dom2 save games

[paplan]

So, I think that this is a tough game to learn. I'd like to be able to save a game, try something new 9to see if it works), and then go back to that save, rather than starting over. I realize that I can do this manually, by Alt-Tabing into Win Explorer, creating a folder, and saving that folder. But this is sort of a hassle. I downloaded the domsaver utility, but can't quite figure out how it works. Where do I extract the files to? And then what do I do? Does Java Runtime need to be in the dom2 folder?

If someone could help me out with the domsaver utility, or come up with an alternate, quick approach to saving multiple games, I'd be very appreciative.

[Chazar]

I'm not sure since I am happy with manually copying files, but I think that domsaver utility you refer to is just there to save and restore newly-desgined pretenders (which are also just saved as <nation>.2h within a directory called newlords).

[Zooko]

I used to run a bash script to tar up my dir after each move.

However, for you to do that you would have to start with "install Linux" or at least "install cygwin". So I don't have any useful advice for you.

[Gandalf Parker]

Its easier if you make a batch file of the commands, then you can click on the icon to get it done. But thats fast becoming a lost art. I suppose I could make an executable that makes a backup copy of a game with a set name. Like any game called asdf

[Cainehill]

Easy enough to make the batch file, especially if you don't mind tweaking it from game to game.

Placing it in the game directory, it could look something like this:

echo off
mkdir save
copy nation.2h save

Very simple and crude, with a Version to restore it that looked like:


echo off
del nation.h
copy save\nation.h .


Then, make a shortcut and drag the shortcut to the desktop and you're set.

[Arralen]

If it's "George McGinn's Dominions SaveGame Backup&Restore Utility Version" you're talking about ... yes, it does backup every turn automatically.

But - some zips had only the Java source files in it (".java" on W32 machines), in that case you need the Java SDK to compile them yourself.

I accidently deleted my bin files, so I'm stuck with manually zipping the turn files as well (no way of compiling a Java app).
Isn't that hard to do, as I play in windowed mode anyway. And as Dom2 doesn't keep the files open all time, it doesn't complain if you fiddle with them while the game is running.

[Chazar]

If you follow Cainehill's suggestion, do not forget the "fthrlnd"-file if you're playing single player...

[paplan]

Thanks for the help. Where might I find a copy of "George McGinn's Dominions SaveGame Backup&Restore Utility Version"?

[Nagot Gick Fel]

OK, here's my own small, quick & dirty backup utility. It runs in the background and check your game folders periodically, so you don't have to remember about clicking on an icon each time you submit a turn.

It's written in Java (thus you need a Java VM to run it) and is Linux and Windows-friendly (and should probably run on other OSes as well).

Basically it manages subfolders named 000, 001, 002, etc. in your game folders, and reuses the oldest entry when the maximum # of backups is reached. A new backup folder is created/overwritten when a new .trn is generated, otherwise the most recent backup folder is updated when a .2h is generated or updated.

You can specify the # of backups, and dom2 location in a property file. There's also a property that lets you specify which games you don't want to save, and one that lets you specify the delay (in seconds) between checks.

It's a bit crude - no GUI, no restore function, and it may throw an exception if you manually delete a game folder it's tracking. That's mainly because I didn't want to spend too much of my free time on it. However it works, and what's nice is that once it's started you can forget about it.

Zipfile contents:

DomIIBackup.java - the source
DomIIBackup.jar - the executable JAR file
domIIbackup.props - the property file

Just unzip in your Dominions directory, or any directory of your choice. If the latter, you'll need to update the d2backup.d2home property in the property file to point to your Dominions directory. Eg, for Linux:

d2backup.d2home=//mylinux/home/Users/myself/dom2

and for Windows:

d2backup.d2home=C:/games/illwinter/dom2

or

d2backup.d2home=C:\\games\\illwinter\\dom2

The other options should be self-explanatory. If you want to tell DomIIBackup to NOT track the games 'mayhem', 'bloodfest' and 'armageddon', use the d2backup.exclude property:

d2backup.exclude=mayhem:bloodfestageddon

While running, DomIIBackup will automatically start tracking every new game you create, unless the game name is listed in the d2backup.exclude property.

To run, use the command:

java -cp DomIIBackup.jar DomIIBackup

in the unzip directory. Of course you can put that command in a shell script or batch file.

This Version was compiled/tested with Sun Microsystems' J2SDK 1.4.2_04, which is available for download on Sun's website. Although you only need the JRE component to run the utility.

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Nagot Gick Fel said:
OK, here's my own small, quick & dirty backup utility.

Ooops, forgot the attachment.