Hi all......again.... -.-


Today I'm here 'cause I'm facing the umpteenth issue in the making of a large worldspace.

This time it's all about the Version Control, my new delight and nightmare.

I'm trying to merge a plug-in with a .esm I've created myself and I've followed these two guides:

.- http://www.sureai.de/development/tutorials/skyrim-creation-kit-version-control/?lang=en by SureAI
-. http://www.creationkit.com/Version_control by Maegfaer

They, more or less, say the exact same things.

Now.

I went all the way through them up to the "Check Out/In" step. At this point I get the warning message "Could not locate target master file on network", and here ends my adventure.

My troubleshooting:
-. double checked all shared directories
.- checked .fud and .fid files have been correctly generated
-. made a copy of all esm files I need inside the shared directory
.- loaded the esp as active file along with the esm I want to merge it with
-. checked shared directories all have full authorizations for writing/reading files
.- the CK is set to run as administrator


I've tried looking for solutions on Google, but it seems people prefer to wait for TESVGecko to be released.

Do I really have to wait that long!? >.<

Anybody faced and possibly solved this same problem? Help, please. =(


Thank you.



Post-solution Edit: check the whole thread for various possible solutions to the network related issue. (I solved my own)
If you're having problems with the message "Sorry, until we're working on DLC the correct answer is No. [...]", please come comment or ask for help on http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1389121-version-control-sorry-until-were-working-on-dlc-the-correct-answer-is-no/ thread.

Are you playing the game across a network proper, or is that just some strange error that's popping up?

I guess you've never faced this error.....

No, the shared folders (if that's what you mean with network) are meant just to set a proper environment for Version Control to work.

-snip-

nvm.. you are further ahead then me.

Alright now I'm having the same problem as you Zehryo. I'll report if I can get it to work.

I've been having this problem for a little while now. A thread for it was also started on DarK Creations.org at http://www.darkcreations.org/forums/topic/1870-ck-version-control-discussion/ sometime last weekl but no one has been able to help yet. If you have any information or find a solution, please come to Dark Creations and share it there, too.

I tried installing Version Control from scratch three times on two different Skyrim installations on different computers with the same results. It sees the master well enough to create the .fid, .fud, .fvd files for the network access and then gives the cannot locate master error on the merge. Very frustrating. My brief look into how VC might work makes it pretty clear it was intended to let a number of modders work on the same project in tandem. It might actually be too complex of a solution for a single modder working on his/her own files. I hope they hurry with Gecko.

There is a link to an early preview copy of TESVGecko on Dark Creations - http://www.darkcreations.org/forums/topic/1536-wipz-tesvgecko/ Go check it out and lend them your support.

The tutorial from SureAI must work ,I only say this because I'm assuming that they would have used the same method for their own project. Have you tried posting this issue on their forums? Maybe they forgot a step or two in the write-up, or a small mistake was made somewhere, ooor Germany got a special CK .

I've tried the other tutorial too, the one from Maegfaer, and it reports more or less the exact same steps.....actually, the SuraAI one even has some typing errors for network folders paths.....

These days all I do is registering on forums and asking for help with CK issues.....I guess I'll end up making a mod called "CK nightmare" and put a bunch of vampires and werewolves inside a Bethesda-shaped labyrinth....but with unbalanced stats and faulty AI's!!!!!! >.<



Edit: registered and posted the problem on SureAI forums.....+1 for Zehryo

LOL
Thanks for trying to find a solution! I still have my hopes on GeckoV. (Don't really want to think of the possibility that GeckoV will not be the solution.)

After comparing and experimenting with the two tutorials, Maegfaer's is probably the most accurate but it offers no solution to this problem. As pointed out above, the SureAI tutorial has some errors in the network paths and it also directs you to create ConstructionSetNetwork.ini, which the CK will do automatically. I know Maegfaer and some others have VC working and are actively using it, but nobody has been able to offer an explanation as to what causes this error. Since VC works for some and not for others, I suspect it is something in the network setup. Probably nothing wrong, just different. I have seen at least one report in the forums from a few months ago where one person reported the error and then got it working by fiddling with their network but had no idea what they had changed to make it work. That encouraged me to waste a lot of time fiddling with my network without positive results.

What Operating System are you using.

Windows 7 Pro 64bit.

By the way, if I hit "Start", select "Run..." and write "\\pc-name\merging" I get a Windows Explorer window to open on that folder and I can see all the files and folders inside it.

So the network folder path is ok.

Authorizations are for "Everyone".....what else? -.-



PS Edit: the thread I've opened on SureAI forums can be found http://www.sureai.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=172&t=6064, in case you want to check it for possible replies and be the first to catch a solution.


