Zoogrammy
posted Sep 4 2003, 04:34 PM
Has anyone had this problem? I have lost the ability to choose the show
frequency, the jobs for the maintenance men and the buttons that turn on
and off foliage, buildings etc. These choices just don't exist and the
game appears like it did before I had MM.
searain79
posted Sep 4 2003, 06:03 PM
have you added anything recently? most wonky. Zoogrammy
posted Sep 4 2003, 06:40 PM
I added the invisible path from Zoo Tek and the Party Pagota also two
zoos from ZA: Dump Zoo and Iceage portal Zoo. I deleted all when I saw I
had a problem but the enhancements did not come back. I don't have ZTCC
and there were a few items from the pack in the Iceage zoo. Could that
have caused the problem? When I deleted them shouldn't things have gone
back to normal?
Juggernaut
posted Sep 4 2003, 07:14 PM
My advice is that your mm .lang file or whatever its called is missing
most likely I've dealt with that by uninstalling (take the zoo.ini out
first) and then reinstall If that don't work then nothing will
Zoogrammy
posted Sep 4 2003, 09:26 PM
Thanks for your response. I decided to do a system restore (I have XP)
for two day previous and it restored my game. I also had dl the Ben and
Jerry's restaurant from ZA which has a dll. I don't know if that was the
cause but I'm hesitant to try it again.
searain79
posted Sep 4 2003, 09:47 PM
*QUOTE*
My advice is that your mm .lang file or whatever its called is missing
most likely I've dealt with that by uninstalling (take the zoo.ini out
first) and then reinstall If that don't work then nothing will
a missing language file won't cause what is happening here.
always be leary on what you add in, user created wise, just in case
something accidently overwrites something its not supposed to!
so best bet is to download and install a user created item, and then
test your game. adding in a load of things with 1 wonky thing can
totally give you a headache
a system restore most likely removed whatever it is you added in to
cause this. that was a smart idea on your part, zoogrammy. good job!
Jay
posted Sep 4 2003, 10:39 PM
I also do not think a missing true language file would cause missing
buttons. However, a missing (or overwritten) res200.dll file might. Yes,
the system restore was a great idea. (It is also scary. Sometimes MS
Windows does not remember everything it should. So use judiciously.)
-----
Topic: *Big Cat senario Glitch/Bug.. Please Please Anyone Help?*
ladyrigante
posted Sep 4 2003, 01:58 PM
my jaguars are not being recognised as jaguars.. this means no matter
how well i do in this senario i can never complete it. each time i fail
because i haven't adopted 2 jaguars.. even though i have.
please please.. anyone with any advise leave a message to to help my
poor frazzled nerves!!
i can't advance to the higher game senario levels without this game
completed to unlock them.
i have never had any other problems at all with ZooTycoon
thanks. x ladyriggy
searain79
posted Sep 4 2003, 02:13 PM
man, i can imagine how frazzled you are.
here is a way to do this, without a hammer.
click here
<http://invisionfree.com/forums/searains ... ic=34&st=0>
scn11 is the scenario for the cats.
please tell me how this goes for you.
ladyrigante
posted Sep 5 2003, 07:57 AM
hey there, thanks for the fast reply. i appreciate it.
i wasn't able to edit the text though.. found the scenario.ztd easy
enough.. should it be a folder with the scenarios inside? my
scenario.ztd is one file with all scenarios listed on the same page. i
took the file to desktop.. opened with wordpad but i get a gobbledygook
with a few words i can pick out here and there.. not the clear command
lists i had expected to see... any ideas?
that hammer is looking more tempting..lol to think i bought this game a
month ago to keep my daugher amused in the school holidays and now i'm
the one hooked!
searain79
posted Sep 5 2003, 09:29 AM
once you find scenario.ztd, this needs to be opened with a program
called winzip - or winrar. get winzip at www.winzip.com
once you download winzip, install it. once thatsd been done, you should
be able to open the ztd file with winzip- and there you will find the
folders.. you'll look for the folder called scn11, and open that up,
then look for scn11.scn - this is the file you drag to the desktop and
open this file with wordpad.
if this doesn't get you anywhere, let me know- there is one more step we
can do that is totally less steps, i just need to find this silly thing
Jay
posted Sep 6 2003, 02:08 AM
I believe it is possible to edit the zoo.ini file to say that a scenario
is completed. However, I do not do the scenarios myself, so I do not
know what the change would be. Maybe someone that has completed scenario
11 can look in their zoo.ini file to see. (It would be near the end of
the file in the '[scenario]' section.)
For those that like scenarios, the tutorial for changing scenario.ztd is
very informative. I have a few suggestions. First, you do not have to
delete so many lines. To remove the need for adopting 2 jaguars in
scenario/scn11/scn11.scn, all that is needed is to change
goal=j
to
;goal=j ; I commented this line so I do not have to adopt 2 jaguars
The semicolon at the beginning turns the rule into a comment, which Zoo
Tycoon will ignore.
My second suggestion is to not overwrite the original scenario.ztd (or
any other Microsoft provided) file. Instead, there are two choices.
