ConfusedBuyer Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 1. I cannot save a game. I get kicked out back to Windows (7, 64-bit), with the game not running at all (according to Task Manager). 2. Where's the music?? There's a setting for music volume but you can't toggle it -- and there isn't, actually, any music, apparently. 3. The keyboard hotkey defaults from the demo are not present initially in my full (paid-for) version; to "wake them up" I gotta hit the Default button first! 4. And on top of it all, my manual's missing! It's actually the reason why I got this game now instead of playing around with the demo some more, as the tutorial game barely teaches anything!! FWIW, I uninstalled the Kursk demo before installing the full version. I'm running a 2nd-Gen iCore 7 overclocked with on-board RealTek audio and 2GB Radeon 6950. I'd reinstall it but can't find the program's own uninstall option and amn't sure the system uninstall (Win7's) is "safe".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConfusedBuyer Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 All right, for the benefit of some other benighted soul who's gonna be taken in in future with this Slavic beauty of a wargame: Issue Nrs. 1, 3, and 4 had to do with the game not installing properly due to Windows 7's User Account Controls. It really would have been nice, if not actually logical, for Battlefront/1C/God to have notified customers of this little monkey wrench! With the UAC totally disabled, the game could grab the necessary patches off the internet, which made it finally work. Why Battlefront/1C/God doesn't/don't simply stitch it together for the benefit of their customers is beyond me. I thought the point of downloading (for a customer, anyway) wasn't simply to play right away but to also get the latest version, with all the necessary patches! Okay, so it's more work to stitch it together instead of letting the customer deal with it...but could you at least meet me halfway and give me a clue?? Like instructions about updating, blah blah blah, instead of making it seem like I just download the thing and activate and play like with a normal company??? By Rommel's trousers, the more things change, the more they stay the same...felt like MS-DOS days again...the damned Auto Updater (nothing, of course, about an auto-updater anywhere, never mind Windows UAC needing to be disabled first before the absolutely necessary updates will get fetched) took almost as long to download two patches as it took to download the game originally, only to run through another installtion procedure which, of course, has another hiccup in telling me some file (autoupdate.exe, IIRC) couldn't be installed/found/whatever, did I want to abort, retry, or ignore so of course I tried every option and of course it was "ignore" that worked.... Here's hoping that I don't get any more issues, in-game or with my system being changed maybe -- and that the next customer can make heads and tails of the almost circular installation processes -- plural! UPDATE: Regarding Issue 2, the music, it turns out that any music will be self-supplied -- that is, the user sticks his (or her?) own music files into the appropriate folder(s), as detailed in the manual. Now, however, a new issue has cropped up: 5. Why does the Autoupdater keep downloading the same updates everytime I run the game??? And why do I have to hit "Play" twice to play???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConfusedBuyer Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 UPDATE: Regarding Issue 2, the music, it turns out that any music will be self-supplied -- that is, the user sticks his (or her?) own music files into the appropriate folder(s), as detailed in the manual. Now, however, a new issue has cropped up: 5. Why does the Autoupdater keep downloading the same updates everytime I run the game??? And why do I have to hit "Play" twice to play???? Battlefront/1C/Anybody: a) the music's not working despite me depositing files in "<Game folder>\Music\Game" as instructed on page 12; the Autoupdate pops up every time I fire up the game, and I have to hit "Play" twice; c) if I hit "Update" it simply downloads patches I already; d) while reinstalling these patches some file can't be found or installed or something and the only way to move forward is to ignore.... These are the issues I have from half a day of playing with the full version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 I'm not sure why UAC/"Run as administrator" is not covered in the manual, but it is something that we've dealt with here on the forums since Windows Vista came out. The Theatre of War series really requires either disabling UAC or running the installers and games by right-clicking on the executable/shortcut and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu. The "Run as administrator" option replaces the need to disable the UAC. Without doing one or the other the games (in this entire series) has issues with campaign saves and the redirect functionality known as 'VirtualStore'. While a number of other games can work with VirtualStore (it just makes getting to the files a bit harder if you're manually moving them around), the Theatre of War series just doesn't seem to work very well with it. I'm not sure why the Autoupdater would download a patch you already have. The game has been updated to 1.3.1, correct ? Usually if the game has been updated, then when you click 'Update' it should come back pretty quickly with 'no update available' or something to that effect. This is the way 1C decided to run things, so run the Autoupdater first (and always) and then getting to the game is the way that they decided the game should run. I suggest running the Autoupdater with the "Run as administrator" right-click. If you believe that you have downloaded the update file already, then you can run that installer outside of TOW 2 Kursk. The file will be located (if you either turned off UAC or used "Run as administrator") at