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Author Topic: Major Request (saved game location)  (Read 6979 times)
Asrial
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Major Request (saved game location)
« on: September 24, 2004, 05:43:09 pm »

About a month ago, I moved my SC2:UQM directory over to my D drive so I could wipe C and re-install XP.

Just a few minutes ago I fire the game up only to realize my saved game is missing.

After some research, I discovered why.

Any chance of changing the saved game location from "C:\Documents and Settings\Asrial\Application Data\uqm\save" to the actual directory of the game itself?
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2004, 09:00:12 pm »

Windows is a multi-user system nowadays (though barely).
%APPDATA%\uqm\ *is* the correct location for user-specific data.

If you really want another location, you'll have to compile the game yourself, though I guess we could add a command-line option to the next release. As a workaround, you could start UQM from a batch file where you first set the APPDATA environment variable to something else.

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Asrial
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2004, 09:47:04 pm »

The trouble is locating/remembering the saved game if you're wanting to wipe Windows.

There's 49 saved game slots, does it really need to be broken down further into the different user profiles for Windows?

Just toss the saved games into a saved game sub-directory under the directory that the uqm.exe is started from.
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2004, 11:08:52 pm »

Microsoft seems to be trying to separate the unchanging program and data files (which can be read-only for anyone but the administrator) from the user-specific changable data files (which can be only accessable to the owner). Even though not much Windows software follows those guidelines, it is still a good idea.
Each user should be able to have his own saved games and config, protected from accidental overwriting by other users. It's not a matter of not having enough save slots.
If you recklessly delete your "Documents and Settings" folder (along with the rest of your C drive), without making a backup, then you've only got yourself to blame. You may yet run into other programs that won't work anymore as they did before.
Also, if you wipe your Windows dir, you're deleting the registry as well, which contains settings for even more programs. If you reinstall Windows, you should really reinstall all applications too. This would mean that any settings and saved games for your games would have to be backed up and put back later. Ideally, if every application would follow the "Application Data" scheme that Microsoft advices, you would only have to save that dir (for all users), instead of the save files for every application individually.
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Asrial
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2004, 03:29:10 am »

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Ideally, if every application would follow the "Application Data" scheme that Microsoft advices, you would only have to save that dir (for all users), instead of the save files for every application individually.

..but they don't Tongue

So do we go with what we're supposed to do or what's normal?

It sounds like you've given this alot of thought so I don't see it changing.  Just need to make sure I check that location for saved games.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2004, 03:29:23 am by Asrial » Logged
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2004, 04:31:55 am »

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So do we go with what we're supposed to do or what's normal?

Actually, I expect that in the future this way will become the norm.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if in the next version of Windows (or the one after that) applications won't even be able to write in their installation dir.

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It sounds like you've given this alot of thought so I don't see it changing.

Neither do I. Smiley

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Just need to make sure I check that location for saved games.

The "Documents and Settings" folder is also where your "My Documents" folder and your desktop is stored. I'd expect that someone who is reinstalling his system might want to save that anyhow.

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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2004, 06:03:48 am »

another nice thought would be if there were a shortcut that could be made and placed in the UQM install dir or elsewhere(part of the install package) that would bring the user to the proper dir.

Something like this file...
windows shortcut to appdata\uqm\ folder.

I don't know if win95/98 will evaluate environment variables like that but winme/2k/xp should.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2004, 06:05:04 am by Profound_Darkness » Logged

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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2004, 07:59:06 am »

Short term, just copy your saved games to the D: drive. Then,
re-install Windows. When you're done, copy the saved game files back into
their old directroy. It isn't pretty, but it'll bookmark your place for now.
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Asrial
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2004, 11:19:59 am »

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The "Documents and Settings" folder is also where your "My Documents" folder and your desktop is stored. I'd expect that someone who is reinstalling his system might want to save that anyhow.

I grab the desktop via the actual DESKTOP area in Explorer and I save nothing in My Documents.

When you have 5 drives @ 684gb with 1.5% free, you tend to place things in other locations... heheh.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2004, 11:40:08 am by Asrial » Logged
Sander Scamper
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2004, 02:27:28 pm »

 Shocked Thats a lot of space.

I think it's silly, and a pain in the ass. There should be a checkable option to turn this on and off. NO-ONE but me uses my computer, so why should I be inconvenienced? =p
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2004, 03:10:41 am »

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Shocked Thats a lot of space.

I think it's silly, and a pain in the ass. There should be a checkable option to turn this on and off. NO-ONE but me uses my computer, so why should I be inconvenienced? =p


Thank microsoft for the new inconvenience.... I too think there should be some way to turn off this new application data storage system (in the operating system).  There isn't though, and chances are in the future we will be even more restricted to what we can and *can't* do with our computers (look up protected computing, it's microsoft's future plan to 'protect' the 'end-user').

