Reply With QuoteCool idea. How badly does it nailed to Windows?Can it be ported to different OSes?
17 02 2023 UPDATE: Thief Buddy v2.0 has now been released
All new version - more functions - improved UI - improved operations
(Old versions superseded v1.1, v1.2)
I thought the interface needed modernizing so the UI has been fully re-written using material design styling.
List of Functions:
(Existing) Multiple quick save backups to restore any previous quicksave point ever made in the game
(Existing) Built in AngelLoader support (1.7.0 or above)
(Existing) Save sound options, including user selection
(NEW) *Single* window interface with selectable 'pages'
(NEW) Set the max number of recent saves you want to keep (2 to 50), or turn OFF for keep-all.
(NEW) Dark / Light mode interface options
(NEW) Extra-muted colors control
(NEW) Restore sound option
(NEW) Timed auto-saves are improved
(NEW) Alternative key bind control for auto-saves
(NEW) Operational enhancements for timed saves
(NEW) Built in, updated User Guides
(NEW) A Restorer 'stay on this page' option, to always stay in the live-update Restorer interface. This provides direct alternating between the game and restores.
(NEW) Registry storage of all user-settings, so any further updates maintain your choices.
(NEW) improved file/folder access (idea given by Fen with thanks)
To set up:
(warning: older v1.2 quicksaves will be lost)
1. Uninstall Thief Buddy 1.2 because the new release has a different product code.
2. Download the new "Setup-Thief_Buddy_v2.0.0.2.msi" (ignore download warnings - I just can't afford to pay for digital certificates..)
3. After installing, you can either set your preferred Saves folder and FM folder manually (see User Guide), or just run AngelLoader 1.7.0 or above, and inside AngelLoader Settings, choose the 'Thief Buddy option', then run an FM.
Thief Buddy v2 MSI available here
Notes on the new version:
New 2.0 Settings WILL be remembered in any future versions. Older 1.2 Settings don't transfer into V2
New 2.0 Saves WILL be remembered in any future versions. Older 1.2 Saves don't transfer into V2
I've made a lot of changes in version 2 so I hope you forgive starting your settings over again.
It is suggested you finish any current FM before updating, due to old version saves not being available to the new version.
Screenshots:
Main:
Quick save restorer:
Full 'save-shot' to reference:
Settings options:
Extra muted for those feeling dark:
Notes and guidance:
Acknowledgements:
There were some timed saves oddities in v1.2 that Hit Deity noticed (thanks Hit) and have since been ironed out:- especially solved is the key simulator interference when Alt-Tabbed out of the game. Also the timer now starts afresh after a manual quicksave is ever made. Finally, readables closing when a timed autosave gets made is corrected. Twist provided lots of ideas and on top, some particularly useful info re binds for the readables issue - now solved with alternative bind options (read the guidance!) To Twist, I guess I finally understood parent and child binds!
Thanks both Twist and Hit Deity for having had the patience and time to test all my variant pre-updates (eek!), and to Fen for the directory browse recode and all previous help.
Finally, thanks to fortuni and Dahenjo for suggesting a limit to max number of saves - now implemented
Hope the improvements are useful folks.
Best Ones,
VA
[this headline post replaces the original post for the early versions of Thief Buddy, so some follow-on comments are now solved in the new version]
Last edited by VoiceActor; 18th Feb 2023 at 10:47. Reason: ThiefBuddy v2 new version released
Cool idea. How badly does it nailed to Windows?
Defo Windows only - I'm not into modern coding yet but am working towards it as a spare time task.Originally Posted by A.Stahl
Cool idea. How badly does it nailed to Windows?
Kind regards,
VA
Good idea, I've always wanted a back up quicksave in case I accidentally quicksaved in a bad location, but with the number of quicksaves I make I'm going to need a bigger computer HD.
Can you restrict the number of old quicksave to say 5-10 atm or is that an option you could consider in an update?
Hi fortuni,
50 quicksaves uses only 0.2Gb (200Mb) of space so this won't cause anyone an issue - even on small drive systems e.g. 64Gb SSD
I wouldn't worry a jot about it - and after all, when a game is completed, you can just go into your Thief Saves backup folder and delete that particular game backup folder.
If you are still super conscious about space, do the following:
1. Without Thief Buddy running, right click your Thief Saves folder and select Properties.
2. Click on the Advanced button and then tick the box "Compress contents to save disk space"
3. Click on OK
4. Back in the Properties dialog, click on Apply and at the "Confirm Attribute Changes" dialog, choose the second option.
