Exscriptor - new external script editor

pelador · Post by **pelador** » Mon, 16. Feb 09, 22:09

Just installed exscriptor with administrator access.

Using the same user on running the executable Vista just reports that the application has stopped working, tries to find an answer and then waits for you to close it down. (In short: Error with application cycle).

draffutt · Post by **draffutt** » Mon, 16. Feb 09, 22:41

Whimsy wrote:
draffutt wrote:i've been getting random lock-ups in TC mostly using call scripts. i think i have narrowed it down to the script version number.
You seem to find the weirdest bugs... In this case though I'm not sure what's going on. The script version number shouldn't make any difference. However, are you sure you mean the script version number, and not the engine version? X3TC's engine version is 40 (original) or 41 (with patch) and a lower engine version won't work (which is why X3R scripts didn't work initially). So if you changed your setup script manually by editing the XML file maybe you changed the wrong one? If that's not the problem then I don't know what is, because I know scripts with lower script version numbers (e.g. 1, 2 etc) load okay.

as mentioned its not a bug with exscriptor but with the game engine. suggested this as a preventative measure.

as this is totally random. testing conditions: 42 M1's using scripted set homebase. action once command is run first script calls set homebase once dones que's player for next task. player has to run this script on each and every ship individually. i have yet to be able to run it on all 42 ships without the game hanging and having to restart from a previous save (it varies on when it will hang sometimes it'll hang when i run on ship number 10's or next time on ship 30's).

set script to ver 40 or higher no other changes. reloaded save was able to run script on all 42 m1 without the game hanging. tried this twice by reloading and running the script. both times script ran without hanging.

draffutt wrote:is there is hidden command associated with the M8? i will test this further when i get more time to make sure there isn't something else that is preventing it from loading.
This is even more strange! No, there's no hidden stuff going on - it's just text. To make sure, I made two scripts, one just typing {M8} and one selecting it, and both produce exactly the same file, so I don't know what might be going on here. What else is in the problem script?

as for this "issue" i'm going to have to wait a little bit before i attempt to figure this out. im a little

with TC at the moment

pelador wrote:Just installed exscriptor with administrator access.

Using the same user on running the executable Vista just reports that the application has stopped working, tries to find an answer and then waits for you to close it down. (In short: Error with application cycle).

odd.... i am running this on vista as well and i am not having this issue you are describing.

Whimsy · Post by **Whimsy** » Wed, 18. Feb 09, 22:54

pelador wrote:Using the same user on running the executable Vista just reports that the application has stopped working, tries to find an answer and then waits for you to close it down. (In short: Error with application cycle).

Some people seem to have problems with Exscriptor running on Vista and others don't. I don't know what it might be in your case; what does the error log file say (if anything)? Maybe that might shed more light.

draffutt, sorry to hear that X3TC and its strange bugs are driving you mad - though I can sympathise!

I think I'll leave any changes for the time being but if you find any more problems or narrow down the causes of these bugs any further, let me know and I'll see what I can do to fix them.

s9ilent · Post by **s9ilent** » Mon, 23. Feb 09, 11:28

Hello again,

I just thought I'd give my two cents, I recently noticed that using the default font, lower case "L" and the number "1" are exactly the same (from a graphical perspective). So I thought it would be nice if the default font was a different one.

Also, in the next version, I don't suppose that it will be able to support different default font sizes + formatting (bold, italics, etc)? (Changing them doesn't seem to have any affect)

(And also just as a side note, it is possible to increase the size using control + mouse wheel, but then it only increases the font size of the main window, leaving the line counter on the side de-sync'ed. I know its probably not designed to do that, but it would be nice to have some size-syncing feature)

pelador · Post by **pelador** » Tue, 24. Feb 09, 06:32

Whimsy wrote:
pelador wrote:Using the same user on running the executable Vista just reports that the application has stopped working, tries to find an answer and then waits for you to close it down. (In short: Error with application cycle).
Some people seem to have problems with Exscriptor running on Vista and others don't. I don't know what it might be in your case; what does the error log file say (if anything)? Maybe that might shed more light.

Checked events and it was reporting file access to an alternative place where compatibility files are stored for users with some applications.

Changed permissions for the user to full control and the application runs now.

