The Patch!

[Ragnarok]

The patch is out! Here is the link to SF download page. (http://www.strategyfirst.com/downloads/ListFiles.asp?sLanguageCode=EN&iGameID=134&iFileTy peID=2&btnSubmit=Search)

[Combat Wombat]

OMG OMG OMG

/me does the happy dance

New Invasion! version with patch compatibility will be released today everyone be ready!

[Iron Giant]

73 mb - Holy Moley!
Is anything different from Gold?

[Ragnarok]

Iron Giant said:
73 mb - Holy Moley!
Is anything different from Gold?



73MB is to patch from Classic to Deluxe. If you already have Gold you can just download the 2.68MB file.

Edit: I may be mistaken. The small file does not seem to want to upgrade. Perhaps you do have to download the entire 73MB file. /threads/images/Graemlins/Cold.gif

[Combat Wombat]

Ragnarok said:

Iron Giant said:
73 mb - Holy Moley!
Is anything different from Gold?



73MB is to patch from Classic to Deluxe. If you already have Gold you can just download the 2.68MB file.

The difference from classic to gold/deluxe is significant.



wrong http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

the only people that can download the small file are the people that already have deluxe.

[geoschmo]

This is interesting. According to the description, the 73 MB patch will upgrade non-Gold SE4, as in version 1.49, up to 1.94. That would explain why it's 73 MB. I had not heard they were going to offer that. So basically anyone that never bought SE4 Gold can get fully updated now.

The patch for 1.91 is only 3 MB, which is probably mainly the new sound files.

[Fyron]

I think that might not work. It probably only includes changes from 1.93 to 1.94... It is too small to contain all of the changes since 1.60. 1.91 patch was 4.18 MB.

[Combat Wombat]

It says right there on the site the 2.68MB patch is only for patching Deluxe the other one(73MB) says its the patch for classic and gold...

[Ragnarok]

Imperator Fyron said:
I think that might not work. It probably only includes changes from 1.93 to 1.94... It is too small to contain all of the changes since 1.60. 1.91 patch was 4.18 MB.



You guys are right. I tried going from 1.91 to 1.94 using the small file and it will not work. I am downloading the large file now.

It should be done in about half an hour. Horribly slow connection to SF; only 10kb/sec. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Wonder what changed from 1.93 (original deluxe release) to 1.94. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/confused.gif

[Iron Giant]

Upgrade Space Empires IV Original or Gold to Deluxe version 1.94

Isn't Gold what we all have here? In which case isn't the 73 mb download required for Gold users?

[Fyron]

Ragnarok said:
Wonder what changed from 1.93 (original deluxe release) to 1.94. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/confused.gif

Hopefully Aaron made tho game interpret track numbers as file names in Settings.txt so that 100% of Gold mods will work in Deluxe without modifcaiton (http://www.spaceempires.net/home/article-191--0-0.html).

[Combat Wombat]

The 73MB file comes from the upgrade to the .mp3 music system in deluxe. The patch includes all of the music in .mp3 format

[geoschmo]

So if you have Gold and are up to 1.91, you have to download the 73 MB file, of which all but probably about 5 MB is duplicates of files you already have. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Kind of inefficent, but ok...

EDIT: Oh, never mind. We all gotta stop posting at once. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[narf poit chez BOOM]

That changelog is going to be interesting.

[Combat Wombat]

The patch starts up for me but just sits at the splash screen anyone else have this problem?

[Combat Wombat]

Combat Wombat said:
The patch starts up for me but just sits at the splash screen anyone else have this problem?



haha shut it down and started it back up and it works now

[Fyron]

To help alleviate potentially clogged S1st bandwidth, we have added the patch to a BT tracker:

http://kazharii.no-ip.com:6969

See the stickied SE4 File Tracker thread (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Number=312091) for BT usage information.

[geoschmo]

Ok, that was a little tricksy. In the past what I have done was copy my c urrent SE4 version, then upgrade the copy. I tried to do that here, browsed to where I made the copy, but it ignored that and upgraded my current version anyway. I guess it only upgrades the copy that it finds in your registry entries.

Still works ok, just something to keep in mind for anyone intending to keep version 1.91 also on your machine.

