installing the demo

[Fly-n-Dad]

Having trouble installing the demo. Message pops up "could not load ruleset root file (base.exe) Does anybody know what I am doing wrong?? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks,...

[Tiqon]

My guess is you run xp?

Try to look at this (link below) where this is discussed, and I at least got mine to work (though I dont know if the others got it to work in the end).

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17154

[Fly-n-Dad]

Yes,.. I read this last night. I don't seem to be the only one with this issue and was hoping that FG would address it directly.

If I understand you correctly I need to create a file path. I assume this is in the window that comes up before the program tries to update. Then I should use the shortcut on the desktop to launch and it should work ??

I would hope a PAID for software would have a direct response. Makes me quite hesitant to send money their way.

I suppose I will give it a shot and hope I don't mess up my system further,.....

[Fly-n-Dad]

Do I create the file path in the settings window and if so is it done in the APP bar or the DATA bar or both ?!?

[Fly-n-Dad]

Yeah,.. now having problems even deleting whatever was able to download before,.. window pops up saying I don't have the file needed to delete the files !?! What a pain ! Do people have problems like this with the paid version ? as I understand it there isn't any difference between the two with a few exceptions, but the install process would be the same.

My fear is paying for some software and it taking DAYS of my time to make it work,...

[Blahness98]

Send an email to [email protected] and they usually get back to you pretty quickly. Otherwise, drop Moon_Shadow a PM and perhaps he can help you out.

[Griogre]

Hi Fly-n-Dad, the last update to the FG installer has cause some problems with the install program. Mostly, the remaining problem seems limited to XP machines especially those without Service Pack 3. Like Blahness said you should send an e-mail to [email protected] and please describe you system in the e-mail. The problem seems to be something with the OS's permission system so if you have anything unusual in that area you might mention it. If you have another computer set up differently you might try installing the demo there.

The other problem area was with some anti-virus programs blocking or quarentining the installer so you can try turning off your AV temporarily and see if it makes any difference.

Also I think Blahness98 meant you might try PMing moon_wizard not Moon_Shadow.

While I'm sure the Smiteworks guys will fix the installer, the tracking down the root cause has been elusive so anything you can do to help would be appreciated.

[damned]

**please note everything i say below is my own view/opinon and nothing to do with smiteworks!**
sadly (for you and for many others) windows xp is very old now and many companies have dropped support for xp. not because there is anything wrong with xp but because it is too hard to support too many versions of anything. win xp has different path names from xista/7 (and very soon to be 8) not to mention x86 and x64 versions. i dont believe that smiteworks has dropped support for xp - but it gets harder and harder to support it as time goes on.
the last updaters have had an unusual number of issues.
most did come down to one of the following:
* older versions of XP (although i think there were also issues with sp3)
* non english versions of windows (folder names were not in english)
* antivirus apps blocking access to certain folders
in saying all that i had some issues on win7 with some of the updates

smiteworks is a small team and they have other "day time" jobs - but they are very responsive and both pro and reactive to issues.

if you are having these issues in the demo you quite likely will have some issues in the paid versions. is it worth persisting? for many users - yes. if it takes you days to resolve i would suggest no...

ive probably been no help at all but there you have my 5c worth :)

[Blahness98]

Also I think Blahness98 meant you might try PMing moon_wizard not Moon_Shadow.

Yeah, that's what I ment. Sorry about the confusion. Was messing with my dragonlance module while posting..

[Fly-n-Dad]

Thanks for all your help guys,... I have sent an email to support. I suppose the best thing to do would be to dump my op system and go with 7, but then 8 will be here soon so I guess I should just wait,... This is NOT a good option for me, and unfortunately I NEED Fantasy Grounds. I have been trying to play Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd edition for almost a year now and STILL have not been able to play a game. The last hope I had was the online community which lead me here to FG.

I have been through the wringer with this. I purchased the core set, read all the books, could not find anybody local, tried to get internet, but out here in the sticks my only choice was satellite which was terrible. Cable finally came out here and I just got set up with it. Now I am having problems getting the FG software to download and am being told a newer version of windows would be better, so I now need to research the best way to go about getting the new operating system,... I just hope it will all end soon just so I can play a RPG with some folks,... whew,.. talk about a dedicated gamer,... ;) :rolleyes: maybe I will here something soon from the FG guys,.. Thanks again.


P.S. When all the files start to download I am getting a LONG, LONG, LONG LONG list of files. I see 4th edition, 3.5 edition stuff etc,.. Do you guys know if they have a SIMPLE "this is all you need if you are using a third party framework" package ?? Maybe that could help ?!?

[Blahness98]

P.S. When all the files start to download I am getting a LONG, LONG, LONG LONG list of files. I see 4th edition, 3.5 edition stuff etc,.. Do you guys know if they have a SIMPLE "this is all you need if you are using a third party framework" package ?? Maybe that could help ?!?

Not really. 3.5e and 4e rule sets are included with FG. As far as I know, there is no way of just downloading the core framework.

[damned]

unfortunately since the last 2 incremental versions there have been updater issues.
in saying that most people have managed to get ot going with a little persistence.
you sound persistent so you should probably keep trying.
spell out exactly what error you are getting and at what stage and the good people here will try to help.
unfortunately as FG supports so many rulesets the size of the community for the smaller games.rulesets/genres is again smaller but there are a few WFRP gamers about. also if you bring your own group with you that helps too :)
also the bulk of the features and goodness is in the 3.5E/PFFRP/4E rulesets but there are other well developed rulesets including Savage Worlds, Castles&Crusades and others. there are also many, many less well developed rulesets - some contain just character sheets and dice rolling and others something in between.
so re-run the installer and let us know where it all goes wrong.

quick questions:
what service pack are you running?
is it an english language version of XP?
are you an administrator on your pc?
are you choosing default installation paths?
have you disabled your AV before running the installer?

