EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.6 (2014+)

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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Dr.MonaLisa »

No, sorry. I believe this is a hardcoded behaviour. Obviously it could be done with some weeks of researching by the assembly, but that's not a problem big enough to focus on.
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Little Lion »

No worries, Doc. The fact that you have already improved the game SO much is something I'm already very grateful for, really. Once again, thank you for all the effort and Rock On 👍
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Dr.MonaLisa »

Minor update 158015 has been released!

Update Type: Monthly & Feature Update. Changes: https://www.ee2.eu/patch/changes/#158015

- Improved quality of vanilla EE2 music files, from MP3 128kbps to 320kbps:
* Thanks to Michael Gordon Shapiro (EE2 music composer) for providing uncompressed .wav files, specially for Unofficial Patch 1.5. Check out Michael's music at: https://mikemusic.com/
* Significantly improved volume levels of the Ambient music in order to remove the "buzz" and align with tracks for all regions. Every track has been deeply checked for the best possible improvements, without affecting the composer's quality. Changes made by EE2 developers have also been applied.
* Unfortunately, the improved Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy music is not available for the time being (different music producer).
* After installing this update, the UP1.5 Launcher will automatically enable music in-game and adjust volumes for the best user experience. This will happen only 1 time (a cookie file is used).
- Updated ambient & weather sounds for all climates:
* Added the ultra-high quality land, forest and weather (rain, snow, wind, dust storm) sounds, ensuring that they sound as similar to the original ones as possible.
* The new sounds have been purchased by Dr.MonaLisa for ~$100 USD. They're fully licensed for Empire Earth II Unofficial Patch 1.5 usage only. Please consider donating for more features of this type: https://ee2.eu/donate
* Due to the license limitation, the new sounds are encrypted and it's impossible to mod them nor import to the other game mods (with the exception of Developers Version of UP1.5).
* Updated the Uranium Mine, Oil Rig and Boat Move sounds with higher quality versions (88kbps vs 32kbps), which were available in EE2 Single Player Demo files.
* The old ambient sounds were available in 32kbps .wav format, that's why quality was so poor.
* Fixed a bug where the last "loopingSounds” and "sounds" entry in DbAmbientSoundSet (dbambientaudio.ddf / dbambientaudi5.ddf) was ignored.
* The updated ambient sounds can be disabled by changing "Unlock UP1.5 units, buildings, models, sounds..." to "No" in UP1.5 Settings.
* Thanks to user "Fortuking" from EE1 Reborn for the idea and generic help.
- Fixed a bug (present since ver 1.0), where projectiles (usually guided missiles and bombs) were exploding way too high above ships. Reference addresses: 007F7B1C (EE2), 0088E8CC (AOS):
* It was happening, because the game uses the unit size X (width) as their top impact border. It was not that noticeable for the smaller, rounded ground units as much as for the big, elliptical ships.
* The fix detects if the target unit "moveType" is "kUnitMoveType_NavalShallow" or "kUnitMoveType_NavalDeep" and simulates the same behaviour as when attacking buildings. Following with the guided missiles is not negatively affected (works in the unchanged form).
* It also improves explosion visuals in lower epochs, during sea battles. Projectiles (including torpedoes) now explode right next to the hull instead of somewhere far beside. Discussion and before/after screenshots are available in this forum topic: viewtopic.php?p=26690#p26690
* WARNING: This update will make previously recorded game playbacks with naval units used - incompatible. They will hang / stop due to incorrect synchronization. Game saves should not be affected.
- Increased the "Maximum Sound Memory" to 200MB (from 100MB in versions 157024+, originally 5MB).
- Improved the visual explosion effect of TBMs (1.5).
- Option "Reduce visual weather effects for Blizzard, Sandstorm" is now enabled by default for users who have never changed the status of this option. This doesn't affect Developers Version of UP1.5. It's to give the best experience to new players who have no time to check for all available UP1.5 options, and might get annoyed by the game after seeing these bad weather effects.
- Included the official EE2 / EE2: AOS maps from the Empire Earth® II Pre-Order Bonus Disc: "Desert World_bonus.map", "Even Steven_bonus.map", "Iron Cross_bonus.map", "Oldie Island_bonus.map", "Bayside_Bonus.map".
- Included a new EE2 / EE2: AOS map created by Loewenherz: "Mirage" (for 8 players, reconstruction of EE3 map). Details: https://ee2.eu/t5304
- Improved the "Host version %HOSTVERSION% differs from local version %LOCALVERSION%" message on the Multiplayer Lobby. It now displays additional information depending if a player is on EE2, AOS, EE2 / AOS with disabled UP1.5 units, or Developers Version of UP1.5. It helps new players understand the difference between versions and guides them how to switch between different versions. Thanks for help with translation to players "IndieRock00" (Italian), "FoxTunez" (German).
- Fixed a game crash that could occur on the start of a multiplayer game. Reference addresses: 00568BF7 (EE2), 0057C5F8 (AOS). It occurred when some player (who was not present in a hosted game room) attempted to join a game after it was already launched.
* Historical detail: Usually, this crash was connected with the 'empty slot' bug, but not caused by the recent UP1.5 updates with fixes for it (the first crash reports with these reference addresses were sent to EE2.eu already in 2016). Before the 158006 update, players were rejoining hosted game rooms in order not to leave empty slots in the middle. It was minimizing the risk of this crash. In update 158007 the slow games list refresh issue has been fixed. It allows players to attempt to join game rooms much faster (but the host might click the Launch button while they're joining). These useful improvements made the newly fixed crash more recognizable, but they were not a direct cause of it.

