The Rosenkreuzstilette 106a English Patch Workaround.

A fellow fan of this magnificent game is having a problem getting the English Patch to work with the latest version of the game. First thing I did was to replicate the problem.

I got it to happen in three ways. I pointed the patch to a file that contained that zip file. Then I tried changing the names of the main Rosenkreuzstilette folder. The patch worked every time. However I remembered noting to myself awhile ago that the "manual" and "omake" folders are deleted when the patch is installed. SO I deleted them myself. The patch failed. (Ironic.) Now there was one more test, but I couldn't try it.

Patching 106a. I don't have a copy. (Damn the irony.) But I did get one, without having to buy yet another copy of the game. I was trolling erka:es looking for a graphic reference when I saw patch downloads. So starts patching adventures. There's about a thousands variations of the game and a thousand patches for each. After an hour of trial and error, (mostly error) I finally succeeded in upgrading one of my many copies of 105c into 106a.

And the English Patch failed.

But, I had already tested a solution. (Which I have no doubt everybody else has already done.) I took the "scenario" file from the English Patched game and copied it to 106a. And It seems to be working. Now, I have only tested one stage, and went trough it pretty quickly, but I'm sure It works all they way through. For this video, I threw in a few extras.




That graphic reference. I couldn't find it. Let's just say that fairies are evil and if it weren't for their infinite capacity for stupidity, they'd rule the world.

Uh-oh moment, three days later.

Last Thursday, 11 Nov 10 as I recall, I went through my usual rutine of reading the comics I get via an email subscription. Ones like Bloom County, Wizard of Id, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, and so on. I laughed and closed out and went about my rather boring business.

The next Sunday I was listening to a nationally syndicated radio talk show I tune into only in times of extreme desperation when the host mentioned in passing about a cartoonist apologizing for a cartoon that ran the previous Thursday. As soon as I could I went back to my email to look it up. I had an oh my goddess reaction.

Before I go ranting myself all over the place, I do some research. I looked up the cartoonist's apology. I had a little bit of queasiness concerning it, but seeing as how this is the first time such a bad bit of timing has occurred to the best of my knowledge. I 'll chalk it up to a collective brain shart.

Collective because it wasn't just the cartoonist at fault. He has a staff of hundreds, if not thousands that missed it. The syndicator that has thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people that missed it. It happens. Really.

So, what's my excuse?

Do Not mistake this for a Mea Culpa.

Way back in May I wrote a certainly derisive missive concerning call for new medals to be awarded to service members. You can read the whole thing here. To paraphrase for those that don't want to go there: "... is already a medal for doing nothing. It's called a Bronze Star."

It smacks of mean, dirty, rotten, venom spewing, vitriol. I meant what I said and I stand by it.

A couple of weeks after posting that, me, my dad, and grandma were at the cemetery decorating family graves. While trying to find them a couple of older gentlemen wearing Vietnam Veteran caps and proudly displaying Bronze Stars on their jackets (Probably the same medals they were awarded in Vietnam) came by and struck up conversations with my dad. All the while I felt a little sheepish.

I think this week is as good as any to tell a couple of stories explaining my emotions on the subject.


About five or so years ago some guy I don't remember the name of because it's not worth remembering started bragging about getting a Bronze Star for supervising a trench across a road in Iraq. Mind you, that trench was important. A pipe going from a water purification depot to a canal was needed and it had to go under a road. This braggart pretty much stood on the side chit-chatting with the other sergeants and whenever a soldier asked for a water break the answer would be "Get back to work!"

"Sergeant, I have to use the latrine." "Get back to work!"
"Sergeant, I'm hungry, we haven't eaten since yesterday." "Get back to work!"
"Sergeant, I'm out of malaria pills." "Get back to work!"
"Sergeant, I've stopped sweating." "Get back to work!"

And, at no time did he or the other sergeants standing around swing a pick ax, touch a shovel, take a turn with the jack hammer, or even run the SEE-truck. He got his Bronze Star. His buddies got ARCOMs.  The soldiers in the trench got AAMs. Which at the time were illegal.


Now we have this: After a month in Iraq, she lost hearing in one ear. Then spent over a week soaked in diesel fuel. Got cheated on by her loved one and dumped. Had a (fortunately dud) mortar round land next to her. Was on a crew that was tasked to wash every vehicle in the battalion so she spent over a month was doused in the nastiest and coldest water in the world. Was one of the last soldiers in the battalion to return home a month after everybody else.

Back home she was kicked out of recruiter school for obviously bogus reasons. Deployed to a hardship duty pay area for four months and was never paid for it. Ordered to drive her personal vehicle to a job site over twenty miles away for several months and was never compensated for it.

Then while in Afghanistan she broke her hip and kept running on it for over a month. After being sent home for about six months she went back.

Worse of all, she had to put up with me torturing her all day long and taking our private conversations and using them as fodder in my little comic strip.


So I leave it to you: who do you think earned their Bronze Star?

Only slightly exaggerated.