Don't save maps under user directory!!!!!
Post ideas and suggestions on new features or improvements here.
posted on June 7th, 2011, 7:04 pm
Having gotten back into map editing, I'm looking around the (slightly) new interface and for the most part, I like it. I have only one problem with it.
I do NOT, I repeat DO NOT want Fleet Ops to save my maps under "userdirapplication dataStar Trek Armada II Fleet Operationsbzn"
I need to reach that folder to save minimap pictures, and physically move files around to make backups! I understand that storing data in user directories is considered the future of personal computing, but as a hands-on user I absolutely can't stand it. When I tell my friends about the game I want to be able to copy/paste my map folder onto a flash drive and give it to them, and I want all my maps to be in 1 folder, under the Fleet Ops directory. If I had my way, I would say store EVERYTHING under the game directory, but the other stuff like savegames is less of a priority for me.
Please, devs, make the game store maps in only 1 directory. It's needlessly complicated this way and only causes problems if I happen to be logged in under another account and can't see some of my maps!!! If you don't want to I understand, but in that case is there a settings file I can modify myself that will make just my game save maps the old way?
I do NOT, I repeat DO NOT want Fleet Ops to save my maps under "userdirapplication dataStar Trek Armada II Fleet Operationsbzn"
I need to reach that folder to save minimap pictures, and physically move files around to make backups! I understand that storing data in user directories is considered the future of personal computing, but as a hands-on user I absolutely can't stand it. When I tell my friends about the game I want to be able to copy/paste my map folder onto a flash drive and give it to them, and I want all my maps to be in 1 folder, under the Fleet Ops directory. If I had my way, I would say store EVERYTHING under the game directory, but the other stuff like savegames is less of a priority for me.
Please, devs, make the game store maps in only 1 directory. It's needlessly complicated this way and only causes problems if I happen to be logged in under another account and can't see some of my maps!!! If you don't want to I understand, but in that case is there a settings file I can modify myself that will make just my game save maps the old way?
posted on June 7th, 2011, 7:14 pm
i think the idea of having it this way is because newer versions of windows whine and moan about users accessing program files. who knows what silly "features" m$ has planned to make windoze even more nasty about this. i think for compatbility reasons it has to stay like this.
if u want you can write a batch file to copy the contents of the appdata bzn folder to the fleetops bzn folder, then just have the file execute at some schedule, or click it yourself. you will probably need uac off for this to work.
if u want you can write a batch file to copy the contents of the appdata bzn folder to the fleetops bzn folder, then just have the file execute at some schedule, or click it yourself. you will probably need uac off for this to work.
posted on June 7th, 2011, 7:27 pm
I feel the same way you do Tryptic but, they're not gonna do it plain and simple. Plus it keeps the stock and custom maps seperate though only outside the game.And therefore prevents newbs from c+p over stock maps with older versions but thats it really.
posted on June 7th, 2011, 10:21 pm
It's a bad move saving it on your main drive, as I am one that reinstalls to fix a problem and have it set up that only windows and programs like winrar, OpenOffice etc to be installed on the C drive. In a 12 month period I can reinstall like 6 times depending on the issues and how absolutely useless Windows is.
All my important stuff are on other hard-drives, a partitioned 2TB drive. I would like it to go back to the way it was with saving maps in the Armada/FO directory or at least have an option to choose which spot the player prefers.
All my important stuff are on other hard-drives, a partitioned 2TB drive. I would like it to go back to the way it was with saving maps in the Armada/FO directory or at least have an option to choose which spot the player prefers.
posted on June 7th, 2011, 10:58 pm
i think it is was a necessary move. since late 2006 windows by default works with UAC more or less preventing programs from writing to the program files directory. even before that in the win2000 and xp guidelines ms strongly recommended not to write to the program files directory. armada 2 was designed with win98 as main target platform in mind, where this was not an issue.
for a reason today all games (or applications in general) do write their settings and content to the user directory, so i think there is more to backup besides armada maps when formatting.
so now fleet operations saves downloaded and custom maps to the user directory, as it does with savegames, settings and screenshots since 3.0. i know it's a change, but i think experienced modders should have no problem handling that. you can move modified maps from the user dir to the armada directory anytime. currently there are no plans to revert or change this. i hope you understand why this was necessary.
for a reason today all games (or applications in general) do write their settings and content to the user directory, so i think there is more to backup besides armada maps when formatting.
so now fleet operations saves downloaded and custom maps to the user directory, as it does with savegames, settings and screenshots since 3.0. i know it's a change, but i think experienced modders should have no problem handling that. you can move modified maps from the user dir to the armada directory anytime. currently there are no plans to revert or change this. i hope you understand why this was necessary.
posted on June 7th, 2011, 11:11 pm
*sigh* okay. I still think it's ridiculous though, if people have UAC on then it'll write to a user directory on its own. There's no need to have the game do that on its own.
Majestic hit the nail on the head. As a rule I run my computers with UAC off and all my data on the D partition, with the C partition just big enough to hold Windows and anything that absolutely refuses to go on the D partition (unfortunately I'm adding Fleet Ops to that miserable list now, it looks like.
This is because I dual-boot Linux from a third partition. I only use it when my college work requires a program that runs slowly or is non-compatible with Windows, but I want to have it linked to all the same data as my Windows install.
This is by no means a necessary move for Fleet Ops to make. For a community like this one it is much more convenient to check, "Run this program as an administrator" than to bow down to a bad standard that in theory caters to the computer illiterate at the expense of annoying people who actually know how their computer works. If it weren't for poor design decisions like this one, Microsoft wouldn't be losing so much of the Computer Science Student market share to Mac and Linux!
Majestic hit the nail on the head. As a rule I run my computers with UAC off and all my data on the D partition, with the C partition just big enough to hold Windows and anything that absolutely refuses to go on the D partition (unfortunately I'm adding Fleet Ops to that miserable list now, it looks like.
This is because I dual-boot Linux from a third partition. I only use it when my college work requires a program that runs slowly or is non-compatible with Windows, but I want to have it linked to all the same data as my Windows install.
This is by no means a necessary move for Fleet Ops to make. For a community like this one it is much more convenient to check, "Run this program as an administrator" than to bow down to a bad standard that in theory caters to the computer illiterate at the expense of annoying people who actually know how their computer works. If it weren't for poor design decisions like this one, Microsoft wouldn't be losing so much of the Computer Science Student market share to Mac and Linux!
posted on June 8th, 2011, 6:50 am
hm. as all user created maps are saved and downloaded to the user directory, and all maps in the games directory are included in the FO setup, you do only have to backup one folder. Its actually easier, as you can backup savegames, settings, maps and the like with just a single folder to copy.
posted on June 8th, 2011, 9:22 am
Last edited by Zebh on June 8th, 2011, 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
If you really want to use the Data/bzn in the install directory instead of the user directory I think you do that by using a symbolic link.
posted on June 8th, 2011, 11:00 am
Zebh, I actually have a friend who uses that trick for his steam game content when he runs out of space on his OS drive. So yeah, symbolic linking should work a treat.
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