Last Alliance - Download, Information and General Discussion

[Sara Temer]

Thanks! That's one problem solved.

However, I now have a crippling problem that might spell the end for me playing your mod altogether.

It seems to want to crash consistently on the latest end turn. I have previous save points, but I'm not sure if that's going to help. Every time after a defensive siege in the Misty Mountains, the game decides to crash every time once it reaches the Men of Adorn Vale faction.

Should I go back to a save point a few turns ago? Is it worth it? Have others reported similar problems? Unfortunately I cannot find a CTD log to share on Steam, unlike with M2TW, which has a logs folder.

EDIT: Yep, I even went back a few turns and once again played until turn 40. Ended the turn and voila, the game crashes no matter what on the end turn when it reaches the Men of Adorn Vale faction. I'd love to play your mod, but it seems to be utterly broken. A shame, I was really enjoying it! I even built a tiny empire in the north as the Lindon elves and had just conquered the Orcs of Mount Gram and Orcs/Men Angmar. I was about to invade the Orcs to the east of the Misty Mountains and with a naval fleet had taken over the Forodwaith trade post at sea. I'd like to play your mod again some day, but it doesn't seem feasible until the next release.

In Installation Guide I put list of solutions for commons problems with crashes. Often it just Shogun 2 bug e.g. with DirectX settings or shaders settings (that's why game after every crash ask which DirectX should be run), sometimes while unpacking files get corrupted. Crash logs are in main directory of Shogun 2 if you're interested.
I played many campaigns by 100-200 turns so nope, mod isn't broken.

[Roma_Victrix]

In Installation Guide I put list of solutions for commons problems with crashes. Often it just Shogun 2 bug e.g. with DirectX settings or shaders settings (that's why game after every crash ask which DirectX should be run), sometimes while unpacking files get corrupted. Crash logs are in main directory of Shogun 2 if you're interested.
I played many campaigns by 100-200 turns so nope, mod isn't broken.

Thanks for the response.

Now that you mention it, yes, for the past several times launching the game it has asked whether or not I want to use DirectX 9 or 11. At first I would just choose the latter, but choosing 9 for some reason really screwed up textures of units like shields strapped to the back when there were shadows or shade from trees (looked like big pixelated blocks). I switched back to DirectX 11 and it seemed fine after that, until the end turn crash.

I could do the solution of declaring war on a faction via diplomacy, if it's available for the petty minor faction of Adorn Vale. However, reading the first part of your caption here, it seems like the pack files themselves might be the problem. Each pack file looks like this: "Last_Alliance_0.3.5_animations.pack", "Last_Alliance_0.3.5_campaign_map.pack", etc.

Is that correct, or no? I used 7zip as requested, NOT WinRar. If they are user script files, shouldn't they have the file extension "user.js" or something else instead?

In either case I'll try the declare war option first. If that doesn't work I'll try the other solutions like getting rid of "ui_cache" and I'll let you know if it solved the problem.

EDIT: I am apparently already at war with them and didn't even know it. The game refuses to accept a peace deal no matter what I offer the game, money, military access, you name it. Won't accept it. I tried changing the shader option from Shader Model 5 to Shader Model 3 (Low), and nope, still crashes to the desktop. I'll try some of these other solutions and let you know.
Also, how do you "verify" game files on Steam? I have almost no experience with Steam, so I have no idea how that works. Do you mean the Cloud Status? It says that it is up to date.

EDIT 2: I removed the "ui_cache" folder as noted, but the game still crashes. I also changed between DirectX 9 and 11, and used different shaders in the graphics option menu, but still the game crashes. I haven't tried it yet, but I don't think the show AI moves is an option after starting a campaign, only when you are about to start it, right?

EDIT 3: Wow. I was about to go check on that issue, but now the game won't even launch, just crashes right away, with a message at one point saying that Steam could no longer sync my game with its cloud. What's going on here?

[Sara Temer]

Thanks for the response.

Now that you mention it, yes, for the past several times launching the game it has asked whether or not I want to use DirectX 9 or 11. At first I would just choose the latter, but choosing 9 for some reason really screwed up textures of units like shields strapped to the back when there were shadows or shade from trees (looked like big pixelated blocks). I switched back to DirectX 11 and it seemed fine after that, until the end turn crash.

I could do the solution of declaring war on a faction via diplomacy, if it's available for the petty minor faction of Adorn Vale. However, reading the first part of your caption here, it seems like the pack files themselves might be the problem. Each pack file looks like this: "Last_Alliance_0.3.5_animations.pack", "Last_Alliance_0.3.5_campaign_map.pack", etc.

Is that correct, or no? I used 7zip as requested, NOT WinRar. If they are user script files, shouldn't they have the file extension "user.js" or something else instead?

In either case I'll try the declare war option first. If that doesn't work I'll try the other solutions like getting rid of "ui_cache" and I'll let you know if it solved the problem.

