BNH B15 Issues

[CoastGuard71]

Well... started out enthusiastic about new engine new build solving all the problems of B14 that Akella engine caused... boy, was I not surprised... even more problems than with the more playable B14. Am I the only one experiencing these? First unzipped the file and started the game.... NO CONFIG APP!( UGH!( Tiny little frame appears in middle of my notebook screen... why no CONFIG WITH FULL-SCREEN APP?( WHAT'S GOING ON? THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN IMPROVEMENT OVER 14?
Ok, so I start the game... opens the usual scene Bosun in Captains quarters. go around collecting all the starting materials... except the image frame labled "GOLD" is vacant?!( why?, next I go to bosun to start play he sends me back to get my "possessions" already got all that was presented?! Where are the rest of the itmes?( Did I get yet another corrupted file download... twice? - I downloaded the B15v22 twice and both have the same non-starting defects) can't go any further into the game the Bosun demands I get my "possessions"... which apparently are not in the PROGRAM?( Where are they? In my experience this game from this download source is unplayable... anyone got a playable zip file they can send me? I'd like to look further into this game version to see if it gets any better... Meanwhile I'm playing the glitchy Brit version B14v24 I was given by our Wizard of C Mate... what say you O Wizard of C? Got a zip file that actually works there in the GB Isles?

Thanks Matey

CG71 (Ron)

 

[darkevil]

Have you equipped the items ?!
I mean you can pick up the items from your chest, but you have to equip them for your Bosun continue his dialog.
Try that (if you didn't already do it), it should works.

 

[CoastGuard71]

It's still the same process as B14 which I've done since v16... the items needed to start the game are not showing and the gold frame is empty...does this sound reasonable? 'Course not, why? Is this zip corrupted like the former B14v22 was? Has anyone checked the checksum for this download? I downloaded twice and both give the same result... got any other ideas what's going on? Have you used the same download link, and have installed a warking game? If so, send me the link so I can do the same... thanks Mate

 

[darkevil]

There is maybe some issue, i think.
I have some issue with missing textures for two towns ; Cartagena and Santo Domingo. (im playing the nightly version and didn't restart the game).
Building in those towns haven't textures on them.
It's so strange to wander in them with only white-grey buildings...
Like a phantom city.
I will try to restart a game to see if i have same issue than you.
Do you start a Free play game or Tales of a SeaHawk ?

 

[CoastGuard71]

I'm attempting to play Free Play since I prefer an unstructured game. This attempt is a disaster. I'm having to return to the relatively stable B14v24 British game I was given by the Wizard of C mentor... much more enjoyable recreation.

B15 BNH is so corrupted that each time I attempt, after spending hours downloading and opening the zip file, the game can't run because d3dx9.dll and mscvp140_atomic-wait.dll are not available? What is this stupidity? I've now downloaded d3dx9.dll (an obsolete-outdated direct x app twice installing it and this game does not find it? also, the mscvp140 is supposed to be in Win10Pro OS? So, what disconnect is taking place. I can't get the latest "nightly" version to even open, much less play after spending hours downloading this bloatware and then unzipping same! Who is running this show? Can someone who knows what they are doing please clean up this mess? This is just a time waster and more of an aggravation than trying to get MicroShit to work intelligently.

Found a few major deviations from the former attitude of this association:
1. This BNH program cannot be installed on a USB to conserve HD/SSD space, integrity, and speed. Doing so makes the program unplayable.
2. When installed on the HD/SSD the program runs in strict compliance with the code as written.
3. Personalizing the code in any form, including altering settings in Internalsettings.h makes the program unplayable... not a very democratic act is it? More like a Trump act.
4. The BNH game has been taken away from the user and locked into the attitude of the programmer... is this what we expect in a democracy, or the former operational philosophy of this consortium?

I personally vote against this Totalitarian attitude, just as I dislike Putin, Xi, Hamas, Trump, Adolf, etc... all who think their way is the only way... I choose to return to the Democratic B14 for my gaming fun... where I can tailor my game to my enjoyment, and not accept the dictates of another.

If and when, if ever, the selfish attitude of the developer of this "Community" software game returns to the democratic philosophy of individual expression I will give this game a second try... I always believe that courtesy deserves giving individuals who desire to benefit the community are willing to accept well-intended and beneficial suggestions that improve the acceptability and usefulness of a piece of work intended for the benefit and enjoyment of the associated community. If the creator of this program has been raised in a totalitarian regime I can understand their penchant for such personal control over others. Since this is an international community we must respect the rights of others to conform with the social rules and attitudes they believe are universal and fundamentally natural. However, my personal philosophy has been tempered by the rather contentious democracy in which I have lived for many decades. While it can be tiresome dealing with the social winds of change the right of the majority to select and set social rules is the most egalitarian social system yet developed by humans. We attempt to please all the people all the time, yet set limits on actions that harm or affect individuals adversely.

