Need Help Build14 Tabs not working

[nich666]

Hi, If this has been covered ad nauseum I apologise but searching throws up nothing relevant. I have been playing the Build14 Beta4 WIP 2April 2016 for ages on WIN10 with a PC/Mouse and no problems.
I now find the game occasionally and increasingly lets F2 open the Ship/Passengers/Cargo etc. page but none of the tabs work, so I can't distribute anything or even rob bodies (Walking Dead scares me). When trying to pick up goods or weapons on a won ship for example it just gives a window describing the item clicked on but I can't collect it.
Punching F11 or any of the other F's does nothing nor does saving and reloading. Grrr.
The only way I can get it working again is to go back and load a previous game that was working, but that of course loses all the headway and ships gained since.
My memory [on the PC], is silly massive with an i7 processor and silly money spent on the Graphics Card so I don't think the PC is at fault although sometimes I get a quarter of the screen blacked out when aiming guns.
Any help would be appreciated as it means I have to go back to the 27 DVD's I have of the Walking Dead. Shiver. Regards, Brian.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

@nich666: Your thread was on the CoAS subforum, which is a different game, so I moved it here instead.

Since you've got Windows 10 with really good hardware, you might be experiencing this known issue:
Solved - Windows 10: Low Frame Rates Despite (BECAUSE OF!) Good Hardware | PiratesAhoy!

 

[Grey Roger]

My memory [on the PC], is silly massive with an i7 processor and silly money spent on the Graphics Card so I don't think the PC is at fault although sometimes I get a quarter of the screen blacked out when aiming guns.

That is almost certainly because a ship somewhere has had a mast shot away. This messes up graphics exactly like that. If you're only getting 1/4 of the screen blacked out, you're lucky - I've had half the screen blacked out, or at least flickering, for this reason.

 

[nich666]

Thanks for the swift replies chaps. @Grey R. Must be careful not to down too many masts.
@Pieter B. That's probably the cause if it's not the mast thing but I don't care too much about that as the game runs fine using full screen resolution, and although irritating it doesn't stop the gameplay. It is the tabs being locked which actually locks me out of the game which stumps me as I can't do anything to the ship or crew etc.
If I ever get around to load the new game being developed for gawd sake get rid of the screeching monkey I have at the moment stopping me going through doors etc. until I click return. What a useless gimmick that is.
I'm called a Powder Monkey on this site, if I had any I would blow the idiot banal Monkey thing up. I can't find what to alter in PROGRAM to kill the thing off. Similarly with the coin/smoking tattered sails gimmick.
Are these irritations added literally to irritate?

 

[Grey Roger]

Being careful not to knock down masts on enemy ships may reduce that bug but won't prevent it. Other ships can knock down masts too...

The only annoyance I've had with monkeys is that if you've been in combat in an area and a monkey was involved, the game fails to realise that the battle is over. The status icons continue to flash red and the battle music continues, and indeed there is the occasional monkey screech even when there is no monkey still in a condition to do the screeching.

Where are you stuck? The only time I can think of in which being in a never-ending combat like that would stop you going through a door is if you've either fought a town guard or robbed a street trader, either of which will trigger a battle that won't end until all enemies are dead. But both those events happen in town, where there are no monkeys. Some storyline quests also only trigger when a battle has ended - are you playing a storyline? If so, which one, and where are you in it?

I've never been much of a fan of the cursed coin either, but some people seem to like it. Being turned into a skeleton has some advantages, the main one being an increase in HP, so some people actually get more coins, leave them in the ship's locker, and get their crew cursed as well. But in "Realistic" mode, at least the coin doesn't jump into your inventory, so if you find a naughty coin in a random chest and leave it there, you won't be cursed. If you choose to pick it up, you get the consequences...

 

[Pieter Boelen]

@Pieter B. That's probably the cause if it's not the mast thing but I don't care too much about that as the game runs fine using full screen resolution, and although irritating it doesn't stop the gameplay. It is the tabs being locked which actually locks me out of the game which stumps me as I can't do anything to the ship or crew etc.

