Mod Picker utility

[Quikngruvn]

So you're playing five or six PBEM/PBW games, and each of them uses a different mod pack, and you use a totally diffrent mod pack for your solo games, and you're getting fed up with having to manually change path.txt everytime you switch games.

The solution: Mod Picker 1.0!

How it works: inside the zip file are copies of path.txt for each of the supported mods (none of which are actually called path.txt, so your current file is not overwritten). After you place these path*.txt files in your SEIV, just run the batch file pickmod.bat, choose the mod you want to play, and path.txt will automatically be changed to point to the mod you want. Pickmod.bat can be run from any folder on your computer (such as your desktop), as it is set to first direct itself to the SEIV folder.

A couple of caveats:
1. SEIV must have been installed to the default path.
2. There must be a folder for each installed mod in your SEIV directory for path.txt to point to. (If you pick a mod that you don't have installed or don't have a directory for, SEIV will use the default configuration.)

See mpreadme.txt for more information, and also how to adapt it for your own fiendish plans.

Comments? Suggestions? Contributions? Post 'em here!

(I wasn't sure where to put this-- if it really belongs elsewhere, someone please guide me to the proper place.)

Quikngruvn

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"That which does not kill you will make you stronger." -- Nietzsche

[This message has been edited by Quikngruvn (edited 18 July 2001).]

[dogscoff]

Very nice and very much needed. Thanks.

2 suggestions:
- Make it so that it launches SEIV when the mod has ben selected (If it doesn't already)
- email it to MM and get them to add this functionality to the game.


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"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"I think so Brain but, if you replace the P with an O, my name would be Oinky, wouldn't it?"

[Suicide Junkie]

Why is it nessesary to have SE installed in the default directory?

Why don't you set it to use the "current directory", and then people can run it from wherever they want.

I have everything in a games folder, and multiple installs (for diff. patches), so this program would not work for me.

Definitely, start SE4 when you're done picking (and have an option to cancel).
Another good feature for your Mod Picker, if you don't have it already, would be a commandline parameter, so you can place shortcuts on your desktop, and run SE4 with each mod instantly.

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[Puke]

A big Bravo-Zulu goes out to Quikngruvn on this one.

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"...the green, sticky spawn of the stars"
(with apologies to H.P.L.)

[Quikngruvn]

Mod Picker 1.1, with enhancements listed below....

quote:

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Originally posted by suicide_junkie:
Why is it nessesary to have SE installed in the default directory?

Why don't you set it to use the "current directory", and then people can run it from wherever they want.

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Brain fart on my part. This is what happens when a non-programmer tries to piece together a program....

Now, unzip eveything into your SEIV folder, run the batch file there (directly or via shortcut), and everything's cool.

quote:

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Originally posted by suicide_junkie:
Definitely, start SE4 when you're done picking (and have an option to cancel).

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quote:

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Originally posted by dogscoff:
- Make it so that it launches SEIV when the mod has ben selected (If it doesn't already)

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Here's what happens now: you're presented with a menu of available mods and an option to cancel. After you pick the mod, you have a second choice to either start SEIV, choose another mod, or cancel out.

quote:

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Originally posted by suicide_junkie:
Another good feature for your Mod Picker, if you don't have it already, would be a commandline parameter, so you can place shortcuts on your desktop, and run SE4 with each mod instantly.

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Honestly, I'm not sure how I would do that the way I've written this batch file, but it could be done with seven different batch files with a shortcut pointing to each one. Each batch file would be like two lines long, one to overwrite path.txt and the other to launch SEIV.

Thanks to all for the feedback and encouragement. Who knows? Maybe MM will implement a feature like this sometime-- just more elegantly!

Quikngruvn

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"That which does not kill you will make you stronger." -- Nietzsche

[Wolverine]

I created a Mod Launcher utility a few months back which handled arguments. I never got any feedback so I didn't continue supporting it, however if anyone wants the source code I'll happily supply it. It's programmed in Visual C++.
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/For...ML/002606.html

[Nitram Draw]

Does this work? I installed the first Version but I kept getting a fault. I think it's a great idea given the number of good mods available.

[Quikngruvn]

quote:

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Originally posted by Nitram Draw:
Does this work? I installed the first Version but I kept getting a fault. I think it's a great idea given the number of good mods available.

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What was the fault, ND? My first guess is that you didn't originally install SEIV in the default folder, c:\program files\shrapnel games\malfador machinations\space empires iv (whew!).

Try v1.1-- it doesn't care where you installed SEIV, so long as pickmod.bat and the path*.txt files are in your SEIV folder. (Thanks again to suicide_junkie for showing me the light.)

Wolverine: I didn't know you (or anyone else) had done so. C++ would probably make for a more versatile and elegant program, given my limited (OK, non-existent) knowledge of C++....

Quikngruvn

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"That which does not kill you will make you stronger." -- Nietzsche

[Nitram Draw]

It's been a while since I tried it but if I recall it kept trying to put the data directory into the path statement. For example instead of changing the path to read TDM-modpack it put TDM data.
If the new program works I'll try it again.

[Haven]

I have been using this program for several months. I had to redue the file names in his directory but it works well!!
Wolverine's se4path.exe