Jedi Knight Patch Commander

Jedi Knight Patch Commander
Version 4.0

Please read this entire file carefully, as well as the Patch FAQ (in the file faq.html) and the Official Patch Commander Home Page (http://www.jediknight.net/commander/), before emailing me with any questions. I tend to ignore questions when the answer is in the docs.

Contents

What's New in Version 4.0?
Standard Disclaimer
Description
Features
Patch Addition and Activation
Patch Repository
Quickstart Jedi Knight
Patch Information
GOB File Creation
Credits

Information

What's New in Version 4.0?

Switch between Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith modes without restarting
Patch Repository window for viewing, downloading, and installing patches from specially-designed web sites
Automatic unzipping and installation of zipped patches
Download and install a patch simply by dragging a link from a web browser
Improved conflict logic, as well as the option to display all conflicts or only conflicts involving active patches
Completely redesigned "Create GOB" window that allows replacing files and property information within existing GOB files.
Quicker Patch List refresh
New Explorer-like button bars and menus

Standard Disclaimer
This add-on utility is provided for personal use. It may be distributed freely, as long as it is not charged for. It is provided without warranty -- use it completely at your own risk. Yada yada yada.

That said, I use it all the time and I think it's pretty cool.
Description
The Jedi Knight Patch Commander will organize all of your GOB-file-based Jedi Knight patches, allowing you to activate and deactivate particular patches and launch Jedi Knight with your desired configuration.
Features
- Support for both Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith
- Use GOB Patches on the Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone
- Quickstart Jedi Knight using the most recent activated options and patches
- Create GOBs from your ungobbed patches
- File-collision checking between patches to avoid conflicts -- automatically deactivates conflicting patches!
- Uses a single directory to store all patches
- Drag-and-drop patch addition
- Reads a special file called PATCHINFO.TXT (if present) from each patch's GOB file to obtain descriptive information about the patch. For details, see the PATCH INFORMATION section below.
- Support for the extended jk.exe command line options
Patch Addition and Activation
In addition to the instructions below, there are menu options, keyboard shortcuts, and toolbar buttons for all the features. I'm just listing the shortcuts. Take a few minutes to explore all the buttons, menu options and right-click context menus.

There are several ways to add new patches to Patch Commander:
1. Drag GOB or ZIP files from Windows Explorer (or WinZIP) into the patch organizer window.
2. Drag a link from Internet Explorer into the patch organizer window.
3. Select File | Add Patch... (or click the Add Patch button in the toolbar)
Note: When you delete a patch from the Patch Commander window, the GOB file is physically removed from the patches directory without a backup. Make sure you have backups of any patches you remove, unless you want them gone for good!

Double-click a patch to toggle its activation status. When a patch is activated, any conflicting patches are deactivated and the icon changes to a "NO" symbol. You can still reactivate the patch -- it'll just deactivate any conflicting patches again.

Use the Options menu to select the desired Jedi Knight command line configuration.

To run the game using your selected patches, click the launch icon in the toolbar, or hit F9.

Happy Patching!
Patch Repository
The Patch Repository allows users to browse, download, and install patches directly from the Internet.
To use the Patch Repository, you must be connected to the Internet. Select Patch | Show Repository Window from the menu, or click the Show/Hide Repository Window button to display the Repository. Select the on-line repository you wish to view from the Location drop-down list. The list can be edited by selecting File | Edit Repository List... from the menu. A separate list is maintained for each game (Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith).
Once the list of patches is displayed, you can select one or more patches to install. You can then install them in several ways:
1. Drag them to the main Patch Commander window
2. Right-click them and click Install
3. Choose File | Install Selected Patches from the menu
Remember, this feature will only work as long as there are people creating and maintaining on-line repositories! To learn how to create your own on-line patch repository for use with Patch Commander, consult the Patch Repository Specs.
Quickstart Jedi Knight
To quickstart the most recent game you played using the most recently activated patches and options, use the Quickstart Jedi Knight icon in the Jedi Knight Patch Commander program group.

Note: When you use the Quickstart option, Patch Commander will run the game corresponding to the last mode you were in when you ran Patch Commander. For example, if you use Patch Commander to manage your Mysteries of the Sith patches, then exit, the next time you choose Quickstart it will run Mysteries of the Sith.
Patch Information
If the GOB file for a patch contains a file called patchinfo.txt (in the GOB file's "root directory"), it will be read and parsed to provide extended patch information in the program. The file format is as follows:

Name=My Cool Patch
Type=Weapon (or Skin, Force Power, Saber, etc.)
Description=This is a free-form description of the patch (which should not contain any carriage returns, since that will confuse the file reader)
Author=Michael B. Klein
[email protected]
Cat's Name=Max

etc...

As you can see, you can include whatever property names and values you want. The important ones (which are used specifically by Patch Commander) are Name, Type, and Description.
GOB File Creation
The Jedi Knight Patch Commander will assist you in the process of making new GOB files out of existing ungobbed patches. It will also automatically create a patchinfo.txt file (described above) for the patch.

To GOB a patch, simply select the File|Create GOB... menu option in Patch Commander. Then, in the Patch Gobber window, use the File menu (or just drag and drop -- great for converting ZIPped patches) to add the required files to the new GOB. Use the grid at the top to specify the patch information. (Bonus: If you drag an existing patchinfo.txt file onto the Gobber window, it will automatically update the grid). To add new properties or delete existing ones, use the Ins and Del keys.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The Gobber window uses a relatively stupid algorithm based on the file extension to decide where to put certain files. For example, all COG files will be put in the "cog\" directory inside the GOB. It gets it right most of the time. However, MAT files can go in either "mat\" or "3do\mat\" depending on what they're used for. The Gobber will default to "3do\mat\" but you can edit the directory name in the grid containing the list of files. If you're confused as to where a file should go, look at the path information in the ZIP file that the patch came in.
Credits
This program was written by Michael B. Klein, during a couple of days when he had lots of other things he should have been doing. Special thanks to Rick Rogers for some technical help, Aristotle of JediKnight.Net for feedback, encouragement, and distribution assistance, DJ Scary for testing and suggestions, Dark Knight of Weegee's Workshop for the included Destruct-O-Ray patch, and to DARKJEDI.COM for information on the GOB file format.

Thanks also to those who use the Patch Commander and have provided bug reports, insights, and suggestions for enhancements. And a big thanks to those of you who voted for Patch Commander for Best Utility in the Darkness Falls Best of 1997 awards.

And, of course, enormous thanks to all the patch authors out there (keep 'em coming!), as well as to LucasArts Entertainment Company for a kickass game!

This program is powered by Delphi!