The DCS Updater / Launcher GUI Utility Version 2.0 (2023+)

[MAXsenna]

lol, that was an easy fix THX!

Easy fixes are the best!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[gofrm76]

Hi, the error regarding the localization of decimal numbers I posted back in August seems to still exist.

After going to the preset editor tab and leaving it right away without changing anything I get a popup asking me if I want to save the changes.

After continuing, the changes in the options file looks something like this:

Edited November 15, 2023 by gofrm76

[Predator-78]

Hi, I downloaded the .exe file and after starting it I see this message...

I clicked the continue button and started the installation... now if I start the app I see the home page like this? Where did I go wrong?

Edited November 16, 2023 by Predator-78

[SkateZilla]

On 11/16/2023 at 2:45 PM, Predator-78 said:

Hi, I downloaded the .exe file and after starting it I see this message...

I clicked the continue button and started the installation... now if I start the app I see the home page like this? Where did I go wrong?

 

Exception on startup may clear the settings file. I'm looking into that separately,

You may be able to TaskManager End Process, so it doesnt save/edit the settings store file and then re-launch the app.

Also Can you paste the error message as text so I can translate it, but it looks like it was unable to write or access the log file.


On Another note, if anyone is having issues w/ dcs_mt_manifests and my app after the OB update please post logs, I have a few reports but I am unable to re-produce.

On 11/15/2023 at 2:41 AM, gofrm76 said:

Hi, the error regarding the localization of decimal numbers I posted back in August seems to still exist.

After going to the preset editor tab and leaving it right away without changing anything I get a popup asking me if I want to save the changes.

After continuing, the changes in the options file looks something like this:

 

Yeah the initial Parser Changes didn't fix the issue, I've since modified the parser further and testing some other things internally, hopefully the next build will address is completely.

Edited November 17, 2023 by SkateZilla

[Predator-78]

Il 17/11/2023 at 22:42, SkateZilla ha scritto:

Un'eccezione all'avvio potrebbe cancellare il file delle impostazioni. Lo sto esaminando separatamente,

potresti essere in grado di terminare il processo di TaskManager, quindi non salva/modifica il file dell'archivio delle impostazioni e quindi non riavvia l'app.

Puoi anche incollare il messaggio di errore come testo in modo che io possa tradurlo, ma sembra che non sia stato in grado di scrivere o accedere al file di registro.


In un'altra nota, se qualcuno riscontra problemi con dcs_mt_manifests e la mia app dopo l'aggiornamento OB, pubblicare i registri, ho alcuni rapporti ma non riesco a riprodurli.

Sì, le modifiche iniziali del parser non hanno risolto il problema, da allora ho modificato ulteriormente il parser e testato alcune altre cose internamente, si spera che la prossima build risolva completamente.

 

Translation of the error message

Unhandled exception in the application. Click continue to ignore the error and attempt to continue. Click Exit to stop the application immediately. Part of path C:/User/username/Saved Games/DCS Updater Utility v2.log' could not be found.

[Statua]

Still having issues with the updater throwing a 'File Already Exists' exception. This is the behaviour:

-If I open the updater and leave the Presets on Default, it works as intended. I can switch between MT and ST as well as use the VR ON/OFF buttons.
-If I change the Preset to something else like VR or one of the other 4 presets, it throws the exception and does not launch DCS
-If I restart the utility after the error, I have to change my preset back to default for it to launch DCS again

I don't know where to find the folder that contains these files. In Saved Games\DCS Updater Utility, I only have logs, THEME.xml, and an empty Backup folder.

Idk if this is relevant or not, but my DCS root install is on E:\ whereas the updater utility and SavedGames is on C:\

Edited November 21, 2023 by Statua

[pabletesoy]

Hello,

first of all thank you for the application.

It does not save the configuration inside App Settings. As much as I check the boxes Oculus VR client and Launch external Apps with Sim, and then hit Save App Setiing, when I open the Updater again they appear unchecked. Any advice?

Thanks

[Lange_666]

Here the only thing that gets unchecked after closing the Updater is Launch External Apps with Sim, all the rest that i have checked stays checked.
But... when i check Launch External Apps with Sim and launch the sim, none of my checked app launch together or before the sim.

[pabletesoy]

Yes, I can't launch external apps either.

 

[SkateZilla]

On 11/21/2023 at 6:42 PM, Statua said:

Still having issues with the updater throwing a 'File Already Exists' exception. This is the behaviour:

-If I open the updater and leave the Presets on Default, it works as intended. I can switch between MT and ST as well as use the VR ON/OFF buttons.
-If I change the Preset to something else like VR or one of the other 4 presets, it throws the exception and does not launch DCS
-If I restart the utility after the error, I have to change my preset back to default for it to launch DCS again

I don't know where to find the folder that contains these files. In Saved Games\DCS Updater Utility, I only have logs, THEME.xml, and an empty Backup folder.

