Posts from NCF - Special Edition

@kolt_av - the main point is that the IDs of most creatures in the MegaPack are based on the generally accepted original list of NCF creatures, so ignoring it and making other NCF mods incompatible with them is not a good idea...

@vasik - can a script be used to identify overlaps with the MegaPack?!

In the description, I immediately stated that the build is not compatible with MegaPack.
To show people which creature has which ID, I wrote all of this in a separate file and divided the creatures into .pak files.
MegaPack contains a lot of "poorly made" creatures, many of which are simply recolored, and not very well.
Some creatures (which I consider to be of good quality) were taken from MegaPack (including your creatures).
I changed the creature IDs deliberately (why - see above). There is a certain sequence and pattern in assigning IDs to creatures...

 

1) Not compatible with "NCF Mega pack with 188 working creatures"; it is a separate project.

Is the incompatibility due to a different range of id values or due to a more recent date of the core files?!

And what is the range for creatures from other collections – is it custom-made or is there a specific association?!

Incompatibility due to a different id range or due to a more recent date of the core files?!

And what is the range for creatures from other collections – is it custom-made, or is there a link?!

1) Because new creatures were assigned IDs that matched the IDs of creatures from the Megapack (but I didn't even want to include these creatures in this collection).
2) There are no other collections. The creatures are mainly taken from mods that replace creatures in cities and are converted into neutrals with assigned IDs (i.e., they didn't have IDs).
If you look at my list carefully, you will understand the pattern of ID assignment.
There were several (weak) ideas on the forum to update the Megapack, which remained just ideas.
I essentially did this, but in my own vision, and also added some elements: 3rd upgrade, composite armies, duels, new visuals).

I'm unpacking the contents of the 001_NCF - Special Edition folder into a clean copy of the game, version 3.1. I launch H5_Game.NCF and start the NCF - Special Edition_2021-02-21 map. During the loading process, the game crashes. (This happens with any other map as well). Where should I start looking for the problem?
There are no issues with 002_3rd_Level_Upgrade.

I unpack the contents of the 001_NCF - Special Edition folder into a clean copy of the game, version 3.1, run H5_Game.NCF, and start the NCF - Special Edition_2021-02-21 map. During loading, the game crashes. (This happens with any other maps as well). What should I do?
There is no such problem with 002_3rd_Level_Upgrade.

Your computer is not powerful enough (the map has many creatures and buildings). Reduce the graphics settings to the minimum; this should help. In the game itself, you can then set the quality to "normal" and the resolution to, for example, 1360x768.

Another solution in your situation is to use the map editor (H5_MapEditor.NCF.exe) to remove some of the creatures from the NCF - Special Edition_2021-02-23.h5m map (for example, 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2) - this map will no longer crash when loading. The crash occurs precisely because the map is saturated with objects. The NCF - Level_Upgrade_2021-01-17.h5m map does not crash when loading because it actually has no objects (creatures).
This has been personally tested on a computer and a laptop. With a powerful computer, there are no problems; on the laptop, this map 100% runs at a resolution of 640x480 and quality "very low". After the map starts, I recommend setting the resolution to 1360x768 and the quality to "normal", and then you can play.

The computer is fine. I can play maps of 320x320 without any problems on EWA. Moreover, I mentioned that even the maps that run perfectly in a clean copy of the game don't start, meaning they are not modified. But we'll give it a try.

The computer is fine. I can play on 320x320 maps without any problems on EWA. Moreover, I mentioned that even maps that run perfectly in a clean version of the game don't start, meaning they are not modified. But we will try.

The files don't affect other maps. And the problem isn't the map size, but the number of objects on it.
I removed half of the creatures from the map (NCF - Special Edition_2021-02-23.h5m), and now it runs on the highest graphics settings even on a relatively weak laptop (compared to my computer).
Link to the map: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f2f...ew?usp=sharing

Added 1 hour 26 minutes ago

This means that someone can't just copy the data with creatures for themselves.

You can't just take a .pak file with creatures, add/remove them, and expect it to work.
For it to work correctly (so that the creature spawns on the map, is part of a composite army, and can be recruited in a refugee camp), you need to make the corresponding changes to the following "....pak" files: "___NCF_share_2021-02-21.pak", "___Scripts-Add_2021-02-21.pak", and "___RefugeeCamp_only_NCF_2021-02-21.pak", and for the ability to recruit creatures in buildings, also in the corresponding "___Dwellings_....pak" files

I just recently downloaded almost all of these creatures and was already preparing to edit them to fit my NCF pack. Huge thanks for the work and for making them available separately; all that's left is to change the IDs. Everything works, even on top of my mods; everything opens and doesn't lag!

Thank you, it's a great mod! But unfortunately, I'm having trouble playing it.

For some reason, I can't launch any downloaded maps with it, only the standard ones.

I'm using the GOG 3.1 v2 version of the game, a clean installation, and no other modifications. Without the mod, any map launches fine, but as soon as I copy the files from the first folder (001_NCF - Special Edition), the game crashes during loading without any errors. However, the maps open in the editor.

The map "NCF - Special Edition_2021-02-21" also doesn't start, but it opens in the editor. However, the map "NCF - Level_Upgrade_2021-01-17" works normally.

I also randomly noticed that when trying to enter a "stone rampart" while playing as a mage on the standard map "Key to Victory," the game always crashes, although on the map "NCF - Level_Upgrade_2021-01-17," I can visit the stone rampart.

Without the mod, this problem doesn't occur.

Now, instead of the animation of entwining roots, all Ents have a ring of cold.

I tried updating the dates of the original files (\Effects\_(Effect)\Characters\Creatures\Preserve\DendroidSoldier\EntanglingRoots_start.(Particle) - it didn't help.

Please tell me where I need to fix it.

Screenshot

By the way, when visiting the stone parapet, the game crashed, and this happened on other maps as well.

I found a solution for myself: delete "Stone_Parapet.xdb" from "___Dwellings_custom_T1-T2-T3_Military_Post," but it seems that after that, recruiting additional creatures will no longer work there.

 

I also solved the problem with launching new maps – the mod works fine with EWA, and thanks to it, everything works normally.

 

The only unresolved issue (among those I found) is the animation of the Ring of Cold being used instead of the entangling roots.

Added 2 hours 14 minutes ago

I found a way to fix the ents, but again, using a crude method: delete "dendroid" from "NCF_0919-0921_San_Kirins_070119," but then the Kirin's animation is replaced with the ent animation.

It would be good if they fixed:
1) the Kirin animation
2) the stone parapet

3) recruiting new creatures
I don't know if it's possible to make it so that recruiting new creatures in their buildings on the map is only available for the selected type, and not all units at once. That is, currently, you can enter a building, and if there are 6 types of warriors in it, you can take all 6 at once, and then convert them into the type of creature you need, thus quickly building up your army. This breaks the balance.

It would be great if they fixed:
1) the animation of the Kirin.

Here's the thing – the Kirin are taken from a mod for the Sanctuary, which replaced the Elven city, and the mod authors, due to the lack of Ents, changed the effect of the entangling roots to the effect of the Ring of Cold.

The mechanics are such that there is an ability, and a visual effect is rigidly tied to it, and that's it... it is impossible to tie 2 effects to one ability, so you can either remove the ability from the Kirin, or from the Ents.

Yes, but you can create a new effect that contains particles and instances of both effects!

Yes, but you can create a new effect that contains particles and instances of both effects!

Do you mean intertwining roots simultaneously with an ice ring? So that the effect wouldn't suit both dryads and ents equally?))

Yes, that would be great! Just to be clear, I'm talking about the purely technical aspect of how to combine effects into one.