Author Topic: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.4.4 (launcher / mod installer)  (Read 44106 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline ngld

  • Administrator
  • 29
  • Knossos dev
PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.4.4 (launcher / mod installer)
The next version has been released.
Please go to the new thread.





Knossos is a launcher which tries to make installation and updating of mods (and FSO) as easy as possible.
  • Tells you when updates for FSO or mods are available and allows you to install them with a simple click.
  • Can verify your mod files and replace modified / corrupted files (similiar to what Steam does with games).
  • Can launch your already installed mods.
  • It automatically detects your CPU to select the fitting FSO build.
  • Works on Windows, Linux and macOS
  • Can update itself on Windows
  • Fixes inconsistent case in paths on Linux.

Since this is still in beta, Knossos will automatically report all encountered errors (unless you're on Ubuntu because it's missing the necessary package). You can turn this off if it bothers you by going to Settings -> Launcher settings and unchecking "Automatically report errors".

IMPORTANT: There's a known issue in the current version: The "Select FS2 directory" button is broken. Please go to Settings > Game settings and set your FS2 path there instead.
We're currently working on a new UI which is why this bug won't be fixed.

Download Links

How do I upload mods? Where can I find a list of available mods?
fsnebula.org lists all available mods and allows anyone to add new mods. All uploaded mods are mirrored which means that they will always remain available as long as fsnebula.org keeps running.

For anyone interested: The source code is on GitHub.

What happens next
I'd like to get some feedback: Does it work? Is the UI too complicated or too simple? What would you want to see?

Current TODO / Wishlist

« Last Edit: June 18, 2017, 03:55:16 pm by ngld »

 

Offline deathspeed

  • 29
  • i can't think of a good avatar
    • Steam
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
Thanks!  I just used it now to download "Lost".


Just a heads-up for others downloading and running this - both Windows 10 and Avast freaked at this new file.  :)  For Windows 10, it wanted to stop me from downloading; I had to click "advanced" to get the option to continue.  Then Avast threw out a warning when I started to install, and another when i ran it.  Both times i said "I trust this program", but Avast still would not let it run so I had to disable Avast temporarily. 

Maybe someday God will give you a little pink toaster of your own.

 

Offline ngld

  • Administrator
  • 29
  • Knossos dev
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
Thanks for testing!

Just in case, I've uploaded both the installer as well as an archive with the program files on virustotal.com:
Installer (4/53): https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/2f0876e3bb0903ddd2697ee70b22d8c6fbbf8fcee8314abc627deff160c17bcf/analysis/1486484383/
Actual Program (3/51): https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/fe45c77a0aaf4164bdc04e00be73b827656d5916467e01d2823289542ee87999/analysis/1486484597/

The warnings are generic trojan warnings. I guess they're caused by the fact Knossos downloads and saves files.

 
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
At installation and launch I got error.
Probably missing 32-bit vcruntime140.dll.

Btw does Knossos work with recent nightlies?
Because whatever mod I choose, it launches with last mod selected in wxlauncher.

[attachment deleted by admin]
« Last Edit: February 07, 2017, 03:36:30 pm by tomimaki »

 

Offline ngld

  • Administrator
  • 29
  • Knossos dev
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
You were right about the vcruntime140.dll, it was missing from the program directory. When FSO started using config files on all platforms, the config directory changed but Knossos was still writing the configuration to the old directory. FSO didn't read those files which caused your second issue.
Both issues will be resolved by the next update which should be available in a few hours.

 

Offline Nyctaeus

  • The Slavic Engineer
  • 212
  • My "FS Ships" folder is 582gb.
    • Minecraft
    • Exile
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
This thing is awesome. If not already fully awesome [small amounts of mods, bugs, whatever]... It looks like something that will be awesome soon :D. Especially great for newcomers who have problems with FSOInstaller or manual installing. I'll give it a try tomorrow.
Exile | Shadow Genesis | Inferno | Series Resurrecta  | DA Profile | P3D Profile

Proud owner of NyctiShipyards. Remember - Nyx will fix it!

All of my assets including models, textures, skyboxes, effects may be used under standard CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

 

Offline karajorma

  • King Louie - Jungle VIP
  • Administrator
  • 214
    • Karajorma's Freespace FAQ
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
I tried registering on the website so I can update the Diaspora install but it never sent me the confirmation email. I'm trying to register as Karajorma. Nevermind, the email arrived about 20 minutes later. Can I get added to the Diaspora team then?