Idk if this is relevant or not, but my DCS root install is on E:\ whereas the updater utility and SavedGames is on C:\

 

Check \Saved Games\DCS<branch>\Config\Presets\Default\

This folder should be empty, it's used to store the default options.lua when a preset is in use, and the file is moved back by the app when DCS Closes.

[SkateZilla]

On 11/22/2023 at 12:57 PM, pabletesoy said:

Yes, I can't launch external apps either.

 

 

On 11/22/2023 at 10:58 AM, Lange_666 said:

Here the only thing that gets unchecked after closing the Updater is Launch External Apps with Sim, all the rest that i have checked stays checked.
But... when i check Launch External Apps with Sim and launch the sim, none of my checked app launch together or before the sim.

This was found and fixed internally a few weeks back.

I'll let it slip that I've also re-wrote ext apps launch function, to allow user to change the order the apps launch, before or after the sim, and the delay time in ms between app launches, etc.

A lot of cleaning up and stuff needs to be done before the next pub release, with me working 80+ hr work weeks, I haven't had time to productively code anything.

[YSIAD_RIP]

Thanks for the update above @SkateZilla the re-writing of the ext apps function sounds glorious!   

Re: working 80+ hours a week -- Yikes! A senior IBM Manager once told me "The Job will always take as much from you as you give!"

Cheers.   

[SkateZilla]

40 minutes ago, YSIAD_RIP said:

Thanks for the update above @SkateZilla the re-writing of the ext apps function sounds glorious!   

Re: working 80+ hours a week -- Yikes! A senior IBM Manager once told me "The Job will always take as much from you as you give!"

Cheers.   

in this situation,
The IRS is taking as much as I give, as I'll end the current pay period with 80+ hours of OT and Holiday Pay... lol.

[Alliam]

This update looks great, @SkateZilla! Thanks for your effort on this tool!

I'm having an issue where I can't update my Saved Games path. The SIM path saves just fine, but when I try to set my SG path, either with the folder find or manual entry, I set it to where I have it (E:\Users\<name>\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta) and it just reverts back to C:\Users\<name>\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta every time.

When I tried setting up SLOT 2 as a test, I selected the SG path before setting the SIM path and the E drive location saved correctly--at first--but then when I set the SIM path, the SG path reverted back to C:\Users\<name>\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta.

Ideas?

[spikenet]

On 11/2/2023 at 9:29 PM, Lange_666 said:

Don't use the presets editor, just select a preset you'll find on the on the home tab.
Launch DCS, adjust your settings , quit DCS and the next time you use this preset it will load in those settings. You can then rename the preset to VR or Pancake.

I did as outlined, still will not honour the one I select.
 

I select my pancake preset, but for some reason it starts up my VR as per my last run settings in DCS. Just wont work for me, no idea why.
 

Am I supposed to click "Launch VR On" or off everytime?

[Lange_666]

15 minutes ago, spikenet said:

Am I supposed to click "Launch VR On" or off everytime?

That's the way i launch DCS every time. I never use the big Launch button.

[SkateZilla]

7 hours ago, spikenet said:

I did as outlined, still will not honour the one I select.
 

I select my pancake preset, but for some reason it starts up my VR as per my last run settings in DCS. Just wont work for me, no idea why.
 

Am I supposed to click "Launch VR On" or off everytime?

Launch Button on the top will launch DCS with the settings present in the .lua

So Under [VR] if it's set to Enabled = True then it will launch w/ VR On,

Launch VR On, will launch DCS and Force VR On regardless of that setting.
Launch VR Off, will launch DCS in 2D Regardless of that setting.

[SkateZilla]

21 hours ago, Alliam said:

This update looks great, @SkateZilla! Thanks for your effort on this tool!

I'm having an issue where I can't update my Saved Games path. The SIM path saves just fine, but when I try to set my SG path, either with the folder find or manual entry, I set it to where I have it (E:\Users\<name>\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta) and it just reverts back to C:\Users\<name>\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta every time.

When I tried setting up SLOT 2 as a test, I selected the SG path before setting the SIM path and the E drive location saved correctly--at first--but then when I set the SIM path, the SG path reverted back to C:\Users\<name>\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta.

Ideas?

One of the first 3 stages is being returned as valid folder.

Stage 1, Check for DCS_variant.txt, check default folder path for variant in DCS_variant.txt, if Folder Path exists Set as Selected SG Path.
Stage 2, if dcs_variant is not detected or path it points to does not exist, generate path based on branch (release or openbeta), if Folder Path exists set as Selected SG Path
Stage 3, if Branch path does not exist, use User Set Path, if Folder Path exists set as Selected SG Path
Stage 4, if none of the Paths in Stage 1, 2, or 3 exist, set at "Not Configured" and bypass scans.