Whimsy · Post by **Whimsy** » Sat, 28. Feb 09, 15:22

s9ilent wrote:I just thought I'd give my two cents, I recently noticed that using the default font, lower case "L" and the number "1" are exactly the same (from a graphical perspective). So I thought it would be nice if the default font was a different one. Also, in the next version, I don't suppose that it will be able to support different default font sizes + formatting (bold, italics, etc)? (Changing them doesn't seem to have any affect)

I agree, it is slightly annoying that 1 and "L" are the same, but Courier New is pretty much the default font for programming (probably because it's fixed width). For some reason I don't fully understand, though, changing font size etc doesn't seem to work in Exscriptor; actually, if it did, 1 and "L" look different at size 10 and above anyway. I'll definitely try to fix the sizing/formatting issue in V2.

s9ilent wrote:(And also just as a side note, it is possible to increase the size using control + mouse wheel, but then it only increases the font size of the main window, leaving the line counter on the side de-sync'ed. I know its probably not designed to do that, but it would be nice to have some size-syncing feature)

This was raised a while back (and is probably related to the font size bug above) - you can change the font size with the mouse wheel, but whenever you type anything, it resets the size again. It's something I've never been able to fix. Hopefully it will do this properly in V2 though.

Pelador wrote:Checked events and it was reporting file access to an alternative place where compatibility files are stored for users with some applications.

Changed permissions for the user to full control and the application runs now.

Glad you got it working in the end!

Katorone · Post by **Katorone** » Mon, 9. Mar 09, 11:04

I've been getting weird refresh glitches.
When the script isn't a page long, there isn't a problem. However, as soon as there's a scrollbar on the side, it seems that the textwindow scrolls up & down everytime I type something.

I'm running it on windows XP, SP3 - Exscriptor v1.2.7.

Are there things I could test for?

Whimsy · Post by **Whimsy** » Mon, 9. Mar 09, 22:55

Katorone wrote:I've been getting weird refresh glitches.
When the script isn't a page long, there isn't a problem. However, as soon as there's a scrollbar on the side, it seems that the textwindow scrolls up & down everytime I type something.

Sadly that's a known issue. Sometimes it's worse than others as it seems to depend on where the scroll bars and cursor are etc, so sometimes it flickers really badly and other times not at all. If it gets really annoying you can turn off syntax highlighting in the options and it will disappear, as the primitive way the highlighting works is what causes it.

The flickering issue is one of the main reasons I'm working on a Version 2 but until that's ready I'm afraid it's something that just has to be endured.

Sorry!

Katorone · Post by **Katorone** » Tue, 10. Mar 09, 15:54

Oh, don't worry about it... I can type without looking at my keyboard/screen. So I'll just look at the television whenever I'm typing, till v2 is out.

EDIT: I don't know if you know 'textpad'? It's an advanced editor which can also do syntax highlighting. Also, It's possible to use textpad to run an external tool on the document you're working on. The program isn't free, but the evaluation version doesn't stop working.
Perhaps it would be just easier to create a compiler and syntax definitions for textpad? It can also hold libraries with available functions etc...

Anyway, it's just an idea so you could concentrate on the most important stuff (the compiler) instead of the GUI itself.

I've recently found the MSCI handbook on the xai site... It's a nice collection of commands, but i'd love a site which can be searched and where people can reply to the commands with advice/problems/snippets. Would you happen to know a site like that? Perhaps a wiki? (Ideally for me, it would resemble the php site... It's great to use as a help with programming)

Whimsy · Post by **Whimsy** » Tue, 10. Mar 09, 21:22

Katorone wrote:Perhaps it would be just easier to create a compiler and syntax definitions for textpad? It can also hold libraries with available functions etc...

Anyway, it's just an idea so you could concentrate on the most important stuff (the compiler) instead of the GUI itself.

Interesting idea! I've not used Textpad, but I do use Notepad++, which is similar. I did consider something like that when planning V2 (though I was thinking of various syntax highlighting libraries etc), and at some point it was suggested I release a standalone compiler too, so I decided the first step is probably to release the compiler on its own and then finish the GUI later. In which case, it might be worthwhile at providing some syntax definitions for other tools, like Textpad or Notepad++ etc. I'll look into it at some point.

Katarone wrote:I've recently found the MSCI handbook on the xai site... It's a nice collection of commands, but i'd love a site which can be searched and where people can reply to the commands with advice/problems/snippets. Would you happen to know a site like that? Perhaps a wiki? (Ideally for me, it would resemble the php site... It's great to use as a help with programming)

As far as I know, the Xai site does allow wiki-style edits and comments etc, but I don't know of anything else similar. There is this wiki, but it focuses more on the modding aspects than scripting. There is also a PDF scripting manual (I found a link on the above wiki) which is a bit old now - it's for X2 - but does provide a good intro to X scripting as a lot of it hasn't changed. Can't think of any more though!

