Zookeeper4896
posted May 4 2003, 02:37 PM
I am really mad! I can't seem to download any of the files on this site!
All I get when I try to download them is a scrambly thing with stuff i
can't understand like:
%&FJALD(!@)$#U@)U!@_$(#DWQ##($#)$@)R!!)@(#$?V<Z"
Can somebody help me?
sad.gif
bluememaw
posted May 4 2003, 09:10 PM
If Searain doesn't show up soon with an answer, send her a pm. She's
very good with problems like this. I, unfortunately, am not.
searain79
posted May 4 2003, 09:26 PM
(blue, you always have the nicest things to say about ppl! thankyou!)
right click on the download link and choose *save target as*
then you will be able to download the item.
let us know how it goes!
bluememaw
posted May 4 2003, 09:43 PM
You're welcome. Only to those who deserve it.
Mak1027
posted May 4 2003, 10:48 PM
or if you left click on the link, make sure you are choosing "save" and
not "open" ...sounds like you are hitting open and it is opening the
file in notepad instead of downloading ...so you're reading code which
would make no sense
-----
Topic: *Question about Direct X 9 & ZT,DD,MM ?*
nuttyme
posted Apr 28 2003, 11:41 PM
HI Every one
Just have to say " Great Forum ". OK a really goofy question on direct x
and ZT compatibly. Heres a run down on what has been happing to me. I
have all the games, installed all of them with no problem,had all my
user made animals and objects and free form hack for MM,Very thing is
working fine, Then I started to notice that when you saved a game and
then went back into the saved game half of the objects would be gone.So
I did the norm and uninstalled and deleted everything from the folder to
reg entries,I then reinstalled all of the games and put back a few
things in the updates folder,like free form hack and a few animals and
buildings ,to see if everything was OK, everything started out Ok and
worked,till you saved and exited the game and went back in to play
again, You would be missing half of your stuff. Never building or
animals, just stuff that was unlocked from the MM hack. Ok I figured it
was a bad copy so i redownload the file. Still the some thing,once you
save ,your back to where you started again with just half the stuff
unlocked. I have uninstalled and reinstalled 6 times in the past 3 days.
I have put just one download in the updates folder at a time,same thing,
I have put all of them in at the same time and then took one out at a
time,Same-thing happening. The only thing I can think of is I updated
direct x ,from 8.1 to 9. I installed direct x 9 on the 20th of april,
Really didn't notice ,till I really started playing the game again
Friday of last week and have fought with it all weekend long. Do any of
you know of a problem with Zt and direct x 9 having a problem with each
other ? Or know of a way to fix it. I can do a system restore to before
i installed X 9. I have looked on microsoft for this and ZT,But I just
can't find a fix for it. Thank you in advice.
NuttyMe
PS. Running Win ME with 256 Ram, 20gig HD, and yes a 300MHZ CPU.
searain79
posted Apr 29 2003, 03:15 PM
thankyou very much for the detailed info on whats going on, its very
appreciated biggrin.gif .
does this still occur if you do not have the freeform unlock instaled?
nuttyme
posted Apr 29 2003, 07:29 PM
Thank-you Searain79 for the reply. I did a system restore this morning
and the same-thing is happening.I have tried both ways to sunday. with
the hack with out the hack and nothing.I have all updated drivers and
all updates for my computer. So I figured I try just the super research
hack . All that did was crash to the desktop after about 5-10 mins and
every time it crashed to desktop it would turn on my cable modem and
make it reset its self. So I had to take the super research hack out.
One thing though, aren't the hippos a default animal. I have no hippos
any more,all I have is the pygmy hippos I downloaded. So a reinstall in
for tonight.I have ran scan disk and defrag and all my spyware programs
and not a thing shows up as a problem.I don't think direct x was a
problem any more,cause I'm still having the problem. Do you know where
all the reg entires are at ,I know there in local machine & current
user, Are there any hidden in the classes root area. I'm not going to
reformat the computer just to fix the game right, I think it mite be a
reg thing or a main file is messing up when being saved. If you know of
anything to try or check, Plz let me know.I not scared to play around in
the reg or anything, I work on puters all day long in a repair
shop...lol. I have asked them and they have know clue as to why this is
happening.If any one has an idea .Throw it out there.
