black tiles in C2C

[CommanderD]

Hi,

I don't know if this is still being investigated, but I've not been able to play C2C since V25 because of this issue, which is a great shame. V27 worked once on the first install and then all the tiles turned black on a game reload and now don't show even in a new game.

I've tried all of the suggestions to fix the issue mentioned in this thread (several times). Does anyone have any more advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[dusckr87]

@ dusckr87 , kiwitt , CiverDan , DRJ

What resolutions are you'll using?

1280x800 (the only one my laptop allows with a single monitor other than 1024x768) and high graphics (changing resolutions and/or graphic quality doesn't make any difference anyway).

I've tried all of the suggestions to fix the issue mentioned in this thread (several times). Does anyone have any more advice?

It doesn't seem to have any certain "cause" but the "cure" seems to have been narrowed down to unpacking the fpk files. The other suggestions were either band-aid fixes or coincidental fixes, but if unpacking the files doesn't work for you I'm going to guess nothing will work. Myself, I was able to play with no problems until circa SVN 3600.

Don't tell me I uploaded an old version of my FPK Voodoo Doge was one of those I moved from my FPK to the core one so there would not be any duplicates!

All I know for sure is that I unpacked c2c.fpk separately and then copied the files to the proper folder, getting 4 or 5 duplicates. I then unpacked the other files and copied them all together and got 3 more duplicates, two which were buttons and one that was "voodoo dog" or something similar. IIRC, the files were all identical (between the duplicates, not all 8 identical) except for the dates, and I just overwrote the "older" one with the "newer" ones, renamed the fpks to an .old extension (instead of deleting, though deleting would have saved HDD space) and everything then worked fine.

 

[Drakarska]

Similar issues for me as well. Black screen syndrome. Since I'm not a computer God, can someone please explain to me how to " unpack the FPK" and what to do with them once I do? I'd really like to get this up and going so the kids and I can play ( BTW, my 13yr old absolutely loves the intro song, especially the bit about Monty, kudos).

 

[strategyonly]

Similar issues for me as well. Black screen syndrome. Since I'm not a computer God, can someone please explain to me how to " unpack the FPK" and what to do with them once I do? I'd really like to get this up and going so the kids and I can play ( BTW, my 13yr old absolutely loves the intro song, especially the bit about Monty, kudos).

First off do the .Net 4 stuff, then see if that helps . . .SO

 

[dusckr87]

Similar issues for me as well. Black screen syndrome. Since I'm not a computer God, can someone please explain to me how to " unpack the FPK" and what to do with them once I do? I'd really like to get this up and going so the kids and I can play ( BTW, my 13yr old absolutely loves the intro song, especially the bit about Monty, kudos).

Download pakbuild (google it, I forget the link).
Open the program, choose "PAK", "unpack".
Guide it to the mod, and choose all fpk files.
(optional) Unpack them to a temporary folder.
Copy the unpacked files to Caveman2Cosmos\assets, and over write any duplicates. There will be "duplicate" folders as well (art and modules), just combine them when asked.
Rename (or delete) the fpk files.

Doing this WILL add about 3-5 minutes to the preload (ie, the delay that happens before the initialization screen appears).

 

[Dancing Hoskuld]

Download pakbuild (google it, I forget the link).
Open the program, choose "PAK", "unpack".
Guide it to the mod, and choose all fpk files.
(optional) Unpack them to a temporary folder.
Copy the unpacked files to Caveman2Cosmos\assets, and over write any duplicates.
Rename (or delete) the fpk files.

Doing this WILL add about 3-5 minutes to the preload (ie, the delay that happens before the initialization screen appears).

Don't just overwrite the duplicates, report which ones are duplicates here since that may be what is causing the problem in the first place.

 

[dusckr87]

Don't just overwrite the duplicates, report which ones are duplicates here since that may be what is causing the problem in the first place.

Well, yeah, but to just get it to run that isn't necessary. I haven't yet checked since Sunday as even though I update daily, I don't convert my working copy that often. If I have the time I may do so, but of course anyone can do it...