Katorone · Post by **Katorone** » Wed, 11. Mar 09, 13:05

Whimsy wrote:As far as I know, the Xai site does allow wiki-style edits and comments etc, but I don't know of anything else similar. There is this wiki, but it focuses more on the modding aspects than scripting. There is also a PDF scripting manual (I found a link on the above wiki) which is a bit old now - it's for X2 - but does provide a good intro to X scripting as a lot of it hasn't changed. Can't think of any more though!

Thanks!
Perhaps it's time to get some hosting myself... However, knowing me... I'm more of the start-something-but-never-finish kind. :-/

Zayltsin · Post by **Zayltsin** » Thu, 19. Mar 09, 07:51

Hiya, whilst doing a script for my X3:TC game i came across a problem when using Exscripter and posted in the X3:TC modding forum section, this is a quote of the problem i had:

But i've come across a problem and i think i might have identified it but im not sure if i can fix it but purhaps one of you awesome people can.

So the problem, i've managed to port alot of ships into X3:TC with only one or 2 problems but when it cam to scripting the ships into a shipyard for sale i came across this anoying problem. Now some of the ships came with Tcockpit and Components but some didnt, now the ships that didnt come with the Tcockpit arnt the problem its the ships that didnt come with a Components txt file, they simply dont show up in the Exscripter tool, but the ships that had the Components file do.

I got told to post this in here for you, Whimsy.

I did solve the problem by using the ingame script editor although id much prefer to use this one and its far easier to use.

Reguards,

Zayltsin.

pelador · Post by **pelador** » Thu, 19. Mar 09, 09:58

The syntax in Exscriptor for an X3TC Universe command is slightly wrong:

Exscriptor reads:

Code: Select all

 <RetVar/IF> get jumps from sector <Var/Sector> to <Var/Sector>

but should be:

Code: Select all

 <RetVar/IF> get jumps from sector <Var/Sector> to sector <Var/Sector>

Fortunatley it compiles the second happily. So it looks like it is the reference that just needs changing.

BTW: Thanks for this great utility, saves so much time building foundations before testing IG.

Whimsy · Post by **Whimsy** » Sat, 21. Mar 09, 14:16

Zayltsin wrote:So the problem, i've managed to port alot of ships into X3:TC with only one or 2 problems but when it cam to scripting the ships into a shipyard for sale i came across this anoying problem. Now some of the ships came with Tcockpit and Components but some didnt, now the ships that didnt come with the Tcockpit arnt the problem its the ships that didnt come with a Components txt file, they simply dont show up in the Exscripter tool, but the ships that had the Components file do.

Hmm - this sounds very odd. In theory it shouldn't matter whether they have cockpits etc, as Exscriptor only reads data from TShips. Could you tell me more about your set up? Which files you edited etc? But if some new ships showed up (those without cockpits) and others didn't (those with them) I'm very puzzled. Any chance you could send me some of the T files to test? Maybe there's some formatting problem that stops it loading the lines for ships with cockpits.

Pelador wrote:The syntax in Exscriptor for an X3TC Universe command is slightly wrong

Well spotted. I thought I'd fixed all of these... Never mind, it's easily sorted. Thanks for pointing it out and glad you find the Exscriptor useful!

Zayltsin · Post by **Zayltsin** » Sat, 21. Mar 09, 20:49

Whimsy wrote: Hmm - this sounds very odd. In theory it shouldn't matter whether they have cockpits etc, as Exscriptor only reads data from TShips. Could you tell me more about your set up? Which files you edited etc? But if some new ships showed up (those without cockpits) and others didn't (those with them) I'm very puzzled. Any chance you could send me some of the T files to test? Maybe there's some formatting problem that stops it loading the lines for ships with cockpits.

Sure ill dig up the Tships file(s) that had the problems and Zip them up and PM you the upload when i get a chance, that wont be untill the early hours though im afraid im on Guard Duty again 4 night in a row.

