[REL] JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler (JSGME) v2.4 now available!

[JScones]

JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler (JSGME) v2.4 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.png

Changes:
- Added ability to copy the list of activated mods to the clipboard
- Added /s switch for saving mod profiles
- Added new (online) Help file (requires internet connection)
- Now optimised for use with Microsoft Vista and Windows 7
- Minor modifications to the behaviour of the "Tasks..." menu

A minor update, but one that includes a number of new features.

The most obvious change is the enhanced compatibility with Vista/Windows 7. Apart from adopting the native look and feel, JSGME also navigates the wonderful world of UAC. The downside of this is the annoying "Do you want to allow..." popup every time you open JSGME (until I get my digital signature in order, which will alleviate it a little bit), but the upside is that you can install JSGME anywhere and not worry about UAC related problems (assuming, of course, that you click the "Yes" button on the popup ;)). Note though that while JSGME will now run happily in "\Program Files", the game itself may not...so this modification is not to be seen as a license to start installing games into "\Program Files" with gay abandon.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT ALL JSGME USERS UPDATE TO THIS LATEST VERSION! There are no benefits running an earlier version of JSGME.

INSTALLATION
JSGME can be installed one of two ways:

==1. CENTRAL INSTALLATION==
You can install the JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler (JSGME) to a central location and point it to each of your games through creating shortcuts. To do this:

install JSGME to a central location (for example, “C:\Games\Generic Mod Enabler”). Keep the “Create a desktop icon” option selected in the installer
once installed, DO NOT RUN! Copy and paste the newly created JSGME desktop shortcut as many times as you have games and change the “Start in” folder of each shortcut to point to each game’s base folder. To change the “Start in” folder, right-click the shortcut, select “Properties” and then the “Shortcut” tab.
rename each shortcut to something meaningful, such as “JSGME - GameName1”, “JSGME - GameName2”, “JSGME - GameName3” and so on. To rename a shortcut, simply right-click the shortcut and select “Rename”
Using JSGME with subsequently installed games is simply a matter of copying, pasting and editing an existing shortcut (steps 2 and 3 above). And whenever JSGME is updated, you only need to install it once.

==2. SEPARATE INSTALLATION==
If you prefer, you can install separate copies of JSGME into each of your games. To do this, simply install JSGME to the base folder of the game that you would like to mod. The base folder usually contains the game’s main executable file and usually has a name unique to the game. If in doubt, consult the game’s online community. If you keep the “Create a desktop icon” option selected, the installer will add a uniquely named shortcut to your desktop.

Language Packs
If you use a language pack, please download the updated version from http://jonesoft.jaennahre.com (http://jonesoft.jaennahre.com/). Note that some packs have not yet been updated with new translations - new versions will be uploaded as soon as possible.

As always, please feel free to announce in other game forums...

AND REMEMBER - THE ONLINE USER GUIDE (http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/documentation/JSGMEUG.pdf) IS YOUR FRIEND!

[Hitman]

Excellent as always, a must have for everyone :up:

Stickied!

[Assprella]

Salve!
Thank you Sir.:yeah:

[schlechter pfennig]

Excellent as always, a must have for everyone :up:

Stickied!

Actually, I'd like to more than agree with Hitman here. I think we all have a tendency to take for granted JScones' hard work and excellent program. Every time a spiffy new mod comes out that I just have to have, it's just a matter of popping it into my mods folder and enabling it with JSGME. When I think about it though, what a witch that would be if I had to manually back up every file before manually pasting the modded ones in. Phew! :damn:

Instead, a little click or two, and off I go!

Thank you so much, Sir, for all your hard work! :salute:

[Reece]

Thanks Jaesen!:yeah:

[frau kaleun]

Actually, I'd like to more than agree with Hitman here. I think we all have a tendency to take for granted JScones' hard work and excellent program. Every time a spiffy new mod comes out that I just have to have, it's just a matter of popping it into my mods folder and enabling it with JSGME. When I think about it though, what a witch that would be if I had to manually back up every file before manually pasting the modded ones in. Phew! :damn:

Quoted for truth. :yep:

Thank you so much, Sir, for all your hard work! :salute:

Seconded, thirded, fourthed, and infinityed from me! :salute:

[melnibonian]

Brilliant work as always Jaesen :up:

Translation should arrive during the weekend

[Magic1111]

Thank you very much for the new version ! :ping::up::ping:

Best regards,
Magic:salute:

[Sailor Steve]

I got mine!:D

Danke!:rock:

[Stronghold]

Thank you, JScones! Thank you for your work and dedication.