[Combat Wombat]

geoschmo said:
Ok, that was a little tricksy. In the past what I have done was copy my c urrent SE4 version, then upgrade the copy. I tried to do that here, browsed to where I made the copy, but it ignored that and upgraded my current version anyway. I guess it only upgrades the copy that it finds in your registry entries.

Still works ok, just something to keep in mind for anyone intending to keep version 1.91 also on your machine.



I don't think so, my current install has drifted between 2 computers, 3 hard drives and 4 or 5 OS installs and the patch still worked. Its alot easier to just copy it over than redownloading and installing everything off the cd again.

[geoschmo]

Well, I don't know how it did it, but on my machine it most definetly upgraded the original that I left in the Shrapnel Games directory instead of the new copy I put in the Strategy First Directory.

[General Woundwort]

Thank goodness for broadband!

[Will]

w00t! So now, when is the boxed version available so I can buy that?

[Atrocities]

When you get the download could you post it on SE.net?

[Fyron]

It is available on BT tracker:

http://kazharii.no-ip.com:6969/

[Atrocities]

Man 77 megs! WTF.... Big Patch

[Kana]

If this is applied to your regular SE4 folder how will it effect your seperate PBW game/mod folders...?

Kana

[Fyron]

Mods will not be affected. As with any other patch, you should not play turns with 1.94 until the host upglades the game. It is best to maintain 2 separate copies of SE4, one on 1.91 and one on 1.94, until all of your games are upgraded.

[douglas]

I just did some testing, and Gold 1.91 and Deluxe 1.94 appear to be fully compatible with each other. I started a game in 1.91, played the turn in 1.94, copied the plr file back to the 1.91 folder and executed the turn with 1.91, and it worked just fine. I can't guarantee nothing in Deluxe would cause problems in Gold, but I think it's a fairly safe bet that playing existing PBW games with 1.94 even before they're upgraded on PBW won't cause any problems.

[geoschmo]

douglas said:
I just did some testing, and Gold 1.91 and Deluxe 1.94 appear to be fully compatible with each other.

That jives with what I'm seeing as well. And from looking at the history file it makes sense. Other than the music and intro screens it appears the only difference was he fixed a couple of rare RCE errors.

[Fyron]

I would still advise against it. There have been undocumented changes before. Better safe than sorry, I think. PBW games shouldn't take that long to upgrade to Deluxe anyways.

[kerensky]

oaky so stupid me goes and patches the game, game looks great, but me forgets that all of the files in the main space empires file are not the vanilla game but a heavily modified personal version, you know the type where you say "I wonder if this will work" go type it in and find out. I didn't think that the patch would overwrite all of the data files so I didn't think to make a bachup copy of them. Thus, a large amount of modding coming close to, if not succeding, the scale of the devnull mod itself, has been lost, along with the ability to play a game that I have had going for about two years now. Does anyone know if I can fix this problem or am I just pretty much screwed for my stupidness?

(NOTE: you really don't have to respond nicely, I've already killed myself about three times right now because of it.)

[Ed Kolis]

Errm... terribly sorry but if you have no backups then your data files are overwritten permanently... all I can say is next time remember to do your modding in a separate directory or at least a subdirectory of the SE4 directory... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Well, certain rare tools can get files off drives, even if the've been overwritten, or so I've heard.

Of course, other than going to your local FBI offices and asking for help, I have no idea how you'd find them. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Well got in the patch, looks alright. I wonder if David will update that Jraenar space battle intro with the new title font? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Fyron]

This is why it is a good idea to make all data file changes in a mod folder.

Those data recovery programs only work if none of the blocks in the old file were overwritten by anything. Sometimes they might work though...

[kerensky]

Well then that's that I guess. I can remember most of the major changes I made and can probably tweak out the minor changes if I play enough.

[Fyron]

There are a lot of bad NAT errors on the tracker. Make sure to forward those ports for optimal performance guys!

[Atrocities]

Ya! And no leeching either! You had better keep it going for the rest of us!

[kerensky]

Are thaes new hotkeys introduced with the patch or did I just never notice them before?


Shift + click - Allows you to select multiple ships for movement in the list section of the Main Window.
Shift + A - Select all ships in the ship list.
Shift + C - Clear all selected ships in the ship list.

[Slick]

Sorry, they were there before.

