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Post by txgruntz on May 19, 2007 18:20:52 GMT -8
Hello Fellow Gruntzters,
I'm joining the forum in hope that you can solve a problem. My son, the true gruntzaholic in our house, is "underage" for the forum, so I need to act as a go between. I promise he can't use my account.
He designed a custom level when he was 8 and posted it before there was an age issue (he was littlegruntz before age became an issue).
Since then, he stopped posting to the forum, and his account is inactive. He was okay with that, until the editing program ceased to function.
Here's the problem. When he received a new computer, and his OS was updated from Windows 98 to Windows XP, we could no longer use the custom level editor. On his old machine, everything ran great. On the new machine, the editor won't work.
We have the disk version of the game (1.11) and have installed the patch. The problem arises when trying to use the editor. We keep getting a message about specifying the "image rez dir" location (same menu as the one where you need to specify the location of the rez file, which we have done. This error message appeas after the message asking to specify the location of the rez file). The program is quite insistant that we specify this, not matter which custom level we try to play. Typing c:\games\gruntz\AREA(number) (which is where the file is located) just doesn't seem to make the editor happy. Things worked fine with 98 as the OS, but we've been trying off and on for one and a half years to make this thing work on his not-so-new-any-longer machine.
Does anyone have a solution to the problem? We've uninstalled and reinstalled the program, applied the patches, and read the Monolith forum. I've seen one or two other posts about this problem, but no real solution.
My son wants to design his own levels again. It's an activity he really enjoys. With summer vacation almost upon me, I'd LOVE to find a way to make the editor work on his XP machine, as he can while away many hours creating a new puzzle that will stump me at every turn.
If we find a way to make this work, at the end of next summer I guarantee you will be bombarded with a multitude of new puzzles, as he will have turned 13. But without the editor, his mind will have to wander elsewhere to find satisfaction!
We both love gruntz (and his sister does too!). Any help you can provide will be most appreciated!
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Post by oldone on May 19, 2007 18:54:07 GMT -8
Hi txgruntz, I have XP and don't have any problems with the editor, but I did have to change a lot of the rez file addresses. Place the editor in the Games/Gruntz file, hopefully on your C drive. Your custom levels folder should also be in this file. Then you may need to change each one to reflect where your custom levels are stored. So you would change the rez file to "C:\Games\Gruntz\Gruntz.rez" When the editor opens be sure to save the level or you'll have to change it the next time you open it too. You shouldn't have to change anything else. Try it on the the first Quest template and see if it solves your problem. I hope it does, as I'm really looking forward to some more levels. Good luck to you and your son.
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Gaby
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Post by Gaby on May 19, 2007 19:34:56 GMT -8
Greetingz from Israel... and welcome to GooRoo's Gruntz Forum... here you'll get answerz to most of your gruntzy problemz ... don't forget to sign in the "How To become a Gruntz fan" so you'll get all the new CLz via E-mail... older CLz can be mailed to you by request... (you can PM me a list of the gamez you'de like to play... )
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BattlezM
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Post by BattlezM on May 19, 2007 21:36:15 GMT -8
Welcome. Perhapz you could submit a couple of LittleGruntz'z levelz to Goo Roo, so they can be released before summer? For your problem, you can also use the template levelz that come along with the gruntz level editor and avoid the hassle of the rez id.
