I am announcing a new utility that can copy all of a players MODS AND update the mods to a new patch.
at present it it can update mods in txt form from entrenchment 1.01 &1.02 to entrenchment 1.03 and sins 1.15-6 to 1.17, it works in a similar way to my map updater ie it first copies the files from the source folder( and it does copy ALL files and folders), it then reads in the entity file from the destination folder, re-names the entity to entold, checks to see if it needs the changes and makes the nessacary changes and saves the corrected entity. I have already tested it with manshooters dynamic v0.9b and my own megastarbases mod (both in txt form and it copied and updated both in 33 seconds, but the more mods and the larger the mods and also if the mods ar binned the SLOWER the updating time. eg with celestial bodies v0.8b, ds entrenchment beta 0.7, dynamic 0.9b, firefall 2.2, ms entrench v2.22, requiem 2.2, sins of the 13th tribe v0.4, unknown darkness beta 0.01 and my megastarbases mod (totaling 3.9GB of files) it took 40 minutes to update all of them.
and as the entity files in the mods ARE updated you only need to run the utility when a new patch to entrenchment comes out and I have supplied updated instructions to the program.
the links for old versions have been removed
I have been given permission to include the convertdata*.exe's with my utilities so I am now releasing my utility pack
I have released all of my modding utilities/tools in one archive and INCLUDED the NOW needed convertdata*.exe's from all of the sins versions that my utilities support, ie sins 1.15,1,16 & 1.17 and also entrenchment 1.01,1.02, & 1.03
also I made sure that the correct targetsinsver.txt is included
1/1/2010 the latest version which has the updated program for the textbin gui and diplomacy compatibility is now up at
7/2/ 2010 uploaded the 1.19 release of the utilities including the latest mod updater which is set to ignore the 5 fx files that can cause dumps in entrenchment mods
19/2/2010 latest version of the complete modding utiities with the essentals files incuded is up at
the latest version is up at http://www.filefactory.com/file/b0b3g8a/n/harpo_sins_utilities_1.191_e_d.rar
now also at http://www.filefront.com/15858795/harpo-sins-utilities-1.191ed.rar/
and the dip 1.21 version http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8023186/sins%20mods/harpo%20sins%20utilities%20for%20sins%201.191%2Cent%201.051%2Cd1.21.rar
I have tested this version on 32 bit & 64 bit sins,entrenchment & diplomacy, the only issue is a overflow value with many mods in a mod folder. I will fix this in the next version
just a reminder if you are getting an error stating that sins version found ::: need version 1.1.9 then you NEED the registry keys that point to the sins install folder for 32bit windows
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Stardock\Drengin.net\sinsfor 64bit windows
HKLM>SOFTWARE>Wow6432Node>Stardock>Drengin.net>sins
and they should have a Path string value that contains the EXACT path to the sins game folder
the latest version includes the use of the sinstrinity registry key to find the path to the sins install if the sins path key is blank, and also a probable fix for the error 76 (path not found) error that appears to be caused by having a '\' at the end of the sins(trinity) path, so you do NOT need to edit the registry entries
here is the drop box link
and the file factory link
and now the utility pack with diplomacy 1.3 and trinity 1.3 convertdata btw I do not recommend using the mod updater to update the mods to diplomacy 1.3 as there are a large number of changes in the playerRACE.entity files and the entity manifest, and new and removed pacts compared with diplomacy 1.21
corrected the link above, the above link archive NOW has the diplomacy1.21 convertdata
and the first link for the utility pack with convertdatadiplomacy 1.31(file factory)
utility pack convertdatadiplomacy 1.31 (drop box)
updated the utility pack for the latest patch and the mod updater WILL update original mods to 1.192, entrenchment (still uses the 1.051 folder so no update) and diplomacy 1.3# to 1.33
filefactory link to full utility pack for o1.192 e 1.052 d/t 1.33
18/11/2011 updated the utilities to the latest steam compatable patch ie original 1.193, entrenchment 1.053, diplomacy 1.34, trinity 1.34 AND updated the manifest maker to remove the two entities that diplomacy no longer wants
filefactory latest utility pack for O1.193 e1.053 d1.34 t1.34
harpo
wanted to stop by and say thank you harpo
Indeed, Thank you!!
