other guys have have come up with loads of great ideas and I'm truly gobsmacked that someone has finally arrived who has the ability and more importantly the enthusiasm to implement the changes the community has craved for so long.

After the failed quest for the source code a few years back I had given up hope of ever seeing these kinds of fixes and addition. I was given a big boost when Elys released Civ2Unlimited which had a big impact in the multiplayer community and also allowed scenario designers to expand our ambitions. TOTPP expands those horizons exponentially!

Very well done on the project so far. I'm just going to dl and fire it up for the first time. If I can think of anything else to add to the list I will, but the additions you have already made will keep me very busy scenario designing for some time to come. Thanks

I knew I would bugger this up, but at least it may act as a guide for other dumdums

I keep ToT on a USB so I decided to install a fresh copy on my PC. When it installed it said it was v1.1. I tried running ToTPP but got the error message below. I then downloaded and installed the Patch V1.1 from Cradle of Civilization but still get the error. I know this is something I'm missing and not a problem with ToTPP. Could someone point out (the probably blindingly obvious) thing I'm missing please?

Fixed! I followed Catfish's Installation Guide and installed the game and v1.1 patch on my C drive in a folder called Games and it works. Vista must have been blocking some components during installation.

TheNamelessOne said:

Agreed, it sounds like a good idea. That would require some way to tell the game what the base type is (Original, Sci-fi or Fantasy). Probably I'll require something at the top of the rules file (like "@EXTENDS Original"), so I can easily populate the menu by iterating sub-directories and checking for these entries.

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In a similar vein, would it be possible to add options for modders to be able to lock out/disable certain options during the world-building phase? An example would be the greyed out "Bloodlust" option during the custom rules set up in the "Extended Original" game, preventing players from disabling the AC Space Race.

I guess the No stack kills feature does away with the need to have invisible fortresses / airbases on every square (stackable terrain) which in turn will allow the use of conventional fortresses in scenarios?

If so, is there an easy way to remove all the stackable terrain from an existing scenario?

I love the feature that allows you to scroll through units in a shack and I can see this can be used on the main map to scroll through large numbers of units within a city. Would it be possible, within the city screen, to have similar scroller buttons in the units in city and supported units boxes or are these hard wired into the game?

How do I find the enable the @COSMIC2 key 'NoStackKills'? I can find @COSMIC in the rules.txt but not @COSMIC2. Do I have to add this manually?

The scroller buttons are hardwired into the game already, I believe, and yes, @COSMIC2 is added manually to rules.txt, and it doesn't matter where.

Thanks PlutonianEmpire. I guessed the city screen was a no-go but thought I'd give it a try

I did try adding @COSMIC2 to the rules file of one of my scenarios and did a quick test but didn't work. Perhaps I needed to save the game and reload for the change to take effect? It was only a very quick test. I will have another go tomorrow and see if I can work it out. Looking forwards to having a proper play around with these new features!

Yes, all changes to rules.txt require a saved game reload, with or without ToTPP.