PS. The files that are missing after you save the game and then go back
in are the pandas,snowy rock cave and the kitty tree toy. That I can
tell for now. Any ideas
?NuttyMe
nuttyme
posted Apr 29 2003, 09:41 PM
Ok I feel like an goober
here. After the 10th reinstall,I Findleyfound tongue.gif the problem.I had to think about it really hard (
Headache
). I had downloaded the new Indian pea fowl from ZTU and putit in the game, Never really thought about it till the 10th reinstall.
So i reinstalled my old file for the animal and DUH 8O everything is
back to normal biggrin.gif . So note to self, the new file for the
Indian pea fowl is not compatible with MM free form unlock hack for me.I
have ran my computer up & down and everything is still there. So should
I let ZTU know about the problem,that there mite be a problem with that
file and the hack together ?I really don't like to say if there's a
problem with something, Because it may work fine for some one else and
be that on my computer they don't like each other.
NuttyME
searain79
posted Apr 30 2003, 11:18 AM
how true it is.. some folks dont have the issue, but then some folks do,
and that makes it hard sometimes when you are troubleshooting.
First off, KUDOS to you for doing all of this, and fixing it!
Kudos also, for letting us know what you have done, and what worked, and
what didnt work.
good work!
user posted image
now, about that; yes, just send them an email stating where you got the
hack, and what you have experienced when you add the indian peafowl.
it cant hurt.
Zoogrammy
posted Apr 30 2003, 01:31 PM
I using ZA freeform unlock and had both the old andnow the new Peafowl
working ok. But like you said sometimes a person computer acts
different. I recently had trouble with the new Whooping Crane and the
chrysamthemum pot from the Japanese pack. All these came from ZA. But
they probably work great for everyone else.
searain79
posted Apr 30 2003, 02:06 PM
true true ZG, i also have certain issues with objects that others dont,
and the reason COULD be this;
each animal, item, flowerbed, tree, rock, ETC has its own unique ID number.
each time a user creates an item, it gets a new ID number.
if these conflict with any other randomly made object, you'll get
crashing issues.
so say you download a statue from a random ZT fan site, then you go over
to a different site and download a tree-- they may have the same id
number, and you'd get crashes.
there are so many user created items out there, that for sure one or two
of them have the same ID number.
so yes, it does depend on the user, and what items they have installed.
nuttyme
posted May 2 2003, 10:10 PM
After I got done writing and till you that I fixed the problem, and
worked fine the rest of the night, The nexted day I loaded the game and
it happened again, So I went back through all the files again and took
out all of stuff I didn't use or want. I did have the whooping crane and
took both the ztd&dll out,that helped out some. I'm still getting some
problems, Like if you start a new game and use the ZA freeform Unlock
hack and the save after a while and go back in the game ,say a couple of
hours later some times the stuff is there and some times its not. It's
wried. Is it safe to take out the patch DLL's for other stuff ? I really
don't like using them ,unless I have too.
Thanks in advance.
NuttyMe
searain79
posted May 3 2003, 08:54 AM
well im not sure if you have tried this yet or not, but your best bet;
copy your updates folder to your desktop.
now - in the updates folder that is in your ZT directory, take
everything out except official things.
---- before you add anything back in, test out your game, and make sure
it works. (start a new zoo as well)
now the real fun, is adding your items back in, 3 at a time. (leave out
the unlock for now)
to my knowledge, and anyone feel free to correct me, i have not
experienced game crashes in relation to the .dll patches, or the .dll
overwrites. - what /they/ do it cause /perhaps/ all your guests to get
hungry, stick to the tables, ETC.
i hope this answers your question, if it doesn't, then respond, and i'll
grab some coffee and help you as much as i can.
Aussie Koala
posted May 3 2003, 08:14 PM
Ok- if you are talking about just the researchable items- and the normal
ones that become available over time in a free form game such as the
fancy buildings etc- then that is just how the freeform unlock works.
Everything is made available at the start but once you save and reload-
any items you have not researched- or are not normally available at that
time in the game will be gone and you have to do the research to get
them back again.
The best way around it is to turn on research as soon as you start the
game and do not save until everything is done if it is bothering you.
If I am misunderstanding your problem then ignore me LOL!
nuttyme
posted May 3 2003, 10:48 PM
Thanks for the information, I think I may have found the one major
problem with the game crashing and having the game wakeup my modem and
messing with that. I ran a virus scan and it found a virus in my restore
folder. It attacks all dat files and exe,com files too. I didn't have
this problem till I downloaded the latest updates for my computer from
M$ and then all of a sudden I have all of these problems.I really have
not ran the game for a long period of time to put it through its paces
yet. I'll let you all know if it was the virus that was messing with ZT
or something else.
