39 replies to this topic

[ghostdog]

A new version (0.9) has been realeased!
I've renamed the mod to "PST Widescreen UI Mod" since now it supports both 1280x800 and 1280x768 resolutions (and maybe there will also be true 16:9 support in the future). Another big change is that the size of the mod has been reduced from 27MB to 8.5MB. Check the pinned threads for more details.

Any feedback and bug reports should be posted here.

Edited by ghostdog, 23 November 2008 - 05:43 AM.

[scient]

Great work! This installed in a fraction of the time it took me for v8. I'm using 1280x768 on Samsung 225BW (22'' LCD) and it looks wonderful. Also, it runs ok with my latest patched exe with various fixes that will be part of v3 Fixpack.

I did run into a problem. The game seems to completely lock up inside Curiosity Shop in Upper Ward. It doesn't crash, it just freezes. I'm not sure if this is because of your mod or conflict with your mod / my patches. Could you test it on your setup and see if it works ok? If so, then I'll debug it and try to locate problem.

[ghostdog]

Hmm, in my setup everything is fine with the curiosity shop , I've tested it both before and after Ravel. Does your game freezes as soon as you enter the shop, or when you try to buy from the vendor?

[scient]

It freezes as soon as I enter the shop. It happened both with a saved game plus zoning in from Upper Ward. I'll see if I can debug source of problem.

[Qwinn]

Here's what information I have on the issue:

"The game seems to completely lock up inside Curiosity Shop in Upper Ward."

There were issues with crashes entering that shop in the vanilla game. Platter's Fixpack made some small changes to those files in an attempt to fix the problem, and it may have, though I'm not sure if it was due to the changes. I -think- the problem arose because the decompression utilities in the 2CD version would fail to extract the file properly. I -think- the Platter fix mainly worked because it put those files in the override directory, thus making the file no longer need to be extracted.

In version 1.0 my mod had a compatibility issue with the widescreen mod, because I copied the file (as Platter's Fixpack did) unconditionally. Therefore, if someone installed the widescreen mod -first-, my Fixpack would overwrite those files and thus reverse all the UI changes. For version 2.0 of my Fixpack, I made the copy conditional - it only copies the files if there isn't already a copy of the .WED file in the override directory.

Note that the same issue was supposed to happen in the Apothecary, also off the Clerk's Ward. Might want to check there too. I do also copy that file under the same conditions as described above.

Note that from the documentation, Platter believed there -were- actual errors in those .WED files, and his changes fixed them. I don't know if they were actual errors, but it's certainly worth checking to see if they were. My Fixpack does include the changes he made, so in theory if the UI mods were installed -after- my Fixpack, the modified file would include Platter's changes. The install order therefore does make a difference.

Qwinn

[scient]

Well, the WS mod makes it almost impossible to debug since I can't run the game in windowed mode (it crashes).

I tested the Apothecary and it does the same thing so this definitely looks like the problem. The game doesn't actually crash, it starts to load then drops down to desktop and freezes. I installed the WS mod on top of fixpack so maybe there is an issue with WS installer overwriting the effected files?

edit:
These are the two files you should look into "AR0609.WED" and "AR0612.WED". Qwinn has some more notes inside tph.

Edited by scient, 09 November 2008 - 02:11 PM.

[Qwinn]

I don't know if the changes to the files in my Fixpack actually fix anything. I gave Platter the benefit of the doubt on that and used his version of the files. My real objective was to get -some- version of the files into the override directory to eliminate the 2CD version issues finding those files in their compressed form.

If it turns out that installing my Fixpack, then deleting those two files from the override directory, then installing the UI mod makes it work correctly, then that would probably mean that Platter's changes were incompatible with the UI mod, and I'd be fine with taking them out and just copying the vanilla version of those .WEDs in my fixpack.

Qwinn

[Isaya]

Check that thread. You'll have a choice of two different UI mods for 1024x768, although a bit different from ghostdog's version.

[ghostdog]

So it's not just Scient's problem , but an issue with the 2 area files ? Have you come across the same problem Qwinn? I've also installed your fixpack (before installing the UI) and I don't have any problems with those two areas.
Scient, has deleting those two area files from the override, fixed it?

Edited by ghostdog, 10 November 2008 - 04:52 AM.

[taplonaplo]

Aren't they 'small areas' (less then 1280x800). I suppose your games were made on default resolution. The WS readme says new game is required and AFAIK, the reason is that if you had visited 'small areas' before installing the mod it'd later cause problems if you revisit them on the new resolution. (Altho posts on g3 imply that it cause a crash)

[Qwinn]

I haven't had any issues with them because I use the 4CD version. As I've mentioned before, I think the problem is entirely related to the 2CD version.

Qwinn

[ghostdog]

-Bereth Darkides- , my user interface mod is only for the 1280x800 and 1280x768 widescreen resolutions. If you want an UI for a 4:3 aspect ratio check out this UI from Vanished One.

[scient]

Just got home, I'll do some testing later tonight. I was already going to look into how 2CD does it's compression. I only own the 2CD version but I downloaded a copy of 4CD to have parallel installs. I'll figure out best method to resolve this issue.

Qwinn, can you think of any other 2/4CD specific issues? Especially ones that might have to do with compression.

[Qwinn]

I can't think of any others. That's always been the main issue.

Here's some additional info:

When I first created my Fixpack, I actually applied Platter's changes via WeiDU edits to the two .WED files. This actually caused -every- installation of my Fixpack on the 2CD version to fail. See the first handful of posts on this thread:

http://www.shsforums...showtopic=34245


Basically, with the 2CD version, doing:

COPY_EXISTING ~AR0609.WED~ ~override~

would fail, every time. The error was "AR0609.BIF not found". The file indeed -doesn't- exist in the 2CD version - instead, it's a .CBF (compressed biff?) I would venture to guess that WeiDU doesn't recognize .CBF's or know how to extract them, except that for many people the problem has occurred while actually -playing- the game and entering those areas without any mods installed.

Qwinn

[scient]

Thanks for tip about CBF, I'm going to look into what type of compression they used.

As for the freeze up, I've narrowed it down some. It only exists with older saved games since I was able to zone into both the Apothecary and Curiosity Shop after starting a new game. It may be some kind of info is stored about those areas in saved game that causes it to freeze up.

[Yovaneth]

Just got home, I'll do some testing later tonight. I was already going to look into how 2CD does it's compression. I only own the 2CD version but I downloaded a copy of 4CD to have parallel installs. I'll figure out best method to resolve this issue.

Qwinn, can you think of any other 2/4CD specific issues? Especially ones that might have to do with compression.

If either of you would like another pair of eyes to look at those two .wed files, PM them to me and I'll run them through DLTCEP. Just be sure to let me know which one comes from which installation package! I have the 4CD version, BTW.

-Y-

[ghostdog]

Good luck with those fixes! At least we clarified that the UI mod isn't responsible for the freezes , but the fact that when you install Bigg's mod old saves might be problematic.

Edited by ghostdog, 11 November 2008 - 04:15 PM.