[ovvldc]

I just got FreeSpace Open and I can't seem to get my FS2_Open-20090321_r5112 to recognise any mods. Same for 3.6.9 or 3.6.10.rc2

I am on a unibody MacBook running OSX 10.5.6

First, when I used the JAR installer, the http://game-warden.com/fs2open_pxo.cfg file was missing.

Second, when I first used the launcher, it complained that it would not find a flag file.
Then when I use the 'Customize..' button, I get the file selection dialog windows, but none of the mod folders will let me use the 'open' button.

Now when I start FS_Open, I don't get any of the lovely mods that I downloaded .

I have no idea how I may include the mods manually. I tried google, but nobody seems to have had this problem..

Best wishes,
 Oscar

[Tinman]

in the launcher, choose "Gameplay + Speed" and select your mod

[Jeff Vader]

And do use 3.6.10 RC2. Newer is (usually) better.

[ovvldc]

in the launcher, choose "Gameplay + Speed" and select your mod

I see. I thought a list of mods would appear in the campaign screen inside FS2O.

Thanks,
 Oscar

[Jeff Vader]

You must select a mod outside the game. After that, if the mod has a campaign/campaigns, they'll appear in the in-game campaign room, where you must then select the desired campaign.

[Soulstorm]

Hello, first time i'm using the launcher, and I just noticed that primarylist line from mod.ini files isn't recognized by the launcher, only secondarylist is.

Example: I tried to play "fsport_str" with "fsport_mediavps" using FSOpen 3.6.9 (3.6.10 is too buggy under Tiger for me) and mediavps 3.6.10.
Here's the [multimod] section of "fsport_str" mod:

Code: [Select]

[multimod]
primarylist = fsport_mediavps;
secondarylist = fsport,mediavps;So, the command line must be:

Code: [Select]

-mod fsport_mediapvs,fsport_str,fsport,mediavps
If i select "fsport_str" mod, its secondary list of mods are recognized, but "fsport_mediavps" isn't.
Question: is it possible to add the recognition of "primarylist" line in the launcher?

There's a manual solution to resolve the problem though, which is to change the [multimod] section in mod.ini file from "fsport_mediavps" to:

Code: [Select]

[multimod]
secondarylist = fsport_str,fsport,mediavps;Then select directly "fsport_mediavps" in the launcher... Ok, but it means that we'll loose the intuition feeling of the launcher... Not so easy for someone who doesn't check the forum everytime ^^

(hum, hope it was understandable, my english language still sucks a bit, sorry again)

I built the Launcher some years ago... I haven't seen a mod.ini file with a Primary list that matters for a long time. I remember asking people about the importance of "primary list" and they said to me that the secondary list was of importance. Anyway, I didn't implement support for it, but I will do it. Give me some time. I will figure something out, although it has been so long since I have been involved with the project that it will take some time to remember what I have done.

EDIT: Why have 2 lists of mods? What is the difference between primarylist and secondarylist?

[Mongoose]

EDIT: Why have 2 lists of mods? What is the difference between primarylist and secondarylist?

Mods placed in primarylist will be loaded before the mod whose folder you're selecting, while those in secondarylist will be loaded after it.  The only time I've ever seen it used myself is in Silent Threat: Reborn, since some of the files in the FSPort MediaVPs overwrite those in the ST:R release and so need to be loaded into FS2 before it.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

I see. I thought a list of mods would appear in the campaign screen inside FS2O.

Thanks,
 Oscar

* Androgeos Exeunt fires a BABeam.

[ovvldc]

You must select a mod outside the game. After that, if the mod has a campaign/campaigns, they'll appear in the in-game campaign room, where you must then select the desired campaign.

Hmm. In that case things are not working. I reinstalled 3.6.10 RC2. I start the launcher,  I enter the settings I found in the mediavps readme, and set it to fsport_mediavps. I hit launch. Then I get only the FS2 campaign, and it duly starts on Vega  .

Also, I noticed that when I reloaded the launcher (v3.0.11, I think), the '-spec_tube' field contained the following:
1.5 ogl_spec 20 mod fsport-mediavps,fsport,mediavps mod fsport-mediavps,fsport,mediavps

Can't be right, of course., and it looks like the launcher didn't properly parse my settings file. Also, I wonder why it does the mod bit twice.. In fact, from the exported version (see attached), it seems like there is a lot of pointless duplication going on.

