[BTS] How to open HoF saves?

[Fish Man]

I've been trying to open HoF maps for a while but every time I encounter the error message "the save file you have selected is protected to ensure that the assets in your mod folder have not been changed." Does anyone know how to solve this? I have exactly the proper mod and version installed...

 

[Anysense]

There still can be something wrong with your assets folder. I know for sure that Russian version was messed up. It's still compatible with others, but you won't be able to open any HoF games if you use it.

 

[Fish Man]

There still can be something wrong with your assets folder. I know for sure that Russian version was messed up. It's still compatible with others, but you won't be able to open any HoF games if you use it.

How do I fix this?

 

[Pangaea]

Maybe this will help?
http://hof.civfanatics.net/civ4/mod.php?show=assetschecker

 

[lymond]

U, it's a result of the options setting called “Locked Modified Assets” required for HOF games.

Likely what has happened here is that you have something installled or active in Custom Assets like BUG. Or you have the BULL DLL active.

Essentially, a game created with LMA on must have matching assets - no matter the mod used.

So first check the 2 things mentioned. If you regularly use BUG in custom assets, you can rename the folder (inactive) and generate a fresh one simply be starting BTS again.

Ofc, there is the possibility that you jacked around with some asset file(s)..:.who knows, but that would be problematic.

Lastly, as someone who obviously had to open a lot of HOF games fior review, I’d say most players tend to generate games with BUFFY onlly. However, it is possible to run BUFFY with the BULL DLL active. A game generated with that DLL active cannot be loaded by another person unless they too have the DLL active, but it is possible.

Let me know what game you are trying to load and I can check if there is something unusual about it.

 

[Fish Man]

U, it's a result of the options setting called “Locked Modified Assets” required for HOF games.

Likely what has happened here is that you have something installled or active in Custom Assets like BUG. Or you have the BULL DLL active.

Essentially, a game created with LMA on must have matching assets - no matter the mod used.

So first check the 2 things mentioned. If you regularly use BUG in custom assets, you can rename the folder (inactive) and generate a fresh one simply be starting BTS again.

Ofc, there is the possibility that you jacked around with some asset file(s)..:.who knows, but that would be problematic.

Lastly, as someone who obviously had to open a lot of HOF games fior review, I’d say most players tend to generate games with BUFFY onlly. However, it is possible to run BUFFY with the BULL DLL active. A game generated with that DLL active cannot be loaded by another person unless they too have the DLL active, but it is possible.

Let me know what game you are trying to load and I can check if there is something unusual about it.

The assets checker doesn't even work for me, I think, because I have the game installed under a different directory than the one checked. After some searching I realize this was most likely the problem so I redownloaded the original version...but then it says "Mods\ods\BUFFY-3.19.003\ is an invalid mod directory, ignoring" despite the fact that the mod EXISTS and is available for loading...

 

[lymond]

ah..you have the Steam version. Did you installed the "beta original version"? Which directory did you install the mod? Steam install all versions of Civ as stand-alone, and in order to do this Warlords and BTS each have the original vanilla assets installed, with BTS embedded within. So you see something like this. BUFFY will not work without the beta steam version. (edit: never mind..you clearly stated that you installed the beta version above)

D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization IV Beyond the Sword\Beyond the Sword

So it appears there are 2 BTS folders. However, the first folder, "Sid Meier's Civilization IV Beyond the Sword", contains the vanilla assets. Yet, it does have a "mod" folder there. You need to install BUFFY in the Beyond The Sword/Mods folder instead.

Also, are you using a shortcut designated for BUFFY to load it. That is, you created a shortcut from the original BTS executable and modified the Target field so that the Mod is loaded directly from the shortcut?

 

[Fish Man]

ah..you have the Steam version. Did you installed the "beta original version"? Which directory did you install the mod? Steam install all versions of Civ as stand-alone, and in order to do this Warlords and BTS each have the original vanilla assets installed, with BTS embedded within. So you see something like this. BUFFY will not work without the beta steam version. (edit: never mind..you clearly stated that you installed the beta version above)

D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization IV Beyond the Sword\Beyond the Sword

So it appears there are 2 BTS folders. However, the first folder, "Sid Meier's Civilization IV Beyond the Sword", contains the vanilla assets. Yet, it does have a "mod" folder there. You need to install BUFFY in the Beyond The Sword/Mods folder instead.

Also, are you using a shortcut designated for BUFFY to load it. That is, you created a shortcut from the original BTS executable and modified the Target field so that the Mod is loaded directly from the shortcut?