NuttyMe
searain79
posted May 4 2003, 09:24 AM
ooooooh.....
thats messy- sorry to hear that!
keep me posted.
nuttyme
posted May 5 2003, 08:04 PM
Well , I cleaned out the virus from my computer the night the virus was
found. then reran the virus scan and that came back clear. But taoday my
room mate started a new zoo and it crashed with in 10 mins of starting a
new game. So I dumped the game and reinstalled with no hacks or updates.
The only thing I did was up the money in the INI file. So we shall see
how that gose for a while,and if running it straight with no nothing and
no crash's ,I'll start putting in one item at a time and then running
the game for a while and seeing if it crashs again. It has to be
something simple that I'm missing here...lol.
Thanks for all the help. I'll keep you posted .
NuttyME
searain79
posted May 6 2003, 09:02 AM
here is a hammer for you
thankyou for keeeping us updated, and goood lucketh.
-----
Topic: *i don't understand what's going wrong.. please help!*
apatch
posted May 5 2003, 06:08 PM
okay.. if u care i had purchased the MM double expansion pack on ebay..
it came in sealed and all
but onto the big problem..
the first thing i did was to uninstall ZT and then reinstall it, then i
installed MM exapnpack. but whenever i play a game i have 2 problems..
the first is that sometimes it crashes for no reason
the second, and like my real question is that while the MM expangame
loads, you can see the dolphins and dinosaurs in the back round, but
once it's doen loading it goes to the reg ZT main menu screen, this is
probably normal.. but what i don't think is normal is that while playing
the game almost nothing is different from the ZT game.. i have new
outside marine life, i have no new staff, i have no dinosaurs, i have no
new scearios, and i have no new fences.. what's wrong?
searain79
posted May 6 2003, 09:00 AM
when you get to the main menu screen, what is the number on the screen?
(version number 10.000004.0003 ETC)
also, i'd like you to go to cprogram filesmicrosoft games,. and right
click on the zoo tycoon folder, click on properties, and tell me the
size of this folder.
apatch
posted May 6 2003, 04:09 PM
okay, the version is # 12.04.00.0009
and the size is 1.81KB w/ 40,690 bytes used
searain79
posted May 6 2003, 06:28 PM
thats a little odd, considering ZT,DD and MM alltogether should be
around 900MB to 1 GB.
(1,000KB - 1MB)
so do me a favor again?
open up your main zoo tycoon folder, located in cprogram filesmicrosoft
gameszoo tycoon , and hit your *print screen* key (near the scroll lock
key) and then open up MS PAint, click on *edit* and click *paste*.
now save this as a .gif file and email it to me, at michka@cogeco.ca
-----
Topic: *Follow the leader*
markbell
posted Nov 24 2002, 02:58 AM
I'm wondering whether anyone else has this problem. The majority of the
guests in my zoo seem to follow each other around. They don't visit the
food/drink stands or use the restrooms. Consequently the guest happiness
level drops. I have a screenshot here:
http://home.lookinglocal.com/marksforum ... eader.html
<http://home.lookinglocal.com/marksforum ... eader.html>
Sundance300
posted Nov 24 2002, 03:07 AM
MM version? I've noticed the following of the leader, but not the
happiness drop....
markbell
posted Nov 24 2002, 03:14 AM
MM version 12.04.00.0009
Mak1027
posted Nov 24 2002, 03:33 AM
Searain has the same exact problem....but my guests are fine
where are they headed? mine only parade like that on the way to or from
a show and when following a tour guide
markbell
posted Nov 24 2002, 03:39 AM
They don't seem to be headed in any particular direction. As you can see
from the screenshot, I laid a trail of sand through water. They then
followed the sand no matter which direction it went in.
pjak
posted Nov 24 2002, 04:33 AM
as the people can't walk on water, they must follow the sand!
Hence the holdup. You must expand the width of the sand this will be fixed.
markbell
posted Nov 24 2002, 05:41 AM
I fenced off the sand which then made the guests "follow the leader"
through other parts of the zoo.
I did use the $ cheat in the freeform game so I'm going to do a freeform
without using the cheat to see if it'll make a difference.
