Introducing: SEADS 3.0

New Version 3.0 Released

From now on, new updates, releases, and information will be made available at the following link:

http://code.google.com/p/seads/

Thanks,
Mo_Steel

Fallout Character Editor BETA2.1

New Version BETA2.1 Released

Download Links:

Fallout3Nexus

FileFactory

What is the Fallout Character Editor?

The Fallout Character Editor is a simple program that allows users to easily edit a character in Fallout 3.

Currently supported features include changing SPECIAL stats, Skills, Karma and giving Caps.

Current Version: BETA2.1 (Updated August 19, 2009).

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How to Use FCE
-------------------------

**WARNING: DO NOT USE THE FCE WHILE WEARING ANY EQUIPMENT OR UNDER THE EFFECTS OF ANY STAT OR SKILL CHANGES, OR THE VALUES WILL NOT BE PROPERLY SETUP. BE SURE TO REMOVE ALL EQUIPMENT AND STATUS EFFECTS PRIOR TO STEP #5.

1. Run the Fallout Character Editor .exe.
2. Select the values you want to change (SPECIAL, Skills, and Misc.)
3. When you're ready, click "SAVE".
4. Close FCE, start up Fallout 3 and load a save.
5. Open the console and type "bat text" WITHOUT QUOTATION MARKS.
6. The text file should be run, modifying all the apropriate stats, skills, and misc.

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Feedback
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Got questions, suggestions, or bugs? I can be reached a number of ways:

On Fallout3Nexus - http://...members/index.php?id=1354940
On Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/mookalokka
On Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/mo_steel
On Gmail - sedsfeedback AT gmail DOT com


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CHANGELOG
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Version BETA2.1:
-Attempted fix for Windows 32-Bit OSes

Version BETA2:
-Added Skill adjusters
-Added Misc. adjusters
-Added Menu Bar (currently non-functional)
-Added Selectable sections
-Added README.txt file

Version BETA1:
-Program Created
-Added SPECIAL adjusters

The Source Engine Demo Saver Version 2.2

New Version 2.2 Released

Download Links:

FileFactory

L4Dmods.com

Freewebs Mirror

What is the Source Engine Demo Saver?

The Source Engine Demo Saver (or S.E.D.S. for short) is a small program to help users record, save, rename, and sort Source game demo recordings (.DEM). By simplifying the process of saving demo files, the Source Engine Demo Saver makes it easy to create Source game demos while minimizing the risk of overwriting older demo files.

Current Version: 2.2 (Updated June 24, 2009).

Currently Supported Games:

• Left 4 Dead
• Team Fortress 2
• Garry's Mod
• Counter-Strike: Source
• Day of Defeat: Source

Version 2.2 Notes:
New Features 
*Added CS:S and DOD:S to the games supported by S.E.D.S.
*Installation Menu now gives more information about what games S.E.D.S. was installed for. 
*The recording keybind is now customizable by the user through a drop-down menu in Customize Settings.
*Users can now add new games to the S.E.D.S. after the initial installation by using the Add Games menu.
*Error boxes updated throughout the program.

Other Changes 
*Help File has been revamped again to reflect changes; now with more information on customization, new features, and watching demos.
*Various minor UI changes to enforce uniformity within the program.

Feedback

If you have any suggestions, questions, or encounter any bugs, please let me know right away. Post here, or send me an email at sedsfeedback@gmail.com. Additional features are planned to be added in the future, so be sure to check back.

Progress Update - Version 2.2

Version 2.2 is coming along nicely, if a bit interrupted by the recently released game Prototype. New features will include an expanded list of compatible games, improved help file information and usability, more customization features and more.

Barring any bugs, Version 2.2 may be the last version in the Version 2 line. I've got some big features planned for a relaunch again for Version 3, but a lot of work to do in testing it, so stay tuned.

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Reach me at sedsfeedback@gmail.com. Thanks for all your support.

~Mo_Steel

Under The Hood: Building S.E.D.S. 2.0 (Part 3)

Slightly delayed by real-life and coding roadblocks, but progress is now started on some new features for Version 2.2 of the S.E.D.S.;For now, we continue with observations on the development process by looking "Under The Hood". This time, we'll look at some of the final touches that went into Version 2.0 and carried over to Version 2.1.

Part 3 - PEBKAC, Files, and Finishing Touches

While I was doing the last segments of coding to get Version 2.0 into working order, I had to add a few more "extra" aspects to the project to make it worthwhile and useful for other users, many of whom I didn't know and would never speak to directly.