[David E. Gervais]

Captain Kwok said:
Well got in the patch, looks alright. I wonder if David will update that Jraenar space battle intro with the new title font? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif



ok, now you have me confused,.. What Jraenar Space Battle Intro? you mean the 'SE:IV Gold' into with the EEE atacking the Jraenar starbase? Well, it's for the 'Gold' version so why would I change the logo to say Deluxe? and FYI I did not do the Deluxe logo, One of SFI's artists did.

anyways, I'm not going to change the Gold logo to match the deluxe, sorry. Besides now my Gold Intro screen can become a collector's item http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif lol

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Atrocities]

David I like the new Deluxe intro.... Very nice. Don't let these combat junkies push you into changing it.

[Ragnarok]

Atrocities said:
David I like the new Deluxe intro.... Very nice. Don't let these combat junkies push you into changing it.



Do you mean Deluxe or Gold? David just said he did not make the Deluxe intro screen. However, he did make the Gold instro screen and that is the one Kwok asked to be changed.

[David E. Gervais]

I did indeed make the intro screen for SE4:Deluxe, I just did not make the font/logo for SE4:Deluxe.

I thought I was clear on that, but I guess I somehow explained wrong.

Anyhow, Cheers!

[Ragnarok]

David E. Gervais said:
I did indeed make the intro screen for SE4:Deluxe, I just did not make the font/logo for SE4:Deluxe.

I thought I was clear on that, but I guess I somehow explained wrong.

Anyhow, Cheers!



http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/redface.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/redface.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/redface.gif Oops...I think I'll go hide in a corner now. I wasn't distinguishing the difference between the logo and intro screen. My bad. Excellent work, David! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Thermodyne]

I wonder if there is a way to call the patch from the command line and then point it at a particular install folder with a switch?

[Renegade 13]

Ragnarok said:
It should be done in about half an hour. Horribly slow connection to SF; only 10kb/sec. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif


Try doing it at <3kb/s ... it'll only take 8 hours or so http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif Why, oh why couldn't there be a Gold->Deluxe patch separate from Classic->Deluxe! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Injured.gif

[narf poit chez BOOM]

The patch is probably a simple over-write of everything that's changed. A lot easier than isolating changes by version.

[douglas]

Even just a Gold->Deluxe patch would still have to contain almost 32 MB of mp3 files plus whatever else is needed for the minor changes.

[Fyron]

Renegade 13 said:
Try doing it at <3kb/s ... it'll only take 8 hours or so http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif Why, oh why couldn't there be a Gold->Deluxe patch separate from Classic->Deluxe! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Injured.gif

This is a good case for BT download. No fears about disconnects. http://kazharii.no-ip.com:6969 and http://www.utorrent.com for a 105 KB client.

[Kamog]

Finally my internet connection is working again. I downloaded the patch and installed it. The new intro screen looks good! OK, time to start a new game. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Fyron]

Hey David... do you have a 1280x1024 render of the Deluxe info for high res people like you did for Gold intro?

[David E. Gervais]

Imperator Fyron said:
Hey David... do you have a 1280x1024 render of the Deluxe info for high res people like you did for Gold intro?



Nope, I made that in my sleep and only have the 1024x768 and 800x600 versions. Sorry.

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Fyron]

Bah! The Gold one is better anyways. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Atrocities]

Gold kicks arse.... To bad Aaron couldn't have patched more and brought the version to 2.0 DELUXE!

[kerensky]

Any chance of getting a 1400 x 900 intro screen? I had to nsert massive black borders onto teh sides of the origianl to make it look right, as in a round instead of oval palnet.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

...palnet?...

[Combat Wombat]

planet

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Ah. Thanks. Didn't quite get that.

[Captain Kwok]

Note, there is a problem when using download managers to download the Classic/Gold to Deluxe patch!

See here for more info:
http://www.spaceempires.net/home/ftopict-970.html

[Elowan]

I've been playing 1.84 because 1.91 wouldn't open my old save games. Same with 1.94 do you suppose?

In short - any real point in DL'ing and installing this patch?

[Baron Munchausen]

Elowan said:
I've been playing 1.84 because 1.91 wouldn't open my old save games. Same with 1.94 do you suppose?

