CEP 2.60: The ship has left drydock and set sail.

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I've downloaded and tested CEP 2.6 twice now and it breaks existing modules using using CEP 2.3 or CEP 2.4.

 

I suspect the issue lies in the "cep2_add_tiles2.hak" as in 2.3 and 2.4 its around 79meg and in 2.6 its only 14meg.

 

Several other haks are larger, but I would expect this. One that shrunk though I'd deem suspect.

 

I'll do a test later with a fresh module and remove the -add_tiles- haks just to verify that's the issue.

 

All in all, still job well done and its understood that such a herculean task would have a few glitches.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_bdtgazo]

               

WOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

 

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I've downloaded and tested CEP 2.6 twice now and it breaks existing modules using using CEP 2.3 or CEP 2.4.

 

Nooooooo.... has this been confirmed?  Any news on this? 

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

Launching my PW on a test server after updating it to CEP 2.60 I get the following:

 

[Wed Sep 10 19:02:48] Loading Module: The Savage Frontier and Surrounds - New Haks

Could not load the Module.

Module file might be corrupt.

 

I then overwrote the "cep2_add_tiles2.hak" supplied in CEP 2.6 with the one from CEP 2.3/2.4 and Voila! Works fine again. So I can safely confirm that its this hak that is the issue.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Amethyst Dragon]

               

Dammit. It was supposed to make things smoother. I moved textures from the cep2_add_tiles2.hak to one of the core haks, which should not be messing with modules since the files are still there.  Some of the textures were used for a whole bunch of placeable models, and I didn't want those to be blank white if a builder didn't use the optional tiles haks.

 

I'll dig into the haks to make sure a .set or .itp file didn't accidentally get moved/removed.  Looks like 2.61 will be coming out sooner than I expected.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_meaglyn]

               

Super fabulous!  Now comes the task of merging 2das...  Since apparently this has new palettes, is there any way to merge with other custom palettes? 

 

I have not found a great way to do that, but a functional one. I use niv's nwn-lib ruby tools to convert them to yaml format which is a test markup language. The palette files are not difficult to diff and edit in that format. The only tricky bit really is when both custom palettes you are merging use the same number for different palettes. Then there is not much you can do but decide which blueprints are easier to adjust... Then using the same tools you can mass edit the ones you have control over.  I just had to do this with my Q/CEP/custom hak setup since Q2.0 introduced custom palettes. Glad to learn that these in 2.6 have not yet changed '>

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Proleric]

               

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I've downloaded and tested CEP 2.6 twice now and it breaks existing modules using using CEP 2.3 or CEP 2.4...

Some modules using CEP tilesets still work, but I guess that's not much consolation. At least there is a workaround.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Amethyst Dragon]

               

I couldn't replicate this bug on my server, but I uploaded the CEP 2.4 version of cep2_add_tiles2.hak to the 2.60 entry just in case it's needed.

 

I looked inside both files to compare, and the only difference is tile texture files (.dds, .tga, and .txi) that I moved into cep2_core6.hak. I left the minimap images in the hak. The version 2.4 hak doesn't include things a server would need to run...cep2_add_tiles1.hak holds all of the edge.2da files, .wok files, etc. and that file hasn't changed.

 

In fact, cep_add_tiles2.hak can be almost empty on the server side...to save disc space on my server, I removed everything from that file except for a single .txi file (since haks don't behave for me if they are completely empty).

 

Is anyone else having issues with the 2.60 version of this hak? More feedback should help me narrow down the exact cause (since I can't replicate it myself, must be kind of like how Hardpoints' original dragons only ever crashed 1 time on me in over 3 years).

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_SHOVA]

               

I have had a similar issue, though in this case it was removing CEP1, and installing CEP2_6. on 3 different modules, each with Project Q and the PRC, after installing CEP2_6 and closing then trying to reopen the module, an Error of cannot find these haks (though the haks are indeed in the hak folder) appears and the module fails to load. Luckily I still have a version of before I tried to add 2_6 or so much work would be lost.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

Shova, was that a typo and you meant CEP 2.1? As far as I know, updating any true CEP1x module to CEP 2x breaks it in most cases.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Amethyst Dragon]

               

I just uploaded a quick fix file to fix a couple of 2da errors (that bad "***" creature appearance and some placeable entries that weren't supposed to be included).

