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

xrogaan · Post by **xrogaan** » Mon, 9. Apr 12, 14:44

Something weird is happening with AP, the ships mod from http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=308509 and this tool. Once installed, the plugin manager create two files: 03.cat and 03.dat. Then, I can't start AP, the launcher seems to crash every time. If I delete the newly created files, the launcher start and I can play the game. But the ships are invisibles.

Is this a bug or something ?

evilhomer2701 · Post by **evilhomer2701** » Wed, 11. Apr 12, 22:45

The components that make up the ship are in the 03 cat/dat, if you've deleted them thats why your ships are invisible, theres nothing for the game to show.

xrogaan · Post by **xrogaan** » Wed, 11. Apr 12, 23:29

But if I don't delete those files, I can't play the game ...

evilhomer2701 · Post by **evilhomer2701** » Thu, 12. Apr 12, 18:35

I've had the same problem a couple of times, i cant say of a 100% way to get it working, as in my own experince its kinda hit and miss but it is possible, i currently have about 5 extra ships ingame.
I would suggest uninstalling the ship/ships in plugin manager, then exit the manager, open it up again and install, if you are installing more than one ship do them all at once not individually.

p.s just a thought....i believe any xsp's need to be converted to run on albion prelude using the package explorer provided with plugin manager, have you done this??.

adlkirk · Post by **adlkirk** » Thu, 12. Apr 12, 20:26

Greetings...I keep getting a "Install failed" of the spk file...I have followed Cycrow's 8 simple rules....Suggestions?

Ook · Post by **Ook** » Fri, 13. Apr 12, 20:21

See this post for a workaround for the adding ships to AP issues.

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php? ... 14#3790414

xrogaan · Post by **xrogaan** » Sat, 14. Apr 12, 23:46

evilhomer2701 wrote:I've had the same problem a couple of times, i cant say of a 100% way to get it working, as in my own experince its kinda hit and miss but it is possible, i currently have about 5 extra ships ingame.
I would suggest uninstalling the ship/ships in plugin manager, then exit the manager, open it up again and install, if you are installing more than one ship do them all at once not individually.

p.s just a thought....i believe any xsp's need to be converted to run on albion prelude using the package explorer provided with plugin manager, have you done this??.

Yeah, strange thing is I converted them, and some works. Some don't. And sometime, the one that works doesn't work anymore ...

It's random and shouldn't be like that. I believe that something wrong is going on.

PS: it seems that the manager leaves some dirt after I unistall all the ships ("empty" 03.cat 03.dat). Deleting them then installing the ships works.

PPS: Well, the launcher start, but the game crashes... So no, it doesn't work yet.

Ectar · Post by **Ectar** » Tue, 17. Apr 12, 03:27

I have some bad experience right now, Plugin manager overwrite my current saves ! WTF? When I switched back and forth from vanilla to modified, my 'modified' game save files permanently overwritten now!

My question is WHY IT DOESN'T ASK user BEFORE OVERWRITING anything ?!

PS. I actually says it going to backup files during switch, but doesnt do it.

xrogaan · Post by **xrogaan** » Tue, 17. Apr 12, 13:42

It does ask, it has a savegame manager when you switch to modified: he copy all of your files in a saveplace before doing anything.

For my issue, I fixed it by editing the .cat and putting in the skipped files that the manager did not install...

Ectar · Post by **Ectar** » Tue, 17. Apr 12, 16:21

I think there is a bug,

To reproduce

Play vanilla (Saves)
Install Plugin manager
Install Some kinda script
Switch to modified, vanilla files will be saves in save.backup
Play modified game (Saves)
Switch to vanilla - vanilla files will be copy over, but 'modified' files will not be backed up.
Switch back to 'modified' - you realized that your 'modified' files are gone.

I'm using latest version of Plugin Manager
Can be reproduced 100%.
It either bug or design flaw.

Thraxwhirl · Post by **Thraxwhirl** » Fri, 20. Apr 12, 22:37

Hi, Cycrow.

Thanks for creating a new Plugin Manager for the latest game. I used your old one back in Reunion days.

I'm sorry to say though that I'm unable to get the new one to work.