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GooRoo
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Post by GooRoo on May 19, 2007 22:13:20 GMT -8
LittleGruntz designed the "..TimeBomb.." Custom Level (I do not recall the exact name offhand), which was an excellent first effort for anyone ... no matter what their age! Only the COPPA lawz prevent him(?) from becoming a full Grunt member ... no one under 13 is allowed to be a member ... intended to protect young people from adult predatorz. Once that 13 th birthday is reached, anyone is free to join here. And I welcome parentz to be the actual member until that time, and submit new CLz designed by minorz under 13. Rest assured, however, that I will monitor postz to ensure (as best I can) that the adult is doing the posting (and expect my Global Moderatorz to monitor postz as well, and report any suspicious postz). Now to try to deal with the problem mentioned. I have never experienced any problem with the image set file, but one thing that was mentioned in the original post botherz me ... the pathname regarding "C:\GAMES\GRUNTZ\Area#"; the Gruntz Level Editor should be in the main Gruntz folder, as "C:\GAMES\GRUNTZ\GruntzEdit.exe" and the Custom Levelz it operatez upon should be stored in "C:\GAMES\GRUNTZ\Custom" (Where 'cUsToM' may be in any case combination). If new Custom Levelz are created from a template (or someone's working Custom Level) and modified, then SAVEd (Save as ...), there should be no problem with any file pathnamez. Most difficultiez come where someone triez to create a Custom Level "from scratch" ... defining (or trying to) everything on their own. Even after some three dozen Custom Levelz, I still open a CL in the graphic set I want to create a new CL, and immediately do a "Save as..." without making any changez whatsoever. Then I go in and re-size the map, and delete all objectz and change all Tilez to a pattern of Tilez 1 through 16, using something like PI, or a natural logarithm to create a semi-random background. PI (3.1415926...) providez the offset for rowz Y=1 through y=?? (however many placez of PI I use), and then I copy that many rowz to the bottom of the map ... just a technique to prevent having an 80X80 map of all Tile #1's. Since it is a new computer you are having the problem with, the assumption is that the Gruntz Level editor was installed fresh ... so the only possible problem there is if the ZIPped file was either corrupted, or incomplete. The GruntzEd.zip file is about 471KB ... and even my e-mail provider will allow me to send a file of that size. So if you think the installation was bad, let me know, and I will send you the ZIP file I have and know to be good in an e-mail.
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Post by txgruntz on May 20, 2007 5:46:53 GMT -8
Thanks for your prompt replies to our problem!
As GooRoo suggests, our problem may be a corrupted editor, although I know I tried downloading the editor from this forum, as well as Paul's page, and installing them to no avail. However, I never obtained a fresh copy of the editor via email, so maybe that will solve the problem.
Our zip file appears to be 461 kb, so perhaps something is missing.
To clarify, we are just trying to open the existing custom levelz in the editor in order to use them as templatez for a new levelz, not trying to start from scratch. We are getting the error message about the image rez directory for each and every custom level that exists in the editor, so that may just be a corrupted editor file.
So, if GooRoo will send us a fresh editor via email, we'll install and give it a go. Rest assured, the child can't get to my email account on his computer.
Thanks again for the warm welcome and help. I promise to keep the password away from the child! He understands he's not allowed to post to the forum, and there will be grave consequences on this end if I find him noodling around! Computers and Internet connections can be unplugged! He will, however, probably have to show me how to put levelz up for everyone to see. I'm new to the whole forum concept, except for Yahoo groups (where most of the people in my group don't understand how to use forums) and an episode where I needed help from a forum to decontaminate his computer, so I'll have to get up to speed once we get the editor fixed.
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Post by SwordGrunt on May 20, 2007 6:29:17 GMT -8
Well, txgruntz, you said you applied the patch in version 1.11? I misunderstood your first post maybe, but the patch only appliez to version 1.0. Other solution is that maybe the GRUNTZ.REZ file is damaged! The Gruntz.Rez from version 1.11 (RealArcade) is about half from the one from the CD. Other thing... I have the GruntzEditor stored at "C:\Games\Gruntz\GruntzEditor\" So that there's no need to store it on the main folder. The only problem is that the templatez won't locate the REZ file immediately. I hope you'll fix your problem as soon as possible, so that you and your son should create a lot of Custom Levelz!
