DL: Some custom ships disappearing

Files are on disk, but they aren't listed in shipyard

from GalCiv2 Forums

Been playing GalCiv2 since Xmas, and having fun designing new ships. I created 4 different Large and Huge "base" models .. just hulls and jewelry, no weps or engines, etc.

Looking at my game last night, they've disappeared from my list in the Shipyard! If I look in my "ships" directory under My Games/GalCiv2, I see the files that represent those ships (the .xml and the .shpcfg files) with the proper dates and times, and they are non-empty. If I go into the Shipyard and try to save a new design with one of the names I used before, GC2 does NOT warn me that a design with that name already exists. It's like GC2 completely forget I made those designs, although they are still on disk. Other custom designs that I've made are still present and acting normally, but these particular ones are gone.

I spent a lot of time on a few of those and I won't enjoy losing them Frown

I'm running GC2 Dread Lords version 1.53 on Win XP Pro SP3.

5,726 views 11 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Did you reload to a save prior to when you designed them?

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

The part about not being warned when you try to use the same name stumps me.

Otherwise, I would think maybe you didn't research the larger hulls in your current game, if you saved the ships in a prior game.

OR You were using a different race than the previous game and the ships arn't available with your current race.

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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Yep, i'd also check for the S_ (or even the usual UDs) factor too!

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Ah. Good responses! Thanks! Let me rebut:

- I am playing the same race in the same game. I definitely have all the necessary hull techs.

- I did indeed reload to a save of the game prior to when i had designed them. I do not recall exactly when the ships disappeared, but it was definitely around then. Tell me more about this, please!

- And please elaborate on the "S_ (or even the usual UD's) factor". Looking in my ships folder, all the .shpcfg files for these ships start with S4. It sounds like there's a known issue or something with how these files are named .. please enlighten me!

Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I did indeed reload to a save of the game prior to when i had designed them. I do not recall exactly when the ships disappeared, but it was definitely around then. Tell me more about this, please!
End of quote

Then they're gone.  As far as I am aware there's no way around this-someone else will step in and correct me if I'm wrong, but you'll simply have to redesign them.

Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Well, every time you'll START new games with the same race (S4=Torian) the ships (as saved in the usual folders) will be made available TO that race only & upon researching corresponding techs as usual... but the "saved game" files only re_loads active elements that were there at the moment of the saving process.

Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Quoting Zyxpsilon, reply 6
Well, every time you'll START new games with the same race (S4=Torian) the ships (as saved in the usual folders) will be made available TO that race only & upon researching corresponding techs as usual... but the "saved game" files only re_loads active elements that were there at the moment of the saving process.
End of Zyxpsilon's quote

Translation: The game doesn't have the information in the old save file for the new ships, and it saves all necessary information for ships in the save file when it saves.

This is also the reason why for instance if I start a game, then start another game, then go back to the first game, the first game won't have any ships from the second in it.

Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Then they're gone. As far as I am aware there's no way around this-someone else will step in and correct me if I'm w
End of quote

They're not really "gone" but you won't be able to get at them during the same session. Once you begin a game, it only looks within the save for ships--the ships folder only gets read in at the start of a new one.

Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

OK I'm getting a better idea of what's going on.

So if I were to start a NEW game, picking the same race (in this case, it was the Custom Race), and researching all the hull techs, then my designs should become available again (since they only rely on hull tech)?

I guess I can start a "fast research" game and see what happens.

Thanks guys!

Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Yup.

Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Tried it last night, and it was successful! Thanks for the help, everyone.