Ertzel

Which is exactly what I did and posted about in the post 3 above yours… I made a Settings Editor that is used to create a config file thats encrypted. The admins uses this editor to create the file that is send with the launcher.

Ya, I just kind of ignored that… But thanks for posting so I don't have to double-post! Another quick update. You can now customize the background, player button, update button and icon images. I have default ones stored in a graphics file that will come with the launcher, you just edit those images and they are loaded into the launcher when you run it. I fail at graphics and also purposely made them shitty looking so people will use their own and not stay with the default ones (and if you do, your only making your game look bad with them) Here is the new look: >!  I also added another textbox to the Settings Editor that allows you to change the text displayed at the top of the Launcher (by default it says Eclipse Launcher)

Okay, so after a few failed attempts at trying to save/edit the changeable data by using the launcher's settings file via a SettingsEditor program I made, I gave in and made a data file that stores the info. Although I still didn't make it just a shitty ini file. Now you use the Settings Editor to edit your news url, upload url, client name (the program launched when the user presses play) and your checksum file name. You then click Save Settings and it will create a data.config file that holds all your settings but they are encrypted (because plain text is lame). You then ship this file with your launcher and it reads from it to set up those variables. I'm still looking into a way of not needing this data file, but for now this will do. Example of the settings Editor: >! 

Although I made it in Visual Studio 2012, you just need anything that can compile C# code to make the changes… I will work on making certain things stored in an Ini and also editable graphics files for the background and buttons for those people who are to lazy to edit the source or are too nubby to follow basic instructions (Although if you can't figure out how to edit those things you probably will duck up the Checksum and uploading of the files).

> instead of using the IP, use the character name. That will make it so in case your character is already on, it will say that…not through the IP :/ Pretty sure it wont let you log into the same account twice, already…. This is suppose to stop people from dual logging on more then one account....

> Btw shouldnt this be in Resources? Good point, moved it. > Good stuff. > > A lot of ppl will request a compiled version with an editable .ini file. Ya, when I started making it, I was basing it off of my own engine so I didn't bother with .ini shit. I'll probably end up changing those variables to be loaded through a .ini or some sort of file before I release the download link though so people can do it without C#. It's an easy change once I get around to doing it.

_**Game Launcher**_ **Developed By: Ertze**l _**Overview**_ This program can be used by anyone to automatically update files from a webhost to a computer. _**Info**_ Everything related to this launcher is coded in C# and was done by me for an engine I am working on. I decided to make the Launcher something that I could post on here for other people to use on their own Eclpse or non-Eclipse projects. The way this launcher works is: You upload a checksum file to your webhost that holds the data to all of your files also on the webhost you wish to update (This file is created by the Checksum Builder included with the launcher). You then simple upload all of your files you wish to download to your host. (Files that go in a folder on the computer are to go in their own subdirectory with that folder name) When the user first starts up the launcher it will download that checksum file you put online and will use it to check if your client has all of those files or not. If they do it will mark the status of that file as "Pending…" and if they don't it will be marked as "Missing..." When the user clicks on the Update button it will scan through the list of files from that checksum file and if the file is marked as Missing it will automatically download it to the appropriate folder on your computer (It will create the folder if the path is missing). If the file is marked as Pending, it will then check the checksum value of that file from the checksum file compared against the value of the file the client already has. If the values match up it will be marked as Up To Date! and be skipped. If they do not match up it will replace the clients program with the one on your host. _**How To Use**_ To use this launcher you will need access to a C# compiler as there are certain things you need to change. You will need to go to the frmMain.cs file in the Launcher solution and edit a few variables. First change the downloadPath value to the full url of your host. Next change the webNews.Url valye to the url of the webpage you will be using to display your news. After that change client value to your clients name (and directory if its not in the base directory). Then if you do not save your checksum file as Eclipse.checksum, you will need to change that anywhere where you see it in the source. Finally any custom changes you want to make (like the layout or graphics). Once you have done all of that, compile it and your ready to start using it. To update you will want to create a folder (something like "Updates") and place all of your files/folders into it. Then launch the Checksum Builder program and select that folder and click on Build Checksum (again, if you don't name it Eclipse.checksum you will need to change that in the Launcher's source). Once you have that file upload it and everything from your Updates folder onto your host. When you make any new updates just replace the current file with the new one in your host and replace the checksum file with the updated one. Then send out your updater to your clients and they can begin using it! (if you didn't include certain files needed to run your program into the updates then make sure you send them with the updater). Example of a checksum file: [http://pastebin.com/VBQqV8D7](http://pastebin.com/VBQqV8D7) _**Screen Shots**_ >! News >!  >! On Load >!  >! Finished Updating >!  >! Checksum Builder >!  >! **Download:** **(Coming soon…)**

Ya, same thing just different name pretty much.