Mak1027
posted Nov 24 2002, 10:48 AM
I always us the $cheat in freeforms as well so don't think that is the
cause
suzjamm
posted Nov 24 2002, 09:34 PM
that is odd.
i never have seen anything like that unless they werefollowing a tour guide, and from looking at the picture, i can tell they
aren't. was there anything at the end of the sand path that they might
have wanted like a food stand or a show or maybe even the exit to the zoo?
the money cheat has never done any funky things like that for me, but,
then again, that just could because of the type of computer i have. i'm
not erally sure want to tell you except to make the best of it and laugh
at the stupidity of the guests biggrin.gif just trying the see the world
with a half full glass in my hand
searain79
posted Nov 24 2002, 10:00 PM
aha!!! im not crazy! WOOT!
ok, this is what i did.
after a show tank, i make a large opening for them to scatter. i also
block off parts of the zoo at certain times so half a line of zombies go
one way, and another half of zombies go the other. but i still can't
eliminate it
bluememaw
posted Nov 25 2002, 12:59 AM
I've never had that problem. I use the money cheat in all my freeform
zoos and have never had this happen or any other weird thing.
Sundance300
posted Nov 25 2002, 01:13 AM
Sorry, but I had to write these......
My cult-like following is now accepting applications.....
Your village called, they're missing their idiot(s)....
Hurry, for I am their leader and there they go!
There's an idea for a contest...captions
Tasmanian_tiger
posted Nov 25 2002, 07:21 AM
I don't have any hack, but I also noticed some strange behaviour since I
had MM. The guests seem to be more eager to walk of the paths. I really
put decorative fencing everwhere, because otherwise they would just walk
between cages. And they weren't hungry or anything. Although I don't
seem to have the follow-the-leader syndrome.
Missy
posted Nov 25 2002, 01:56 PM
I have the same problem as Tazz. My guests wander off the paths if I
don't fence them. But my guests are happier now then they have ever been
and do not follow each other.
posted Dec 18 2002, 09:10 PM
I have noticed it is 2- way traffic. Maybe you should make the paths wider.
-----
Topic: *Follow the leader*
Twilight_Star
posted Dec 18 2002, 09:28 PM
I had the same problem on reg ZT. I ended up making the 2 paths around
the whole zoo and put some of my more rare animals in the back of the
zoo. I also hired a tour guide and my problem seemed to disappear??
Polaryan
posted Dec 23 2002, 10:25 PM
I have also had this "Follow the leader syndrome." But I dun get it ALL
the time. and I don't get actuall lines so much as i get BIG masses of
guests. Sometimes I get a glob of like 50 guests some times more sort of
swarming aimlessly. They occationally go off the path to cut corners
(Hey REAL PEOEPLE DO THAT!) and so I wind up adding a decorative corner
like a water feture with a decorative fence around it.
Ballaw
posted Dec 24 2002, 12:12 AM
Well... all I can say is there is a cheat that make the people follow
each other... but that's all I know.
searain79
posted Dec 24 2002, 12:19 AM
it normally happens right after a show for me. that is why i keep my
show tanks far away from eachother. and i only have one entrance for the
grandstand. that way, after the show, they flock out. then i put a huge
open area for them to dispurse. with restaurants and stuff.
posted Dec 24 2002, 07:47 PM
Whats the cheat?there is a cheat that make the people follow each other
Ballaw
posted Dec 24 2002, 10:46 PM
Like, "Redman" of something.
Mica
posted May 6 2003, 09:57 PM
The follow the leader thing was popular in one zoo I made, but I have no
screenshots, and I didn't save sad.gif T-Rexes and Evil Parakeets were
escaped and this group of guests were just standing there like nothing
happened! laugh.gif I was trying to make them mad, but they get happy
laugh.gif
-----
Topic: *Help Please*
Mica
posted May 6 2003, 10:16 PM
I looked almost everywhere, but how do you get the statue to animal
animations and behavour? If there is a topic for this already, can you
direct me to it?
update: I know the animations are appear and sappear for a tank, but
what is the behaviour called?bAppear?
-----
Topic: *guest don't move*
Niebi
posted May 7 2003, 09:47 AM
After playing a zoo some time, my guests seem to get stuck on the paths.
This happens only in some random areas, they don't move or do anything
exept becoming hungry and angry..
Someone knows what causes this ?
searain79
posted May 7 2003, 09:59 AM
yes and no.
i originally thought that it was the same thing as getting stuck on
picnic tables (which equals to user created items that cause wonky
aactions)
*but*, there is now a whooole new theory, since one an install with no
user created items, the guests will still get loopy; here is what i've
come up with;
searain thinks this is just a bug in the game.
