Seriously now... Wanned to get back to this game and I can't even launch it. You can't expect me to install that bloated piece of crap that .NET is just to launch a game... I have a slow computer here and I don't wanna slow it down further. Is there any other way to launch the game besides using the supplied launcher? Thanks!
I'm guessing you could just install it through steam like normal then just disable the .NET framework service and launch it from the file system?
Ah, that I have already done. Installed it through Steam but it would not run at all (because luckily .NET wasn't automatically installed so there's no service to stop). I can't seem to be able to launch it at all. So far I tried this in a batch file: Code: cd "G:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Empires\empires" "G:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Source SDK Base 2007\hl2.exe" -game "G:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Empires\empires" but it says that it can't find background image materials/console/startup_loading.vtf . Prolly has to do with gameinfo.txt and vpks but that's new land for me :p
That batch file should work - I'm not sure why that error message is appearing. Try verifying game files if you haven't already. The source code for the launcher is available here if it helps with debugging: https://github.com/jephir/empires-launcher/blob/master/EmpiresLauncher/Launcher.cs The launcher is needed because the new Steamworks system doesn't work if we bundle Source SDK Base with Empires. So Source SDK Base has to be installed manually and then the launcher sets up the correct paths for the game to run. I guess we could recode the thing in plain C/C++ but I don't think anyone has free time for that.
Hi Jephir, thanks for sharing the details and the source code . I'll try to validate the game files and try the batch file again. If it doesn't work, I'll recode the launcher and report back. Cheers!
Right... So I've rewritten the Launcher - made it look / feel / work like the official one. Then I've tweaked gameinfo.txt and launched the game. Result: Could not load library client. Digging up some threads reveals that I need a CPU that has SSE2 support. [Edit] My CPU seems to support both SSE2 and SSE3 according to CPU-Z. Will keep digging...
You're a cool guy Nachos, and I do like you. But cmon man, it's 2013. SSE 2 was introduced in 2001 on a Pentium 4. Also, SSE 2 requirement was added like 3 years ago, and I'm almost certain I've seen you playing a few times in the last 3 years.
Hehe false alarm, sorry 'bout that. I edited my post, seems that the CPU is OK. There must be something else making me problems. Dunno what it is though. I have windows XP 32 bit, reinstalled Steam, Empires (via Steam) and SDK. Without modding anything, when I run it via the batch file I get: can't find background image materials/console/startup_loading.vtf After adding that file i get this error: unable to load manifest file 'scripts/surfaceproperties_manifest.txt' Can you please post your gameinfo.txt? P.S. Validating the files doesn't help either.
Finally got it working, thanks for all the input. It seems that valve f*cked it up again. Inconsistent program is inconsistent: -First time when you install SDK 2007, it downloads it "a la SteamPipe". That means that it will be installed in \Steam\SteamApps\common. Empires won't start with it. -Upon validating the files, Steam downloads additional GCF files (why the hell does it do it when they switched to SteamPipe?). -After running the SDK, a new folder is created under the current username. Now there are 2 folders for the SDK (one under SteamApps\common and one under the username) and the official Empires launcher has no idea which one to use. This is why some people including me reported missing files. Regarding the launcher I spoke about earlier, here it is, both binary and sources (programmed in PureBasic ). It was inspired by Jephir's code and works the same way, the only thing being that it doesn't need .NET. Maybe it will help someone. If anyone still has problems starting Empires, have a look at Readme.txt in the archive. If you want, you can include it in the official package. MD5: 5384EC06B543933D18D65BA0FCD2118C AV report: https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/4a4c2395866fc66e1fd500c2d8a271083e858c5a17531110069b47cf3a77fa52/analysis/1380654842/ Screenshot: DL here: http://www.uploadmb.com/dw.php?id=1380653646 Ah yes and if the link expires gimme a shout on SteamFriends . Peace!
You are awesome! But anyway, what is so wrong with .Net? (I have no idea and just want to increase my knowledge)
Its extra stuff to install, it slows your computer a bit, ITS FUCKING HUGE, and its made by MS so its fucking fuck full of fucked up bugs. Other then that its nice to code with since one command can eat up a few dozen lines(or a hundred) of code that you would otherwise have to place.
There are a lot of programms that require .net nowadays, so you will sooner or later install it anyway. Also i don't see how it slows down your computer, but given that most of this community runs PCs driven by coal fire every byte of memory counts, i guess. Basically, .net is what flash was five years ago.
I find .NET less problematic that it used to be, it used to go wrong all the fucking time and you would have to un-install / reinstall it sequentially in order of version. Along the way you would break every single dependent service. Which was usually nearly everything that was bespoke and mission critical. So much down time. So much. Fuck you .net
While that is not disputed... you will still have to install newer versions while keeping the older version installed as well. Its kinda retarded that way. New versions don't take over old versions functionality. I for one... despise having so many versions of the same damn thing.
Driven by coals indeed, I have an old Athlon here, 2000 MHz single core, 1 GB of DDR400 and IDE hard-disk . .NET installs some "optimization" services that make my antivirus regularly scan the DLLs that .NET is comprised of. This results in much slower boot times and general system instability. Adding all the crap to the exclusion list still doesn't make the computer work as fast as it was before installing .NET. , prolly because it also takes a dump in the registry. I have nothing against it as an idea, but man, the implementation is the spawn of satan .
1 GB of RAM, just reading that makes me shiver. With those specs i would turn anti-virus off anyday...
Agreed, my computer was like that last year. I would never even bother with antivirus because it slowed everything to a crawl, Instead I would end up reinstalling windows like every 4-6 months.