1) Put the scenario/scn11/scn11.scn file in a ztd file of its own, such
as scn11.ztd. Then put scn11.ztd in the Updates folder. Zoo Tycoon will
use things it finds in the Updates folder as an override for things in
the main folder. If you are changing more than one scenario, you can put
them all in a "MyChangedScenarios.ztd" file.
2) Create a scenario folder in the Updates folder. Create a scn11 folder
in the scenario folder. Put the modified scn11.scn file in the scn11
folder. I believe MS Windows comes with a utility to extract files from
a ztd (or zip) file but does not come with a utility to put files into a
ztd file. Therefore this approach allows someone to change a file
without needing to get winrar or winzip. However, if one is changing
more than one scenario, it is better to use the first approach.
Otherwise, each changed file counts toward the Zoo Tycoon file limit.
searain79
posted Sep 6 2003, 10:22 AM
right jay- there is that zoo.ini thing you can set to have it look as if
you have completed the scenario... now.. finding that post is another.....
-----
Topic: *error report*
Gemkid
posted Sep 1 2003, 03:09 PM
i was wondering, how come every 30 minutes when i play zoo tycoon my
computer says zootycoon has encoutered a problem. it now close. how come
it does that?
kielo91
posted Sep 1 2003, 03:41 PM
I get the same thing.
With me, I either had too many downloads in myZoo Tycoon/Updates folder, or I had scratches on my cd. I'm not sure,
but I *think* it may be the amount of ZTD files. About how many do you
have
searain79
posted Sep 1 2003, 05:29 PM
if you have any user created items in you game:
is this just Zoo Tycoon, Or Dino Digs, Marine Mania or Complete Collection?
uninstall zoo tycoon. go back to c: program filesmicrosoft games and
delete the zoo tycoon folder. reinstall. do not add any patches.
/***Before you EVER reinstall/uninstall
if you EVER need to reinstall the game, or you know you need to
reinstall windows, or whatever the case may be,
go into c:program filesmicrosoft gameszoo tycoon and MAKE A COPY of the
zoo.ini file, and put it somewhere.. like in My Documents or something..
(do this by right-clicking on the file, choosing *copy* and then go into
MY Documents and choose *paste*)
THIS baby saved all your scenario settings, game settings ETC (but not
saved games.. those are in their own folder)
so once you have reinstalled, paste this file back in the main c:Program
FilesMicrosoft GamesZoo tycoon folder***/
kielo91
posted Sep 1 2003, 08:28 PM
Thanks for the tip searain! biggrin.gif
Jay
posted Sep 3 2003, 12:59 AM
I have seen where some user created animals cause the game to crash
after a period of time. There are many reasons for this. Of those that I
have seen fail, I put them into 3 categories.
Category one, they were not programmed correctly for some time based
event. For example, after a period of time they might try giving birth
or try going for a swim, or whatever. But that was not programmed
correctly. So the animal appears to work for a while before crashing the
game.
Category two, they were programmed correctly but require a specific game
version. For example, an animal might eventually want to play with a toy
or swim in a tank, but that toy or tank only exists in a newer version
of the game. Again, the animal appears to work for a while before
crashing the game.
Category three is an off-shoot of category one. The animals were not
programmed correctly involving unhappiness or fence maintenance. In this
case, they are supposed to die or escape, but the game crashes instead.
I put this in a separate category because if the happiness and
maintenance is maintained, a crash does not occur. Fortunately, the game
gives enough clues concerning these.
The number of user created items can affect category three. The more
items there are, the less time Zoo Tycoon has each minute to do things
that increase happiness. Instead, it spends a large amount of time each
minute just swapping information between disks and memory.
Fortunately, far more user created animals exist that do not cause
problems as opposed to user created animals that cause problems.
Unfortunately, if a user created animal is causing one of these
problems, it is not always easy to find which one.
searain79
posted Sep 3 2003, 10:07 AM
Gemkid
posted Sep 3 2003, 08:36 PM
nevermind. it works fine now. weird, my computer in my room acts up a lot.
Missy
posted Sep 4 2003, 01:30 PM
Is it just animals that cause this time shut down or can objects do it
also?
searain79
posted Sep 4 2003, 01:56 PM
objects can do this too. and video drivers can do this...
Missy
posted Sep 4 2003, 04:41 PM
I only get the error message when I play dino digs.
searain79
posted Sep 4 2003, 09:56 PM
i noticed, when i added in marine mania, my game started to totally wonk
out. It was a clean install of the game, i had nothing but my saved .ini
file in there. it ended up being my video driver. it worked fine with
ZT, and with DD, but when Marine Mania came into play, my video driver
just descided i couldn't play any longer.
what did i try?
I hit it, with this trusty tool:
after that didnt worketh, i hopped over to
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
and i hooked myself up with the newest driver, and it worked out,
painlessly.
this isn't to say this is what /your/ issue is, im just posting this
because if its *not* items in the updates folder thats causing the
issue, its got to be something else causing the issue. and lots of times
its video. hope this info helps any of you.
and please let me know how this goes...
