Briareos
Level: Smitemaster

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mrimer wrote:
Hmm...is the path "C:\Program Files (x86)\DROD - The City Beneath" the same as "C:\Users\Kafka\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\DROD - The City Beneath\Data", which you mentioned above? That is, are these two locations one and the same directory on your system, or are they actually two different directories?

I can't imagine how that could happen, seeing as the VirtualStore folder is created once for every non-administrator user trying to write into an administrator-only writeable folder - see New UAC Technologies for Windows Vista (especially the "Virtualization" section further down that page)...

You'll probably need to also embed a different application manifest in the installer(s) to prevent Windows from even attempting to virtualize the installation/patching process.

EDIT: Okay, according to the above page the 3.3.0.94 patcher shouldn't be virtualized, but isn't going to be automatically elevated either:

<trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
    <security>
        <requestedPrivileges>
            <requestedExecutionLevel level="asInvoker"            uiAccess="false"/>
        </requestedPrivileges>
    </security>
</trustInfo>

I guess "requireAdministrator" instead of "asInvoker" might work better...

np: Rustie - Hover Traps (Glass Swords (Disc 1))

____________________________
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
R.I.P. Robert Feldhoff (1962-2009)

---

[Last edited by Briareos at 10-23-2011 10:28 AM]

Kafka
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 42
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mrimer wrote:
That's part of it. Would you also please tell me the sizes of these files?

"C:\Program Files (x86)\DROD - The City Beneath": player.dat 31 kb, save.dat 25,449 kb, text.dat 10,561 kb, drod.ini 8kb.
"C:\Users\Kafka\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\DROD - The City Beneath\Data": player.dat 45 kb, save.dat 39,717 kb, text.dat 14,793 kb, drod.ini 8kb.

I guess that means the latter are the ones I want. Should I just copy them into the default folder, and if so do I need to copy any other files? Or should I change Datapath.txt to point to the other location?

____________________________
The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

---

[Last edited by Kafka at 10-23-2011 11:02 AM]

mrimer
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Rank Points: 5058
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Kafka wrote:

mrimer wrote:
That's part of it. Would you also please tell me the sizes of these files?

"C:\Program Files (x86)\DROD - The City Beneath": player.dat 31 kb, save.dat 25,449 kb, text.dat 10,561 kb, drod.ini 8kb.
"C:\Users\Kafka\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\DROD - The City Beneath\Data": player.dat 45 kb, save.dat 39,717 kb, text.dat 14,793 kb, drod.ini 8kb.

I guess that means the latter are the ones I want. Should I just copy them into the default folder, and if so do I need to copy any other files? Or should I change Datapath.txt to point to the other location?

Yes, it looks like the latter set of .dat files, being larger, contain more of your player progress.

You may either (a) change the first directory listed in DataPath.txt to point to the directory with the larger files or (b) move the larger files to the location currently specified as the first directory in DataPath.txt.

Please note: If you choose (b), then the files you would need to copy are as follows:

player.dat
hold.dat
save.dat
text.dat and
data.dat

You must copy all of them, or the game will not work properly.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

---

[Last edited by mrimer at 10-24-2011 07:42 PM]

mrimer
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Briareos wrote:
You'll probably need to also embed a different application manifest in the installer(s) to prevent Windows from even attempting to virtualize the installation/patching process.

EDIT: Okay, according to the above page the 3.3.0.94 patcher shouldn't be virtualized, but isn't going to be automatically elevated either:

<trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
    <security>
        <requestedPrivileges>
            <requestedExecutionLevel level="asInvoker"            uiAccess="false"/>
        </requestedPrivileges>
    </security>
</trustInfo>

I guess "requireAdministrator" instead of "asInvoker" might work better...

In some cases, yes. However, players do want to run the DROD installer as a user without Administrator privileges, which (iirc) is why this flag was changed a couple years ago to this current option setting.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

mrimer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5058
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Schik wrote:
I went ahead and checked in a simple fix.

Thank you, Matt! I'll make a new beta build with your fix.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

Kafka
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 42
Registered: 01-18-2004
IP: Logged

mrimer wrote:
You may either (a) change the first directory listed in DataPath.txt to point to the directory with the larger files or (b) move the larger files to the location currently specified as the first directory in DataPath.txt.