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GooRoo
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Post by GooRoo on May 20, 2007 6:41:25 GMT -8
When I return home this morning I will send the Gruntz Level Editor ZIPped file via e-mail (I accidently closed that window, so cannot do it this session). As Gui said, it is not absolutely necessary to have the GLE within the Gruntz folder ... but having it anywhere else just meanz that there will alwayz be the extra step of telling the GLE where to find the Gruntz.rez file. I'm inherently lazy, so deplore anything that requirez extra stepz. BTW, I have made available a "GruntzExtraz" CD-ROM that containz the GLE as well as every Gruntz Custom Level available (from me) through this Forum ... with walkthroughz (if they exist) and the imagez that support this Forum (when I have a working web host ) and "much, much more" (quote from the Seattle Mariners' Fan Appreciation nightz). To Houston, the total cost would be around $5.00, with U.S.A. postage costs (just went up last Monday).
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Post by SwordGrunt on May 20, 2007 6:54:05 GMT -8
The reason I separate the Editor of the main folder, because when I want to play a Custom Level in the game, there are lotz of Samples and Templates there. This is not fun when I want to play a CL which name startz with 'Q' or 'B'... lotz of Battlez and Questz Templates & Samples on my way.
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GooRoo
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Post by GooRoo on May 20, 2007 7:46:38 GMT -8
The reason I separate the Editor of the main folder, because when I want to play a Custom Level in the game, there are lotz of Samples and Templates there. This is not fun when I want to play a CL which name startz with 'Q' or 'B'... lotz of Battlez and Questz Templates & Samples on my way. I moved the Monolith templatez into their own folder, outside of Custom' for the same reason. But I only had to do that once ... your method has you changing the location of the Gruntz.rez file for almost every CL that you acquire.
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Post by SwordGrunt on May 20, 2007 7:53:54 GMT -8
Hmmm... I don't understand you, my Gruntz.REZ is still in C:\Games\Gruntz\Gruntz.REZ! Every CL that has C:\Games\Gruntz\Gruntz.REZ in it's World Propertiez/ REZ file workz perfectly... the onez in "C:\MY GAMES..." or "..\GRUNTZ.REZ" that I have to change the location... but that only if I want to modify or look at the level with the Editor!(What's not common )
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GooRoo
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Post by GooRoo on May 20, 2007 8:01:58 GMT -8
Why do you have any Gruntz CLz anywhere other than in "C:\Games\Gruntz\Custom\"?
The Gruntz Level Editor defaultz to looking for its filez in the same folder in which it (itself) is located, and expectz to find (and store) the CL mapz it workz with in "CuSTom\" (any character case combination allowed). So having the GLE in its own folder requirez some extra effort in file SAVEz and LOADz.
Whenever someone sendz me a CL for distribution, I do a "Save as..." into the 'standard' path for Custom Levelz. Many Designerz have "...My Games..." or "...Projectz..." or some other pathname (some even have a different drive designation!) that requirez me to provide the path to Gruntz.rez (once!), but that is only a minor annoyance.
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Post by txgruntz on May 20, 2007 8:25:17 GMT -8
Thanks GooRoo and SwordGruntz.
Regarding the version of the program, our "1.11" CD came with a force-feedback mouse. My sister-in-law worked for Logitech at the time, and they had a bunch of older-generation mice they wanted to get rid of, so she sent us one. The mouse was a horror, but the Gruntz disk was in the box, so we threw out the mouse and kept the game. So, I'm not really sure what 1.11 really means in this context, as I know we didn't buy it from Real Arcade. The disk says Monolith on it, and that it is a version to be distributed with Logitech products.
When we had all of this up (Gruntz and the GLE) and running in the past, the patch was necessary to correct a few problems in the original game. So, we installed it on the new machine. I think the .rez file is okay, because the Gruntz game plays. But you are correct that the .rez file could also be a problem.
As to the directory issue, I tried putting the editor in the Gruntz folder, and also in its own location. Neither worked on the new machine. I can see having it in the Gruntz folder (one less thing to set), while I can also see getting all of the B and Q named files somewhere else. We'll sort that issue out once we get the editor working again. My son organizes filez very differently than I do, but his young brain seems to be more nimble than mine!