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Tarot Redhand]

               

Are you aware of this by ChaosQueen_Jessica_6?

 

TR

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Amethyst Dragon]

               

Some of the oldest placeables found in the CEP (Altar 02, Pillar 04, Pillar 05, etc) I recently stumbled over in the TCC Interior Placeable hak: "Contributed to the TCC - Interiors project by MKW."

 

Made me feel a bit like an archaeologist.

Thanks for finding that. I've put the credits for gnomad and Velmar from that archive into my next working file so they'll show up in version 2.61.

 

If anyone else finds sources for creature or placeable appearances that I don't already have credited in the 2da files, you can send the info to me via PM/email/forum/wiki/etc. 2da line number or CEP appearance name is helpful.

 

Eventually someone will have to find a way to automatically translate old Vault URLs to new Vault URLs once all the old content is migrated. Maybe something that will take a plain text list of original addresses and spit out a plain text list of new ones I can just copy and paste. '>

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Amethyst Dragon]

               

Are you aware of this by ChaosQueen_Jessica_6?

 

TR

Hadn't seen it yet. Thanks.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

Just an update.

 

I've used 3 modules to test the original version of 2.60 with the following results:

 

Logging into my own PW server which uses 2.4 from a Windows XP PC with 2.6 installed caused NWN to crash while loading into the start area (an area that has no CEP tiles, but does use some CEP placeable appearances).

 

Launched a back up server with CEP 2.60 add and hosted my own module first, and then used archived copies of two other PWs  (one using 2.1 and the other 2.3) and crashed while loading the server launcher.

 

Logging into my own PW after reverting my client install back to 2.4 worked fine.

 

Test server launches of all three modules worked fine after reverting to 2.4 again.

 

Logging into my PW with the latest upload of 2.60 and the two fix patches worked fine.

 

Test server launches fine if 2.60 and both patches are installed. Test server runs under Windows Vista presently.

 

Anyhow, the fixes do work for me. Thanks.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_bdtgazo]

               

Really great job with this. 

 

My first reaction looking through the content was... I hope that wherever PHOD is, working on his/her next creation, wherever that deep, dark hole may be, I hope he/she is under lock and key and heavy guard.  That is an evil and twisted mind that cannot be allowed to run loose in the world.  I think I even saw a rabbit who had lost his skin.  My god, the poor souls who play his/her mod... I can just imagine... "respawn... death... respawn.... death... ."

'>

 

My second reaction was hey, really nice organization here, nice to be able to see who made what.  Cleaned up my custom palette quite a bit too.  I'll have to replace a couple of zep_ scripts, no big deal.

 

Anyhow, some great new stuff in there, I hope the energy continues.

 

I had one technical issue so far, when I went to open a zone it said I was outside of range.  I think its because with 2.4 I used the ext_tiles hak, and with 2.6 I switched to the two add tiles haks.  So maybe I just need to redo using the ext_tiles.

 

edit: yep, switched to the 2.6 ext_tile and I can open the area.  Just can't see the 'good castle' terrain.

 

I haven't actually tried to run the mod yet, didn't have time, so don't know about 2.4 compatibility otherwise.  Haven't DL'd the two patches either.

 

My one disappointment was not seeing any of Z's tilesets.  Ah well.  I'd sell my mom at auction for even just one new decent creature model, and 2.6 has quite a few, so I'm very happy, like a man who's just gone through the Chinese buffet (and sat down with his food, but hasn't actually eaten yet).

 

Lastly, since I avoid Haks, it feels really nice to have the work of some of the masters out there in my mod at long last.  I've been admiring your stuff for awhile now.  Like my grandma says, happy as a pig in .... .

'>