Lost "heroes"

[Bondbug 32]

Am I wrong in believing that with a new character I sould find a number of pre-programmed "heroes" included in the choices?

 

I should perhaps explain that I have Sacred2 on both laptop and main PC. I started a little time back using the PC, and quite clearly remember starting several of these heroes and noting that things were automatically allocated on level up. However the PC game now refuses to open because it claims to be unable to find a driver which is in fact sitting next to it in the folder. So I cannot check.

On the laptop for some reason, despite the presence of the "heroes" folder, the heroes do not appear.

 

I have, for some odd reason, a file called "heroes" in both scripts/server and scripts/shared. But when I start the game there are no "heroes" on offer. Where should they be:)

 

Any ideas as to what is wrong?

P.S. Just noticed in the blue band at top of message box it says "s2gs.exe - unable to locate component"

Edited November 20, 2016 by Bondbug

[Flix 5,116]

Well we can try to figure it out.

 

Exactly what version of the game do you have? Sacred 2 Fallen Angel + Ice & Blood expansion + latest official patch + CM Patch on top of it? Or Sacred 2 Gold + CM Patch?

 

I can't ever recall a pre-existing set of heroes being ready-made in the character selection screen.

 

The heroes folder in "server" simply creates the blank heroes for character creation. I don't have a heroes folder in "shared".

 

What's the error message for the missing driver? Can you copy paste or take a screenshot?

[Bondbug 32]

What version? Ah.... I have W8 on the laptop and W7/XP2 on the PC. Neither would install Sacred 2 from my original disks, so I had to resort to buying a copy of S2Gold from GOG. The CM patch is there. So I think that the GOG version is fully up to date.

I understand what you say about these “heroes” folders. But I distinctly remember being able to choose from a list of pre-programmed chars, which started at level 1, but when they levelled up the choices were made for them, and you had no choice. I wanted to refer to these as a guide and compare them with what I have done.

Gogo will tell you that I am by far the oldest member of this forum and my memory is not brilliant, but of this I am sure. This was on the PC which is dual booting Windows 7 and XP2. However Sacred 2 will no longer open on that PC.... Message “The application has failed to start because d3dx9_36.dll was not found. Reinstalling ......may fix ....”

I remember this message, mentioning this driver, occurring in the past, but cannot remember what was done to fix it. It was I think something completely unrelated to what the message says. In any case d3dx9_36.dll is present in the same folder as the launch command. There are quite a lot of posts on Web about this particular message, but as usual they do not work here.

Hope this helps.

[Flix 5,116]

I could never install from my Sacred 2 disks either - it would never recognize when the second disk was inserted. I had to buy from GOG as well.

 

Well, if you've already installed DirectX9, the next thing I would suggest is try running Sacred 2 in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP3.

 

I'm drawing a total blank on the pre-programmed, auto-leveling characters you are describing. It must have been from the early days because I have never seen such a thing in Sacred 2 Gold.

[Bondbug 32]

update: I checked on laptop and the driver should have been installed in C/windows/system32. So I have copied and pasted it into both W7 and XPPro on the PC, and it works. At least I installed and activated Fallen Angel form disk in XP. No sgn of those heroes there , but I have not tried the GOG installation yet.

Sorry to trouble you with that - I should have found it.

 

PS. No such heroes on the W7 GOG installation either. Mystery.

 

Please don't waste any more time on this. I will poke around a bit and try to find out what I was talking about !

Edited November 20, 2016 by Bondbug

[Bondbug 32]

As a postscript, for what it is worth,

I have started playing Fallen Angel which I installed from the original disk with XPPro.

 

I find that for various reasons I prefer it to the later version that I have on W7 and W8. I prefer the graphics and the steadier control of the camera (I spend much of my time spinning out of control in the other version), and the larger scale of the zooms. The screen layout and dialog boxes are simpler, clearer and easier to work with.
So I will learn the game with this set up.

