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Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick ObscuraHow do I tell if I've installed the UAP?(6 posts)solved(6 posts)solved
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Posted May 24, 2014
Hey all -

I am fully aware how silly of a question this is, but is there any way to tell if I've installed the unofficial patch?

I purchased my GOG copy of Arcanum maybe a couple of years ago, and I played a little on it and let it sit. I recently salvaged my Arcanum folder from my old hard drive and stuck it on my Windows partition. I've started some new saves (since my old data didn't transfer, and I also wanted to get used to the game again.) I just installed the hi-res patch.

But the thing is, I don't remember if I ever successfully installed the unofficial patch on my old computer. I seem to remember having some issues with it on the old machine, but I dunno if I resolved them. I'm just curious as to whether I did, because it'd suck if I didn't have the improved gameplay, etc. on my new files.

Thanks so much for any and all help on this little question -

Jamie
This question / problem has been solved by TwoHandedSwordimage
Posted May 24, 2014
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windfoxj: Hey all -

I am fully aware how silly of a question this is, but is there any way to tell if I've installed the unofficial patch?

I purchased my GOG copy of Arcanum maybe a couple of years ago, and I played a little on it and let it sit. I recently salvaged my Arcanum folder from my old hard drive and stuck it on my Windows partition. I've started some new saves (since my old data didn't transfer, and I also wanted to get used to the game again.) I just installed the hi-res patch.

But the thing is, I don't remember if I ever successfully installed the unofficial patch on my old computer. I seem to remember having some issues with it on the old machine, but I dunno if I resolved them. I'm just curious as to whether I did, because it'd suck if I didn't have the improved gameplay, etc. on my new files.

Thanks so much for any and all help on this little question -

Jamie
1) You could always reinstall the patch, just to be sure. No harm, no foul; and if the patch was already in place, it won't render any saved games unplayable.

2) There are a number of checks in-game, where options were broken or bugged; the earliest one I know of offhand is when confronting the thieves at the Shrouded Hills bridge. If you trick (or buy) your way past them, and then kill all of them anyway, the unpatched game gives you 2 Fate Points. If you do this and only see 1 point, then the game has been patched.

3) Other checks available in the early part of the game include: purchasing a Dark Helm from the Shrouded Hills gypsy, putting it on and taking it off (if the alignment loss is permanent, the game is unpatched); doing something similar with the hexed, DX-lowering Blackstone Blade, found in the Tarant sewers; or going to the Tarant inventor's shop and looking through his inventory for potassium nitrate (if the inventory image is wrongly that of the Crash Site camera, then again the game hasn't been properly patched).

Obviously, before doing any of these checks be sure to save (or quicksave) the game first.
Post edited May 24, 2014 by TwoHandedSword
Posted May 24, 2014
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TwoHandedSword: 1) You could always reinstall the patch, just to be sure. No harm, no foul; and if the patch was already in place, it won't render any saved games unplayable.

2) There are a number of checks in-game, where options were broken or bugged; the earliest one I know of offhand is when confronting the thieves at the Shrouded Hills bridge. If you trick (or buy) your way past them, and then kill all of them anyway, the unpatched game gives you 2 Fate Points. If you do this and only see 1 point, then the game has been patched.

3) Other checks available in the early part of the game include: purchasing a Dark Helm from the Shrouded Hills gypsy, putting it on and taking it off (if the alignment loss is permanent, the game is unpatched); doing something similar with the hexed, DX-lowering Blackstone Blade, found in the Tarant sewers; or going to the Tarant inventor's shop and looking through his inventory for potassium nitrate (if the inventory image is wrongly that of the Crash Site camera, then again the game hasn't been properly patched).

Obviously, before doing any of these checks be sure to save (or quicksave) the game first.
This is awesome, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. The Shrouded Hills merchant didn't have the helm and I got lazy before I could try the other options, so I just copied my entire game folder to preserve the old option (a solution that really should have occurred to me before I posted) and tried installing the UAP. It seems to be running my old save fine, at first glance.

Just to check, though - would I know immediately that my save was incompatible with the UAP (i.e., it wouldn't load?) Or would I find out later (i.e. I'd do something and the game would crash or be irreparably bugged?)

Thanks again.
Posted May 25, 2014
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windfoxj: This is awesome, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. The Shrouded Hills merchant didn't have the helm and I got lazy before I could try the other options, so I just copied my entire game folder to preserve the old option (a solution that really should have occurred to me before I posted) and tried installing the UAP. It seems to be running my old save fine, at first glance.

Just to check, though - would I know immediately that my save was incompatible with the UAP (i.e., it wouldn't load?) Or would I find out later (i.e. I'd do something and the game would crash or be irreparably bugged?)

Thanks again.
You're welcome. I love it when someone new discovers and enjoys one of my all-time favorite games.

I've never tried to run an unpatched save with the patched game. But my guess is that it would run just fine... until it didn't. At best, the save would continue as if the game were never patched; at worst, a dialog conflict or some other issue would eventually cause the game to crash.

And a protip: Since the merchants' inventories change on a daily basis, you can "power shop" them.

1) Visit their shop (or wagon) at least once. Otherwise their starting inventory never changes.

2) Move at least one full screen away. Save game. (You can do a full save, or quicksave with the F7 key.)

3) Advance time one day (using the 'S' key to open the Sleep menu).

4) Revisit them. If they have something you want, buy it and return to step 2. If they don't, reload the game (using the F8 key) and repeat step 3.

And of course, Step 0 is to make sure that a given merchant actually does carry what you're trying to find in the first place. If you're not sure, you can always ask someone here.
Posted May 30, 2014
If Arcanum5.dat in your Arcanum folder has a date modified of 2009 then you have UAP installed.

If you don't have an Arcanum5.dat then you definitely don't have UAP.
Posted June 02, 2014
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TwoHandedSword: You're welcome. I love it when someone new discovers and enjoys one of my all-time favorite games.

I've never tried to run an unpatched save with the patched game. But my guess is that it would run just fine... until it didn't. At best, the save would continue as if the game were never patched; at worst, a dialog conflict or some other issue would eventually cause the game to crash.

And a protip: Since the merchants' inventories change on a daily basis, you can "power shop" them.

1) Visit their shop (or wagon) at least once. Otherwise their starting inventory never changes.

2) Move at least one full screen away. Save game. (You can do a full save, or quicksave with the F7 key.)

3) Advance time one day (using the 'S' key to open the Sleep menu).

4) Revisit them. If they have something you want, buy it and return to step 2. If they don't, reload the game (using the F8 key) and repeat step 3.

And of course, Step 0 is to make sure that a given merchant actually does carry what you're trying to find in the first place. If you're not sure, you can always ask someone here.
Ah hey thanks for the tip on the shopkeepers! I've been trying to get materials for charged rings and balanced swords and that'll make things a lot easier.

I'm about to post a new question on the forums - if you have a second, could you check it out? Thanks!
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Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick ObscuraHow do I tell if I've installed the UAP?(6 posts)solved(6 posts)solved
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