[REL] JSGME v2.0.0 now available!

[JScones]

JSGME v2.0.0 is now available from http://jonesoft.jaennahre.com (http://jonesoft.jaennahre.com/) or via JSGME's Update feature.

http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/screenshots/JSGME.gif

Changes:
- Now records a snapshot of mod files at the time of enabling and disables based on that snapshot
- Now warns when a mod adds new folders that were added by previously enabled mods
- Now supports importing of mods through drag and drop from Windows Explorer, Desktop etc (not supported under Microsoft Vista)
- Added ability to rename mods by selecting and pressing F2
- Added ability to create new mod folder names by pressing F7
- Now plays a sound when enabling or disabling has completed
- !BACKUP folder now has hidden attribute
- Now deletes mods to the Recycle Bin
- Snapshot and comparison files now saved to MODS folder
- Improved system message handling
- Many code enhancements

The first change is the most important and what constitutes the new major version number.

JSGME now maintains an install log whenever a mod is enabled, meaning that you can do whatever you like to the source files afterwards (including deleting the mod altogether) and JSGME will still correctly disable the mod (just remember though that if you do modify a mod's source files after enabling, those files won't appear in-game until you disable and re-enable the mod ;)). So no more game corruption caused by deleting enabled mods from your hard drive!

INSTALLATION
Prior to installing v2.0 it is imperative that you disable all current enabled mods. Not doing so will corrupt the running of JSGME and hence your game. Once you've disabled all mods (check your !BACKUP folder too for any residual files), simply install this version over the top and resume using as you normally do. If you have a lot of mods installed, create an activated mods list first so that you can remember the order in which to re-enable then.

NB: If when you run this version for the first time it displays activated mods, then unfortunately you are a victim of the self-inflicted "oops". In other words, at some stage you've manually deleted or renamed a mod while it was still enabled. Unfortunately, JSGME v2.0 can not fix existing instances of this problem, so before continuing you'll need to determine the impact and manually correct (either reinstall the mod on your computer and disable through your previous version of JSGME, or manually remove the files from your game and then disable the entries via the new version of JSGME).

If you use a language pack, please download the updated version from http://jonesoft.jaennahre.com (http://jonesoft.jaennahre.com/) Pls note that some updated packs are not yet available - they will be uploaded as soon as possible. You can continue to use your current language pack in the meantime.

Please note that if you have created a snapshot, then you will need to manually move 'JSGME file snapshot.txt' from the game's root folder to the MODS folder as JSGME now writes to the MODS folder. This is a once only requirement.

I'd like to express my thanks to the numerous testers who have been testing out the various builds over the last few weeks. Your input has been greatly appreciated and helps make JSGME that little bit better. :up: :rock:

[DeepIron]

Excellent! Thx again for the new development! :up::up::up:

[leovampire]

And for listening to everyone so you could make it even better than it was before!

Your the best JScones

[Ducimus]

- Now deletes mods to the Recycle Bin


This alone is awesome. Raise your hand if you've ever deleted a mod (which was created for whatever reason), and then decide, "Hmm, that didnt work out so well, hey, i think i could have used that other one, oh wait.... .... ahhhh CRAP! (insert many colorful adjectives here)"


*raises hand*

[Bluesub 6]

Awesome:up:
Thanks for your work:rock:

[Defiance]

Hiya,

Thankyou for making a superb piece of software even better :)

This is a must have to anyone for sure

Many Thanks

Have Fun

Def

[SteveW1]

Fantastic, Downloading now.

Thanks to You modding is so much easier

You deserve a Crownie.:rock:

[Excalibur Bane]

Great stuff! JSGME is probably the most the useful game utility ever, period. :up:

[Cooter1966]

Good deal !!

[Von Hinten]

Thanks for this new release maestro! :up:

[tater]

Very cool. Due to a couple idiotic self-inflicted "oops" I will use this as an excuse to reinstall SH4 :)

Thanks!

tater

[unga]

Awesome !!!! :rock:

JSGME is surely the most useful game utility ever !!! :up::up::up:

Thanks a lot !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sailor Steve]

Bee-yoo-tee-full!