ReeverDrak · Post by **ReeverDrak** » Fri, 27. Mar 09, 23:48

Wow man, just went thro the hole post, and may i ask.... do you ever sleep??

you are legend i tell you that, just for you pashance alone...

i havant as of yet had a go with your master peace yet as im buildin a better pc to run x3 on first but im ichin to try it out, as im as it would seen to me that im one of the last noobs of scripting left and iv got alot of enthuseasum

but sadly im also dislexic as you maybe able to tell

so scripting is a dornting challege for me

so i ask as i tryed to get thro this thread..

is your progarm easy to use? and will it also powerfull enought to let the uers develope skills over time? so would i be dornted or intimidated when i try to use it? (iv only so far worked at a basic VB level, no ferther then hallo world statments and pop up enter value boxes, and in script calcs and DIM statements, so i have only a very basic understanding so far).

So what im asking is could i use your progarm to learn how to script X3 easly (i have prior exp with notepad++)?? i would be good if it could as iv got so much i want to give back to you guys in the community for all your hard work...

I dont have much in the way of confidence when it comes down to stuff like this but i really want to give it a go, and iv been given alot of support by my friends and the community here (sadly most of the links to that support tutoreals and programs are now dead

like Xehond's galexyeditor, and other stuff and goodys).

so thank you all and thanks for reading,

you doen good from what iv maneged to read so far

EDIT> just tested it and got right at the start off when i told it where X£ is and turned it to X3 mode, it first crashed on me then when i started it again it gave me>

Failed to load X4 data:
Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Could not load X4 data - please check settings in Tools-->Options

iv got quite a few scripts in my scripts folder aswell as XTM (which crashes every 20 min or so) and i asked your progam if it could find any conflicts and nothing came up, the page was blank... is that ment to happen?? no news is good news?????

iv the error log here>>>>>>¬

Error Log
---------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred:
Message: Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Stack Trace: at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.initialise(String pathToX3, String lang, Int32 gameID)
at X3_Script_Editor.Editor.LoadX3Data()
Source: X3 Script Editor V3
Target: Void loadLanguageFiles()

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred: Could not read from xml file: 447021 (aka E:\Program Files\EGOSOFT\X3 Reunion\t\447021.xml)
Message: The 'language' start tag on line 2 does not match the end tag of 'langauge'. Line 47, position 3.
Stack Trace: at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Exception e)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ThrowTagMismatch(NodeData startTag)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseEndElement()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElementContent()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read()
at System.Xml.XmlLoader.LoadNode(Boolean skipOverWhitespace)
at System.Xml.XmlLoader.LoadDocSequence(XmlDocument parentDoc)
at System.Xml.XmlLoader.Load(XmlDocument doc, XmlReader reader, Boolean preserveWhitespace)
at System.Xml.XmlDocument.Load(XmlReader reader)
at System.Xml.XmlDocument.LoadXml(String xml)
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
Source: System.Xml
Target: Void Throw(System.Exception)

-------------------------------------------

Exception occurred: Could not read from xml file: 447023 (aka E:\Program Files\EGOSOFT\X3 Reunion\t\447023.xml)
Message: The 'language' start tag on line 2 does not match the end tag of 'langauge'. Line 24, position 3.
Stack Trace: at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Exception e)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ThrowTagMismatch(NodeData startTag)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseEndElement()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElementContent()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read()
at System.Xml.XmlLoader.LoadNode(Boolean skipOverWhitespace)
at System.Xml.XmlLoader.LoadDocSequence(XmlDocument parentDoc)
at System.Xml.XmlLoader.Load(XmlDocument doc, XmlReader reader, Boolean preserveWhitespace)
at System.Xml.XmlDocument.Load(XmlReader reader)
at System.Xml.XmlDocument.LoadXml(String xml)
at X3_Script_Editor.XData.loadLanguageFiles()
Source: System.Xml
Target: Void Throw(System.Exception)

-------------------------------------------

and it keeps crashing everytime i try to put it in X3 mode.... (not x2 or x3TC)

eeeep =S i hope this helps in your quest....

my spects are as follows (as i found it helsp to know these things when finding butgs as my Modern computer tech lecturer told me when he tort us about white and black box testing...)

HP 6715s
AMD TL 60 2.0Ghz
ATI X1250, 125MBVR (shared, max 512MBVR)
2GB RAM
160GB HDD, 3 partions. X3 on the therd partion E:\
Running XP Pro SP3 with .NET 3.0 (3.5+hotfixes wont intsall =S)
XTM installed....

thats about it really for the rust bucket im using... and as iv said i hope that helps as i know conflicks can arise from hardware/software incompatabilitys... will cheak Win log for any errors it may have occured in win...

