[SCR][TC/AP] TCAN - Menudriven Full Auto Naming plugin v0.99.9

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Wed, 19. Jun 13, 22:10

I think I might have one of those doors in TCAN. Not procedurally generated, but rather non-functional tags that was supposed to provide statistics. Question remains whether I should remove them or not since statistics gathering may take up too much cpu time from an already jam-packed plugin list. Besides, I prefer Nethack

dispatchcompg · Post by **dispatchcompg** » Thu, 20. Jun 13, 06:27

What kinds of statistics? Statistics would be something fun to have available. On the other hand I keep forgetting this engine is ancient and doesn't multithread and would in this respect be something along the lines of ArmA's scripting engine.

I've been away for quite a while with regards to scripting for this engine. Are any third-party QoS tools available to see what threads are being spawned and chewing up processing time outside of the game itself? Or are folks still stuck with watching the in-game script editor still? If you ran it non-realtime (like your main re-name thread already is on a looped timer) I don't know how much of an impact it would have. I'd say have a look at what the OOS combat rebalance did for an example of a script that's extremely taxing (processor-wise). Even then in that case the slowdown came from iterations and logs for every out of sector combat event across the known galaxy; and mostly from the logging; reports of 10-15 FPS drops and microstutter from the hard-drives having a CVA writing 2 and 3 gigabyte log files.

OT: I still have a Nethack install on this machine somewhere. Anymore though it's Dwarf Fortress, Dungeons of Dredmor, or Cataclysm:DDA for my roguelike fixes

Only one of those doesn't run a tileset for "pretty" 8 bit or 16 bit pictures. I must be getting old.

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Thu, 20. Jun 13, 18:51

Statistics such as trader expenses, turnaround and general effectiveness.
Loads hauled, rocks mined and such. Low profile statistics. The statistics would be based off of what kind of aspect the ship/station/whatever was given. I don't have a clear view of what or how to approach this though.
Only that I don't want to make a log file out of it. As an export, perhaps.
Also, not in a way that produces miles of datasheets, but rather a summary. It would probably be signal based to trigger an "update".

Can't make any combat related statistics, since that would properly kill the combat experience - especially in a massive fleet vs fleet battle - no matter how I try to do it. The naming itself is a scaled timed loop. The more time you chose between updates, the more time it takes between each object to update as well. Just to prevent lagging where other processes need priority.

In regards to QoS tool; I've never considered using any tools other than for scripting purposes for the X-universe, so I can't really say. Personally I'm using a little known script editor (EScE) where I've manually edited the data files to bring it up to spec with at least Terran Conflict.
Haven't actually used the internal script editor... at all.

destroll · Post by **destroll** » Sun, 26. Jan 14, 21:51

Sorry for the thread necro, but it's related to this mod so... >_>

Really want to like this thing.
Really really want to like this thing.
The idea of it personalizing my fleets for me automatically is awesome, and the list of features is cool and all buuuuuut...

HOLY CRAP, this mod's menu system has me so confused that its making me feel rather stupid right now.

I know there is a way for the mod to replace the "Your" prefix with other stuff, it gives an option to do so right on the first window of the mod, but I just can not seem to make it work for me.

It just leads me through a labyrinth of "wtf is that?" options and screens I can't figure out a way though or find a way out of.

As an example of what I'm currently experiencing;

The Humble Merchant starter ships, "Your Mercury" and "Your Discoverer".

The mod renamed the Mercury "ATSMrc^Ergo est sum" as soon as I turned it on in the AL options.
My "Your Discoverer" has similarly now been renamed to "AM5Dsc<<Cour>>The Hurried Behemoth"....

Considering that it's been over 6 months since the last post in this thread I'm going to take a guess that the mod's author is no longer working on or supporting it(???), but if there is anyone else out there that can help me with this, it would be greatly appreciated.

What I'd actually like to do with this mod is to replace the word "Your" with my own prefix "Conglomo Corp." (so that I no longer have to go do that manually with every single one of my company's vessels), and for it to keep the ship's actual model name (Mercury, Discoverer, Nova, etc., etc.,).

Whether or not it adds a suffix I don't really care, heck might even be interesting in the sense that I could see it as being each pilot's Call Sign.

But the garbled abbreviations and the way it removes the ship's class/type name are somewhat annoying to me.

I just can't seem to figure out the menu system set-up for the mod so it will do what I want it to. >.<

:gruebel::gruebel:

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Wed, 29. Jan 14, 07:01

destroll wrote: I know there is a way for the mod to replace the "Your" prefix with other stuff, it gives an option to do so right on the first window of the mod, but I just can not seem to make it work for me.