I quite the launcher, thrashed the plist file in ~/library/preferences and then it does the same damn things again, not having junked the earlier settings. This is getting less and less intuitive..

Best wishes,
 Oscar

[attachment deleted by evil Tolwyn]

[Soulstorm]

I quite the launcher, thrashed the plist file in ~/library/preferences and then it does the same damn things again, not having junked the earlier settings. This is getting less and less intuitive..

The settings you need to trash are the ones described in your command line file. Try that and see what happens. Do you also follow the following procedure?

Code: [Select]

1) Do whatever you want with the main window
2) Open the command line drawer (command-T)
3) Hit refresh. The drawer will be updated with all the contents of the main window.
4) Do whatever you want with the command line drawer by adding custom commands or removing some.
5) Save when done.
And, of course the controls are not intuitive. I made this program years ago, where custom mods and command line arguments were different. Years have passed, and I can't go back and rewrite the launcher for those. Back then, I wasn't even near in programming skills as I am now. For me, the Launcher need a complete overhaul. But I have undertaken a big project, and I have stated many times that I have abandoned the project, and I only fix bugs, not improve the way things work. The only thing I can do is to give the source to whoever wants to help with the development and fix the problems with the Launcher.

I have released an update that will partially fix the primarylist mod.ini issue. Not all things are ready, though. If I have the time, I will sit tomorrow and try to improve the Launcher. However, I haven't played FS2_Open for many months, and I don't know to what extent the Launcher will cover its new features, if any.

[chief1983]

It would be much appreciated, with 3.6.10 right around the corner, having any serious bugs and annoyances knocked out would be a blessing.

[Soulstorm]

As far as I understand, the most serious annoyance with the Launcher is the custom command line drawer, and the way it handles custom command line arguments. So, I will try to change that. I will release a new version in the next few days, which will use the command line drawer for inserting additional arguments. The drawer will behave independently from the main window, and when the application quits, everything will be unified and written to the configuration file of FS2_Open.

[chief1983]

I'm not sure if I like auto-save, even in Windows you have to hit OK or Apply, Cancel will let you close the launcher without committing anything you modified.

[ovvldc]

The settings you need to trash are the ones described in your command line file. Try that and see what happens.

Where can I find that file? I am sorry, but I am entirely unfamiliar with this platform, so I do not know in what places the files are kept.

And, of course the controls are not intuitive. I made this program years ago, where custom mods and command line arguments were different. Years have passed, and I can't go back and rewrite the launcher for those. Back then, I wasn't even near in programming skills as I am now. For me, the Launcher need a complete overhaul. But I have undertaken a big project, and I have stated many times that I have abandoned the project, and I only fix bugs, not improve the way things work. The only thing I can do is to give the source to whoever wants to help with the development and fix the problems with the Launcher.

I didn't mean this as a snipe, I quite understand programming isn't easy. I was merely hoping that someone would help me diagnose the problem. You way exceeded that be setting up a new version already  .

Best wishes,
 Oscar

[Soulstorm]

The settings you need to trash are the ones described in your command line file. Try that and see what happens.

Where can I find that file? I am sorry, but I am entirely unfamiliar with this platform, so I do not know in what places the files are kept.

And, of course the controls are not intuitive. I made this program years ago, where custom mods and command line arguments were different. Years have passed, and I can't go back and rewrite the launcher for those. Back then, I wasn't even near in programming skills as I am now. For me, the Launcher need a complete overhaul. But I have undertaken a big project, and I have stated many times that I have abandoned the project, and I only fix bugs, not improve the way things work. The only thing I can do is to give the source to whoever wants to help with the development and fix the problems with the Launcher.

I didn't mean this as a snipe, I quite understand programming isn't easy. I was merely hoping that someone would help me diagnose the problem. You way exceeded that be setting up a new version already  .

Best wishes,
 Oscar

First of all, you can find that file at ~/Library/FS2_Open/data/cmdline_fso.cfg. When the Launcher changes something, it changes that file. So if you delete that, you actually delete all command line arguments on FS2_Open. FS2_Open reads this file for command line arguments at startup.

In addition, you will find that a small bug remains concerning the mod.ini parser and the non-standalone mods when you start the application. Should annoy you little, though. I will do what best I can to eliminate that problem.