This is getting ridiculous! I tried (a), and was refused permission; I could only save the amended directory to another location, I couldn't amend the existing file. So I tried (b), and replaced the data files in the specified directory. But I was then still unable to open Drod; I again received the message "Couldn't access Drod data".

Please help; I have been unable to play Drod for several days, and am suffering withdrawal symptoms.

____________________________
The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

mrimer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5058
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IP: Logged

You are not allowed to modify files in the Program Files directory. In order to accomplish (a), first copy the DataPath.txt file elsewhere (e.g., to the desktop), and then you can modify it and put it back. Please try this.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

Kafka
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 42
Registered: 01-18-2004
IP: Logged

mrimer wrote:
You are not allowed to modify files in the Program Files directory. In order to accomplish (a), first copy the DataPath.txt file elsewhere (e.g., to the desktop), and then you can modify it and put it back. Please try this.

I've just tried that, and it still doesn't work. Now, when I try to open Drod, I get the error message "Drod couldn't initialize the fonts library". If I click on the OK button, the programme closes.

____________________________
The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

---

[Last edited by Kafka at 10-25-2011 10:48 PM]

Kafka
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 42
Registered: 01-18-2004
IP: Logged

Why has this issue been marked as fixed? I still can't get Drod to work. I installed the updated patch today, and once again got the error message "Drod couldn't initialize the fonts library". Please help me to get the game working again!

____________________________
The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

---

[Last edited by Kafka at 10-26-2011 10:40 PM]

Briareos
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Rank Points: 3516
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To be honest, I'm not sure if your installation isn't FUBARed already so no amount of work in the patcher is going to salvage it.

What I'd do would be making a backup copy of all your DAT files (in both the installation and virtualstore folders), then uninstalling DROD and removing the virtualstore folder followed by reinstalling the latest released version (as Administrator) then patching the game (as Administration) then putting back the newest version of your DAT files wherever they now reside (somewhere under C:\ProgramData\ I'd presume).

If that all doesn't work your last option would be to install DROD somewhere else than C:\Program Files, which should work around any access restrictions and virtualization stuff that you're currently having trouble with...

____________________________
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
R.I.P. Robert Feldhoff (1962-2009)

Jacob
Level: Smitemaster
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Briareos wrote:
If that all doesn't work your last option would be to install DROD somewhere else than C:\Program Files, which should work around any access restrictions and virtualization stuff that you're currently having trouble with...

This is what I've ended up doing with DROD, otherwise, for example, I found it impossible to transfer your files from one computer to another since Windows likes to store your save games non-locally.

____________________________
New to DROD? You may want to read this.
My Holds and Levels:

Kafka
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 42
Registered: 01-18-2004
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Briareos wrote:

What I'd do would be making a backup copy of all your DAT files (in both the installation and virtualstore folders), then uninstalling DROD and removing the virtualstore folder followed by reinstalling the latest released version (as Administrator) then patching the game (as Administration) then putting back the newest version of your DAT files wherever they now reside (somewhere under C:\ProgramData\ I'd presume).

Thanks, that seems to have worked. And it immediately found my saved progress. I was then able to install the patch that originally led to all this bother.

Now, if only Mike could sort out the PayPal problem, I could renew my subscription...

____________________________
The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

Briareos
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3516
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IP: Logged

Kafka wrote:
Thanks, that seems to have worked. And it immediately found my saved progress. I was then able to install the patch that originally led to all this bother.

I'm glad I was able to help...

____________________________
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
R.I.P. Robert Feldhoff (1962-2009)

Kafka
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 42
Registered: 01-18-2004
IP: Logged

I clearly wrote too soon. The game worked this afternoon, after I reinstalled and installed the patch. But I have just tried to open it, and again got the message "Couldn't access Drod data". There is clearly something very wrong; I had no trouble until I first installed the patch last week. Please help me resolve this.

____________________________
The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

mrimer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5058
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Kafka, I agree with briareos that there appears to be something wrong on your system that isn't typical for a Windows 7 install of DROD. I don't think it's a good idea to apply System Restores to undo a patch on the game, for instance, or to revert the contents of DataPath.txt to a previous version.

Instead, at this point, would you please try downloading the old 3.2.1.89 patch and reinstalling it? That's all you need to do to see if DROD will still run the old way at present. Please try and see whether DROD will run again as 3.2.1. If so, then it might indicate there's still a bug in 3.3. If it still doesn't run, or doesn't find your data, or your player progress is lost, then this indicates your installation just has some problems outside of what I can fix in the DROD code.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

---

[Last edited by mrimer at 10-28-2011 01:59 AM]

Kafka
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 42
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IP: Logged

OK, I've reinstalled 3.2.1.89, and the game is working again. But it worked this afternoon, after I reinstalled the game and then the patch, and it was only later that it stopped working. So I can't be sure that it wiull still work tomorrow; I'll let you know.