I ask that whatever restriction has been placed on this code be removed to comply with the basic egalitarian and democratic innate human right of self-determination. As Pieter applauded the creation of a forum topic of how to alter B14 code for personalization, I now suggest that directive be equally applied to B15 as continuation of his humanitarian philosophy.

There is maybe some issue, i think.
I have some issue with missing textures for two towns ; Cartagena and Santo Domingo. (im playing the nightly version and didn't restart the game).
Building in those towns haven't textures on them.
It's so strange to wander in them with only white-grey buildings...
Like a phantom city.
I will try to restart a game to see if i have same issue than you.
Do you start a Free play game or Tales of a SeaHawk ?

I finally determined that my usual approach of installing on a USB to save drive space (19GB!) won't work because this code was written to use the Win10 native support programs in the OS... when I installed on my drive the game started but with no Config to give Full Screen it was a tiny window in my notebook screen... not at all satisfactory. I also found when I went into Internalsettings.h to configure to my game parameters the game no longer loaded... appears Hammie has booby-trapped the code to not work with any code alteration. Between your experiences with defects in execution and my finding the game is rigged to prevent personalization to my needs this version is a disaster and total waste of time and drive space... erased the trash and have reverted to the B14v24 provided by the Brit I've annointed "Wizard of C" because of his obvious skills and willingness to help we mere gamers. You might contact him to see if he's had any luck troubleshooting this BNH mess. I really don't like a Trump personality dictating how a game he's designed is self-copyrighted so no one else can mod it to their needs. I really suggest you give up on that "dead-horse" and download the British B14v24 from the Wizard... his link may still be live on my "B14v22 troubles" forum. If not he may be willing to repost for others disgusted with the BNH bullshit... let me know how it turns out for you. I don't see any fun future for BNH with this source.
Good luck and happy sailing CG71

 

[darkevil]

Concerning your display problem, you should modify this into beyond-new-horizons\engine.ini, you could set the resolution you want and also windowed or full-screen mode.
I face another issue, but i think that was more some bug that have been messed my lastest savegame.
Because i haven't much time to investigate, i revert to B15.0.0. b2.

Storm engine is always somewhat buggy... Since Pirates of Caribean as been released, i always played this game and it always been unstable, at the best.
This community try it best to improve the game experience but, i think they cannot make miracle.
Thought, they make it much more better and add a lot of features from the original game.

Did you try Maelstrom engine ?! It seems that it improve considerably the stability of the game.

 

[Baste]

From having conversed with Hammie on several occasions I highly doubt that he would hinder modding of Build 15 in any way. My testing of that version is described in my latest post in the other thread.

I downloaded it from here: Beyond New Horizons by Hammie
I downloaded beyond-new-horizons-windows.zip since the "nightly" version is not intended for general play.
Here are the checksums I get for that file:

CertUtil -hashfile beyond-new-horizons-windows.zip MD5
3c 3c d4 6c 1c 18 5f e4 38 ec 2e 61 bf 56 d8 99

CertUtil -hashfile beyond-new-horizons-windows.zip SHA1
30 10 5e 36 d1 68 c1 fd bb 61 37 3f 25 1f 4b 05 ba 36 ed 0a

CertUtil -hashfile beyond-new-horizons-windows.zip SHA256
bd ac 73 f5 5e 16 f2 ec 68 7a cb 9d fa ac 23 bd 20 1b be d4 75 95 2a db 74 85 3b dc 98 24 77 0b

I did have to download and install the "Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables (x64)" linked to on that page.
In engine.ini it is possible to set resolution. I'm not sure, but there might be no configuration utility because the one in Build 14 sometimes supposedly causes problems.

As said in the post in the other thread, this was on Windows 7 and I did not encounter any problems. Images are loading and I can get the possessions and continue with the game.

I do not doubt that you are having these problems, but any claims that Hammie would hinder modding or that he would have a totalitarian attitude I would say are entirely false. My suggestion would be, as mentioned, to try a clean install.

