Question of an absolute noob

[Makromizer]

Now here's the deal: I don't know how to program C or C++ or any other programming language but I love to play CTP2. I've tried Maquiladora's Playtest 3 but unfortunately you can play with only one continent.
Is there a playtest which has no real drawbacks compared to the original CTP2 (Patch 1.11)?

BTW: Great work you guys have done far, nice to see that I'm not the only one who thinks that this ancient game is still one of the best games ever made.

[child of Thor]

hmmm. I might have misunderstood you, but i use the regular latest source code build(well its an older version now). I'll find you a link.

It plays exactly like normal CTP2 except at the momment the MP aspect hasn't been fixed(but its being worked on as we speak).

If i want to do a multiplayer game i stick with the origonal CTP2+activision patch+fav Mod(usually SAP or Cradle, but i also play others), but i haven't done this for a long time.

[Makromizer]

ah, thanks for the fast reply. Do you mean playtest 2, dated 2004 -10-20? Does this version have any significant flaws compared to the original ctp2?

[child of Thor]

well the single player game of the source code release has been better than the official patch for a while now(in that more bugs have been fixed).

So it will work exactly like the origonal Ctp2 in Single Player mode. Its not a Mod - its just a less buggy version fo the origonal game, with all the same functions(except for multiplayer for a little while longer).

[Makromizer]

Sorry if I'm a little slow of the mark. Are you talking about the newest playtest (playtest 3) or about the newest source code version which I would have to compile myself?

[child of Thor]

Ah yes- sorry my mistake. yeah i play Single Player CTP2 using the latest playtest version. its available here http://apolyton.net/dir/index.php?si...s=5251&cat=303

It plays exactly like the origonal game, just with no MP functions.

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by Makromizer
Sorry if I'm a little slow of the mark. Are you talking about the newest playtest (playtest 3) or about the newest source code version which I would have to compile myself?

Obviously he isn't talking about the latest playtest version or the playtest version before. Both contain the problem, and still we haven't sorted it out. And by the way don't number the playtest versions, I didn't count them, I only know that our third playtest was released a long time ago.

-Martin

[Makromizer]

@ Martin: Sorry to mess up the nomenclature, with playtest 3 I meant the one that was released on 2004-12-28.

So to get it straight: Playtest Build 2004-04-03 is the one I want if I only play singleplayer.
If I wand multiplayer, I should play ctp2+patch+mods, right? Hope I don't bother you guys too much with my noobness, I was just a little confused with all the developing stuff and releases as I didn't follow the progress since the release of the source code. Thanks a lot for your help.

[Marko Polo]

Originally posted by Makromizer
@ Martin: Sorry to mess up the nomenclature, with playtest 3 I meant the one that was released on 2004-12-28.

So to get it straight: Playtest Build 2004-04-03 is the one I want if I only play singleplayer.
If I wand multiplayer, I should play ctp2+patch+mods, right? Hope I don't bother you guys too much with my noobness, I was just a little confused with all the developing stuff and releases as I didn't follow the progress since the release of the source code. Thanks a lot for your help.

Hi Makromizer, I'm also new at this mod/source code project thing, Seems like I can play Cradle mod with this playtest version after all. You might want to read about it at the thread "I love Cradle/Med mods but why AI isn't attacking" at the mod forum. There is also a direct link to the rar file (posted by E) that u need to download. Seems like the latest playtest is from december 2004. Good luck !

[child of Thor]

Originally posted by Makromizer
@ Martin: Sorry to mess up the nomenclature, with playtest 3 I meant the one that was released on 2004-12-28.

So to get it straight: Playtest Build 2004-04-03 is the one I want if I only play singleplayer.
If I wand multiplayer, I should play ctp2+patch+mods, right? Hope I don't bother you guys too much with my noobness, I was just a little confused with all the developing stuff and releases as I didn't follow the progress since the release of the source code. Thanks a lot for your help.

Really dont worry about it, it is very confusing and i've always found it like that from when i first came here! - it was my mistake anyway, but yes you've hit the nail on the head in terms of which version to use and for what

Its worth perseving with - as either option gives you a much better version than the standard CTP2, although i would add that playing with just CTP2+patch is a good way to get to learn the ins and outs of the game. The Ai will hardly bother you, so if your a 'builder' type of player this can still be a fun way to play.

I'm sure Martin was just suffering from scanning through all the source code looking for bugs and writeing the excellent C++ article

[Flinx]

Umm...

> The source code released was for the game as it shipped on the CD.

> Based on the text descriptions of the bugs fixed by the 1.11 patch, people have been trying to fix all of these bugs.

> All of the bugs in the 1.11 patch related to single-player gameplay have been fixed in addition to a large number of others.

> The networking involved in establishing a multi-player game is complex and the people coding do not have much experience in this area. As a result only some of the multi-player related bugs fixed with the 1.11 patch have been fixed. Work continues. This means that a multi-player game using one of the playtests will show many of the bugs and crashes that were in the out-of-the-box version.

> Every 3-6 weeks a "playtest" is compiled including all of the bug fixes and improvements up to that date. These were initially posted in a thread called PROJECT: Playtest when the 500 post limit was reached we started PROJECT: Playtest II the second thread to contain playtest versions of the revised code. After another 500 posts we have started PROJECT: Playtest III

> The playtest from April 2004 was placed in the directory because a news item was added to the apolyton.net/ctp2/ page in hopes of generating additional interest in the source code project. There is nothing special about this version. Eight months of additional bug fixes have occurred since then and if you are going to play a 'playtest' version of the game you should use the one from 2004.12.28 All of the playtest versions are stable in single-player mode.

> By playing the latest playtest and providing feedback you can confirm if bugs have been fixed, no new bugs have been introduced, and point out 'new' (old) potential bugs.

[Flinx]

...oh and I have been away for about 3 months so someone correct me if there are special problems with the last playest...