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Issues With C3 and DS When in Documents   
FairyRing

FairyRing



  11/17/2019  2

Alrighty, let's hope I can make sense when explaining this.

I've seen where many Creatures players have recommended installing Creatures Exodus into your computers Documents rather than Program Files. They claim it's to help the games work better with COB's and whatnot, specifically in regards to Docking Station (I think?).

When the two games are in my Program Files, they work just fine and will recognize one another. However, when I install them into Documents, I can only startup Docking Station, but not Creatures 3. When I startup Creatures 3, I get an error message that seems to be saying that the game files are either not where they belong, or are not there at all. Docking Station also says the game is not installed.

Before installing the two games into Documents, I uninstall them from my Program Files, then get the installation from GOG.com. I have tried installing them using GOG Galaxy installer, and installing them manually from the website. They both seem to yield the same results.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 
Arnout

Arnout



  11/18/2019  2

Hello.

So, C3 and DS work with "catalogue" files which contain useful information, for instance: In-game item descriptions for COBs and other text based stuff that a few COBs require to function. Installing the games into the program files folder is possible and not immediately game breaking. It's just that the engines will install these aforementioned catalogue files into the documents folder whenever you inject a new COB into your games. That means you'll have to copy or cut the catalogue files from the catalogue folder in documents to the catalogue folder in program files each time you inject a new COB.

Many simple COBs will work without those catalogue files. They will just lack descriptions in your game and will show a silly message whenever you use Agent Help on them.. (it's something like: We don't know what this is, but we know it's agent classifier! 2 15 26506 or some other number...) Several other COBs do require a catalogue file to actually function.. so if a COB in your world suddenly disappears without a trace, make sure that you copy the files over as described above.. but if that sounds tedious to you, keep on reading. :P

Make sure that you install the Creatures Remastered Patch and that you run Creatures 3 as an administrator.

If that doesn't work: Try to follow the steps on this page up to step 3 (again). Can you make docked worlds in Docking Station?

 
Papriko
Peppery One

Papriko



  11/18/2019

Doesn't the GoG version already have remastered patch included?

Lets play plants! Photosynthesis... Photosynthesis... Photosynthesis...
 
C-Rex
Lollipop Lord

C-Rex


 visit C-Rex's website: The Norn Nebula
  11/18/2019

Didn't Mad_Doodles mention somewhere that the current GOG.com installer is broken?
 
FairyRing

FairyRing



  11/19/2019

Arnout:

Okay, I was finally able to try these suggestions.

So far, I can now currently start a new game on DS with the offline patch. I was thinking the offline patch and the remastered patch were the same thing, and so got confused anytime I was looking for their install links.

However, C3 still won't work for me at all while installed in Documents. I also was unable to get the remastered patch from the link provided above, as either that site is messing up for, or it's the wrong link. Though, I doubt it's the wrong one, as that is the same place I was directed to from another site (the wiki, I think).

I'm guessing that the fact I don't have the remastered patch is why C3 won't work while in Documents? I've done everything else advised above and by the steps on the other page linked.

Papriko:

I have no clue whatsoever...

C-Rex:

It's working just fine for me when I let it do what it wants to by default, so maybe it had been broken previously and was fixed?

 
Papriko
Peppery One

Papriko



  11/19/2019

Actually my question was more towards Arnout rather than you.

Lets play plants! Photosynthesis... Photosynthesis... Photosynthesis...
 
FairyRing

FairyRing



  11/19/2019

I was wondering, but decided to give a response regardless just in case.
 
Arnout

Arnout



  11/20/2019  2

Papriko wrote:
Actually my question was more towards Arnout rather than you.


Honestly? I've no idea. I've had a physical copy of Exodus for 10 years now. I probably should've looked more into the GOG edition before responding. :P

Perhaps the GOG installer just seems to be looking fine, while it messes up the C3 installation? If the GoG installation is indeed broken as of now, just install the games in Program Files for now. You'll only have to find some lost catalogue files in your Documents folder sometimes.. unless somebody else has had this problem and they did find a solution.

 
ylukyun
Patient Pirate

ylukyun

Manager



  11/20/2019  2

The Creatures Remastered Patch is a third-party addon (created by someone who is, to my knowledge, no longer active in the community), so I doubt they'd include it. I don't remember it ever being in there. That being said I haven't checked. A bit of a tangent now but anyway...
 
ylukyun
Patient Pirate

ylukyun

Manager



  11/21/2019

I just tried doing a Documents install and everything worked for me. Can you tell us the exact path to your C3 and DS installations?
 
