Switching between different ToTPP scenarios.

[techumseh]

I stopped playing this weekend after finding two issues which I think may be related to version 0.14 of TOTPP. The first issue is related to units not being homed to the city they are being built in and the second is when you buy a city improvement the cost is not getting subtracted from your treasury. I've reported them to TNO for him to review:

Check out post #717 and post #721.

Has anyone else experienced these issues with version 0.14 of TOTPP?

What are the last settings on your ToTPP? This is an issue I've been wondering about. ToT Patch Project isn't, AFAIK, a hex-editing program. It patches the executable, ie. the ToT program itself. So when you start a new scenario or load a saved game without using the Patch Program, the last setting used when you launched the program with ToTPP will still apply.

A number of new factors such as movement multipliers for railways and rivers, defensive bonuses for fortresses etc. are set in the new @COSMIC2 field in the Rules file. I'm not sure how they apply in a scenario without the new field. My ToT exec. is set for no movement bonus for rivers, and that seems to be how it's working with my Bitterfrost game, despite it not having a @COSMIC2 field.

This may have real implications for scenarios, since it looks like you will have to manually reset the ToTPP settings for individual scenarios each time you load one of its saved games. Can anyone with more computer knowledge than me shed any light on this?

 

[tootall_2012]

Hi Tech,

I'll admit I haven't thoroughly tested what I'm about to say but after I reported the issues I found on Curt's thread I decided to try and follow his advice and roll back to version 0.13, but a little to my surprise I noticed that I was still having issues with the treasury not getting subtracted.

I thought maybe the parameters are getting saved in some registry or other (it didn't occur to me at the time that it might be saved in the .sav or .scn files) so I decided to try and re-install the base game and TOTPP from scratch. But again to my surprise, and again I haven't tested this thoroughly, when I load the .scn of my Vietnam project, I see that at least one of the TOTPP features isn't working (I'm using the city sprite feature that assigns a different city graphic for each map I'm using but now all maps are using the same base city.bmp).

So before going any further, I decided I should wait to see if TNO could confirm what the problem might be.

 

[techumseh]

Thanks for the response. We should sort it out I think. By my count there are just 5 scenario designers at SL who still release regularly, if infrequently: McMonkey, Tootall_2012, Patine, Curt Sibling and me. Hopefully the Patch Project will attract more, but right now we are a major market segment for TNO's wonderful project.

A couple of things occur to me. First, we should try as much as possible to retain interoperability between our scenarios. Being able to switch back and forth as seamlessly as possible is important for users, IMHO. If you have to install various new programs or manually enter a bunch of data before launching a new scenario or loading a saved game, the threshold of effort required will be too high for many potential users.

Second, it might be useful to have a discussion as to what features are most desirable in future versions from the point of view of more experienced designers. Comments?

 

[CurtSibling]

I agree, Tech. We should stick to the same set-up parameters to our scenarios, and try to keep standardization as much as possible.

That would include us all using the last stable release of TOTPP, which I reckon is v13.

 

[techumseh]

Why do you think v14 is not?

 

[tootall_2012]

...A couple of things occur to me. First, we should try as much as possible to retain interoperability between our scenarios. Being able to switch back and forth as seamlessly as possible is important for users, IMHO. If you have to install various new programs or manually enter a bunch of data before launching a new scenario or loading a saved game, the threshold of effort required will be too high for many potential users.

I remember asking TNO about versioning on his thread, see post #432.

As I understood it at the time any scenario designed with a previous version of TOTPP should still work with the most recent version of the program because it maintains all of the previous versions features.

Second, it might be useful to have a discussion as to what features are most desirable in future versions from the point of view of more experienced designers. Comments?

For my part, I'm very eager to see the Transport mechanics that TNO started looking into a while back developed.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

I think ToTPP settings are saved in an .ini file (TOTPP.ini) in the main Test of Time folder. Including that in your scenario distributions might be helpful. I am unsure if they are backwards compatible though with previous ToTPP versions.

 

[techumseh]

I see no sign of an ".ini file" or a "TOTPP.ini file" in any of my directories.

 

[techumseh]

McMonkey, we need you to weigh in. (edit: I mean please. Sorry.)

