[PROGRAM] X Plugin Manager : V1.87 : 2024-01-06

[squall_leonhart]

hes american, theres not enough poppy coloured pictures and explosions during the installation to keep his attention

[dtrowle]

Does this program take into account custom turrets (and make all the necasary entries into the components.txt and the dummies.txt files) when extracting XSP ships from existing mods?

[kurush]

I got a very peculiar bug that might be in this tool and might be elsewhere. When I installed several ships in AP, their models got copied to addon/objects and game apparently expects them in just objects. I had to copy them there manually to avoid getting invisible ships in the game.
Now the weirdest part is that I was able to install Normandy SR2 at first and see its model just fine. After that I decided to create a fake patch that incorporates my changes to TShips, TBullets, and TCockpits to avoid applying them after each ship I install and I could no longer see models after that until I figured out that I need to copy those files. I wonder what is going on?

[Cycrow]

Does this program take into account custom turrets (and make all the necasary entries into the components.txt and the dummies.txt files) when extracting XSP ships from existing mods?

yes it does, it extracts all entries in the files that it needs, based on whats been defined in TShips and the scene file

[Cycrow]

I got a very peculiar bug that might be in this tool and might be elsewhere. When I installed several ships in AP, their models got copied to addon/objects and game apparently expects them in just objects. I had to copy them there manually to avoid getting invisible ships in the game.
Now the weirdest part is that I was able to install Normandy SR2 at first and see its model just fine. After that I decided to create a fake patch that incorporates my changes to TShips, TBullets, and TCockpits to avoid applying them after each ship I install and I could no longer see models after that until I figured out that I need to copy those files. I wonder what is going on?

sounds like the plugin manager isn't setup to be using AP.
as it should be putting them in a fake patch, not extracting them to the objects directory

for AP, to have them extracted, they must be in the TC's model directory for them to be loaded.
so instead it keeps them in a fake patch instead to it doesn't make changes to the TC install

[Calgor Grim]

Next potential idiotic question:

I suspect this will be to do with a knackered TShips file but lets see what the answer is:

Why is it that "Install default wares" does not auto give the ship shields/weapons/equipment/missiles et cetera?

What have I messed up for it to not put those on a ship?

[Cycrow]

is that all ships, or just certain ones ?

u could check the ship compatability, perhaps thier shield/weapon slots are set wrong

[kurush]

is that all ships, or just certain ones ?

I only tried 3 ships - Normandy SR2, ebon hawk and YT millenium falcon. How does plugin manager decide where to put those files? One thing I just can't understand is why Normandy SR2 first worked and then it didn't.

[Cycrow]

when it selects the directory thats being used, it works out what game it is.
this should be displayed in the drop down box you use to select the game directory.

where it installs the file is based on how they are added into the files and what game version it detects.

if it detects TC, then all files go in thier extracted form in the game directory.
if it detects AP, then the files that should be in the TC directory gets installed into a fake patch in the AP install, the others get installed extracted.

so any model file will go in the fake patch.
the only way i can see it getting installed extracted in addon is if it detects the game as TC or u've extracted them manually using the Spk Explorer.

there is currently a problem with AP and ships where the fake patches can sometimes get curropt, but it'll still not install them in addon.
that problem i think i've finally figured out thou

[eldyranx3]

there is currently a problem with AP and ships where the fake patches can sometimes get curropt, but it'll still not install them in addon. that problem i think i've finally figured out thou

I know Ive said this before, but thanks for all your hard work ironing out that aggravating bug!

[kurush]

if it detects AP, then the files that should be in the TC directory gets installed into a fake patch in the AP install, the others get installed extracted.

Fake patch - is it a *.cat/*.dat pair? If so, I can't find it created anywhere. When I exit PM, it only creates a bunch of *.pck files under addon/types. It shows e:\steam\...\addon[X3: Albion Prelude V2.0] in the drop-down. It also starts AP when I click the button at the bottom saying [Run: X3: Albion Prelude V2.0]. I have total of 5 cat/dat pairs in addon - 2 that come with the game, 3 that I created myself with some of my changes, 4 & 5 for the ringless gate mod that I installed manually. Version displayed is V1.41. I manually created some effect objects but not ships and new objects did appear in addon/objects when I installed an additional ship.

[Cycrow]

if it detects AP, then the files that should be in the TC directory gets installed into a fake patch in the AP install, the others get installed extracted.

