Introducing San Andreas Mod Installer

[Bigun 0]

Most than probably, no.

If anything, the patch would change memory addresses.

Lets hope it doesnt do even that.

[cpmusick85 2]

UPDATE:

 

(Current Progress: 48%)

 

Well, I've gotten a lot of the error checking complete. Once I competely finish this feature, it will run through all of the commands once, check all commands for errors, and if none are found it will then run through the commands again to do the whole file backup progress. Finally, it runs through the commands a third time to do the actual editing of the game, and installs the mod. To make the process faster, it only actually reads the script file once. Then all of the contents of the script are temporarily kept in memory to do all the rest (error checking, backup, installing).

 

Another feature that I just finished implementing is a "simulate" option. What this does is allow you to "simulate" a mod installation, which means it does everything except actually install the mod or edit the game. This will come in very useful for script creators, or even regular users. This will allow you to test scripts and mods without actually modifying the game. All you have to do is add this command to the script if you want to run through a simulation:

 

|Simulate|true|

 

I may also add the simulate option to SAMI itself (rather than just the script), so that you can simulate script-less vehicle installations as well. This would also be a little easier for you lazy people because you wouldn't have to modify a script.

 

I put in quite a bit of work on SAMI over the past few days and will continue to from here on out. I realize how many people are eagarly awaiting the release of SAMI, so I'm making this high priority and will be working on it every chance I get.

 

--

 

I have added a progress indicator to the first post of this thread that shows the approximate percentage indicating how far I've gotten with the development of SAMI.

Edited July 23, 2005 by cpmusick85

[Kamahl 0]

awww, i cant wait to see it

[Marsmillo 17]

I hope you get enof support for SAMI of the big sites and modders

So we can download the right stuff...

 

Cant wait to get it

One question, du you have a site or somthing or is everthing here in thise topic?

 

And sorry for my bad Englich aldo I can read it...

(hope you can read myn

[Agret 1]

Keep up the good work. It's looking good

[Hpz 0]

So if I'm correct this would give a good replacement?

 

|ImgReplace|tags2.lalae.txd|models\gta3.img|

 

 

[cpmusick85 2]

 

Cant wait to get it

One question, du you have a site or somthing or is everthing here in thise topic?

I'm going to create a site for SAMI, though there's not one available yet. It will be up soon, so just keep checking this topic for now.

 

 

So if I'm correct this would give a good replacement?

 

|ImgReplace|tags2.lalae.txd|models\gta3.img|

 

 

Well that's how I originally intended to use the IMGReplace feature. However, now to replace an IMG File will be the same as ImgAdd. So just use:

 

|ImgAdd|tags2.lalae.txd|models\gta3.img|

 

And if the file already exists, it will be replaced. Otherwise it will be added for the first time. I did it this way instead because if the file does not exist for the user, then it will be added, and not skipped or anything.

 

--

 

 

Something else I was thinking about implementing in a later version of SAMI is an online script database. This is how it will work. Say someone downloads a mod that doesn't have an install script. Now they don't want to install it manually because it would take away from their much appreciated lazyiness factor. So instead, they simply click a button "Find A Script" (or something like that) and what SAMI will do is look in an online script database, such as www.sami.com/scriptdb or something. It will then look for a script for the mod they're installing. Once it thinks it found a matching script, it will then verify all of the mods files by running through a script check to make sure that that script is indeed the right one.

 

Now how does the online script database exist you ask? Well, as new mods are released to the GTA community, I (as well as a team of other script creators) would create new scripts for them and add the script to the online database. The whole point of this feature is so that people could download a mod from ANY gta website and not require it to include a script. Instead of including the script in the ZIP, they can simply get it from the online script database. And wha lah, the mod is installed automatically with little to no effort.

 

Now what I need is feedback about this feature. I want to know if it's something people would like me to implement, and whether or not I should spend the time to do so. I think it would be a great feature, what do YOU think?

[Voodooman 60]

hm sounds cool but design is overloaded by sa pics i think it need 2 be minimal but its only my imho... good luck

By The Way maybe u can help me?

Read this topic please http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showforum=132

[Voodooman 60]

Hi cpmusick, remember me?

I always loved GTA Mod Installer, never used it for GTA3 though...

 

Will the mod installer be multilingual? We discussed this over a year ago but then you decided not to continue working on it

Yes, I do intend to make it multi-lingual, though it's not 100% sure it will be in the first version. I'll try to add it to v1.0. But if not the first version, then more than likely it will be in the next update.

by the way if u want i can made russian lang for yo tool

[cpmusick85 2]

by the way if u want i can made russian lang for yo tool

Thanks for offering to translate to Russian. I'll contact you when it's ready to be translated.

