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TS3 Mod Manager (Updated 6/22/09)

by thetechnosim Posted 20th Jun 2009 at 3:24 AM - Updated 27th Nov 2013 at 3:20 PM by Nysha
 
37 Comments / Replies (Who?) - 33 Feedback Posts, 3 Thanks Posts
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Warrior Gryphon
site owner
#2 Old 20th Jun 2009 at 3:34 AM
Nice work - pretty basic but it gets the job done.

Couple of things:

The install directory does not validate it's an actual Sims 3 game install - you can enter any old path and it accepts it.

Next, if the install directory is incorrect, then clicking Launch the Sims 3 causes the game to crash.

Next, as I suggested in the approval, a listview type interface would be easier to use and require less typing other than the initial setup.

Sims 3 install registry key is HKLM\Software\Sims\The Sims 3\Install Dir. This can be used to auto-populate the Sims 3 directory. I would suggest actually automating this and *not* asking the user the first time. In the vast majority of cases, it's going to be correct but in the small number that it isn't, then validation on the path + the ability to change it would be good.

I would also suggest using a FolderBrowserDialog or a OpenFileDialog (set to .Filter = "Sims 3 Game|TS3.exe" instead of a text box for actually selecting your base folder. This is quicker and easier than typing it.

If you do go the listview approach, then another thing you might want to consider is doing a count of number of files in the folder so that people can see at a glance how many mods they have installed.

Also, since the program writes things to the Program Files folder on most peoples programs, you might want to check to see if you have the required UAC stuff in your AssemblyInfo.

Sorry for the long post - but I'm a tool creator myself, and I can see potential here especially for testing, but right now the interface is simplistic. Even so, good work.

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
Forum Resident
#3 Old 20th Jun 2009 at 5:00 AM
just letting you knnow this messed up my game i had to do a system restore which thankfullly worked it messed with the graphics of the game
Lab Assistant
#4 Old 20th Jun 2009 at 6:00 AM
I think this is a great idea, though perhaps it does need the bugs worked out? Either way, very helpful, once it's come full-term.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#5 Old 20th Jun 2009 at 2:31 PM
@Delphy
I'm definitely going to see how I can expand it and make it more user-friendly. The reason I didn't originally use the registry key was because for some reason (or maybe it's related to my being on Vista 64-Bit, I'm not sure) that key doesn't exist on my system. I might just have the app test to see if that key exists and use that; otherwise it'd prompt the user. In that case I'll use the OpenFileDialog - not exactly sure what I was thinking with that. I'll add in the mod count and list box, but the program already requests UAC permissions (or at least it should) when it starts. And trust me, I don't mind the long post - the feedback is extremely helpful

@carlydunham
I'm really not sure how it could've possibly messed up your game. The only thing it does is modify the Resource config file and create a Mods/[Name] folder.
Field Researcher
#6 Old 20th Jun 2009 at 2:32 PM
What a great utility! I'm sure it will come in handy for lots of users. Thank you for sharing this!
Test Subject
#7 Old 20th Jun 2009 at 5:59 PM Last edited by Proudgeek8 : 20th Jun 2009 at 7:52 PM.
This is a good program, except for when it MADE EVERYTHING IN MY GAME TURN RED! You really need to fix that.

(Edit: I fixed it! Turns out I installed it wrong)
Test Subject
#8 Old 20th Jun 2009 at 9:34 PM
Default Well thanx for making it!!
the more things that are done in this regard the better...
Warrior Gryphon
site owner
#9 Old 20th Jun 2009 at 10:25 PM
thetechnosim: There is another key you can try:

//string path32 = "Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall\\{C05D8CDB-417D-4335-A38C-A0659EDFD6B8}";
//string path64 = "Software\\Wow6432Node\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall\\{C05D8CDB-417D-4335-A38C-A0659EDFD6B8}"

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#10 Old 21st Jun 2009 at 3:58 AM
@Proudgeek8
Please let me know if you know what happened, I had the same issue once and couldn't figure it out haha

@Delphy
Thank you for finding that out for me, but I noticed a major problem - I'm a bleeping idiot
I completely did not realize the fact that all of the 32-bit applications had the same registry keys, just in HKLM/Software/Wow6432Node, I'll add that into the version I'm currently working on (trying to get as many suggestions implemented as I can )
Test Subject
#11 Old 21st Jun 2009 at 9:47 AM
From a different forum:

[quote author=Eliste link=topic=15376.msg444826#msg444826 date=1245490386]
[quote author=Simius link=topic=15376.msg444818#msg444818 date=1245486947]
[quote author=Eliste link=topic=15376.msg444815#msg444815 date=1245486200]
I understand that awesomemod must go into the game folder. But could you possibly make configuration file profile-dependent?

