Dev's Limit Breaking 101 Techniques

FriendlyFire wrote:
If you ever go multiplayer with your mod (IE get a server up), you’ll be cursing this decision over and over, trust me.

Well ok maybe I should. But a few question, if I may:

1. What files are actually affected by the patch (you don’t have to go into details, but I wanna know what I might loose / have to again? I mean DLL wise mainly, but also other files I might not think off… Also, I need to know what existing files in my mods I need to update

2. I build all my mods over Xerx’s OpenSP and that includes:

• a common.dll file in \Exe,
• a contents.dll file in \DLLS\BIN
  and both happen to be 1.0 files (in fact it’s version 1.0.1223.11). Is there a 1.1 version of Xerx’s OpenSP? (Or another OpenSP that works as well? OpenSP meaning: no storyline, sort of a solo emulation of MP)

3. Where should I expect conflicts if I accidently (e.g. becaus there is still some 1.0 stuf in one of my older mods) use a combination of files from both 1.1 and 1.0?

The Freelancer Update v1.1 is primarily a server update addressing server stability and cheating. There are some client side fixes, the most important being a multiplayer ID generation issue. There is really no need to install the update unless you are running a server or are unable to play multiplayer because you can’t get an ID. The update itself contains no localized text, therefore it is applicable for use for the English, French, and German versions of the game. An English, French, or German readme file will be installed depending on the language version of the target operating system.

Doesn’t seemt too bad, but what about the content.dll?

If you have WinRAR or 7-Zip, just download the EXE patch, right click on it and extract it as you would a standard archive. You’ll be able to see for yourself exactly what files are changed by the update.

As for OpenSP, I do not know about this, but I think there were newer versions than Xerx’s one. All I know is that most mods want, at one point or another, to go MP and that you want to be ready for this.

I’m convinced. I’ve updated Freelancer Two to 1.1. Wasn’t that difficult, really.

MK

Moonhead wrote:
1. What files are actually affected by the patch

These are the files updated in flpatch.exe (the 1.1. patch made by Microsoft):

Freelancer\DLLS\BIN\Content.dll

Freelancer\EXE\CheatMessage.txt
Freelancer\EXE\ReadmePatch.htm
Freelancer\EXE\FLServer.exe
Freelancer\EXE\Common.dll
Freelancer\EXE\DALib.dll
Freelancer\EXE\RemoteClient.dll
Freelancer\EXE\Server.dll

Regarding OpenSP, there’s also my SP from MP tool. This takes the new character data used by MP and turns it into restart.fl, used by New Game.

You should also be aware that 1.0 save games are not really compatible with 1.1. The internal mission number changed, so after Mission 2 (iirc) you will not be able to advance level. It can be fixed by getting FlCodec, decoding your save games, searching for and adding one to MissionNum, if it’s greater than 5 (1.0 is consecutive, but 1.1 jumps from 5 to 7). There’s no need to re-encode, so just save and that’s it. You don’t even need to exit Freelancer.

adoxa wrote:
Regarding OpenSP, there’s also my SP from MP tool. This takes the new character data used by MP and turns it into restart.fl, used by New Game.

:worship: Adoxa, you should be the new UN ambassador and the world would truly become a better place.

adoxa wrote:
You should also be aware that 1.0 save games are not really compatible with 1.1. The internal mission number changed, so after Mission 2 (iirc) you will not be able to advance level. It can be fixed by getting FlCodec, decoding your save games, searching for and adding one to MissionNum, if it’s greater than 5 (1.0 is consecutive, but 1.1 jumps from 5 to 7). There’s no need to re-encode, so just save and that’s it. You don’t even need to exit Freelancer.

Thx for the info! I don’t have any worhtwhile savegames (yet).

So, it seems safe to path up to 1.1. now…

• all the hacks in my common.dll can be redone with FLHack (and the starsystem’s asteroid limit manually woth the info provided earlier in this thread - I’ll write it down to not forget)
• OpenSP is provided
• The Planets Visibility Hack is in Freelancer.exe so it is left untouched (Btw I still have the text from Friendly Fire’s original post, saved from TLR, and I will post it, to express gratitude and pay honour. Like Adoxa’s hacks, it contributed to improve to kick-ass-ness of my time on earth. )

Wooee!

Here it is, a piece of text that moved me more than any poetry could have done. Copied-and-saved from The Lancer Reactors Modding Forum, preserved from ancient times, copied from harddisk to harddisk: the Holy Planets Visibility Limit Hack!

FriendlyFire
Flight Commander
Original posting
posted 10/4/2005 18:31 PST
–------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was fiddling with a problem I had with scales and I was looking for the mythic 250k draw limit. I found it!

Open up your Freelancer.exe with your favorite Hex Editor. I use Hex Workshop.
Search for a 32 bits Float value of “250000” ( Without “” ).
The first and only result is the good one. Change it to, say, 1000000 ( 1000k ) and save, then try to boot the game ( Singleplayer is better for this as it does not have the ship explosion bug when you are too far away from the center of the map ).

It will work!