 

 

[thejaysun 0]

aww hurry, i'm dying for this thing....whats the percentage completed?

[Angel BulG 0]

Hahaha thejaysun , your not the onli one dying for this mmm tool.

[BenMillard 36]

 

Something else I was thinking about implementing in a later version of SAMI is an online script database. This is how it will work. Say someone downloads a mod that doesn't have an install script. Now they don't want to install it manually because it would take away from their much appreciated lazyiness factor. So instead, they simply click a button "Find A Script" (or something like that) and what SAMI will do is look in an online script database, such as  www.sami.com/scriptdb or something. It will then look for a script for the mod they're installing. Once it thinks it found a matching script, it will then verify all of the mods files by running through a script check to make sure that that script is indeed the right one.

 

Now how does the online script database exist you ask? Well, as new mods are released to the GTA community, I (as well as a team of other script creators) would create new scripts for them and add the script to the online database. The whole point of this feature is so that people could download a mod from ANY gta website and not require it to include a script. Instead of including the script in the ZIP, they can simply get it from the online script database. And wha lah, the mod is installed automatically with little to no effort. 

 

Now what I need is feedback about this feature. I want to know if it's something people would like me to implement, and whether or not I should spend the time to do so. I think it would be a great feature, what do YOU think?

It certainly *sounds* like a good idea, but it would require a staggeringly large and complicated amount of work. Internet communications are extremely difficult to automate, even if you build upon an IRC system like GTA2 Game Hunter by Sektor does.

 

I would suggest creating the site with the database and having a hyperlink in the program which opens the browser with the database. If you include a search feature in the database which puts the search parameters in the URL, the program could decide a suitable set of parameters to append to the URL it sends to the default web browser. By doing it that way, you avoid massive headaches with HTTP/FTP and other communication methods, you would end up with a program free from internet code bloat and people could browse the database in a more intuitive way - using their favourite web browser.

 

 

As for validating the formats of text data files, my preliminary tests have revealed that they are all parsed in the same way. That's the good news. The bad news is that most files don't use all the available features of the format and the format is rather complicated. In fact, I don't think any text data file actually uses every available feature. It is based upon the ancient Comma Seperated Value (*.csv) format of spreadsheet programs but with extra features such as commenting, section title strings, special data identifiers and so on.

 

My text data format tests in the CFG Studio thread show that the handling.cfg file can be seperated by commas, have whitespace at the start of data lines, using semicolon (;) or hash (#) comment characters, use inconsistant column seperation and a load of other stuff. I havn't tried hash comments at the ends of lines but I assume they would work just like in the other formats, such as carcols.dat.

 

Any further experiment results will be placed in that thread and, eventually, be made into a web page for the tutorials section of Project Cerbera. If you have documented any of the text file formats, you can contact me by these methods.

Edited August 2, 2005 by Cerbera

[steve-m 30]

One problem though:

 

593, dodo  dodo,  plane, ...

The comma separator after the dff name is missing, but still it's parsed correct, what means that the tab character (#9) must also be considered as separator for ide files (and probably all other text files).

[BenMillard 36]

 

One problem though:

 

593, dodo  dodo,  plane, ...

The comma separator after the dff name is missing, but still it's parsed correct, what means that the tab character (#9) must also be considered as separator for ide files (and probably all other text files).

It is based on CSV but is a lot more complicated. Most files just use a limited amount of the features available by the complicated format. One of the complications is that commas have to be proceeded by whitespace and another complication is that the commas are optional!

 

For example, the standard handling.cfg has no commas, no blank lines and no section titles. However, it does use a special data identifier at the start of some lines to indicate they are part of a different section. It also uses a mixture of spaces and tabs to seperate columns. It only uses semicolons for comments. There are no comments after data lines.

 

; the end

It also requires this special ending to the file.

 

As you point out, in the standard vehicles.ide, most of the parameters do have commas and use tabs to seperate each other. It has section titles and blank lines and it has a big lump of whitespace at the end of the dodo line. It does not use special data identifiers. The only ending it requires is for the final section to be end'ed and for there to be an empty line. There is no whitespace at the start of lines.

 

In shopping.dat we can see that the sectoin titles can include spaces such as "section prices" and nearly all of the data has whitespace at the start. Some of the section titles even have whitespace before them! It also uses hash commenting after data lines and generally in the data. It does not have any commas in it and the number of tabs between data is inconsistant.

