Broken Mod Fix Help? JT's Warhammer stopped working after April update

[Sigilization]

I'm wondering if anyone could give any advice/instruction/assistance in fixing a broken mod. I have no experience modding, but I'm willing to learn and/or do work under guidance (perhaps by those with the knowledge but without time/interest in this case) in order to fix what has become my favorite mod and which ceased working after the most recent update. I don't see it anywhere on these forums, but on Steam it's called JT's Warhammer. I posted there in case it is possible to reach the original modder, but noticed there is a great deal of activity here, and so I'm hoping that if the original modder is not available, someone with sufficient knowledge/skill might have any idea how to help. There is no other mod like it that I've encountered, and really nothing like it for any other game; it was fully compatible (in all of my previous experience with it), with all other major mods and all minor ones that I tried. While some of the art was still in development it seems, all of the mechanics of this amazing construction were fully functional; it had dozens of races and leaders from throughout Warhammer Fantasy, and because it was compatible with normal content instead of being exclusive total conversion, it was possible to generate worlds with extensive fantasy content or with only a bit, and although there are Game of Thrones mods out there, the high fantasy and grimdark fantasy elements in JT's Warhammer were unique, and so despite the many outstanding new civs and leaders still appearing via mod, for me the loss of this one mod seems huge. So any assistance would be very much appreciated. Relatedly: is it possible to roll back the game to a previous version? Disabling the Portugal pack and the Vietnam pack does nothing, so I am assuming that it's deeper-level updates that broke the mod. Anyway, I'm grateful for any replies and/or assistance, and if you're out there JT, I hope that it's possible to fix the mod!

 

[Laurana Kanan]

You can roll-back your game version by using the legacy branch, instructions are here. Keep in mind any other mods you use might break if they've already been updated for the current version.

As far as troubleshooting, the mod hasn't been updated in a year and a half so there may be some deep systemic issues at play that only became noticeably game-breaking with the latest update. Without knowing exactly what kind of issues you're experiencing (CTD, "Error Starting Game," "Unhandled Exception," etc.), my best advice would be to try to start a game with only that mod enabled and then check the Database and Modding logs at "..\User Files\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\Logs" for any errors.

 

[Sigilization]

Thank you very much for such a quick and immensely helpful reply, Laurana. It is incredibly welcoming to post such a question as a new poster and receive this assistance within less than half an hour. As to the errors: I never noticed any errors while using the mod in the past, but a few days ago (so probably the first time my game received the April update because I play the game on a dedicated laptop that doesn't always go online) it became impossible to start any game with this mod enabled (even if it is the only mod enabled, and even if both Portugal and Vietnam updates are disabled). Attempts to start the game with JT Warhammer (and only JT Warhammer, other than official content produce when the mod still worked) result in the classic popup "Error Starting Game" "There was an error starting the game. We recommend disabling any mods and trying again. Error - One or more Mods failed to load content." Interestingly, just *before* this started to happen, and I was re-enabling various other mods having previously disabled everything when what I thought was a different mod had ceased working (after receiving the update), I was able to get as far as the leader loading screen (I normally would test the mod configuration with the "Play Game" that just starts a random game; in this case, I had gone into "Create Game" in order to select a leader specifically from JT Warhammer because I was trying to make sure that it would still work! So I made it as far as the first elf-queen on the list, who appeared on her loading screen, followed shortly by the infamous "Unhandled Exception". The mod never loaded at all after that, always producing "Error Starting Game" as described.

I'm going to try the rollback you recommend. I read the link and it appears that it's possible to roll the game back and forth, so as long as I manage to keep track of which mods will work at which setting, this sounds a lot more manageable than trying to learn to mod, insofar as I should presumably first earn a leadership accolade in excess of Dan Quayle.

 

[Sigilization]

Update: I am thoroughly delighted to report that the mod works by itself after the legacy rollback, Vietnam and Portugal disabled. For the benefit of anyone else who likes combining it with other mods, I'll post a list here of all of the other mods that I find to be simultaneously compatible with it in the legacy version (which I suppose would also be of use/interest simply as a list of mods that are simultaneously compatible with each other in legacy, regardless of one's interest in fantasy). Or is there already somewhere a list of all mods compatible with legacy? (And if so, does this list also crossindex what is and is not simultaneously mutually compatible?) The perpetual updates to the updated version seem to make such compilations rather pointless in its case, but the legacy version remains fixed at the date on which it was created, correct? Such that a mod index would remain valid?

 

[Laurana Kanan]

Or is there already somewhere a list of all mods compatible with legacy? (And if so, does this list also crossindex what is and is not simultaneously mutually compatible?)...The perpetual updates to the updated version seem to much such compilations rather pointless in its case, but the legacy version remains fixed at the date on which it was created, correct?

The legacy branch is just the game version from immediately before the last update, whatever that date is. Honestly, and I don't think anyone's ever posted definitely, I don't know what happens if there is another game update while using the legacy branch. I would imagine that your game would auto-update to the current version. In that case, rolling back to the legacy branch would only take you back one version, not two so you'd be out of luck again.

