Who uses SH3Cmdr with multiple SH3 installs???
 

In R2.1 I added the ability to point SH3Cmdr to alternative installations of SH3 by way of a /l switch in the shortcut(s).

However, over the last few months, more and more people seem to be running multiple installations of SH3.

As such, I fear that the current /l switch is no longer as robust as it once was.

So, after I release R2.6.1 in the next week or so (refer to the SH3Cmdr R2.6 sticky thread for more info), I am toying with releasing a minor update (R2.7) which will provide a more robust way for pointing SH3Cmdr to alternate SH3 installations, including automatically managing rollbacks between each installation so as to avoid "cross-pollination". The alternate paths would be managed internally in SH3Cmdr (you'd add the paths to SH3Cmdr and you'd select the one you want when you run SH3Cmdr).

As you can imagine, such a feature may take a few weeks (part time) to build. So before I even contemplate it, I want to know how many people have multiple installations of SH3 AND are also using SH3Cmdr. I'd also be curious how you have SH3Cmdr point to your individual SH3 installations (I know some people create multiple shortcuts using the /l switch and some people install multiple copies of SH3Cmdr).

If there's enough interest, I'll pursue. Otherwise, I won't.

BTW, there's one other feature that I've wanted to add for a long time, but I'll ask about it after I get a clear indiciation on this issue...

Speaking as an admirer and user of your indispensable program I appreciate the thought and would be happy to assist in any way regarding NYGM's TW Mod.

I have three installations running, but only use SH Commander for The Grey Wolves 1.1, I did this because of not knowing if it would affect the other two.

If I do not launch the other two from SH Commander, but from stock, are they affected in any way by the one I do launch using SH Commander?

Anyway thanks for starting this, with so many mods out there it would be nice to use SH Commander with them all. Thanks for all your work on this.

I use your "commander" with GW & NYGM. I just change the name of the SilentHunterIII folder to switch back 'n forth. Never used the "/l switch".

I have three separate installations of SHIII (GW, TW & vanilla) along with separate installations of SH3Commander 2.6 as well. I use the /l switch as well.

I am careful that I load the proper kaluen and have a designator tagged as a suffix to each character's name (ie, John Doe GW, James Shadow TW)

Great program! :up:

I use multiple install of SH3 each with its own install of SH Commander.
Great program! Love it!:up:

So when you are saying separate installations of Commander for the different mods...., how do you do this again? Are you just being careful to name each career as it relates to the mod, then loading them in one copy of commander?

Thanks again.

Right now I have three installations, original 1.4b, Grey Wolves, and NYGM. I'm planning on getting UBWAC up as well. I have SH3 Cmdr point to the original "SilenthunterIII" folder by renaming the folder that has the mod that I wish to use in it. A feature like this is worth waiting for, thanks JScones!

I would love a new feature like that! The /l switch didn't seem to work for me too well, so I ended up with multiple installs of both, but even that didn't work as expected (I had different SH3 options for each install, yet somehow the options kept being assigned to the other install of SH3 Commander!)

A feature like the one you described would be well appreciated!

One hell of an excellent idea ...I use multiple installations of SH3Commander :oops: and would appreciate having only one in the future :up:

You'll like this. I installed JSGME into my SH3 Commander directory. When I switch mods, I run it once for Commander, and once for SH3. Of course, after doing a rollback. I have different sets of CFG files I use on different mods.




While you are here, don't know if this has been suggested before or not, I'd like to suggest:

In a few of the threads I saw people said they didn't use Commander because of the sabatoge mod or random events and they weren't savy enough to edit the cfg files.

I think it would be great that if Commander was to make any changes, that it would be a user selectable option and not make any changes that the user doesn't select.

I wouldn't know where to put it, but when you click SH3 options, it says:
Career Options
Text Settings
Gameplay Settings
Time Compression
<add>
Sabotge Settings
Random Event Settings

I think more people would use this great tool if they were given full control over what it does. It's the "unknows" that people don't like.

BTW: Thanks for the work you put into this and your contributions to the community.

I'd definitely like to see this function implemented please JS. Anything to make life easier and smotther when running SH3 can't be a bad thing.

One other thought….

Is there a way you can make Commander automatically roll back when SH3 exits? It might solve some of the cross pollination issues.

In the event of a game crash, a rollback could be performed the next time Commander starts.

When you run Commander you “test” for the existence of SH3 weather and execute it when it is present. Could you drop an identifier file into the SH3 directory so you would know if there was an abnormal exit and roll back based on that?

I’m not a programmer but I was just thinking of possible ways to solve some minor issues. I have no idea if these things would/could work.

Ditto on the automatic rollback....then I would not forget to do it..

I tried running SH3Cmdr with three installations using the l/switch, but somehow managed to screw things up....think I forgot to rollback one time actually. so I had to completely uninstall everything, now I only use SH3cmdr for one installation, so this feature you are talking about would be great for idiots like me.

How would automatic rollback work with a saved game?

Right now I start a patrol using SH3 Commander, but if I have to save I always just start the game normally, so that I don't get stuck with say different values or crew losses with each restart of a saved game. Is that the right way of doing things? And how would this work with an automatic rollback upon exit?

The most practical, safest, efficient way is what Jaeson has proposed, which is a version of Sh3 Cmdr that supports multiple installs.

Jaeson is a quality programmer and he will have considered all possible avenues before making this proposal.

JS, could you make a patch for 2.5 to have it work with multipul installs? There are those of us that like and use only 2.5

I'm only using one install of SHIII and SH3 Commander 2.5, for now. I like 2.5 over 2.6 because of the features it has. One is it automatically rolls back everytime it's run for my career, and never fails to either. Some of the features in 2.6 I didn't care for, so after looking at it a bit I decided to stick with 2.5. But no mater what, you've done a great job wih all versions of SH3 Commander. To coin a phrase, "Pure genius".

I've been using SH3 Commander since 2.5, but been running multiple installs since v2.6 came out. I tried a single installation, with /l switching, but my old memory kept letting me down, so I got myself cross-pollenated a few times!! I have been running 4 multiple SH3 installs, with 4 corresponding installs of SH3Cmdr, for the past 6 weeks or so, with absolutely NO problems at all. It did take a few extra minutes to get all the correct desktop icons etc. labelled correctly to match, but well worth the effort!!
I would really appreciate ANY of the new features that would improve SH3Cmdr even more! The "automatic rollback" plan is great, but I'm still hoping that you will release the "Log Book" feature that you mentioned a while back, that you had virtually abandoned working on!;)
So far as I'm concerned, SH3Cmdr, and JSGME, have got to be THE most important Mods ever created for SH3. Thanks for all the work you've put in!!!

Cheers

By not starting saved games with Sh3 Cmdr you will be missing out on some of the best Sh3 Cmdr features with the random breakdowns/failures etc

Also, SH3 Cmdr does not remove crew mid patrol.

With regards to the NYGM Torpedo Depth Keeping Issue Mod, which is used during the historical dates of 1939 to late 1942, the depth error value is a random occurance recalced with each launch of the game through SH3 Cmdr where there is a 30% chance that no depth error will occur and a 70% chance that an error from as little as 0.5 metres up to 3 metres will occur. If you do not load saved games with SH3 Cmdr the depth error will not be recalced which will mean that if your depth error is set to be 2 metres out, it will not have a chance to be reset to 0 metres or at least to a lesser depth.

Ooh, ok!! I thought all the random things that SH3 Commander did was saved with the save game file and would be changed (or lost from an eariler value) each time. Well, this certainly helps! Thanks!