 

[Drakarska]

First off do the .Net 4 stuff, then see if that helps . . .SO

Okie Dokie. Um, your link isn't working, can you point me in the right direction for the instructions on what to do for the Net4 stuff?

 

[Taxman66]

From post #142:
2) Since I didn't know how to 'repair .net' which I kept seeing as a possible soloution, I googled it. I ran into two MS web sites. The first was a .Net framework repair tool. a) I ran that it repaired a couple things and then told me to reinstall the problem .net program/attachment. b) So I looked around some more and got a link on MS that had three files for the latest update (NDP-40-KB2468871-v2-x86.exe; -x64.exe & -IA64.exe). The instructions said to download the 'appropriate version'. Of course there was nothing saying which was the appropriate version so I made an educated guess at the -x64.exe and ran that. c) I continued with the repair tool and it found something else to repair. Continued again and it said if it didn't work it would direct me to some tech support forum.

* I think you can skip over the 'reinstall the problem .net program/attachment' questions.

Look through the thread for other possible fixes. I get the black tiles everytime I upgrade my video drivers. I then do the .net repair (I'm not even sure that is required), followed by a cold reboot, then start vanilla BTS & create a world, then C2C. In my case it may simply be a situation of clearing out how the video card reads the files.

Also if you have viewports turned on when you create a world, try saving the file before doing anything, then reloading it.

 

[Drakarska]

Ok, tried the .Net4 fix and no joy. Still have black tiles. Kind of reluctant to do the FPK routine, because I'm liable to screw something up. Hmnn, just noticed Taxman66's last sentence concerning viewports ( stupid bi-focals). Can someone explain the proceedure plz?

 

[dusckr87]

Ok, tried the .Net4 fix and no joy. Still have black tiles. Kind of reluctant to do the FPK routine, because I'm liable to screw something up. Hmnn, just noticed Taxman66's last sentence concerning viewports ( stupid bi-focals). Can someone explain the proceedure plz?

Viewports shouldn't make a difference, since I had the problem with it turned off and mapsize duel (as well as turned on and mapsize duel). You can make a backup copy of the mod in case you are concerned about "screwing up", or simply keep your copy of the zipped file (which I recommend anyway to everyone to avoid re-downloading every time you wish to re-install).

However, the procedure for viewports is to go to the BUG menu (first tab, last column near the bottom right), turn it on, save the game, quit the game, and reload the save.

EDIT---I should have time either today or tomorrow to list in detail the duplicate files in the fpks for SVN4294, but anyone else can do this as well if they have a chance before me. I'll edit this post when I do and if no one else posts (hint hint). If I had the upload space, I'd even upload a version with the fpks unpacked as I currently have a connection with a fast speed and I have both v27(SVN4192) and SVN4262 archived as 7z files(but the only site I can upload to doesn't have enough space).

EDIT2---Duplicates in C2C.FPK and also in assets\art:
cultural_heritage_atlas.dds
showcrimeon.dds
showcrimeoff.dds
showfireon.dds
showfireoff.dds

Duplicates in DancingH_0.fpk and C2C.fpk after the latter unpacked:
interface\buttons\promotions\seaanimals.dds
interface\buttons\units\warballoon.dds

Duplicates in Units.FPK and C2C.fpk after the latter unpacked:
units\voodoo_dog\flesh_hound.dds

 

[Thunderbrd]

I have a strong feeling that if you can eliminate ALL duplicates (at least in name reference) in the FPK (and that includes checking against the base BtS and CivIV FPK files) then you'll probably have eliminated the black tile problem.

 

[Dancing Hoskuld]

I have a strong feeling that if you can eliminate ALL duplicates (at least in name reference) in the FPK (and that includes checking against the base BtS and CivIV FPK files) then you'll probably have eliminated the black tile problem.

There are none in BtS but there are 4 in Civ IV.