As far as mod compatibility, the best you can do is trial and error and look to see when the last time the mod was updated. I'd, however, recommend copying versions of the mod that work correctly with the legacy branch from your Steam mod folder to your local game folder - "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\289070" to "..\User Files\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\Mods" - and then unsubscribing from the Steam mods. That way you won't get those mods auto-updating whenever the author updates it to be compatible with the newest game version.

 

[Sigilization]

Thanks for elaborating. If you don't mind my asking to clarify further, given that these issues are new to me : if I understand you correctly, you're suggesting that I copy the mods that work with the legacy version to the local game folder so that they continue to work with the legacy game version even if they are updated to work with the current version. This makes sense; can I also keep the copies in the Steam mod folder so that I'll have those updates if I also want to play the current version (for which presumably there are some mods that will not function in legacy)? Also: is there any way to protect the functionality of the version of JT Warhammer that I have right now, that works with the current legacy, so that I'll still be able to use it after the next update? Or is there nothing that can be done? (If what is "current" now will be "legacy" later, then it's guaranteed to not work during the next legacy, as you suggest. So is there a way to somehow keep the current legacy? Would it work if I somehow set Steam to never go online again on that laptop? I'd never get new mods or updates, but is there any reason that functionality would be impaired as long as I never uninstalled civ and kept all of the files? I could always get another laptop to dedicate to the current updates. Do you know if the game will ever try to force me to go online to verify some credential or something?

 

[Laurana Kanan]

can I also keep the copies in the Steam mod folder so that I'll have those updates if I also want to play the current version (for which presumably there are some mods that will not function in legacy)?

It's one or the other. You can't have the same mod in both folders. I think "technically" you could change the "Mod id" defined in the modinfo file in your local version and then enable/disable them depending on the game version, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Also: is there any way to protect the functionality of the version of JT Warhammer that I have right now, that works with the current legacy, so that I'll still be able to use it after the next update? Or is there nothing that can be done? (If what is "current" now will be "legacy" later, then it's guaranteed to not work during the next legacy, as you suggest.

Nothing I know of.

So is there a way to somehow keep the current legacy? Would it work if I somehow set Steam to never go online again on that laptop? I'd never get new mods or updates, but is there any reason that functionality would be impaired as long as I never uninstalled civ and kept all of the files? I could always get another laptop to dedicate to the current updates. Do you know if the game will ever try to force me to go online to verify some credential or something?

Someone else might have to answer this as I've never gone offline with Steam. I seem to recall, though, that you might have to periodically login.

Long term, though, I think you'd be better off trying to update the mod yourself. The best place to start would be as I suggested and look at the two log files I mentioned above and look for errors. It should help you isolate where the mod is failing.

 

[LeeS]

If you put Steam in offline mode it will not attempt to update anything except the Steam Client software itself. You cannot control that at all. If your computer is internet enabled the Steam software will update itself whenever Steam issues another of their seemingly interminable Steam Client Updates. These Client updates have nothing to do with actual game content, they have to do with the way the Steam interface looks, etc., though there have been times when a Steam update was not very friendly for me with Workshop downloaded content but this is a rarity.

Steam will not in my experience "force" you to go online to verify credentials.

If you are in offline mode continuously for an extended period of time you will usually have to go through a complete login process the next time you decide to go back online with Steam.

I generally run Steam in offline mode for the most part and only go online when I have completed a game and therefore do not have to concern myself with the "fun" that might occur from auto-updating of the game or of mods to which I am subscribed.

 

[LeeS]

Part of the problem with mods that add a lot of Art Assets is that there appears to be a hard limit the game can handle. Lots of people are reporting the Unhandled Exception Deathmessage when running very many mods that add new textures and 3d graphics. This issue does not apparently arise when only the Firaxis created content is used -- the hard limit appears (as best the modding community can figure out) at just some slight amount more than the current official content. "Slight" being a word whose definition is a bit slippery as certain combinations of mods will still work but others will not. This issue has actually been going on since before the most recent patch/update.

 

[Sigilization]

Thanks again Laurana for elaborating further and also Lee for adding these reassurances about the offline mode. I am definitely interested in learning how to update the mod myself if possible, but my remaining initial question is: does the log file still show errors if the game does not even start due to the "Error Starting Game"? Is there a guide somewhere to identifying errors and understanding what they mean?

Lee's perpetual offline mode sounds like the way to go. When I get a new laptop perhaps my new project can be learning to fix the broken mod to work with whatever is current at the time. It appears at the moment that my choices are either fantasy functionality or the April update, none of the content of which seem worth sacrificing such a unique mod. Of course I wouldn't be able to multiplayer, but then again, I've used Civ more for speculative world-generation than learning competent empire management (though I have committed educational Dan Quayle quotes to memory thanks to the frequency of their appearance. I think my high point so far was comparison to Warren Harding), so I'm yet to qualify for the standard recommendation for fixing the AI (play against humans).

Thanks also Lee for the hint about the unhandled exception. I've been perplexed by what seemed to be a variability in the compatibility of mods seemingly based on other factors, and the idea of a general load-based limit not specific to particular mods hadn't occurred to me (nor presumably to many others who are total novices in this)