dom2 save games
 

So, I think that this is a tough game to learn. I'd like to be able to save a game, try something new 9to see if it works), and then go back to that save, rather than starting over. I realize that I can do this manually, by Alt-Tabing into Win Explorer, creating a folder, and saving that folder. But this is sort of a hassle. I downloaded the domsaver utility, but can't quite figure out how it works. Where do I extract the files to? And then what do I do? Does Java Runtime need to be in the dom2 folder?

If someone could help me out with the domsaver utility, or come up with an alternate, quick approach to saving multiple games, I'd be very appreciative.

Re: dom2 save games
 

I'm not sure since I am happy with manually copying files, but I think that domsaver utility you refer to is just there to save and restore newly-desgined pretenders (which are also just saved as <nation>.2h within a directory called newlords).

Re: dom2 save games
 

I used to run a bash script to tar up my dir after each move.

However, for you to do that you would have to start with "install Linux" or at least "install cygwin". So I don't have any useful advice for you.

Re: dom2 save games
 

Its easier if you make a batch file of the commands, then you can click on the icon to get it done. But thats fast becoming a lost art. I suppose I could make an executable that makes a backup copy of a game with a set name. Like any game called asdf

Re: dom2 save games
 

Easy enough to make the batch file, especially if you don't mind tweaking it from game to game.

Placing it in the game directory, it could look something like this:

echo off
mkdir save
copy nation.2h save

Very simple and crude, with a Version to restore it that looked like:


echo off
del nation.h
copy save\nation.h .


Then, make a shortcut and drag the shortcut to the desktop and you're set.

Re: dom2 save games
 

If it's "George McGinn's Dominions SaveGame Backup&Restore Utility Version" you're talking about ... yes, it does backup every turn automatically.

But - some zips had only the Java source files in it (".java" on W32 machines), in that case you need the Java SDK to compile them yourself.

I accidently deleted my bin files, so I'm stuck with manually zipping the turn files as well (no way of compiling a Java app).
Isn't that hard to do, as I play in windowed mode anyway. And as Dom2 doesn't keep the files open all time, it doesn't complain if you fiddle with them while the game is running.

Re: dom2 save games
 

If you follow Cainehill's suggestion, do not forget the "fthrlnd"-file if you're playing single player...

Re: dom2 save games
 

Thanks for the help. Where might I find a copy of "George McGinn's Dominions SaveGame Backup&Restore Utility Version"?

Re: dom2 save games
 

It's attached to this message http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

But don't forget:

- It's a DOM1 utility, that AFAIK works with DOM2 as well.

- You'll have to compile it yourself, using the Java Software Development Kit. Don't ask me for help, I don't have a clue http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif


Just tried out "Torvak's Dominions savegame utility v0.61". couldn't get it to work either. Operating it seems definitely non-trivial and not very intuitive ... .
Got it to save turns and pretender files, but it never unzipped them again ?!

Re: dom2 save games
 

If one has JSDK, the easiest way to compile one .java file is to have it in jsdk1.4.x\bin directory and write 'javac filename.java' to the command line. If there are many files, then it's harder.

Re: dom2 save games
 

I should go ahead and do my Basic Version. Its easier to install.

EDIT: I forgot. the Last release lets it compile to a standalone exe now. Hmmm I wonder if that would be trusted enough for download. I guess I could do both if there was an interest.

Re: dom2 save games
 

That woudl be great for the computer illiterate here.
Mark me down as interested!

Re: dom2 save games
 

OMG the insult http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/fear.gif

Re: dom2 save games
 

Nice to see you here .. how do I make it un-zip the archived files?

Btw., your link to Domsaver0.7 isn't working ..

Re: dom2 save games
 

There are 11 of them ...

Re: dom2 save games
 

Ok I just whipped up a little program to save your games.

It does the following:

1. Watches the specified directory for changes
2. Check the file that changed and opens it up to see what turn it is for.
3. Creates a new directory for that turn if it does not exist
4. Copies the file to that directory.

Step 2 is a touch flaky ( you should never see a problem though ) it seems like the files are open by Dom2.exe without the sharing bit set so sometimes I can not open them. So I ( yuck ) sleep a a few milliseconds before attempting to open a file I detect has changed. You may have to tweak this paramater ( but I don't think you will have to ) it defaults to 100 ms.

How to use it:

open a command prompt and type something like:

dom2save.exe c:\dominions2\testgame

Anyway, it probably will not erase your hard drive, but I'm a software guy not a QA guy so no guarnatees.

I suppose I should add some type of disclaimer. Go to this link for the disclaimer.

Re: dom2 save games
 

OK, here's my own small, quick & dirty backup utility. It runs in the background and check your game folders periodically, so you don't have to remember about clicking on an icon each time you submit a turn.

It's written in Java (thus you need a Java VM to run it) and is Linux and Windows-friendly (and should probably run on other OSes as well).

Basically it manages subfolders named 000, 001, 002, etc. in your game folders, and reuses the oldest entry when the maximum # of backups is reached. A new backup folder is created/overwritten when a new .trn is generated, otherwise the most recent backup folder is updated when a .2h is generated or updated.

You can specify the # of backups, and dom2 location in a property file. There's also a property that lets you specify which games you don't want to save, and one that lets you specify the delay (in seconds) between checks.

It's a bit crude - no GUI, no restore function, and it may throw an exception if you manually delete a game folder it's tracking. That's mainly because I didn't want to spend too much of my free time on it. However it works, and what's nice is that once it's started you can forget about it.

Zipfile contents:

DomIIBackup.java - the source
DomIIBackup.jar - the executable JAR file
domIIbackup.props - the property file

Just unzip in your Dominions directory, or any directory of your choice. If the latter, you'll need to update the d2backup.d2home property in the property file to point to your Dominions directory. Eg, for Linux:

d2backup.d2home=//mylinux/home/Users/myself/dom2

and for Windows:

d2backup.d2home=C:/games/illwinter/dom2

or

d2backup.d2home=C:\\games\\illwinter\\dom2

The other options should be self-explanatory. If you want to tell DomIIBackup to NOT track the games 'mayhem', 'bloodfest' and 'armageddon', use the d2backup.exclude property:

d2backup.exclude=mayhem:bloodfest:armageddon

While running, DomIIBackup will automatically start tracking every new game you create, unless the game name is listed in the d2backup.exclude property.

To run, use the command:

java -cp DomIIBackup.jar DomIIBackup

in the unzip directory. Of course you can put that command in a shell script or batch file.

This Version was compiled/tested with Sun Microsystems' J2SDK 1.4.2_04, which is available for download on Sun's website. Although you only need the JRE component to run the utility.

Re: dom2 save games
 

Ooops, forgot the attachment.

Re: dom2 save games
 

You have to set the turn number you want to unzip and just press load.