EDIT: I am apparently already at war with them and didn't even know it. The game refuses to accept a peace deal no matter what I offer the game, money, military access, you name it. Won't accept it. I tried changing the shader option from Shader Model 5 to Shader Model 3 (Low), and nope, still crashes to the desktop. I'll try some of these other solutions and let you know.
Also, how do you "verify" game files on Steam? I have almost no experience with Steam, so I have no idea how that works. Do you mean the Cloud Status? It says that it is up to date.

EDIT 2: I removed the "ui_cache" folder as noted, but the game still crashes. I also changed between DirectX 9 and 11, and used different shaders in the graphics option menu, but still the game crashes. I haven't tried it yet, but I don't think the show AI moves is an option after starting a campaign, only when you are about to start it, right?

EDIT 3: Wow. I was about to go check on that issue, but now the game won't even launch, just crashes right away, with a message at one point saying that Steam could no longer sync my game with its cloud. What's going on here?

.pack extension is extension for packed files of Shogun 2. No matter whether it vanilla files or mod files. user_script.txt it just information for game which additional .pack files should run except main game.

Anyway, after read this tbh I have no idea what you did with game and mod .-.

[Roma_Victrix]

How to verify Steam files :

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faq...FCBD-DA71-93EB

Cool, thanks!

I did that, followed the instructions, and it says that "All 4450 files successfully validated" after hitting the "Verify integrity of game files" button. So I guess we can check off another thing on the list of reasons why the game is crashing.

.pack extension is extension for packed files of Shogun 2. No matter whether it vanilla files or mod files. user_script.txt it just information for game which additional .pack files should run except main game.

Anyway, after read this tbh I have no idea what you did with game and mod .-.

You sure it's something I did and not a bug on my computer corrupting files? Where exactly is the "user_script.txt" file supposed to be located, because I do not see it in the data folder for Shogun II. It's supposed to be in the data folder, right? If so then I certainly have a strange problem due to it not being there. Also, if that's the case, would you mind quickly sharing just the "user_script.txt" file here on TWC if it is that essential?

EDIT: I just remembered that you helped me with an installation problem earlier where I chose the "data" folder as a pathway target for installation, but you said that was wrong. So I moved the pack files and "read me" text file from the "Last_Alliance_0_3_5" folder (also located in the data folder) directly into the data folder. Considering all of this, perhaps I should just cleanly reinstall the game entirely? I preserved some of my save game points in the "cloud saves" option for Steam, so hopefully I'll be able to restore my campaign after doing that. To be clear, the targeted pathway is not directly to the "data" folder; you aim it at the "Total War SHOGUN 2" folder then, right? It's very confusing to me, because the "Last_Alliance_0_3_5" folder that I extracted per installation instructions doesn't have a "data" folder within it for putting those files in the right pathway for Shogun II's data folder (where they are actually needed or else they don't work).

[Sara Temer]

You sure it's something I did and not a bug on my computer corrupting files? Where exactly is the "user_script.txt" file supposed to be located, because I do not see it in the data folder for Shogun II. It's supposed to be in the data folder, right? If so then I certainly have a strange problem due to it not being there. Also, if that's the case, would you mind quickly sharing just the "user_script.txt" file here on TWC if it is that essential?

EDIT: I just remembered that you helped me with an installation problem earlier where I chose the "data" folder as a pathway target for installation, but you said that was wrong. So I moved the pack files and "read me" text file from the "Last_Alliance_0_3_5" folder (also located in the data folder) directly into the data folder. Considering all of this, perhaps I should just cleanly reinstall the game entirely? I preserved some of my save game points in the "cloud saves" option for Steam, so hopefully I'll be able to restore my campaign after doing that. To be clear, the targeted pathway is not directly to the "data" folder; you aim it at the "Total War SHOGUN 2" folder then, right? It's very confusing to me, because the "Last_Alliance_0_3_5" folder that I extracted per installation instructions doesn't have a "data" folder within it for putting those files in the right pathway for Shogun II's data folder (where they are actually needed or else they don't work).

......
Mod .pack files should be directly in "data" folder. You should easily figure this out because there are all vanilla .pack files and .pack files of mods downloaded from workshop .-.

user_script.txt isn't in Shogun 2 directory. This file is in AppData, around place where game keep saves. I explained this in Installation Guide (really, why people don't read this document firstly? It would save time for them and for me...). This file is automatically created by mod manager, without this files you wouldn't be able to even run mod.

[Roma_Victrix]

......
Mod .pack files should be directly in "data" folder. You should easily figure this out because there are all vanilla .pack files and .pack files of mods downloaded from workshop .-.

user_script.txt isn't in Shogun 2 directory. This file is in AppData, around place where game keep saves. I explained this in Installation Guide (really, why people don't read this document firstly? It would save time for them and for me...). This file is automatically created by mod manager, without this files you wouldn't be able to even run mod.

Even after reading your guide, it's hard to keep track of all this stuff to be honest, largely because I have no experience using Steam before this week. Sorry for not being as smart as you and giving you a headache. Maybe don't bite newbies so hard for just asking questions in frustration when things don't work after trying nearly every solution?

