OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

1998 Yankees · 08-15-2006, 10:55 PM

Kemp, I think I have an answer for you that will work for your current game. Why don't you try this:

First, back up your saved game folder. The procedure worked for me, but I don't want to be responsible for the utter destruction of your baseball universe!

With the scrubbed names.txt and first_names.txt files in the database folder, build a NEW template from scratch, with the SAME number of leagues and teams as your current game so that the number of player names generated will theoretically be the same (I am not sure whether this point is important, but it stands to reason). This should not take too much effort because you don't have to worry about any other edits, settings or options - this template is needed only to get a scrubbed names.dat file.

Start a new game with this new template. End OOTP, because it's not good to make file changes while the game is running. In Windows Explorer, go to the new saved game folder and copy the names.dat file from there over the same named file in your current saved game folder.

Now when you start OOTP and load your current game, if everything went well you should see the same names on your rosters and in Player Search but without the special characters. Please test and examine your game thoroughly before you consider it fixed to your liking. I am still new at OOTP2006 and there may be some aspect that I have not thought to look at yet.

I don't know why, but it definitely seems that the template is the key. The template file itself is pretty large; who knows what is imbedded in it that overrides every thing else? It is apparent, though, that you need a new, similar template created and saved with the scrubbed name files already in place to create a temporary game that will generate a names.dat file that will do the job for your current game.

I will post again if I notice any problems in my game with this procedure in place. And thanks, Church, for the tip, and Zeyes for the encouragement.

08-15-2006, 10:55 PM	#15
1998 Yankees Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Yankee Stadium, back in 1998. Posts: 8,645	Kemp, I think I have an answer for you that will work for your current game. Why don't you try this: First, back up your saved game folder. The procedure worked for me, but I don't want to be responsible for the utter destruction of your baseball universe! With the scrubbed names.txt and first_names.txt files in the database folder, build a NEW template from scratch, with the SAME number of leagues and teams as your current game so that the number of player names generated will theoretically be the same (I am not sure whether this point is important, but it stands to reason). This should not take too much effort because you don't have to worry about any other edits, settings or options - this template is needed only to get a scrubbed names.dat file. Start a new game with this new template. End OOTP, because it's not good to make file changes while the game is running. In Windows Explorer, go to the new saved game folder and copy the names.dat file from there over the same named file in your current saved game folder. Now when you start OOTP and load your current game, if everything went well you should see the same names on your rosters and in Player Search but without the special characters. Please test and examine your game thoroughly before you consider it fixed to your liking. I am still new at OOTP2006 and there may be some aspect that I have not thought to look at yet. I don't know why, but it definitely seems that the template is the key. The template file itself is pretty large; who knows what is imbedded in it that overrides every thing else? It is apparent, though, that you need a new, similar template created and saved with the scrubbed name files already in place to create a temporary game that will generate a names.dat file that will do the job for your current game. I will post again if I notice any problems in my game with this procedure in place. And thanks, Church, for the tip, and Zeyes for the encouragement.