The first DEMO MOD!

[Cain]

First - I will like to mention that I have nothing to do with it (*For the poeple at CA who may think otherwise - loll). Sinuhet is the man of the hour - many thanks.

 

Ave!

 

I am starting the new NTO Project named "MTW2 Demo Opened Custom Battles Community Project". I have received yesterday via e-mail with strange address (from Antarktida???) very interesting file (maybe from some "bad hacker"). I have looked at this a bit more deeper and here is a result. Take all of this as work in progress only. All credits go to penguins in Antarktida, feel free to change whatever you want, and distribute then all of your work without limitations. 

 

three screens to see what I am talking about:

 

France as HP attacker

 

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2392/snap002pp1.jpg

 

 

England as the AI defender

 

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/2215/snap003ei2.jpg

 

 

The error message during loading this battle, after clicking on the OK then CTD ....

 

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6637/snap004hf5.jpg

 

Well, now - after promotion - to the important things.

 

First of all, the crucial thing for starting any editing of custom battles in MTW2 Demo, you must have soem solution how to manipulate with respective descr_battle.txt script files, which are however in the official MTW2 Demo release hidden in the data.pack file. There are theoretically two solutions:

1. extract the pack file, edit the respective desr_battle.txt file according to your tastes ans then again repack the pack. Here is necessary to be able manipulate the pack fiel technology, relatively more time consuming approach in the end.while theoretically it has a lot of pluses (you would have all the new info which is in MTW2 files only, you can manipulate with the otherimportant files in the same time (EDU.txt, formations, ro even DMB and add new graphics etc). 

2. the second approach is more simple, more dependent on the knowledge of the whole context of TW modding and limited to the large extent, because there can be used only the things visible in "encrypted" MTW2 files and in the things from RTW platform. Nevertheless, this approach has one huge advantage - it is very quick and (to my surprise after some "deeper immersing" to the problem) very simple, so almost anybody will have access to this solution in time-span of just few minutes. This second approach will start to be obsolete in a moment the first one will be introduced and publicly available - however to this time (and this can be time of months) it si worth to invest in this direction more effort because it has apparantely better effort/benefit ratio..... The main principle of the second approach is to avoid any manipulating with data.pack file and manipulate with the information in medieval2.exe file to be able imitate the situation which is normally in full release of RTW game - the crucial script files are in "non-packed" form in data folder so any extraction/repacking is unnecessary.

 

The screenies above are result of a such second approach. This is not original idea, the penguins have used one of the one of the ways the old good RTW Demo was "cracked". Everybody who is new to TW is  talking about Rodeo and only minority is knowing the parallel approach, which is more flexible because there is theoretically possible that it is feasible to use it also for other script files, not only the custom battles definition...... The posts from penguins has included such manipulated MTW2Demo medieval2.exe file. I have erase it firstly as a spam like anybody would do it. However, after some disscusion as for legality to use such a file, which has been cracked from unknown penguin, I have try to use it according to the info in Readme included.... In the end, why the TWC community should suffer and, on the other hand, why the unhappy penguin, who has done some nice work on this alone on some polar base, would have its time spent with this to have totally lost. The penguins were more refined than I have expected .... They included not only fully functional implematation, however, a comprehensive tutorial with even with soem theoretical reasoning was there in the one small e-mail .....

 

So, what the stupid animals has done to the poor original medieval2.exe file by CA???? Not to much suprisingly. I dont know if they have used such an minimalistic apporach form some geographical reasons, nevertheless, all what was/is necessary if you want manipulate with the respective "descr_battle.txt" file only, is to change one name in one path. Really. I am not joking now. CA was/has been/is/(and maybe will be forever) so kind to its customers that they has not encrypted the paths at all, but not only this, they have programmed the parallel way of usage script files besides of data.pack (however with properlly defined alternativ path in data folder).This was simlar in RTW Demo crack, but the damn penguins has used still more origianl approach - not to change all instances of name "trebia" on "newmap", but isolated the only one instance of the Agincourt in path data/world/maps/battle/custom/ folder and change it on the "newdescbt" (acronym for description battle I assume). Then the approach is the same already. They hae created new folder in data with path data/world/maps/battle/custom/newdescbt and placed the modified "descr_battle.txt" file in it. And its all. This solution is functioning. The penguins wrote also something about approving this approach by means of debugger and dissambler on the poor mediaval2.exe, which they told is not maybe protected as the exe files of official releases. But this sections I have not read at all, only see from safe distance on the half eye to prevent myself from some hacking infection ..... 