Jay
posted Sep 4 2003, 11:06 PM
The list of possible causes for delayed crashes is endless. Anything
running at the same time can cause problems, be it drivers, other
programs, or MS Windows modules. Also, hardware and lack of hardware can
cause delayed crashes. Any of these problems can occur at any time, in
Zoo Tycoon or not. But Zoo Tycoon is very intensive in what it uses
(high memory, many simultaneous disk files, disk cache, virtual memory,
simultanous animations, sound, mouse, ...). Therefore it has a higher
chance of showing problems than elsewhere. DD uses more files and bigger
animation graphics than ZT. MM uses more files than DD. Blue Fang
probably also added optimizations to DD and more in MM. Since every
program is different and every user's computer is different, it is easy
for something to work for one person or at one time, and then fail for
another person or at another time.
As for user created objects, I do not believe they can cause delayed
crashes. They can cause crashes from doing something with them, such as
causing their popup description to show (sometimes accidentally) and the
description (default language) was not programmed correctly. They can
also cause stuck guests. But I have not seen the delayed crashes like
user animal problems or video drivers.
searain79
posted Sep 5 2003, 09:33 AM
so we just need a hammer, Jay?
Jay
posted Sep 6 2003, 12:40 AM
Or a left handed, double barrel, platinum fortified, diamond tipped
jackhammer. smile.gif
kielo91
posted Sep 6 2003, 01:50 PM
Jay's right. I used to get error reports when I started playing
scenarios. As soon as the screen shifted over to the desired scenario,
it would chug & then stop. The sound would continue, but all of a sudden
there was that dreaded error report message
. And if you have asaved game that all of a sudden crashes, you will not be able to play
that saved game correctly again. It will crash eventually, even if you
get rid of a few items out of your Updates folder. So, you would just
have to give up your beloved saved zoo & start another one. I tried
preventing the error report from coming up in my saved games that
already showed a message, including taking out items from my ZTD
folders, but nothing helped. I don't know if anyone else found a way to
fix this, but I sure couldn't. sad.gif
P.S: Good one Searain! user posted image
-----
Topic: *Problem with CC Scenario*
bluememaw
posted Sep 8 2003, 12:54 PM
I've run into a problem with the 16th scenario in CC, Valley of the
Dinosaurs. Everything goes well until the end of May or the first of
June in year 2. I have a guest rating of 96, an animal rating of 98, and
a zoo rating averaging from 86-89. Then the Allosaurus escapes which of
course ruins my chance of winning the scenario. The first time, I tried
to click on the dino and put it back in the exhibit. The pinching finger
did not light up. It remained gray. I was not able to pick up the dino.
I had been checking animal happiness, damaged fencing, etc. as I was
waiting for the remaining months to pass. (I finished the zoo in August
of year 1.) The exhibit menu did not indicate any damage in the
Allosaurus exhibit. I lost.
The second time, the same thing happened. The first of June arrived...I
am sitting here staring at the exhibit, keeping the dinos away from the
fence...boom, three sections of fence destroyed and the dino sitting in
the path. Down goes the zoo rating. I paused the game and built a Wooly
Mammoth exhibit hoping to recoup the rating. When that exhibit was
built, I was able to "catch" the Allosaurus and return it to its exhibit
and repair the fence. All of this was done on pause. It was too late to
increase the rating. It creeped up to 59 by July 1 and I lost again.
I am going to try one more time and not use the Allosaurus.
Any one have any suggestions as to what is causing this? I've posted
this at ZA also in hopes of finding an answer.
theminority21
posted Sep 8 2003, 04:48 PM
did you try sinking/raising your exhibits? animals can't go down/up
cliffs. i'd suggest raising it a level. (also, when you raise your
exhibit a level, you can use any size fence. i successfully kept an
allosaurus, spinosaurus, apatosaurus and many more large dinosaurs like
that using the low concrete wall and raising the exhibit one level.
happy.gif)
bluememaw
posted Sep 8 2003, 06:19 PM
Thanks, Minority. I appreciate the suggestion.
What I do when I am playing the scenarios is use Wisco's suggestions for
100% suitability and animal happiness. I don't like wasting time
fiddling around with terrain, trees, how many rocks, etc. when I am in a
scenario. His information has always been excellent when I am working
against the clock.
I played the scenario a third time. I did not use the Allosaurus.
Finally won. I'm going to put the Allosaurus in a freeform zoo and see
what happens. Weird.
theminority21
posted Sep 9 2003, 06:19 PM
congrats!
when i said raise it up a level, i meant that you should use the cliff
setting and bring THE WHOLE EXHIBIT up. you don't have to change
anything at all in the exhibit. you're simply moving the exhibit up a
notch.
here's what i mean:
user posted image
-----
Topic: *about dll files*
hilde
posted Sep 10 2003, 01:11 PM
I have all these backup dll files. Do I need those or can I delete them?
I get them when I click on the patch who comes with some downloads.
hilde
Wally
posted Sep 10 2003, 01:26 PM
you need dll files they gotta go in the main zoo tycoon directory..
and the ztd files in the updates folder...
glad to be at your service..
searain79
posted Sep 10 2003, 02:11 PM
those backup ones are handy to hold onto- those are clean backup files,
incase the patch mucks them up!
hilde
posted Sep 10 2003, 05:06 PM
Ok, so I keep them.