It's the very last solution that I didn't try, and it seems to be the problem because the user.script.txt file is missing in C:\Users\[Your user name]\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Shogun2\scripts! The only thing that's there is a file called "preferences.script" text file, which contains nothing about the Last Alliance mod in it.

The bizarre thing is that the Shogun II Mod Manager seems to work without it, as I've played the game plenty until turn 40. My issue is not with the game failing to launch altogether, it's with an end turn crash for a specific faction, the wild men of Adorn Vale.

Would you mind helping me in creating a new user_script.txt file? Should it just be a new empty file with only the following in it? Or, in other words, it doesn't need any other text aside from this per your installation guide?

mod last_alliance_0.3.5_animations.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_campaign_map.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_data.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_models1.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_models2.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_rigidmodels.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_sound.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_terrain.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_ui.pack;

Excuse me if it's a dumb question, but again I have no idea what I'm doing since I'm entirely new to this. I'm not trying to be passive aggressive, I'm literally just lost for words here since I don't know what to do and you clearly know a lot more about it than I do.

EDIT: interesting! After restoring original files and deleting the ones I originally moved into the data folder, using mod manager to select all the Last Alliance files, I played the game again and let it crash once more on turn 40. After going back to the AppData folder where scripts are located, it did indeed generate the file "user.script", but that ultimately doesn't help me with my end turn crash problem for the Adorn Vale faction. At this point I have tried everything in the list of suggestions and nothing seems to fix my unique problem. Therefore I'm just going to redownload and reinstall the mod altogether. Hopefully that works, and I'll let you know if it does.

Also, if a new campaign still crashes with my old saves, I will start an entirely new campaign with the "show CPU moves" box clicked on in the "More Options" button in the new campaign interface. I believe that's the one and only thing that I haven't tried, only because it's impossible once you start a new campaign. It will make end turns a lot longer, unfortunately, but if that's what it takes to avoid a CTD, I will gladly do it.

Finally, please don't take any of this personally. I love your mod and you've done a lot of great work. It's probably just a bug on my computer or something that corrupted the files during the download. Hopefully redownloading it will solve the problem.

EDIT: previously saved campaign still crashes right at the end turn between 40-41, but the game seems remarkably smoother to play after downloading it a second time. That's a good sign! I am now playing a new campaign as the Lindon elves. I will let you know how things go after I hit the end turn button after turn 40.

[izzi]

Even after reading your guide, it's hard to keep track of all this stuff to be honest, largely because I have no experience using Steam before this week. Sorry for not being as smart as you and giving you a headache. Maybe don't bite newbies so hard for just asking questions in frustration when things don't work after trying nearly every solution?

It's the very last solution that I didn't try, and it seems to be the problem because the user.script.txt file is missing in C:\Users\[Your user name]\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Shogun2\scripts! The only thing that's there is a file called "preferences.script" text file, which contains nothing about the Last Alliance mod in it.

The bizarre thing is that the Shogun II Mod Manager seems to work without it, as I've played the game plenty until turn 40. My issue is not with the game failing to launch altogether, it's with an end turn crash for a specific faction, the wild men of Adorn Vale.

Would you mind helping me in creating a new user_script.txt file? Should it just be a new empty file with only the following in it? Or, in other words, it doesn't need any other text aside from this per your installation guide?

mod last_alliance_0.3.5_animations.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_campaign_map.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_data.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_models1.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_models2.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_rigidmodels.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_sound.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_terrain.pack;
mod last_alliance_0.3.5_ui.pack;

Excuse me if it's a dumb question, but again I have no idea what I'm doing since I'm entirely new to this. I'm not trying to be passive aggressive, I'm literally just lost for words here since I don't know what to do and you clearly know a lot more about it than I do.

EDIT: interesting! After restoring original files and deleting the ones I originally moved into the data folder, using mod manager to select all the Last Alliance files, I played the game again and let it crash once more on turn 40. After going back to the AppData folder where scripts are located, it did indeed generate the file "user.script", but that ultimately doesn't help me with my end turn crash problem for the Adorn Vale faction. At this point I have tried everything in the list of suggestions and nothing seems to fix my unique problem. Therefore I'm just going to redownload and reinstall the mod altogether. Hopefully that works, and I'll let you know if it does.

Also, if a new campaign still crashes with my old saves, I will start an entirely new campaign with the "show CPU moves" box clicked on in the "More Options" button in the new campaign interface. I believe that's the one and only thing that I haven't tried, only because it's impossible once you start a new campaign. It will make end turns a lot longer, unfortunately, but if that's what it takes to avoid a CTD, I will gladly do it.

Finally, please don't take any of this personally. I love your mod and you've done a lot of great work. It's probably just a bug on my computer or something that corrupted the files during the download. Hopefully redownloading it will solve the problem.

EDIT: previously saved campaign still crashes right at the end turn between 40-41, but the game seems remarkably smoother to play after downloading it a second time. That's a good sign! I am now playing a new campaign as the Lindon elves. I will let you know how things go after I hit the end turn button after turn 40.

Maybe this can help: https://youtu.be/FkyKbeIH2iI