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Mod manager

Started by JM, September 16, 2018, 05:23:20 PM

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RedKetchup

Quote from: JM on September 28, 2018, 04:29:43 PM
Quotenobody knows there is an hard drive existing and nobody knows what is a file
If so, then they can not use ModMan because they would have to download the zip file, save it to the disk, unpack it and make a shortcut on the desktop. So we do not have to pay attention to Steam users. :D

the only attention you need to give is : where is installed the game and where is the WinData folder. being a steam user doesnt mean necessary we are a neanderthal ^^ and know what is a file.pkm ^^
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JM

Neanderthal had a bigger brain than we have.  :)

Modman currently displays only filenames. So when I want to write a comment on the mod, I need to know the filename. How can I easily find it when installing from Steam? The image shows the file size, but not the file name. At least I do not see it.

First I try to extract the texts from the pkm file, despite the difficulty.

I will definitely add the mod comments. Now I have all the descriptions in one txt file, like 'X must be above Y', 'there is a mill, but not a bakery', 'needs glass and rooftiles'  and so on. I have to open a file, look for "little housing" or "littlehousing" or "little" or .. (damn, what is the name ...?). And that's pretty uncomfortable.



RedKetchup

yeah almost impossible. you would need to do your own database.
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embx61

JM, with all due respect I think what you are seeking will be a hell of a job to pull off.

I personally would not worry to much about adding automated database with descriptions, load order information, etc. to the Mod manager Program.
Adding a Dialog Form with some information text boxes linked to a mod will be enough IMHO if you still want to add some info about the mods.

So for example a Dialog form which can be opened by placing a little button next to all the mods in the interface linked to the mod name.
This Dialog form has just some Edit Boxes and a Text Boxes for Author, description and various information about this mod what players can fill in as they see it fit.

Maybe a button is not even needed if you can use the DoubleClickEvent of the mods seen in the interface to open the Dialog Form.

So for example:
Mod name(Will be the same as the PKM filename), version, Author, Description, and maybe some information about load order etc.

Let the players do the work instead of trying to automate it in some way.
Not all modders, me included, have all this information anyway and I not see modders adding text files with all kind of information about their mods to all their mods.

Honestly, I not think too many players will use this feature anyway.
[size=8pt][color=teal]My beloved Kathy
As you were you will always be
Treasured forever in my memory[/color][/size]

[size=10pt]For my list of Mods with download links go here[/size]

Kristahfer

#64
First I really greatly appreciate the work that @JM has been put into this utility and agree with @embx61 .

I have been using 'Create sorted list of Banished mods' release 6b by Gordon Dry for a very long time. Along with a makeshift database created in a spreadsheet program where the list was placed along with a description of the various mods to give a single location for looking at the mods as loaded and what each provided. It was useful albeit very time consuming and clumsy to use. As I began adding more mods to the game and using various configurations for playing it became even more difficult to use I replaced each included description with a link to the source location. Still very slow but it allowed me to follow the mod development and specified recommendations and conflicts the developer listed. Moving the mods around when changing configurations has been a hair loosing effort to do but accomplish-able with time.

This utility has reduced those efforts by almost 90%. When a new mod was added you still would be required to place it in the WinData file and start the game prior to being able to use the ModMan utility, but once done have to move it around was a breeze. The addition of being able to provide a description of each configuration immeasurable. While I feel that being able to put a description for each mod in the ModMan INI file would be an unbelievably powerful addition I am not sure that @JM should endeavor to build some sort of extraction tool to build an internal database for the user. Various mod versions, source locations and internal program coding would make that a daunting effort. Not being a programmer with the newer languages myself I can only see hours and hours of work to achieve a usable utility, which could possibility be a very sizable space and speed requirement, that would satisfy the multitude of users and their own ideas of what they wish to see.

I feel that providing a description area for each mod would be acceptable and give each user the ability to use that area for their own ends.

Once more I wish to thank @JM for this fine utility.

brads3

small request: can we lock a group of files and move several at once? that would be helpful to keep EB or KID or RED's,etc mods as a group and lock them with the shift key.

rengafzzz

Hello! I would like to know where to find a mod that of the possibility of not comestible for salt, sugar and vegetable oil.