[Rolf Eschke]

I would like to say Thank You for this wonderful Tool !
Regards
Rolf

[irish1958]

I would like to say Thank You for this wonderful Tool !
Regards
Rolf

Thank you:salute:
I can't imagine playing a ("modable") PC game without it.
With this tool and SH3CMDR you have kept this game alive.

[JScones]

With this tool and SH3CMDR you have kept this game alive.
Hehe, some may argue that Ubisoft has kept SH3 alive, lol. :03:

Indeed, SH5 is the reason why I am considering updating SH3Cmdr.

[Hitman]

Hehe, some may argue that Ubisoft has kept SH3 alive, lol. :03:

Indeed, SH5 is the reason why I am considering updating SH3Cmdr. Very true LOL

Nothing else like SH5 has made me love Sh3 and 4 :haha:

I think we all have a tendency to take for granted JScones' hard work and excellent program. Every time a spiffy new mod comes out that I just have to have, it's just a matter of popping it into my mods folder and enabling it with JSGME. When I think about it though, what a witch that would be if I had to manually back up every file before manually pasting the modded ones in. Phew!

+ 1000^2 to that :cool:

Before JSCones came, saw and won (veni, vedi, vincit) we all dreamed about such a tool, but nobody had the expertise and vision to realize it. TBH life has never been the same after JSGME: It has spreaded to all games and everywhere, and it has becomed the #1 tool to have whenever you are doing whatever with games. If there was a Hollywood Oscar for the "genius mod of the decade", Jaesen would have won it any day :up:

[Reece]

Before JSCones came, saw and won (veni, vedi, vincit) we all dreamed about such a tool, but nobody had the expertise and vision to realize it. TBH life has never been the same after JSGME: It has spreaded to all games and everywhere, and it has becomed the #1 tool to have whenever you are doing whatever with games. If there was a Hollywood Oscar for the "genius mod of the decade", Jaesen would have won it any day :up:Agree 100%, I use it in most of my games for not only mods but patches etc!:yeah:

[melnibonian]

Before JSCones came, saw and won (veni, vedi, vincit) we all dreamed about such a tool, but nobody had the expertise and vision to realize it. TBH life has never been the same after JSGME: It has spreaded to all games and everywhere, and it has becomed the #1 tool to have whenever you are doing whatever with games. If there was a Hollywood Oscar for the "genius mod of the decade", Jaesen would have won it any day :up:

My feelings exactly :up:

JSGME is by far the best support program out there for all mods and games. I don't even know how on earth I was using mods before I discovered this gem.

Thanks Jaesen :salute::up:

[schlechter pfennig]

Not sure if this is at all possible. Is there a way that, at the end of every patrol, a copy of the map could be saved along with the patrol records, showing the 'ship sunk' markers where the ships you sunk appear?

[Sailor Steve]

Not sure if this is at all possible. Is there a way that, at the end of every patrol, a copy of the map could be saved along with the patrol records, showing the 'ship sunk' markers where the ships you sunk appear?
You want to ask that in the SH3 Commander thread. This one is for the mod enabler.:D

[irish1958]

I have windows7, 64 bit. I have had, on two occasions, the popup asking for permission appear behind the JSGME interface where I couldn't access it. :damn: I was unable to minimize the JSGME interface to reach it to grant permission, and had to resort to the taskbar to reach it. :hmmm:
A small problem but a nuisance. :wah:

[JScones]

I have windows7, 64 bit. I have had, on two occasions, the popup asking for permission appear behind the JSGME interface where I couldn't access it. :damn: I was unable to minimize the JSGME interface to reach it to grant permission, and had to resort to the taskbar to reach it. :hmmm:
A small problem but a nuisance. :wah:
What "popup" are you referring to? I assume not the UAC popup because a) the UAC is meant to stop programs from running before they run, thus JSGME will not load until after you press the "Yes" button at the UAC permission popup and b) the UAC popup locks the rest of the screen, meaning that you can not click anywhere else other than the associated Yes or No button.