 

[CoastGuard71]

Thanks for the clarification and your taking time to investigate. My concern was that changing the Internal Settings, as I've done before should not have stopped a previously booting code unless some fault was in effect, Question remains why it did? Since the "nightly" version was not intended for play I'll return to the original and see if it behaves. The screen freeze on sinking should not be happening and I know of no diagnostic since this event does not generate an error message for me to know why. Can you direct me to an internal diagnostic in W7 or 10 that would explain the fault? I would think MS would have such for resolving conflicts.

BTW I've never had a problem with config in the past and without it I have no full-screen view. Any resolution of this issue?

Thanks mate
CG71

 

[Baste]

I've never found Windows error logs to be useful as their contents only seem to have use for Microsoft.

BTW I've never had a problem with config in the past and without it I have no full-screen view. Any resolution of this issue?

I've also never had problems with it, but some supposedly have.
In engine.ini you can change screen_x and screen_y to set your resolution. Setting it to your desktop resolution and leaving full_screen = 0 will give you fullscreen with ability to Alt-Tab, while setting full_screen = 1 will give you fullscreen without ability to Alt-Tab. Some have better performance with one while others have better performance with the other, so set whichever works best for you.

I've also been informed by Hammie that sometimes downloads from Itch.io get corrupted because of an issue on their servers, so that is good to know. In my case I seem to have gotten a working download.

 

[CoastGuard71]

Thanks to your assurances I suspected an MS culprit, and sure 'nuff they've changed their file handling process. I also suspected the USB approach is no longer available since the code does not appear to link with the Win10 OS. Maybe that's yet another MS neurotic security overreaction? 90% of issues are now resolved. I downloaded the original link and extracted the file into a game folder. I'm still very disappointed with only 2/3rds of my screen display. Thanks for the guidance on screen size. Tiny print makes for a lot of eyestrain and having the play screen surrounded by desktop is very distracting... can't really get into the game with that. Also the cursor is floating on its own across the screen, very irritating. The music is irritating distraction but I can mute that. Love the graphics with NVIDIA which is why I stepped up to 10 for the graphics boost. I still hate MS and prefer W7 OS, but the graphics is worth a little irritation... if I can just find a way to defang that vicious MS security hound that keeps biting my butt!(

Had to search for an hour to find where the start personality configuration had been hidden during the revision. Finally found it and have restored my start parameters.

I award you a Medal of Valor for your service to Crown and Country Sir Wizard of C!

Thanks for the help in sorting out this transition... I shall now continue playing my new scenario on BNH.

Cheers,

CG71

W10 never ceases to amaze me just how incompetent MS is in creating an OS. Guess what? Engine.ini has a full screen option box that when checked makes the play screen submerge beneath the desktop... not very smart is it?

And, of course, only preset screen dimensions are available in the list of choices... none of which match the area of the screen... Maybe I should give up sacrificing full screen for NVIDIA quality graphics since MS goes out of its way to make the visual display so small.

Well, at least inform others to not try to play this BNH on W10 since the display is so handicapped by MasterShit !(

The script used for discussion lettering is too small and such low contrast color as to be almost impossible to read. Bold, black script in 12 font or larger would be a lot easier to read similar to the script used in this forum. after an hour of selecting from the list of available resolutions in W10 I found one that comes closest to filling the viewing area of the screen...not a very desirable fit. W10 does not accept the full-screen mode in the engine.ini. After play for a hour I had a screen freeze incident, but with no diagnostic error report have no idea why. Would be very helpful to have a diagnostic to help identify the reason so the code can be altered to prevent this event.

Would someone please either change the image used for chain shot label to actual chain shot or correct the label to "Bar Shot" which is what the image actually is... it just bothers me to see such an error continuing for so long... does no one else recognize this or is it an inside joke among the community?
Also, the script needs to be easier to read in BNH. Colors must contrast to the background color so our eyes can easily distinguish the letter forms. A 12 or 14 font in high contrast white on dark or Black on light backgrounds makes for much easier reading. Script in use is small, low contrast, and mimics cursive handwriting. The script used in this forum is a much better type for ease of reading.

 

[Baste]

This is what I have in engine.ini:

full_screen = 0
screen_x = 1920
screen_y = 1080

I obviously also have other lines there but they are not important for this example. With this I get fullscreen at my display resolution of 1920 x 1080 with ability to Alt-Tab - in the original game as well as all the way to Build 15.
If your display resolution is, for example, 1024 x 768, you can set that and it should give you fullscreen. If it doesn't then that's really weird.

Would someone please either change the image used for chain shot label to actual chain shot or correct the label to "Bar Shot" which is what the image actually is... it just bothers me to see such an error continuing for so long... does no one else recognize this or is it an inside joke among the community?