*this is different then guests getting stuck to picnic tables, benches,
fountains, ETC*
the more guests you have in a zoo, the more they will just walk by and
get stuck to another guest, then you have a little bunch of guests stuck
together. i noticed this happens with aLOT of guests in your zoo.
so dont bother with an uninstall/reinstall, becase i can't say that will
fix it.
i just think its too many animations for your video card to draw out,
and its a bug. (i found that this bug came to us with the addition of MM)
Niebi
posted May 7 2003, 01:01 PM
thanks...i forgot to say i already tried a clear install, but it apeard
again. When i click the guest and move it, he starts to walk again...but
i don#t want to do it all the time for about 200 guests.
About the video card thing..i have a NVIDIA Geforce 4 Ti 4200 (whatever
this means
) . Is this to weak ?searain79
posted May 7 2003, 01:42 PM
that video card either has 128mb or 64 MB of ram.. if it were the 64mb,
it /may/ be too weak (i dont think it is, unless you also experience a
lack in gameplay in any other games you play), but for this certain
issue, im going to say It is a bug
Niebi
posted May 7 2003, 02:17 PM
argh...i hope MS fixes this soon... sad.gif
thanks for the help searain ! biggrin.gif
-----
Topic: *Vanishing Polar Bears and problem with rainbow bears*
allis154
posted May 8 2003, 06:12 AM
Hi All.. I am new here, so please 'bear' with me.
I have been having a problem with my polar bears vanishing. They are in
the exhibit, but I can not see them. If I add rocks or foliage, I see
the little red and green faces, but no bear. Does anybody know what is
causing this?
Also, I recently added the new downloads from micro$oft, the dino kids
and the other one I don't remember). Since then, I have been unable to
get my rainbow bears to go above 87 exhibit suitability. Is there an
issue there?
Thanks for your help
allis
jwa1107
posted May 8 2003, 09:10 AM
for your rainbow bear issue I suggest going here:
http://zt.arachnafobic.org/animal-guide/
and selecting the Rainbow Bear "encyclopedia entry"
then build an exhibit to the listed standards - see if you can get it
over 87 that way...
*QUOTE*
This animal likes about 10% of its exhibit to be covered with foliage
and 6% of rocks.
rock cave stone ruins and orchid trees seem to be the best bet; there's
much more on Spin's site...
-----
Topic: *New Game Probs*
phuentae
posted May 8 2003, 05:56 PM
I have just purchased the limited edition ZooTy (I call it), with the DD
and MM expansion packs.
I have installed it and its working, although I have had a few crashes,
usually mid game which is so frustrating. Also this past few games I
have noticed that when I have just done all the terrain in an exhibit to
suit the animal, the terrain flickers and changes back to grass! I have
had to redo several terrains lately and it is driving me mad.
Anyone got any ideas as to why the crashes and terrain probs?
jwa1107
posted May 9 2003, 07:45 AM
do you have any user created downloads in your game?
-----
Topic: *Is this the way to do it?*
winkiedude
posted Apr 3 2003, 07:41 PM
Am I to assume that once I install everything (MM) and then begin to
download user made objects that I should NEVER use any of their dll's,
only install the ztd files?
Never add any dll's other than what came with the game itself?
What about the patches? I belive their are a couple files that come with
their own patches (some amusement ride...etc.)
Should I still just install the ztd's and forget the patches?
The probhlem I am trying to eliminate is the guests getting stuck at
tables and benches!
Thanks so much for your help!
searain79
posted Apr 3 2003, 07:50 PM
official dll's that come with a new official animal/theme pack from the
microsoft site are safe.
when you download a user created item that includes a *patch* to
overwrite a .dll is when you get stuck in the guest trap... sticking to
benches, always hungry, not entering grandstands, etc.
if a user created item comes with a *seperate* .dll, then you *shoud* be
fine.
when it comes to the patch, i tend to skip it entirely and just use the
.ztd.
hope this helps!
winkiedude
posted Apr 3 2003, 08:15 PM
Ok.....Part blonde here! LOL.
So you are saying that ONLY files that come with patches that have dll's
are bad, but all other user made objects with no patch, just a ztd and
dll are ok?
Should I not use the files that come with the patches or just download
the file without using the patch?
Sorry to be so difficult!
searain79
posted Apr 3 2003, 11:35 PM
tis ok!
to answer your question, you're right.