Hope this helps making even greater mods.
FriendlyFire

Edited by - FriendlyFire on 10/4/2005 6:32:23 PM

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
:worship:

Oh that reminds me: nebula’s also get weird when your too far from ’ em… But I can’t remember of the above-mentioned hack also covered that. or if that one even has been solved.

– 20000f in freelancer.exe, 0x1C8910, 0x1C8910 = same offset as above, poly flipping distance - raising this value stops graphical glitches on big CMPs, but raising it too high introduces flickering issues with SPH-based models (like planets) ~FriendlyFire

Try playing with that offset. There’s no “perfect” value for it; it depends a lot on what your mod is, how it is built, etc. The best way is to tinker

Some might have heard from Procyon’s dynamic lightning on muzzle flashes when firing a gun. I just wanted to implement this in Freeworlds and found out that the light_anim entries in weapon_equip.ini are actually disabled. They are read, but they are not used.

Here is a (messy) hack that will activate FL’s light_anim dynamic lightning:

Freelancer.exe:
0x12D132 replace 2 bytes with “EB 6D”
0x12D052 replace 6 bytes with “90”
0x12D0F6 replace 1 byte with “53”
0x12D0F9 replace 1 byte with “02”
0x12D100 replace 1 byte with “CA”

very cool!

FriendlyFire wrote:
If you have WinRAR or 7-Zip, just download the EXE patch, right click on it and extract it as you would a standard archive. You’ll be able to see for yourself exactly what files are changed by the update.

As for OpenSP, I do not know about this, but I think there were newer versions than Xerx’s one. All I know is that most mods want, at one point or another, to go MP and that you want to be ready for this.

Hey I earlier missed and only read your post now, right after I run the .exe

Good for me that DwnUndr listed the files.

DwnUndr wrote:

These are the files updated in flpatch.exe (the 1.1. patch made by Microsoft):

Freelancer\DLLS\BIN\Content.dll

Freelancer\EXE\CheatMessage.txt
Freelancer\EXE\ReadmePatch.htm
Freelancer\EXE\FLServer.exe
Freelancer\EXE\Common.dll
Freelancer\EXE\DALib.dll
Freelancer\EXE\RemoteClient.dll
Freelancer\EXE\Server.dll

Thanks, much appreciated!

Btw I just patched and common.dll is now 1.0.1254.11 :? I had expected something like 1.1.1254.11 … Oh well, I asume it’s allright.

adoxa wrote:
Regarding OpenSP, there’s also my SP from MP tool.

Adoxa, your site is gone?! It automatically connects to http://www.dogsoftheseas.com/110mb/

Now I can’t download your OpenSP Does anyone have a copy?

EDIT Or another functioning OpenSP for FL 1.1?

EDIT2 i have it now. When Adoxa’s page is adressed thru Google, the page shows up and the tool can be downloaded. But the link above goes Dogs of the Seas. The internet works in mysterious ways. Especially because the other linked file in Adoxa’s post, Flcodec, does indeed lead to the file it’s supposed to lead to :crazy:

@ Adoxa: I have a bunch of question regarding your SP from MP tool. I’ll open a thread in Conventional Modding for it.

I use FDM’s Query size option to test if URLs works. This one did, but only by a fluke, apparently, since it should really be SPfromMP - one of the few I use caps for. Really strange that using a lower case name would link somewhere else.

w0dk4 wrote:
Some might have heard from Procyon’s dynamic lightning on muzzle flashes when firing a gun. I just wanted to implement this in Freeworlds and found out that the light_anim entries in weapon_equip.ini are actually disabled. They are read, but they are not used.

If they are disabled, what lights the cockpit mesh (in cockpit view) when firing?

And…why don’t you add the light to the projectile effect? That works for sure…

w0dk4 can you tell us how highdetails from hhc mod work ?

Quarks wrote:

w0dk4 wrote:
Some might have heard from Procyon’s dynamic lightning on muzzle flashes when firing a gun. I just wanted to implement this in Freeworlds and found out that the light_anim entries in weapon_equip.ini are actually disabled. They are read, but they are not used.

If they are disabled, what lights the cockpit mesh (in cockpit view) when firing?

And…why don’t you add the light to the projectile effect? That works for sure…

If you have 6 or so lights, all of them disappear. Having lights on the muzzle instead of the projectile means they’ll be there for a much shorter time and maybe not disappear as often.

Quarks wrote:

w0dk4 wrote:
Some might have heard from Procyon’s dynamic lightning on muzzle flashes when firing a gun. I just wanted to implement this in Freeworlds and found out that the light_anim entries in weapon_equip.ini are actually disabled. They are read, but they are not used.

If they are disabled, what lights the cockpit mesh (in cockpit view) when firing?

And…why don’t you add the light to the projectile effect? That works for sure…

Actually they may be used for cockpit lightning, I didnt look at the code for that,

As FF said, dynamic lights on projectiles is overkill.
Also, dyn lights on beam bolts are not possible IIRC.

I don’t know about that, I’m pretty sure beam bolts and ALE-based effects both can have light anims on them. The issue is that attaching them to projectiles means you hit the cap so fast they barely ever show up.