But I do not understand it, i have something like 11 lang0.dll files, I
thought each download had to have different dll file so they should not
mess up for each other. Apparently that is not the case.
hilde, still
searain79
posted Sep 10 2003, 06:29 PM
well, yes you can get rid of them. save one. biggrin.gif
Jay
posted Sep 11 2003, 02:14 AM
A patch file takes the current lang0.dll and adds more information to
it. Therefore, in theory, they will not mess up each other. Of course,
as usual, reality is different than theory. I have seen two types of
problems with patch files. Sometimes, two people use the same message
number for different things. Usually this does not hurt anything, but it
can be confusing, seeing the wrong description for one of the objects.
If this is a concern for you, after installing a new object with a
patch, not only test the object but also retest all other objects that
had patches. In my case, I do this retest just to note any conflicts. I
do not remove the patch if I see a conflict.
Also, sometimes the creator of the patch file does not put the correct
length in the patch. This is an annoying problem because it usually does
not cause a problem right away. It is usually after the next patch is
added when the problem appears. Therefore, while I'm testing a new
object and patch, I keep two backup lang0.dll files. If the test looks
good, I delete the oldest of the two backup files. Then I rename the
most recent backup file to indicate what it was, such as
Lang0_before_baskin_robbins.dll.
Finally, do not keep the backup files in the Zoo Tycoon folder. (To be
safe, do not keep them in any folder Zoo Tycoon creates.) The reason is
that, if the backup files are in the Zoo Tycoon folder, Zoo Tycoon will
read the backup dll files in addition to the new dll file. This does not
cause any conflict between the files, but Zoo Tycoon has a limit of how
many dll files it can read. When the limit is reached, Zoo Tycoon will
not start any more.
hilde
posted Sep 11 2003, 06:30 AM
Ok, this was some very good answers, now I understand it laugh.gif
I have made a testzoo who will not be deleted, where I will put in new
downloads and test it before I start use them for my zoo`s.
Thank you, I should have asked you before biggrin.gif
-----
Topic: *Show tank mixing*
Praiser
posted Sep 8 2003, 09:55 AM
How can I prevent the gates from showtank to exhibit tanks from opening
for the wrong animal? This happens when I have both California Sea Lions
and Southern Sea Otters attached to the same showtank. I end up with
semi-happy animals in the wrong exhibit tanks...there was one zoo where
they never mingled...but I don't remember how I set it up!
Jane
posted Sep 8 2003, 10:45 AM
They will go to the exhibit most suitable after peforming so you have to
make sure that they are really happy in their own exhibit
superlion
posted Sep 8 2003, 10:51 AM
Make sure when you place the animals originally, that you place them in
their own exhibits and not the show tank....
Blackhorse
posted Sep 13 2003, 08:28 AM
I have often wondered this myself... maybe I'll give that a go, too.
-----
Topic: *yikes! dodgy cd...*
Blackhorse
posted Sep 13 2003, 08:26 AM
Hi, can anyone help me with a problem I'm having?
Recently my MM CD started to crash almost constantly every time I
started a new map. It would come up with one of those Microsoft Error
Report things, and it got so bad it started to do it after just a minute
or less on the game. Eventually I got fed up with this, and removed all
my downloads from the game, thinking maybe these were messing it up. But
it still did it, which led me to believe something is wrong with my CD -
only I can't find any obvious scratches or marks on it. I've uninstalled
MM, and am just playing the original ZT.
Does anyone know which it's doing this?
theminority21
posted Sep 13 2003, 03:22 PM
evil disk! 8O
try reinstalling MM. that might work.
searain79
posted Sep 13 2003, 03:32 PM
your best bet- like theminority said, uninstall zoo tycoon, THEN, go
back to c /program files/microsoft games and delete the zoo tycoon folder.
now reinstall, do NOT add any patches, or anything.
test out your game, load a new freeform map- tell us how this goes!
Blackhorse
posted Sep 14 2003, 02:50 AM
Okay, thank you. I'll try that out ASAP.
-----
Topic: *How do you install "hacks"???*
GRAYCAT
posted Sep 14 2003, 07:19 PM
Please! could someone tell me how to install "hacks"??? Most are ZTD
files, so wouldn't they go into the Updates folder, as do other ZTD files?
It appears to me there are several "update folders": (ZUPDATE, ZUPDATE1,
Updates, & dlupdate). Which one? Any knowledge you'd be willing to
share, would be greatly appreciated.
lilgamefreek
posted Sep 14 2003, 07:47 PM
Updates. smile.gif
GRAYCAT
posted Sep 14 2003, 07:54 PM
Thank-you very much, it's nice to know I was right!!!
thanks again!!
Jay
posted Sep 15 2003, 12:21 AM
Here is a slight caveat. Unless the installation instructions for the
specific hack says differently, put the hack in the Updates folder. Zoo
Tycoon loads files from folders in a certain order. Sometimes a hack is
trying to override something that is in the Updates folder, without
completely replacing it. When this is the case, the instructions should
say to put the hack in the dlupdate folder instead.
And, welcome to the Lounge GRAYCAT.
