TorchLeech - WoWMatrix clone for Torchlight

[Didero]

This tool just keeps getting better. And thanks for that list of mod download amounts

I do have a small remark though, something I only just realised. Why are the settings for TorchLeech itself under the 'Options' button, but the options for the game under the right-click menu? I understand you want to make a distinction, but the game settings would be easier to find if they're under the 'Options' button. Perhaps under a 'Game Options' or 'Torchlight Options' tab to indicate the difference.
I don't mean this to sound like "You must do this my way", but it would make the game options easier to find, in my opinion.

[TorchLeech]

Why are the settings for TorchLeech itself under the 'Options' button, but the options for the game under the right-click menu?

We want to stay clean with the default user interface. The "Settings editor" is an advanced feature which most players will not use (in our opinion) - we want to "hide" this from the normal player until he dig deeper into modding and customizing the game. Otherwise there is a good chance to overwhelm a new player with 7 tabs and 165 options/checkboxes.

[Encepheron]

Glad to hear you're still working on it. Can't wait for the offline version...will be good for me who has severely limited internet access.

On a side note...Hexx reminds me of Cruestech...wonder if they are brothers.

*peace*

[coffinsnail]

@Hexx

If you want to prove that torchleech is the problem, then install the game on another pc and manually install all the mods you have on your main pc. Then take out the mods one by one and reinstall them, if there is a loss of data and a wipe then you have tested and found the problem, the mod itself. Untill you do that action above you are only claiming without any proof that torchleech is actually changing things that cause a wipe of data. So please you state it did this and that but provide no trouble shooting steps to prove your point.

You failed to manually install and uninstall the mod to see if the mod was broken. so the error is on your part not on torchleech.

Oh and HEX have you ever modded a game before bug free?

[TorchLeech]

IMO you shouldn't have to since Runic left sufficient warnings for changing mods and the effects on save files(red text everytime you change a mod), but its for the better anyways.

In the first step we have changed the short and long description for unsupported mods and add a warning in big letters:

Code: Select all

*** UNSUPPORTED VERSION - Doubleclick on this mod to read full description ***

The installed version is not supported (read FAQ on the website for more information).
That means you can de-/activate and play this mod but you will never get any updates automatically.

How to get a supported version:
1. Check if this mod is in the TorchLeech list.
2. Deinstall the unsupported version.
3. Reinstall the listed version.

WARNING:
REINSTALL MODS CAN BREAK YOUR EXISTING SAVEGAMES!
BE CAREFULLY AND BACKUP YOUR SAVEGAMES/OLD MODS!

At our tests it's really annoying to pop up warnings every time you uninstall a mod. Really annoying.

[Redattack34]

Here, I'll try to proofread that for you. No offense meant, but warning messages should be as clear as possible, and broken English doesn't help.

Code: Select all

*** UNSUPPORTED VERSION - Double-click on this mod for more details ***

The installed version of this mod is not supported (read the FAQ on the website for more information).
This means that you can de-/activate and play this mod but it will not be automatically updated.

How to get a supported version of this mod:
1. Check if this mod is in the TorchLeech install list.
2. Uninstall the unsupported version.
3. Reinstall the listed version.

WARNING:
IN RARE CASES, REINSTALLING MODS CAN BREAK SAVED GAMES.
BE CAREFUL, AND BACKUP YOUR SAVES/OLD MODS WHEN REINSTALLING.

Oh, one other thing I thought of. When a mod is poorly constructed like the Tier 3 mod, wouldn't the GUID's break when TorchLeech updates it? Unless you've changed the process, TorchLeech erases the old folder and installs the new version. Normally this is OK, but that would break the GUID's just like a manual reinstall. Perhaps you should only allow mods with fixed GUID's into the database?

It would also be very helpful to modders if you posted a list of what a modder has to do before a mod will be added to the database, or if there is nothing, say so.

[mattdesl]

I'm afraid re-installing problematic mods might cause this problem, like Redattack34 pointed out.

I'm not sure whether you've already considered this idea, but it may reduce the number of Hexx-like issues without annoying the average TorchLeech uesr:
- When installing a mod, quickly scan the /units/items folder to determine whether any files are missing GUIDs. If so, flag the mod as "GUID-error-prone".
- When the user wishes to update/uninstall/reinstall a mod, show a warning message if the mod is flagged as "GUID-error-prone". In the warning dialog, you could also include a "Don't Show Me Again" checkbox, incase it gets annoying.

I'm sure there are plenty of useful mods that don't include fixed GUIDs. No point in removing all of them from the database!