Kristahfer

Quote from: brads3 on October 02, 2018, 10:36:32 AM
small request: can we lock a group of files and move several at once? that would be helpful to keep EB or KID or RED's,etc mods as a group and lock them with the shift key.


Agreed, that would be very helpful.

RedKetchup

Quote from: rengafzzz on October 02, 2018, 01:54:25 PM
Hello! I would like to know where to find a mod that of the possibility of not comestible for salt, sugar and vegetable oil.
mostly Kralyerg have mave them all and his mods are there : http://blackliquidsoftware.com/
> > > Support Mods Creation developments with Donations by Paypal  < < <
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JM

Version 0.5
========

Now you can select multiple items using the standard shift+click, ctr+click or shift+cursor keys actions. Click 'Check selection', 'Uncheck selection' or press spacebar to check/uncheck all selected items at once. It is also possible to drag them all together to another position.

brads3

much appreciated.thank you. so much faster than loading the game. the manager is awesome.

quick question when mods are taken back out of the WinData folder,can the manager somehow remember and delete them from the registry? i noticed it the other day.i removed a mod and the save TXT file still had the mod listed but diasabled.i went into the registry and manually deleted the mod. this doesn't matter much but 2 things can happen.with mods still in the registry, the game tries to load them so will load slower. and a few mods do get stuck, where they load some files even when disabled. so a delete function from the registry would be helpful.

JM

Quotesave TXT file
What file? Did you mean INI file?

Quotewith mods still in the registry, the game tries to load them so will load slower
Their presence does not slow down the start of the game, because reading an entry from the registry, or checking existence of a file does not take time. When the file does not exist, the game ignores it's registry entries. What else could be done?

When reading a profile from a file or from a registry, I only read the entries of existing pkm files. If there are extra items in the registry, they do not matter and can stay there. When writing to a registry or saving to a file, I write only what is on the screen. To remove unnecessary items from a saved profile, load the profile and save it again. But even those items do not matter.

Quotefew mods do get stuck, where they load some files even when disabled
The game processes all existing files. At least to get a description of them, which he then displays in the manager.

Maybe I did not understand, I do not know English well and Google translate is my best friend.

Do you want to delete entries of non-existent files from the registry? I can do it, but it is useless.
I can delete entries of disabled (unchecked) mods, but the game will write them down again.

brads3

yes ,the INI file. i agree with you on how the game should work. it doesn't always follow that.if you try many mods over say months without deleting the registry so when you do clear it deletes 20 or so unused mods,you do see a difference to the load time.like the computer takes time to go looking for them.1 or 2 mods,the time isn't enough to be noticed. i know it is debated, but there are commnets on other sites where mods get hung up and cause issues even when disabled.

      i understand that the game will reload the mod as long as it is still in the WinData folder. if we delete the mod completely from the registry and move it, the game won't.players will have to remember to physically remove the mod from the folder.i think it should be done separate of the disable function.not all disabled mods need to be deleted.

      does the mod manager rewrite the entire registry or just the mod entries? does it keep and write the start settings,climate,etc, or just lines for the mods? maybe the mods that did cause issues after they were removed,somehow wrote info into the start settings.that could be where they got stuck.

JM

ModMan is only interested in ModEnabled_ and ModIndex_ of existing pkm files, and does not change anything else. ModEnabled_ and ModIndex_ of non-existing files remain untouched.

I have about 120 mods in WinData, with about 200 entries in the registers. I tried deleting all ModIndex and ModEnabled entries from the registry, and the game started about as fast as before. I never got stuck at the start of the game.

Maybe ModMan could move disabled mods somewhere else, let's say WinData\DisabledMods\, then the game would not see them. Moving does not damage the file. At worst case, one would have to manually move these modes back to WinData.
But then it would not be possible to add a new mod to the old game. I do it often, although it should not be done. And when opening an old saved game there would not be necessary mod files.

Abandoned

This mod sound very interesting but I do not like the sound of it messing with the registry or move disabled mods out of WinData.  I have over 300 mods in WinData and pick and choose which mods I want enabled or disabled for each map. I only move WinData files when adding new ones or removing ones I no longer want.  I have never done anything to my registry and I have never had a problem.