[Fly-n-Dad]

quick questions:
what service pack are you running?

--- SP3

is it an english language version of XP?

--- English

are you an administrator on your pc?

--- Yes, set up as administrator w/ no password.

are you choosing default installation paths?

Does this question refer to the window that comes up in between the error window "could not load ruleset root file (base.exe) and the loading the long list window?? If so, then I suppose I am using the default path. The topmost data entry bar is blank. I think it refers to the "app" path. then below this is the "data" path if I am not mistaken. I have not done anything with this window other than to click "ok" or "continue" don't remember which. At that point the window that starts loading all files begins and a VERY LONG list it is,.. not certain if it has ever "finished". ,.... One time I did manage to get far enough that a new desktop icon appeared. When I clicked on it, another error message came up "Unable to get path SHGetspecialfolderpath failed". Since this new icon has appeared, I have been unable to uninstall FG to try and start clean.

have you disabled your AV before running the installer?

No,. I am a little nervous to do this as 1. I am not really certain as to how, ( McAfee ). I will look it up and try to turn it off, then try to re-download the "installer" which will hopefully download all the long list files,.. still haven't heard from support or shadow wizard, but I know it is a vacation weekend,..

[Fly-n-Dad]

In answer to the last question,.. Yes, the AV is showing that it has been disabled.

[Fly-n-Dad]

I download the installer and click "run" then I get a massage ""Unable to get path SHGetspecialfolderpath failed. I click the "ok" button and the "system" window appears. I am going to create a folder on my desktop and type that path into the "app directory" bar. ........................ hit "ok" and the file loading window appears and started to load files,.......... waiting,......... waiting,......... waiting,..... still waiting,....... waiting some more,........ waiting,..... waiting,.......... ok,... got the error message sound,. the load files window disappears and a small window appears that says "could not load ruleset root file (base.exe) and asks me if I want to try again,. when I hit yes it just spams the same message again,. when I hit no it goes away and then,..... well,..... nothing I guess,... gonna try to launch from the fg icon on the desktop,.. maybe it updated it ?!?,....... WAIT !! I just checked the file I created on the desktop and it "looks" like everything is in there,.. I will try to launch from here first instead of the desktop icon,...... here goes,.... ............. ........ AHHHHHHH !!!!!!!! I THINK IT WORKED !!!!! I now have a screen I have yet to see,.. it is a large window box with buttons for "join game" and "load demo campaign" etc,... WOW,. I hope this is it !! :) :) :) Now to contact Neil about putting his WFRP 3e framework in ,..... :)

[Blahness98]

If you are running the demo, I think you are only able to mess around with the demo campaign that is included. Without getting a full license, you probably will not be able to mess around with the WFRP rule set.

If you did want to mess around with the rule set, let me know. I have an ultimate license and you should be able to change your install from demo to unregistered and I can put up a session running that set. I know there is a difference from GM to player side, but the offer still stands...

[Tiqon]

I download the installer and click "run" then I get a massage ""Unable to get path SHGetspecialfolderpath failed. I click the "ok" button and the "system" window appears. I am going to create a folder on my desktop and type that path into the "app directory" bar. ........................ hit "ok" and the file loading window appears and started to load files,.......... waiting,......... waiting,......... waiting,..... still waiting,....... waiting some more,........ waiting,..... waiting,.......... ok,... got the error message sound,. the load files window disappears and a small window appears that says "could not load ruleset root file (base.exe) and asks me if I want to try again,. when I hit yes it just spams the same message again,. when I hit no it goes away and then,..... well,..... nothing I guess,... gonna try to launch from the fg icon on the desktop,.. maybe it updated it ?!?,....... WAIT !! I just checked the file I created on the desktop and it "looks" like everything is in there,.. I will try to launch from here first instead of the desktop icon,...... here goes,.... ............. ........ AHHHHHHH !!!!!!!! I THINK IT WORKED !!!!! I now have a screen I have yet to see,.. it is a large window box with buttons for "join game" and "load demo campaign" etc,... WOW,. I hope this is it !! :) :) :) Now to contact Neil about putting his WFRP 3e framework in ,..... :)

Hehehe, just my experience too ;). gratz!

[Moon Wizard]

The demo doesn't allow you to create or save campaigns, but it can load any campaign that is installed.

If you want to run a demo of a ruleset other than 3.5E or 4E, you will need to get a copy of a campaign folder using that ruleset. Then, install the campaign in the campaigns folder, and the ruleset in the rulesets folder. From that point, you will be able to demo that campaign.

For the unable to get SHGetSpecialFolderPath message, XP is a big pain. I have two leads on a possible fix:
* Try this version of the installer (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/filelibrary/beta/FGWebInstall.exe). I found a comment buried in a random thread online that mentions that one of the special folder parameters can sometimes fail on XP. This beta version of the installer tests that theory. Please let me know if you try and the issue goes away.
* According to the documentation, "Internet Explorer 4.0 Desktop Update" needs to be installed on the machine. From what I can tell, this shouldn't be an issue on XP, but it is mentioned in the developer notes.

Regards,
JPG