Author Topic: Outpost 2 Documentation & Wiki (Read 83852 times)

Sirbomber · « **Reply #25 on:** November 30, 2015, 04:53:03 PM »

Quote from: Vagabond on November 30, 2015, 02:48:04 PM

I'll have to play through Eden to get some of their chapters out of the game unless someone knows how to easily extract them.

The novellas are stored as RTF files in story.vol. You can open that using the VolExtractor tool.

Alternatively, launch Outpost 2. At the main menu, type D on your keyboard to access the debug menu. Select "Coming Back", enter 12 into the "Last Mission Completed" box, and click the Eden checkbox. Then click OK. You'll now have all novella chapters available in the Story menu.

Don't try launching Eden Mission #13, though.

Now, how do I get edit access to this thing?

dave_erald · « **Reply #26 on:** December 01, 2015, 12:06:31 PM »

I would like to add a Legacy Section to the Wiki.

- a one or two page area that has any data on the old wiki not relevant to playing games or building maps, (there was a page showing all of the old clans on sigs/won for example) figured somebody might be sentimental about that and want it kept around. This way its there but out of the way I guess. Or if not that, something different or not at all. Suggestions?

And a section for Games and Maps Archive. Not everybody has access to the SVN or wants it I would guess, and any user submitted maps, colony games, multiplayer etc could be put here and downloaded. Also how do you add items to download off the wiki if that's possible? Or should it just be a link back to the OPU thread it originated from? Make finding new maps and games to play easier.

I only ask because I just stumbled upon Angellus's colony game, which I died in the first fifteen minutes from an unreasonably large quake... I will have to revisit that game. Also, cool new tech tree, has it been updated since? I have suggestions, constructive, I'm not being an asshat.

Thoughts?

Vagabond · « **Reply #27 on:** December 01, 2015, 01:34:15 PM »

Sirbomber,

Thanks for the tips. The debug mode worked great to pull the rest of the novella chapters.

When I tried using the VolExtractor, it game me this error when running:

VOLEdit
Component 'COMDLG32.OCX' or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid.

I tried running it after placing it inside the Outpost 2 folder on my CPU that contains the game executable. Am I missing a file or supposed to place it somewhere else?

Sirbomber · « **Reply #28 on:** December 01, 2015, 05:06:08 PM »

COMDLG32.OCX is an old Windows system file, and I'm guessing it's outdated/obsolete if you don't have it on your system.

Hooman · « **Reply #29 on:** December 01, 2015, 07:16:14 PM »

You can probably download COMDLG32.OCX from Microsoft, and then manually register it with regsrv32. A similar problem, and solution, was posted about for the OP2Graphics viewer recently. It may very well be a problem with a lot of old projects now.

Very clever with the debug menu there Sirbomber.

As for SVN, it's for working on and distributing source code, not compiled binary packages, but it is publicly readable, so technically everyone has access to it. Just not everyone wants to use it.

I'd say link to a forum thread for download. You'd want one authoritative place to find a download. Plus, there is the issue of ownership. Potentially anyone could replace a binary package on the wiki, but downloads on the forums are very clearly tied to a particular user.

leeor_net · « **Reply #30 on:** December 02, 2015, 07:13:28 PM »

I know it's not a perfect solution but you can use the horizontal rule '----' in place of # # #.

Vagabond · « **Reply #31 on:** December 03, 2015, 07:44:14 AM »

Work on the Outpost 2 storyline part of the wiki has gone well. I've inserted some of the mission briefings and am loading all the mission briefing graphics that I think Dave uploaded. Still more work to go, but you can see the progress here: https://wiki.outpost2.net/doku.php?id=outpost_2:storyline.

Does anyone know where I can find a copy of the original in game help manual (and if any special requirements are required to view)? It doesn't seem to be in version 1.3.5 of the game from our website. I'd like to review the contents of it. I could probably pull from the original CD but I don't have access to my copy in the short term.

Next steps are to finalize novella chapters, finish uploading briefings, and upload all the Tales From New Terra.

@Leeor_Net:

I'm learning that while Doku Wiki supports html input, it has to be activated on the site's configuration page. This probably explains why the HTML I was inputting didn't work, since I doubt it is enabled. I don't think there is necessarily a problem with enabling html as long as we are vetting contributors. We would be vulnerable to things like cross-site scripting attacks and maybe some other nefarious acts if anyone with edit permissions wanted to be malicious.

I could also use a plugin like the one here: https://www.dokuwiki.org/plugin:divalign2 that would allow centering without enabling HTML. This would require an admin installing it though.

I think for the short term, I'm just going to leave the # # # marker in the chapters left aligned. It is still a clear separator and will paste into a rich text editor nicer than if we put in the the horizontal rules throughout the chapters. If someone enables HTML or pushes the plugin, let me know and I'll fix, but I understand if neither is implemented.

@Hooman

If I manage to fix the VolExtractor, I'll make sure to post what I do in an appropriate place. Not sure how much I want to pull this string though...