-----
Topic: *Zoo Tycoon Error - please help*
pkaravis
posted Sep 13 2003, 09:41 PM
Everytime I load Zoo Tycoon I keep getting a Microsoft Error Report and
I don't know why. I tried numerous times and I rebooted but still
nothing. I do have a lot of User-Made stuff, I don't know it that
affects the game or anything.
Can someone please help?
Jay
posted Sep 14 2003, 12:05 AM
Though most user made items work without a problem, it is possible for a
user made item to cause problems. You can try creating a folder
somewhere else (outside of the Zoo Tycoon folder) and moving everything
from the Zoo TycoonUpdates folder to the new folder. Then, with an empty
Updates folder, see if Zoo Tycoon works. If Zoo Tycoon works, you can
try adding the user made items some at a time and testing them. If Zoo
Tycoon still does not work with an empty Updates folder, try
reinstalling Zoo Tycoon (after saving the zoo.ini file and any saved
games). Either way, we would love to hear how things went.
pkaravis
posted Sep 14 2003, 01:28 PM
I tried to delete some files from the Zoo Tycoon Updates folder a while
ago, but the files weren't there. Usually I install a file into the game
and then delete it from the folder I save it in. I'm not very good with
computers either.
searain79
posted Sep 14 2003, 06:52 PM
when exactly do you get the message?
- as soon as you click on the icon to launch the game?
- as soon as you get the main screen menu?
- as soon as you load a saved game
- as soon as you load a freeform map
- as soon as you click on an animal from the animals adopt tab?
- as soon as you click on a object or fence item from the purchase menu?
- as soon as you click on an animal in an exhibit
- when you are just bumbling along playing your zoo, not doing anything
in particular?
anything helps.
pkaravis
posted Sep 14 2003, 08:36 PM
Sometimes I get it when I click on the icon, but usually after the
screen loads. AFter the bar finishes and it's supposed to take me to the
Main menu.
Jay
posted Sep 15 2003, 12:06 AM
It is not good that you get the error message at more than one place.
That sounds like a corrupted file somewhere or a hardware problem. (I
thought it might also be having too many dll files from user created
objects such as buildings and fences. But that should cause a problem in
just one place, not two.) The safest thing to try, although it takes
time, is to reinstall the game using the following steps:
1) If you have very much disk space, you might want to create a new
folder somewhere and copy everything from the Zoo Tycoon folder and all
of its folders (such as Updates and Saved Games) into the new folder.
This is in case you have downloads in one of those folders. This would
save you the trouble of having to download everything again later.
2) Look for the Zoo Tycoon uninstall program and run it if you see it.
3) Make sure the Zoo Tycoon folder is gone. If not, delete everything
still in it and delete the Zoo Tycoon folder itself.
4) Install Zoo Tycoon again (and none of the expansions).
5) If you only have the original Zoo Tycoon and not any of the
expansions, you might need to download the patch from the Microsoft web
site.
6) Run Zoo Tycoon. It should now work again. If so, you can install any
Microsoft expansion packs again. If Zoo Tycoon still gives an error
message, something else must have changed on your computer that has
nothing to do with Zoo Tycoon.
Dragon_of_doom
posted Sep 15 2003, 12:07 AM
Hm, I sometimes get that but it never happend to me in a long time.Maybe it's a download cause I onetime downloaded a Mississippi Aligator
and every time I touched the Icon with my mouse it whent back to my
desktop. I deleted it and everything is fine. maybe thats the proublem.
I hope you can get it fixed.
pkaravis
posted Sep 15 2003, 09:18 AM
The problem is, I probably don't install the items the same way as
everything one.
I have a separate folder that has nothing to do with ZT. This is where I
put all my downloaded stuff in. BTW, when I click Download, I save it to
my comp, not open the file.
Then if it is .zip I right click and choose Extract to here. And I load
ZT, go to Get new items, go to the folder and pick a file and click OK.
Then after I see it has installed successfully I delete the file from my
folder.
Don't know if this is different than any of you guys do it.
Maybe I should just uninstall.
pkaravis
posted Sep 15 2003, 09:41 AM
Btw, does anyone know of any specific files off the top of their head
that could cause errors?
Jay
posted Sep 16 2003, 02:50 AM
There are many possible causes for these types of errors. Because these
errors are happening before the main menu, it is probably not a specific
user item. Since the errors are happening at two different times
(clicking icon and after the progress bar), that indicates a type of
corruption, one that is affected somehow by timing. But there are many
types of corruption. For example, the corruption might be because there
is not enough memory on the computer. The more user items you have, the
more memory Zoo Tycoon needs. Or the corruption can be in a file. Maybe
a patch to a dll file was accidentally stopped before it finished. Or
maybe something was added (software or hardware) or updated on the
computer that has nothing to do with Zoo Tycoon (a video driver, a
Windows patch, a new game, a digital camera, anything). Or maybe the
computer is reaching some other limit such as the number of dll files.
Or ...
Rather than trying to guess what a problem is, it is usually best to go
back to a point where things worked before. The safest is to uninstall
and then reinstall Zoo Tycoon.
