[TEC] Tutorial: Deconstructing the menu_1024_768.ini file items

[karamazovnew]

Holy mama.... I bet you didn't do that by hand. Do you by any chance still have the code for entering the data into a table? Would be veeery useful . Right now I have to enter all of the data by hand and it's quite annoying. Also, when I move a menu group, I don't need to update just that item, but all of the items, since the Zone line's X and Y position is absolute . Maybe a tool to update the file automatically...But for the moment, that's beyond me. It took me one day to write this macro to renumber the items (hsie's tool didn't work for me for some reason). It's for a simple form with one button (btnRenumber) and one text box (txtPage). It renumbers the items on a page (as long as the item is in the correct page ofc).

Private Sub btnRenumber_Click()
Dim iItem As Integer
Dim myRange As Range
If txtPage.Value = vbNullString Then
MsgBox "You must enter the Menu Page"
ElseIf Application.Documents.Count < 1 Then
MsgBox "No document Opened"
Else
iItem = 1
Set myRange = ActiveDocument.Range(Start:=0, End:=ActiveDocument.Content.End)
myRange.Select
With Selection.Find
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindStop
.Text = "[" + txtPage.Value + " I"
Do While .Execute
Selection.Extend
Selection.Extend
Selection.Extend
Selection.TypeText Text:="[" + UCase(txtPage.Value) + " I" + CStr(iItem) + "]"
iItem = iItem + 1
Set myRange = ActiveDocument.Range(Start:=Selection.End, End:=ActiveDocument.Content.End)
myRange.Select
Loop
End With
End If
End Sub


Come to think of it, I don't understand why there was never a tool to visually mod the interface. VB has plugins to view DDS and TGA, a piece of code could make a table with all the items and parameters in the menu.ini file, then show them. Appying the inverse formulas might allow you to drag/move items. There are maximum 200 items on a page so that shouldn't crash the pc. The Display line might be an issue, but... Actually forget it, it might take longer to do it than to mod the file by hand .

[JoeCorrado]

Bumped again- two years later.

[JoeCorrado]

And bumped once again... just 3 years later. Good to see so many of the old die hard companions still here and active after all this time.

Since I am back to SH4 again and because after a long break I forget so much stuff, this was the thread I looked up as a place to start again. Old mods disappear, my favorite home brewed mods get lost and I need to start from scratch.

This thread is where so much enjoyment (outside of the actual game play) got their beginnings. This thread never gets old for me. Hope some other mad scientist gamers get a chance to read through and feel the satisfaction of successfully creating their first mod.