Update 158000 (aka Unofficial Patch 1.5.8) has been released!
Update Type: Core Release. Changes list: https://www.ee2.eu/patch/changes/#158000
- Included changes from all minor updates 157000-157041.
- New version identification due to structural changes: "EE2 1.5.8", "AOS 1.5.8", "EE2 1.5.8-non1.5units", "AOS 1.5.8-non1.5units", "EE2 1.5.8 + Mod", "AOS 1.5.8 + Mod".
- Created a new DLL file: "UP15_GameHelper.dll":
* In modern versions of Unofficial Patch 1.5 some of the assembled game fixes and features have been migrated to the DLL and the Launcher process in order to allow multithreading and general game process offload.
- Added timestamp to filenames of screenshots taken in game (EE2: Documents\Empire Earth II\screenshots, AOS: Documents\Empire Earth II The Art of Supremacy\screenshots). It helps avoid filenames conflict during synchronization between multiple computers.
- Reworked the "Audio playback (taunts) for certain messages":
* Added the taunts system to in-game chat (even in Singleplayer).
* Added two separate checkboxes to the Maximization Helper window, "Disable Audio Taunts in Chats": "Multiplayer", "Game".
* Added an autoplay of the "Host is waiting to launch..." taunts (when applicable).
* Added a sound effect, when settings change in the hosted game room (triggered by the red system message).
* The list of censored words (a beep sound effect) is now updated on the Launcher start.
* Added ignoring of the punctuation characters, e.g. taunt: "merrychristmas4" will also play when "Merry Christmas 4!" is typed.
* Added taunts inside the "quotation marks", e.g. audio will be played on message: I wish you a "Merry Christmas", Jenna.
* If the game window was minimized (iconic), the first missed taunt will still be played when the window becomes active again.
- Reworked the Game Taskbar Icon Flashing functions, when the game window is minimized (iconic):
* Added flashing on new messages in game chat (after game start, not only multiplayer chats).
* Disabled flashing when settings change in the hosted game room (triggered by the red system message).
* Increased the blinking speed on the "Host is waiting to launch..." event.
- Game flares:
* Fixed a bug where in Multiplayer, players could hear the sound of invisible flares (usually sent between allies in the opposite team).
* Fixed an issue where the sound of an old / expired flare could play with a delay if the game window was minimized (iconic).
- Players who resign from a multiplayer game and become observers will now have the same Observers Features (ability to see/send messages/flares, etc.) as the players who were observers since the game started. It takes around 5 seconds to update by the UP1.5 Launcher's KeepAlive thread.
- Fixed a bug where the M18 Hellcat tank (American unique unit, epochs 11-15) was rotating the turret / cannon like crazy while shooting. Thanks for the report to player "Bogdan".
- The volume of sounds played by the UP1.5 Launcher (for example on special hotkeys presses) is now the same as the sound volume set in game (Settings -> Audio -> Volume -> Sound). The minimum volume is 10%. It's dynamically updated when the game process is running.
- Added new buttons to the UP1.5 Launcher / Maximization Helper windows, which allow you to quickly open folders used by game (Installation Directory, Documents, AppData).
- Integrated a new version of "Empire Earth II Playback (.e2s) to ChatLog Converter" with the UP1.5 Launcher:
* Registered the .e2s file format. To convert files, please simply double-click on the playback file in "Documents\Empire Earth II\playback" or "Empire Earth II The Art of Supremacy\playback" folder.
* Based on the old version, updated for the last time on 29.06.2013:
viewtopic.php?f=54&t=1652
* Supports nicknames in playbacks recorded on version 157038 and newer.
* After a successful conversion uploads the converted file to EE2.eu for easier sharing. If fails, opens the local .txt instead.
- Included uPnP functions directly to the UP1.5 Launcher:
* Removed the external program "upnpc-static.exe" from the "Unofficial Patch Files" directory.
* Improved the uPnP effectivity when the Launcher process is behind VPN.
- Improved the UP1.5 Checksums Generator methods (for the Installation Validation reports):
* Included CRC32, MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 hash functions to the Launcher.
* Deleted external programs from "Unofficial Patch Files" directory: "crc32sum.exe", "md5sum.exe", "sha1sum.exe".
* Administrative permissions are no longer needed to generate checksums.
- DirectX 9 .DLL files are no longer present in the game installation folder. The installer and the launcher use the "DXSETUP.exe" to install them to "C:\Windows\SysWOW64" (64bit Windows) or "C:\Windows\System32" (32bit Windows) directories.
- Option "Enable Anti-Aliasing in DirectX 9" is now enabled by default (fresh UP1.5 installation only).
- Fixed an issue, where UP1.5 Launcher's hotkeys didn't work in new instances (for example when the user started EE2 and AOS at the same time). The Launcher doesn't longer register hotkeys, only listens to certain keypress events. It fixes many issues where the Launcher could block PrtSc, CTRL+F7, CTRL+F8, CTRL+F9 keys from being used in other programs.
- Fixed over 200 warnings in UP1.5 Launcher's source code, and replaced deprecated or unsafe functions (as for C++20).
- Fixed "MsSpellCheckingFacility.dll_unloaded" Launcher crash, caused by the termination of the Maximization Helper thread without releasing resources.
- Improved the Full and Minor Update Installers: The status of option "Play background music during installation" is saved and respected the next time the installer is started.
If you have got UP1.5.5+, you can update by clicking:
empireearth2://FunctionMinorVersionInstall