:/\\k:

[rhombus]

:rock:Great stuff! JSGME is probably the most the useful game utility ever, period. :up:

[Soviet_Warlord]

Excellent job man, thanks for all the work! :up:

[longam]

Your work is always appreciated. The progress bar is a great feature among many. Thanks for your hard work. :up:

[letterboy1]

Thanks, JSGME is part of SH3/SH4!

[panthercules]

This is great - so many new features and enhancements, to something that was just about perfect before. Amazing!

Great work - thanks for this awesome tool - the ultimate subsim "must have" :rock:

[Digital_Trucker]

This is just bitchin' :cool: (for you folks that remember the 50s), groovy (for the 60s), faaaaaaaaaaaar out (for the 70s folks), cool (for the 80s), awesome (for the 90s) and as my grandson would say in current times Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Thanks Sir Scones for the hard work to make an already wonderfull app downright mahvelous:rock: :up:

[JScones]

Thanks guys.

... The progress bar is a great feature among many...
Only just made it though - it was a late "<shrug> I've got a few minutes to kill" decision.

Another few things I forgot to mention about the main change: you should now notice both a) an increase in enabling and disabling speed, and b) a decrease in the size of backup folder, particularly for mods with large numbers of new files.

[ironkross]

Progress bar? :up: So I need to reinstall over 2.0.0.97.
If it weren't for the mods I wouldn't be playing SH, period. If it weren't for JSGME I most likely wouldn't use mods.
Thanks, Jaesen.

Ironkross.

EDIT> I didn't notice before that you can create extra mod folders. Is this so I can have one folder for TM and ROW, and the various mods that can co-habitate, then create another folder for RSRDC, ROW and the mods that I know work with those mods? Then select the mod folder I need. I know this would greatly decrease the complexity and anxiety of installing the big mod packages. I mean if thats how it works.
IK

[Rockin Robbins]

A giant thumbs up from the other side of the blue marble!:up:

[Skyhawk]

JScones,

Thank you very much for providing us all with the most important utility that any self-respecting fan of SH3 or SH4 can/should have.

By spending the time creating and developing this "must have" utility for us, you have saved countless hours in the process of installing/rolling back of mods.

Best regards and thank you, thank you, thank you! :up:

[JScones]

...OK, there's a v2.0.1 up now which fixes a minor case sensitivity issue (...\CFG\file.name was not being recognised as being the same as ...\Cfg\file.name when determining mod file changes).

I also tightened up the folder renaming feature (there was nothing wrong with it - I just made it more "Windows Explorer" like in behaviour).

Just install over the top of the current version.

[leovampire]

...OK, there's a v2.0.1 up now which fixes a minor case sensitivity issue (...\CFG\file.name was not being recognised as being the same as ...\Cfg\file.name when determining mod file changes).

I also tightened up the folder renaming feature (there was nothing wrong with it - I just made it more "Windows Explorer" like in behaviour).

Just install over the top of the current version.

Now that is quality stand behind behaver you don't see too often in released work LOL!!! help's being a small company huh JScones?! :rock:

[don1reed]

Tnx JS.
As always, the quality stands apart.

[TDK1044]

Just downloaded and installed the latest version. Took all of 20 seconds and works like a charm. Many thanks.

[leovampire]

I hope this help's to cover all of the new work and time you spent on JSGME. As always apreciate it and glad your still around helping us.

[JScones]

I hope this help's to cover all of the new work and time you spent on JSGME. As always apreciate it and glad your still around helping us.
Thanks mate, always appreciated.:up: :rock:

[DrBeast]

*bump!*
Can't believe this has dropped to page 8!

ETA: Removed link. All's good and well with 2.0.1.