In the main menu, when you select "Replace the 'your' prefix", it opens up one more menu entry directly below. It opens the prompt for what you wish to replace it with. Click on that and enter your choice.

Furthermore, you wish to tun AL to semi-auto. That way way you must set ship aspects manually, and the "Your" replacement will work.

destroll wrote: The mod renamed the Mercury "ATSMrc^Ergo est sum" as soon as I turned it on in the AL options. My "Your Discoverer" has similarly now been renamed to "AM5Dsc<<Cour>>The Hurried Behemoth"....

"Ergo Est Sum" is player ship aspect. The name you got there is the Unique Name for the current player ship. It follows the player, not the ship.
Changing ships will resume the ships actual aspect and you will find it has another name.
Player ship aspect can be turned off in the main tcan menu.

The abbreviations means:
Argon TS (freighter) Mercury
Argon M5 Discoverer (and it was set up with courier aspect due to lack of guns and sensors)

destroll wrote: Considering that it's been over 6 months since the last post in this thread I'm going to take a guess that the mod's author is no longer working on or supporting it(???), but if there is anyone else out there that can help me with this, it would be greatly appreciated.

You'd be surprised...

destroll wrote: What I'd actually like to do with this mod is to replace the word "Your" with my own prefix "Conglomo Corp." (so that I no longer have to go do that manually with every single one of my company's vessels), and for it to keep the ship's actual model name (Mercury, Discoverer, Nova, etc., etc.,).

If you just want to replace the "Your" prefix, there's a much much smaller mod available for that..

destroll wrote: Whether or not it adds a suffix I don't really care, heck might even be interesting in the sense that I could see it as being each pilot's Call Sign.

But the garbled abbreviations and the way it removes the ship's class/type name are somewhat annoying to me.

Those abbreviations are configurable choices set by each aspect. Aspects are the role of the ships more or less. Use the main TCAN menu to turn those on/off.
Nameloader menu alters said aspects.
Nameshooter is the renaming menu for single ships/objects.
Nameset menu is sort of redundant, as it's better to edit the textfiles instead (and importing afterwards).

For the most part, those abbreviations tell you just what kind of ship you're flying around in, and is about the most important information there is when you got a whopping list of ships.

If you wish "Conglomo Corp." as prefix, just set it as your company name and add that to the aspect. I advise against using that name for all your ships if you wish to see what ships you actually have in the list since each aspect adds their own kind of information depending, of course, on just what that ship is doing.

Company initials are included in all ship aspects as default. As long as there are no initials, nothing will show up.
You could just as well put that name in there.

The abbreviations are there for a reason. There's only so many characters that can be shown in the list u c.

Don't panic. You can revert all ships back to "Your <shiptype>" in the
main tcan menu-> maintenance menu
if you need that.

Here's a hint. Instead of looking for something specific in the menus, just take the time to explore the menus and the answer will come to you. Start with the main menu.

Oh, I am actually still working on it. It's just that it's way boring redoing the entire textfiles for the purpose of getting solid names and cross-aspect wing numbering.

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Sun, 2. Feb 14, 02:29

..and that's about why I lose interest in this script.

Either it's working way beyond my expectations, or no one but me is actually using it.
It's hard to avoid working on it when I feel the rare urge to play X3TC/AP again.
But with no pressure, the interest fades rather quick.

Anyway, version 1 is in the works. Just how soon is another matter.

I'm not going to make any attempt at upgrading from v0.99 to v1.0.
It's pointless since autoaspect will automatically give your ships the right aspects and I've gone and changed/removed some tags.
Uninstalling has the option to keep your unique names, so you won't lose anything.

Features:

44 Aspects, where 3 are "virtual" ones covering wings.
Revised prefix, suffix and nameset names. Less wonky.
- Prefix - mostly verbs
- Suffix - mostly nouns
- Namesets - Names and objects more relevant to ships and stations.
  And no more historical figures no one cares about.
Added Aspects
- Mini Gatherer
- Mini Miner
- Local Trader
- Free Trader
- Player Hub
- Wing Formation Alpha Leader
- Wing Formation Leader
- Wing Formation Member
Where the last 3 are non selectable for ships. They get attached to wings automatically.
All numbering options working.
More housecleaning. Removing unused rubbish from textfiles etc.

I think that covers it.
If there are any other aspects I should add, now's the time.

builder680 · Post by **builder680** » Thu, 6. Feb 14, 04:53

Hello Orfevs!

