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Tick5 Portable Prerelease (Testers needed)

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BuddhaChu
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Tick5 Portable Prerelease (Testers needed)

Tick5 Portable Prerelease

About: Tick5 is an implementation of the board game known as gomoku, omok, piskvorky or wuziqi. With a 15x15 board, Tick5 is an extended version of the Tic-Tac-Toe game. More info...

Homepage: http://tick5.sourceforge.net/

Download:
Tick5_Portable_1.0.0.0-PRERELEASE1.paf.exe
Tick5_Portable_1.0.0.0-PRERELEASE2.paf.exe

Tick5_Portable_1.0-PRERELEASE3.paf.exe

Installed size: ~960KB ~1.07MB now ~1.08MB

Thanks:
Ryan McCue: for helping me get a few kinks worked out via email and some sample code.
John Haller: for the DOSBox Portable and Installer NSI scripts which I used as templates to get this done.

Notes:

  • Game executable was compressed with UPX using LZMA (my default). Hopefully this doesn't cause an issue for anyone. The file mingwm10.dll was not compressed at all because UPX won't compress it and it's only 16KB to begin with.

    Game executable is now compressed with UPX using NRV2E.

  • References to PortableApps.com and PortableApps were left in the NSI script according to what Ryan told me was "good-2-go". If there's issues with it, let me know. I could care less about "claiming ownership" of this portable app so I don't need the ego boost of rebranding the whole thing. Just my name in there is fine by me.

    References sorted.

  • Prerelease 3:
    Added an appinfo.ini
    Fixed ExecWait line in code (Thanx Ryan...I RTFMed the help file and now it makes sense)
    Shortened the app version # to the more correct "1.0" from "1.0.0.0"

  • Adding polish:
    Moved files into new \Other\Source directory structure
    Mandatory help.html file finished and up for review

TODO:

  • Replace temp splash with a *real* splash screen (no comments from the peanut gallery about the current splash. My MSPaint skillz > yours :D)
  • Replace the NSIS arrow.bmp used to fill in for wizard.bmp - this should happen when John releases the "community helper pack" (the name I just made up for it...not the official name)
Ryan McCue
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Forgot to mention

Great domain name Smile

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

BuddhaChu
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What can I say...

...I'm a gamer. Biggrin

BTW: Thanx for your tip on using the DOSBox portable installer script. For some reason I started from scratch with it and it "just worked" where yesterday I keep getting an error on the following line:

!insertmacro MUI_LANGUAGE "English"

Maybe sleeping between trys helped. Biggrin

Also, the directory structure for the installer worked great and it "clicked" in my brain after you laid it out for me that basically you just copy your MyAppPortable dir to the directory with the installer script & wizard.bmp and just rename the dir from \MyAppPortable to \Files ...that's it!

BTW: I still haven't beat this game yet! :mad: Where's the dumb AI script at?

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Ryan McCue
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Hehe

I keep getting an error on the following line
Probably something to do with the fact that the line !include "MUI.nsh" might have been missing from a rough guess.

Yeh, I would have said that, but laying it out also showed that you needed an appicon.ico and appinfo.ini

That is the worst (best) AI I've ever seen (for an open source, cheap ass game). Must. Beat. AI. Blum

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

BuddhaChu
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I don't have an appinfo.ini

I don't have an appinfo.ini and the installer compiled fine. Do I need to add one to the same dir as the appicon.ico for future compatibility sake?

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Ryan McCue
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Well,

The installer doesn't require it, but it's needed for full PAF compatibility.

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

John T. Haller
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Next Steps

1. You need to put my copyright back. You can't remove it. The proper way to display copyright is to add your own after the existing one. In this case is:

;Copyright (C) 2004-2007 John T. Haller
;Copyright (C) 2007 Jim "BuddhaChu" McMorris

2. Be sure you fully test with LZMA as I've found it slower, requires more memory and is more likely to introduce problems than NRV2E. I've actually found a few apps that work with NRV2E or NRV2D but fail to run properly with LZMA. In short, LZMA should be used sparingly and with caution... and only if there is a genuine gain in file size.

3. You can't just copy back and forth to the USERPROFILE as an existing set of prefs will be messed up (if you're deleting) or used (if you're not). Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a commandline switch for doing otherwise (I skimmed the code a little) so you'll need to backup the local one, copy in the portable one, run it, copy it back to portable, restore the local. And you'll need to check for secondary launches (several of my apps do).

4. I can make ya a real PA splash when it's ready for prime time.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

BuddhaChu
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Rgr that on all points

/me shakes fist @ Ryan for the advice on #1 above. ( Wink j/k) (Might be a lesson learned for more people than just me so no big whoop.)

The first two are simple fixes and good advice. I'll try to reverse engineer another PA script to get #3 sorted. Any pointers to one in particular so I don't have to read them all?

Thanks for the splash offer. I'll definitely take you (or someone else) up on that after the package is good-2-go considering the current splash *really* is the extent of my graphics/drawing ability...it's that horrible.

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Ryan McCue
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Hehe.

I did say to add it, not change it Blum

#3 is easy, it's just another IfFileExists and Rename. You should be able to work it out, if not, my email is always open Smile

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

BuddhaChu
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3 outta 4 issues sorted

1, 2, and 3b are sorted (3b was a typo...I was checking if 'tick5.exe' was running - not 'tick5gui.exe'. Doh!).

I'm taking a break as I've stared @ this screen too much today. I'll attempt to code issue 3a later tonight or tomorrow. I have the pseudo code worked out in my head. I just have to translate that into the scripting language.