Also one suggestion. Is there any way we could get a download count on the website? One of the complaints that came up recently was that people don't know if anyone is playing their mod since many people look at HLP but don't register / comment. It would be nice if people could see that their work was being appreciated.
« Last Edit: February 07, 2017, 08:49:12 pm by karajorma »
Karajorma's Freespace FAQ. It's almost like asking me yourself.

[ Diaspora ] - [ Seeds Of Rebellion ] - [ Mind Games ]

 

Offline niffiwan

  • 211
  • Eluder Class
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
That OpenGL shader/completely-black-window bug is resolved with the latest release; as well as the can't-update-the-available-mods-list bug.  Thanks!  :) :yes:

edit: ooh, I have another lousy feature request for you - what about a mod text-search box? I am a command line fiend, and I also think that good search beats hierarchies in most cases  :nod:
« Last Edit: February 08, 2017, 01:26:38 am by niffiwan »
Creating a fs2_open.log | Red Alert Bug = Hex Edit | MediaVPs 2014: Bigger HUD gauges | 32bit libs for 64bit Ubuntu
----
Debian Packages (testing/unstable): Freespace2 | wxLauncher
----
m|m: I think I'm suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Bmpman is starting to make sense and it's actually written reasonably well...

 
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
You were right about the vcruntime140.dll, it was missing from the program directory. When FSO started using config files on all platforms, the config directory changed but Knossos was still writing the configuration to the old directory. FSO didn't read those files which caused your second issue.
Both issues will be resolved by the next update which should be available in a few hours.
Thanks  :yes:

 

Offline karajorma

  • King Louie - Jungle VIP
  • Administrator
  • 214
    • Karajorma's Freespace FAQ
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
One other thing, how's the multi-lingual support on this thing? We've been shooting ourselves in the foot for years but making it all but impossible to play FS2 if you can't speak English (like 3/4 of the world). Can we not continue to do that please?
Karajorma's Freespace FAQ. It's almost like asking me yourself.

[ Diaspora ] - [ Seeds Of Rebellion ] - [ Mind Games ]

 

Offline ngld

  • Administrator
  • 29
  • Knossos dev
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
Nevermind, the email arrived about 20 minutes later. Can I get added to the Diaspora team then?
Weird, it shouldn't take that long. I've added you to the Diaspora team. You should be able to edit it and add new users to the team.

Also one suggestion. Is there any way we could get a download count on the website? One of the complaints that came up recently was that people don't know if anyone is playing their mod since many people look at HLP but don't register / comment. It would be nice if people could see that their work was being appreciated.
I can implement that. I'd count how often the mod was installed through the client and how many users / visitors clicked on the download links. I won't count the downloads directly since I would only be able to do that for dl.fsnebula.org and not the other download links.

One other thing, how's the multi-lingual support on this thing? We've been shooting ourselves in the foot for years but making it all but impossible to play FS2 if you can't speak English (like 3/4 of the world). Can we not continue to do that please?
I still have to make a few changes but the client will be fully translatable by the time it reaches 1.0.0 (which should take less than a year).
The server part (fsnebula.org) will be harder since there's more text and the available tools aren't as great. I'll try and implement it over time but it's not a priority for me.
I'll also have to add filtering by language because people probably don't want to see mods which they can't understand.

That OpenGL shader/completely-black-window bug is resolved with the latest release; as well as the can't-update-the-available-mods-list bug.  Thanks!  :) :yes:

edit: ooh, I have another lousy feature request for you - what about a mod text-search box? I am a command line fiend, and I also think that good search beats hierarchies in most cases  :nod:
Glad to hear that those issues are fixed. :)
fsnebula.org now has a full text search. What do you think? It's not perfect but it's a start.
The client should already have a search but I guess you want to search the descriptions and not just the mod titles. I'll put that on the to do list.

This thing is awesome. If not already fully awesome [small amounts of mods, bugs, whatever]... It looks like something that will be awesome soon :D. Especially great for newcomers who have problems with FSOInstaller or manual installing. I'll give it a try tomorrow.
Thanks for the praise!  :lol:  Please let me know what you think after your test.