As for adding new downloads, some people use the "Get new items" within
Zoo Tycoon, just like you. Others, like me, manually put the ztd/dll/zoo
files into the appropriate folders. In my case, I then test the item
right away and, if there is a problem, I know where I put things.
Therefore I can remove the files right away and put back any backup dll
files.
I hope this helps.
pkaravis
posted Sep 16 2003, 10:39 AM
Alright! Thanks for all the help. Don't know what the problem is, but
it's certainly not anything to do with Memory (as far as I know) because
I checked how much we have used and not even half the amount of memory
is taken up.
pkaravis
posted Sep 16 2003, 11:44 AM
I need help. I'm trying to do it the Updates way and it says that I
cannot Paste a file in that folder. It says they are read only.
searain79
posted Sep 16 2003, 11:55 AM
what version of windows are you running? ME? 98? XP? 2000?
pkaravis
posted Sep 16 2003, 01:50 PM
XP
searain79
posted Sep 16 2003, 08:49 PM
when you get that message with XP-
that, i think is a permissions mask.
are you on the admin account for XP, or a different user account?
Permissions are set with limited access for certain security reasons-
the owner of the system will have to set permissions to full access.
now, how many items are IN this updates folder? as jay was saying,
too many = wonky! zoo tycoon might be just simply croaking, trying to
load so much!
if this is NOT the case, and you only have say, around 200 - 300 items
in the updates folder (400+ = nearing your limit!) then we'll look at
your video driver, which could be the case.
now, before we get to this, i should of asked you this before:
has this ALWAYS happened to your game, or have you been playing for a
while, and it JUST start happening recently?
-----
Topic: *Zoo Tycoon Error - please help*
pkaravis
posted Sep 16 2003, 09:33 PM
First, I don't think I have an Admin name unless you can change it
because there are two accounts on my comp-mine and my brother's. I guess
I could try it other the other one.
Well, i definetly think that I don't have anywhere near 400 Items.
Currently what is in this folder is the items that are there when you
install it. No user-made items.
It happened every once in a while (both when I clicked and before the
Main Menu) and still worked, but after I installed a few more items it
just stopped working.
Thanks for all your help so far!
searain79
posted Sep 16 2003, 10:19 PM
alright.
go to c program filesmicrosoft gameszoo tycoon
and there is a file called zoo.ini. save a copy of this into My Documents.
now. uninstall zoo tycoon,
go back to *c program filesmicrosoft games* and delete the zoo tycoon
folder.
take deep breath.
install zoo tycoon, dino digs and marine mania, or if you have complete
collection, install the whole thing.
do not add any patches or anything.
put back that saved zoo.ini file and load your game.
do NOT use a saved game, try a blank freeform map, and run it until you
either fall alseep, or it crashes.
IF there are NO crashes, then it was something in the updates folder.
If there IS STILL crashes, let us know. then we move on to the next step.
I have a hammer waiting for you.
pkaravis
posted Sep 16 2003, 10:34 PM
I didn't see one called zoo.ini but I saw two that were named Zoo.
Btw, I already unistalled it and reinstalled it and it works fine. I
guess it was just one of the files.
Jay
posted Sep 17 2003, 03:18 AM
That is great that you got Zoo Tycoon working again. Since it is working
again, you do not need to do anything with zoo.ini. But, just for
information, you saw two files named Zoo. One of them is the Zoo Tycoon
program (zoo.exe) and the other is the zoo.ini file. They should have
different icon pictures. Also, it is possible to change the properties
of "My Computer" in XP to see the ".exe" or ".ini" extension. However,
many people just learn to recognize the different icons.
It is always good to be able to get back to a place where things work.
Now you are adding user created items. Everyone has their own style. I
like to add just a few items at a time. I write down what ztd files I
put in the Updates folder, what dll files I put in the Zoo Tycoons
folder, and what zoo files I put in the Saved Games folder. Then I start
the game and test the items. I put the items into a zoo. For objects, I
put them both outside exhibits and inside exhibits with animals, and
both on land and on water (if the item allows this). For animals, I read
the Info screen for them. Then I test them in an exhibit with some other
animal, even if the other animal does not like it (which is usually
true). I put in both a male and female. I then pick up the animal and
drop it elsewhere. I try dropping it in water (if the animal allows
this) and on land. I make sure the game goes for at least two game
months with the items. If the game crashes, I know what I added and
where. So I go to the folders and delete the files immediately and add a
note to my list. If I see something strange, but not a game crash, I
decide whether or not to leave the item in the folder. After I do this
procedure, I will do it again with a few more items. This is my
approach. You can determine what approach works best for you.
In your case, I do not think the problem was a ztd file. I cannot rule
out a patch or dll file completely, although I have not seen this type
of problem myself.
I do not know if you are still having problems pasting into the Updates
folder. If so, let us know and we can walk through this. That sounds
like a permissions issue to me as well (especially since there is more
than one user account), but that is easier to determine compared to the
previous problems. If you are still having problems pasting into the
Updates folder, which account was used when you reinstalled Zoo Tycoon ?
