[REL|OpenSrc] Silent's ASI Loader

[Silent 14,340]

Silent's ASI Loader

 

 

This is a DLL file which adds ASI plugin loading functionality to San Andreas.
What makes it better from any other ASI Loaders available?

 

 

• Increased compatibility - all current loaders share a flaw, which sometimes results in a plugin loading failure. This loader uses a brand new loading method developed by @NTAuthority, which makes it work all the time.
• Compatible with 3.0 (old Steam) and new Steam Executables.
• Loads files located in the game root directory and scripts folder (although not all the plugins are guaranteed to work properly when located in the latter!).
• Has an INI file in which you can toggle on/off plugins loading.
• Has an ability of loading plugins exclusive for specific Executable and/or exclude another plugins from loading on specific Executable.
• Lightweight and fast.
• When an encrypted EXE (like Steam EXE) is used, plugins are loaded after it gets decrypted - no need to wait in the ASI code.

This loader is also used in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories PC Edition and Vigilante Justice Total Conversions.


In order to install it, you just need to place both DLL files into game directory, overwriting the old files.


Usage

Basic Plugin Installation:

• If you want to add an ASI for all Executable versions you have, put it either in game root directory or scripts folder. Various plugins may fail to work properly when running from scripts folder, it is advised to move it to the game directory if plugin fails to launch properly.

Advanced Plugin Installation:

• If you have multiple Executable versions and want to make each one use different ASI plugins, you can create a new folder inside scripts folder with the same name as your Executable (so gta_sa.exe gets gta_sa folder, my_fancy_exe.exe gets my_fancy_exe folder etc.). Plugins placed in thisfolder will be exclusive to specific Executable.
  You also can make specific Executables override global settings and load/ignore all plugins via settings.ini edit. Specific Executable can also ignore only some of the plugins - see advanced_plugin_management_example for more info.

Download

 

https://cookieplmonster.github.io/mods/

Mirror:
http://www.gtagarage.com/mods/show.php?id=21709


Credits & License

Firstly, thanks to @NTAuthority for sharing his code snippet, and also for Stanislav "listener" Golovin for sharing his ASI Loader source, which acted as a base for my version of the tool.
As the following tool is open source, it's under the Silent's License. It means that the source code is for learning purposes, as all source code is. You may only use it for your own projects but NOT to recreate or build on the original work.

Edited June 3 by Silent

[fastman92 1,969]

Thanks for taking your time to make it. I'll test in a while.

[Silent 14,340]

Okay, the tool is now reuploaded in 1.01 version - doesn't crash with CLEO 4.1.1.30f no more (damn you Alien!).

[direstraits 24]

Nice. I like it.

 

5x

[-DP- 91]

Nice

[lpgunit 484]

Thank you so much for the loader! The previous one I used required SA to be added to the DEP exceptions list as the game crashes if I don't.

[Silent 14,340]

Thank you so much for the loader! The previous one I used required SA to be added to the DEP exceptions list as the game crashes if I don't.

Ooh, good to know. Wasn't aware about that

[lpgunit 484]

Thank you so much for the loader! The previous one I used required SA to be added to the DEP exceptions list as the game crashes if I don't.                         

Ooh, good to know. Wasn't aware about that

Yep, I can confirm that. CLEO 4.0.1 and almost a dozen scripts loaded. Game seemed stable, no crashes at all.

[TheGodfather. 21]

So is it completely compactible with citizen launcher & CLEO 4 ??

 

[Silent 14,340]

So is it completely compactible with citizen launcher & CLEO 4 ??

Yes.

[TheGodfather. 21]

Short & quick reply ...Huh!!

Anyways can I use your loader for my upcoming TC GTA 2012

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=515279

I wish I ll get a positive reply ??

[Silent 14,340]

Short & quick reply ...Huh!!

Anyways can I use your loader for my upcoming TC GTA 2012

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=515279

I wish I ll get a positive reply ??

Yeah, sure.

[TheGodfather. 21]

Thanks..Good work with the loader..

[Gramps 756]

Just a small request ..

 

Any chance that you could make it so that ASI's have to be in a certain folder to be loaded, just like CLEO's ..