Are you referring to a different screen? :hmmm:

[JScones]

OK, I'm looking at the next release.

The main feature will be the ability to build/create new mods based on the "Compare game files to snapshot" task.

In other words, assuming you've generated a snapshot of your game files (when you first install JSGME - see the User Guide for more information), if you make changes to game files (install mods or edit directly) and run the "Compare game files to snapshot" task you will be asked if you want to create one mod based on the differences found. Prolly mainly a feature for modders or those wanting to consolidate many mods into small mod packages.

I'm also looking at:
- auto-disabling subsequent mods when trying to disable a "greyed out" mod. Sounds easy, but requires a logic rewrite due to the recursive nature.
- ability to remove for folders as well. The folder version of the -remove parameter.

And two features not likely to progress:
- check to see if the game is already running, and give a warning if you're trying to enable a mod. How would JSGME know? The user would have to tell JSGME the name of the game exe file, but even that will not always be a good indicator given that some main exe files spawn other processes that exist long after the main exe has exited. So, unless the user knew this, it wouldn't always work properly, and I'd cop the flack over it.

- launch game from within JSGME. As above. The user would need to set the main game file name. This one is doable, but is it useful? Or worth the effort of me adding it? It would work through a task that you select, "Run game", where the first time you use it you're prompted for the file to run, with JSGME saving it for future uses. Let me know if you'd use this feature...

These may not all make the next release, but they should make a release over the next 12 or so months.

I will, however, not be implementing:
- junction points, hard linking or symbolic linking. Too many limitations with this approach. Sure, hardlinking means no physical file moves or copies, but:

a) it limits use to NTFS systems only. Surely this is over 90% of users, but it's not 100%. So it's no go for me.
b) JSGME must be installed on the same physical drive as the game. This wouldn't be an issue before v2.3, but with the ability to install JSGME anywhere and point it anywhere, this creates another limitation that I don't want.
c) I've seen so much user confusion over Win7/Vista's similar "File virtualization" feature (VirtualStore folder, anyone?), that it would be a nightmare to explain and support.
d) it's really only noticable with mods over 500mb in size.

So I've chosen maximum flexibility and ease of use over saving a few seconds and megabytes here and there.

- compressed backups. Why? Again, the few megabytes saved would come at the detriment of speed, with JSGME having to unzip everything whenever a mod is enabled/disabled and rezip it all again when finished. This could be consolidated into a once-only unzip at JSGME loadup and rezip at exit, but who wants to wait while hundreds of megabytes are unzipped and zipped everytime they run JSGME? Nup. I've already streamlined JSGME by recording some changes in text files instead of creating file backup copies...This change has seen a substantial reduction in backup folder size (up to 50%, depending on the mod).

As always, requests welcome. Remember, this is your tool to make your life easier.

[LGN1]

....
- ability to remove for folders as well. The folder version of the -remove parameter.
....


Hi JScones,

That's a great feature! :up: Thanks for your efforts!

Best, LGN1

[irish1958]

What "popup" are you referring to? I assume not the UAC popup because a) the UAC is meant to stop programs from running before they run, thus JSGME will not load until after you press the "Yes" button at the UAC permission popup and b) the UAC popup locks the rest of the screen, meaning that you can not click anywhere else other than the associated Yes or No button.

Are you referring to a different screen? :hmmm:

When I click on the icon for JSGME, in the SHx folder (I have placed the program in the separate SHx folders, not a central location.) the permission box opens behind the SHx open window, not in front of it so it is unreachable unless I access it through the taskbar by clicking on it and bring it to the front.
I am sorry I didn't make myself clear in my statement. As you point out, JSGME does not open until I click "Yes."
I suspect that if I place the icons in a central location, I would have the same problem unless I place all the icons on my desktop. The reason I have installed all my icons in the game folder, is that when I am testing, I do not open the game via SH3CMDR but by the SHx.exe file. When I play SH3, I always open the game via CMDR.

"- launch game from within JSGME. As above. The user would need to set the main game file name. This one is doable, but is it useful? Or worth the effort of me adding it? It would work through a task that you select, "Run game", where the first time you use it you're prompted for the file to run, with JSGME saving it for future uses. Let me know if you'd use this feature..."