[JScones]

Just fyi - I've been a bit quiet lately because work keeps promoting me, LOL, so I now get to spend about 90% of my time away from my office and in meetings (indeed, I might drop-in and say "Hi" sometime next year Neal when I'm in your neck of the woods, assuming that's OK with you).

Anyway, my absence doesn't mean that I've dropped support for JSGME though, it just means that there won't be any updates in the immediate future.

Fortunately it doesn't seem that there are any showstoppers with v2.0.1, so you should all be safe in the meantime. ;)

[skwasjer]

JScones, I have thought of a feature that may take a few steps out of each test cycle during development of mods.

It would be a feature not directly usable from JSGME itself, but by 3rd party tools. Basically, I am envisioning some sort of API that S3D could use to activate a temporary mod (upon save). Say a modder works in S3D, opens a new file, and saves it to the MOD folder of JSGME. Then, he could press a button inside S3D, which will spawn the correct instance of JSGME (or use an already opened instance), and (re)activate (or deactivate if active) the mod in one go.

This requires a method of communication to verify if a specific mod is activated (to indicate state), if a running instance is linked to the correct path (of MODS-folder), and the ability to send a couple of commands (activate/deactivate/reactive?). Obviously, I could just parse your config files to get some of this info, but I'd still have no way of activating mods...

Could be very interesting... Thoughts?

[JScones]

JScones, I have thought of a feature that may take a few steps out of each test cycle during development of mods.

It would be a feature not directly usable from JSGME itself, but by 3rd party tools. Basically, I am envisioning some sort of API that S3D could use to activate a temporary mod (upon save). Say a modder works in S3D, opens a new file, and saves it to the MOD folder of JSGME. Then, he could press a button inside S3D, which will spawn the correct instance of JSGME (or use an already opened instance), and (re)activate (or deactivate if active) the mod in one go.

This requires a method of communication to verify if a specific mod is activated (to indicate state), if a running instance is linked to the correct path (of MODS-folder), and the ability to send a couple of commands (activate/deactivate/reactive?). Obviously, I could just parse your config files to get some of this info, but I'd still have no way of activating mods...

Could be very interesting... Thoughts?
Smart idea - and certainly do-able.

It wouldn't be hard to modify JSGME to accept a few command line parameters, such as one for "force" activating mods, one for "force" deactivating mods, one for toggling a mod's state (meh, might be used I guess), and one for running in silent mode. As only one instance of each copy of JSGME can run at a time, you could call it without caring if it is already open and let JSGME manage the mechanics. All you'd need to do was know the mod path, and from there you could derive the related JSGME path, and call JSGME with the mod folder name and the relevant switch.

JSGME could post a message or somesuch advising whether success or fail.

That's an initial thought anyway. I'll have a play after I get a few other things out of the way.

[skwasjer]

I have enough work myself so no hurry for me ;)

Just some more thoughts:
- Whenever a user saves in the mods folder with S3D, a post-save check for the SH-exe can determine the root game path. That way I have all the info needed to spawn JSGME.
- I guess it would be wise to prevent full automatic mod (un)install if the mod sits somewhere in the middle of the list, as to prevent unwanted mods being (de)activated. Maybe a popup confirmation in JSGME (edit: I think it already does??)...
- I could send along the window handle to receive a postback using SendNotifyMessage (PostMessage/SendMessage can cause problems on Vista across processes). We can register a message using RegisterWindowMessage using a specific string (aka WM_JSGME_ACTIVATE, with lparam 0 or 1). The only problem I see here is S3D can't query state if it reloads a mod/file.

Regarding the last point, I am thinking maybe only an activate/reactivate command is needed, and not deactivate. That avoids the need to post state info back. Let the user decide in JSGME whether or not to deactivate a mod, and not in S3D (which doesn't make sense anyway, that's what JSGME is for!).

Anyway, just let it boil for a while :smug:

[fred8615]

Something I've been meaning to ask:

Why does JSGME copy the files when it installs a mod, instead of just moving them? Moving files on the same hard drive is much faster, and moving requires only about half the space, even when you factor in the backed up files on installation.