I am not using a shortcut to load this. Even after doing what you have just said...locked modified assets. It's super frustrating

Also, asset checker found 68 errors...for some reason...

 

[lymond]

Please run Asset Checker and save it..then upload here.

I'm curious why that error had a corrupted directory.

What did you mean by having the game installed in a different directory? It is in the steamapps folder, no?

 

[Fish Man]

Please run Asset Checker and save it..then upload here.

I'm curious why that error had a corrupted directory.

What did you mean by having the game installed in a different directory? It is in the steamapps folder, no?

Not even sure where my game is installed...I suspect in My Games/beyond the sword but there are also (separate, and mostly duplicate) assets in steamapps.

 

[lymond]

Your asset checker results are fine. And I can see in there that your folder structure for the game looks right.

Not even sure where my game is installed...I suspect in My Games/beyond the sword but there are also (separate, and mostly duplicate) assets in steamapps.

I don't really know what to make of this response. Do you have another install of a non-steam Civ IV? (my games/bts is an auxiliary folder for saves and stuff, not an install directory) There should be no duplicate BTS assets. And your asset checker indicates as much.

Again, let me know the save you are trying to load, and I can see if there is something odd about it. It's very possible that nothing is wrong at all with your game or mod install. As I explained in detail above, if the BUFFY save was generated by someone with different assets - like BULL DLL - then other people will get the error you have encountered. I can narrow that down and let you know what you need to do to load it.

Again, LMA is a optional setting that Civ IV provides that is required by games submitted to HOF (and GOTMs as well). It is not related to a mod itself. The error you are seeing does not mean something is wrong with your BTS necessarily.

A user playing a HOF game, uses custom game to generate a new game, selecting LMA as a required option on the setting screen. With LMA on, a player cannot open World Builder and the game can only be used with the exact "asset state" that existed when it was generated.

 

[Fish Man]

Your asset checker results are fine. And I can see in there that your folder structure for the game looks right.



I don't really know what to make of this response. Do you have another install of a non-steam Civ IV? (my games/bts is an auxiliary folder for saves and stuff, not an install directory) There should be no duplicate BTS assets. And your asset checker indicates as much.

Again, let me know the save you are trying to load, and I can see if there is something odd about it. It's very possible that nothing is wrong at all with your game or mod install. As I explained in detail above, if the BUFFY save was generated by someone with different assets - like BULL DLL - then other people will get the error you have encountered. I can narrow that down and let you know what you need to do to load it.

Again, LMA is a optional setting that Civ IV provides that is required by games submitted to HOF (and GOTMs as well). It is not related to a mod itself. The error you are seeing does not mean something is wrong with your BTS necessarily.

A user playing a HOF game, uses custom game to generate a new game, selecting LMA as a required option on the setting screen. With LMA on, a player cannot open World Builder and the game can only be used with the exact "asset state" that existed when it was generated.

OK, here's the save I'm trying to open.

 

[lymond]

Ugh..hold on a moment.. I going to grab a link to a post I made over in GOTM. This should of popped in my mind initially, but I did not know you were on Steam until a few post later.

 

[lymond]

Ok, U...so here's the deal. I started using the steam version myself very recently - mainly due to win10. I recently jacked around with it trying to get BUFFY to work with it for a GOTM (this was known issue with the Steam version, but irrelevant to me until I started using it recently)

So, BUFFY runs with the beta steam version, but the issue related to what I mentioned earlier about different assets when opening a pre-existing save, like say a Game of the Month generated by GOTM staff that don't use the Steam version. Or in your case, likely the same deal but with a HOF game created by some else not a steam.

It boils down to the simple fact that the Steam version has a different DLL. I narrowed down the issue based on some stuff I'd done for HOF and some work Neilmeister did trying to get the HOF mods (van,warlords,bts) to work for GOTM saves.

Bottom line, all you need is a copy of the original non-steam dll. I lay this all out in a post over in a GOTM game here:

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/news-botm-144-starts-december-9th.625166/page-3#post-14952098

The DLL switchers are something I've been using a long time. You don't have to use those, but they are nice. However, the main thing is that before you copy over the DLL contained in the zip, make sure you rename the existing DLL.

(oh..i had attached winrar files, but in a post below that I attach some regular zip files)

Sorry I should have immediately noted this when you first mentioned Steam, but you kinda jumped to another issue about not loading this that or the other.

 

[lymond]

U - I should clarify one thing. The solution I set up for this involved those DLL switcher which are .bat executables (essentially dos code). The included DLL, which is the non-steam version you need to run BUFFY, has an extension ".buffy", which a) makes the dll inactive b) identifies the file to the executable.

