Jump to content
LaunchBox Community Forums

ExoDOS Import


Jason Carr

Recommended Posts

That is actually not the console window. If you remove the "-noconsole" line from the launch batch and run it again you will see a third window pop open. The window you are referring too is windows running the batch file.

I have looked into ways to hide it, but so far, none of the native options have worked.

Ironically, a few days ago I did discover a program (setconsole.exe) that can be called from within a batch file to force it to minimize. For this to work though, I have to have every launch file edited to include this line and then have the file placed in the util directory of exodos. This in itself is not a difficult task using the proper find and replace tools, however, short of re-releasing the Adventure and RPG packs, I'm not sure how I could go about adding this fix to those packs as well..... I could potentially write a patch that overwrites all the old launch files. I just have to come up with a few logic checks to first see if the user has downloaded the adventure or rpg packs, and then have it run the patch based on that condition.....

I'll look into it and see what I can do. If I get it working, I'll make it so the Strategy pack is already fixed and has the capability of going back to fix the adventure and rpg packs.

 

If I ever do eXoDOS updates again after this, I'm just going to release one massive torrent of all 5 packs. This genre splitting thing is tiresome and makes everything more difficult.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, plutonick said:

Quick question, I am trying to get rid of the console window but I can't. In fact I am not sure if it was supposed to be showing in the first place...

 

dosbox.thumb.jpg.dbe704db7edaef44deb39cc821dea7eb.jpg

Press ctrl+enter (or is it alt+enter?) to go full screen with the main game window, at least..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is assuming he wants to play in fullscreen. I know that I usually stick to window mode as I am multitasking on other projects while testing or playing games. Full screen mode is great if thats the only thing you are doing, but it is a real pain to alt-tab to other programs and the monitor has to change resolution, etc...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, eXo said:

That is actually not the console window. If you remove the "-noconsole" line from the launch batch and run it again you will see a third window pop open. The window you are referring too is windows running the batch file.

I have looked into ways to hide it, but so far, none of the native options have worked.

 


It's weird because I already had wizardry in my d-fend reloaded collection and when I load THAT version, there is no second window. I got the game from the http://dos.liquiddoom.net/

 

which is a d-fend repository package (like cydia for d-fend importable games). This mean that they are preconfigured, so I have no clue what they did exactly, but I can copy paste their setting if you'd like (or you can check them yourself)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, plutonick said:


It's weird because I already had wizardry in my d-fend reloaded collection and when I load THAT version, there is no second window. I got the game from the http://dos.liquiddoom.net/

 

which is a d-fend repository package (like cydia for d-fend importable games). This mean that they are preconfigured, so I have no clue what they did exactly, but I can copy paste their setting if you'd like (or you can check them yourself)

not weird. He explained its part of his batch file and thus not even something to do with the game really. He just hasnt found a good way of hiding it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that version is being launched directly and not via a batch file. Anytime you use a batch file, a windows console opens up. I have no way to change my collection to not use batch files. Programs like defend are just that, programs. My entire project is simply batch files designed to run games with conf files I have designed to make the game run well from a front end that has assets and metadata for each game that I've curated. What my project is not is an executable file, as I'm not a coder by trade. My project would have to be an executable to do something like what d-fend does, but that would also mean it would no longer work on linux machines or older systems as it would be dependent on code instead of batch files, and the batch files are fairly universal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, dmjohn0x said:

not weird. He explained its part of his batch file and thus not even something to do with the game really. He just hasnt found a good way of hiding it.

Ah I got it. You mean that the OTHER version runs no batch file so there is no need for a second window in the first place?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

correct. The program itself (d-fend.exe or whatever) is calling dosbox and providing the parameters to define the conf file and such. In my case, the batch file is calling dosbox, which means you get a windows console. If you install the game and select fullscreen, you'll never see this console window. It's only in window mode it is visible.

Edited by eXo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you manually close the window the only negative impact is you may find the files "stdout.txt" and "stderr.txt" in your exodos folder. These files are created by the SVN versions of DOSbox and the console window (which is a visual representation of the batch file) goes and deletes these after the game exits. They don't hurt anything being there, but I just like keeping things clean, so my files delete anything they create along the way.

You can also minimize the window if you want it out of sight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, dmjohn0x said:

Well, if that is the case, Im not sure why you cant just add exit as a new final line in said batch file?

A: It needs to delete those files after dosbox is launch

B:It won't process any commands after it launches DOSbox until dosbox terminates. So even if I didn't care about the files it creates, it won't process the exit command until you exit the game. Thats why that window is floating there - it's waiting on you to finish.

 

edit: Before any batch savvy folks try to bring this up, I am aware that the "start" command in a batch file will call dosbox and allow the batch file to keep processing. There are two problems with this. First are those irritating files I want my batch file to delete, and the only way to do that is to hang out until dosbox terminates. But more importantly, the "start" command can't seem to handle all the arguments that I have to pass on to dosbox. It expect to start a program, not start a program and pass an entire file path to a conf file along with 3 command line arguments.

Edited by eXo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As mentioned in my first post, I have a solution. It is a file called "setconsole". Implementing it is not difficult, even though it requires an edit of every launch file. The difficulty is finding the best way to write and distribute a patch that fixes the 2 volumes I've already released.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...