That is an oversight from when new images were added. If you go to "Options" and then "Interface Settings" and change from "Realistic" to "Schematic" the image will be chain shot instead of bar shot.

Also, the script needs to be easier to read in BNH. Colors must contrast to the background color so our eyes can easily distinguish the letter forms. A 12 or 14 font in high contrast white on dark or Black on light backgrounds makes for much easier reading. Script in use is small, low contrast, and mimics cursive handwriting. The script used in this forum is a much better type for ease of reading.

I think Hammie is aware of the text not being quite as it should, because I think it has been mentioned before.

 

[CoastGuard71]

Hey Mr. Wizard! You are right on point! Thanks so much for the help through this maze. Without some kind of operating worksheet I'm navigating by trial and error and trial and error overandoverandover until some iteration works. Doesn't help that I'm also dealing with the "idiot"syncratic stupidity of MS programmers who enjoy making things irrational, illogical, and just plain dumb! Hate W10... if only 7 had come with NVIDIA chips but every time I install a W7 drive in these Lenovo machines bizarre things distort my skills with 7 to the point of severe frustration. I'm really to the point that since you have chosen to stay with the sane W7, to revert and forego the outstanding graphics. 7 is so much user friendly and not neurotic about demanding digitally signed drivers,,, or use built-in McAfee to trouble shoot malware issues... etc,etc,

I had resisted the "schematic" option because I try to get away from the "cartoon" quality it carries in the game. I also miss the really elegant graphics of B14... those images make such an impact on me due to my penchant as an artist. Cartoons are nice but unsophisticated by my artistic standards. I would be glad to provide a "Chain-shot" image for someone with skills to drop into the image location in the code. Alternatively, someone could just change the descriptor to read Bar-shot... should be easy to do. I'd do it for myself if I just knew where to go Module/line number would help. Finding "chain-shot" and typing Bar-shot would take so little effort. But, I'm not sure of unintended consequences since I have no concept of just how interconnected such changes are in this scheme.

Since MS provided no instructions on just how to match resolution with the real screen, and I use the right margin for the Task Bar their optimum does not work for this game and again, by T and E I found a setting that fit best with the Task Bar on the bottom of the screen... not my happiest resolution, but it works with the least amount of wasted screen margins. Another reason why I'm considering reverting to 7, unless this engine doesn't do fullscreen like Akella did... bummer?

Thanks again for the help, hope Hammie gets that font size and contrast issue fixed, the eye strain trying to read is making my eyes burn, even with my reading glasses (don't help with low contrast situations).

Cheers Mate

CG71

 

[Baste]

I'm using Windows 7 on this computer for the time being because of compatibility with older software for some projects that can't be migrated just yet. When they're finished I will have to move to Windows 10 or 11 for compatibility with newer software. It will be a bother to configure it to remove some annoyances but unfortunately it has to be done.

In the original game the text is "Knippels" which apparently is a general term for both chain shot and bar shot. Anyway, in resource\INI\TEXTS\ENGLISH\common.ini you can do a search for "chainshot" and find the line string = Knippels,"Chainshot" and change it to string = Knippels,"Bar shot" and the label will say that instead.

For the fullscreen issue, maybe try it without ability to Alt-Tab instead:

full_screen = 1
screen_x = 1024
screen_y = 768

Does that work?

 

[CoastGuard71]

Great! Just what I was looking for... thanks for the direction.

Tell Hammie another very irritating issue comes up during play... Nagware demands to "upgrade or new version download" keep popping up over the game. The more aggressive do not have a delete option and persist until I cntrl-alt-delete which also stops the engine. He needs to elevate the screen priority to the highest level to keep this from happening, and since I've not found a way to block or stop this constant interruption by the greedy bastards that keep interfering with my screen I'm constantly being interrupted. This didn't happen in B14 even though the screen priority was at a lower level such that any interruption caused lockup, and my attempts to elevate priority didn't work. Do you have this irritating problem and can recommend a countermeasure? Would really help since all of these assorted apps are features that I need and use. I do not download gimmicks and trash for no good purpose.