This looks very interesting and I will be trying it out. Thanks for making it available! I'm about to install and will let you know if I run into any issues, though my game is fairly new at the moment with some few dozen satellites, no stations, and 5-6 ships.

Looking forward to messing around with it

EDIT:

I don't see this under Artifical Life. Your OP says to turn on the AL to get it working. I've saved and closed/reloaded. I don't see it anywhere to turn on. /scripts went in addon/scripts and /t went in addon/t (AP-XRM game)

EDIT 2:

I found the file "al.plugin.tcan" in the script editor. Figuring 'why not?' I hit 'r' and now I see it in the AL settings. It now shows "Auto naming limited - Hotkey renaming only" and I can't change it. It also says the AL is <<<No>>>.

If I hit enter to attempt to change the AL setting to <<<Yes>>>, I get a caption message "TCAN is now running - NameShooter only - Dynamic tags non-functional." The setting stays at <<<No>>>.

Config hotkey works fine. Hotkeys set for "NameShooter" and "NameLoader" give no response. I can't use the "Configure Aspects (NameLoader)" and "Change Names and Aspects (NameShooter)" options in the config menu. Hitting enter on them (in the config menu) results in nothing happening.

EDIT 3:

Additionally, I had some wonky things happen with my XBox Controller presets, and selected hotkeys disappearing upon reload of the game. I suspect I have too many custom hotkeys (3 for mars, 1 for Bounce, 3 for LIFE, and a custom setup for my controller). Gonna have to uninstall for now, but I'm definitely interested if I can get it to work right.

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Thu, 6. Feb 14, 21:23

Huh.. you got me there.

First off. It's not supposed to say "al.plugin.tcan" in the AL listing.
What you're supposed to get is a status text stating which mode it's running at. Using subtitles, you will see some of the same info down below. Not sure having subtitles enabled or not makes any difference.

Your current state indicates something's totally wrong, so uninstall TCAN.
EDIT:
I assume you at least got the Main menu up and working so you can select the maintenance menu. It's where you start your uninstallation..
If not, I might have to wing it and make a separate uninstall script.

If you install several huge plugins at once, things might crash horribly. So it's best taking it bit by bit. And TCAN is huge. It stores 100 arrays of names in memory for starters..

I am working on lowering the memory use though. The one and only reason to keep the names in arrays is for internal editing purposes. Removing the arrays means removing the nameset edit feature. And I think I'm gonna do just that. Anyone can edit the textfiles.

The hotkey issues was something found in previous versions of X3TC and AP. Changing profiles usually solved it. Try that. It's not restricted to TCAN, just so you know

NameShooter and NameLoader won't load if AL state is set to off..
Come to think of it, they might not even work when AL is set to hotkey only either. I need to dig up ancient files to find out. Suffice to say, I've gone and made radical changes (again) for version one.

I'll try to speed up the development..

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Thu, 6. Feb 14, 23:07

Namesets have been added to the empty space on the first page.

Basically, I need some help in filling out the blanks and correcting the mistakes. So please PM me with suggestions, or just post them here.

Thanks.

builder680 · Post by **builder680** » Fri, 7. Feb 14, 04:47

Orfevs wrote:Huh.. you got me there.

First off. It's not supposed to say "al.plugin.tcan" in the AL listing.

I found that file in the script editor (and then hit 'r'), not the AL listing. I'm not sure where this misunderstanding arose...

Orfevs wrote:What you're supposed to get is a status text stating which mode it's running at. Using subtitles, you will see some of the same info down below. Not sure having subtitles enabled or not makes any difference.

Yes, I saw this. It's in my post above.

Orfevs wrote:Your current state indicates something's totally wrong, so uninstall TCAN.
EDIT:
I assume you at least got the Main menu up and working so you can select the maintenance menu. It's where you start your uninstallation..
If not, I might have to wing it and make a separate uninstall script.

Yes, I was in the config menu. I can't recall if the uninstall script did anything, though. To uninstall, I just deleted all files and loaded a save from before.

Orfevs wrote:If you install several huge plugins at once, things might crash horribly. So it's best taking it bit by bit. And TCAN is huge. It stores 100 arrays of names in memory for starters..

I installed TCAN on top of an installation that was otherwise stable. I use XRM, MARS, and a few others.

Orfevs wrote:The hotkey issues was something found in previous versions of X3TC and AP. Changing profiles usually solved it. Try that. It's not restricted to TCAN, just so you know

NameShooter and NameLoader won't load if AL state is set to off..
Come to think of it, they might not even work when AL is set to hotkey only either. I need to dig up ancient files to find out. Suffice to say, I've gone and made radical changes (again) for version one.

I'll try to speed up the development..