Thief saves will now be compressed to approx one third of the space without affecting Thief Buddy at all next time you run it.
That makes it a TINY 75Mb per 50 saves or approx 1.5Mb per save!! Even a cheap 4Gb USB stick could store 4096 / 1.5 = 2,730 quicksaves
Kind Regards
VA
Last edited by VoiceActor; 19th Jan 2023 at 13:41.
i am so good at thief i never have to quick save since there is way more then enough hard save slots per fan mission
but seems cool for the rookie players
Lol.. smart arse much? :-Di am so good at thief i never have to quick save since there is way more then enough hard save slots per fan mission
but seems cool for the rookie players
I use every damn slot multiple times over!! Wish I was that good.
Thanks for this, VA. I'm gonna check it out.
This rookie player needs all the help he can get.
Thank you VoiceActor, I've been playing Thief for 20 years and have always lamented the many, many, many times my quicksave turned out to be a disaster. It works beautifully.
What a great tool....but I'm hesitating to try it out.....in 20+years of thief I had this problem and only over the last 3 years maybe I forced myself to create hard saves at several points. Now that I'm used to that, you come up with this tool and I fear I'll end up in a limbo between well chosen hard saves and "damn it, alt+s, doesn't matter" - tabbing out of the game would also be an immersion breaker. but that's just me, I honestly think that this is such a great tool and I'm actually wondering why nobody came up with that earlier?! so thank you very much! for a taffers talk episode I think I will at least try it out so we can review it
>>>>THIEF PODCAST<<<<
Thanks Supremcee (and others for the pos commsWhat a great tool....but I'm hesitating to try it out.....in 20+years of thief I had this problem and only over the last 3 years maybe I forced myself to create hard saves at several points. Now that I'm used to that, you come up with this tool and I fear I'll end up in a limbo between well chosen hard saves and "damn it, alt+s, doesn't matter" - tabbing out of the game would also be an immersion breaker. but that's just me, I honestly think that this is such a great tool and I'm actually wondering why nobody came up with that earlier?! so thank you very much! for a taffers talk episode I think I will at least try it out so we can review itThis is what made me write the app!
If only I'd been using this today during a certain mission with a hard-to-see mine in it. Woe.
If you're interested, I could make AngelLoader aware of Thief Buddy and be able to automatically pass it the current FM folder before playing, for example, if you have a way to accept it via command line or whatnot. Just an offer
Hi FenPhoenix - firstly, thank you so much for the brilliant AngelLoader - it is a top class interface, used every day, and always works so fabIf only I'd been using this today during a certain mission with a hard-to-see mine in it. Woe.
If you're interested, I could make AngelLoader aware of Thief Buddy and be able to automatically pass it the current FM folder before playing, for example, if you have a way to accept it via command line or whatnot. Just an offer
Re Buddy, yes I could take in via parsed cmd, but its early days yet, so want to keep the app as it is for a while. It would be cool however, to maybe have just one extra AL context menu option of "Copy FM path"? That'd do the trick for a quick win and be easier for players to just paste into Buddy.
I may still polish tiny areas of the code a little further yet from a usage point of view, so the app is still malleable at this stage. This would be things like a folder clean-up option once finished an FM, a more modern UI, better user options for saves inc. setting of limits if desired, background timed autosave option. Not sure at mo, but all exciting to think about!
Best regs,
VA
This is a fantastic little tool: thank you for making it!
If I may offer one little suggestion: It would be nice to be able to customize the saving tone, both the sound sample itself as well as its volume.
I like the idea of having something there to ensure the user that the utility is enabled and working, but right now it plays the default windows tone... which I really don't want to hear while I'm immersed in Thief.
I imagine it would be difficult to pick a sound and volume that makes everyone happy, so allowing the user to customize this aspect would be handy.
Oh, and I'd love AngelLoader integration -- whatever you'll allow and the two of you could work out I'm sure would be great.
I'd second this idea.Oh, and I'd love AngelLoader integration -- whatever you'll allow and the two of you could work out I'm sure would be great.
Hi good folks,
I've built a beta (for now) of Thief Buddy v1.2 which I'm pleased to say seems to be bug free even at this early stage. Not for release yet until it's been tested more etc. Have passed to FenPhoenix to look over in the hope we can simultaneously release both new versions of AL and TB that both talk to each other. Command argument integration is now provided ready for Twist and Hit Deity's suggestion of being called directly from AngelLoader. Have also added an 'auto-activate!' possibility via command arguments. The theory being you just double click the FM in AngelLoader and Thief Buddy starts (but also self-activates) in the background while Thief loads. No fuss, no picking FM folders, no bother. To you - the player, you just run the FM from AL like always.