Hooman · « **Reply #32 on:** December 03, 2015, 09:12:14 AM »

I vaguely remember someone stripped the help manual from the download way back in the day to cut down on its size. Off the top of my head, the SVN repository has a complete CD install checked in under the GameDownload/tags folder. You can most likely find the help file in there. It's publicly readable, so you don't need an account to get the file.

Come to think of it, you can likely grab individual files using just a web browser. And there it is, Outpost2.hlp.

You may see a certificate security warning. Access is through SSL, but without a proper certificate. If you click on advanced, you can ignore the warning and still visit the page to download the file. It would be nice to get that sorted some day.

What specifically is wrong with VolExtractor?

leeor_net · « **Reply #33 on:** December 03, 2015, 12:11:47 PM »

Quote from: vagabond

it has to be activated on the site's configuration page

Yup... it does. I thought i had set it but checking configuration and definitely wasn't set. Keep HTML to a minimum though only because you know how amazingly well these things can be abused.

Quote from: vagabond

I could also use a plugin like the one here

I looked into that plugin but it's tagged as experimental and so far my experience with plugins marked like that has been less than stellar.

We do have the Columns plugin installed however which may do the same sort of thing: https://www.dokuwiki.org/plugin:columns

Vagabond · « **Reply #34 on:** December 03, 2015, 10:46:08 PM »

@Leeor_Net

Thanks for looking into it! Good call on minimizing the HTML used. I'll keep it simple and try and use the plugins first. Only problem is, I don't know how to review what plugins have been installed. I don't see a way to access a list of installed plugins, but if there is please let me know. Perhaps we could setup a quick admin page that lists installed plugins and any other info/guidelines on editing pages from an admin perspective. I'm not sure if Doku Wiki supports it, but making the page invisible to users who are not signed in with privileges would be a good call if it lists some info on the guts of our wiki.

@hooman,

Thanks for the tips on the help file! I had to do some fiddling since Windows 7 doesn't support help files out of the box anymore. Downloading it from the SVN repository was no problem. I believe Windows Vista and newer Microsoft operating systems would require the steps below, but I only tested on Windows 7:

Download the required program to open the help file from here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/917607

If you download the file from an internet site, you have to ensure it is "unblocked". To do this, right click on the file from within My Computer and select properties. Then click UNBLOCK in the bottom right of the dialog. (The error message I received when the file was "blocked" wanted me to try reopening the file after copying to a different computer drive, which wasn't intuitive.)

I'll get back to you on the VolExtractor when I have more time.

Hooman · « **Reply #35 on:** December 04, 2015, 02:22:17 AM »

Thank you for the note and the link about the help files.

At first I thought the link was bad when I clicked it, since the page title started with "Error opening ...". Turned out to be "Error opening Help", and mentioned a "Help not supported" error message.

Vagabond · « **Reply #36 on:** December 14, 2015, 12:56:19 PM »

Hey everyone,

I know it has been a while, but I've been plugging away at the new Wiki. I remade the main page to be more than a simple index: https://wiki.outpost2.net/doku.php?id=start.

I'm considering the storyline section for Outpost 2 completed. If anyone notices anything is missing or out of place, please let me know. It can be found here: https://wiki.outpost2.net/doku.php?id=outpost_2:storyline. Hopefully it makes the story more accessible without having to load the game up.

I've added the storyline from Outpost 1's manual to the Outpost 1 section.

The entire Outpost 2 research tree is now posted at: https://wiki.outpost2.net/doku.php?id=outpost_2:outpost_2_manual:reasearch. It includes new technology from the Multi-Tek files.

I'm planning to work on the Outpost 2 maps/mapmaking section next unless Dave-O is going to continue work on it in the short term. Also need to get back to Hooman on the VolExtractor at some point.

dave_erald · « **Reply #37 on:** December 14, 2015, 03:38:43 PM »

What your doing looks great man, keep it up.

As far as the first Outpost game is concerned you can probably leave the rest to Leeor. I'm sure once he is fully functional he was going to take over doing that section of the wiki.

For the rest, the sections I filled in I will probably return to sometime in the next few weeks as there are some areas I need to address and complete (probably spend this week on chapters 5&6 of my little thing I'm writing) and then I'll get back to that.

Good job.

Hooman · « **Reply #38 on:** December 16, 2015, 09:39:58 AM »

Hmm, very nice.

What is it about the VolExtractor you need my help with? (I can help, but to be clear, I didn't write it).

Vagabond · « **Reply #39 on:** December 17, 2015, 09:31:47 AM »

I have been spending more time on the older wiki, and it contains a large amount of info on programming Outpost 2. I can see why we don't want to remove it yet. This info will be difficult to move over to the new wiki without someone who has some knowledge of how it works. It would help if information was more organized on the older Wiki. Right now I resort to just clicking on random links from the all articles page.

@Hooman,

By my comment, I meant to follow up with your suggestion on how to fix the Vol Extrator:

Quote

You can probably download COMDLG32.OCX from Microsoft, and then manually register it with regsrv32. A similar problem, and solution, was posted about for the OP2Graphics viewer recently. It may very well be a problem with a lot of old projects now.