I have several profiles on this computer and my children and I play with different settings each of us. For them it is not so devastating when they forget to change settings after each other – they play different variations of legacy. When I forget to check TS2Aging I get all sorts of grief and might even have to start again from the last save.

When the list of settings grows larger checking configuration every time you start the game will become a serious PIA.

[/quote]

Someone is making a program to do just that. I can't vouch for it as I haven't used it... and from the comments it looks like there are still a few bugs in it. But you should test it out and give feedback or keep an eye on it for the update:

http://linna.modthesims.info/download.php?t=348057

[/quote]

Thank you. Both suggestions are very helpful. I shall make bat-files and edit shortcuts for my children and myself - great idea, and I will give that program a go.

Edit: this ModManager requires administrator rights. My kids are NOT administrators on my computer and never will be.
[/quote]

I have uninstalled your program and made bat-files that overwrite Resource.cfg every time before starting the game. It went all well until I rebooted.
Now I have messed up graphics too and haven't figured out yet how to fix it (if somebody knows please advice).
I think your installation process messes up the registry. I play on Vista x64.
Forum Resident
#12 Old 21st Jun 2009 at 9:51 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Eliste
From a different forum:



I have uninstalled your program and made bat-files that overwrite Resource.cfg every time before starting the game. It went all well until I rebooted.
Now I have messed up graphics too and haven't figured out yet how to fix it (if somebody knows please advice).
I think your installation process messes up the registry. I play on Vista x64.

do a system restore that fixed mine
Test Subject
Original Poster
#13 Old 21st Jun 2009 at 4:50 PM
The reason it requires administrator permissions is because it accesses and modifies files in the Program Files folder. I'm not sure how you got the .BAT file to work correctly, though they make work differently than executables, I don't know for sure. I run on Vista x64 as well, but my installation doesn't modify anything in the registry at all - I made sure of that. It only installs 3 files - the main executable, the exe config file (the program will crash without it), and the icon - and creates "DIR.INFO", which simply stores the install path.

I noticed that once (and I have no idea how this happened) everything turned a dark shade of red. I'm not sure which or both worked, but I deleted Resource.cfg and restarted my computer, and everything was back to normal. I reran TS3MM and it worked correctly and I've had no graphical glitches since. For now it seems to be unrelated, but I will keep an eye out for any connections between the two.
Warrior Gryphon
site owner
#14 Old 22nd Jun 2009 at 2:18 AM
technosim, how are you getting your path? If you just grab it from the registry and use + "\\Mods\\" + (note the double slash) then you should have a perfectly normal path at the end.

Also, why have you nuked all your images? We require all download threads to have images attached and a default one selected. Please fix this asap.

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#15 Old 22nd Jun 2009 at 2:47 AM
When the application starts, it checks to see if it has the install path stored. If it doesn't, it goes to read the 32-bit registry key. If it can't find that, it tries to find the 64-bit one, and if all else fails, prompts the user. For the "\\Mods\\", do you mean on the dialog box? And sorry about the image, I deleted the old ones because they didn't apply and forgot to upload a new one
Warrior Gryphon
site owner
#16 Old 22nd Jun 2009 at 8:56 AM
Thanks for uploading an image. With regards to the Mods I meant the dialogbox, since you seemed to have issues with the slashes.

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#17 Old 22nd Jun 2009 at 2:44 PM
No problem, sorry about my slip-up with that. Yeah, if I have it print out the base directory and then "\Mods\User" it shows up like
C:/Program Files (x86)/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3\Mods\User
and if I tell it to display the path and then "/Mods/User" it prints out
C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3/Mods/User
Ah well, I'll add in the "\\Mods\\" trick when I release a new version, along with the mod package counter.
Test Subject
#18 Old 25th Jun 2009 at 4:37 PM Last edited by Eliste : 25th Jun 2009 at 4:46 PM. Reason: Clarification
Quote: Originally posted by thetechnosim
The reason it requires administrator permissions is because it accesses and modifies files in the Program Files folder. I'm not sure how you got the .BAT file to work correctly, though they make work differently than executables, I don't know for sure. I run on Vista x64 as well, but my installation doesn't modify anything in the registry at all - I made sure of that. It only installs 3 files - the main executable, the exe config file (the program will crash without it), and the icon - and creates "DIR.INFO", which simply stores the install path.

