Development Stuff

So does its language have any functions that allow you to directly read/write files, use encryption, etc.? I would avoid using the bankfiles, and do it entirely manually, just because it would actually work.

I remember that in the other forum somebody telled me that the Warcraft 3 map editor is able to save to local files. If this is true the saving system could be heavily improved. Just use some sort of encryption for a pseudo protection to gain the same security level we currently have.

Karifean wrote:Also I'm having problems testing out some things cause the game frequently crashes when I'm fighting Ultima Weapon.

It crashes how? Is it the same like when fighting odin with a squire? Or like the one you had with the Dark Summons? I never got to reproduce that.

Sworddragon wrote:
- I would like to see the saving problem to get fixed (builtin). Surely we have an own implemented saving system but for single player it has some disadvantages. It is uncomfortable and you loose the revealed parts of the map.

The fix is really simple


There is no way to make a connection from within warcraft (at least not any legit ones). The only thing that could be used to make saving easier is an exploit that can be used to save things on the hard drive, but that could be fixed and make the map unplayable like the 1.24 patch did.

Also if starcraft has a way of saving/loading custom stuff, it doesn't matter whether it encrypts the data, because the map maker can encrypt them himself, kind of how the save here is (it used to be easier to understand, it was just the level of each job, the money and a code for each inventory item along with a checksum all seperated by "-" but it was a lot longer than it is now.

I remember that code format. I didn't know the checksum function though, so I couldn't cheat with it. I was too lazy to make something to test every value.

About SC2: Exactly! That's what I've been saying. SC2's inbuilt system appears to be really crappy, so hopefully it provides the required functions to make one yourself. If you can do that, then you should always do that.

Sworddragon wrote:I remember that in the other forum somebody telled me that the Warcraft 3 map editor is able to save to local files. If this is true the saving system could be heavily improved. Just use some sort of encryption for a pseudo protection to gain the same security level we currently have.

This files are only created in single player mode, not in multi player mode. You create a hashtable with a name, and it would be automatically created as a file, if not playing online. But that is no solution, or was no solution for me. Since single player is crap.

So giving us a code really is the best possible option?

Randomly I have found a map which saves its code into a textfile: http://www.epicwar.com/maps/220848/
I have tested this in the Battle.net and it works there too. This way a slot saving mechanic could be implemented for example if you type "-save savefile_1" and in the next game "-load savefile_1" the data in this slot will be loaded. This makes it even possible to store much more things since the user doesn't need to type long and complex codes anymore.

Would be a nice help for the people who can't accomplish making screenshots or using the CaptureX tool.

Pfeffer wrote:Would be a nice help for the people who can't accomplish making screenshots or using the CaptureX tool.

Huh? It was you who said that we shouldn't use that hack in-case blizzard decided to patch it...

psxlover wrote:

Pfeffer wrote:Would be a nice help for the people who can't accomplish making screenshots or using the CaptureX tool.

Huh? It was you who said that we shouldn't use that hack in-case blizzard decided to patch it...

You sure we talk of the same stuff? I never knew this API calls to write files. There was some other thing to save locally, but that didn't worked in multiplayer.

What API calls? The only API calls for saving is for single player campaing. He is using the bug with the preload, that is described here: http://www.thehelper.net/threads/how-to-virus-in-warcraft-iii.142058/

Still not recognising I ever seen this preload calls ever before. Maybe I made the wrong call back then, but that is easy to say, after knowing it was not fixed.

might be a hassle but if you did decide to go this route you could keep the old save system as well, sort of a fail safe. Say your -SLNG would write a txt file and saves litterally everything (upgrades, house items, spirit upgrades, spirit items, ect.) But it would also spit out your basic copy/paste code working as it does now. Inform people in the saving tab of the quest log about the risks involved in the txt save system incase they do decide to patch it and then when loading your game you do as was mentioned earlier, for loading the normal code as is now you type the normal load stuff and your code but for the new system you would type something like -Loadsavefile1 or w/e it needs to be to load the txt document, it might be double redundent but it could save your whole system if you were to swap and then they patched it

No one said that it would change the loading system... It would only store the save code to a file. In the map Sworddragon linked there is no -save <filename> and -load <filename>, just the old -save and -load <code> like ours, with the only difference that the -save also stores the code in a .txt (but I think I've seen code that could save and load from the hard disk).

Sworddragon wrote:Randomly I have found a map which saves its code into a textfile: http://www.epicwar.com/maps/220848/
I have tested this in the Battle.net and it works there too. This way a slot saving mechanic could be implemented for example if you type "-save savefile_1" and in the next game "-load savefile_1" the data in this slot will be loaded. This makes it even possible to store much more things since the user doesn't need to type long and complex codes anymore.

The method he describes is reading that txt document, He's refering to Data in a slot being read, which is not how the system works now. It would change your loading system to run this method of saving
It's worth noting that this is also how he presumes we get around the limit of things that can be saved in our current codes as it no longer generates a wall of text for us, not sure if thats really how it would work in practice though

Storing the data directly in the file is not needed. I was thinking about of just saving the current savecode in a textfile. But I like the idea of a fallback too - a printable short code and a saveable long code.

Ah then I missread, your original post was talking about creating a sort of save file system and not just having the game auto save the copy past code. In that case the current method wouldn't have to change at all and the redundency would just be for in they patched the method to having it save the .txt

With the save file system I was meaning just to add the commands to load and save from a file. Storing just the current code should be the easiest way especially if a future Warcraft 3 patch (if we ever will get a new one) breaks this system. The fallback method will already catch this problem but reverting the system in this case will be an easy task.