~PEBKAC and the Help File~

PEBKAC is a persistent problem in all fields of computer-related technology; it stands for "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair" (i.e. the user of the program). As troubleshooting goes, PEBKAC is a real issue but one that can be difficult to address. If you code for the lowest common denominator, you might sacrifice flexibility for usability; if you code for the most proficient computer user around, you give out a powerful tool that only a few can use properly.

I encountered a lot of these problems with earliers versions of the S.E.D.S., where the interface was far from intuitive. Console-applications require a lot more legwork on the user end where thinking and acting is involved. Part of the coding I added to S.E.D.S. 2.0 was to help prevent PEBKAC where possible; things like users leaving fields empty that needed values. Ultimately though, I wasn't going to be around to help walk users through every problem, so I got to work implementing the next best alternative: the Help file.

Click the image for full-size.

The Help File allowed me to relay information about the program to every user who downloaded the program. Details about installation, recording programs, and where to send feedback and bug reports was included. As I update S.E.D.S. the Help file will continue to be updated to reflect new information and help avoid PEBKAC problems.

~Inside the seds.cfg File~

Initially in the development of the S.E.D.S., I made use of the autoexec.cfg file that is used by Source games to implement code at the start of each game. After a few versions and more exposure to individuals beyond myself, I recognized a few problems with this setup. First, the autoexec.cfg has other uses besides S.E.D.S., causing unnecessary clutter; second, if I ever changed the cfg file I included for recording it would cause problems for users.

To solve this problem I created a new cfg file: seds.cfg. The only change I would need to make to the autoexec.cfg file now would be a one line call to run the seds.cfg file; any changes I made in successive iterations would be harmless to users who made use of the autoexec.cfg file for other functions, and it would be far less cluttered.

The seds.cfg file uses a simple set of alias commands to increment up to 50 recorded demos. Fifty is by no means the maximum possible, but most of the time after hours of play I would not even pass by 10 recordings, and the user could reset the recordings by simply exiting, saving, and rejoining.

One aspect of the cfg file that changed was that instead of using each numpad key 1-9 to record an individual demo file, it instead increments them. The advantages of this are that the user needs only one keybind to record any new demo, and that users could go above only 10 demos if so desired. The disadvantage is that the counter resets on each game exit, meaning users could risk overwriting old demos if they don't save them with the program before recording again.

Ultimately, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages and the new design was implemented. Without seds.cfg, the ease of recording isn't possible, requiring users to open the console to record demos.

~Finishing Touches~

Some finishing touches remained just before release. I did some extra testing beyond the normal operating functions of the program, as well as installing and reinstalling the program multiple times over to test reinstallation. One of the last finishing touches was a simple icon for the program EXE file to give it some uniqueness on a desktop or in a folder.

~
~

Hopefully "Under The Hood" has helped give users of S.E.D.S. a better understanding of program itself, as well as the development and planning process I used to put it together. Future posts may be put together for more "Under The Hood" on any new functions or features that get added to help illuminate them. As always, please send any questions, bug reports, concerns or suggestions to sedsfeedback@gmail.com, and keep an eye out here for the next release version sometime this month.

The Source Engine Demo Saver Version 2.1

New Version 2.1 Released

Download Links:

FileFactory

L4Dmods.com

What is the Source Engine Demo Saver?

The Source Engine Demo Saver (or S.E.D.S. for short) is a small program to help users record, save, rename, and sort Source game demo recordings (.DEM). By simplifying the process of saving demo files, the Source Engine Demo Saver makes it easy to create Source game demos while minimizing the risk of overwriting older demo files.

Current Version: 2.1 (Updated May 27, 2009).

Currently Supported Games:

• Team Fortress 2
• Left 4 Dead
• Garry's Mod

Instructions

Installation

When you first start the Source Engine Demo Saver, the Setup menu will appear automatically. First, enter your Steam Account Name into the text box. If you're unsure of your Steam Account Name, you can check it by opening Steam and selecting File > Settings, then click on the Account tab. Second, select all the games you want to use with S.E.D.S. Verify the information you have entered and selected is correct, then click on "Install Now" to install S.E.D.S.

Once installation has completed, the "Installation completed." message box will appear. Click "OK" to close the program.

Installation Instructions can be found inside the Help Contents (sedsHelp.chm) under "Introduction" > "Installing the Source Engine Demo Saver".


Recording & Saving

Recording demos with S.E.D.S. is only a keystroke away. Simply start a game with S.E.D.S. installed, join a server, and then press the NUMPAD_ENTER key to begin recording your first demo. A message will appear in chat telling you which demo file is being recorded to. If you want to start a new demo recording, you simply press the NUMPAD_ENTER key again to automatically begin a new demo. The Source Engine automatically makes a new demo each time a map changes, but not when you switch servers, so be sure to start a new demo recording for each server you join.

After you exit the game, simply run the Source Engine Demo Saver, check the boxes for the games you want to use the S.E.D.S. to save, and click on the "Save Demos" button. Your demos have now been saved to a "saved_demos'date'" folder in the game directory.

Recording & Saving Instructions can be found inside the Help Contents (sedsHelp.chm) under "Tutorials" > "Recording and Saving My First Demo".

Feedback

If you have any suggestions, questions, or encounter any bugs, please let me know right away. Post here, or send me an email at sedsfeedback@gmail.com. Additional features are planned to be added in the future, so be sure to check back.

Under The Hood: Building S.E.D.S. 2.0 (Part 2)

Work continues on the next version of the Source Engine Demo Saver; in the meantime, I continue to give a look "Under The Hood" at the process of putting the program together. Today, we dive headfirst into the shallow end of Visual C#.

Part 2 - S.E.D.S. + C# in 10 Days or Less

After looking into VBasic and C++, I ended up settling on Visual C#. I started putting together S.E.D.S. 2.0 in C# on April 17th, 2009 using the Express Edition. S.E.D.S. 2.0 was released on April 25th, 8 days later. My understanding of coding being rather simplistic, I did a bit of looking around online, read some documents, and then sat down to write out the goals I wanted the program to achieve and the methods by which to achieve them. For example, I needed the S.E.D.S. to grab the demo files in a specified directory, rename them, and move them to a new directory with the current date. That's the goal, and the methodology for achieving it I wrote as follows:

User-Specifies Directory (USD) > Find USD > Find ".dem" files in USD > Find Current Date > Create Directory w/Current Date IF Needed > Move ".dem" files to Dated Directory > Find Current Time > Rename ".dem" files with Current Time

From this point, I set out to learn how to perform each step and then put it all together. MSDN was probably the most useful resource, but because my understanding of even the basic lingo was lacking, Google was used often to fill in gaps or view examples of code for modification and implementation of existing functions. In the end, Version 2.0 made use of this primary code block to save demos:

Click the image for full-size.

My coding is probably sloppy in places; such is the fate of most amateur workings, but I hope to improve upon it. More importantly for me was that it was functional; it achieved my goals in what was fairly simple. Even though it had looked very confusing on the outside, learning to work in Visual C# wasn't quite so daunting after I had taken the dive in.

Another great thing about working in Visual C# was making use of Windows Forms. It functions and looks much better than the original console version of the S.E.D.S. did. After getting the core aspects of it working, I set out to put together an installer to get the needed files ready for saving:

The above is the Version 2.0 installer; I hope to reinvent it in the next publicly released version to be a bit more flexible. The function of the installer will also be improved upon. The tasks the Installer sets out to work on are adding a line to the autoexec.cfg file that calls for the seds.cfg file, and to copy the program seds.cfg file to the "cfg" directory for the chosen games. This prevents the S.E.D.S. from overwriting user autoexec files (many people use their autoexec for other things, myself included) while still allowing me to update the seds.cfg in future editions for better functionality (which is also coming down the pipes with the next version).

Join me next time as we look at preventing and fixing the PEBKAC with a Help File, a look at the seds.cfg file in 2.0, and a coat of paint on S.E.D.S. 2.0.

Continued in Part 3 - PEBKAC, Files, and Finishing Touches

Under The Hood: Building S.E.D.S. 2.0 (Part 1)

While I begin work on some new functionality for the Source Engine Demo Saver, I thought I'd take a bit of time to explain how it came to be, how it works, and where I intend to make improvements and additions from here.  The year was 1967; the place, Arizona- wait, wrong story...

Part 1 - The TF2 Demo Saver and Growing Pains

The Source Engine Demo Saver originated from two problems, both ultimately related to my enjoyment with making gameplay videos.  The first was that it was annoying to have to remember what I named demos to prevent overwriting them; the second was that my clanmates weren't saving demos, and I wanted multiple perspectives for video making.  Even if I convinced them to save demos, it was tricky for me to sort them out since everyone named and sorted them differently.