Just some feedback, in case you were wanting to put time towards the string editor.... The current 2 step mod update process is a breeze, you wouldn't need to do #3 for me (though obviously it will be slightly more efficient, It will only really speed the whole process up another 20 seconds or so for me). What about the rest of you that have used the 2 step process so far? (mod updater then manifest maker)
as I see it the two step process is fine for MODDERS, but for the people that just want to play it is irritating as each mod that they have installed needs the updated manifests, which is why I outlined a users mod updater as well as the modders mod updater, and with 5 or more mods installed the two step gets irritating from personal experience
Your tools are awesome! i was able to convert SoA2 0.03c to the 1.18 version of sins. No problems, and it works great.
However when i tried to convert the entrenchment version it just freezes up my puter when i try to run the mod (yes i used the entrenchment mod converter). Can you check this out Harpo, and see what if anything is missing?
major stress, did you run the manifest maker to remake the manifests? I have tested soa0.3e1 + s0a0.3e101 patch mod updated & manifest maker remade manifests and the ONLY error with showerrors TRUE is
Text FileArchive missing Label.File: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Mods-Entrenchment v1.04\SoA2 03E1\GameInfo\GameEventData.gameeventdataLabel: GameEventDef:UseAbilityUnmetConstraintHasAbilityWithCooldownLine Number:1135Line Contents:GameEventDef:UseAbilityUnmetConstraintHasAntimatterwhich is in the gameeventdata file that the mod updater JUST copies and does not modify
I als ohad a cursor disapear on me when playing the mod, but I do not know what or how to fix this. it might even be related to the lines missing in gameeventdata
The version of the mod i am working with has much more than what is on the downloadable version (the dominion, the borg, and the romulan factions)
I thought i downloaded the wrong version but i did have 1.18a. Tried it again and met with same failure (total lockup with no error messege). So its obviously something in the mod itself. We will have to track that down. Thank you for trying anyway
the issue is that soa2 was already converted to 1.04 . Sorry for the confusion. just take soa2 out of the 1.03 folder and place in 1.04 mods folder and you are good to go. Btw thanks harpo again. Your tools are awesome
DOH!! Im an idiot!.. I was converting an already converted copy
vell ve is all huuman.
Thank you!
Program doesnt like win7 x64 but works great on the emulation of XP
Been sitting here all night not knowing why it was crashin
odd the only issue I have had in w7 64bit RC1 is with convertdata's crashing, admittedly the w7 box is a Iq9550 oc'd to 3.79ghz 8gb 1066 ram 160gb os & 500gb data hdds ati4850 video.
I actually use this as a test/game beastie, and the mod updater does list the files it can not update and the same files fail on my xp boxes
and my primary development machine is a xp pro 32bit box w an amd x2 5200 4gb 800 ram 5hdds gefroce 7600gs vga.
the only thing that might be involved is the w7 file versioning facility which I turned offas it was really stuffing me up and chewing up disc space like nobody's business.
Yay finally, Distant Star Dynamic Movement Mini-Mod can be started!!!
does this work with 1.04.1 yet?
I am downloading the update at the moment, but I hope to have a release soon within the next few hours
here are the updated utilites which include a new exe for the mod updater AND txtbin gui
filefront http://www.filefront.com/14679439/harpos-mod-utilities-1.181.rar/
gamingvault http://www.gamingvault.net/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=134 gamingvault closed
mediafire http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=b70e23d4568339f600d27174b47c6657e04e75f6e8ebb871
HARPO
thanks harpos Your tools make modding easy
Does the 1.181 file also update for E-1.041? Harpo can you check your email as well??
walkercubed the 1.181 mod updater IS FOR sins 1.181 AND entrenchment 1.041.
if you want to see which versions the mod updater is for open the 'targetsinsver.txt' in notepad.
the first line is the version returned by sins of a solar empire.exe the second line is the sins mod folder version number to update TOthe third line is the entrenchment mod version filder number to update TOthe fourth line is for diplomacy mod updatingthe fifth line was for the third expansion updating
I have decided to use the sins version number in the archive name to indicate which version of sins/entrenchment/diplomacy the updater is FOR.
also no emails have shown up
OK, so i'll ask here. I am really new and uncertian how to play with the files. I have this nack for hosing up files.
i saw 2 ".instr" files which seem to be instructions, but i'm not familliar with all of the termanology. i did not see a "mod" updater set of instructions. I have no idea what is meant by a brush file, or the others, I just barely know what a galexy file is. SO sorry
So, I guess my question is just how do I use these tools and which ones are necessary for which jobs?