Was it your account or your brother's ? When you tried pasting into the
Updates folder, which account was used ? Was it your account or your
brother's ?
pkaravis
posted Sep 17 2003, 08:39 AM
Thanks for the help. Yes, I am haviing problems pasting them in the folder.
No one ever uses my account, since most of the things we have saved are
under my brother's, so everyone uses it.
Jay
posted Sep 18 2003, 03:52 AM
So, just to make sure I understand... You have a user created item, such
as itemxyz.ztd. You used My Computer to go to where itemxyz.ztd is on
your computer. You clicked on itemxyz.ztd with the right mouse button.
You clicked Copy. You used My Computer to go to Program Files ...
Microsoft Games ... Zoo Tycoon ... Updates. You clicked somewhere in the
Updates folder with the right mouse button. You clicked Paste. And this
is where you get the read only error. (The above approach works for me,
but the XP computer I used only has one user.)
If the above approach does not work, you can try the Command Prompt. You
have to do some typing, but this sometimes works when the mouse way does
not work. And, if it does not work, it sometimes gives a better error
message. To start a Command Prompt, click Start ... All Programs ...
Accessories ... Command Prompt. In the box that pops up, you want to go
to where the user item is. For example, if the user item is in Documents
and Settings ... My Documents, you would type the following:
cd "Documents and SettingsMy Documents"
If you type in: dir
you should see the user item. Then you can copy the user item to the Zoo
Tycoon Updates folder by typing the following:
copy "itemxyz.ztd" "Program FilesMicrosoft GamesZoo TycoonUpdates"
The spaces, quotation marks, and backslashes are important. You will hit
the Enter key after typing each line. (No, Searain, not hit the Enter
key with a hammer.)
There are other possible things to try as well. For example, if you go
to the Zoo Tycoon folder via My Computer and click on the Updates folder
with the right mouse button, then click Properties, there might be
something there indicating what is wrong. In my case, I see a Read Only
box with a light green dot in it. But the XP computer I used only has
one user. Maybe your computer will show a check mark in the box. If so,
you can try to remove it. Or maybe your computer will show who owns the
Updates folder.
Another possibility is to try to figure out who has admin permissions on
your computer. With admin permissions, any file and folder can be
written to.
I hope something here helps. If not, you can try to give us more
information.
-----
Topic: *I don't have a problem, but Crazy Animal does*
J. Mand
posted May 21 2003, 04:51 PM
A certain Crazy Amimal posted this on the Dutch forum:
*QUOTE*
hoi, ik heb misschien een domme vraag, maar ik kom er niet uit en ik kan
geen engels, vandaar dat ik mijn vraag hier zet. Ik heb sinds kort zoo
tycoon en marine mania, maar als ik een gewone tank en een showtank enzo
heb gemaakt, en dolfijnen geven een show weg, gaan mijn gasten niet op
de tribune zitten, ze blijven er de hele tijd voor staan.Ook levert het
geen geld op, dus de gasten gaan ook echt niet zitten. Ik snap het niet,
wat doe ik verkeerd?
In English, that would mean:
"
Hi, I might have a dumb question, but I can't figure it out and I don't
speak English, that's why I put my question here. (that was actually
pretty irrelevant, JM)
I've had ZT and MM for a short time now, but if I've made an ordinary
tank and a showtant and such and the dolpins are giving a show, my
guest's won't sit down on the tribune, they just stand in front of it
all the time. It also makes no money, so the guest really won't sit
down. I don't get it, what am I doing wrong?
"
I posted it here since no one of the Duch team knew.
Josh9327
posted May 21 2003, 05:14 PM
Sometimes, guest are a little picky about prices. Too high: No one
comes, Too Low: Guest swarm in and the grandstands are full. So you need
juuuuuuuuuust right of a price.
bluememaw
posted May 21 2003, 07:48 PM
Sorry, I can't help. I have never had this problem.
Mak1027
posted May 21 2003, 09:05 PM
also, make sure the grandstands are only one square from the show tank
....if they are any further away it seems the guests don't bother to go
into them.
searain79
posted May 21 2003, 10:04 PM
get him to delete a grandstand (tribune,) and if he see's guests
underneath it, flooding out, have him
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.
whew. - keep us posted Jmand.
Golden_lion
posted Sep 19 2003, 07:07 PM
i know it! just reinstall zoo tycoon that happenned to me is because of
a user-made thing
-----
Topic: *Which cd?*
im_a_newbie_2
posted Sep 21 2003, 04:20 AM
Hi, just tell me which of the two yellowy -greeny cd's to insert in the
cd rom in order to play the game. The instructions tell me to insert the
cd with 'ZooTycoon Complete Collection' on it but they both say that!
The only difference is that one is cd1 and the other is cd2
Wally
posted Sep 21 2003, 05:12 AM
doesn't it says instalation disc or something?
katie
posted Sep 21 2003, 05:53 AM
Well why not insert Disc 1 and see if ZTCC runs. If not, insert Disc 2.
Katie.
im_a_newbie_2
posted Sep 21 2003, 07:42 AM
laugh.gif It appears the first cd is just to play the ZooTycoon, and the
second is the expansion, so I guess I use that one. So thanx to you both
-----
Topic: *Ugh, game crashing every five seconds.*
SmurfsInChains
posted Sep 21 2003, 12:53 AM
Okay, ever since I got DD and MM my game has been
crashing (messages comes up saying it performed an error and has to
close). First I thought it was the version of Windows I had so I got XP.