If you have got UP1.5.5+, you can update by clicking: empireearth2://FunctionMinorVersionInstall
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Dr.MonaLisa »

Minor update 158016 has been released!

Update Type: Hotfix Update. Changes: https://www.ee2.eu/patch/changes/#158016

- Fixed a game crash (EIP: 00609a50h) that could occur after update 158015. It was related to the new visual explosion effect of TBMs, so we're removing this change now. Thanks for the report to player: "Yakult".

If you have got UP1.5.5+, you can update by clicking: empireearth2://FunctionMinorVersionInstall
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Dr.MonaLisa »

Minor update 158017 has been released!

Update Type: Hotfix Update. Changes: https://www.ee2.eu/patch/changes/#158017

- Addressed an issue occurring after update 158015 (with a fix for projectiles exploding way too high above ships):
* In lower epochs ships that are moving could not take any damage, especially when the game speed was slow or medium.
* It could be considered as a benefit (possible micromanagement during sea battles), however Unofficial Patch 1.5 was designed not to change the vanilla experience / gameplay. That's why it has been rated as a bug.
* The new version of the "projectiles fix" detects if a projectile is a bomb, torpedo or guided missile, otherwise it's not activating (arrows, cannons). Torpedoes and guided missiles are following the target, so the bug doesn't occur, and bombs have never been following the target, but they deal area damage. This way the visual bug is fixed without a negative effect on the gameplay.
* Thanks for the report and providing the game save file to player: "KOZZY7".
- Experimentally increased the base volume of "Audio playback (and taunts) for certain messages" in order to prevent soundproofing in games with many explosions or other loud sounds. It doesn't mean that they will play louder than now. EE2 has its own Sounds Manager where the volume of different sounds is dynamically changed, and the ones with the highest volume are more noticeable.

If you have got UP1.5.5+, you can update by clicking: empireearth2://FunctionMinorVersionInstall
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Little Lion »

Awesome and huge thanks for the update! Thank you for the effort, Doc :)
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Dr.MonaLisa »

I'm glad that you like it :)
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Dr.MonaLisa »

Official Statement:

Some players asked me why DirectX 9 redistributable components are installing with every Minor Update installation of Unofficial Patch 1.5. I had a feeling that some of players sound "angry" that it happens every time.

To explain all the doubts: This is done because I'm following the official documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/window ... -installer
Microsoft wrote: Install the redistributable components every time.