 

With all the *.asi mods around these days (and more on the way, as coders seem to be favouring ASI over CLEO), the ROOT directory of GTA:SA is starting to get rather messy.

 

This request is more for organization purposes only

[Silent 14,340]

You can already use scripts folder to store the files, but I can't guarantee that all mods will work when placed inside it. Some of them might read specific SA files, thus it would be messed up when not allowing to put them in the main game dir.

[Gramps 756]

Sorry for wasting your time then, I forgot all about the scripts folder lol

 

And I understand why it wouldn't work on some ASI's.

[l911 104]

First off i dont know nothing about asi mods, i never used it before but now i want cheeck them out

And i have a problem none of ASI loaders work for me...

i tested them with this mod http://hotmist.ddo.jp/plugin/shell/index.html

When i put the mod in game folder it just dont do no thing when i put in /scripts game crash.

i use windows 7

[Silent 14,340]

This ASI mod can crash from two reasons:

 

1) Your EXE version is wrong.

2) Your PC is old and doesn't support it (rly, I've been getting that sort of crash on my old PC).

[l911 104]

I have i3, 3gigs of ram and 1giga gforce

i think this is enough for gta sa, also i use HOODLUM no cd exe

[Silent 14,340]

Oh, luckily (?) it's not a fault of my ASI loader. It seems to crash for me aswell, I just guess it's mod's fault

[l911 104]

Oh, luckily (?) it's not a fault of my ASI loader. It seems to crash for me aswell, I just guess it's mod's fault

oh.

Can you recomend some asi mod to check out ?

[Silent 14,340]

You could try one of my ASI mods*.

 

* Oh well, I've released only one ASI mod for San Andreas.

[ThirteenAG 3,223]

I've got a proposition. An ini file, which allows [not] to load specific dll's for specific exes. For example:

asiloader.ini

 

[iNCLUDE]gta_united.exe=val.dllsnow_sa.exe=snowfall.dll[EXCLUDE]the_95_story.exe=bullet.asigta_united.exe=shadows.asigta_united.exe=GTA_IV_HUD.asi

 

Which means, if i run gta_united.exe, ASI loader will load val.dll, and don't load GTA_IV_HUD.asi and shadows.asi. If i run standart gta_sa.exe, loader will load all asi plugins.

Edited December 25, 2012 by ThirteenAG

[Silent 14,340]

I could try to add a feature which would read scripts\*exename*.ini file with similar syntax.

[ThirteenAG 3,223]

I could try to add a feature which would read scripts\*exename*.ini file with similar syntax.

Yeah, that's would be great.

[Silent 14,340]

I also think I won't unprotect full EXE anymore. It is so useless and only spoils people (isn't that right Link? ).

[ThirteenAG 3,223]

I also think I won't unprotect full EXE anymore. It is so useless and only spoils people (isn't that right Link? ).

[Silent 14,340]

OK, so shall we make a little summary of what 1.1 needs?

• Ability to toggle EXE unprotect on/off
• Ability to load scripts\*exename*.ini file with [includes] and [Excludes] sections + "LoadASIPlugins" switch in the file

Or perhaps I could ditch [includes] and the INI idea and instead make scripts folder kinda global and instead include the INI and "exclusive" plugins in *exename* dir? What seems more suitable?

[ThirteenAG 3,223]

 

OK, so shall we make a little summary of what 1.1 needs?

 

 

 

Ability to toggle EXE unprotect on/off

 

 

 

Ability to load scripts\*exename*.ini file with [includes] and [Excludes] sections + "LoadASIPlugins" switch in the file

 

 

 

Or perhaps I could ditch [includes] and the INI idea and instead make scripts folder kinda global and instead include the INI and "exclusive" plugins in *exename* dir? What seems more suitable?

Maybe instead of ini would be better to use blank files?

 

GTA SA:

           <DIR>  scripts

           <DIR>  gta_united.exe

                                             val.asi

                                             <DIR>  exclude

                                                                    [0-byte] ragdoll.asi

                                                                    [0-byte] shadows.asi

 

 

 

[Silent 14,340]

Blank files sounds dumb, really

 

Edit:

How about releasing 1.1 in two versions - Full (with all these fancy features) and Lite (basically a renamed 1.01 )?

Edited December 27, 2012 by SilentPL