[NKVD-crazyivan]

Hi JS awesome Mod enabler i have been using it since day one.......i,m a little confused though...my version which i have been usinf for thr last 3 months or so already says 2.0.1 when i treid to down load it agian it just said file already down loaded do you wish to over right.

then i pressed update in youe mode tool and it said i have the latest version....is this so or do i need to DL it agian.

[JScones]

Something I've been meaning to ask:

Why does JSGME copy the files when it installs a mod, instead of just moving them? Moving files on the same hard drive is much faster, and moving requires only about half the space, even when you factor in the backed up files on installation.
Yes, I'm well aware of that. There are, however, some fundamental reasons for the copy approach, not the least being file version integrity control.

And before someone says "hard linking will do everything and more", pls consider the limitations of such approach balanced against the average user competence level.

Hi JS awesome Mod enabler i have been using it since day one.......i,m a little confused though...my version which i have been usinf for thr last 3 months or so already says 2.0.1 when i treid to down load it agian it just said file already down loaded do you wish to over right.

then i pressed update in youe mode tool and it said i have the latest version....is this so or do i need to DL it agian.
You did notice that this is quite an old thread? ;)

[skwasjer]

Sorry about that, didn't intend to confuse anyone, but I didn't think my request warranted a new thread :arrgh!:

[DrBeast]

See, that's why fundamental/must-have stuff should be stickied. From what ungodly depths was this thread unburied? :D

[JScones]

Sorry about that, didn't intend to confuse anyone, but I didn't think my request warranted a new thread :arrgh!:
:up: I like it here, means less places for me to look when I forget what I had to do. :doh:

[NKVD-crazyivan]

Sorry JS how dumb am i :oops: :D
This tool is a must have for all gammers.........great work:up:

[NKVD-crazyivan]

:oops: Man am i so dumb.......
Great tool every one must have this.....................keep up the great work JS:up:

[JScones]

OK, with development work on SH3Cmdr now pretty much over, I've decided to go back to work on JSGME; there's a few features that I want to add.

So while I take a break from programming and actually play SH3 (and whenever I can get the UBM, SH4), pls feel free to post your wishes, comments or suggestions here.

I won't respond to them - I'll just add the useful ideas to my "to do" list.

[jimimadrid]

JScones,
JGSME should be able to recognize if a mod also need changes via JTxE. (maybe checking if there is a ini_mods folder inside the mod ????)

Before deinstalling the mod, JGSME should popup a message that the user has first to deinstall the JtxE changes before deinstalling via JGSME.

The idea behind is, that through JTxE the paths to dds files can be changed. This give the modders the possibility to made extra graphic files for their mods. JGSME will be able to add the extra files to the folders.
Deinstalling this files only with JGSME, will let SH4 search the deinstalled files an break with a failure message.

With JTxE i cannot take influence at the deinstalling order - only JGSME can take care of it. Therefore plaese be so kind and let us find together a solution.

Thanks and sorry for my bad english.

[Killjoy12]

Any thoughts to accepting a compressed zip or 7zip format as well as the expanded directories? Some of those mod folders are quite large uncompressed.

[tHy]

The real super-mod enabler unify JTxE and JSGME ;) That would be quite awesome, but probably A LOT of work and require both developers to collaborate...

Well, Dreaming is not forbidden :arrgh!:

[JScones]

The real super-mod enabler unify JTxE and JSGME ;) That would be quite awesome, but probably A LOT of work and require both developers to collaborate...
Actually, it doesn't require any collaboration nor a lot of work. Building such a feature into JSGME has been on my "to do" list for quite a while, even before the JTxE. Indeed, such a feature has been a working part of SH3Cmdr for nearly three years.

More info in post 28 and post 38 here (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=123176&page=2).

As you can see though, I'm not about to rush into it considering the extra potential for conflict through allowing individual setting adjustments. Further, while the existing function allows editing of any binary or ini-structured text file, it needs expanding to support other file types, like XML, as JSGME is game neutral and thus must maintain maximum compatibility (another reason to carefully plan such an addition).