In short - any real point in DL'ing and installing this patch?



It's been years since the release of the 1.91 patch. Do you ever finish your games and delete them? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Xaren Hypr]

Elowan said:
I've been playing 1.84 because 1.91 wouldn't open my old save games. Same with 1.94 do you suppose?

In short - any real point in DL'ing and installing this patch?



I had gotten the same problem when I upgraded to 1.94 (my savegame was no longer valid). It just means that the Rage got a reprieve from the governor, and that I'll just have to start up another attempt at imposing everlasting peace through superior firepower http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Captain Kwok]

If you are getting a data files don't match error, then you can just run as the game administrator and it will update your game.

[Xaren Hypr]

I just get an "Unable to load ...<SE4Dir>\Savegame\save.gam" error. It's a solo game.

[Suicide Junkie]

Xaren Hypr said:
I just get an "Unable to load ...<SE4Dir>\Savegame\save.gam" error. It's a solo game.

Are you using the same mod? If it is too different (removed anything? Changed stuff significantly?) then it won't work.

1) Make sure you've got your path.txt pointing to your mod folder correctly. The patches like to overwrite this a lot.
2) If you modded the se4\data folder, you're hosed. Always make your mods in a mod folder. At this point you will have to rewrite your mod. Copy the data into a modfolder this time.

Note:
A mod folder looks exactly like the SE4 root.
You have a SE4\Data\components.txt file, so your mod has:
SE4\Mymod\Data\components.txt

Follow that pattern, and you're set. Just make a new folder, name it after your mod, and copy the stock files&folders you wish to edit.
Note: If any files are not found in your mod folder, the stock version of that file will be used. So you don't need to copy the AI, shipsets, UI pictures, or anything that you aren't changing.

[Xaren Hypr]

The only changes that I've made to the stock SEIV directories are image-based (Imagepack additions, add'l nebula and space images, and the expanded shipset "mod"). Any changes to the datafiles are made to the mods I use. My apologies for not being clearer on where the .gam file was located. The actual save directory is:

d:\Games\Se4Gold\Mods\TDM-FQMDeluxe210\SaveGame\BS3000-TDM2.gam

After installing the patch, I updated my Imagepacks and tried to load up my game. I got the error and figured that old .gam files were no longer valid, so it's not a huge issue for me that it didn't work.

[Suicide Junkie]

Are you actually using that mod though?

Such a savegame would probably give an error like that if you had loaded with stock SE4 and tried to open the savegame.

[Xaren Hypr]

Turns out my backed up Path.txt file was no longer valid, but when I put "Mods\" in front of the existing directory pointer, it worked. Now all I have to do is locate why my WP's graphics are garbled (and why the game crashes with a violation error when I click on one).

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>Access violation at address 00489D92 in module 'se4.exe'. Read of address 00000004</pre><hr />

But at least the mod is now working, so I'll prolly just rebuild some maps and start another game. Thanks for the info/assist http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Fyron]

You need to reinstall Image Mod. Deluxe probably overwrites the mini files (like Planets.bmp). Probably no need to make new maps.

[Suicide Junkie]

It shouldn't crash though...
It should just come up with an error about files not found, and leave the space blank http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Ed Kolis]

Deluxe did not overwrite my Components.bmp... haven't checked the other minis...

[Fyron]

Missing Planets.bmp minis causes the weird sector object image screwups and access violations upon selection that he is experiencing. Not all access violations lead to a crash.

[Xaren Hypr]

Well, I decided to start a new game using the original map. i got the same error upon entering the game (wrong images for warp points and some other objects, and the access violation error when clicking that sector). I then created a fresh map (using the same mod setup), and the game is playing just fine.

As for the minis, I had updated my planet/combat/facility/event/component imagepacks immediately after installing the patch (and also updating the settings.txt file in the mod folder with the music changes).

[Wolfman77]

I just installed the patch last night and it did not overwright the comps, planets, facilities, or weapon pics. I think FQM 2.10 broke save games and maps, did you update that recently?

[Xaren Hypr]

That was the mod that the maps were originally built with. Like I said, not a huge issue, and I'm starting a new game anyways http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Fyron]

Whoops. FQM 2.10 has been out for such a time now that I didn't even think about that upgrade being an issue.