As for Knipples...yes, I've seen that used before the more specific shot was mentioned... probably should have continued that nomenclature but I appreciate the clue as to where I can stop my jarring snap as I read a false label

BTW, when I tried to set full screen = 1 in engine.ini the game didn't open... I'll try it once more to see if that persists. I found a resolution scheme that gives the most screen with only a slight desktop edge shown... but I still have to move my Task Bar to the bottom. For some reason the left/right margins of screen end with about 2.5cm of framing not active screening? Odd cheating on the display aspect don't you think

Has he improved the script yet? Please let me know as soon as he does so I can download and give my tired eyes a rest

 

[Baste]

I haven't seen that happen before, but if full_screen = 0 is set, you should be able to Alt-Tab and close any other windows without the engine stopping - no Ctrl-Alt-Delete should be necessary. Not sure why it would happen with B15 but not with B14, but if the pop-ups come from installed software then the problem should reasonably be addressed there and not something that B15 should have to be adjusted to accommodate for.

From what I'm told several features currently don't work in B15 so B14 could actually be suggested as more suitable for general play. Might be better to use that instead because the text issue may or may not be solved soon.

And, again, with all these problems in the system environment, my suggestion remains: Do a clean install of Windows 7.
As mentioned in the other thread. The hardware is more compatible with that, official drivers are available for those models, and it has less annoyances than Windows 10. It might be a hassle in itself to prepare everything, secure erase the SSD, install Windows, install drivers, and download updates, but it could also be less of a hassle than continuing to try getting Windows 10 to work.
The decision is of course one's own, but it's what I would do.

 

[CoastGuard71]

Yep...it's the installed "Nag-Ware" with constant popup ads to update, go Pro, special sale, etc. Once it posts on top the screen it cannot be removed if they've not tagged it with a delete x in the upper right corner or a dismiss link, whatever... Never had that happen before this is new and I don't know if it's due to the new engine or a more aggressive marketing. In B14 the screen priority is so low that anything popping up would close the game screen sound would continue but no visual. I suspected the priority rating was set too low resulting in anything having a higher priority. Tried the alt-tab but no effect, so it's something new, probably a 10 fault being exploited.

I've played enough of BNH to know it's not my style of game, too restricted by the active new code. None of my InternalSettings mods worked. Boarding party was not my selection, ships icons did not show flag even though I have a spyglass 4 which dictates I should see everything about the ships in the sailing list revealed. Dead boarding party weapons cannot be gathered (recovered) not only a violation of individual preference/selection but of the primacy rule of recovery of weapons from friend and foe after a battle. While I can take money the weapon is blocked! This along with all the other "personalization tweaks" taken away makes this game not mine but someone elses that has a penchant for making the play frustrating and aggravating for no good reason. This is not a copyrighted game where the author has the legal right to restrict others from modifying their play code. If I choose to play as a wealthy lord engaging the enemies of the Crown and Country then I have significant advantages over the commoner who enters the seafaring profession and slowly works their way up the ranks by luck and grit. I'm not an Horatio Hornblower starting as a cabin boy and becoming an Admiral. This game is meant to be fun and open for modding however an individual desires to enhance the pleasure of their experience. As B14 was, with so many opportunities to select levels of difficulty to overcome in play. "Play" is the credo here... Play is supposed to be relaxing, fun, enjoyable... not aggravating and frustrating by restrictions and interferences with the role and actions. 14 was as difficult as the individual wanted it to be or as easy an entertainment so as to enjoy the simulation of the period. By the way pirates preferred Slave ships, built to sail fast, sturdy, with below decks very open for the cargo they capture, not warships which are just the opposite in every characteristic. BNH is very disappointing for me so I'm going to return to my enjoyment of the buggy but infinitely variable game I've played since v16.

I'm following your W7 suggestion, just spent the whole day doing exactly what you suggested and will spend tomorrow finding your zipped games, setting them up and playing to my gratification... thanks for taking the time to make it possible.

BTW... this sink a ship crash... any ideas what changed in 18 that got this started?

Cheers Mate!
CG71

 

[Baste]

Can hope things get better after a reinstall, then!

BTW... this sink a ship crash... any ideas what changed in 18 that got this started?

No idea whatsoever. Most of my contributions to the Build Mod were before that time and I haven't kept up with just about any changes to the modpack.

 

[CoastGuard71]

Hmmm.... Where can I get help with this Sink a Ship glitch? If I'm getting it whether I use 7 or 10 I suspect it's in the code rather than the OS used.
Making a general Call-OUT for HELP! Anyone in the realm having the same problem? Has anyone found this glitch and been able to remove it? Since the earlier games do not what about the versions after 17 that do? I suspect a save overflow due to the additional action perhaps exceeding the allotted space? That conflict Do-Loop would certainly stop the execution of the process. Any other ideas from the expert coders out there? Throw me a "life-ring" please.

BTW...given up on BNH... just not my style of game play... too structured with no allocations for personalization... more like MS in attitude: "MY way or the Highway".

CG71