Downloading the file and registering as you suggested worked, so the Vol Extractor is now working. Thank you. I'll post a comment on the VolExractor forum page soon with a little more detail.

Hooman · « **Reply #40 on:** December 17, 2015, 09:45:46 AM »

Quote

Downloading the file and registering as you suggested worked, so the Vol Extractor is now working. Thank you. I'll post a comment on the VolExractor forum page soon with a little more detail.

Thank you for taking care of this.

leeor_net · « **Reply #41 on:** December 19, 2015, 01:30:29 PM »

Hey guys, great work on the Wiki so far!

I've been lagging behind in getting Outpost 1 fleshed out but I'm getting there!

As for mapping and programming, the old wiki has a lot of information of Outpost2 programming but it's very much all over the place. We talked a bit about how to handle it and ultimately we want an Outpost 2 programming section thats' well laid out with tutorials and examples without just little snippets of semi-useful code. Also, a lot of the information on the old Wiki is out of date or no longer relevant or just plain wrong so a direct port to the new wiki is probably not the way to handle it.

As for mapping itself, I have no experience with the mapper tools so whoever does have experience, write away. You've done great work so far with little oversight and things are looking great so keep it up!

Hooman · « **Reply #42 on:** December 19, 2015, 10:04:47 PM »

Quote

You've done great work so far with little oversight and things are looking great so keep it up!

Yes, that little oversight part is what impresses me the most.

dave_erald · « **Reply #43 on:** December 19, 2015, 10:47:23 PM »

Damn Vaga, you've done as much or more than me now.

Nice.

Isn't there a way to get the table of contents to ride down beside the page rather than force most of the page to start from the bottom of the index? (Yes I know you can hide it, or just write one line in the page code to get rid of the table but that would suck)

Vagabond · « **Reply #44 on:** December 20, 2015, 10:25:44 AM »

Thanks everyone for the attaboys.

@Dave,

I'm assuming you are looking at the research page for the long index. I could disable the default and build an index by hand. I think the other option is just fill in more text in the intro so there is less dead space.

I've uploaded a couple of images incorrectly that need deleted and misspelled a page's namespace name. Is there any way to delete content and change page names, or does that require an admin? If it takes and admin, I will just list out the changes for someone to make.

leeor_net · « **Reply #45 on:** December 27, 2015, 02:27:45 AM »

So I started getting the Outpost manual typed up and added to the Wiki... and am realizing how long winded the developers were about EVERYTHING. SO MUCH WRITTEN but SO LITTLE SAID. It's astonishing, really.

The 'Official Strategy Guide' is the same way. The hubris is breathtaking. It's evident that the developers (and designer in particular) thought that they had created the most amazing software product ever. Wonder if it came as a surprise when the backlash started.

So this is a project that will take some time. But I'll be working on it here and there and get it all up there.

Vagabond · « **Reply #46 on:** December 31, 2015, 10:08:49 AM »

I'm working on the new wiki's map page, and am trying to associate the DLL file and .map file to the pictures of each map. I remember seeing Leviathan posting a list somewhere in the forums but I can't seem to find it now that I would like to reference it. Does anyone know where it is or an alternate source, besides Manually pulling each map and reviewing it?

For example:
Biohazard
mp3_02.map
DLL (space race): mf3_02.dll

I have pictures of almost all the maps uploaded and associated to their map names, so the page should be really helpful if someone wants to find the name of that sweet map they played long ago. The page's format still needs some ironing out though.

If you want to review progress so far: https://wiki.outpost2.net/doku.php?id=outpost_2:maps

Hooman · « **Reply #47 on:** January 01, 2016, 09:22:16 AM »

Hmm, nice.

I'm not aware of any list, but it'd be possible to write a tool to help with it. The game identifies levels by DLLs. Scan for DLLs, read the level description exports to get the map name and description. You now have the DLL name and map name tied together. You could also probably use the map editor backend to produce an image of the minimap. That would be a generic enough tool. You could extend all this by automatically uploading the information to the wiki, or somehow displaying it on the website.

You've got me thinking now.

Vagabond · « **Reply #48 on:** January 01, 2016, 11:23:15 AM »

@Hooman,

I managed to find the list from Leviathan here: https://www.outpost2.net/oldwiki/Map_List.

I've manually hand jammed all the map filenames, scenario DLLs, etc. The mapper program, like you suggested, worked great to pull images of the maps. They are all uploaded after I converted them to JPG so they are smaller than bmps. This has taken a fair amount of work, but is done.

There are still some holes in the data, like I'm having difficulty finding the 3rd Plymouth and 3rd Eden mission in the map data for some reason.

Also, I cannot get the multiplayer map punwick junction to load. I am only trying to play 2 player though, so maybe it requires 4 players to work properly?

leeor_net · « **Reply #49 on:** January 13, 2016, 10:56:38 AM »

One thing I want to point out that irritates the PISS out of me -- the thumbnail maps. Would love if clicking on them provided a larger version that can be viewed in higher resolution. It doesn't need to be full resolution (though that would be nice) but SOMETHING larger.

News:

Author Topic: Outpost 2 Documentation & Wiki (Read 83852 times)