 

And, by the way, I installed the creature.txt from the Mod on Windows 8, and much to my surprise it works. But before you jump to conclusions that is not the reason I prefer the Fallen Angel version.

[Flix 5,116]

I gotta say, to willingly forgo the expansion and the CM Patch for the sake of the interface, we're of two vastly different mindsets on what's of value in the game. But I hope you enjoy your adventures in Ancaria and don't have any more technical issues.

 

 

P.S. The interface can be customized through mods. I don't think I've ever seen the Fallen Angel interface but it shouldn't be much trouble for me to replace the new with the old, if it's still present in the game files.

[Bondbug 32]

(I typed a great long response here and did not notice that I was not signed in on this computer - so lost it!)

Don't misunderstand me Flix. I said nothing about "foregoing" the expansion and the CM Patch when I get that far. But I find Fallen Angel easier to play, with its backpack , character info, skills etc all coming up in separate panels when called for. I found the other too cramped and the action too far away. I am mostly interested in the game play, structure (what makes the game tick) and clarity. As long as my char has recognisable skin I am not too concerned with fine definition of that skin. If I was I would certainly stick with Fallen Angel, where I can zoom in quite close to char and npcs.
Sorry if my vocabulary is a bit loose - I am not even sure precisely what "interface" means in this case.

So I will play Fallen Angel in its original form, and add the expansion and CMPatch when I get there.

I am also working through the excellent summary you posted in the mods topic. It will take some time. Meanwhile I can cover any modding, if necessary and with due care, through the W8 installation + copy & paste.

It will be a while I suspect before I can follow your lead...."The interface can be customized through mods. I don't think I've ever seen the Fallen Angel interface but it shouldn't be much trouble for me to replace the new with the old, if it's still present in the game files."

 

PS I have found out what the problem was with the vanished heroes ..... but I daren't tell you !! I cringe.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Bondbug

[Flix 5,116]

But I find Fallen Angel easier to play, with its backpack , character info, skills etc all coming up in separate panels when called for. I found the other too cramped and the action too far away. I am mostly interested in the game play, structure (what makes the game tick) and clarity. As long as my char has recognisable skin I am not too concerned with fine definition of that skin. If I was I would certainly stick with Fallen Angel, where I can zoom in quite close to char and npcs.

 

It just seems to me that behavior you're describing with Fallen Angel - that is, the things you like - should also be part of Sacred 2 Gold. In my game I have no trouble pulling up each of those panels individually. Nor is it any problem to zoom in as far as I like. It might just be a matter of spending some time in the options menu to adjust the camera settings, hotkeys, and other inventory behavior.

 

 

It will be a while I suspect before I can follow your lead...."The interface can be customized through mods. I don't think I've ever seen the Fallen Angel interface but it shouldn't be much trouble for me to replace the new with the old, if it's still present in the game files."

 

I was offering to replace it myself. Although this was when I thought it was a cosmetic issue for you, not one of panel behavior and camera control.

[Bondbug 32]

"I was offering to replace it myself. Although this was when I thought it was a cosmetic issue for you, not one of panel behavior and camera control." I realise that, but I was simply meaning that I will make a start but it will take a fair while, if ever, for me to reach your standard.

 

"It just seems to me that behavior you're describing with Fallen Angel - that is, the things you like - should also be part of Sacred 2 Gold. In my game I have no trouble pulling up each of those panels individually. Nor is it any problem to zoom in as far as I like. It might just be a matter of spending some time in the options menu to adjust the camera settings, hotkeys, and other inventory behavior." I will have a good look at that. I had only thought of camera settings so far.

 

Many thanks

 

Later:

I have the camera settings adjusted, and will hopefully manage the other things now I know where to look. So Fallen Angel is no longer necessary. It has been interesting to see that Fallen Angel installed from disk with XPPro in a dual booting system, and that some files from the later version can successfully be transferred to it.

 

Many thanks for your help and patience.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Bondbug