Also, what I meant to say is that I haven't been involved in the project for a long time. Now, I want to be able to change something in the Launcher, like the way the command line drawer behaves, and I find that in order to do so I must rewrite so many parts of the application that I find it best and less bug-prone to rewrite the whole application from scratch.

By looking at my code now, I think: "What the heck was I thinking...?". Those years since the initial release taught me so much that I really want to upgrade the Launcher to even do things that the PC version doesn't have. I will do this, as I stated in a previews post, however, I looked the code today, and I saw that it may require more time that I originally thought. Since I have undertaken a project from someone that actually pays, I must concentrate my efforts to finish that job, and then get involved in FS2_Launcher 4.

I know I stated that I abandoned the project, but today I was so pissed off when I saw how many things could be done better, that I really want to rewrite the whole application.  Heck, I am building an OpenGL game now, and I can't make a simple Launcher?

So, on to FS2_Launcher 4.0 with features:

Features that will surely be added:
- New command line drawer. I know, I have made many people angry. I just thought it would be good to make it work this way back then.
- Better mod.ini parsers.
- Renewed static menus
- New User Interface
- Helpful Developer additions (extraction of the flag files, intervene in the flag files, alter game data, etc)

Features I will try to implement:
- Automatic searching for standalone mods
- Automatic finding of FS2_Open folder and automatic configuration using hardware capabilities

When?
Well, that's the difficult part. I will try to do it as soon as I can. However, I have other projects, as I mentioned and I have my semester exams. I think that I must be honest and say that I will have something ready in the summer. Maybe I find some time sooner, but I don't want to give anyone false hopes.

Please bear with the Launcher as it is now, and I will return to active development on this after 2 months or so to give you a new version.

[ovvldc]

First of all, you can find that file at ~/Library/FS2_Open/data/cmdline_fso.cfg. When the Launcher changes something, it changes that file. So if you delete that, you actually delete all command line arguments on FS2_Open. FS2_Open reads this file for command line arguments at startup.

Well, no luck so far. I just cannot seem to get mods to show up in FS2O . I may resort to command line work when I feel like it.

Please bear with the Launcher as it is now, and I will return to active development on this after 2 months or so to give you a new version.

No worries. I have a Ph.D. thesis to finish, so it is not like I have a lot of extra time at the moment..

Best wishes and good luck with the exams,
 Oscar

[Soulstorm]

Hm... that is odd. I am using the Launcher with the newest version of FS2_Open and I can't seem to reproduce this problem. Let me tell you how things work, that may help you.

FS2_Launcher recognizes as mods the following:
- Folders that contain .vp files on their top level.
- Folders that contain mod.ini files on their top level.
Those folders must be in the same folder that contains the application.

If a mod folder does not match that criteria, it does not show up on the mod list. However, if you want to load a mod that doesn't show on the list, you can type the name of the corresponding folder in the field that asks for the mod name. Try that. If that doesn't work, then that means that FS2_Open itself cannot recognize the mod for some reason, so the Launcher won't help you.

I hope I helped.

[blowfish]

Okay ... I just updated to the latest version, and I encountered a major bug.  It seems that the launcher is no longer actually putting the active mod into the command line (and replacing it with "mod "), as well as adding a weird (null) thing.  So if I have a mod that calls for the mediavps I get:

Code: [Select]

-mod mod ,(null),mediavps
When I should be getting something like:

Code: [Select]

-mod Derelict,mediavps

[ovvldc]

Try that. If that doesn't work, then that means that FS2_Open itself cannot recognize the mod for some reason, so the Launcher won't help you.

I hope I helped.

You certainly did. The thing is that the launcher sees the mods (Awakenings, Cardinal Spear, Derelict, Destiny of Peace, DEM, FSport) but somehow FS2_Open refuses to load it . I will have to wait for a new RC or something..

The only things that surprises me with the current version is that the launcher still appends some options twice (which may not hurt) and appends the mods as follows: mod ,fsport-mediavps,fsport,mediavps I do not get a (null), but I do get a comma, which may be quite right.

Best wishes,
 Oscar

[Jeff Vader]

In those terms, there should be nothing wrong with the game engine itself. FSO will use mod folders if it has a valid -mod parameter given by a command-line flag/Launcher setting/mod.ini. A new RC (or final 3.6.10) wouldn't change things. It is most likely something with the Launcher. Perchance the best option would be to input the command-line flags manually.