I figured they miss-typed and meant reputation system (like, u gain rep by killing mobs and lose rep by killing players)

> No the player will be receiving the Same amount of packets! > > This is the system used by real Mmorpg btw > > It would be a lot of work though and no one would ever use it The player would be receiving the same amount of packets, yes. But the server programs would be doing more work as they would have to send packets between each other to do everything. If a player attacks a NPC, Server 1 would receive the attack packets and would have to send a message to Server 2 which would handle the player attacking data and then send the message back to the client of the result from Server 2. I really don't see how that would be any easier then just the normal way of one server handling it all as its no less code needed but just more work to make the servers interact.

I'd say at least make the full window bigger. I understand you want the game scree to stay that size but add more to the right side of it so everything isn't so confined. I'd suggest moving Hp/Exp/Mana to the top right of the game screen and making the chat full up the spot they currently are in. Then below those bars have that be the position for the game windows to open up (like the character, inventory, spell and quest windows.

> Looks pretty cool ! good continuation , how much long (months) until you finish it (even buggy) No clue on how long the editor will take to release. It's something I just randomly work on when I feel like it or come up with an idea. As for the whole engine, again no clue but not anytime soon from what I can tell. I will release the editor as a stand alone C# editor that others can use for their own games/engines if they like and then will begin working on the server program followed by the client program (releasing each as they finish and then one final release for the engine). I highly doubt I'll ever get around to making he actual game I talked about just due to lack of patients and caring. I tend to get way to bored with making games because though I like programming, I really don't find any games entertaining and get bored easily with them. This makes it hard for me to make games because I can't do real testing or do much content creation as I get to bored and side-tracked and never get them done. The editor/engine coding I find fun though and can do for hours without getting bored which is why thats what I'm focusing on instead of an actual game right now.

Another update. I made some more changes to the item editor. Items generally won't have a lot of code based with them so there was no need for such a large editor with so much empty space. I compacted it to a much more fitting layout now. Below is an example of setting up a weapon… >!  >!  >!  >!  Also I re-did the layout of the objects editor today. It is now using the new code style and is a lot smaller as the old editor had a lot of wasted space. Remember, Objects are in place of attributes in this system. You can make an "attribute" through an object but can do much more with objects also. An object is placed on a map tile and then w/e the code for that object does, is processed when that object is triggered based on its trigger settings. Load is triggered on the map loading. (like spawning a mob) Action is triggered on the player interacting with it (like attacking) Player Touch is triggered when the player clicks the object (used for things like crates, or signs) Collision is triggered when the player steps onto that object (like a wall blocking) Pictures below showing examples of what kid of objects you could code. >! A block object >!  >! Giving out an item >!  >! Setting a players respawn point >!  >! Warping a player >!  Those examples show mainly objects only being used for one task, but an object could do as many things as you wanted it to.

Another update on this. With keeping the style of editor now used for the quest system, I decided to change the other editors to be a lot more dynamic and not have everything be set and limited. The first editor I'm making this change with is the item editor. Before there where boxes for every option you had to setup your items, that system is gone. Now you setup the name, item type, if its stackable, droppable, two handed and also it's image. Those are the only set variables currently that are done by the editor. Now you have an onCreate, onEquip, onDequip and onUse tab that each have one text box in them (setup like the Quest editor to have auto C# syntax highlighting/styling). In here you can set the item to do anything that the server handles on any of those stages. When a player first picks up an item, it will trigger the onCreate code. When you put on an item (if it can be worn) it will trigger the onEquip code and when you take off the item the onDequip code. Then if the item can be used (Like a weapon attacking, a trade skill tool being used, a potion being clicked, a key being used, ect…) it will trigger the onUse code. I currently only have the onEquip, onDequip and onUse setup as I haven't fully decided if I'm going to hard code parts of the onCreate or not and what all should be used in it. The Object, NPC, Potion, Spell editors will be changed to this style also and the only editor that will remain in the old style is the shop editor as this style doesn't really make that much sense for it. Image below showing what I am talking about (this shows code that could go in the onUse section of a weapon) >! 