 

I am going to send you such an example "descr_battle.txt" file, which appears to be created on some of the RTW custom battles and which have included the new names, data and other stuff related to the MTW2 Demo. However, here the stupid animals have failed apparently....

Evrybody who is sufficiently smart is seeing that they are not able to do good descr_batttle.txt file. Maybe, I assume, it was only question of unsufficient time because they have polar day and good hacker are doing in nights only.... Who knows.

 

I must admit that I was curios to such extent is possbile to manipulate with the MTW2 Demo by this approach and I have tried to change also some setting in the script file descr_battles. They have left the script section there to be able to manipulate with agincourt_script.txt file also, and they have created (but it is not in the descr battle file) the empty newdescbt_script.txt file even to let the lovers of scripted battles to be happy..... However, here is necessary to told that they have stated in their Readme the for the totally new script, one would have to change the other agincourt in the respective path in medival2.exe also. So let the thing simple at first, they have remarked off the script section in their sample descr_battle.txt file.

 

So, now after some boring explanations the dirty file (I have included to zip the above screenies also, this is the reason of the file size):

 

does "-show_err" work with the demo?

 

Ave {nF}remix!

 

I have CTD with this in shortcut included' date=' but I have also the letters for windowing and not having video included in the same time (the same setting which I am using in RTW.exe). So I dont know exactly....

 

 

---------------------------

 

Well. some theoretical ideas, what could be changed in descr_battle.txt file for preventing the CTD during loading.

 

1. Names, they seems to be relatively arbitrary, it would be worth to locate the section in data.pack to retrieve some valid names for generals (attention, they are not named persons) of both England and France.

 

2. The placements of units and deployment area, the numbers are the new MTW2 map (Agincourt)unrelated completely

 

3. maybe also sizes of units, who knows what the limitations are in MTW2 as for eventual size of units of respective types

 

 

After doing some tests, give reports to this thread. The whole community in cooperation will have power to refine the settings to be fully functional in relatively short time, in my opinion, however there must be relatively massive sharing of information

 

So, I have shared my e-mail form penguins and several my thoughts about all this. This weekned I will be in lack of free time again, so the community will have to do something for me now, and maybe in Monday, it will be possible to play the unlocked Custom battles already and I will can do the next step - to do something similar for formations after trying the look and feel of the non-scripted battle AI in MTW2 Demo......

 

Bye Sinuhet

 

  Guys! As for any trying to change something in descr_battle.txt files packed in data.pack the penguins have proven clearly that it is bad way. Stop wasting time in this blind direction of development.

 

What the penguins have done was: to change the string "agincourt" in medieval2.exe on "newdescbt". The approach could be for example this:

1. download and install some free hexeditor

2. archive the original medieval2.exe file

3. open the mediaval2.exe file in hexeditor

4. go to the offset: 0x 00F5BA5B, your cursor will be in the beginning of the string Agincourt which is necessary to change

5. this string (i.e. 9 "letters" long fragment) you must change on this: 6E 65 77 64 65 73 63 62 74 (i.e. in ASCII newdescbt)

6. copy the world folder included in the data folder from the attachment downloadable above

7, and start the demo now, you will be in the same phase of development when the stupid animals have failed ..., all what should be now done (theoretically speaking) is to find out the correct definition of the descr_batttle.txt file, you must change and test and change and test and, suprisingly, change and test

the place what are to chnging in the first place are listed in my second post, your results with various settings then share with community in this thread

 

And its all. bye Sinuhet[/quote']

 

Download link:

 

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1194

Topic:

 

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=64814

[Bodin]

Great! I was tired of being outnumbered and if not for my *tactical skills* outpowered.

[AVJR]

Find more on:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=64814