Not useful for SH3CMDR users. I would like to have the option to open SHx or CMDR. Similarly, when I open SH4 or SH5 to play the game (not test), I open these games via the song randomizer, not by the SHx.exe file.
In other games or in the future with the SHx games, new pre-programs may be added that one would want to open first. As an example Nicolas has a couple of programs that one must activate before launching the game exe program. I am sure other mods might be added in the future that require pre-launch.
As an aside, I can open all three in sequence with AlacrityPC. I haven't done this yet with the new JSGME, so I don't know the effect the permission popup will have.

[schlechter pfennig]

You want to ask that in the SH3 Commander thread. This one is for the mod enabler.:D

::sighs:: A perfect example of why going to sleep instead of posting 'just one last message' is a very good idea. :oops:

[JScones]

When I click on the icon for JSGME, in the SHx folder (I have placed the program in the separate SHx folders, not a central location.) the permission box opens behind the SHx open window, not in front of it so it is unreachable unless I access it through the taskbar by clicking on it and bring it to the front.
I am sorry I didn't make myself clear in my statement. As you point out, JSGME does not open until I click "Yes."
Odd behaviour. Whenever I click on an exe file that invokes UAC my screen goes black and a confirmation box appears and I cannot click anywhere else; certainly can't click on the taskbar. As this is Windows UAC behaviour, there's nothing I can do about it (ie, JSGME isn't even running when you get the permission box).

"- launch game from within JSGME. As above. The user would need to set the main game file name. This one is doable, but is it useful? Or worth the effort of me adding it? It would work through a task that you select, "Run game", where the first time you use it you're prompted for the file to run, with JSGME saving it for future uses. Let me know if you'd use this feature..."

Not useful for SH3CMDR users. I would like to have the option to open SHx or CMDR. Similarly, when I open SH4 or SH5 to play the game (not test), I open these games via the song randomizer, not by the SHx.exe file.
In other games or in the future with the SHx games, new pre-programs may be added that one would want to open first. As an example Nicolas has a couple of programs that one must activate before launching the game exe program. I am sure other mods might be added in the future that require pre-launch.
Good points. Add to that command line switches that may also be required/optional and it becomes messy fast. I'll drop those two features now.

As an aside, I can open all three in sequence with AlacrityPC. I haven't done this yet with the new JSGME, so I don't know the effect the permission popup will have.
Perhaps, if I decide to update SH3Cmdr, I could extend the existing functionality of running SH3Weather.exe (if it exists) before SH3.exe to running any user-defined exe file? Means you could enter a string of files and SH3Cmdr will happily run them in order before finally executing SH3Cmdr. But I digress...

[irish1958]

JScones: "Perhaps, if I decide to update SH3Cmdr, I could extend the existing functionality of running SH3Weather.exe (if it exists) before SH3.exe to running any user-defined exe file? Means you could enter a string of files and SH3Cmdr will happily run them in order before finally executing SH3Cmdr. But I digress..."

And it would be especially useful for SH4CMDR and SH5CMDR!:haha::haha::haha:

[JScones]

Just a reminder that now is the perfect time for both modders and general users to let me know of:
- anything that annoys you about JSGME that you'd like changed
- features that you may have seen elsewhere that you'd like added
- any other feedback, features or functionality that you think would make JSGME better for you

Pls make sure you've read the User Guide first though, just in case... ;)

JSGME is what it is primarily because of your feedback.

[Kongo Otto]

Already Downloaded. Thanks a lot. :up::rock:

[JScones]

OK, no suggestions makes things MUCH easier for me. :DL

Anyway, what's coming next so far:

- Added: drag & drop from other processes (ie Windows Explorer, Desktop) now enabled under Microsoft Vista/Windows 7
- Added: now detects changes to MODS folder contents and refreshes screen automatically
- Changed: display font now defaults to user's desktop (icon) font
- Changed: improved handling of -remove directive
- Changed: improved handling of mod-added folders
- Changed: numerous (minor) interface modifications
- Changed: further optimised for use with Microsoft Vista/Windows 7

[Hitman]

2.5 is out and stickied at the top of this forum, so I'm closing and unsticking this old version thread.

Thanks again JS :up: