[VER 3] SMBX Episode Manager - Windows XP Supported!

[Axiom]

I can't get past the installer. As soon as I click "Next," the window height just grows for some reason and then crashes. I've tried running it as an Administrator as well, but the same thing happened.

Here's a screenshot:

Spoiler: show

Weird, must be a Windows 7 thing. Try downloading this one: http://mrmiketheripper.x10.mx/epmanager ... taller.exe

And if not, I have a .zip version available too: http://mrmiketheripper.x10.mx/epmanager ... r_2222.zip

I like the idea of ​​downloading episodes via a program!, I wanted to play episodes, but it bothers me a lot of searching through garbage for something I will download and have to delete it immediately because I not like.

I have a question ... Can we send project demonstrations? Or has to be the full episode?

I'd prefer full episodes. Just kinda makes things easier for updating, yano?

[Alice]

Weird, must be a Windows 7 thing.

I've had the same exact issue on Windows 7 as well. (Ultimate x64 if it matters.) I tried running it as admin as GhostHawk mentioned, installing to the default location, and redownloading it multiple times. Only thing that worked for me was the zip file you linked.

[Axiom]

Weird, must be a Windows 7 thing.

I've had the same exact issue on Windows 7 as well. (Ultimate x64 if it matters.) I tried running it as admin as GhostHawk mentioned, installing to the default location, and redownloading it multiple times. Only thing that worked for me was the zip file you linked.

Alright, looks like I'll have to fix the launcher then. Weird because it worked just fine for me but I'm on Windows 8.1.

[Raster]

The installer crashes after the user clicks 'Next' due to a code error. I removed the bit about height in the code and recompiled the installer: http://www.sendspace.com/file/2ulh7h

Also, instead of forcing the program to update all the time, make it query a page and get the episode list/downloads on each login because the updater is incredibly buggy and I keep getting .NET exceptions whenever I try to update. I have all Microsoft updates installed.

I also think the UI is really ugly. Try to go for something sleeker, lighter.

[Axiom]

Also, instead of forcing the program to update all the time, make it query a page and get the episode list/downloads on each login because the updater is incredibly buggy and I keep getting .NET exceptions whenever I try to update. I have all Microsoft updates installed.

It already does query a page.

I also think the UI is really ugly. Try to go for something sleeker, lighter.

so what do you have in mind?

[Axiom]

How strict are you on the filesize limit? I'd be interested in submitting MaGL X as a cross-community downloadable episode, but it's well over 500mb.

I'm not sure how I just now saw this haha
But 500mb is way too big. I'd say 200mb is max I can accept. 500 is just way too much in terms of custom music imo

[Raster]

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply! Here's how I think it should look like:

Spoiler: show

I used the Microsoft Segoe UI font because it looks nicer on forms and a white background. I changed the style of buttons to make the program look more unique and professional. I decided to go with hues of blue. I think you should get rid of the Mario design entirely and make it look like a real Windows application because frankly the program itself looks ugly.

Oh, and the source code doesn't work in VS2010. I could only open it in the 2013 edition.

[Axiom]

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply! Here's how I think it should look like:

Spoiler: show

I used the Microsoft Segoe UI font because it looks nicer on forms and a white background. I changed the style of buttons to make the program look more unique and professional. I decided to go with hues of blue. I think you should get rid of the Mario design entirely and make it look like a real Windows application because frankly the program itself looks ugly.

Oh, and the source code doesn't work in VS2010. I could only open it in the 2013 edition.

That'll work beautifully for the installer, I could plan to implement something like that for the manager. You can change the Mario look and feel to a more stock Windows look btw.

And the solution itself sadly doesn't work in 2010 but you can open the individual project file in 2010, re-add each project and save a 2010 version of the solution if you really wanted to. Hell, even commit it and I'll merge it into my branch.

[FutureNyanCat]

I tried again on my 8.1 laptop and it's now working thanks to the new index from Pixels, which means I can now download Valtteri Island, The Mushroom Robbers, and SMSE (For the first time?) straight from the episode downloader.

[Axiom]

I tried again on my 8.1 laptop and it's now working thanks to the new index from Pixels, which means I can now download Valtteri Island, The Mushroom Robbers, and SMSE (For the first time?) straight from the episode downloader.

Good to hear!

[Bryux]

So I tried to download this, but Norton (an antivirus thingy) kept telling me it was unsafe, so, is the link in the opening post still safe? Sorry for such a stupid question.

[Alice]

A lot of antiviruses will falsely detect things like this as malicious. The program or installer is likely doing something that is similar to an actual malicious program which is setting off Norton. (This isn't all this uncommon. The program Cheat Engine had a big issue with this in the past to the point where the developer made it far less usable just to get rid of the malware detections.)

[Axiom]

So I tried to download this, but Norton (an antivirus thingy) kept telling me it was unsafe, so, is the link in the opening post still safe? Sorry for such a stupid question.

Of course this is safe, what kind of virus developer would make his "virus/program" open source?

[Axiom]

Hey guys,

Today I started working on a MAJOR overhaul of the episode manager. Actually, major is an understatement. All the code is being rewritten and in a new language to boot. Not to mention, the functionality is going to be COMPLETELY different. It's going to be focused more on individual episodes and updating them instead of an index of zip files.

I started working on my own semi-custom file type, which I like to call the ".index" file. This will be the big boy in the project as it houses some important things.

• Episode name
  Author
  Description
  Version
  List of files

Kinda similar to the old one, but not quite. One of the things you probably noticed is that there's now a version and a files list. These two additions are going to be CRUCIAL in the whole individual updating process of the episodes.

The format for the .index file is pretty much 100% done, and I'm proud to say it's human readable for the most part. It works similar to the NPC codes where it's "param=data". Example:

Code: Select all

episodeName=The Invasion 2

See? Not so hard. It's not at all encrypted either.