Fake patch - is it a *.cat/*.dat pair? If so, I can't find it created anywhere. When I exit PM, it only creates a bunch of *.pck files under addon/types. It shows e:\steam\...\addon[X3: Albion Prelude V2.0] in the drop-down. It also starts AP when I click the button at the bottom saying [Run: X3: Albion Prelude V2.0]. I have total of 5 cat/dat pairs in addon - 2 that come with the game, 3 that I created myself with some of my changes, 4 & 5 for the ringless gate mod that I installed manually. Version displayed is V1.41. I manually created some effect objects but not ships and new objects did appear in addon/objects when I installed an additional ship.

it should be the highest number cat/dat pair.
while the plugin manager is running, u'll find it in PluginManager/PlugMan_Fake.cat

which gets renamed when its closed

[DrBullwinkle]

Does this program take into account custom turrets (and make all the necessary entries into the components.txt and the dummies.txt files) when extracting XSP ships from existing mods?

yes it does, it extracts all entries in the files that it needs, based on whats been defined in TShips and the scene file

That would be so awesome!

Sadly, I have tried it on several ships from multiple mods, and all I get is: "There was a problem when trying to import the ship..." without any clue about what caused the problem.

So how is the feature intended to work? Any tips on troubleshooting?

[kurush]

it should be the highest number cat/dat pair.
while the plugin manager is running, u'll find it in PluginManager/PlugMan_Fake.cat

For me PlugMan_Fake.cat just stays under addon/PluginManager and no new fake patch is being generated. Also, when I tried to open it with X3 Editor 2 to check what's in it, I got "Invalid Data" message.
Otherwise, PM is doing a marvelous job of merging all those changes together.

[Cycrow]

Does this program take into account custom turrets (and make all the necessary entries into the components.txt and the dummies.txt files) when extracting XSP ships from existing mods?

yes it does, it extracts all entries in the files that it needs, based on whats been defined in TShips and the scene file

That would be so awesome!

Sadly, I have tried it on several ships from multiple mods, and all I get is: "There was a problem when trying to import the ship..." without any clue about what caused the problem.

So how is the feature intended to work? Any tips on troubleshooting?

the whole process should be pretty much automated. Just make sure all the files are inside the same mod. I do plan to add additional logging at some point which would help determine where any problems happen.

which mods are you trying to import from ?

the import works by grabing the TShips line (the one you select when you load the mod) then it extracts all the data from that and grabs the scene file from the mod (that should match the TShips entry). From there it reads the scene file to get all the models, componants, dummies etc. And just recurivly follows all the links in those files until it has all the files and entries that the ship needs

[Cycrow]

it should be the highest number cat/dat pair.
while the plugin manager is running, u'll find it in PluginManager/PlugMan_Fake.cat

For me PlugMan_Fake.cat just stays under addon/PluginManager and no new fake patch is being generated. Also, when I tried to open it with X3 Editor 2 to check what's in it, I got "Invalid Data" message.
Otherwise, PM is doing a marvelous job of merging all those changes together.

thats a problem with the mod generation which is the bug im currently fixing.
most likly its getting curropt, which the plugin manager is detecting and not putting into the game.

only way to fix it currently is to simply delete it and reinstall the ships again. but its likly to keep happening

but i would just a few days when ill hopefully have a fix for it

[DrBullwinkle]

the whole process should be pretty much automated.

Oh, it's automated... It just always fails. At least in the few tests I have tried.

Today I tried XRM and my own (working) mod... both for TC.

Yes, logging would help, please. I figure it is probably cockpit error, but without more information I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong.

[Cycrow]

does it at least show u the process window ?

there should be a window display each stage of what its doing so you can see how far it gets

how far does it actaully get.
you could try to describe the process of what you do so i can see how far your getting with it

[DrBullwinkle]

does it at least show u the process window ?

Yes, it shows the process window, although only briefly. Too fast to read how far it got.

Process is:
New / Import Ship From Mod
Select .cat with TShips
Select Ship
Click OK.

Result is:
Process Window flashes briefly
Windows MessageBox: Title = "Error Importing Ship"
Text = "There was a problem when trying to import the ship [path to .cat] (ship ID)"

[Cycrow]

if its failing straight away, the most likly cause is that it cant extract the scene file.

i will add additional information to the error message to make it clearer.

ill also try it with XRM and see if its a problem with the mod or not