BtS XML problem: some fixed, what about Warlords?

[ere]

Hi,

I have had the XML problem that seems to be all over the internet since I bought Warlords, however the problem worsened after BtS arrived and I decided to tackle it.

I tried almost all things I could find online: msxml3, change non-Unicode language, reinstalling etc.

After some serious researching I found in a Chinese website (I run Trad. Chinese Windows Vista) some "fix" files:
"civ4gametext_bts",
"..._bts_fourthroundtranslation" and
"..._cities_bts" for BtS;

"..._warlords_objects" for Warlords.

they seem to have fixed part of the problem: error messages have been reduced from 12 to 8, and most names in the interface are back to normal, yet some features introduced in Warlords are still not displayed correctly.

Error messages that remains mention these files:
"..._warlords.xml"
"..._warlords_changed.xml"
"..._warlords_civ4ch@nged.xml"

any ideas what I should try next? please let me know if i should post more info.

thanks in advance!

EDIT: I spent some time going through the game. as expected, all BtS features, Civ4 features are displayed perfectly fine, as well as names of new leaders from Warlords. However most info from Warlords are missing, including Civilopedia entries, unit names and leader traits, all of which were displayed before I had BtS. also, I realized that _warlords.xml, _warlords_changed.xml and _warlords_civ. .. .. .. .. .ged.xml are all now blank. wonder if this is supposed to be happening. could someone tell me? thanks.

 

[ori]

Welcome to CFC

you should not loose files by installing bts - something went wrong there. Did you make all these changes prior to installing Bts?

 

[ere]

Welcome to CFC

you should not loose files by installing bts - something went wrong there. Did you make all these changes prior to installing Bts?

no. I installed BtS, saw the problems, looked for solutions online and changed things. might worth noting is that while the xml files mentioned are now blank, they are still their original size and consists of a large chunk of space when opened with notepad.

 

[ori]

are you using a chinese version of the game or one from Europe or the US?

 

[ere]

are you using a chinese version of the game or one from Europe or the US?

its the US English version.

 

[ori]

does civ4 work fine?

The problem is with the non.unicode setting - you said that changing that language setting did not help, right?

 

[ere]

does civ4 work fine?

Yes (and ultra addictive still =]), but Civilopedia entries from Warlords are missing (they were fine before installing BtS), and some text in the interface as well (such as AI's attitude towards player's choice of vassal, request to enter/exit vassal agreement etc., stuff from Warlords)

The problem is with the non.unicode setting - you said that changing that language setting did not help, right?

Correct.

After checking again, there are 3 xmls that are blank:
..._warlords.xml
..._civ4ch@nged.xml
..._civilopedia.xml

a sample file: here
EDIT: if the url doesn't work: http://rapidshare.com/files/242397211/CIV4GameText_Warlords_Civ4ch@nged.xml.html
(change @ to a)

curiously enough, the "last edited" date still says some time 2007, the date it was last edited by the game studio.

thanks.

 

[ori]

I'll look into this - but am extremely busy right now - so I'll likely not manage to this before tomorrow morning

 

[ori]

ok I looked at that file - this is seriously damaged (it contains only blank characters).
did you install the game with administrator rights?
what is your unicode language set to, what is your non-unicode language set to?

 

[ere]

both Unicode and non-unicode languages are set to Traditional Chinese, as setting non-unicode to English causes much inconvenience when using other programs.

i think i have 3 or 4 Warlord XML files that looks like the sample one. thanks

 

[ori]

unfortunately the way the xml files are coded a non-unicode language of chinese will break them (unless you play a chinese version) - http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=241569

As for the broken files: I would recommend a complete reinstall as below - unfortunately this will not solve the non-unicode problem...

On Vista: make sure to run all installers and patches with administrator rights (right click on each setup.exe and patch and choose run as administrator - do not use the autoplay feature).
install the most recent version of DirectX 9c from Microsoft

then do the following for a clean reinstall:

Uninstall and Reinstall Civ4 Warlords BtS :

Try to follow this order when doing stuff:
Use Control panel to uninstall Beyond the Sword, then Warlords, then Civ4
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\my documents\my games\sid meier's civilization 4" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\my documents\my games\warlords" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\my documents\my games\beyond the sword" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\application data\my games\sid meier's civilization 4" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\application data\my games\warlords" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\application data\my games\beyond the sword" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\local settings\application data\my games\sid meier's civilization 4" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\local settings\application data\my games\warlords" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\local settings\application data\my games\beyond the sword" manually
(note: application data is a hidden directory so you need to configure windows explorer to show hidden files, also these directories in application data are sometimes removed by the uninstall routine)
Delete "...\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{CFBCE791-2D53-4FCE-B3FB-D6E01F4112E8}" (Civ4)
Delete "...\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{3E4B349F-10B5-4586-9D99-489A90A8B228}" (Warlords)
Delete "...\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{32E4F0D2-C135-475E-A841-1D59A0D22989}" (BtS)
(note: InstallShield Installation Information is a hidden directory so you need to configure windows explorer to show hidden files).
Install Civ4, immediately patch it to 1.61 (download it fresh from here)
Install Warlords, immediately patch it to 2.08 (download it fresh from here)
Install Beyond the Sword, immediately patch to 3.19 (download it fresh from here).