Errors: "!!! MISSING STRING" / "Cannot load texture ca\plants2\clutter\data\c_grasstall_ca.paa"

[kromike]

Summary: the DLC "Army of the Czech Republic" ("ACR") that's bundled w/ Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead has three key problems:

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A) An included DLC installer .EXE that is incompatible with the Steam download of Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead.

B) Once actually installed, "ACR" is missing some .pbo files, causing annoying popups at the game's main menu.

C) Switching between Expansions at the game menu re-generates constant "!!! MISSING STRING" Windows-popups that are highly annoying.
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Here's what I did to alleviate the issues. I've uninstalled everything & re-installed several times using the following steps with consistent results.

Hopefully, this may help you with the issue(s).

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01) Backup (don't delete) the DLC installer executable "..\Common\Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead\DLCsetup\ACR\datacachepreprocessor.exe" (3,876,352 bytes).

02) If not already installed, download either standalone DLC "British Armed Forces" or "Private Military Company" (the DLC is not actually installed with the download; that's a separate task).

03) Copy the file "datacachepreprocessor.exe" (a smaller file) from either ..\DLCsetup\BAF\ or ..\DLCsetup\PMC\ over to ..\DLCsetup\ACR\.

04) Launch Arma 2: OA in Windowed mode (for ease). Arma 2: OA will auto-run the DLC installer "datacachepreprocessor.exe" associated with the DLC from Step 2 and install that specific DLC. Exit the game.

05) Launch Arma 2: OA, selecting option "Install Army of the Czech Republic DLC". OA will then install the ACR DLC using the borrowed "datacachepreprocessor.exe" that you copied over from Step 2. At the game menu, the game-popup "Cannot load texture ca\plants2\clutter\data\c_grasstall_ca.paa" appears. Don't panic; click "Continue" & exit the game.


[*Personal opinion - these DLC installers are dumb: they simply copy most of ..\DLCsetup\xxx\* files over to ..\Common\Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead\xxx\, resulting in a redundant footprint. As a side note, the DLC installer also creates a 2nd UnInstall entry in the "Programs and Features" applet ("ARMA 2...Data cache removal").]


06) Restore your backup of ACR's original "datacachepreprocessor.exe" (from Step #1) back to ..\Common\Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead\DLCsetup\ACR\, thus overwriting the smaller "borrowed" EXE file copied in Step #2.

07) At this point, the "ACR" is now installed under ..\Common\Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead\ACR\, but you will likely see the popup error "cannot load texture ca\plants2\clutter\data\c_grasstall_ca.paa" upon launch of Arma 2: OA. You will likely hear only backgroun sound; no music-loop.

08) Download the "Arma 2 Free" client. Go to https://www.fileplanet.com/archive/p-15116/ArmA-2-Client. This is a safe link (but if that link ever goes '404', DO NOT EVER go to alternative site "ocean0fgames.com" if searching for 'Arma 2 Free'; that site is highly-suspect for "PainInTheAss-ware").

09) Do a temporary install; you will need only a small number of additional .pbo files. CDKEY "T5R2-W52R5-DTKFJ-2M079-H76CF".

10) From your temporary install of Arma2-Client, copy the following .pbo files (none of these files exist in the DLC ACR's \Addons\ directory, so there's no chance of overwriting existing files).

From (example) C:\TempArma2Client\AddOns\
To ..\Common\Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead\ACR\AddOns\:

buildings.pbo, buildings2.pbo, misc.pbo, music.pbo, plants2_Clutter.pbo, plants2_misc.pbo, plants2_Plant.pbo, plants2_Tree.pbo, Roads2.pbo, rocks2.pbo, signs2.pbo, and structures.pbo.

At this point, Arma 2: OA should launch normally w/o errors. You should now hear the music-loop at the main game menu.

11) Uninstall the temporary installation of Arma2 Free Client. Note that in the future, if you should ever uninstall Arma 2+AFC and delete the directory "Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead", you'll lose those additional .pbo files from Step 10. So either back those files up elsewhere or keep the Arma2-Client installer (and these notes).
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