changing a mod from 3.13 to 3.17?

[lord_graywolfe]

ok maybe im just being dense but since the new patch came out ive been trying to get my mod to work with it with no luck. now when i made my mod i didnt give it its own gamecoredll file to try and avoid problems with future upgrades. i can add every part of both patches to the game and the mod will run fine untill i add the new 3.17 gamecoredll file then it no longer works. from what i have already read since i dont have a gamecoredll file in my mod it should work fine so im confused why it CTD each time i try to start a game. is there some vital step im missing to converting my mod to the new patch?

 

[Wolfshanze]

I don't think I can help... to my knowledge there were no earth-shattering changes in XML between 3.13 and 3.17... I have a rather extensive mod myself with a lot of XML changes, but it worked from 3.13 to 3.17 so long as I left out the custom DLL I had for v3.13.

I have since tested my mod and successfully ported it over to v3.17 and I can use custom 3.17 DLLs now as well.

Not sure what to tell you... in theory, so long as you had no custom DLL, XML changes in a v3.13 mod should work in v3.17... with only the possibility of missing/skipping some of the changes in v3.17 as a result (say a stat changed for a unit or something).

You didn't have anything lurking in Custom Assets do you?

 

[lord_graywolfe]

actually the gamecore for 3.17 from solvers patch is in custom assets and it doesnt interfere with the mod at all. the regular patch seems to put everthing, including the gamecoredll in the regular game folder while solvers puts it in the my game folder under custom assets. do you think that could be it?, is the regular patch suppose to be in custom assets instead of the main game file? seems like the auto install would put it where it is suppose to be. i had an SDK folder that came with another Mod addon that i used and thought that might have been the problem but it still CTD with that gone. i have also tried putting the new gamecore in the mod as well but that didnt help at all. so im still stumped on what im doing wrong, or not doing.

 

[Wolfshanze]

I've actually had better results by putting a custom DLL in the "Assets" folder of whatever mod you use/have instead of in custom assets.

You should try that. I've used several custom gamecore DLLs for both 3.13 and 3.17... putting it in the Assets folder of your mod instead of custom assets seems to work better.

 

[deanej]

A DLL won't work in CustomAssets. That ability was removed in a patch. If you made no DLL changes, there is no reason to put a DLL in your mod. If you're using a DLL from another mod, you must make sure that DLL is for 3.17. Not all mods have been updated.

 

[lord_graywolfe]

ok just tried that and i still get the CTD when i try and start a game in my mod. the only place ive found that i can have the new gamecoredll with out it causing my mod problems is in the custom assets folder. anywhere else and i get CTD. that means i can use solvers patch but not the regular one since it drops everything in the main game folder. i just dont know why the dll file is causing my mod so much grief.

 

[lord_graywolfe]

i havnt made any dll changes in my mod now im not sure if mamba did or not, im using diversica in my mod. the other small mod add ons where all either small python or xml changes so i dont see them causing any problems.im not even sure where or how to make dll changes. so where would i look to see if one of the other mods i included in mine did make changes?

 

[deanej]

A DLL file in CustomAssets isn't loaded by the game, so putting a DLL there is the same as not having it at all. If the game crashes with it in assets, either something is wrong with the DLL or your game, or there is a version mismatch. You need 3.17 for a 3.17 DLL, 3.13 for a 3.13 DLL, etc.

Do you even have 3.17? Solver's patch is a patch for 3.17, not 3.13.

 

[lord_graywolfe]

i installed 3.17 and it works for the regular game but when i load my mod and try to start a game i get CTD. now i can add everything from the new patch except the DLL and the mod will work fine. as soon as i add the 3.17 DLL to the game my mod stops working. i dont have a Dll file in my mod and i did a search of it and there is no file in my mod that is DLL in any way, nothing even using those leters in that order. so it should work with out problem with the new gamecore but its not.

 

[deanej]

Since you don't have a DLL file in your mod, why are you putting one in? If a file is not different from the epic game, there is no reason to include it. It looks like you're not actually running 3.17, or you are adding a 3.13 DLL. What civ version does the game say you have when you go to Advanced->About this Build?

 

[lord_graywolfe]

im not adding the DLL to my mod, when the new DLL is added to the main game folder my mod wont work any more. as soon as i try and start it CTD. before the new patch is installed it is civ ver 313, save ver 301, build ver 3.0.0.1 after the patch is installed the regular game says civ ver 317 save ver 301 build ver 3.1.3.1. the regular game works fine. but when i load my mod after the new patch is installed it says civ ver 313 save ver 301 build ver 3.1.3.1. what im not understanding is why my mod isnt accepting the new gamecoreDLL in the patch. what do i need to change in the mod to get it to work with the patch?

well i found out why the civ ver in my mod still said 313, i had to actually change the number in the global defines file. so now my mod says civ ver 317 but it still CTD with the new patch installed.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Let's cut to the chase:

1) Concur with deanej... A DLL file in CustomAssets isn't loaded by the game, so putting a DLL there is the same as not having it at all.