The framerate issue causes problems in interfaces, so it could very well be the cause of your tab problem.

If I ever get around to load the new game being developed for gawd sake get rid of the screeching monkey I have at the moment stopping me going through doors etc. until I click return. What a useless gimmick that is.
I'm called a Powder Monkey on this site, if I had any I would blow the idiot banal Monkey thing up. I can't find what to alter in PROGRAM to kill the thing off.

The monkeys have been in the game since before the mods. Nobody ever complained, so we kept them.
You may be able to turn them off by editing PROGRAM\LandEncounters\LEnc_monsters.c .

Replace the THREE instances of this line:

LEnc_MonstersLoginObject.monkey = "0.3";

With this:

LEnc_MonstersLoginObject.monkey = "0";

Do the same with the TWO instances of this line:

LEnc_MonstersLoginObject.monkey = monkeys;

Similarly with the coin/smoking tattered sails gimmick.
Are these irritations added literally to irritate?

That started as a mod-added Easter Egg, until I expanded it to a fully developed feature.
It is of course very much inspired on the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.
Some people like it and some people don't.

It is only enabled by default in the Standard (Nathaniel Hawk) storyline AND (on Arcade Game Mode) the Free Play storyline as well.
Anyone who has seen the first PotC film may be able to figure out the small mystery of how to lift that curse by themselves.
It takes only a few minutes of game-time to do it:

Spoiler

1. Go to the Tortuga Tavern
2. Talk to Mr. Gibbs sitting there; he will give you an Aztec Compass
3. This puts Isla de Muerta on the WorldMap
4. Visit there and find the shore leading to the cave
5. In the cave is a chest; put the Cursed Coin into the chest
6. Problem solved

 

[Grey Roger]

My experience is that either it takes rather longer than a few minutes, or my definition of "a few" is not the same as yours. Apart from the detour to achieve parts 1 and 2, part 4 alone takes me quite a while, especially if the wind isn't co-operating. This is why it's nice that, in "Realistic" mode, the coin stays in the chest in which you found it, unless you actively choose to pick it up.

The line 'AddStorylineVar(n, "ISLA_DE_MUERTE", "0");' is supposed to disable the curse entirely, isn't it? I've got that in "Ardent.c", yet I've still been finding cursed coins. Not surprisingly, I haven't been touching them, though sometimes I get the idea that the game is really determined to curse me, when I've been looting several ships in one battle group and found at least one coin on each of three of them...

 

[Pieter Boelen]

My experience is that either it takes rather longer than a few minutes, or my definition of "a few" is not the same as yours. Apart from the detour to achieve parts 1 and 2, part 4 alone takes me quite a while, especially if the wind isn't co-operating. This is why it's nice that, in "Realistic" mode, the coin stays in the chest in which you found it, unless you actively choose to pick it up.

Realistic Game Mode is a different story, of course.
But as you say, it is disabled on purpose for Realistic Game Mode in the Free Play storyline.

The line 'AddStorylineVar(n, "ISLA_DE_MUERTE", "0");' is supposed to disable the curse entirely, isn't it? I've got that in "Ardent.c", yet I've still been finding cursed coins. Not surprisingly, I haven't been touching them, though sometimes I get the idea that the game is really determined to curse me, when I've been looting several ships in one battle group and found at least one coin on each of three of them...

That does not stop them from showing up; it just stops the curse from being in effect.
So you can pick them up and sell them for some extra cash, with no harm done.

 

[Grey Roger]

Realistic Game Mode is a different story, of course.
But as you say, it is disabled on purpose for Realistic Game Mode in the Free Play storyline.