I'm not sure if the GUID problem also affect monsters and players, but at least this would give a warning for item-related problems. You could also scan monsters, players etc. for GUIDs, if you want. Most mods do not include that many new units, so it shouldn't be too much overhead.

[brennok]

I just thought I should put this quote in here incase no one else mentioned or you didn't look at this particular topic(merging classes):

Merging classes: Sounds not really complex. As i understand your post, there is a layout-file (plain text) in every class mod which must be changed in some numbers like you quoted. Every additional mod +70 and the correct class mod counter. After this change the tool "Class Creator" correct all items in the mods with new IDs. We have already a category "Classes" or/and "Conversions" where we can mark new class mods. Maybe we can implement a "Class editor" or something where you can order the class mods in a list and autoassign the calculated IDs (+70 +70 +70). This editor could pop up when you install a new class mod. I don't know yet what "magical" things the Class Creator does with the item files. If it is a simple step (as run through all text files and replace a ID) we can implement this too. If this is a more complex process, we can look to work semi-automatic with the Class Creator tool.

I would be happy, if other users would post their way/experiences to work with multiple class mods in addition to aholman.

aholman quoted me and that is basically how I do it. I originally started playing with the charactercreate.layout file after downloading Gale's Torchlight Overhaul. I was starting to toy with making my own class and wanted to see how to go about adding other options to the first screen especially since Gale only had the three original plus his but I remembered the Necromancer had 16 slots.

First I resized the images from 128x128 to 64 by 64 as you will see in the original quote and I then changed the spacing from Gale's which I think was 140 per class to 70. I haven't figured out an easy way to sort of plug in a formula to get the best spacing per class so I have no empty spots. I just didn't feel like playing with it more once I was able to add classes. Now whenever I add a class I copy the class data out of their layout file which is pretty much always below the three main classes and merge it in the appropriate place in the character layout in the class creator folder and set that mod to load before the custom classes. Also with class creator if you don't see your new class listed something wasn't done correctly or you modified a different character layout file. This way as classes are updated it won't affect the layout. Of course if you remove a class you would need to remove the data from the layout file and delete any of those characters before you do so or the game will crash. Trust me I am a noob when it comes to any of this but once I compared the files after seeing the screen in game it was just a matter of plugging in the numbers.

As far as the items, as far as I can tell they import the correct files from TorchED for the class that is the original model for the class. I now just run it on every new class I add. This part was also originally separate as the item fixer tool.

[Omnifas]

At our tests it's really annoying to pop up warnings every time you uninstall a mod. Really annoying.

I completely understand.

Maybe you can work around that by having an auto confirm option in the options for the supported mods, unsupported mods, or both.

More options the better.

[TorchLeech]

Here, I'll try to proofread that for you. No offense meant...

Thanks for your efforts. My English is a bit rusty (or really bad) - no practive over the last 15 years.

When a mod is poorly constructed like the Tier 3 mod, wouldn't the GUID's break when TorchLeech updates it?
Perhaps you should only allow mods with fixed GUID's into the database?
It would also be very helpful to modders if you posted a list of what a modder has to do before a mod will be added to the database, or if there is nothing, say so.

Yes, mods without fixed GUIDs break on reinstalling (manually or via TLeech). That was the topic on the hot "hexx" discussion in this thread. At the moment, we test if the game crashes with the mods we want to add. There are no strict rules for adding new mods to the database. We have two FAQ sections like "Do you add every mod which is available?". Nothing more atm.

I'm sure there are plenty of useful mods that don't include fixed GUIDs. No point in removing all of them from the database!

That could be the "big bang" for many mods when the authors want to update these. It sucks that this issue isn't well-known by the modders. Tier 3 mod is the largest one, i guess if you lose some potions nobody will cry. But to lose all armor is really bad.

- When installing a mod, quickly scan the /units/items folder to determine whether any files are missing GUIDs. If so, flag the mod as "GUID-error-prone".
- When the user wishes to update/uninstall/reinstall a mod, show a warning message if the mod is flagged as "GUID-error-prone". In the warning dialog, you could also include a "Don't Show Me Again" checkbox, incase it gets annoying.

That could help for mods installed via TLeech but not for previous/manually installed mods. Nevertheless we should introduce this "GUID" flag, set this via database and run through the files after install. We can not handle all possible trouble with unsupported versions but could protect the players from issues with supported GUID-less versions.

[Hexx]

My approach may have been hostile, and misdirected in some of your opinions, but at least the community is aware of and taking steps in the proper direction to possibly avoid any further losses.