2) What is the PURPOSE of the custom DLL you are trying so hard to use? What changes are in the custom DLL that you want/need?

3) Most mods that use a custom DLL use it for one or more significant changes to gameplay... either more then 18 civs in a game (40 or 50 civs), a significant rule change like adding Dales' Combat Mod(s), or some other basic change to gameplay... if all you seek is some snazzier graphics and/or a few new units or stat changes, all of that is accomplished without a new DLL... you only need a custom DLL if you are changing gameplay in some significant way outside of new units or graphics.

4) Some mods that come with custom DLLs (such as my own) will work just fine without the custom DLL... you just get the mod without whatever rules changing was in there... in my own mod, for instance, the most important DLL change was adding support for 40-civs in a single scenario... you can play my mod without the DLL and it looks just the same, you just don't get support for 40-civs.

Having said the above... once again... what is your purpose for a custom DLL? Also... I believe you have v3.17 installed, but I have a very strong belief you are trying to use a custom DLL that is designed for v3.13... that simply won't work... custom DLLs for 3.13 just don't work with v3.17.

 

[deanej]

What Wolfshanze said.

Also, if you need to change the number in GlobalDefines, either you don't have the patch installed properly (you need the Firaxis patch, not Solver's; Solver's is a patch for the patch) or your mod includes that file. If it's the latter, then you should put in modified defines in GlobalDefinesAlt. If it's the former, download the correct patch from this site.

 

[lord_graywolfe]

im not trying to add a custom DLL to my mod. im trying to get my mod to work when i install the new 3.17 patch. which right now its not. there is no DLL in my mod and i have no intention of putting one in there. everytime i install the new one from the offical patch into the game folder my mod stops working. this is what i dont understand, why my mod isnt working with the new patch.

yes i have the global defines file in my mod, it contains some changes i made for number of wonders per city and few other things. even when i put the new number in there it still didnt work with the new patch.

what is globaldefinesalt? i dont have any file with that name

 

[deanej]

Install this patch first and THEN install Solver's patch. Solver's patch is a patch for 3.17; you need 3.17 first before you install Solver's patch.

GlobalDefinesAlt is basically a modular version of GlobalDefines. It's used by many mods (including the Firaxis ones) so it shouldn't be hard to find, but I can't find a tutorial referencing it right now.

 

[lord_graywolfe]

i did install the offical 3.17 patch first then solvers, ive removed them and reinstalled them, i have completely uninstalled the entire game and reloaded it with ever offical and unoffical patch in the order they came out. none of that works. for what ever reason the offical patch from firaxis and my mod do not work together. the only part of the offical 3.17 patch that i have found after installing it file by file that causes a problem is the new gamecoreDLL. every other part of the new firaxis patch causes no problems with my mod. i am still going through the files in my mod trying to find why it cant work with the new offical patch but so far i can find nothing that makes reference to 3.13


oh and i switch the global defines to globaldefinesalt.

 

[Wolfshanze]

The only way I could see the XML portion of your mod having problems with the official v3.17 gamecore is if your custom mod XML calls for something very specific to v3.13 or a change made to a gamecore in v3.13... did you have a custom Gamecore for v3.13? Maybe like Dale's Combat Mod or something that changed the rules in v3.13?

In theory, XML alone from v3.13 should run fine with the v3.17 gamecore... unless your XML from v3.13 calls for something rather peculiar or quite custom.

One final way to ensure compatibility is to take any and all customized changes from your mod and transfer them over (bit by bit) to a clean copy of the same file from v3.17.

I'm about out of ideas though... from your description, it should work... I had a LOT of XML changes in my Wolfshanze Mod and feared it wouldn't run well or properly in v3.17... but I made the transfer over quite smoothly, and it runs well with or without a custom gamecore DLL.

 

[Jeckel]

What do your logs say? Are you getting an xml or other error?

 

[lord_graywolfe]

i dont use dale', mod. the biggest change in the mod is that i use Diversica. i already talked to mamaba about it and he didnt make any major rule changes or do anything with the DLL. the other things i have add are small MODCOMP stuff that is almost entirely python changes. my xml changes to the units and civs were pretty minor, adding new units and stuff. so far i havnt been able to find anything in my mod that would account for the problem.

well ill try transfering it all over piece by piece and see where the problem shows up at. thanks for the ideas

@jeckel im not getting any errors at all, i load the mod go into single player then custom game. i can make all my choices but as soon as i hit launch it CTD. its pretty screwy but ill keep at it. ive ask the people using my mod to see if they are able to use it with the new patch or if its just on my end.

 

[deanej]

How did you install the patch file by file? As far as I know that's not possible. You may want to check your python, as there were some fundamental changes in it, especially CvAdvisorUtils but possibly other files as well. Another thing would be to use a file comparison utility like WinMerge to see what the differences are.