I don't think the effect is limited to the FreePlay storyline. The difference in "Realistic" mode is that you have to actively pick up the coin to get cursed. If you find a coin in a chest and choose to leave it there, it doesn't jump into your inventory. And so I avoided being cursed during my last playthrough of "Tales of a Sea Hawk" - I did lots of looting, probably found plenty of coins, didn't touch them, and never turned skeletal.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I don't think the effect is limited to the FreePlay storyline.

From PROGRAM\Locations\init\IslaDeMuerte.c:

    if(sti(GetStorylineVar(FindCurrentStoryline(), "ISLA_DE_MUERTE")) > 0 && iRealismMode == 0)
        locations[n].box1.items.cursedcoin = 881;    // PB: You can get yourself cursed, but need to find another to uncurse yourself
    else
        locations[n].box1.items.cursedcoin = 882;    // PB: Curse is not applied until you take coins out of the chest

Plus:

In other words:
- The curse is in effect ONLY on Arcade Game Mode, never on Realistic or Iron Man
- Even on Arcade, there are only three storylines where the curse IS in effect: The Standard, Assassin and Devlin Opera storylines

The difference in "Realistic" mode is that you have to actively pick up the coin to get cursed.

Almost right. Even if you actively pick up the coin, you STILL don't get cursed.
It isn't the "auto-jumping" that is disabled, it is the entire curse that is disabled.

If you are on Realistic Game Mode, it is impossible to get yourself cursed by accident.
The only way is to do it on purpose by visiting Isla de Muerta and taking at least one of the 882 cursed coins from the chest in the cave.
You can take more than 1 though, if you so choose.

If you find a coin in a chest and choose to leave it there, it doesn't jump into your inventory.

Correct. It is also pointless to leave it there, as there is zero harm in picking it up.
You're just depriving yourself of a bit of additional income .

And so I avoided being cursed during my last playthrough of "Tales of a Sea Hawk" - I did lots of looting, probably found plenty of coins, didn't touch them, and never turned skeletal.

Of course! Even if you had picked up all of those plenty coins you found, you would still never have turned skeletal.

 

[nich666]

Hi, Thanks for the reply. While I was moaning I ripped into the useless monkey but I can live with that as I've managed to turn off the infernal screeching although the monkey's blank dialogue box still appears and he/she? still hops about.
My main problem is with the tabs that do no longer open although detent in, nothing happens.
The fighting (with me sliding sideways on low melee points to survive), is working normally, it's just trying to access Quest, Passengers, Log etc. which isn't working.
I will try to download a pic to show what tabs ~

They are the ones along the top so I can go no further distributing anything so it is pointless continuing in the game.
Pieter has pointed out that the frame rate with a high end card causes (or might cause), tabs to stop working. Also how to kill off the monkey. (Thanks, you're a gem).
I looked at the URL given and will try the 'Intel fix' for the frame rate, but that might mean starting another game?
Is the 'Intel fix 'downloadable separately? I'll have a look.
The screen shots are crushed to bits in Photoshop to upload the files but in the game everything is sharp and smooth running.
I usually only get slowdown when running inside but that isn't a problem for me.

As for the Cursed Coin, in an earlier game I picked one up greedily, realised I couldn't sell it, then with so much smoke on deck I couldn't aim the guns,
went to the Island cave killed everyone still couldn't get rid of the coin so like the title it was an Abandoned game.
I now know to leave it well alone.
The game looks to be very realistic for the period as far as we can tell as cameras had to wait a few centuries to appear but the daft skeleton crews and monkeys are exactly that; Daft.
Each to their own and this is from a man who spent money on the Walking Dead.

I was playing Charles Ardent then attacking the ship as ordered to upgrade mine, I had low melee points, one swipe from anyone and Davy Jones it was.
Fed up with trying and dying I free roamed building up melee's and bigger and bigger ships so was about to leap back on board to teach him a lesson and can't get any further due to the tabs.
Thank you for the pointers, much appreciated.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

the monkey's blank dialogue box

Dialog box? Talking monkeys? You've got me confused now. Screenshot?