I'm not sure what you mean "changing profiles" for the hotkey issues. I'll try it but I don't know where or what profile to change to? As far as editing the textfile for naming, I am sure I could figure that out, but obviously having a large list of stock names is also nice.

In any event, I'm certainly willing to offer any help I can. When I get a chance later tonight I'll redownload and try it out again. My tech knowledge is very minimal, but I'll do my best

Still a very interesting looking mod and keen to get it working for my game!

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Fri, 7. Feb 14, 05:32

builder680 wrote:
Orfevs wrote:Huh.. you got me there.

First off. It's not supposed to say "al.plugin.tcan" in the AL listing.
I found that file in the script editor (and then hit 'r'), not the AL listing. I'm not sure where this misunderstanding arose...

I c. If you wish to execute tcan from MSCI, you need to start "setup.plugin.tcan". That's the one starting the whole thing. If the AL isn't working, something prohibits the AL script from running, and that's normally a setup issue. There's that 100 array long thing. Basically, just give it time. (You are using TCAN v0.99.9 I hope.)

builder680 wrote:
Orfevs wrote:What you're supposed to get is a status text stating which mode it's running at. Using subtitles, you will see some of the same info down below. Not sure having subtitles enabled or not makes any difference.
Yes, I saw this. It's in my post above.

If the AL says <<no>>, then it's not running.. any other option has <<yes>>.

builder680 wrote:
Orfevs wrote:Your current state indicates something's totally wrong, so uninstall TCAN.
EDIT:
I assume you at least got the Main menu up and working so you can select the maintenance menu. It's where you start your uninstallation..
If not, I might have to wing it and make a separate uninstall script.
Yes, I was in the config menu. I can't recall if the uninstall script did anything, though. To uninstall, I just deleted all files and loaded a save from before.

Loading an old tcan-less file works just as well.. The uninstall script is only for when you've saved with TCAN data. Lots of arrays to unravel for starters.

builder680 wrote:
Orfevs wrote:If you install several huge plugins at once, things might crash horribly. So it's best taking it bit by bit. And TCAN is huge. It stores 100 arrays of names in memory for starters..
I installed TCAN on top of an installation that was otherwise stable. I use XRM, MARS, and a few others.

I've tried running XRM, MARS, TCAN and a huge amount of other script without a hitch. So I'm a bit at a loss what's wrong here.

builder680 wrote:
Orfevs wrote:The hotkey issues was something found in previous versions of X3TC and AP. Changing profiles usually solved it. Try that. It's not restricted to TCAN, just so you know

NameShooter and NameLoader won't load if AL state is set to off..
Come to think of it, they might not even work when AL is set to hotkey only either. I need to dig up ancient files to find out. Suffice to say, I've gone and made radical changes (again) for version one.

I'll try to speed up the development..
I'm not sure what you mean "changing profiles" for the hotkey issues. I'll try it but I don't know where or what profile to change to? As far as editing the textfile for naming, I am sure I could figure that out, but obviously having a large list of stock names is also nice.

You create profiles containing keybindings and shortcuts from the X3AP Control menu.

Thing is, it does work without having to edit anything. Normally.
Due to the difficult installation with XRM, I made it into 3 different SPK files. I had to do it that way because of the fakepatch system, as I have several fakepatches installed - rather than mods. That way the plugin manager can keep a track of the fakepatches without borking something up. You might have an issue in that department.

builder680 wrote:In any event, I'm certainly willing to offer any help I can. When I get a chance later tonight I'll redownload and try it out again. My tech knowledge is very minimal, but I'll do my best

Still a very interesting looking mod and keen to get it working for my game!

Me too.. still a ways to go on v1.
Once you get it working, and once you get past the initial hoots and giggles where name generation is concerned, you will most probably want to alter the ASPECTS to your liking, if not the texfiles containing the names..
Just keep in mind I'm correcting those textfiles right now. If I get a decent setup going, those can be released separately. Feel free to add your thoughts on the name setup.

builder680 · Post by **builder680** » Fri, 7. Feb 14, 06:23

Hello Orfevs

The reason I was running a script from the script editor is because otherwise, nothing showed up for TCAN in AL at all. Running "al.plugin.tcan" at least got me something to see in AL settings, but I apparently should have tried running the "setup" one though instead... Sorry about that!

Is it possible that whatever you release in .spk format you also make available in "non" .spk format? I don't use the plugin manager -- I manage my addons manually -- it works better that way for me.