Are you trying to use old item files from before this combat system was made? If so, they won't have a combat type and will cause this error.

Running Eclipse through virtual machine on Mac works kind of…. I have a macbook pro as my only computer right now so I know all about this. the virtual machine cannot render anything newer then dx7\. So if you are using any engine of Eclipse that uses DX3D (The ones with alpha blending) then you will not be able to run it through a VM. Once you login to the game it will just be a blank grey screen. The server will run fine though as it doesn't deal with graphics rendering in DX3D. If you use anything with dx7 though it will render fine and you can do everything through the VM. If you do go with a macbook prop your best bet would be to use Bootcamp and partition your macbook with a windows partition and your mac partition. Then you can run everything just like it would be normally by booting up through your windows.

Well, as long as its your own coding, it shouldn't matter. I took the "from scratch" part more of not using pre-made systems/engines and things created by others.

Well, tbh theres only so much you can mark down as "copying" when we are all making virtually the same program. No one is going to see your actual code which is what will be the thing getting voted and judged so all they can copy is the visual aspect with will be obvious and is only a very small part of the judging….

Okay, last time you will be verbally warned for this. STOP DOUBLE POSTING. There is a clear edit button at the bottom of your post. If you want to add something within minutes of making your last post and no one else has posted in your topic, use the ducking edit button…. OnTopic: When you download Eclipse, you should have a client and server folder, each should have a .exe program to run your game and the data folder. They should also have a src folder and the visual basic program file (.vbp) This is how you actually edit the code in your game. If you don't have these, you somehow ducked up downloading the engine and go to the official download section of the forums and re-download whatever version you want to use. As for getting vb6, you can find it online either by paying for it, or illegally downloading it. Due to the nature of getting it for free intact being illegal, it is against board rules to post any links or downloads for a free copy of vb6 so you must find it on your own.

I'll start working on my project next week after I go back home for winter break.

No need to make 3 topics all in a row for the exact same question…. Merged all of your topics together....

More changes! So for starters I redid the whole layout of the map editor. Instead of it all being on one form using tabs to switch editors, there is now a menu form where you select an editor to open. It then closes the menu and launches the editor you selected. All editors are still part of one master program but the way I had it before made it a female dog to edit code when your working with like 8 editors all on one form. The code it a lot more organized and easier to follow/change with the new layout. Example of layout: >!  I also did a lot of backend changes to the way my classes where setup and am now using more standard naming conventions then I was before. The shop editor's basic layout has been created. This is just the first draft and may change. You select a shop from the left list box like with all the other editors. You can then add sell items to the sell box or edit current items the shop is selling. Also you can select for a shop to Buy All Items. If you don't you can instead setup individual items for the shop to buy and thats all it will accept (So like an armour shop won't buy potions from a player). Example of layout: >!  The Quest Editor has gone through a couple re-writes and been scrapped a few times in the last week. After showing Marshy and Vaughan they suggested I change the layout to be more developer friendly so I did those changes this morning. There is a tab box where you Npc, Item or General. The Npc tab has a combo box that will display all available NPC's names in it. You then select the NPC you want to add to the quest and enter code into its onActive (talking to) on onDeath box. The Item tab works the same way but with items and only one box for when you pickup an item. The General tab has one box for any general quest data. To make it easier and more dev-friendly for putting in big codes, when you double click on a box it will open a new form that can be made fullscreen or resized to any size. This new form will only have a text box the size of the form. This box will have any data from the text box you double clicked and you can edit it from there. The text box has auto syntax colouring and editing setup for C# code. When done, you simple exit out of this form and it will bring you back to the Quest Editor on your current tab and have the box you double clicked updated with the new info. Example below: >! What it looks like when no box has been double clicked >!  >! Example of what happens when you double click on the onActive text box. >!  >! Example after clicking the onDeath text box. >! 

The only thing ModDirectdraw7 handles is the visual aspect of attacks. You will have to find the code where it checks if you can attack or not and change that timer also.

Ya, someone [should](http://www.touchofdeathforums.com/community/index.php?/topic/129760-ea-minimap/) do that….

Congrtz rob, nice to see you already are setting up your team.