I looked at the URL given and will try the 'Intel fix' for the frame rate, but that might mean starting another game?
Is the 'Intel fix 'downloadable separately? I'll have a look.

You do NOT want the Intel Fix!!! From what I understand, you need something like Bandicam or RivaTuner.
I have been happily avoiding Windows 10 myself, so have no experience with it.
Maybe @Armada or @Hylie Pistof can mention what they use.

As for the Cursed Coin, in an earlier game I picked one up greedily, realised I couldn't sell it, then with so much smoke on deck I couldn't aim the guns,
went to the Island cave killed everyone still couldn't get rid of the coin so like the title it was an Abandoned game.

You should have said something at the time!
Once you're on Isla de Muerta, you can get rid of the Cursed Coin just fine.
You just need to put it in the chest that is in the cave. There would be 881 already in there.

The game looks to be very realistic for the period as far as we can tell as cameras had to wait a few centuries to appear but the daft skeleton crews and monkeys are exactly that; Daft.

I will not deny that; "daft" is exactly what they are! Same applies to the actual Pirates of the Caribbean films though.
In comparison, our implementation of some film-inspired content is really very subdued.

The original game had skeletons in all dungeons, but we got rid of those for the sake of realism.

On the other hand, there IS quite a bit of other "daft" stuff in the game. Examples include:
- The Maltese Knight Abbey in Bridgetown
- Everything related to Isla de Muerta
- The cursed Albatrosses

All of those are either easily avoidable or deliberately not too difficult to get rid of.
We have taken great care of having the "balance between realism and fantasy" to be weighed heavily in favour of "realism".
It just isn't a "100% vs. 0%" balance. More like a "95% vs. 5%".

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I had the problem with the tabs across the top of the menu screen 2-3 times in the past. All I remember now is that the solution is silly easy. Something like going into a store and going into all the menus there, or something like that. If you can access your cargo there, then it might get the other tabs working as well.

You do NOT want the intel fix. It is only for low level laptops with integrated graphics.

I use MSI Afterburner to set a custom fan profile for the GPU, overclocking the GPU, capping the FPS to 150 fps globally, and taking screenies. I have not tried it to take videos yet. Here are 2 I took yesterday.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

capping the FPS to 150 fps globally

^ That is probably what is saving you from the Windows 10 FPS issue.

taking screenies. I have not tried it to take videos yet. Here are 2 I took yesterday.

Very ice ones!

 

[Grey Roger]

I was playing Charles Ardent...

That's where the monkey came from, then. You're stuck with it, I'm afraid - it was a little trick I put in there because last year was Chinese Year of the Monkey. You'll have met the monkey while you were on the way to rescue your crew from the slave camp.

But there shouldn't be a blank dialog. Could you post the files "compile.log", "system.log" and, if it exists, "error.log", from straight after the next time you get that blank dialog?

As for screenshots, there's a much better way than trying to photograph the screen with a camera. Press F8. This will take a screenshot which you'll find in the top level of your game installation folder as "seadogs<something>.tga". Alternatively, press the "Print Scrn" button, which puts a copy of the screen into the clipboard. Then start up Photoshop or any other picture editing program and paste the image into a new file.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Then start up Photoshop or any other picture editing program and paste the image into a new file.

Default Windows Paint works too.

 

[nich666]

Wow, are you guys on the ball or what? Thanks for the help.

the monkey's blank dialogue box

Pieter, I had already found the monkeys dialogue code and zeroed it giving the blank box, I still have to click space to go through a door but at least it has stopped screaming at me.
I now just have to do as you suggest and decode the blithering monkey altogether.

I have been happily avoiding Windows 10 myself, so have no experience with it.

I know what you mean about WIN10 but it is soooo much better loading faster and underlying running Windows, as it claims.
It is a bucket of Poo on a desktop as it is designed for swiping on tablets/phones etc. which makes no sense if the PC monitor isn't touch sensitive.