The first iteration was the TF2 Demo Saver, a proof of concept Batch File program and autoexec.cfg file.  It was functional, but barely and very unintuitive.  Version 1.0 had ten keybinds for recording (1-9 and 0 on the Numpad) and was only capable of backing up those explicit files, so a new demo had to be started every map.

I quickly found this setup to be cumbersome and inelegant, so I set out to make improvements.  Trial and error and a good dose of Google filled in the gaps of my knowledge on batch files and coding and in a week of updates, changes, and whole segments of recoding, I had built the TF2 Demo Saver into a new beast, the Source Engine Demo Saver V1.5:

Version 1.5 had a vast amount of improvements over prior versions.  The first was an Installer Batch File to simplify setup, as my presence was often almost required to help figure out how to get it ready to use before this point.  Another addition was a detailed Readme file, which had been included in some prior versions as well.  Left 4 Dead was added as a Supported Game in Version 1.4, an easy task once the code was in place.    Instead of an autoexec.cfg file, S.E.D.S. now had a dedicated cfg file for itself, and added a call to the autoexec.cfg; and keybinds 1-9 and 0 were replaced with an alias setup using only the numpad Enter key.  It even let users set a directory for S.E.D.S. to look for Steam that wasn't one of the default install paths.

I was very pleased with 1.5; it worked well, was easy enough to use and setup, and seemed to work.  Once I completed 1.5 I encountered a problem though.  Batch files are limited in flexibility, and there's only so much you can do.  If there was a problem in the coding, batch files weren't throwing much of an exception to go by, so it was a lot of scouring for the problem.  Finally, it lacked in appearance.  Certain I could do more with the program and interested in learning some programming, I looked around.  Visual Basic looked interesting.  I had done some C++ back in High School, but most of it was forgotten to me and C++ looked daunting now.  I had heard of C# before, and decided to see what all the hullabaloo was about with some Visual C#...

Continued in Part 2 -S.E.D.S. + C# in 10 Days or Less

The Source Engine Demo Saver Version 2.0

What is the Source Engine Demo Saver?

The Source Engine Demo Saver (or S.E.D.S. for short) is a small program to help users record, save, rename, and sort Source game demo recordings (.DEM). By simplifying the process of saving demo files, the Source Engine Demo Saver makes it easy to create Source game demos while minimizing the risk of overwriting older demo files.

Current Version: 2.0 (Updated April 24, 2009).

Currently Supported Games:

• Team Fortress 2
• Left 4 Dead
• Garry's Mod

Download Links:

S.E.D.S. can be downloaded from multiple locations:

FPSBanana

L4DMods

Instructions

Installation

When you first start the Source Engine Demo Saver, the Setup menu will appear automatically. First, enter your Steam Account Name into the text box. If you're unsure of your Steam Account Name, you can check it by opening Steam and selecting File > Settings, then click on the Account tab. Second, select all the games you want to use with S.E.D.S. Verify the information you have entered and selected is correct, then click on "Install Now" to install S.E.D.S.

Once installation has completed, the "Installation completed." message box will appear. Click "OK" to close the program.

Installation Instructions can be found inside the Help Contents (sedsHelp.chm) under "Introduction" > "Installing the Source Engine Demo Saver".


Recording & Saving

Recording demos with S.E.D.S. is only a keystroke away. Simply start a game with S.E.D.S. installed, join a server, and then press the NUMPAD_ENTER key to begin recording your first demo. A message will appear in chat telling you which demo file is being recorded to. If you want to start a new demo recording, you simply press the NUMPAD_ENTER key again to automatically begin a new demo. The Source Engine automatically makes a new demo each time a map changes, but not when you switch servers, so be sure to start a new demo recording for each server you join.

After you exit the game, simply run the Source Engine Demo Saver, check the boxes for the games you want to use the S.E.D.S. to save, and click on the "Save Demos" button. Your demos have now been saved to a "saved_demos'date'" folder in the game directory.

Recording & Saving Instructions can be found inside the Help Contents (sedsHelp.chm) under "Tutorials" > "Recording and Saving My First Demo".

Feedback

If you have any suggestions, questions, or encounter any bugs, please let me know right away. Post here, or send me an email at sedsfeedback@gmail.com. Additional features are planned to be added in the future, so be sure to check back.