/ONLY files that come with patches that have dll's are bad, but all
other user made objects with no patch, just a ztd and dll are ok?/
yeah.. bad as in glitchy, as in it causes you the issues you are having
with the guests.
if you download a user created building that comes with the patch, just
take the .ztd and forget about the patch.
posted Apr 4 2003, 08:22 PM
I do not know the actual answer, but I always assumed that any ZTD file
containing a "guest.ai" file and any patch that might change or add
guest animations might cause problems. Therefore, I have avoided benchs,
telephone booths, arcade games, and statues that have surprises for
guests unless their ZTD file did not contain a "guest.ai" file. (Even
then, if the download also included a patch file, I would install the
ZTD file but not run the patch file.) I believe buildings where the user
disappears or just stands near the building (like an outdoor food booth)
should be fine, whether or not the patch is run. (I believe in these
cases that the patch just adds the names of the sold items to Zoo
Tycoon.) dj_pluffs would know the actual answer.
Mak1027
posted Apr 4 2003, 10:40 PM
your exactly right Jay biggrin.gif
jadedata
posted Apr 30 2003, 10:12 PM
I have the Space Needle and DropZone packages which appears to NOT be
taking any guests, just sucking up upkeep money. The install "info".txt
file included in the download says to run a patch to change the
lang0.dll file. Everything I am reading here says not to run any
"patches" but these files were acquired from your own forums.
It does appear that the patch will alter the lang0.dll and save it to a
different name. I don't know what else the patch will do. It does run in
a kind of mysterious and less than verbose manner.
Two concurrent RE-installation of ZT/MM/DD has made me a little gun-shy.
While I am a professional programmer I admit to being a little confused
as to the proper course of action to try and squeeze a little more
happiness into my guests (now numbering 1251 in JZ#2).
To patch or not to patch, that is the question. (or at least one of them)
Are there any written guides to the architecture and of ZT available?
posted May 6 2003, 08:29 PM
Hi jadedata. Welcome to the Lounge.
Concerning written guides to the architecture of ZT, I assume you mean
from a programmer's perspective. As far as I know, only Blue Fang (the
creators of Zoo Tycoon) would have that information. However, there are
guides at various Zoo Tycoon web sites that have been created by users
through trial and error, and by looking at the contents of ztd files. I
have not looked at any of these guides in any detail, so I cannot
recommend any.
Like you, I am also a professional programmer and I am also gun-shy when
applying patches. (We are probably more gun-shy than most because of the
programming experience in us.) I only apply patches from sites that I
feel I can trust. Even then, I usually wait a while to see if others
have problems first.
Generally, the patch files at this and other Zoo Tycoon sites only add
messages to Zoo Tycoon's language files (such as lang0.dll). For shops,
these messages are the items that can be purchased by the zoo guests. In
the case of the Space Needle and Drop Zone, I'm not sure what messages
they are. They are probably the descriptions of the buildings.
Unfortunately, many building creators thought this was the only way to
add building descriptions. But at another site (the Animal Encyclopedia
site, for one, which can be found in a post within the web site list
section of this forum), there are guides showing how these can be
avoided by using text files in the ztd file.
There has been confusion concerning patch files. Even my previous post
was not clear. Although I don't know the actual answer, I believe that
the worst thing that can happen from patching a Zoo Tycoon language file
is to see messages that are not correct. For example, selecting a Space
Needle in Zoo Tycoon might say Pink Fence instead. Except for the
message, the Space Needle will still work as a Space Needle. (This was
merely an example of what could go wrong. As far as I know this example
does not actually occur.) A patch to the language file should not cause
the game to crash or cause guests to get stuck. Also, there should not
be any problems with not applying a patch. In that case, the description
will be blank. But the Space Needle will still work as a Space Needle.
This should not affect if guests will use the building or how many
guests can use the building at once. All of that is inside the ".ai"
file within the ztd file.
