ModMan Bug Reporting Thread

[GeoModder]

Oops, forgot about the Pirates. I still got the idea about SMAC(X) having only 1 seafaction.

[#endgame]

ModMan 1.02 beta is here!



This is a debugging update that actually does nothing.

It's much lighter on the environment space and should fix the problem
regaring run.bat once and for all.

Instead of messing up your SMAC dir when trying to swap, it instead prints
debugging messages.

Add/Edit/Delete mod still works.

Run.bat was completely rewritten, but still takes arguments of the same form.

That is to say:
Run.bat [ModName] [-S]

[ModName] The filename of the mod's .SM file, with or without extension. If omitted, builds a list of mods and the user selects one. e.g. Aldeb205

[-S] If a ModName is specified, will disable the splashscreen.

Could anyone who tries this post/PM everything within the two -- Debugging Message -- labels on the command window, along with their OS.

Thanks,
-#

[#endgame]

Originally posted by Smacksim
No matter what happens, you are imparting knowledge on a Dos newbie.

I went a little overboard on comments for a reason . Good to see that it gets used.

Also, I might just explain this line, since it took a while to get working:

find "%modtitle%" *.SM | find /V "%modtitle%" | ..\lmod [$!] >> MMTemp.bat

We go through all .SM files looking for the text in %modtitle%. Find (at least under W2K) outputs headers which look like "------------ ALDEB205.SM"

Piping that into find /v will leave behind all lines without the %modtitle% i.e. only the header line.

Piping THAT into lmod [$!] means select the last word, i.e. ALDEB205.SM

Which then gets redirected into MMTemp.bat, resulting in MMTemp.bat looking like:

@echo off
set MMTemp=ALDEB205.SM

Why so complicated? check the batch files thread for the world's most obscure bug.

-#

[smacksim]

Obscure bugs in Dos? Naaaaaa

I was really rather shocked to learn how goofy the Dos development has been over the years. Commands not working between versions, broken commands, etc. And all this in one very powerful (in the sense of erasing your Hard Drive) scripting language with only 10 native commands (batch) and a handful of matching statements. Dos makes Perl look organized

I'll be studying up when I go on vacation in a few weeks. No sense working in the Winblows world without good solid Dos backing and hacking....

[#endgame]

I learned most of what I know from studying Bart Lagerweij's ModBoot Modular Bootdisk, of www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/modboot.

Originally posted by Darsnan
FYI.

[smacksim]

Want to attach the file endgame?

[#endgame]

You have got to be joking! That's the last time I try uploading from those complabs

After getting my own access to a WinME machine, I discovered that its version of DOS can't handle more than one pipe, so it would've wasted your time anyway.

Will test on Win98 and follow up with ModMan 1.02 final.

[smacksim]

So is that a rule of thumb would you say? 1 pipe per Dos Environment under ME? Gads dos is weird.

[#endgame]

I expect w9x as well.

[#endgame]

ModMan 1.02 final with the file actually attached!



You know the drill. Go break it!

[smacksim]

It works with the shortcut method under ME, and of course works with the original menu-method. Great stuff.

Feedback: I still have to click on 'launch Aldebaran' once the shortcut fires up Run.bat . Could we bypass that step?

Secondly, I did see some error messages: didn't write them down, but something like 'Unable to create directory '.' ' Then it seemed to pause, then it moved a bunch of files. I thought it had crashed the first time, but after about 5 seconds it moved the files, and my hitting a key launched the game. This may not be a big deal. It ran fine.

Thirdly, I need to devise a way to preserve the AlphaCentauri.ini file so that Aldebaran, after closing doesn't cause the 'Hey that's funny, there's no faction to load' error when you try to run Smax Vanilla after just having played with Aldebaran factions. Likewise, it would be nice to preserve the Aldebaran version of the .ini after playing once, but that's not as big a deal.

Great work Endgame.

-Smack

[#endgame]

Stick the -S switch after run.bat:

run aldeb207 -s

no more splashscreen! (Already implemented in ModMan 1.02 final)

Unable to create directory '.' A byproduct of the list-based swapping method, since the test

if not exist %1 mkdir %1

(or the code might be)

mkdir %1

where %1==. will try mkdir ., which does nothing.

it's there for once people start replacing facility/sp graphics, voiceovers etc.

Fix the Alpha Centauri.ini file you say? I'll work on making that swap tonight, but it's not as critical an update as the prior showstoppers, so it might not be for a couple of days. One temporary workaround would be to backup the current Alpha Centauri.ini to the mod directory during install, but that won't preserve changes.

So happy! Need to test it on win98, though I think it'll work.

[smacksim]

I'll be at a Win 98 machine in a few weeks to test it if you don't get to it.

So the -S switch is for your splashscreen, or the one from Smax? I think I get that you mean yours. I'll try it. If that works, well, I'm satisfied that we have an idiot-proof installer as well as a very handy mod-swapper.

[smacksim]

Originally posted by #endgame
Fix the Alpha Centauri.ini file you say? I'll work on making that swap tonight, but it's not as critical an update as the prior showstoppers, so it might not be for a couple of days. One temporary workaround would be to backup the current Alpha Centauri.ini to the mod directory during install, but that won't preserve changes.

No, not a big deal. It would be nice, though I don't know how to shelve the initial run of Aldebaran and then keep swapping it back in. A little too complicated methinks.

[#endgame]

Alpha Centauri.ini swapping is now in.

Free yourself from the traditional ways of swapping mods with...



Modman 1.03!

Changelog:ModMan ChangeLog
=--------------=

1.02 final->1.03
=--------------=
- Separate Alpha Centauri.ini files are now maintained for each mod
- Fixed an LFN compatability issue in SwapIn.bat and SwapOut.bat

1.02 beta->1.02 final
=-------------------=
- Debug messages replcaced by functional swapping
- Swap routine is much faster and more efficient
- Tested under WinME,Win2K

1.01->1.02 beta
=-------------=
- Run.bat is completely rewritten and much more efficient
on the environment space
- All environment-heavy batches now called from within their
own command.com instance
- Run.bat does nothing at the moment, except spit debug messages
so 1.02 final will work
- PM me all debug messages

1.00->1.01
=--------=

- ModMan.bat clears all environment variables on termination
- Run.bat disables local echo
- Run.bat now correctly handles arguments
- Remove.bat now correctly deletes the .SM file