____________________________
The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

Jutt
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 863
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IP: Logged

I just installed the patch and had the same problems. Now got everything working though.
This is what I did:

- Backup everything from your original virtualstore (no harm in backing up files from program files as well).

- Apply the patch.

- Copy everything in "C:\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath\Data" to "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0". If windows asks to merge folders choose to do so for all folders.

- Create a DataPath.txt file in "C:\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath" containing

C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0;C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0;

At this point you should already have a working copy of DROD, but without your progress.

- Now go to the (backup of) your virtualstore folder and open the "data" folder. Copy all .DAT .ERR .LOG and .INI files from there to "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0\Data". There may also be other folders (I had a Bitmaps folder in there), but I didn't copy those. Windows will ask if you want to overwrite a lot of files and again confirm you want to do this.

- Run DROD. All your progress should be there.

I hope that I remembered all steps correctly—and that it works for you too.


IMPORTANT EDIT: Forgot to mention I'm using Vista, not Win 7. So not only is this not solely a Win 7 issue, my fix may not work on Win 7 either.

____________________________
Holds: An Architects Audition, Artful Architecture, Salamander, Elusive Exhibitions, Leftover Levels, Six Times Six
Collaborative: Way Forward, Advanced Concepts 2
Styles/Mods: Basalt, Sandstone, Garden, Clock using game elements

---

[Last edited by Jutt at 11-01-2011 10:35 PM]

Kafka
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 42
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I've managed to reinstall Drod, and install the patch. I can now run Drod, with all of my progress -- but only if I run as administrator. If I run normally, I receive the error message "Couldn't access Drod data".

____________________________
The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

Jutt
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 863
Registered: 06-29-2007
IP: Logged

Great, it doesn't look Windows 7 is going to play nice.

Googling around a bit I got the impression that people seem to have problems with access to the ProgramData folder on Win 7. I'm not sure what the fix to this could be, or if this is at all the cause of your trouble.

It may be easier though to try and move all the data files to another directory alltogether. Maybe you could try copying your "drod-3_0" folder in ProgramData to a place you have full permissions for (e.g. My Documents) and then change the DataPath.txt file in "C:\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath" accordingly? If that fixes it, that gives at least an indication where the problem lies.

I wouldn't recommend using someting like this as a permanent fix yet though.

____________________________
Holds: An Architects Audition, Artful Architecture, Salamander, Elusive Exhibitions, Leftover Levels, Six Times Six
Collaborative: Way Forward, Advanced Concepts 2
Styles/Mods: Basalt, Sandstone, Garden, Clock using game elements

mrimer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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Jutt wrote:
I just installed the patch and had the same problems. Now got everything working though.
This is what I did:

Thanks for writing this up, Jutt! I think I can help streamline your steps in order to help players upgrade their existing 3.x installation, as follows:

- Backup everything from your original DROD virtualstore dir (e.g., "C:\Users\<your username here>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath"), if you have one. No harm in backing up files from "C:\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath\Data\" as well. [This skip is not essential in order for the following steps to succeed, but it can't hurt to have a backup of your DROD player data in case something goes wrong.]

- Delete the DataPath.txt file in the "C:\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath" folder. It's no longer needed unless you want to maintain a player data folder different from the one created in the next step. If there happens to be a DataPath.txt file in the virtualstore folder, you must delete that copy too.

- Apply the patch. Run DROD 3.3, and it will create a "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0" folder (or a "...\drod-3_0-demo" folder, if you are running the demo version of DROD:TCB 3.3). Then exit the game as soon as the first screen comes up. You can verify that this new directory has been created at this point.

- Now go to (the backup of) your virtualstore folder and open the "data" folder. Copy all .DAT files (except for drod3_0.dat, if present) from there to "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0", which was just created. Your player progress and any imported holds are contained in these data files you are copying over. DROD 3.3 will now expect these .DAT files to be found in this new directory, which doesn't require Administrator rights to write to each time you run the game. Windows will ask if you want to overwrite these five .DAT files. Confirm that you want to do this.