I've told it where the .exe file is (non-STEAM version of course), but it's given me the following message:

"Directory Locked

ERROR: The game directory:
C:\Program Files(x86)\EGOSOFTX3\X3 Terran Conflict - Albion Prelude

Is locked and unable to add/remove any plugins"

Any thoughts on why that might be?

Post by **Cycrow** » Sat, 21. Apr 12, 01:40

the locked messages means that windows is blocking write access to the game.

so you need to either sort out windows permissions to let it write to the game directory.
u could also move the game elsewhere, installing it in program files usually causes this as well

running the plugin manager in admin mode could also fix it

The X-Plorer · Post by **The X-Plorer** » Sat, 21. Apr 12, 02:43

Has the fact that ships uploaded into the PM and not showing up in the game or X3 Editor been a recurring problem? If so how do you get around that Cycrow?

I've been having the darn problem since day 1 of fetching ships off of here and i've never managed to find a surefire way to get around it... It's getting on my nerves...

oechre · Post by **oechre** » Sat, 21. Apr 12, 07:03

after installation i get:
the application failed to initialize properly (0xc00000135)

I tried installing the vc++ stuff myself.
I even did a clean os install (winxp64bit)
always the same result

idea's?

or is it possible to make the files for the improved boarding script available?

thanks in advance

Thraxwhirl · Post by **Thraxwhirl** » Sat, 21. Apr 12, 16:15

Hi, Cycrow.

Thanks for that tip. Got permissions sorted, so I was able to proceed further.

However, I now have a new problem to explain(sorry)... and it's quite complex.

Firstly, when using the Manager to find the game's .exe file, it doesn't seem to recognise the Albion Prelude .exe file in the window. TC, yes, but not AP.

Might this be because I'm using the non-STEAM file?

Anyway, I was at least able to type its name in manually, and it then proceded to tell me that the Community, Hotkey and Ware Managers were all installed.

Ok, so I took this to be true, and set about installing the scripts I want to use.

They are:

JSON parser library
NPC Bailing Addon
Salvage Claim Software.

Not sure what the JSON lib is, but it was listed as a requirement in the NPC Bailing thread.

So... having done that, I went and ran the game, but I found that NONE of the scripts from these .spk files were present in the Script editor.

I quit the game, and went to look for them. They WEREN'T in addons>scripts but were one level up, in the TC folder. Now this of course is where the AP.exe(or in non-STEAM cases, AP_n.exe) resides, and where I directed it to that .exe when setting up the Manager.

But I definitely DID tell the Manager that it should be looking for an Albion Prelude .exe file, so shouldn't the program stick the .xml files into the "scripts" and "t" folders within "addon", and not the ones in the main TC folder?

Anyway, so the files had been installed in the wrong folders, but I figured that perhaps I could still get the scripts to work if I transfered all of them into the appropriate folder(s) one level deeper - ie. within "addon".

Well, I took ever single .xml file from TC/scripts and TC/t and copied them across manually.

The scripts now show up in the game's script editor. HOWEVER it's looking as if they won't work, or at least won't function properly, because the game ISN'T referencing the "t" files that the Manager should've installed.

Now I THINK the game can run the scripts ok, but any text associated with them will probably just be the usual "read-text" garbage.

I've seen evidence of this already. In Gameplay>Artificial Life Settings...

...there's just one entry(it had been greyed out before). I believe the AL in question is NPC Bailing Addon by ThisIsHarsh. But its name isn't showing up. It's displaying a Read-Text thingy.

And as for the Salvage Claim Software, by a certain Mr Cycrow(you may know of him)? Well, I've got a wee script that lets me just plop x units of a Ware into any ship I choose. But Salvage Claim Software isn't listed in the Wares.

My guess would be that the Software IS in the game, but its name isn't showing.

So that's where I'm at sadly.

As a quickie recap, the problem(s) can be summarised threefold:

1) Manager isn't detecting the Albion Prelude .exe file(possibly only an issue with non-STEAM?), though it CAN be forced if typed in manually.

2) Scripts and t-files are being installed in the TC main folder, and NOT in addons, meaning that AP's script editor can't see them.