 

[Patine]

This indeed is a very worrisome issue. Which brings to mind the question: how do you change the ToTPP settings of a specific scenario? I began my KW scenario YEARS ago, and there are a few features from ToTPP I would definitely like added. But, as Techumseh's issue makes clear, not the SAME choice of features used specifically for SCW, Burma, WoB, or Tootall's upcoming Vietnam. That can definitely get problematic.

 

[techumseh]

I don't mean to suggest that we all use the same settings - that would be contrary to the whole point of the patch. But how can we make it as easy as possible for a user to switch between saved games of Warlords of Bitterfrost and Spanish Civil War, all the while trying to finish Burma Campaign? (just a hypothetical example).

 

[McMonkey]

Once you first run ToTPP launcher you should find the following .ini file in your main Test of Time folder:



I believe its important to keep your Test of Time main files in a document called GAMES in either your Program Files or, as I have it, on an external hard-drive. I can't remember the details of why this needs to be done but I remember there was an issue with the default location the ToT auto installer puts the main directory. This should be a simple copy & paste job. I believe I checked Catfish's Cave for installation instructions.

As far as I can see we should be able to check all of the boxes of the latest version of ToTPP as most of the actual changes are applied by alterations to the @COSMIC2 and other sections of the Rules.txt file. We can all be using the latest version of ToTPP launcher (which I use every time I start up ToT) and the differentials will be defined by the contents of our scenario folders.

That's my understanding of it, please correct me if I'm wrong. It seems to me the minor error in the 0.14 version has knocked peoples confidence a little but I have absolute faith that TheNamelessOne will fix the bug and we can continue to create without problems with both the current version and future additions.

 

[McMonkey]

BTW, I agree with the need to try and keep things as simple as possible and as easy to install as possible for new players. I know from other games how off-putting complex installations can be. With Open General I was struggling until I found the handy launcher that installed the game and all the settings along with nearly all of the available scenarios. At the end of the day we want to make our scenarios as widely available and accessible as possible.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

For me, since I'm on Windows 7, I installed it on C:\Games\<tot install>, Since Program Files tends to make things difficult, as most people know by now.

I can play 0.14 with minimal effort since I figured out a fix for the home city issue.

 

[McMonkey]

Have I got it the wrong way around? I think I meant to say install it anywhere but Program Files folder. That's one reason I have it on an external hard-drive, that and it also means I can access ToT on my desktop and on my laptop. Thanks PlutonianEmpire!

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

You're welcome. Merry Belated Christmas!

 

[techumseh]

Once you first run ToTPP launcher you should find the following .ini file in your main Test of Time folder:

Interesting. I found the file, which opens with notebook, but in my directory it has no ini. suffix. So these settings are loaded when you start the ToT program? Does this mean that if you substituted a different one that had the settings of the scenario you wanted to play, you wouldn't have to manually reset ToTPP each time? Sorry, please be patient while I catch up.

If each scenario made with the Patch included the correct ini. file for that scenario, you could back up the one being used in your main directory and install it. We might even make a bat. program to switch them, with each scenario's ini. file having it's own code to be entered when switching.

 

[McMonkey]

I would ask TheNamelessOne about this but I guess in theory it might work. I just don't understand the mechanics enough to confirm anything.

With regards to the .ini file extension, you can view these by going to a folder, clicking Organize > Folder and Search Options > View > Un-check: Hide extensions for known file types. I leave this option permanently un-checked so I can see exactly what file type I'm looking at. It's useful for changing .sav to .hot, .jpeg to .jpg, .txt to whatever. You just need to make sure the file always has a .dot something at the end. If you change something and it warns you that changing the file extension may make it unusable then click OK. You can always swap it back again if you have made an error.

 

[Patine]

I believe it's definitely the "anywhere but Program Files" thing. I install mine in just a folder called "Test of Time" right in my direct HD directory (exact same level of directory as the Program Files folder itself, in fact), with no "Games" folder or other intermediary folder, and things work just fine as far as editing and monkeying about.

 

[techumseh]

TheNamelessOne:

Yes, all patch configuration from the launcher and the TOTPP settings menu is saved in TOTPP.ini. You can switch settings by distributing that file.

That simplifies things quite a bit. Perhaps we could make a bat. file switching program and a create a standardized labeling format for our ini. files? Can you use a bat. file located in the scenario folder that will switch files in the main ToT folder?