the default directory of: '\Program Files\Battlefront\1C Company\Theatre of War 2 Kursk 1943\users\patches' Remember to launch this patch by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator". You can also manually download the 1.2.4 update from this link: http://www.1cpublishing.eu/tow2/TOW_Kursk_Patch_1.2.4_EN_BattleFront.exe and here are some links to the 1.3.1 patch (you will need to install 1.2.4 FIRST, BEFORE installing 1.3.1): Battlefront links to TOW 2 Kursk 1943 1.3.1 patch Regarding music, is the 'Music' slider in the 'Sound' panel set to something other than its default minimum (which will produce no sound) ? What format are your sound files in ? You need to have 'DirectShow' codecs in order to play the music files in this folder. You may want to download and install a codec pack like: K-Lite Codec Pack (Full) Other codec installers should also work, but they will need to provide the DirectShow codecs for your particular audio files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConfusedBuyer Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 I'm not sure why UAC/"Run as administrator" is not covered in the manual, but it is something that we've dealt with here on the forums since Windows Vista came out. The Theatre of War series really requires either disabling UAC or running the installers and games by right-clicking on the executable/shortcut and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu. The "Run as administrator" option replaces the need to disable the UAC. Without doing one or the other the games (in this entire series) has issues with campaign saves and the redirect functionality known as 'VirtualStore'. While a number of other games can work with VirtualStore (it just makes getting to the files a bit harder if you're manually moving them around), the Theatre of War series just doesn't seem to work very well with it. Hi, thanks for the response, first off. It's as timely and about as comprehensive as I recall from the BTS days, and I really am grateful for all assistance despite my irritability. Having said that, wouldn't it make sense to note all that on the download screen, the page where the customer downloads the game? IIRC, that page simply states to install the game, activate it, and play -- which is really what end-users should expect in the 21st Century. Not being snarky there, honestly; I just feel like it's the kind of "nerd oversight" that should have been left behind with the Y2K bug! Instead, I've got to try to piece together what's going on and what to do about it -- with, at least, your kind assistance, thankfully. But still. I'm not sure why the Autoupdater would download a patch you already have. The game has been updated to 1.3.1, correct ? How do I check this? Is it noted on the title/splash screen somewhere?? Usually if the game has been updated, then when you click 'Update' it should come back pretty quickly with 'no update available' or something to that effect. Nope, as soon as I start the game, I get the Autoupdate screen first, popping up on my Win7 desktop. This is the way 1C decided to run things, so run the Autoupdater first (and always) and then getting to the game is the way that they decided the game should run. I suggest running the Autoupdater with the "Run as administrator" right-click. Not sure what you mean by "running the Autoupdater" -- it's run automatically! Do you mean I should right-click the ToW2 Kursk .exe file?? If you believe that you have downloaded the update file already, then you can run that installer outside of TOW 2 Kursk. The file will be located (if you either turned off UAC or used "Run as administrator") at the default directory of: '\Program Files\Battlefront\1C Company\Theatre of War 2 Kursk 1943\users\patches' Yes, this I did know, which is why I know that those patches are already present, have already been downloaded ad infinitum. Are you telling me to click on each one of those two patch files, which are .exe files IIRC (can't see now; at "work," not home! )?? Remember to launch this patch by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator". You can also manually download the 1.2.4 update from this link: http://www.1cpublishing.eu/tow2/TOW_Kursk_Patch_1.2.4_EN_BattleFront.exe and here are some links to the 1.3.1 patch (you will need to install 1.2.4 FIRST, BEFORE installing 1.3.1): Battlefront links to TOW 2 Kursk 1943 1.3.1 patch Um, wait, so you mean the correct way to do things is to 1) download the game and install it, and then 2) download the patches manually (outside of Autoupdater) and install them??? Again, such instructions should be on that download page, which currently makes things seem like a one-step install. I prefer purchasing software on physical media, but the few times I've downloaded games (Crayon Physics Deluxe, And Yet It Moves, and Osmos) I've gotten the absolute latest versions in one download. If this can't be the case for some odd reason, then at least the download screen itself should have instructions on all the steps required after the initial download. Regarding music, is the 'Music' slider in the 'Sound' panel set to something other than its default minimum (which will produce no sound) ? No, that slider doesn't slide at all, as if it's "grayed out," just something unavailable. What format are your sound files in ? .mp3 -- is that all right? The manual, of course, makes no mention of which formats are acceptable. You need to have 'DirectShow' codecs in order to play the music files in this folder. Umm...that sounds like something which comes with DirectX. I have DirectX 11. Shouldn't it come with DirectShow already? You may want to download and install a codec pack like: K-Lite Codec Pack (Full) Other codec installers should also work, but they will need to provide the DirectShow codecs for your particular audio files. Do I really need this if I have DirectX 11 already?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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