I noticed that once (and I have no idea how this happened) everything turned a dark shade of red. I'm not sure which or both worked, but I deleted Resource.cfg and restarted my computer, and everything was back to normal. I reran TS3MM and it worked correctly and I've had no graphical glitches since. For now it seems to be unrelated, but I will keep an eye out for any connections between the two.


My game is not in the Program Files folder. Therefore it does not require admin rights to write to the game directory.

Reboot did not work for me. Deleting resource.cfg is redundant because my <username>.bat overwrites it with a fresh copy from that user's profile folder anyway.
What fixed it was updating Direct X (I was going to do it anyway, the glitch just prompted me to do it sooner).

Either some related library was overwritten during install of your tool or it is all woodoo as you suggested.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#19 Old 25th Jun 2009 at 5:49 PM Last edited by thetechnosim : 25th Jun 2009 at 6:41 PM.
I was actually just thinking about that, because some people may have it installed in a non-protected folder. I'll upload a version that doesn't require admin permissions to run. The install doesn't install anything besides the 3 files you see and doesn't modify the registry at all, so it shouldn't be messing with DirectX. I think it's all voodoo, but what I found out was that if you copy and paste the text into a new file and overwrite Resource.cfg it seems to fix it. Again, I can't figure out the source of the issue and it doesn't seem to be related to this application - at the same time, it might be causing some weird chain of events that can't really be isolated.

I already have the latest version of DirectX, so it seems like you got lucky with that being the fix. Knowing that things like the AwesomeMod are the same way, I'm beginning to think The Sims 3 as a whole is all voodoo :P
Test Subject
#20 Old 28th Jun 2009 at 8:40 AM
Thank you for all that you contribute. I am honestly in awe of all that you know, do, and how you keep up with all the changes. I used to program software and proudly gave it up a few years ago. I have been a bit less neurotic ever since.

Thank you - really. I love all that you contribute and Sims would not be the same without you. I wish I could give you a great big hug!
Test Subject
#21 Old 29th Jun 2009 at 8:07 PM
Well I had the same problem that everything was turning red after running Sims 3 with that tool. I guess it would be good to explain how to change everything into "normal" graphics ... I spent the whole day to get that problem solved ... its not amusing
Test Subject
#22 Old 9th Jul 2009 at 11:16 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ulrichg67
Well I had the same problem that everything was turning red after running Sims 3 with that tool. I guess it would be good to explain how to change everything into "normal" graphics ... I spent the whole day to get that problem solved ... its not amusing


I had the same problem and wasted a whole day trying to find out how to fix it, but installing the newest version of DirectX did it. I saw that it searched for altered files, so i think that the mod changes something somewhere....
Maybe you could try to reinstall DirectX if you already have the last version?
(I'm not good with anything more challenging than pressing the power button, so I don't really know )
Test Subject
#23 Old 10th Jul 2009 at 7:31 AM
Hey, so I am one of the people with the red problem, and I just can't seem to correct it. I have uninstalled the Mod Manager, reinstalled the latest DirectX, and had my husband try to fix it, but we can't get it. Anyone else have any suggestions? I REALLY don't want to uninstall/reinstallTS3. Thanks.
Field Researcher
#24 Old 29th Jul 2009 at 12:26 AM
I installed TS3 Mod Manager while the TS3 install helper monkey was installed.
Result was that outdoor and town turned red / black and lots of patterns went missing.

Took some time to track down, primary suspect a reboot http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=359385
Uninstalling mod manager and reinstalling the helper monkey helped.

It would be a good idea to check that other mod management programs were active.
Adding an id in resources.cfg and check if it’s your file on install might be a good idea, if not your file display a warning that you can only have one mod manager.
This goes for the TS3 install helper monkey also.
shiny!
retired moderator
#25 Old 29th Jul 2009 at 2:41 AM
Those that are having the red/black issue and are running Windows XP should update/reinstall their directx: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...6a-9b6652cd92a3

Everyone should update graphics drivers: http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?tit...:Graphics_Cards

We are looking into the reports more. Hang tight. Report back if any of the above helped.
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