Edited Edit: for some strange reason the link in the previous edit failed to find the thread in SureAI Forums. Rebuilt link with new(?) URL.

Windows 7 64bit. It always gives this error when I try and Check In or Check Out:

I've just had a silly idea.....

If this is an official Bethesda forum and we're talking about Bethesda's softwares and we're having problems with these same softwares, arent we supposed to receive Bethesda's help?

It's not a complaint, just.....you know......I think they should have all the answers...... =\


I want TESVGecko!!!!!!!!! >0<

According to Process Monitor, CreationKit is looking for a file called DataSkyrim.esm in the Merging directory. After running through Magdaer's tutorial I had no such file in my Merging folder and encountered the same error messages you are. I'm not sure whether that's helpful for you or not.

I tried copying skyrim.esm into the merging folder and renaming it DataSkyrim.esm whilst having skyrim.esm inside the merging/data folder and I got past the error.

But that seems like such a weird work around so I highly doubt VC will function properly.

Are you guys sure you have a \ (backslash) at the end of each path in your INI file?

[General]
bUseVersionControl=1
SNetwork Path=\\Maegfaer-PC\Merging\
SNewVersionBackupPath=\\Maegfaer-PC\Merging\VersionBackup\
SNetworkMasterPath=\\Maegfaer-PC\Merging\Data\

If you do, try adding two \\ at the end.

Also, what OS's are you using?

I have a sneaking suspicion... There's a Data subdir in the Merging dir, but it remains empty, while all the files CK creates and looks for in Merging are prepended with the word Data... looks to me like someone at Bethesda forgot to escape a backslash in a path somewhere.

Here's what I've tried so far:
Created new, empty ESM and copied it to the Merging directory as per Magfaer's instructions here:
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1375978-turning-an-esp-into-a-master-correctly/page__view__findpost__p__20819455

After renaming it to ESM, loaded it up and did the Ctrl+Shift+B thing.

Copied my ESM to the Merging/Data directory as per Magfaer's instructions.

Relaunched CK selecting ONLY my new Master file and the plugin I want to merge.

Still got the same error, and the same request for DataSkyrim.esm when I tried to check out one of my plugin's forms.

Now to try actually copying the Skyrim and Update ESMs into that dir and rename them Data*...

Edit: My apologies for maligning Bethesda for my own stupid mistake See below...

I'll try that double backslash thing at the end. I already have them in the beginning. And I'm using Windows 7 64bit.

Make sure your user account or "Everyone" has read, write and execute permissions for each share dir. Maybe try the loopback IP instead of the PC name: "SNetwork Path=\\127.0.0.1\Merging\". Make sure net paths start with: "\\".

GAH. I was looking right at it. Thanks Magfaer, I had indeed forgotten the trailing backslash in the INI file. Everything is now being created in Merging\Data where it belongs.

Well that's one mystery less.

I have successfully created a populated ESM file after copying Skyrim.ESM and Update.ESM to the Merging\Data dir. This in combination with adding the trailing \ to the paths in SkyrimEditor.ini seems to have fixed the error message (though now it wants me to pick a CID file to use to generate new IDs for some objects that refer to items in Skyrim.esm).

Fortunately, nothing I'm doing actually requires me to create a Master file, so for now this is all just an intellectual exercise for me. Might come in handy some day, though.

Thanks again Maegfaer, both for the tutorial and pointing out my stupid mistake

Alright, so:
? I added two dashes at the end of each directory in my SkyrimEditor.ini
? I created a fresh new .esm using the creation kit.
? I put skyrim.esm and my new VCTest.esm into the merging/data folder.
? I loaded both esm's with my CK and then I did the thing where you click on details on each .esm and press SHIFT+CTRL+B to create the .fid, .fud & .fvd files.
? They appeared in the data folder now.
? I did slight modifications to riverwood just as a test (I added a barrel next to a house)
? I saved these changes as a new .esp
? I went into Version Control, Selected all the Forms and clicked Check Out. Nothing seemed to happen but thats better then an error.
? Then I click Check-In and I get past the error that I initially had and I was able to select an .esm to merge with.
But then I got an error message and another one after that:




I hit OK and then I got this right after:

Can I please get some help? : /

I'm working on a huge project and alot of people are sort of depending on me right now.

You shouldn't need two trailing backslashes on your paths, I got by with only one. You definitely don't want more than one on the local paths. Maybe this is where the error is coming from?

Sorry I'm not more help, I did basically the same thing you did, but with only a single trailing backslash (\) on each path and didn't get that error.