Also a reason for this being in since the 9x days is corporations like one place (or a few places) to backup data and they don't want software installed files getting mixed up with settings and user created files.
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2004, 04:41:29 am »

I think you mean "trusted computing". But that's not what this is about. This is about separation of privileges. Multi-user systems have had this for decades, and Windows is only recently beginning to act like one. Separation of privileges is a good thing.
The idea is that different users can have different privileges. Even if you're the only user on your computer, it's still a good idea to have a separate user for the system administration. That way, you can't accidentally screw up your whole system, and the damage that something which exploits a security hole in an application you run as your normal user can do is limited.
Ideally, every system service would run with its own privileges. So if you run a web server, and it is exploited, your private files will  be safe. (But even on modern *nix systems they don't go this far).
You'd still have total control over your computer; you can always log in as Administrator/root/supervisor. I'd say even more so, as you have the power restrict what your programs can do.

The thing with Trusted Computing is that you can't control what exactly you run on your own computer anymore. Separation of privileges is something different.


Having the saved games in a separate location has an other advantage; you could just delete the program while keeping the saved games, without having to carefully investigate which file belongs to which. And you could even have multiple versions of the game installed, sharing the same saved games. If I'm not mistaken, if you use "roaming" in Windows (which I personally never did), you would automatically be able to access your uqm config and saved games from other machines as well.


Edit: some typos fixed
« Last Edit: September 26, 2004, 02:17:56 pm by meep-eep » Logged

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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #12 on: September 26, 2004, 01:13:25 pm »

I'm not stupid enough to delete explorer.exe, or any other critical system file, and I like having the power to do whatever I want on my PC whenever I want.

Another thing, when I want to remove a game from my system, I shouldnt have to go on a witch hunt for saved games or settings or profiles or whatever...Everything that is related to that game that came with the game, should be contained, in its entirety, in the smegging file I set it to, the folder I install it to.
/rant off

Microsoft just seem to want to really irritate the hell out of me...Ah well, theyre better than Macintosh =p
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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #13 on: September 26, 2004, 02:16:01 pm »

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I'm not stupid enough to delete explorer.exe, or any other critical system file,

Never accidentally moved a folder into another folder when clicking on it in the tree view of explorer?
I agree that user screwups are not as big a deal as in unix, as you have little power over your system in Windows anyhow.
But separation of privileges doesn't only protect you against your own mistakes, but also against the mistakes of the programmers that created the stuff you run on your system. But I guess that if you run your own firewall, don't use Internet Explorer, don't use Outlook, don't use MSN, frequently run Windows Update, and frequently update all other network software, you're safe from the worst offenders. Still, you may only have to run one piece of software you forgot to update, and your whole system lies open.

Quote
and I like having the power to do whatever I want on my PC whenever I want.

And that's why Windows is still one big security hole. Because Microsoft knows that users would rather work on a virus infected, spyware-ridden zombie PC, than have to type in a password before doing something critical.
Now with XP SP2 they seem to have finally realised that a little inconvenience can save people from a lot of inconvenience. Inconvenience not only for the ignorant Windows users, but everyone who gets spammed by virus mails, and in fact everyone on the internet whose connection gets so much slower because peoples infected Windows PCs are clogging up the network trying to find new victims.

Quote
Another thing, when I want to remove a game from my system, I shouldnt have to go on a witch hunt for saved games or settings or profiles or whatever...Everything that is related to that game that came with the game, should be contained, in its entirety, in the smegging file I set it to, the folder I install it to.

Or you could select uninstall... that way also the junk a program left in your registry should be deleted.

Quote
Microsoft just seem to want to really irritate the hell out of me...

There's a lot to be said against Microsoft, but separation of priviliges is a good thing. And long overdue too.

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Re: Major Request (saved game location)
« Reply #14 on: September 26, 2004, 08:31:42 pm »

I have never been hacked that I noticed in the years I've been using a PC, and the only serious virus I ever got was wormblaster F. If I get hacked and I don't even notice it (if it affects my PC's performance, that would show) then how is it harmful, why should I irritate the hell out of myself?

I use Total Commander, so no, I have never accidently moved a file I didn't intend to.

I always uninstall, but some games think that because theyre obviously so good, I am only uninstalling them to reinstall them later, that they leave things on my system.

Wasn't SP2 a ridiculously buggy mess that screwed a HELL OF A LOT of people over? =p
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"Oops!" KA-BOOM!!

"Space is a dangerous place where wimps eat flaming plasma death" -The Zot....or is it the Fot?? We may never know...unless the guy in the back tells us!

UQM/SC2 = World Peace.
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