Attach the App's Log File, it will tell me what's going on.

[spikenet]

On 11/26/2023 at 1:30 AM, SkateZilla said:

Launch Button on the top will launch DCS with the settings present in the .lua

So Under [VR] if it's set to Enabled = True then it will launch w/ VR On,

Launch VR On, will launch DCS and Force VR On regardless of that setting.
Launch VR Off, will launch DCS in 2D Regardless of that setting.

 Figured out the problem, when I setup the new version I pointed it to my old openbeta save path not the active DCS one! Thats why nothing was changing! Rookie move

 

Hopefully this help anyone having similar issue with the presets!

[Hammer1-1]

I need some help troubleshooting an issue. I had just installed a Winwing F18 MIP today and started experiencing this issue almost immediately. This wasnt an issue prior to this, so Im thinking it caused the problem. Ive selected the preset VR; this is one of my 5 custom profiles I made when this new updater was released and all of them have this issue now. On the main screen you can see all the options I have selected, so the profile is being read and interpreted I assume. On the other screens, I cant change any values, nor are there any values in place. The tabs Difficulty through Misc I can select options and thats it. All of this coincides with all of my profiles; I cannot alter these profiles for some reason or other, and think SimApp had something to do with it, but I obviously cant be 100% sure. Id like to know if I can salvage these profiles because I took a long time trying to create these profiles for specific reasons. I had made one change to my sim monitor profile and altered the resolution, nothing more. This was the resolution that SimApp told me I needed to change so I can run the MFDs plus I had to switch my monitor dropdown to WinWing.

Edited December 4, 2023 by Hammer1-1

[diamond26]

this is usually the picture you see when you have DCS running. If you close DCS, do you still have the same issue?

[MAXsenna]

@Hammer1-1
For me to "foolproof"/streamline the Preset/monitor setup, I don't rely on the the app at all, because it gave me a lot of grief, because for some reason it would reset everything if I just touched a setting inside it. What I did was simple. I started up with the default preset, made a baseline inside DCS, and shutdown. Then I chose the presets one by one and started up and shut down DCS, so the app would create all the preset folders with an option.lua inside. Then I manually copied the options.lua into each and every preset folder. (The app would complain if I made the folders and copied the file manually before the app itself). Then I started up the presets again, one by one, and did every relevant change per preset inside DCS. This means I have total control, and if something gets corrupted, I always have my baseline as a backup.
As for the monitor setup, I totally rely on Helios to do this for me, even for the presets/profiles I don't export anything. Once I got Helios working it was so easy to understand what's actually going on, and how DCS actually works with monitors and exports. If something goes wrong, and I need a tiny correction, I can now easily do it in Notepad++.
Cheers!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk
 

Edited December 4, 2023 by MAXsenna
Wrong mention

[Lange_666]

For me when the new version came out, i used the preset editor to make my presets but somehow i never got it to work and always had issues with it.
Up until today i don't know what the meaning of the preset editor really is. Even if i select the preset editor tab and don't change anything in there, upon selecting another tab i get a pop-up telling that i have to save the changed settings....?
So to get my presets working on the main tab, i did +/- what MAXsenna did (except copying the options.lua each time), select a preset, start DCS, make the changes, close DCS and then rename that preset and then on to the next. Works just fine and i didn't touched the preset editor since.

[SkateZilla]

Preset editor is still relatively new, and being developed and refined.
There are bugs and limitations,

ie:
-GER/Locale replacing Decimals with Comas, (working on fixes for this)
-Editor is Locked as long as DCS.Exe is Running, (will always remain locked while dcs.exe is running).
-Mis-Matched Values or corrupted values if the string is not already in the options.lua (fix/adjustment coming)
--To fix that one, next iteration will disable controls for any strings not already in options.lua

The best way to Create a Baseline Profile, is to simply launch DCS using the profile and set the items in the game, Save and Exit.

The Preset Editor was not meant for 100% gross replacement of using the DCS Menu, it was meant for after profiles are setup, to adjust a few settings before launch without having to launch DCS change the settings, exit, and relaunch.
 

 

 

In the screenshots above, DCS.EXE is shown as running.

Edited December 5, 2023 by SkateZilla

[Hammer1-1]

On 12/4/2023 at 3:09 AM, diamond26 said:

this is usually the picture you see when you have DCS running. If you close DCS, do you still have the same issue?

No I didnt have DCS running. I WAS using SimAppPro at the time..

Edited December 5, 2023 by Hammer1-1