Same thing kept happening. I've tried everything. I've looked for
patches, re-installed, deleted everything. What else can I do?! Someone
help...PLEASE!
Jay
posted Sep 21 2003, 01:19 AM
Welcome to the lounge.
Can you give us more information and a slight history ? For example, did
you have the original Zoo Tycoon before DD and MM ? When was the last
time you did not have the problem and what environment was that ? Do you
have user created items ? If so, how many and how many user created dll
files? At what point does the crash occur ? How much memory does your
computer have ? What video driver and version do you have ? When you
reinstalled, did you make sure the original folder was gone ?
The more details you can give us, the better chance we have at solving
the problem.
superlion
posted Sep 21 2003, 09:35 AM
(looking at your username)... it'd be quite a coincidence if you're from
TASIS... 8O (middle schoolers there are called smurfs because of their
uniform)
-----
Topic: *zoo tycoon and marine mania problem very serious*
Golden_lion
posted Sep 22 2003, 03:37 PM
when i installed 2 files in zoo admin the ice cream stand and idont remember wich one else they didnt work,then i unistalled them zoo
tycoon doesnt work i reinnstalled it and it didnt came whit any freeform
map and any scenario then i installed mm and just before finishes
loading it says tht an error has ocurred and i cant play
help meplease
searain79
posted Sep 22 2003, 03:48 PM
uninstall zoo tycoon, go back to c program filesmicosoft games and
delete the "zoo tycoon" folder.
reinstall zoo tycoon, and all the expansion packs.
you should be good to go!!
-----
Topic: *TRYING TO INSTALL MARINE MANIA*
ztmm38
posted Sep 22 2003, 06:16 PM
hey do any of u know what a hard disk?
Twilight_Star
posted Sep 22 2003, 06:20 PM
you only have to post this once... what are you having trouble with?
Raindragon
posted Sep 23 2003, 10:03 AM
I don't quite get what you're trying to say
Sorrysearain79
posted Sep 23 2003, 10:20 AM
hard disk is usually refering to your hard drive, (you c drive)
are you are trying to install marine mania and you get this message?
any messages you get during an install of the game can mean many
different things.
please, any extra info would help us out greatly, in order to help you out!
-----
Topic: *love this game but its very frustrating!!!!!!!*
j_d_r_c_4
posted Sep 27 2003, 10:37 PM
i have zt with both expansions, im running windows 98, during game play
the game glitches and pauses runs very slowly, it makes it very hard to
place items; create things or do anything, i get mad and quit playing
then go through the same thing the next time, i have done everything to
solve this prob such as download drivers, direct x change the game
settings i have checked all the system requirments and they are more
then required to play this game, if there is anything at all that i have
over looked please help me.
thanksJay
posted Sep 27 2003, 11:03 PM
Welcome to the Lounge.
Have these problems just started or have they always existed for you ?
Did you try to uninstall Zoo Tycoon, delete the Zoo Tycoon folder, and
then reinstall ? Do you have any user created items ? What is the speed
of your computer ? How much physical memory (not virtual memory) does it
have ? What video driver and which video driver version do you have ?
What graphics options (such as blending and screen size) are set in Zoo
Tycoon ? What other programs or drivers do you have running at the same
time ? Are other programs running slow ?
sheila77
posted Sep 27 2003, 11:27 PM
I have this problem, too. Once a zoo starts getting bigger, and you have
more animals and guests, it slows waaay down. sad.gif It is frustrating
and I can understand why you quit and start over....it's no fun when it
runs so slow. Unfortunately I think it is the CPU speed, or at least
that is what I have concluded from all of my trials and tribulations. I
don't think it is a memory problem because I tried installing more
memory to help it along but that didn't work. To help speed things up a
little, try turning off terrain blending. I know that isn't as pretty,
and it probably won't clear things up all together but it does help
some. Some other things you might try are limiting the size of your
exhibits (to only two or three animals each), keeping it so that you
don't have a lot of guests, and limiting your usage of tanks. For some
reason I think the tank animations sap a lot of the speed. I've found
that by doing all of these it doesn't slow down as much. You can also
build on pause, that makes it easier to place items but it's not as fun.
It's too bad this happens, I wish there were some other way around it.
Well, anyway, as Jay said welcome to the Lounge and if my suggestions
don't work I'm sure one of these guys can help you out more if it is
some other problem. biggrin.gif
superlion
posted Sep 28 2003, 01:18 PM
I know that the more user created items I have, the more my game slows
down and gets jumpy... really annoying...
j_d_r_c_4
posted Sep 29 2003, 12:04 PM
Hi me again, i think i solved the problem, i uninstalled every other
games that i had installed on my system{kind of a pain if you play a
variety of games} but it really helped with zt, thanks to all who tried
to help....this is a great site...thanks again.
Jay
posted Sep 29 2003, 11:03 PM
That is great that you were able to get ZT working better. And thanks
for keeping us updated as well !