A game's installation process should install the DirectX redistributable components during every single installation without allowing users to opt-out of it. If you allow opting-out, then some users will guess that they don't need it, and if they actually do, the game will not run.
Microsoft wrote: Let the DirectX installer check for optional components.

Do not assume that the latest optional components are already installed on a system, because Windows Update and Service Packs do not provide any of DirectX's optional components. You must install the DirectX runtime either by running dxsetup.exe directly or calling DirectSetup.

So yes, I know how to add checks and avoid double-installations. The whole UP1.5 Launcher is optimized this way. However, when the official documentation asks developers to install it EVERY TIME, then I do as it says. There's no mistake from me. So don't blame me that it takes 5 more seconds with every Minor Update.
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Dr.MonaLisa »

Minor update 158018 has been released!

Update Type: Monthly Update. Changes: https://www.ee2.eu/patch/changes/#158018

- INFORMATION: Unofficial Patch 1.5 is compatible with Windows 11, since version 1.5.7.0 (October 2018).
- Added Seasonal Textures, created by Loewenherz:
* Winter textures for Unofficial Patch 1.5 buildings.
* All seasons textures for trees in "Loew's Ambient Pack".
- Updated calsch03's "The Roman Expedition" scenario to ver. 1.1:
* Added the cooperative mode for 2 players (accessible by the "Create Game" -> "Game Type" -> "Load Saved Game" -> "The Roman Expedition Coop (Calsch03).sav" on Multiplayer Lobby).
* Other bug fixes are listed in the scenario's topic: https://ee2.eu/t5483
- Included the new EE2 / EE2: AOS maps created by Loewenherz: "Imperial Grounds" (for 8 players, inspired by the EE3 map of the same name), "Mars" (for 4 players). Details: https://ee2.eu/p26844
- Updated Loewenherz's "Highland" map to add the missing stone in the top part of the map. Thanks for the file update to player calsch03.
- On Multiplayer Lobby, disabled the game taskbar icon flashing function, when the game window is minimized (iconic), if the received message contains the translation languages code prefix. It's useful for players who quickly minimize game after sending a message, so their own message translation isn't signaled.
- Reverted the experimental volume of "Audio playback (and taunts) for certain messages" change from the last minor update, with some little exception for selected audio files. Additionally, included new taunts from the recent Greta Thunberg's "bla bla bla" speech.

If you have got UP1.5.5+, you can update by clicking: empireearth2://FunctionMinorVersionInstall
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Re: EE2, EE2X - Empire Earth II - Unofficial Patch 1.5 (2014+)

Post by Dr.MonaLisa »

Minor update 158019 has been released!

Update Type: Monthly Update. Changes: https://www.ee2.eu/patch/changes/#158019

- Added a workaround for a bug that causes messages in game disappearing too quickly:
* The workaround is performed by the (separate) watchdog thread in UP15_GameHelper.dll.
* The bug is occurring when more than 5 messages are shown on chat, so the oldest message is sent to the history. However, a game function is still trying to hide these messages after their timeout, causing wrong messages to be removed from visible chat. The workaround is too advanced to explain in the changelog. In short, it copies further timeouts of messages to the first auto-disappearing slots, and then uses other fixes in order to prevent a bug where messages stay on screen endlessly.
- Added more error details to code 14J in UP15_GameHelper.dll. It helps to detect "Tune Up" programs that prevent the game from starting.
- Minor Update installer won't longer open UP1.5 Settings if "Quick Update" was selected.
- Removed an unnecessary sleep in the UP1.5 Launcher function which modifies game memory (performance improved).
- Updated miniupnpc library to ver. 2.2.3.
- If you're using Windows 11, check out Dr.MonaLisa's "Windows 11 Drag & Drop to the Taskbar (Fix)": https://github.com/HerMajestyDrMona/Win ... TaskbarFix

If you have got UP1.5.5+, you can update by clicking: empireearth2://FunctionMinorVersionInstall
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