Whimsy · Post by **Whimsy** » Sat, 28. Mar 09, 14:48

ReeverDrak wrote:is your progarm easy to use? and will it also powerfull enought to let the uers develope skills over time? so would i be dornted or intimidated when i try to use it? (iv only so far worked at a basic VB level, no ferther then hallo world statments and pop up enter value boxes, and in script calcs and DIM statements, so i have only a very basic understanding so far).

So what im asking is could i use your progarm to learn how to script X3 easly (i have prior exp with notepad++)?? i would be good if it could as iv got so much i want to give back to you guys in the community for all your hard work...

Firstly, thanks for the compliments!

To answer your question though, I think the ingame editor is easier to use if you're just starting out with X scripting. It's a trade-off between speed and safety - Exscriptor is faster to use than the ingame editor but it's also much easier to get things wrong (and Exscriptor is - as you've noticed - probably not quite as reliable as the ingame editor!).

It's good that you want to learn scripting and give something back to the community - I had the same thought, which is why I came up with this tool - and my advice would be to start scripting with the ingame editor; it also uses mostly selections from menus, so it will be harder to make any mistakes / typos etc. Then once you understand how scripts work and have got the hang of it, you can use the Exscriptor to get things done faster.

You can try starting with Exscriptor if you want but it may be harder to learn scripting that way as - despite my best efforts - it's not quite as user friendly as it could be.

ReeverDrak wrote:EDIT> just tested it and got right at the start off when i told it where X£ is and turned it to X3 mode, it first crashed on me then when i started it again it gave me>

Failed to load X4 data:
Could not open main xx0001.xml language file - please ensure the settings are correct.
Could not load X4 data - please check settings in Tools-->Options

iv got quite a few scripts in my scripts folder aswell as XTM (which crashes every 20 min or so) and i asked your progam if it could find any conflicts and nothing came up, the page was blank... is that ment to happen?? no news is good news?????

Hmm - it sounds like it's stuck in X3TC mode for some reason and therefore can't find the data properly (which is also why it finds no conflicts). I'm not sure why it crashed in the first place though the last two errors in the log refer to a mistake in two of your XML files - the tags don't match, so you probably have <language> and then </langauge> (you need to change the last one to </language> instead).

As to how to solve the problem, you might be able to get it working by editing the config.dat file (in the Exscriptor directory) manually. Somewhere in there (it's full of lots of stuff) is the locations for the data files and the game mode. These are the ones you may need to edit:

x3 directory = E:\Program Files\EGOSOFT\X3 Reunion
scripts directory = E:\Program Files\EGOSOFT\X3 Reunion
game mode = 3

If it says "game mode = 4" then it's in X3TC mode, so just change them to fit the above and it should work (assuming that's where your X3 is installed). Alternatively you could try reinstalling and see if it crashes again; if you get past that first options screen it should be okay.

Anyway, try editing the file and see how you get on. If it still doesn't work, then let me know and I'll see what else I can come up with.

ReeverDrak · Post by **ReeverDrak** » Mon, 30. Mar 09, 03:12

i know this is going to sound like a right noobish question, but how do i extract or edit data in a .dat file? as i may of mentioned i as im so sad, have only worked with VB files

Whimsy · Post by **Whimsy** » Mon, 30. Mar 09, 18:54

ReeverDrak wrote:i know this is going to sound like a right noobish question, but how do i extract or edit data in a .dat file? as i may of mentioned i as im so sad, have only worked with VB files

Your best choice is probably one of doubleshadow's editors:
X3 Mod Manager
X3 Editor

Either should allow you to extract stuff from .cat/.dat files.

Also I find the X2 Archiver very handy which you can also get from doubleshadow's site here; it integrates with Windows Explorer so you can use .dats as if they were .zips etc. Doesn't work well with X3TC though.

For scripting though you probably won't need to do much with the .dat files. It's mostly only when you want to mod something that you need to unpack data.

Atrocious · Post by **Atrocious** » Mon, 6. Apr 09, 00:12

Hey Whimsy!

I'm glad you still work on Exscriptor! I'm about to get back into X3 scripting, so I checked out your latest version. What can I say ... I found some bugs again.

- The font size cannot be changed: Although you have provided the options dialog, changing the font size does not do anything (in the code view). It will be back on 8, if you reopen the screen. Due to my screen resolution and my tired eyes, 8 is not enough.

- The file chooser always switches back to *.xml. Only a minor annoyance but it shouldn't be to difficult to store the last choice.

Btw, I'm C# developer myself, so if you want I could assist you with the bug-fixing, while you are working on shiny new 2.0.

Cheers
Atrocious

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Exscriptor - new external script editor