There is a neat way round this I found by loading the free Classic Shell [http://www.classicshell.net/] (Is a URL allowed?) if not Google it.
You don't seem to need it, but I see there is even a Dutch translation.
Incidentally, wherever I travel in the World (in real life), the Dutch are there, VERY tall and all speak PERFECT English.
In my small SW town in deepest France we have a Dutch Ice Cream man and another who is a builder (he built my roof).
Everywhere as I said, fortunately, as my French is abysmal.

When loading it asks for a donation but you don't have to.
The desktop then is exactly the same, in operation as Win7 with all facilities of Win10 quietly running it all underneath.
I recommend when/if you load it just install without any other options such as Google Chrome etc. that free programmes like to add/bloatware on.
You get a choice of desktop Win7 styles and can even change the start button and the look of everything.
I have a Hal Orb that glows as you click on it [thumbnail of how my Desktop opens as Win7 looky-likey], but there are tons of others to download.
There is a slight delay while it loads on start-up compared, not hardly noticeable on a PC as Win10 fast loads but a small spec notebook might struggle.
Even now if you go for a Win10 upgrade on a Win7 machine (I have just done it on a new laptop), the Win7 CoA still works free.

Back to the C.17.
@Grey R.
Yard arm for you matey but at least I know now how to get rid of it.
.tga files aren't recognised by P.S. CS6 but via PriScn/Paint it works well.

@Hylie P.
I also have an MSI Motherboard BigBang 2 (hope not), but am running on water so CPU fanless.
I will uninstall the Intel fix that did no good anyway, as you say.
Also I tried the tabs when in the store [Thumbnail], but although they all indent non open. Grrrr.

I think the way forward for now is to just dump the game and start a new one. Everything always goes back to normal.
I notice if I go far enough back to an earlier saved game everything works and the PC hasn't been altered in any way which is strange.
As well if loading an earlier beta game it all works fine.

Wondering if the Hearts of Oak (just split a ton of that up), will like later Graphic Cards, in any event really looking forward to jumping in to a new game scene.

Apart from a bit of Puff about Win10, sorry I can't help with coding, like Twitter, it all goes over my head.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Incidentally, wherever I travel in the World (in real life), the Dutch are there, VERY tall and all speak PERFECT English.

Ever since I actually work IN the Netherlands (used to work at sea) and live together with a non-Dutch person,
I noticed that people IN the Netherlands are decidedly less good at English.

Wondering if the Hearts of Oak (just split a ton of that up), will like later Graphic Cards

It is a completely different game engine: Unity.

 

[nich666]

Hi Pieter, Wondered about that. Travelled through the Netherlands but never stayed there. I equate the Dutch (Netherlanders?) with the Aussies. Travellers and explorers.
I sail on the Garonne and have a mate in the Club, Rob who is a Diplomat, he spoke English better than the Queen.
And a lot better than me.
We used to race each other up river.
He now has moved back to the Netherlands (and Switzerland). It’s alright for some.

So now you have to practise your Dutch to speak to the neighbours??? Hee hee. Regards, Brian.

 

[Grey Roger]

Pieter, I had already found the monkeys dialogue code and zeroed it giving the blank box, I still have to click space to go through a door but at least it has stopped screaming at me.
I now just have to do as you suggest and decode the blithering monkey altogether.

Try putting this into "console.c":

DeleteQuestAttribute("monkey_follow");
LAi_SetActorType(characterFromID("Monkey"));

If that's the monkey I think it is, that ought to break its code cycle so it stops following you around. (Since, to the best of my knowledge, every other monkey in the game tries to bite you rather than start a dialog with you, it pretty well has to be this one. )

.tga files aren't recognised by P.S. CS6 but via PriScn/Paint it works well.

.tga files certainly are recognised by Photoshop CS6. That's what I routinely use to edit them! (If you're playing the "Ardent" storyline, guess which program I used to make the character model you had at the start of the game. )