Having said all of that, there are still some concerns. First, there is
a limit to how many dll files that Zoo Tycoon can open. I believe this
limit is 63. When the limit is reached, Zoo Tycoon will not start. To
keep the number low, I generally have the patch programs write to
lang0.dll and then I move the backup file it creates from the Zoo Tycoon
folder to a "Microsoft Games/sav" folder. I am also selective of which
patch files I run so that I do not go over the limit. Second, sometimes
a dll is needed to make an animal work. For example, an animal might
have a Marine Mania location. If you don't have the Marine Mania dll,
the game can crash. Similarly, a user created animal might prefer a user
created object. If that object is not listed in the dll, the game can
crash. However, this rarely applies to patch files since patch files
usually come with buildings rather than animal objects. Third, although
my message confusion example is not real, I have seen message confusion
occur. Unfortunately, they are difficult to track. The confusion might
not actually be due to a problem in the item where it appears and the
confusion might not be from the last patch run. Adding a new item and
applying its patch can cause the confusion to move. I just live with any
of these message confusions when they occur. Fourth, whether or not
there is a patch file, the game can crash or zoo guests can get stuck if
one of the ztd files contains an "guest.ai" file that is for a different
version of Zoo Tycoon. Therefore, before I put a ztd file into the
Updates folder, I check to make sure it does not contain a "guest.ai"
file. It is theoretically possible for a patch file to modify a Zoo
Tycoon ztd file with a new guest.ai file. However, I have not seen one
that does. Still, since I am gun-shy, I do not apply patch files, hacks,
or run setup programs if I believe the item might change guest
animations (such as for benches). This might be overcautiousness on my
part since things created by users probably use generic animations. I do
apply patch files if I believe the building merely makes guests
disappear (entering the building) and reappear (exiting the building).
I don't remember what I did with the patch files to my Zoo Tycoon for
the Space Needle and Drop Zone. At some point I will see what I did and
add another post.
posted May 12 2003, 07:20 PM
I looked at what I did with the Drop Zone and Space Needle patches. For
the Drop Zone, I had the patch update the lang0.dll file. For the Space
Needle, the patch created a LANG_SpaceNeedle.DLL file.
I also looked to see what changes were made for the DLL files (at least
what changes were obvious to me). The Drop Zone patch puts three strings
into the DLL: the name ("Drop Zone Ride" with ID 33591), help ("Purchase
a Drop Zone Ride. Guests will enjoy taking a straight plunge down the
drop zone !" with ID 33942), and used thought ("That Drop Zone Ride ride
was cool, I have got to ride that again!!" with ID 33593). Similarly,
the Space Needle patch puts three strings into the DLL: "Space Needle
Ride" with ID 33594, "Purchase a Space Needle Ride. Guests will enjoy
taking getting a great view of the zoo on the Space Needle." with ID
33945, and "I could almost see the whole zoo from the Space Needle!"
with ID 33596. Though the name and help can be put into the ZTD instead
of a DLL, I don't know about the used thoughts. (Some day I will have to
try.)
Finally, I ran several tests of the two, with and without having the
patched DLL files, and with and without other user created ZTD and DLL
files. The Drop Zone and Space Needle worked in all cases. However, if
the DLL files were not patched, the name and help show up as blank.
Also, after guests used one of them, the used thought did not show up in
their list of thoughts. And if the price was set to low for the Space
Needle, the guest thoughts said "The prices at the are really low!"
instead of "The prices at the Space Needle Ride are really low!". I
tested with the original Zoo Tycoon, with the Zoo Tycoon patch from
Microsoft (the version ends with 9).
Here are some other observations from the tests. If the rides are going
up and down, a guest has entered them. The income does not increase
until after the guest has left. (This can be used to advantage. For
example, the original price can be low. Then, while the ride is moving,
the price can be increased. This final amount is what will be added to
the income.) For these rides, guests stay on the ride for 9 time units
(game days). The overall happiness of guests has to be high for them to
use rides (ie, the guest happiness bar has to be green). How often
guests use a ride also depends on the speed of your computer and how
many user created items you have in the Updates folder. With hundreds of
user created items, Zoo Tycoon runs extremely slow on my computer. In my
case, the game can't keep up with moving very many guests passed the
rides. Therefore, only 1 guest went on the ride for every 3 game months.
With only the Space Needle and no other user created items, the game
moves quite a number of guests passed the Space Needle. In this case, 1
or 2 guests entered the ride every game month.
searain79
posted May 13 2003, 09:24 AM
-----
Topic: *Stuck Guests*
dalcohs1
posted May 17 2003, 04:10 PM
Suddenly all my guests get stuck on benches, tables, etc. This never
happened before, but happens all the time now. Help.
searain79
posted May 17 2003, 05:31 PM
this occurs when you have certain user created items that are not
compatible
with the game.
go into c:program filesmicrosoft gameszoo tycoon and save your zoo.ini
file to a seperate location. (make a copy.. to say.. My Documents....)
now... to fix this easily, uninstall zoo tycoon. then go to c:program
filesmicrosoft games and delete the zoo tycoon folder.
then reinstall zt, dont add any patches. then install DD and MM.
then go back to the main folder and add back your zoo.ini file.
now. test your game.
you may need to start a NEW map.
if you find this is working, STICK to downloading up to 5 things at a time,
and then testing your game.
things like user created buildings are a huge issue, if they arent
compatible. to get around this, never use the patch over write to
overwrite any .dll's. only stick to the .ztd's.
