I am so lost – trying to make game work

[Nick]

Hi, I’m new here.
First off, a warning – I am very new to installing and using mods.
I used to play AoP 1 & 2 years and years ago, and decided to check them out again, this time using mods.

I downloaded the big mod GOF Eras 2 (the 9 GB file size one) and on the read me doc it says you don’t need the original game as it is all included in the mod, which was sweet. Much easier, because I don’t even have the discs anymore.

So I extracted the mod but even time I try to run start.exe a message pops up saying “Please insert DVD of “X3 Terran Conflict”!”

Now, I tried using the no-dics dmv.dll file that was suggested on other forums and it was the same result. Also, if it wanted me to insert a disk I would have thought it would ask for AoP… not X3 terran conflict? This has lead to the title of this topic – I am so lost. lol. Any ideas/help/suggestions?

• This topic was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Nick.

[Schiavonna]

Hi Nick. I think Modern Knight and Jeffrey, that could help you with installation issues, are quite busy in real life just now. Hopefully they’ll return soon.

Are you using win 7/8 or later OS? If you install the game to “C:\Program Files (x86)”, this can cause issues. I suggest installing it to your root C: Drive (i.e. I’ve made my own folder “Games” in the root C: drive, so my path is like this “C:\Games\Aop2…..).Just DONT install into C\Program Files(x86) 😉

I take it you DONT have X3 terran conflict and it was a a bit of a WTF moment? I seem to remember having something wierd like this too, but my memory is a bit hazy about it, and I think you just might need the patch for this. Here’s what I would do:

First, check which mod you have : ERAS or GOF?? It should be called “ERAs2 1.5.7.7z” – check that’s what you’ve got, otherwise here is the link to the correct ERAs mod (that works without original game installed):
https://buccaneersreef.com/forums/topic/gof-eras-mod-2-latest-download/

(^ decryption key for file access is just below the link)

THEN, you need the patch: “ver1.5.7 patch1”. You can get it (and decryption key) here in the first post of this thread:
https://buccaneersreef.com/forums/topic/patches-for-gof-eras2/

Install the ERAs2 1.5.7.7z (the game) – see 2nd paragraph for “where to” guide

Then, once that’s done, install/extract the patch (ver1.5.7 patch1) over the top of it – to the same program path you have previously placed the Original Mod. Make sure the program path lines when extracting both zips are the SAME. If asked to overwite files when applying patch, say yes to all.

So:
Make a new folder in your root C Drive ( C:\Games)
Extract mod (ERAs2 1.5.7.7z) into “C:\Games”
Extract patch (ver1.5.7 patch1) into “C:\Games”

Restart and play….

Try that and let us know how you get on. Sorry for the wait btw – the mod creators are busy with kids, work and water flooding problems right now.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Schiavonna.
• This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Schiavonna.

[Jeffrey]

Yes, follow Schiavonna’s instructions, but a few things I would like to add.

I don’t believe that the start.exe in the download will work without the original cd. I think it is the original .exe from Akella, which doesn’t allow play without the cd lodged in the drive. In fact, to test, I just downloaded ERAS, tried it, and got the ‘Insert Age of Pirates 2 cd’ message. I don’t know why Nick’s gives the erroneous X3 Terran Conflict message, but I don’t think anything will circumvent the start.exe needing a cd from the ERAS downloads.

The good news is that there are a couple ways to solve that.

We have the source code for the entire game and you can download a DirectX 8 version, that will work exactly like the original game here:
https://mega.nz/#F!WtMDgRxK!hbeUg86kGLlQAqvWRNwTqg

Download ERAS2Test.zip and follow the readme.txt instructions. If you have any trouble, just post here and we can work out any problems. You can also try an a DirectX 9 version instead by opting for ERAS2TestDX9.zip. You will not need the cd for either of them, but they do need all the files from the original and patch files mentioned in the Schiavonna’s post. If using these, extract them in their own, separate folders from the original game.

I also suggest, the one further patch, that will overwrite some files in the original ERAS folder: ERAS.Patch.zip That contains further fixes and some additional resource files that apply to your original ERAS and that first patch. Apply it last.

The other way is to use a virtual CD/DVD tool, like DAEMON Tools Lite. I actually have the stubbed out trick someone figured out to fool the TAGES copyright protection into thinking the full CD is mounted. I can’t remember exactly where I found it, but it works and it’s NS-AOP2_TG-poseden.mdf file of only 18 megabytes. If you use DAEMON Tools Lite and mount it as a SCSI virtual, Age of Pirates COAS thinks the cd is loaded and runs. I actually run the game that way when I’m comparing our source and the original for certain things, so it verifiably works. If needed, I could post up the .mdf file to Mega.

But I would opt for the .zips mentioned above as my experience so far shows they are more reliable than the original game. If you have problems with them, be sure to let me know and I continue work to fix them.

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