Barring that, I remember there was a way to unpack .spk files from a couple years ago, but I believe it required downloading the plugin manager to do so? I could be wrong. I'd like to avoid downloading excess stuff if possible though. (Off topic, this is preventing me from getting the infinite salvage insurance mod, as I can't find it in anything other than .spk format

)

Please let me know and I will give this another go! I'd have done so already but I can't tell if your current .zip link is a diff version from what I downloaded last night. It appears to still say 0.9.9.9 and I think that's the version I was using. So many 9's I'm not sure...

Anyhow, I have access to voice chat via Mumble or Ventrilo if it would make communication easier. Sometimes things get lost in translation (so to speak) via posting. The Skype webpage has decided it wants to work in Chinese so I can't install it.

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Fri, 7. Feb 14, 08:17

Don't know what else to do really. There's nothing special about the installation that should cause such problems.

If you just give it time after installing (you'll get a window stating it's done installing), then it just might work. If you do get the window, open the main config and turn off the options for naming. Then wait a bit more..

On my rig it takes about 7 seconds from a fresh install after loading. It's a 2.8Ghz quad core with 4GB and a plethora of scripts installed.

Also check the maintenance menu and turn on the debug option. You can access the log file (externally from where your saves are) and post the results. You won't get the startup, but something else might pop up that can shed some light on the problem.

Until the setup has finished, the AL won't be accessible. Don't know just how much memory you have, but I'm concerned there's not enough space for the name arrays. Yet another reason to remove the nameset editing feature. Or at least make it a separate script. I'll look up mumble though. For now I need some z's.

And yeah, Cycrow's X-Universe Plugin Manager can unpack the spks.
If you're able to use it, it comes highly recommended.

builder680 · Post by **builder680** » Fri, 7. Feb 14, 08:35

Ok, check your PM's for info about voice chat.

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Fri, 7. Feb 14, 20:22

Noted.

If you really want to, I can upload a beta version of TCAN v1 - once I've removed the editing feature. I can't vouch for its general stability, but it does contain bugfixes from v0.99.9.

Of course, I won't upload anything until I know it properly starts up and can do what it's supposed to do. Except for (probably) new bugs, there's a distinct lack of promised new features - not to mention I've gone and messed up the aspects so the tags(expressions,codes,whatever) and colors are not quite by design..

Tip of the day: If you're scripting - take note of that MSCI does NOT like divide by zero.

amirite · Post by **amirite** » Sun, 3. Jan 16, 20:35

Question/suggestion!

Can you add a tag to pull the EST/CLS/Prespector et. Pilot Name? I'd love to add something like "Paul Dillon" or "P. Dillon" in my ship names instead of a callsign, which dynamically pulls from the Lucike script pilot names (to save me some work). On my other ships, I would replace that space with a custom nameset with names of my own choosing (which I am already doing now). Bam!

Thanks for the great script!

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Thu, 7. Jan 16, 20:13

I'm sure it's feasible, so yeah. I can do that.

Not playing or scripting X3TC/AP at the moment, so I will have to set it up again before getting down to it. My last attempt was at dynamic menus, and in doing so, I managed to wreck the scripts pretty good, but I did find a bug in the process. Nothing serious, but still..

Abandoning the dynamic menus, I can correct the bug and add the tags though. Once I get things up and running at least.

Edit: Not sure I can recall that bug if I start from "scratch", being the released version since I've done considerable work on it since then. So I'm going to continue where I left off, and hopefully I may be able to understand just what I was doing. In time...

On another note; Pulling the name and formatting it to initial initial only will naturally add another formatting option for everything else.

Orfevs · Post by **Orfevs** » Thu, 14. Jan 16, 19:14

Now that I'm working on this again, I'd like to see some input.
Bugs discovered, improvements that could be made or just general chitchat. Feedback keeps me going.

Current changes:

Pilot Union Name inclusion
Initials as first names added to FATIQUE(S) format. The (S) is the addition and means short name.. there's only so much letters I can use after all..
Aspect wise fallback options for unique names and pilot union name. Meaning fallback options are removed from tags.
Ironing out current bugs and creating entirely new ones.

I'm pretty sick of reordering textfiles for menu purposes, so I'm changing the menu handling to avoid this in the future.
This won't affect the current menus.

Furthermore, I started previously on dynamic menu handling and wasn't very happy with the result, so I kinda fell off the wagon there.
Still, I'm continuing to convert at least the nameloader menu into dynamic style so you don't start from the top every time you click on something. It will still happen, just not so often, and with compacted menus, the top isn't that far away. I may not be satisfied until I have multi-level handling though.

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

[SCR][TC/AP] TCAN - Menudriven Full Auto Naming plugin v0.99.9