3) If the scripts and t-files are dropped into addons MANUALLY, the game finds the scripts, but isn't displaying the text from the t-files.

Oh, and FYI, the Bonus Pack scripts run fine, t-files' text showing up without a problem.

Errr.... that's it.

If you can help at all, I'd be very grateful, and as ever, thanks for all the hard work.

Thraxwhirl · Post by **Thraxwhirl** » Sat, 21. Apr 12, 19:00

FIXED!!

Woohoo!!

For your information, Cycrow(and for anyone else who may find this useful)...

...the problem was indeed all to do with using the non-STEAM AP.exe. Or rather, it's a problem using the file called "X3AP_n.exe".

I decided to lift my entire Egosoft folder out of Program files(x86), like you'd susgested Cycrow, and start over with the Manager, running everything from within a folder simply called "Games">[same dir. structure below].

I tried again with getting the manager to hook onto the Albion Prelude exe, but again it couldn't see it.

Then an idea hit me. What if I changed the name of the executable from "X3AP_n.exe", which is the non-STEAM name, to "X3AP.exe", which is the standard default for the game.

It could see the file right there! And once I'd selected it, it even recognised the installed scripts that I'd manually dropped in!

The t-files are workin' just fine too.... and I've even cheated meself in a copy of the Salvage Claim Software just for fun.

Shhh. Don't tell anyone.

So yes, it works fine, but with non-STEAM installations, it won't latch onto the exe.

Forgive me if this is stuff you already knew ofc.

If not, then I'm glad to have successfully beta-tested for you. lol. *ahem* But er.... perhaps it's worth updating the Manager to recognise "X3AP_n.exe" as a valid Albion Prelude executable? Just a thought, since I can see other users potentially falling foul of the same trouble maybe.

FalconGrey · Post by **FalconGrey** » Sun, 22. Apr 12, 01:42

I'm wondering if that is the issue I am having... I have TC and AP installed but have been trying to play TC. I've told the plugin manager to use TC (not the AP folder) to install the mods and scripts. All seems fine but noticed there are no additional cats being added like there use to be.

Some of the scripts seem to be there, but a few seem to be missing.

After switching back to vanilla then switching back all mods and scripts are gone and game simply crashes. Have to reinstall (restore from backup). I've done this 5 times now.

I've now lost the 'required' scripts (ware manager, Plugin manager scripts, so on) that are part of the plugin manager. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the plugin manager but they are not there. If I try to manually install them, I get errors that they are not compatible with my version of TC... in fact all scripts give me the error they are not compatible anymore.

If I switch to AP it then tells me that scripts that I know marked as not-compatible with AP are now ok to install. (like the plugin manager is confused). I have found no solution to get the plugin manager working correctly yet with my TC or AP. Uninstalling and re-installing the plugin manager and TC/AP do not fix this.

Imperat · Post by **Imperat** » Wed, 25. Apr 12, 00:20

Hello! I have a little problem with instal custom ships to AP. I download a ship xsp and open in Package Explorer. That prgoram convert the xsp. After that i install the ship. But I can't see any ship in the list what I installed. There isn't in the game. When I install without converting the ships appear but completly holow just only the turrets visible. Could someone help me with this?

FalconGrey · Post by **FalconGrey** » Wed, 25. Apr 12, 00:22

Just wanted to add a note for you that the problem seems to be some sort of compatibility issue between my new computer and TC. There is an ongoing thread in the tech support with another having the exact same issue with the same model of computer.

So basically, it doesn't look like I'm having an issue with the plugin manager as much as TC is having an issue with my computer.

Kilroy6269 · Post by **Kilroy6269** » Wed, 25. Apr 12, 00:34

To Cycrow,

I have just installed your Plugin Manager and before doing so I read the FAQs below. In one of the FAQs people are asking what to do because of the games being in protected files, I.E. Program files. You state that they need to install the games in a different file other than Program files. I have two questions regarding this.

First: What file should I install them in or can I create my own file/folder?

Second: All my games are on Steam. Do I need to uninstall Steam completely and reinstall in a different file or can I uninstall just the games I would like to run through your Plugin Manager?

I will wait for an answer before doing anything. Thanks in advance for any advice given.

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

problems installing the manager