This new version takes on board other forum suggestions and has a few extra features:
Selectable sound files (with volume adjust) as per Twist's suggestion. Oddly enough, I had this feature in v1.0 (the very first version I never released). I dropped the idea because of file type restrictions doing my head in. Now fully solved though, rock stable, and works a treat!
Timed autosaves: this gives MAX immersion. You never need to save - like EVER! A suggested setup is turn on timed saves (can choose every 1m / 2m / 3m /5m /10m /15m / 20m) and save-sound to MUTE. You just play the game and it saves in the background each period. On-screen you see a 'Successfully Saved" message at the top every period, but you only have to restore a save if you screw up, otherwise, just keep playing with the sound knowledge you are covered for catastophe. On top of this, you can also manually save with Alt-S at any point just like normal.
Folder maintenance: Because timed saves may create a lot of folder fodder for a long FM, there is now a feature to clean up your save folder when you've completed that FM - it does it all in one click.
Other build notes:
To have timed saves functionality, I needed to emulate the key press of Alt-S while in the game. A great Nuget package to do this is called InputSimulatorPlus (a dll). However, this means Thief Buddy is no longer portable as such, so I've pulled my socks up and written a swish MSI installer so it gets properly installed, a desktop icon added, and is uninstallable from Programs and Features etc. All neat and tidy like the pros hehe
The scaling for various desktops is still 'fun' (not!) and I've done my best to make it work well. The restorer has slightly larger thumbnails now and the time banner is better proportioned. In case you're wondering why the big buttons? Well I LIKE BIG BUTTONS haha!
Finally, the How to Use notes have been updated with thanks inside, to Twist, Hit Deity and FenPhoenix for their inputs.
So, just a matter of watch-this-space now. It may be a while yet but I hope you like the changes done.
Best ones all,
VoiceActor
Last edited by VoiceActor; 26th Jan 2023 at 18:31.
Yay!
That sounds awesome! Thank you!
(did you pass it to me? I don't see a PM)
I don't believe I am owed any credit. I merely seconded Twist's suggestion.
I'll be a betatester for when you get ready to get some secondary input. I have separate installs of "vanilla" Thief 2 with T2Fix applied, ready and waiting in its own folders for just such an occasion. I use them to crash-test weird stuff in Dromed/T2 if I think there's any inclination to cause irreparable damage. So, don't worry, I won't screw something up that I desperately need.
Oops! - I'd sent the PM back to myself DOH! You should have it now
VA
I don't believe I'm owed credit, either. For the most part I was just expressing my enthusiasm after Fen offered to somehow integrate it into AngelLoader.I don't believe I am owed any credit. I merely seconded Twist's suggestion.
I think it's awesome that this far along we're still getting cool, new and genuinely useful tools to enhance our taffing experience.
Definitely!! I am still amazed at all the goodies still released.I think it's awesome that this far along we're still getting cool, new and genuinely useful tools to enhance our taffing experience.
I have an idea or suggestion for a completely unnecessary yet convenient feature... although I'm not sure if it would be for VoiceActor and Thief Buddy or for FenPhoenix and AngelLoader:
It'd be cool to load straight to a mission's quick save. By that I mean something like: you right-click the mission in AngelLoader and select "Load Quick Save", and this loads straight into the mission where you last quick-saved, rather than into the game's main menu.
That might not even be technically possible, but I thought I'd mention the idea.
A companion feature to this -- which I think would belong exclusively to Thief Buddy rather than AngelLoader -- would be the optional ability to have the game auto-quick save when you quit. (I suppose I could use something like Autohotkey to setup a quick save followed by Alt-F4 with a single key combo.)
Combined, this would make it faster/easier to save & quit and then later return to exactly where you left off.
Again... it's completely unnecessary, it's almost comically over-convenient, and it may not even be possible... but it's something I've enjoyed in emulators, where they have the advantage of working with save states.
Those would both be nice but I don't believe either is possible*. As far as I know there's no way to tell the game to skip the menu and load straight into a save (though someone more versed in the newdark command line can confirm or deny), and as for autosave-on-quit, TB's autosave merely sends a key combo to the game, which isn't going to work in a menu and in any case if the user has clicked Quit then the game is just going to quit right away without giving a chance for anything else to happen.
*Reverse engineering and hooking into the Thief executables might allow things like this, possibly, but that's well beyond my wheelhouse and then you're depending on something that might change...
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