 

Offline niffiwan

  • 211
  • Eluder Class
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
That OpenGL shader/completely-black-window bug is resolved with the latest release; as well as the can't-update-the-available-mods-list bug.  Thanks!  :) :yes:

edit: ooh, I have another lousy feature request for you - what about a mod text-search box? I am a command line fiend, and I also think that good search beats hierarchies in most cases  :nod:
Glad to hear that those issues are fixed. :)
fsnebula.org now has a full text search. What do you think? It's not perfect but it's a start.
The client should already have a search but I guess you want to search the descriptions and not just the mod titles. I'll put that on the to do list.

Oh dear, now I feel like a fool because I missed the search bar in Knossos  :nervous:  To be honest, I think searching just the mod titles is fine. Searching the description might match too much stuff - I'm thinking of the case where you have (looks at his FSO directory) 78 mods and scrolling to find the play button on the one you want to play is time consuming.

On the other hand, search bar doesn't seem to do anything? e.g. I have installed TheLastStand, when I type last or Last and press enter, nothing seems to change. OH WAIT... it searches when you change "tabs"... it seems more intuitive to either perform an as-you-go search (maybe once you reach 3+ chars), or have it triggered by pressing enter.

Going back to the searching the list, and the play button, and lots and lots of mods. I wonder if there's some way to borrow the "active mod" idea from wxLauncher, and move the play button to a constant location. I think play-per-mod works really well for a short list, but for a long list it's harder.  Windmills is always going to need a lot of scrolling.

What do you think about a "play last" button somewhere that'll launch the last played mod?

Or maybe another tab called active, to the left of installed, with a left arrow to "push" a mod into the active window & switches windows, you can use a right arrow to push a mod back into the installed window? The active window would display only one mod (image plus info text), keeping the hover-over play & config buttons.  That does mean extra actions to play a mod and possibly extra window width. Plus I have no idea how easy QT makes it to do something like that (the idea is probably inspired by touchscreens; swipe left & right to change the active mod/TC).

Aaaand, after writing all that, I'm probably back to the viewpoint of: it'll be fine if the search works on enter/as-you-type  :lol:
Creating a fs2_open.log | Red Alert Bug = Hex Edit | MediaVPs 2014: Bigger HUD gauges | 32bit libs for 64bit Ubuntu
----
Debian Packages (testing/unstable): Freespace2 | wxLauncher
----
m|m: I think I'm suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Bmpman is starting to make sense and it's actually written reasonably well...

 

Offline karajorma

  • King Louie - Jungle VIP
  • Administrator
  • 214
    • Karajorma's Freespace FAQ
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
Can we get this to launch FRED too?

Also the Play / Settings / X buttons are handled looks rather ugly. Can we get them to appear at the bottom of the entry rather than the top?


But anyway, so far this is looking very good.
Karajorma's Freespace FAQ. It's almost like asking me yourself.

[ Diaspora ] - [ Seeds Of Rebellion ] - [ Mind Games ]

  

Offline ngld

  • Administrator
  • 29
  • Knossos dev
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
The search bar should work as you type but after checking the code I realized I'm listening for the wrong event.  :rolleyes:

What do you think about a "play last" button somewhere that'll launch the last played mod?
Or maybe another tab called active, to the left of installed, [...]
What about a tab "Last Played" which automatically shows the mod you last played? I could make it the default tab and place a big "Play" button on it.

Can we get this to launch FRED too?
Shure. I'll add a new button "Launch FRED" to the mod entries unless someone has a better idea.

Also the Play / Settings / X buttons are handled looks rather ugly. Can we get them to appear at the bottom of the entry rather than the top?
That should be possible.

EDIT: What do you think? I think it still needs some more work. (Please disregard that FSO has the wrong picture.)
« Last Edit: February 09, 2017, 05:40:47 pm by ngld »

 

Offline karajorma

  • King Louie - Jungle VIP
  • Administrator
  • 214
    • Karajorma's Freespace FAQ
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
Much better. :yes:
Karajorma's Freespace FAQ. It's almost like asking me yourself.

[ Diaspora ] - [ Seeds Of Rebellion ] - [ Mind Games ]

 

Offline Goober5000

  • HLP Loremaster
  • 214
    • Goober5000 Productions
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
One other thing, how's the multi-lingual support on this thing? We've been shooting ourselves in the foot for years but making it all but impossible to play FS2 if you can't speak English (like 3/4 of the world). Can we not continue to do that please?