But such a feature will come...it might not necessarily be in the next release, but it will come...

[JScones]

OK, I'll take the silence to mean that there's no additional suggestions beyond those already raised throughout this thread. That's good.

Regardless, the next release will at least have one visual difference - you'll be able to tell straight away the mods that can't be disabled because they have files that have been modified by subsequently enabled mods (which must be disabled first). TBH I didn't think that this would be a useful addition, but having used it over the last week or so with SH3, I'm surprised at how helpful it is.

A screenshot to demonstrate...

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/7310/jsgmeky2.gif (http://imageshack.us)
(even after so many years, I still test using mods created for Flying Corps Gold, lol)

It's now easy to see straight away which mods can't be disabled (and before anyone asks, JSGME uses your screen colour preferences, so if your greyed out buttons and such are normally coloured pink, so too will the greyed out mod entries). Note that this is not new, or different, behaviour, but just a visual cue for the existing behaviour, so it's nothing new to learn.

[ref]

I've a small one (you now, I'm lazy...), a "refresh" mod button (or popup) to disable and reenable the mod with only one click, I do that a lot when testing...

Ref

[JScones]

I've a small one (you now, I'm lazy...), a "refresh" mod button (or popup) to disable and reenable the mod with only one click, I do that a lot when testing...

Ref
Just to fully understand, do you mean like you enable a mod, then test it and then tweak the mod files while it's still enabled and you then want a quick way to apply the updated changes to the game?

[JScones]

N/A

[Syxx_Killer]

I haven't read through the thread and I apologize if this issue has been addressed already. Would it be possible to have JSGME enable mods faster? The reason I ask is because while most mods do enable at a good clip, some do not. One that pops into my head is the German speech mod for SH4 UBM. It doesn't take as much space as TMO, but takes longer to enable than TMO does.

[ref]

I've a small one (you now, I'm lazy...), a "refresh" mod button (or popup) to disable and reenable the mod with only one click, I do that a lot when testing...

Ref
Just to fully understand, do you mean like you enable a mod, then test it and then tweak the mod files while it's still enabled and you then want a quick way to apply the updated changes to the game?

Something like right clicking in an enabled mod and have a "refresh" option, that updates the files in the game folder from the ones in the mod folder.
No biggy, I told you it was a lazy's man whish :)

Ref

[JScones]

@Everyone, just a heads up to let you know that whilst I will still view this thread and any others that relate to JSGME (where it's obvious from the thread title), I will no longer be announcing new releases through new threads.

To find out at any time whether there is an updated version of JSGME, you can rely on JSGME's "Updates" feature, or check my webpage (at some point I'll re-add a "Version history" page).

Enjoy!

[DrBeast]

Could you at least post in this thread, please? Not all of us have internet at home (I know I'm one), so we can't rely on the Update feature :cry:

[JScones]

@skwas and anyone else that wants to interface programatically with JSGME (including those creating setup files), you may find my latest update thread on JSGME (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=141421) of interest.

Note: Due to Ubisoft's inability to make good an offer they made to me over 6 months ago, I do not have SH4 installed, so pls keep that in mind if/when asking me questions. For now, all JSGME development update posts will be placed exclusively in the SH3 Mods Workshop forum.

[skwasjer]

Excellent work :up:

Thanks for upkeeping this very valueable tool :cool:

[Orion2012]

Awesome!

[Aniuk]

See, that's why fundamental/must-have stuff should be stickied. From what ungodly depths was this thread unburied? :D

I second that. A jewel of only 552 kB (the size of the program) It is perhaps one of the best I have ever downloaded! And it is for free. Never fails me, easy to use. No way I would enjoy playing SH4 without it. I would miss al the great mods.

JSGME opens the door to all the great work. Alas for me, one option is missing. It cannot reactivate some of the modders (like for instance Ducimus). Perhaps in a future version:rotfl:

Great stuff. It's a icon on my desktop and MUST be a sticky. plse?