 

[Drakarska]

Ok, so I went through all of this thread and I have a couple of questions concerning the screen resolution. Do I need to have my screen rez @ 1024x768? and if so, do I also need to adjust the game options to the same rez?

 

[dusckr87]

Ok, so I went through all of this thread and I have a couple of questions concerning the screen resolution. Do I need to have my screen rez @ 1024x768? and if so, do I also need to adjust the game options to the same rez?

No. In fact, in my case, resolution changing does nothing. I run at 1280x800 no problems* (and 1280x768 on my TV when I switch to that rather than play on my 16" laptop).

*well, no problems v26 and older and v27+ if fpk files "fixed"

 

[dusckr87]

I have a strong feeling that if you can eliminate ALL duplicates (at least in name reference) in the FPK (and that includes checking against the base BtS and CivIV FPK files) then you'll probably have eliminated the black tile problem.

I just tried SVN4299 with the updated c2c (and DH_0) fpks, and still no joy. Either my system can't handle it, or the duplicates still in the Civ4 fpks are causing problems. Either way, I can live with the extra time to convert (and the extra load time---unpacked fpks take 13 minutes to preload/initialize vs 3 minutes for packed). Hopefully other people can use this info to help them out; I'm satisfied with my personal workaround anyway.

 

[Drakarska]

No. In fact, in my case, resolution changing does nothing. I run at 1280x800 no problems* (and 1280x768 on my TV when I switch to that rather than play on my 16" laptop).

*well, no problems v26 and older and v27+ if fpk files "fixed"

Well poop nuggets.. Tried that as well as the FPK solution, and still no joy. Since I can get any other mod working and I have a new computer that's continuously updated, it's looking like the mod really hates me. *Sigh*, ok, looks like I'll wait for a newer version to come out before giving it a go again.
Thanks to all for your responses to my questions, and your quick responses of help. I'll stay lurking in the thread to keep updated.

 

[strategyonly]

OK, i e-did alot of combinations in the FPK, about 20-25 different ways, and it always comes back to the "Units.FPK." If that is NOT intact using the PakBuild, you will get the Black Terrain, so that one from "my" stand point is a MUST have just the way it is, try that once guys and let me know if i am correct, thx.

 

[dusckr87]

OK, i e-did alot of combinations in the FPK, about 20-25 different ways, and it always comes back to the "Units.FPK." If that is NOT intact using the PakBuild, you will get the Black Terrain, so that one from "my" stand point is a MUST have just the way it is, try that once guys and let me know if i am correct, thx.

That was one of the fpks that had duplicates with the old C2C.fpk (and I haven't tried unpacking either one since your last revision a few days ago). However, by unpacking all the fpks and then deleting/renaming them I have no problems. Repacking them is beyond my patience/ability, and I really don't have the time to check for duplicates in Civ4/BTS, so I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. As I said, the extra 10 minutes to preload is something I can live with.

 

[dusckr87]

From another thread:

There is also a slim chance that this could be involved in the "black tile" issue since duplicate art assets may be involved in that and the Star Trek FPK files and the C2C FPK files may have some duplicates. It is probably not very likely, but it is possible.

This occurred to me a few weeks ago, but I was too lazy to check as I figured if that were the case, it would be easier to unpack the c2c fpks than the Star Trek ones (or copy them several times into each mod folder---I don't download these mods but have them archived to DVDs so changing those archives would be a PITA as well).

I suppose a compromise could be done to see if it does affect them by temporarily renaming the ST fpks, but I won't have an opportunity to do so until I have time to both export the latest SVN* and then try to play it without unpacking the fpks. If I do so before someone else does I'll post my findings in the proper thread.

*i'm a bit wary of this since the latest SVN versions seem to be buggy

Update:I tried it and it worked, so there must be duplicates between the c2c fpks and the Star trek ones. As I said, personally I'll change the c2c ones as changing the ST ones are a bigger PITA.

However, there still is a curious problem:
Why did this only start happening on a SVN update from late September when there were no changes to the fpks?