Psst... the FSO Installer has had support for six languages since 2014... :nervous:

 

Offline chief1983

  • Still lacks a custom title
  • Moderator
  • 212
  • ⬇️⬆️⬅️⬅️🅰➡️⬇️
    • Minecraft
    • Skype
    • Steam
    • Twitter
    • Fate of the Galaxy
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
Yeah, and I think a multi-lingual client would have far greater reach than the multi-lingual server.
Fate of the Galaxy - Now Hiring!  Apply within | Diaspora | SCP Home | Collada Importer for PCS2
Karajorma's 'How to report bugs' | Mantis
#freespace | #scp-swc | #diaspora | #SCP | #hard-light on EsperNet

"You may not sell or otherwise commercially exploit the source or things you created based on the source." -- Excerpt from FSO license, for reference

Nuclear1:  Jesus Christ zack you're a little too hamyurger for HLP right now...
iamzack:  i dont have hamynerge i just want ptatoc hips D:
redsniper:  Platonic hips?!
iamzack:  lays

 

Offline karajorma

  • King Louie - Jungle VIP
  • Administrator
  • 214
    • Karajorma's Freespace FAQ
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
Psst... the FSO Installer has had support for six languages since 2014... :nervous:

All the more reason to not take a retrograde step with Knossos then.

Seriously though, you have no idea how many people I could have gotten into FSO if I could get it to work in Chinese. But instead we're being really slow about multi-lingual support for FSO even though someone made a Japanese port almost immediately after the code was released.
Karajorma's Freespace FAQ. It's almost like asking me yourself.

[ Diaspora ] - [ Seeds Of Rebellion ] - [ Mind Games ]

 

Offline m!m

  • 211
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
Seriously though, you have no idea how many people I could have gotten into FSO if I could get it to work in Chinese. But instead we're being really slow about multi-lingual support for FSO even though someone made a Japanese port almost immediately after the code was released.

The major problem with most other languages is that we need to be able to display and process different characters. To do this properly we need Unicode support and then we need to be able to process UTF-8 encoded data. Fortunately, the new TrueType Fonts and the associated text rendering backend support UTF-8 and Unicode so at least we have the capability to render those characters now. We still need to add UTF-8 support for the parsing code though and the localization code is probably also not set up for more complicated languages.

 

Offline AdmiralRalwood

  • 211
  • The Cthulhu programmer himself!
    • Skype
    • Steam
    • Twitter
Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.3.1 (launcher / mod installer)
I would certainly love for FSO to get UTF-8 support; only text-related feature I want more is color tag support in the tech room and in missions (which is on my to-do list, along with font tags if I can manage it).
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Codethulhu GitHub wgah'nagl fhtagn.

schrödinbug (noun) - a bug that manifests itself in running software after a programmer notices that the code should never have worked in the first place.

When you gaze long into BMPMAN, BMPMAN also gazes into you.

"I am one of the best FREDders on Earth" -General Battuta

<Aesaar> literary criticism is vladimir putin

<MageKing17> "There's probably a reason the code is the way it is" is a very dangerous line of thought. :P
<MageKing17> Because the "reason" often turns out to be "nobody noticed it was wrong".
(the very next day)
<MageKing17> this ****ing code did it to me again
<MageKing17> "That doesn't really make sense to me, but I'll assume it was being done for a reason."
<MageKing17> **** ME
<MageKing17> THE REASON IS PEOPLE ARE STUPID
<MageKing17> ESPECIALLY ME

<MageKing17> God damn, I do not understand how this is breaking.
<MageKing17> Everything points to "this should work fine", and yet it's clearly not working.
<MjnMixael> 2 hours later... "God damn, how did this ever work at all?!"
(...)
<MageKing17> so
<MageKing17> more than two hours
<MageKing17> but once again we have reached the inevitable conclusion
<MageKing17> How did this code ever work in the first place!?

<@The_E> Welcome to OpenGL, where standards compliance is optional, and error reporting inconsistent

<MageKing17> It was all working perfectly until I actually tried it on an actual mission.

<IronWorks> I am useful for FSO stuff again. This is a red-letter day!
* z64555 erases "Thursday" and rewrites it in red ink

<MageKing17> TIL the entire homing code is held up by shoestrings and duct tape, basically.