I wont aoplogise though. I still feel that torchleech is to blame. Maybe the mod in question was theoreticly at fault but if torchleech had proper warnings this all may have been avoidable.

Hind sight is 20/20.

[Jupiah]

The use of mods may cause loss of data.

If you don't want to lose your hard work and time spent on your character's I advise you to stay away from user created content.

Fixed that for you. Torchleech is no more dangerous than the mods it installs. If you're so horrified of losing data, you shouldn't be using mods anyway.

[Didero]

Actually, you'd be better off with using TorchLeech instead of manually installing mods, since TorchLeech can automatically back up your savegames

[Iggy]

Just posting to say thanks. Finding and trying mods is just a breeze with Torchleech. Thanks for the time you guys put into this!

[Hexx]

The use of Torchleech will cause loss of data.

If you don't want to lose your hard work and time spent on your character's I advise you to stay away from Torchleech.

Torchleech is dangerous. If you're so horrified of losing data, you shouldn't have used it in the first palce.

QFT

I completely agree with your statment.

[TorchLeech]

TorchLeech 1.2a released!

December 8, 2009 -- improvements and minor changes:

• New: Multiline fuzzy search.
• New: Color and font options for mod list (options dialog)
• New: Option to start a executable or batch file BEFORE the game starts via TLeech (TorchCAM for example).
• New: Add "Clear cached files (Torchlight)" to context menu.
• New: Command line parameter "/offline" (no database requests, no news, no installs or updates)
• New: Option to configure the group style at startup (options dialog)
• Improved: Support of multiselect in mod list. You can select multiple mods at once.
• Changed: Removed all static clipboard exports and replace them with "Selected mods".
• Fixed: Set minimum height to 100 pixels for mod list to avoid resize issues.
• Fixed: No annoying focus change to mod list when typing to slow in search field.

This subrelease is the result of your feedback at the discussion thread, via requests and private messages. With this version you can use TLeech as a mod manager like other tools without internet access. For this you must start it with "torchleech.exe /offline". You use TorchCAM? You can start this tool or batch files before the game launches. This allows you to use your own backup script for example. The new multiline fuzzy search allows you to copy and pase mod lists out of forum threads and search for all mods with a simple click.

We stop database support for TLeech 1.0 - please upgrade if you use such an old version. Otherwise you will not be able to connect to the mod database.

Maybe the mod in question was theoreticly at fault but if torchleech had proper warnings this all may have been avoidable

You're right in this point. If you follow the discussion above we are on the way to improve exact this aspect of the tool with our next version (1.2b). For the current release (1.2a) the time was too short to implement the check for mods without fixed GUIDs. Nevertheless we have changed the warning message for unsupported mods (post above). Thanks for coming back with a "normal" post, Hexx.

[MoliskScout]

There is a small glitch whit the keybindings editor.
Trying to bind 'r' to any function, results reseting to default.

Edit:
Its also impossible to bind 'c' and 'o' keys.(Cancel and Ok)

[coffinsnail]

hexx just cant install the mod manually and uninstall it manually to see its the mods fault not torchleech. jumping to conclusions does not solve problems it only hinders the finding of the true issue at hand. you can only fix things that you can prove are broken and in this case you cant prove the mod is not broken unless you do things manually. then if it works manually then the program is at fault. but untill you can prove the program is at fault you are just asssuming and that does no good for anyone.

[Hexx]

hexx just cant install the mod manually and uninstall it manually to see its the mods fault not torchleech. jumping to conclusions does not solve problems it only hinders the finding of the true issue at hand. you can only fix things that you can prove are broken and in this case you cant prove the mod is not broken unless you do things manually. then if it works manually then the program is at fault. but untill you can prove the program is at fault you are just asssuming and that does no good for anyone.

You are assuming incorrectly that i have not tried this already.

I would not blame the program if i was not sure it was the root cause of the problem.

[mattdesl]

Hexx, losing your items seems to have really bothered you to the core. Why don't you just write a small mod that will spawn the items you lost in front of you?

Losing items in a (single player) video game is not like losing items in real life. All it takes are some mouse clicks and keyboard taps to bring those items back...


EDIT: Yourself and everybody else here knows that TorchLeech is not the root cause of the problem.

Let's say you are browsing the web with FireFox. You've already been warned to download files at your own risk (Torchlight warns you every time your mods change, in fact). Regardless, you decide to download a file, and it happens to be corrupted. You lose some data on your hard drive.

FireFox is, of course, not the root cause of the problem. Nor is it to blame for your loss of data.

The same logic applies here.