Happy hunting, regardless of the mods you use or the game you play.

Aniuk

[silent killer]

:up: thanks JScones

[JScones]

In case you've missed it or don't use JSGME's "Updates" feature... http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=141773

[Hylander_1314]

Thankyou, I hadn't run the update recently, as I had not found any, and wouldn't ya know, I completely forgot about it.

[Sub Sailor]

:doh:OK I have SH4, patch1.4, U-Boat mod 1.5, I have the latest version Generic Mod Enabler.
I have a file in my SH4 folder "Trigger Maru Overhaul 1.7" in that folder there are to folders "Data and Support".
What do I put in the Mod enabler, I tried the whole file-1.7 did not change any thing.
Please understand I am 68 years old and not he smartest computer person around, but I follow simple instructions well.

Respectfully,

Ron Banks MMCM(SS), USN(Ret):salute::oops:

[longam]

JSGME setup/installation file should be placed in your SH4 program folder and then run the install from there.

This will create a MODS folder in your SH4 folder.

Place the "Trigger Maru Overhaul 1.7" folder in the MODS Folder.

You can then run JSGME and you should see TM in the left listing, just select and hit the arrow pointing right and it will move over to the right enabling the MOD.

You can disable the mod by moving it back to the left.

[irish1958]

:doh:OK I have SH4, patch1.4, U-Boat mod 1.5, I have the latest version Generic Mod Enabler.
I have a file in my SH4 folder "Trigger Maru Overhaul 1.7" in that folder there are to folders "Data and Support".
What do I put in the Mod enabler, I tried the whole file-1.7 did not change any thing.
Please understand I am 68 years old and not he smartest computer person around, but I follow simple instructions well.

Respectfully,

Ron Banks MMCM(SS), USN(Ret):salute::oops:
The current JSGME is 2.20.120
When you install and run it, it creates a folder "Mods" in your SHIII or SH4 main folder. You put the mods you download into this folder.
When you click on the mod in the folder, the first subfolders should be data and support or documentation or some such.
That means you have installed the mod into the JSGME.
Next, click on the JSGME icon in the main SH4 (or SHIII) folder and the mod will be listed. To activate the mod into the game, click on the mod in the "Available Mods" panel to highlight it, and then click on the > and it will be activated and listed in the Activated Mods panel.

[captgeo]

Here is a link that describes how to install MOD's inclueding JSGME.
http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6421019045/m/5181035206

[dangrey]

Hi! I don't get generic mod enabler to work.
1. I have win7.
2. I've installed GME in root of silent hunter 5.
3. I ran it and it generated a MODS-folder.
4. I copied "No Damn Bubbles, No Damn Halo Mod" there.
5. I ran GMD and selected the mod and activated it.
6. It didn't affect the game.
7. I see that when I activated the mod, it generate a folder in Silent Hunter 5 root that is called "No Damn Bubbles, No Damn Halo Mod", and it gets deleted when I de-activate the mod.

[razark]

Hi! I don't get generic mod enabler to work.
...
7. I see that when I activated the mod, it generate a folder in Silent Hunter 5 root that is called "No Damn Bubbles, No Damn Halo Mod", and it gets deleted when I de-activate the mod.

You have a doubled folder. Go into your MODS directory, and rename "No Damn Bubbles, No Damn Halo Mod" to "Something Else". Go into the renamed "Something Else" directory, and copy the "No Damn Bubbles, No Damn Halo Mod" folder out of it, into the MODS directory. Delete the "Something Else" folder, and install the mod with JSGME.

[dangrey]

You have a doubled folder. Go into your MODS directory, and rename "No Damn Bubbles, No Damn Halo Mod" to "Something Else". Go into the renamed "Something Else" directory, and copy the "No Damn Bubbles, No Damn Halo Mod" folder out of it, into the MODS directory. Delete the "Something Else" folder, and install the mod with JSGME.

Thank you, that was it :)