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BuddhaChu
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New file available for download above

Issue 3a is now sorted, but probably over-engineered since I couldn't find a sample to reverse engineer and had to figure out the NSI syntax and nuances. Ugh!

I can't find a reason to include an appinfo.ini file...so I didn't. I don't know where the info is used so I can't reverse engineer it all. Someone is going to have to explain the purpose of that file to me for me to "get it".

Grab prerelease2 and give it a go please!

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Ryan McCue
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Well,

The appinfo.ini files aren't currently used but will be in a future version of the menu/platform. They basically provide information on the app at hand, like name, executable, version, file size and description.

You can get an example from any of the recent apps. I'd recommend Pencil Portable because it's relatively small.

Also, your script looks fine except

ExecWait `$EXEDIR\App\Tick5\tick5gui.exe`

should be changed to

ExecWait `"$EXEDIR\App\Tick5\tick5gui.exe"`

And you don't need all those Gotos, you only need them if you're jumping over code.

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

BuddhaChu
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Prerelease3

Prerelease 3 is done. See notes above for info and the download link.

This *should* be the last release (famous last words...*crosses fingers*) except for swapping two of the graphics used.

Ryan: I really don't know where this app is going to end up or "fit in" (if at all) so in appinfo.ini I set the following:

Homepage=PortableApps.com

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Patrick Patience
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Slash Name Portable

Just write PortableApps.com/TickPortable, I'm sure that will be the standard for All applications here because it just redirects to the actual home page.

BuddhaChu
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Ready for "prime time"?

I've had 25 downloads of this app since pre 3 was released. No issues I take it? Ready for "prime time"?

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John T. Haller
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Pre-Release?

Wanna take it to pre-release territory? I'm just about done with the new installers and splashes, so you'll be able to this week.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

BuddhaChu
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ready, willing, able

I really don't know what that means. I'm willing to test out the new stuff if you'll let me. I happen to on vacation the rest of the week so I'll be home a lot more.

Since Ryan mentioned the new "standard" to put stuff in \Other\Source I've done that. I'm "missing" a readme.txt and help.htm file...do I need those? I REALLY hate typing up docs since I'm forced to do just that for work and it's tedious. If I have to though, I'll suck it up and git-r-done.

I could use that splash screen now. If I could pick one, I'd like to see the green bar at the bottom from NeoRame's sampler pack used ("green"..."games"). Of course, I can't find the post or link to the alternate colored splash screen and I can't even find them on my hard drive. Sad

EDIT: Ahh...it sunk in. Biggrin Yes, I'll test out the new stuff when you make it available later in the week.

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John T. Haller
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PortableApps.com Format

You have to have a help.html in the base directory, appinfo and appicon in the AppInfo directory, etc in order for it to be PortableApps.com Format. And I'll have a new splash out this week. You can't redistribute anything using NeoRame's splashes as they are unofficial.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

BuddhaChu
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Rgr that

I'll use the DOSBoxPortable help.html as a guide. Should I sign up for a Sourceforge acct so there's a place to put this app and then link to that in the help.html? I'm a little confused on how an app becomes an "official" app on PortableApps.com like a couple of Ryan's have done.

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BuddhaChu
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help.html file

Mandatory help.html file finished and up for review.

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NeoRame
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Tutorial ;-)

my Splash is costumizable.
in my Packege is a splash.PSD (use Photoshop or Gimp). select layer, called "Tab"; double click on it and adit the color. look here:

Example

greetz
NeoRame

Hell was full, so I came back!!!
Sorry for my lousy English!!!

BuddhaChu
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That's an excellent

That's an excellent screenie, but is there a way to show the same thing but only in GIMP? I've already mentioned my lack of graphics ability above and don't own/use Photoshop.

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Ryan McCue
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But...

GIMP supports .PSD files Pardon

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BuddhaChu
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Is that a question?

Of course GIMP supports .psd files. How else is it supposed to replace Photoshop and take over the graphics world.

MUHAHAHAHA! :evil:

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Ryan McCue
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Not what I meant

What I meant was, why don't you just open the PSD in GIMP?

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BuddhaChu
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u talkin' to me?

Well, I don't know if you're talking to me or NeoRame, but if it's me, I did open it in GIMP and can't get the layer I want to take on a green gradient. I can make it turn green, but that's it. There's no tutorials on the GIMP site to tell you how to apply a gradient either (I checked). No, I'm not using Google.

Just talking about the GIMP makes me angry. I HATE all graphics programs. MSPaint sux, but it's "my speed".

EDIT: Never mind...I figured it out. I still hate the GIMP though. Wink

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John Bentley
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Paint.NET

Try Paint.NET. It is by far the best free graphics editor. Easier than Paint IMO. It isn't portable, but still.

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John T. Haller
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Partially

It doesn't support several things from Photoshop:

- Text doesn't import correctly (at least from my PS CS2 files) so you're left with raster layers
- Layer groups are lost
- Layer effects (drop shadow, inner glow, etc) are lost

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Ah HA!

That would explain why I can't edit the text in NeoRame's sample splash screen. I thought it was something I was doing wrong.

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Ryan McCue
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Meh

I personally just use SVGs. Open standards all the way!

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Hate the computer, Like the Game

Despite my hatred towards the computer player, I do like the game & it almost seems ready for a public release.

The only suggestion I have on the game side would be to add the standard menu-bar. That way, people won't have to fumble around with the toolbar to find the command they want (like options or new game).

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Tested

and I just can say that I like it...

I don't know anything about registry entries and other stuff so consider my opinion the one of a simple user... Wink

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
and the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
and the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
then the socket packet pocket has an error to report Biggrin

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