 

  flipflop  	SANDIL3  flipflop	3  respect 0  sexy 0  	15  	# END OF BINCO SHOES                      # END OF BINCO SHOES                  

It also has this line which has a duplicated comment at the end of the line and massive lumps of whitespace.

 

From the experiments I linked to in the CFG Studio thread, GTA seems to parse all of the text data files in the same way, using the complicated format. I posted an example in the other thread of a handling file using hash commenting, whitespace before data, blank lines and a mixture of spaces, tabs and single commas with a space or a tab after them. It loaded correctly. I wonder if the game even bothers to look at the file extension...if you changed the file name and extension of a minor text file and updated any references to it in any master text files, I predict it would still load.

 

When I actually get around to testing these other things for real, I'll post the results in the CFG Studio thread. I also intend to document the unqiue characteristics of all the text data files, such as special endings, names of sections and so on. Wow, that'll be fun!

Edited August 2, 2005 by Cerbera

[steve-m 30]

I was talking of .ide files, since they all have the same format, no matter which section. The .dat files however all have a different format, and don't allow to generalize. You'll also notice that files designed and created by different people have a different layout, and there are even binary .dat files.

[cpmusick85 2]

UPDATE:

 

PROGRESS: 66% (as of the time of this post)

 

 

I have completed pretty much all of the error checking, which was the part that took the longest to do. Now I just have to write the backup code for each command, and then write the code to actually install the mod.

 

Since I made it to where it checks for all errors ahead of time, it has made it much more convenient and quicker for me to do the rest (backing up files, installing the mod) because I don't have to worry about error checking now because if it gets this far, then that means it has already successfully passed through the error checking stage.

 

So from here on out, I should be able to get it coded fairly quickly. So not too much longer! I know that there are many people waiting for SAMI's arrival, so I'm using every second of my spare time to bring SAMI to life. A lot of you have been waiting a while for this but trust me, it will be worth the wait. I promise.

[Bigun 0]

Hmm..

Do you think you could, maybe, add support for .GGM files?

 

Good thing you're finishing it soon.

[razmuff 0]

cant wait bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i no it will b worth the wait!

[Eclipse_nl 0]

Sounds good! I'm looking out for this.

[gtabmx 0]

Just one question, and its a yes or no answer: Will SAMI configure, extract, replace, and rubuild the gta3.img and and gta_int.img files by it self?

 

Also, I can do the translations for Italian, but if there is a big Readme file, then I suggest using me as a backup in case you don't find anyone else, because I've lost some of my Italian over the years (but my cousins can help). Offers on the table

 

BTW, AMAZING MOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cpmusick85 2]

Just one question, and its a yes or no answer: Will SAMI configure, extract, replace, and rubuild the gta3.img and and gta_int.img files by it self?

 

Also, I can do the translations for Italian, but if there is a big Readme file, then I suggest using me as a backup in case you don't find anyone else, because I've lost some of my Italian over the years (but my cousins can help). Offers on the table

 

BTW, AMAZING MOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, SAMI will do all of the IMG editing automatically, so you won't have to fire up IMG tool or anything like that.

 

As for the translation, no one has offered to translate to Italian yet, so if you want to then that would be great.

[Th3 ProphetMan 0]

i see you guys are talking about translations for this program... im spanish, and i wont mind making a Spanish translation if its not too much text to translate so if you need someone to translate to spanish just tell me when the time comes

[Voodooman 60]

russian lang will be mine)

[qu3becker 0]

let me help you to make a french version

 

this sound like a great mod

 

I dunno nothing at all about programming

[anthonyelleray 0]

|======================|

Approx. Progress For SAMI: 70%

|======================|

 

Some of you may or may not be familiar with GTA Mod Installer for GTA3 and Vice City. Well, that little tool of mine has had a good run, but now it's time to move on.

 

I'm currently in the process of developing a brand new mod installer called San Andreas Mod Installer, except this time it's for San Andreas only. It's not a continuation of GTA Mod Installer. Instead, it's a separate program that I'm making from scratch. Though it will do pretty much what GTA Mod Installer did for the other two games, however, it will be much more powerful, yet much more user-friendly as well.