That should be it. Now you can run DROD in non-Administrator mode. All your player progress should be there. Now the game will maintain all your player data and files in the "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0" directory, and you shouldn't have to worry about any files in the game's install dir or the virtualstore dir any longer.

- Copy everything in "C:\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath\Data" to "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0". If windows asks to merge folders, then choose to do so for all folders.

You should only have to do this if you have stuff in the Data/Homemade dir or mods or other custom or personal files in Data/*, which you don't want to maintain in the DROD app installation dir any longer.

- Create a DataPath.txt file in "C:\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath" containing

C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0;C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0;

At this point you should already have a working copy of DROD, but without your progress.

You shouldn't have to keep a DataPath.txt file around any longer, as the game will use the path you list here for your user data by default without having to keep this file around.

- Now go to the (backup of) your virtualstore folder and open the "data" folder. Copy all .DAT .ERR .LOG and .INI files from there to "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0\Data". There may also be other folders (I had a Bitmaps folder in there), but I didn't copy those. Windows will ask if you want to overwrite a lot of files and again confirm you want to do this.

Note I changed "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0\Data" to "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0" in my step above. Also, you don't have to copy the .ERR or .LOG files. You don't have to copy the DROD.INI file either, as the game will create a new default .INI file in the ProgramData folder when the game next starts up.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

---

[Last edited by mrimer at 11-02-2011 06:57 AM]

Jutt
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 863
Registered: 06-29-2007
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You should only have to do this if you have stuff in the Data/Homemade dir or mods or other custom or personal files in Data/*, which you don't want to maintain in the DROD app installation dir any longer.

Well, initially I thought so too, as that was how it worked in 3.2. However if I do not copy these files, I get the same error as Kafka where DROD sais it can't load its font files. The patch does create the path "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0\" and there are even a few folders in there (bitmaps, sounds, etc.), but no actual files.

Note I changed "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0\Data" to "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0" in my step above.

Oops, thanks—that's what I meant to write there.

You shouldn't have to keep a DataPath.txt file around any longer, as the game will use the path you list here for your user data by default without having to keep this file around.

If I now remove my DataPath.txt from "C:\Program Files\DROD - The City Beneath" I get the "Cannot access Drod data" error message again. Looks like windows doesn't agree with the way you'd like things to work.

You don't have to copy the DROD.INI file either, as the game will create a new default .INI file in the ProgramData folder when the game next starts up.

If you have a lot of manually installed mods, I think you'd lose those if you don't copy the ini. Maybe installed dmf's would carry over just fine, but for example generaltiles mods that require you to modify drod.ini would be lost.

____________________________
Holds: An Architects Audition, Artful Architecture, Salamander, Elusive Exhibitions, Leftover Levels, Six Times Six
Collaborative: Way Forward, Advanced Concepts 2
Styles/Mods: Basalt, Sandstone, Garden, Clock using game elements

Tablesaw
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 33
Registered: 05-14-2005
IP: Logged

I've been trying to follow these instructions, but after running the patched DROD as an administrator, I don't see the directory C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0\. Should I make one on my own?

____________________________
It's the saw of the table!

jackcmedia
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 15
Registered: 06-21-2015
IP: Logged

Hey, I tried to update my installed version of TCB to 3.3 and I can't play any longer due to this issue (before I didn't need to play as Admin).

Tried following your instructions but they don't seem to work for me.

Also, I was in the Abyssian Fortress, and my progress was reverted to the chasm with the floating platforms... Awesome...

Let's see... Win 7, 64 bits, I suppose I had my player data in "C:\Program Files (x86)\DROD - The City Beneath\Data". I have a second player.dat in the Virtual store folder and a completely empty "C:\ProgramData\Caravel\drod-3_0" folder.

Since this doesn't work, I'm going back to my core install with no updates.

--- Edit ---

Thank the gods I can keep playing from my save game and don't have to repeat everything until I reached the Abyssian Fortress again...

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[Last edited by jackcmedia at 07-12-2015 11:00 AM]

jackcmedia
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 15
Registered: 06-21-2015
IP: Logged

FYI,

After reinstalling the core game, I exported my profile. Then did a clean reinstall of TCB + 3.3 patch and proceeded to reimport my entire profile. Now it works...

Whatever the patch was doing to "update" my files was the one causing the mess.

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[Last edited by jackcmedia at 07-12-2015 11:33 AM]