Not being a totall idiot I can guess that the manifest instr tells me how to do the manifest files, is this the only thing that needs to be done to update a mod? (just cuz I have located the instructions does not imply that i know what i'm reading) Do I have to update the "factory" maps, and/or the custom maps i have downloaded?
Lost, Dazed, & confused
ken
Hey I just looked at another post on SoA2 and the post seem to say the instructions are in the program itself. So I tried it.
Didn't work on SoA but they sem to be ready to put out a new version so I'll wait. Then I tried on the SG Galixyies mod. did not run into any error msgs. I was so pleased I tried the galexy files. lol ha ha ha. now I have no factory maps showing up at all. guess I'm stuck with the downloaded maps. But haven't tried yet.
Did I mention that I have a nac for hosing up files............
Err, I tried this for SoA2 03E1, but I got an run-time-error 52, "Bad File Name or Number".
I selected the file folder marked SoA2 03E1, and then hit "set Source to copy from".
Did I mess up? do I need to put the Convert Data files into their respective folders in the Sins folder? I've just got everything I got from the link in a folder on the desktop.
Now I've tried from simply the 1.03 entrech mod folder to the 1.41 entrech mod folder. It froze the updater... Help? a readme with explanations of the error codes would help! or something... EDIT 2: well, to tell the truth, it's just not responding. I'm worried about closing it though, because what if it's still working?
Edit 3: it got forceclosed anyway, and now there's a little 'command prompt' thing that keeps apearing and dissapearing in the bottom bar.. I have no idea what's going on at this point... I think I've managed to cause my computer to evolve into skynet or something..
Edit 4: ah, now it's reopened itself, and is going through the files. it finished, but it appears to have ignored SoA2 entirely, along with several others (Volumetric explosions, Sins of the 13th Tribe v0.8), and it couldn't update the Requiem\GameInfo\CAPITALSHIP_IMP_DEATHSTAR.entity . Hmm. Modders, just because you can tell your recipients to just use the mod updater, rather than release a patch-fix, doesn't mean you should.
Was wondering if anyone else has tried this on Mad Scientist 2.5? I used the converter (great work by the way!) and all seems good, applied the mod and all is good I am in game. The moment that I get 1 of 2 things done it crashes with a mini dump.
Those two things are:Research the second level of the laser damage military techmake a civilian research post
If it is just me that fine, will stop using it but if others are having it maybe we can fix it together.
walkercubed,
the two files that contain instructions for the use of individual programs are sins manifest maker readme.txt and sins map updater instructions.txt, but in general with ALL of my utilities you extract all the files into a folder on the computer, then select the 'exe' files that have a colourful icon, then right mouse click on them and send to desktop, then click on the desktop shortcut to run the program. for the mod updater it is designed to update all the mods of a sins mod folder to the latest folder eg mods-entrenchment v1.01 to mods-entrenchment 1.041 or mods-v1.15 to mods-v1.181
admiral teridoc,
the commandbox that opens and closes IS the convertdata*.exe that is converting the bin files to txt so that they can be checked and updated, also I have spent a lot of time doing the absolute best that I can to prevent any errors from crashing the utilities which is why there are no error codes, the only issue I have seen involving the mod updater is actually the convertdata-originalsins.exe failing to convert some files, and yes the requiem capitalship_imp_deathstar.entity is one of only four files that fail to convert. also the update process run duration depends upon 1 the speed of the computer, 2 the total size of mods to be updated, 3 the extent of updating needed and how many files are in BIN( this can bump the update duration up by 2 to 3 times as it needs to run the convertdata to convert it to txt then update then convert BACK to bin) as an example it can take over an hour to convert 7gb of mods to the latest patch which I use as test points for the mod updater.
majare007,
could you have been about to click or move over the akkan's colonise ability? if yes the problem is that in 1.4 and later the colonise cap ability was broken into two entity files and the manifest files are not updated by the mod updater, the quick fix is to run the manifest maker for mods and make a new entity.manifest for the mod. I have had this happen with a lot of the 1.03 and earlier mods moving to 1.04 & 1.041
I seem to have gotten it for SG Galexy's. But what did i do to my map files? i ran the map converter on the files then the map manifest and now all i have are the custom downloads. The "factory" files do not show up within the games as choices any more?
Suggestions??
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