I have started coding on another little program for automated conversion of files between txt & bin formats using the actual convertdata*.exe's and the correct convertdata for the files based on the pathname eg for entrenchment mods/reference files the path should contain "entrenchment" ditto for the next expansions, and for vanilla sins it SHOULD NOT contain any of the expansions names also it will work on all drives in the computer BUT does need the sins installation in the location pointed to by the registy.
it will also be able to make TXTed reference files as easily as converting an entire mod to/from bin
to make your own reference set you first COPY the program files sins folder to another location in the computer like for example 'my documents', then delete FROM THE COPY the appdata,font & sdplugins folders and the dll and exe files in the root of the copy then run the txt binner doing the entrenchment folder first then any other expansions you have and finally the vanilla sins and for each folder note which files have FAILED conversion
a more detailed overview of the program
psudo code outline
get the conversion type
get the location to convert
determine which convertdata to use based on the location (all three expansions will be supported)
scan the location to create a list of all files
for each file in the list use the convertdata to convert each file if it is NOT the type wanted, then test to see if it was converted correctly, if not list it in the failed conversion list, if it was then list it in the success list
end psudo code outline
note additional minor feature if you have a location you want to use as a sins reference files location and want it to be accessably with a single button then create a sinsref.txt in the same folder as the txt binner.exe and have as the first line of the file as the path to your sins reference location eg 'f:\sins reference' note the LACK of trailing backslash the program does not want it
the new versions of the mod updater and TXT BIN GUI use the correct version of the convertdata to do the actual convesion to text/bin eg updateing mods from entrenchment 1.01 to 1.03 the mod updater converts to text with convertdata_entrenchment1.01.exe and updates the entities, then converts back to bin with convertdata_entrenchment 1.03.exe.
I suggest not using the old version files the current is 1.1
the latest version is included in the utility pack that an be downloaded from my mod updater thread
harpo
dds files & textures ARE NOT conpressed with the convertdata*.exe's. to load them into a program like photoshop an gimp you need the dds plugin for photoshop or the gimp dds converter, personally I use photoshop & the nvidia dds plugin
ok thanks
i have not been able to get the program to work since the last update any one else
?
It's been working for me. Wonderfully I might add. I'm sort of a noob when it comes to converting files so this has really helped.
jtaylor what are the problems,versions(mods) you are attempting to convert? as the gui uses the convertdata*.exe (*= originalsins or entrenchment as appropriate) any problems are likly to be in the convertdata, and I did write into the program a BLOCK of converting any folder containing 'program files' in it's path to protect the game files from being converted untill they are copied to another path
i figured it out thanks
jtaylor, please tell us the things that were causeing the problems and what you found to be the fix
everytime i run the GUI i get an error message reading "can not find user data in C:\Users\********\AppData\Local\IroncladGames\Sins of a solar empire" i looked there and user data is in the Setting folder there. i even went as far as to reinstall SoaSE and it still wont work. any ideas would be helpful
the location is the default location for the sins mods, maps & settings, but the folders are created upon sins or entrenchment's first run, by the way is there a space between the ironclad and the games? I believe the last part of the path should read '\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\'(note i used underline to highlight the spaces), the path fragment that I have here I copied from the source code of the program. if you look in the folder where you saved the gui.exe there should be a info.txt file. if you could email it to me at harpo99999 at hotmail.com I will investigate further
The GUI.exe wont even open. i get that message and it never opens. and the only text file is the instructions.
NVM think i just got it to work
Cool
Thanks for putting this together. I've been using the DK - SoaSE Mod Tool GUI which has worked well. You've put together a nice easy to navigate interface, Harpo.
Thanks for sharing.
Ok, I have used it to ocnvert some of the entity files I have recently re-downloaded, I open it and try to convret but it will only convert some files and for other I just get a program error. Ok, the files I am converting were the entrench files of the distant stars mod
edit: after looking at the files, I found out that only the updated entrenchment files doesn't convert, yet if I convert using this program on the same mod, but for vanilla sins, none of the files fail to convert
mooster I use the convertdata_entrenchment.exe for entrenchment mods, convertdata_originalsins.exe for vanilla, and for the future expansions I will use their convertdata*.exe's, so if the modder had used the wrong convertdata for the expansion then it could give this problem and might be related to the will not convert the capitalship_phase for creating your own reference data's problem that happens even with the batchfile method of conversion, which is why I put the failed to convert listing and report in
I keep getting an error when attempting to convert entrenchments gameinfo folder.
I have escalated this problem to ironclad games as the error is from the convertdata_originalsins in the program files\sins of a solar empire and blair fraser said that he would have a look at the problem when he gets a chance to via email,als odo you have the entrenchment files in a folder with entrenchment in the name? as the gui looks to the path to determine which convertdata to use ie if the path has entrenchment in it then the entrenchment convertdata is used, but if entrenchment is NOT in the path then the original sins is used( which is the wrong converter for entrenchment).
my own path structure for my reference files is as below
sins reference\sins 1.15 \sins 1.16 \sins 1.17 \entrenchment 1.01 \entrenchment 1.02 \entrenchment 1.03
this structure lets me access any version that I have and might need
It's working now, yeah it was using the wrong exe for the files.
I have found an issue with the convertdata's not correctly converting files that were converted to bin with a previous version of the convertdata*.exe. I am re-writing the gui and the mod updater to use the correct convertdata for the version and expansion, but the folder paths DO NEED to have the expansion AND version number in them eg entrenchment 1.02, entrenchment 1.01 entrenchment 1.03,sins 1.15,sins 1.16,sins 1.17, and will also have to supply the versions of convertdata
Edit: sorry for doublepost, I got an error messeage when I replied so I didn't think it was submitted.
Wow, you're my hero (or atleast until they release the next update ). I was almost ready to throw my computer out of the window after using a day on getting some txt files that worked.
This is my first time modding ever, so I will probably still have a lot of issues to face, but atleast I can start doing it now.
Thx again.
~ gruntmaster1
I have some good news.
blair has given me permission to include the earlier versions of the convertdatas for my mod updater and txtbin gui, and due to the size of the convertdata's the download size has increased to 4.4MB so I decided to add all of my modding and mapping tools into one archive.
I am uploading to filefront , gamingvault and mediafire
gamingvault has closed
Harpo, you may create tutorial how convert bin>txt and txt>bin with images ? In step-by-step view ? Like tutorial 3D Max converts. Create and convert model in game very simply, but programms work killing me .
Thanks for putting this together Harpo! I've been trying to adjust some models from a mod that I downloaded and have finally figured out how to import a .mesh file only to discover that 3ds Max won't open text files. This brought me to your tools, which are very simple to use, but I'm having trouble getting it to recognize the files from the mod I want to change (I've tested on files from a different mod without any problems).
Here's the message I'm getting:
convertdata not found for the expansion chosen. looked for convertdata?originalsinsMesh.exe here, and did not find it. please copy it into this location.
the mod is for v1.17. Any thoughts?
does the path to the files you want to convert contain the sins version and expansion, eg sins 1.17/mods 1.17 or entrenchment 1.03 as examples?
my utilities (both the mod updater AND the txt bin gui use the path to the file to determine the convertdata to use. the version 1.1 modding utilities does contain the convertdatas for sins 1.15,1.16 & 1.17 and entrenchment 1.01,1.02,1.03 and the utilities are altered to look in their directory to find & use the convertdata's
if you want the utilities v1.1 they are on gamevault, mediafire and filefront
the eariler versions looked to the program files\sins folder to find the convertdata's
hope this helps
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