WeiDU Install Tool: Call for beta testing, translations and proofreading!

[AL|EN]

Thank you for providing a portable version of the application, that doesn't require java to be installed. If only the same could be true for NI...

[Jarno Mikkola]

1 hour ago, AL|EN said:

Thank you for providing a portable version of the application, that doesn't require java to be installed. If only the same could be true for NI...

Wha... have you tried the other version of the Near Infinity, that doesn't use Java ?

+

[argent77]

1 hour ago, Jarno Mikkola said:

Wha... have you tried the other version of the Near Infinity, that doesn't use Java ?

The installer version installs a self-contained package with a minimal Java Runtime. That's why Java doesn't have to be installed globally on the system.

 

2 hours ago, AL|EN said:

Thank you for providing a portable version of the application, that doesn't require java to be installed. If only the same could be true for NI...

WIT takes advantage of the latest Java features where creating self-contained packages is a (relatively) simple matter. There has been a lot of development going on lately in the Java world after a long time of stagnation.

It's more complicated for NI though, since it is based on a much older Java version and uses an ancient build system. Even creating the installer version requires the use of two different Java Runtime versions presently. But if there is a real need of a portable self-contained package then I can look into it.

[AL|EN]

I wasn't aware that NI is using an ancient build system, if this would take too much effort then forget about it. Still, worth a try.

[argent77]

A new release candidate is available: WeiDU Install Tool v0.10.3

This will probably be the last release candidate before a stable release unless more critical issues are reported.

@suy This release should have fixed the reported mod components parsing error.

Changelog:

• Added option to create debug files of mod installations in a user-defined folder instead of the game directory.
• Added option to auto-apply performance or diagnostic parameters to mod installations:
  • Performance: --quick-log
  • Performance: --safe-exit
  • Diagnostic: --print-backtrace
  • Diagnostic: --debug-ocaml
  • Diagnostic: --debug-boiic
  • Diagnostic: --debug-change
  • Apply user-defined set of parameters
• Fixed issues with mixed-case paths on Linux which resulted in failures to retrieve mod components info.
• Improved parsing of Project Infinity metadata:
  • Added support for C-style comments (//) and Windows-style comments (;)

 

[AL|EN]

When I'm installing the new version, this should not be necessary.

[argent77]

1 hour ago, AL|EN said:

When I'm installing the new version, this should not be necessary.

The Windows installer for WIT is automatically created by the JDK. Unfortunately my options to customize it are very limited. Except for this (unnecessary) dialog the installer should work as expected.

[AL|EN]

@argent77 What's the story with macOS lacking file association? Can't you use CFBundleDocumentTypes or so: Core Foundation Keys (apple.com) ?

[argent77]

2 minutes ago, AL|EN said:

@argent77 What's the story with macOS lacking file association? Can't you use CFBundleDocumentTypes or so: Core Foundation Keys (apple.com) ?

There are two unsolved issues actually.

1) macOS uses a special event-driven method for passing parameters to the app. I couldn't get this method to work, even though it should theoretically be supported (with the caveat of losing system integration like global app menu, etc.)

2) The method for registering file association by the PKG installer doesn't work.

I can't say what prevents the first issue from working. Solving the second issue probably requires an Apple Developer account with signing abilities which costs quite a lot of money and forces me to conform to Apple's app guidelines. That is beyond my experience with macOS (which I can presently only test in a virtual machine).

The lack of file association is certainly inconvenient, but I tried to make it up by providing alternate options, like drag & drop or loading mods directly through open file dialogs.

[AL|EN]

I've expected that you are facing some kind of non-trivial issues with this, thanks for letting me know.

[argent77]

The second issue is actually the lesser of the two since file associations can also be set up manually by the user.

Edited November 4, 2023 by argent77

[AL|EN]

it seems that WIT can't download weidu on the newest macOS unless it's moved into "Application" folder in Finder:

 

This is how Apple is doing things: an application downloaded from the internet must be moved by the user, otherwise it has not access to it's 'Package content' aka files laying directly where the executable is.

I suggest you add some folder check during extraction: If macOS version of the app is trying to launch itself from the "Downloads" folder, display a dialog asking to move the app and relaunch.

 

 

[AL|EN]

First-time launch is confusing:

- application is launched
- instead of the main window, the user is present to select a file, at macOS default settings the required file extension (tp2) is hidden from the user interface until the 'kind' option
- no main application window is displayed and the 'file selection dialog' is not always topmost

My suggestion would be first to show the main window to match standard GUI application behavior and then either show the 'file selection dialog' or leave it to the user to click the button.

[argent77]

57 minutes ago, AL|EN said:

This is how Apple is doing things: an application downloaded from the internet must be moved by the user, otherwise it has not access to it's 'Package content' aka files laying directly where the executable is.

I suggest you add some folder check during extraction: If macOS version of the app is trying to launch itself from the "Downloads" folder, display a dialog asking to move the app and relaunch.

The macOS version gives me the biggest headache. Mostly because there is no way to associate file types with the app without signing abilities but also because of the increasing number of restrictions Apple adds to each new macOS version. Moreover my macOS testing capabilities are limited to the version that can still run as VM on my system (currently Monterey).

I'll look into it. In the worst case I have to remove the portable version for macOS.

 

50 minutes ago, AL|EN said:

First-time launch is confusing:

- application is launched
- instead of the main window, the user is present to select a file, at macOS default settings the required file extension (tp2) is hidden from the user interface until the 'kind' option
- no main application window is displayed and the 'file selection dialog' is not always topmost

My suggestion would be first to show the main window to match standard GUI application behavior and then either show the 'file selection dialog' or leave it to the user to click the button.

The Open File dialog was an attempt to quickly choose a mod for installation. But I can see that it might be confusing for the user when it pops up for the first time. I'll see if there is anything that can be improved.