 

Here's a list of features I will be implementing in San Andreas Mod Installer (SAMI). Please not that not all of these features will be in the first version, but will be implemented eventually:

 

 

 

-SAMI will be a powerful, user-friendly program that will automatically install vehicles, as well as other mods via use of a script file

 

-Automatic detection of mod: detects whether it's a mod with a script, vehicle with a script, or vehicle without a script, and goes on from there

 

-Finds all vehicle handling\ide\color info, as well as DFF\TXD\COL files, and installs everything automatically into the necessary files (hangling.cfg, gta3.img, etc)

 

-Install any type of mod just by using a script, which contains directions on how to install the mod (where to put the files, which files to edit, etc)

 

-Advanced scripting functions: Using script installing, you'll be able to do numerous things: add\delete\replace files within IMG files, create\delete\rename directories, run external programs (exe, bat, and so on), advanced text editing for text-based files (i.e. handling.cfg) allows you to add\replace\delete lines of text from a file, as well as many other various script functions. This was just an example of a few of them.

 

-Automatic mod backup: Automatically backs up all files before they are changed by a mod, and a backup install script is automatically generated, which allows for one click mod uninstalling, which will "undo" the changes made by the mod.

 

-User-friendly mod scripting: Meaning you will not have to create scripts by hand. The scripting feature will allow you to easily create installation scripts based on what you want the mod to do. For example, if you want to put the police.dff file in the gta3.img file, all you do is tell the scripting feature what file you're installing (police.dff), and what file you want to insert it into (gta3.img), and SAMI will do the rest (generate the script command, insert it into the script file, etc).

 

There will be other miscellanous features as well, but those listed above are the main features for SAMI.

--

 

Now here's where I need your help. I need suggestions on additional features that you would like to see added to SAMI, or suggestions to better improve the features already listed. More than likely, not all features suggested will be entirely possible, but if you have an idea then throw it at me and I'll do my best to see if it can and should be implemented.

 

I'm also looking for help from some of the other, much smarter programmers here on GTA Forums, which would be able to help with the IMG\COL\GXT editing. In other words, I'll need assistance with the "advanced editing\hacking" part of San Andreas.

--

 

I want everyone to know that I am putting a lot of effort and work into this because I want it to be as useful as possible, and hopefully it will be of great use to the GTA modding community.

 

I will be keeping this post updated with my progress on creating SAMI, so be sure to check back from time to time.

l ooks good and i know the program will work and it is verry use full + do u ave any moree screen shots of it

[TWA 2]

i could translate to norwegian

[gtabmx 0]

What's happeneing with the new v1.01 nomorehotcoffee patch that is so full of sh*t I don't even want to start... Does it change anything with SAMI?

[cpmusick85 2]

i could translate to norwegian

Thanks. I've added you to my contact list of SAMI translators.

 

 

i see you guys are talking about translations for this program... im spanish, and i wont mind making a Spanish translation if its not too much text to translate  so if you need someone to translate to spanish just tell me when the time comes

 

I already have someone that offered to translate to Spanish, however, I'll will add you to my contact list in case the other person can't for some reason.

 

 

russian lang will be mine)

 

Indeed it will. I already have you on my contact list, so you're the Russian place holder.

 

 

let me help you to make a french version

 

this sound like a great mod

 

I dunno nothing at all about programming

 

I already have someone doing the French translation as well, but I'll add you to my contact list as a backup in case the other person is unable to provide the French translation.

 

 

l  ooks good and i know the program will work and it is verry use full + do u ave any moree screen shots of it

 

Not yet, I've been focusing on primarily the coding portion since I last put up screenshots. However, not too much longer until you won't even need screenshots, because it will soon be available for you to handle as you wish.

 

 

What's happeneing with the new v1.01 nomorehotcoffee patch that is so full of sh*t I don't even want to start... Does it change anything with SAMI?

 

This should not affect SAMI at all, because SAMI is just an installer for mods. What it may affect is some mods maybe, but it shouldn't affect SAMI.

 

---

 

UPDATE:

 

I have pretty much completed all of the code for the file backup feature. So now it's on to the actual game file editing, which shouldn't be any harder than any other part of SAMI, as I already know how I'm going to be doing this. I have also started working on the scripter, and have started implementing some useful features to make editing and creating scripts a very simple task. Such scripting features include: adding\deleting commands, modify existing commands, duplicate a command, easy command arrangement, manual editing commands (for advanced scripting if preferred), and much more.

 

I also made it so that SAMI will execute commands as they are positioned in the script. GTA Mod Installer, however, didn't execute them that way (it did all of one type of command first, then all of another one, and so on). But with SAMI executing commands as they are ordered in the script, it will make it much more convenient for script creators in case their mod requires them to install it certain way.

 

I'm trying hard to get it released, but I'm also trying not to rush it. For everything I'm putting into SAMI, it creates a LOT of work which I have been slaving at every chance I get. However, it will be worth it once it is finally complete.

Edited August 21, 2005 by cpmusick85

[poopskin 1]

can i have a link to vice city mod installer?