What's driving us both crazy is that this all used to work! I remember when my son found the box to specify where the .rez file was (he was amazingly persistent, printing out the GLE instructions and actually reading them), and when we put the correct path into the box, everything worked! It taught him a great lesson about understanding where you files are on your computer. This has just been strange, because we've set it all up the same way as in the past, but it won't work.
We would love to get a disk with the GLE and custom levelz. Let me know how to send you the needed funds to cover your costs.
I saw some of your travails with the web hosting. I've never ventured there myself, so I don't have much to contribute to that conversation. I did go into my profile to set my skin to basic, and that made a big difference in how the whole thing worked. I'll be able to spend some more time catching up on my reading once school lets out here (only 4 more days).
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Post by SwordGrunt on May 20, 2007 8:33:01 GMT -8
I'm not sure, but I think GooRoo only acceptz paymentz via PayPal.
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Post by txgruntz on May 20, 2007 10:09:56 GMT -8
Thanks GooRoo for a fresh copy of the GLE. Unfortunately, things still aren't working. When trying to load any of the custom levels into the GLE, we still get the message: Unable to find image rez dir: \AREA1\TILEZ Note, there is no "..." before the \AREA1\TILEZ, indicating to me it's not looking at a particular path. I really don't understand where it's looking for the TILEZ and IMAGEZ (perhaps the .rez file?) It then asks if we want to specify a new location. Clicking "yes" brings up the World Properties dialog box. In this box, the path for the Rez File is specified (C:\Games\Gruntz\gruntz.rez), but the white box next to Image Dir: says \AREA1\TILEZ, again with no dots in front specifying a path to locate a file. To back up, here's how the files are organized: In C:\Games\Gruntz we have the following:
- A Folder with the Custom levelz called "Custom" (copied from GruntzEd folder below)
- A Folder with the GLE files named "GruntzEd" (these are the extracted files, and include another Custom folder, and a copy of GruntzEdit.exe)
- Gruntz.exe
- Gruntz101.exe
- GruntzEdit.exe (copied from GruntzEd folder)
- GruntzScreen.exe (XP screen patch)
- Gruntz.rez (plus all of the other files that install with Gruntz)
- GruntzEd.zip (the zipped files)
[/li][/ul] Any ideas on what else to try? We had changed the "compatibility" setting in the "properties" for Gruntz and GruntzEdit programs to Windows 98, but that had no effect, so we set those back to the default. This trick sometimes helps older programs work on XP, but doesn't seem necessary here. Also, we can look at the files in the "Custom" folder using the Gruntz game. They open, and the images and tiles seem to be in place. It's only when trying to view the custom files with the editor that we run into this problem.
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Post by SwordGrunt on May 20, 2007 12:21:53 GMT -8
Which GruntzEdit.exe are you running? Run the one from the original folder that containz the other GLE filez. My system is Windows XP with the Vista Transformation Pack and it runz the GLE perfectly. So the problem probably is not related to system changez. Pathz: - Rez file: C:\GAMES\GRUNTZ\GRUNTZ.REZ
- Image Rez dir: \AREA1\TILEZ
The game explorez the REZ file you typed, and try to find the folder AREA1 and searchez for TILEZ inside it. If it does not work, try putting C:\GAMES\GRUNTZ\GRUNTZ.REZ\AREA1\TILEZ on the image rez dir. If the problem persistz, try downloading WinRez LT Studio at Black Angel Software. Then, install it and open the GRUNTZ.REZ. Explore the entire file and see if there are 11 main folderz: - AREA1
- AREA2
- AREA3
- AREA4
- AREA5
- AREA6
- AREA7
- AREA8
- GAME
- GRUNTZ
- STATEZ
[/b][/li][/ul] If anything is missing, your Gruntz.Rez is probably damaged! Edit: The link was fixed now.