So how do I plan on getting this updating of the episodes working? Well, this is where these versions and file lists come in. And also, you. That's right, this will require a bit of effort on your part. But don't worry: it's not hard at all! It will however, involve a server. You can get free web servers at x10hosting.com if you need to; I use them for the current hosting and it works pretty well.

Okay, so the usual ZIP that you use to download and contains all the episode files will now have the .index file and 4 images in it. These 4 images will be screenshots that you can add so well, users can see. Inside the .index file will be the link to your server, the link to the forum post, and the list of all the files your episode contains. On your server end, all you will have to do is upload a "changes.index" file to the server and in the same directory, add in all the files you want to change/add and the program will read this "changes.index" file and download/replace any files that need to be changed. If it needs to be changed of course, I forgot to mention that the version number will be compared first.

So where do I come in? My index from now is simply going to contain links pointing to your index files on your server. I will upload a video detailing what to do to get your server/episode ready for this format when this is all said and done. Don't worry, it's going to be fairly easy. This new method will make pushing out updates for episodes awesome considering the fact that you will no longer need to redownload every file in the episode.

I will be updating my progress in this thread periodically to let you guys know.

Cheers,

Mike

[Axiom]

Sorry for double post but I literally JUST put the finishing touches on the index generator. Took me all afternoon but it wasn't terribly hard.



What you're looking at is the tool you, the episode maker, will be using to make the .index file the episode manager will use. I will include some documentation with the program when I finally release it.

You start by clicking the "..." button and selecting the directory of your episode (the one with all the .lvl, .wld files, etc) in it. It then loads in all the important files (.lvl, .wld, .gif for graphics, .mp3, .wav files) into the listview. These are the contents of your episode. You then proceed to fill out the basic information. Episode name, author, description, etc. The version number is a 4 digit integer. No decimals in it. Server is the link to your server that contains all of the files you'll need (this will be covered more in depth later) and the forum url is well, the link to the forum post for your episode.

Next, you have the option to add 4 screenshots as you can see on the right. You can load in just about any image format (.bmp, .png, .jpeg/.jpg) but either way it will be converted to a png when saved with the episode. You can also click the thumbnail to view the full res image in the program.

After that, you can go ahead and click Save Project and boom! A "project.index" file is created in the root directory of your episode (with the .wld file and .lvl files) and the 4 screenshots are saved there also.

If you want to load back in the index file, you can click load from index and select your "project.index" to begin loading it back in where you can edit to your liking.

Now what about the Generate Changes button? This will be for generating the changes file that is hosted on your server to tell the program what files to download. Basically what you do is you click the checkbox next to the files that you changed and then you click the generate changes button. It will ask you what version you'd like this to be in which case you'll enter in the 4 digit int (no decimals). It will then generate a changes.index file which you then upload to the root of the server along with all the files you need.

Cheers,

Mike

[Keddy]

damn....
that's some badass update, I may make an episode just to use that "index generator" part of the tool Other than that I was wondering about literal language support as in will it be in Spanish, Russian, German or anything like that? I mean I know of Spanish speakers, that aren't part of this forum or any other really, that still make SMBX episodes. Oh and that's not mentioning the Portuguese SMBX forums.

[Axiom]

damn....
that's some badass update, I may make an episode just to use that "index generator" part of the tool Other than that I was wondering about literal language support as in will it be in Spanish, Russian, German or anything like that? I mean I know of Spanish speakers, that aren't part of this forum or any other really, that still make SMBX episodes. Oh and that's not mentioning the Portuguese SMBX forums.

Thanks man!
And I could totally work that out! I don't speak any of those languages but just for simple labels and such it'll be doable since I'll only have to Google Translate one word. As for writing out the help and stuff I'll need a full portugese speaker or whatever.

[Axiom]

Hey guys, I'm here with a status update on the Episode Manager.

I finished most of the UI. The UI is done in a sort of Metro-esque WinForms framework that I think is absolutely gorgeous. And yes, it will be compatible with more than just WIndows 8. Check it out



The Invasion 2, as of now, is the only episode with an index file in it. And as you can see reading works quite well. I'm noticing now that there's quite a bit of whitespace but I'd like to know, what do you think I should put there? An option for somebody to put a logo up?

Of course, if the episode doesn't have an index file there's no need to fret!



And of course, you can always add one later. I plan on packaging a set of index files with the program alongside screenshots so you'll have the ability to add it to your existing episodes.

of course if your episode isn't involved in this database of index files, I'll add the ability for the program to point to the Index Generator with the list of files and such so that you can add your own and send it to me later.

Cheers,

Mike

[Axiom]

Hey

I've been making quite a bit of progress since I'm out of school now and I'd like to share it now with everyone.

I've decided to fill the whitespace in the application with the icons we used previously in the episode manager. I think it looks pretty nice



I'll probably move it down a little more with the screenshots.
I also (finally) added the ability to click the screenshots in the program to view them full size (they look gorgeous on my Nexus 7!).

I updated the Index Generator to support the new icons too. For some reason, my openfiledialog won't show .gif images even though I've added them to the filter but it's no big deal since you can type the filename manually if need be.


The dimensions still remain 112x100 but now any format is supported so go crazy! These are saved as "icon.png".

Now all I have to do is quickly code the buttons to open the forum link, check the server, and view the file list and then I can start on the big one: reading and extracting of the zips and updating the files.

Cheers,

Mike

[Alice]

I think it might look better if you moved all the text to the right some and placed the icon there instead personally. Also not a big deal but instead of sticking with a flat 112x100 you might consider removing that limit and making the program scale the icons itself while respecting aspect ratio.