*note: anything MS official works in the game.
*note- anything that comes with its own .dll is ok.
-----
Topic: *Glitch or my error?? HELP!!!!*
dalcohs1
posted May 13 2003, 07:07 PM
I have played the Scientific Research Scenario 2 times now, and both
times I have only been given 9 Dinos. I tried again assuming it was a
glitch the first time. Looking for lists of what is given it seems I
never recieved the Triceritops...if the site I found the list on is
accurate. Can anyone help me??
Thanks!!
searain79
posted May 17 2003, 05:33 PM
you recieve the triceritops after you create a exhibit, go back to the
exhibit and rename it Cretaceous Corral (case sensitive). then go look
in your animal adopt tab, and the triceritops will be there. - let me
take a look at that scenario file to see if i can come up with anything
else for you
-----
Topic: *Download troubles
*tccarlton
posted May 21 2003, 01:03 AM
Hello. I have downloaded some items to my desktop. Then from ZT I
clicked to check locally. It came up real fast that I had to restart the
game to have changes take place. As far as I know - these items aren't
available. So what do I do? How do I take them from the desktop into the
game?
Thanks.
Josh9327
posted May 21 2003, 01:14 AM
An easier way is to take the .dll file, take it into the main ZT folder,
and paste it there. Then take the icon with the "e" and place it into
the updates folder.
It's the best i can do, so if it is confusing, ask Mak or Rainbow Cheesecake the Winged Leprechaun.
searain79
posted May 21 2003, 07:50 AM
Josh, you did a great job!
the *.dll* goes in the main folder, located at cprogram filesmicrosoft
gameszoo tycoon
the *.ztd* goes in the updates folder, located at cprogram
filesmicrosoft gameszoo tycoonupdates
the *.zoo* file goes in the maps folder located at cprogram
filesmicrosoft gameszoo tycoonmaps
OR
if it is a saved game the .zoo file goes in cprogram filesmicrosoft
gameszoo tycoonsaved games
if it ends in *.zip*, you must first open the file with winzip, located
at www.winzip.com , and then put those files in the correct folder.
-----
Topic: *downloads*
jollyplayer
posted May 31 2003, 08:30 AM
Please how do i download new objects ,the page is locked .Ive payed
donation.
Mak1027
posted May 31 2003, 08:44 AM
It shows the lock meaning that you can't add new posts to the section,
but you should be able to get in it and download ....just click on it
jollyplayer
posted May 31 2003, 03:54 PM
all objects come down as broken links?
Mak1027
posted May 31 2003, 03:58 PM
try right clicking on the link and choose save target as and save it
that way ....let me know if it doesn't work, which downloads ...could be
a problem with one of the servers
jollyplayer
posted May 31 2003, 04:44 PM
sorry still not working.Downloads-Objects
searain79
posted May 31 2003, 04:55 PM
i can access them fine.
do you get an error at all, or a blank screen?
-----
Topic: *MM missing file*
alvoid
posted May 31 2003, 08:35 PM
I bought MM about a month and a half ago, and it was working fine when I
first installed it. Now, when I go to install it, it says that there was
an error copying the animals9.ztd file. The installation stops at 13%
and when I hit the Ignore button, it jumps up to 31%, so I am not sure
if the animals9.ztd file is the only one I am missing. I have tried to
install MM on 2 different computers with the same result.
The game seems to work fine, but I don't like the idea that it is
running with missing files. So, I was wondering if someone could maybe
send me the animals9.ztd file. I don't really want to go spend another
$30 to replace the disk when I might only be missing one or two files. I
would appreciate any help in this matter. Thank you. laugh.gif
searain79
posted May 31 2003, 08:53 PM
the animals9.ztd file you speech of is 127 MB large. - there is no way
this could be emailed. If this has been tried on both systems, then yeah
its either both cdroms (nah..) or just the cd- which im sure you've
known of.
If you cant clean it, i may be able to help- please tell me your not on
dialup...