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GooRoo
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Post by GooRoo on May 20, 2007 15:34:41 GMT -8
I don't know the source, but Gruntz 1.11 supposedly has the Version 1.01 patch applied, and possibly the screen resolution patch as well to allow up to 1024X768 display in Gruntz. So I am fairly certain that you could not apply any of the patchez and resolve the problem. It must be the Gruntz.rez file itself causing the difficulty. As far as the GruntzExtraz CD-ROM is concerned, PayPal or any snail mail delivery of approximately $5.00 will cover it. I am not offering it with any thought of making any sort of profit anyhow, so the $1.00 (minimum) matching Monolith's share would certainly cover any increased postage cost. To use PayPal, all you need is to indicate you want to make such and such a (net) payment to my e-mail address, and I would receive an e-mail confirmation that a payment has been made ... probably within minutez of someone clicking on 'Submit'. That is really the only benefit to using PayPal ... speed. Sending a check via snail mail also getz the job done, and a PM saying it is on its way will result in me updating my ZIP disk with CLz released since my last CD-ROM creation, then the burning of the CD-ROM and packing it up and giving it to USPS for delivery. Total difference in time ... a couple of hourz, maximum, in the creation of the CD-ROM, and probably no difference at all in when the package arrivez in the mail (it still getz sent from my local Post Office north to Tacoma, and then toward the destination ). As long as I am able to get it to the Post Office before they close for the day, it doesn't matter if I give it to them at 9:00AM or at 6:00PM.
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Post by txgruntz on May 20, 2007 17:27:33 GMT -8
Hi GooRoo and SwordGrunt,
Thanks for your helpful comments. I'll address SwordGrunt first.
It doesn't matter where we run the editor from, it doesn't work.
We then used the Black Angel Software, and we were able to see inside the rez file. It appears there are files there. For example, opening the Area1, I see a folder names Tilez, and there are items in the folder.
What I can't tell is whether or not everything is "there" even though I do see 11 folders.
So, if there is a problem with the rez file, what are my options? I can see the game can still be purchased through Real Arcade. The forum posts look like some people get it to work fine, while others don't. I have a high-speed connection, so the download isn't a problem, nor it the cost. My concern would be making certain I don't have to have Real Arcade on the computer. If you know it's possible to get Gruntz to run without Real Arcade, that would work for me. As an alternative, would it be possible to send GooRoo my original disk in exchange for a copied disk? It looks like that worked once before. I really could kick myself, because I've made backups of many, many game disks in this house, and used several of them (I made it to copy 4 of one Hot Wheels game before the child finally stopped playing the game), but I don't see a Gruntz disk. If anyone needs a clean copy of any Magic School Bus programs, I'm the go to person! I have a fine collection of the Lego games also.
As far as a CD with the GLE and custom levelz goes, I'll go the Paypal method. I have an account there (although I haven't used it in a long time, but I'll just make a new one if they closed my old one). I'll put it on my list "to do". I may not get to it, as this week is already full of things I can't put off. Next week will be better.
In the mean time, I will thoroughly clean my CD version of Gruntz, reinstall, and see what happens. I'll check back and see what you all think.
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Post by alexandgruntz on May 20, 2007 20:17:52 GMT -8
What exactly is wrong with the editor? I know there are a couple of (minor) issuez with the editor and Windows XP.
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GooRoo
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Post by GooRoo on May 20, 2007 22:50:28 GMT -8
What exactly is wrong with the editor? I know there are a couple of issuez with the editor and Windows XP. I have been running Windows XP (Home Edition) for at least four yearz ... probably longer, and have had no trouble with Gruntz at all during all that time. Both the game of Gruntz and the Gruntz Level Editor perform flawlessly. I have the CD-ROM Version, patched to Version 1.01 (doesn't everybody?) and the screen resolution patch, so I normally play Gruntz with a 1024X768 resolution. Now back to the problem in Houston: would it be possible for you to send me a JPEG screen grab of the error message that you are getting, with as much of the Gruntz Level Editor (if it hasn't been closed by the error) as possible? This soundz like one of those problemz where it would be extremely helpful to be standing over your shoulder when you are experiencing the problem.
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