GFXFileManager-0.0.1

[pushedx]

First and foremost, this is a "programmers' project". I really hope it works out, but there is always a chance it will crash and burn. In itself, it won't be terribly useful for most people who do not do any type of development. With that said though, it is still (somewhat) non-programmer friendly (i.e., PK2 modders can make use of this).

The purpose of this project is to further expand the customization of Silkroad. This release is a base project that hopefully will be used as the foundation for many more to expand the way files are handled in Silkroad.

This project is a custom implementation of "GFXFileManager.dll", the Silkroad file responsible for loading assets in the client. This specific implementation is coded to load files from your hard drive rather than the PK2s. This means you can easily modify and swap out Silkroad's files without having to use any tools.

I've tested this on the latest ISRO version as well as a 1.188 VSRO private server and it worked without any issues. I would think that it will work on most modern Silkroad versions, but only through testing will we know for sure.

readme

Spoiler:

GFXFileManager
pushedx

This is an experimental GFXFileManager replacement DLL to enable loading files
from disk rather than from PK2s. It contains only the minimal amount of code
to allow reading and writing files. For more information, consult the source code.

1. Backup your entire Silkroad directory to another location in case anything
goes wrong or it does not work for you.

2. Using a PK2 extractor, extract all of your client's PK2 files into
folders with the name of the PK2. For example, "data.pk2" should be
extracted to "data". "Media.pk2" should be extracted to "media", and
so on. Do not delete the PK2s!

3. (Optional) If you wish to save space, copy over the provided empty
PK2s to overwrite your old PK2s. "Silkroad.exe" requires files with
the PK2 names for patching, so that is why files with the same name are
still needed (the contents of the files do not matter though).

4. Copy "GFXFileManager.dll" into your Silkroad directory, overwriting the
previous version.

5. Start Silkroad through the launcher or a loader. If all goes well, you should
be able to get in game without any errors. NOTE: Since files are now loaded
from your hard disk, there might be small delays the first time they are loaded
as they are cached by the operating system.

6. (Optional) Use the provided "svt_gen" program to change the Silkroad version to
force a patch. You should be able to patch normally without any issues. See
"bin\svt_gen\readme.txt" for more information.

Discussion Thread: http://forum.ragezone.com/f475/help-...e-pk2s-854514/

Progress Videos:

1. [WiP] Silkroads GFXFileManager API - YouTube
2. [WiP] Silkroads GFXFileManager API 2 - YouTube
3. [WiP] Silkroads GFXFileManager API 3 - YouTube
4. [WiP] Silkroads GFXFileManager API 4 - YouTube
5. [WiP] Silkroads GFXFileManager API 5 - YouTube

Download: Attached (VirusTotal)

Support:
I will be providing limited support in attempts to identify and fix any bugs that might come up. If you get any message boxes when using this, please tell me the text of the message box as well as approximately what was going on at the time you got it. Crashes are really hard to identify, so if I can't replicate it, there won't be much I can do for you. It is possible to make a debug version that logs more information in the event of crashes, but that will be focused on later, depending on how many crashes there are. So far, I've not had a single crash myself.

I strongly suggest you use my "PK2Tools 5-in-1 Bundle" for PK2 extraction. The most common cause of crashes will be missing files (since the client assumes some will never be missing), so you need to use a reliable PK2 extractor to make sure you get all of the PK2 files extracted in the first place.

Finally, any loaders that use PK2 files won't work without modifications (i.e., all of mine). Since you no longer have any PK2 files, there is nothing for the loader to use to get the connection information. These loaders must be modified to load the files from hard drive instead of PK2s. I have no plans on updating any of mine at this time.

[MentaL]

[antoha]

Just an educational question: did u just change the exiating gfx using hex/asm or u made a new1?

P.s1: this is bloody sweet cant wait to get home and take abetter look at this.
P.s2: i wanna like this but cant since im on my mobile phone and the link button does not appear, anyway, LIKE!!

[sladlejrhfpq]

wow, that was fast, going to test it, thank you for the release.

[Over Limit]

good job but that's bad for server owners who dont want anyone to know what's they updating .etc

[Statiic]

testing...

[MeGaMaX]

OMG

No Comment

[sladlejrhfpq]

works properly

[Statiic]

works good... but how i can start by loader?

Finally, any loaders that use PK2 files won't work without modifications (i.e., all of mine). Since you no longer have any PK2 files, there is nothing for the loader to use to get the connection information. These loaders must be modified to load the files from hard drive instead of PK2s. I have no plans on updating any of mine at this time.

hmm...
btw thanks !

[arabianfox]

works great .. i test by loader but i notice a delay (freeze) 5 to 7 seconds while loading after selecting character and press start

anyone else notice that ?!

thank you really for this :)

@statiic

after extracting media.pk2 to media folder don't remove or replace it..

game will load from media folder while loader can load from media.pk2 :)

tested here...

[Statiic]

yea i know but the idea is load files from "media" if i use loader will load files from media.pk2 ^^

[tes]

Nice !! thank you

[arabianfox]

yea i know but the idea is load files from "media" if i use loader will load files from media.pk2 ^^

leave your media.pk2 file >> loader will load from it >> edit anything in your media folder

you will see the edit inside the game >>> that means loader only needs media.pk2 to start the game

while the game from inside loading everything from media folder

test that yourself and tell me what you find :)

[Statiic]

ahhhhhhh >.<

[safty0202]

cool !

[Statiic]

good job but that's bad for server owners who dont want anyone to know what's they updating .etc

@autoupdate works properly tested and works! :)