Save game path and such...

[proton2112]

I'm fairly new to this so if I'm missing something obvious please bear with

I'm in a multiplayer PBEM game with a friend. During game setup I set the SAVE GAME PATH to c:\temp (not sure what I was thinking).

When I first go into the game and hit LOAD GAME it's pulling out of the installation path d:\games\space empires iv\savegame.

However, after every turn, the game still gets put into the savegame directory (d:\games\space empires iv\savegame), NOT c:\temp (there are some text files going there though). There doesn't seem to be any way to change the location now that the game is under way :/

Secondly, after my turn I click YES to end my turn and NO don't quit the game. This puts me at the splash screen as I await my turn to be sent to me. After my game arrives and I hit LOAD GAME. But instead of showing me
the installation path save directory, it THEN wants to load out of c:\temp all of a sudden. Additionally, when I hit CHANGE DIRECTORY and type d:\games\space empires iv\savegame into the CURRENT DIRECTORY box and hit
OK... and it does nothing (that is I stay in c:\temp). I'm not sure if it has something to do with the drive box at the top (which I didn't change to d: ). So I wind up having to go back into CHANGE DIRECTORY, changing drive to D: manually, clicking 'games', clicking 'space empires iv', clicking 'savegame' (am I annoying you yet?. Good, now you see where I'm at

I tried double-clicking the save-game file but that doesn't seem to work (wierd, huh?). I even tried all the parameters:

se4.exe "...path...\game.gam" "password" "1" " " and THAT didn't seem to work (*sigh*).

Lastly, a few times when I've loaded the game I get a blank screen. The interface is there, but no map, and the buttons don't work. I have to END TASK (which usually causes the ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO QUIT THIS GAME dialog) to get out of it. BTW, I'm on Windows 2000.

Anyone have these problems?

Thanks.

[This message has been edited by proton2112 (edited 06 November 2001).]

[Puke]

well, i dont have all the answers for you. I do have a few tho.

regarding trying to type the path into the field when loading a savegame: this feature is not exactly supported, and that path box is not really an editable field. you have to browse to your directory using the interface. sucks, huh?

regarding launching the game from the command line: this should work, the mod-selection-utility as well as the PBW server use this feature with success. perhaps you got a variable wrong? try again?

the morale here is to NEVER use the savegame path "feature." it sucks.

------------------
"...the green, sticky spawn of the stars"
(with apologies to H.P.L.)

[Aub]

Here's what my experience has been for sim. turns games:

The host launched from command line can happily process a game with a "savegame path" option. It takes all player files from there, and succeeds in putting the results into the same directory.

The players are much better off if they put all game files into their "space empires iv\savegame" directory. Again, the game seems happy to read the game files form there and the player file goes back to the same folder.

If you change the hosting machine, your best bet is to create a directory with the same path on the new machine. Otherwise, its' a mess.

The problems also start when a client machine happens to have the same directory as indicated in the "savegame path" option by the host. To put it simply, it is not recommened. I could not make it work, the files can be taken from either directory.

To summarize it, the "savegame path" option works for the following scenario: the host processes the game in that directory, and the clients copy the game files over to their savegame folders and then copy the player change files back. This is exactly what my "sim. turns LAN helper" is doing.

I suspect it may be much more buggy for seq. turns.

Aub

[proton2112]

Well I'm not using a separate host to process the games.

The path I put in the save game path box does exist, but it's not used for anythig except text files (and to annoy me when I try to load subsequent games, as described in my first post).

I guess my next question then is... does anyone who programs this game read this list? Otherwise I reckon I'm barking up the wrong tree trying to get things fixed/changed here :/ Maybe I should annoy the support people.. hehe.

Oh, I went back and looked thru the Yahoo! Groups mailing list. From Malfador, 8/17/2000, regarding a request to double-click on a save game to start it (and shouldn't that be a very straightforward thing, passing only one argument to it, the save full filename, since you can tell by the filename who's turn it is and whatnot?):

>>The command line parameters I gave were
>>only for Simultaneous Games that are being
>>executed by the Host. We'll try and add in
>>the ability to load normal games as well
>>from the command line.
>>
>>Aaron

[Zarix]

quote:

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Originally posted by proton2112:
I guess my next question then is... does anyone who programs this game read this list?

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SE4 is programmed by one man. Aaron doesn't reply to this board, but I quess there no way to tell if he reads this. Personally I think it is good to discuss about thing here, because Aaron must be getting loads of e-mail everyday.

[proton2112]

btw, this is 1.49, case anyone wondered