EmrisKronos

EmrisKronos



  1/15/2020

i'm finding a good portion of the time DS will run but it won't recognize C3 and C3 won't even if the machine file is in order. but the few times it did run there was the issue with missing catalog information.

the AmberCreatures website given above as hosting the creatures remastered patch seems to have also broke and developed what resembles an epileptic seizure, so that link doesn't work... and might actually trigger a seizure in anyone with photosensitive epilepsy if followed.

Edit: the 2006 ccsf age had a download of the creatures remastered patch though

http://www.creatures.org.uk/ccsf2006/news.php?id=60

 
SpaceShipRat

SpaceShipRat



  1/16/2020

AmberCreatures works fine for me on Chrome, maybe it was a temporary problem you encountered.
 
EmrisKronos

EmrisKronos



  1/16/2020

maybe it's a firefox specific issue, but what i can make out of it says their server crashed or something, damaged the data in such a way as to merge two versions of their site from different times(which it seems to keep flashing between), and they are working on fixing the issue(or where when it was written)

kind of weary of chrome with how it messes with other things it shouldn't. but might try taking a look at it in a different browser.

update: their site works in the newer Internet Explorer, just not in firefox and if you have photosensitive epilepsy stay away from it in firefox because it may trigger it.

 
Vermidia

Vermidia



  1/16/2020

You might need to fix C3's info too. I've had extra machine.cfg files for being fixed.

C3 should be:

"Backgrounds Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Backgrounds\\"
"Body Data Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Body Data\\"
"Bootstrap Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Bootstrap\\"
"Catalogue Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Catalogue\\"
"Creature Database Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Creature Galleries\\"
"Display Type" 2
"Exported Creatures Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\My Creatures\\"
"Game Name" "Creatures 3"
"Genetics Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Genetics\\"
"Images Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Images\\"
"Journal Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Journal\\"
"Main Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\"
"Overlay Data Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Overlay Data\\"
"Resource Files Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\My Agents\\"
"Sounds Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Sounds\\"
"Worlds Directory" "c:\\users\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\My Worlds\\"


DS should be:

"Auxiliary 1 Backgrounds Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Backgrounds\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Body Data Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Body Data\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Bootstrap Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Bootstrap\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Catalogue Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Catalogue\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Exported Creatures Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\My Creatures\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Genetics Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Genetics\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Images Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Images\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Overlay Data Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Overlay Data\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Resource Files Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\My Agents\\"
"Auxiliary 1 Sounds Directory" "c:\\someones\\someone\\documents\\creatures\\creatures exodus\\Creatures 3\\Sounds\\"
"Backgrounds Directory" Backgrounds
"Body Data Directory" "Body Data"
"Bootstrap Directory" Bootstrap
"Catalogue Directory" Catalogue
"Creature Database Directory" "Creature Galleries"
"Display Type" 2
"Exported Creatures Directory" "My Creatures"
"Game Name" "Docking Station"
"Genetics Directory" Genetics
"Images Directory" Images
"Journal Directory" Journal
"Main Directory" .
"Overlay Data Directory" "Overlay Data"
"Resource Files Directory" "My Agents"
"Sounds Directory" Sounds
"someones Directory" someones
"Win32 Auxiliary Game Name 1" "Creatures 3"
"Worlds Directory" "My Worlds"


\: are \ :

This normally fixes the issue but if it doesn't I'm not really sure. It may be weird that docking station has to link to C3 but its how it recognizes it I guess.


You know...wait...nevermind... wait...no...umm...maybe later...
 
EmrisKronos

EmrisKronos



  1/16/2020  1

i'm attempting to contact gog games about some of the bugs and asking them to fix their installer and version of the software, i suggest others do the same and hopefully if enough people tell them there's a problem they actually listen.

it seems for some the bugs are so bad that it makes the game unplayable even with many of these fixes, but i doubt any would be new players would have reason to stick at trying to fix it long enough that they might actually get the game to work so this might be part of why there are so few people even playing it anymore these days.

 
SpaceShipRat

SpaceShipRat



  1/17/2020

^agreed.

Aside for that, isn't it, at this point, just safer to let GoG install where it wants, and then instruct people to copy .cat files over? I've never had any of these problems last time I installed c3/ds.

 
EmrisKronos

EmrisKronos



  1/17/2020  1

here's the url to the form gog wants players to use to tell them about issues they have. there seems to be no shortage of bugs in their installer and version for creatures exodus that randomly pop up for different computers, possibly other creatures games as well i haven't checked yet.

https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?=true&form=technical&product=gog

 


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