However, if you don't want to use the DLL switchers, which honestly make things sooooo easy once you get them working, then you will need to remove the ".buffy", which will make the DLL active. However, you will need to inactivate the original steam dll by putting a ".something" at them end. I suggest .original at the end.

Do not overwrite the original DLL.

 

[Fish Man]

Ok, U...so here's the deal. I started using the steam version myself very recently - mainly due to win10. I recently jacked around with it trying to get BUFFY to work with it for a GOTM (this was known issue with the Steam version, but irrelevant to me until I started using it recently)

So, BUFFY runs with the beta steam version, but the issue related to what I mentioned earlier about different assets when opening a pre-existing save, like say a Game of the Month generated by GOTM staff that don't use the Steam version. Or in your case, likely the same deal but with a HOF game created by some else not a steam.

It boils down to the simple fact that the Steam version has a different DLL. I narrowed down the issue based on some stuff I'd done for HOF and some work Neilmeister did trying to get the HOF mods (van,warlords,bts) to work for GOTM saves.

Bottom line, all you need is a copy of the original non-steam dll. I lay this all out in a post over in a GOTM game here:

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/news-botm-144-starts-december-9th.625166/page-3#post-14952098

The DLL switchers are something I've been using a long time. You don't have to use those, but they are nice. However, the main thing is that before you copy over the DLL contained in the zip, make sure you rename the existing DLL.

(oh..i had attached winrar files, but in a post below that I attach some regular zip files)

Sorry I should have immediately noted this when you first mentioned Steam, but you kinda jumped to another issue about not loading this that or the other.

Thanks for taking the time to help me. Unfortunately...still doesn't work. The message pops up even after I replace every single DLL in the directory, including that of unrelated mods, with the DLL you provided

No, I did not override the original DLLs - I replaced them with .original, so yes, they are preserved. Still, though, I'm sort of at a loss here...

 

[lymond]

Ok, we need to narrow this down. I was able to load Seriael's game file, and I basically have the exact same setup as you.

First, this is the folder you should be doing the work:

D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization IV Beyond the Sword\Beyond the Sword\Assets

(note the lower BTS folder..as there are two. The "Sid Meier's Civilization IV Beyond the Sword" folder has an asset folder also, but that should not be changed at all)

You can tell the difference between the DLL by the file size:

original - 4828 kb

buffy - 4834 kb

bull - 5132 kb

You want the buffy one active, so make sure the active dll is 4834 kb. (the bull dll is irrelevant right now)

Again, try this out, making sure the buffy dll is active and let me know what happens.

Another thing you can try is going to:

C:\.......\Documents\My Games\beyond the sword

Delete the "Custom Assets" folder. Run BTS normally once. Exit. Run again with BUFFY.

I just want to make sure you have not installed something in custom assets in the past that may conflict.

 

[Fish Man]

Ok, we need to narrow this down. I was able to load Seriael's game file, and I basically have the exact same setup as you.

First, this is the folder you should be doing the work:

D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization IV Beyond the Sword\Beyond the Sword\Assets

(note the lower BTS folder..as there are two. The "Sid Meier's Civilization IV Beyond the Sword" folder has an asset folder also, but that should not be changed at all)

You can tell the difference between the DLL by the file size:

original - 4828 kb

buffy - 4834 kb

bull - 5132 kb

You want the buffy one active, so make sure the active dll is 4834 kb. (the bull dll is irrelevant right now)

Again, try this out, making sure the buffy dll is active and let me know what happens.

Another thing you can try is going to:

C:\.......\Documents\My Games\beyond the sword

Delete the "Custom Assets" folder. Run BTS normally once. Exit. Run again with BUFFY.

I just want to make sure you have not installed something in custom assets in the past that may conflict.

DLL is the right size (4834 kb). Deleted custom assets, and then ran again. Still nothing...

In the assets folder of buffy, is that dll supposed to be 5264 kb?

 

[lymond]

Yes, the BUFFY DLL is fine, but that is irrelevant. BUFFY is standalone mod, so ultimately that is the dll used, but this is the main DLL and the LMA asset checks are done on that.

What is the exact error you are getting. I assume you can run BTS and load BUFFY, right? So you just can't load the save?

Please be descriptive in as to your results. Everything little thing could help.

Can you take a screen shot of the files in your main Assets folder and post it up?

 

[lymond]

for instance, this is what mine looks like:

Spoiler :