Aurora 4x
C# Aurora => C# Approved Mods => Topic started by: twice2double on May 11, 2020, 08:29:26 PM
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NOTE: This version of AuroraMod is now deprecated - http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=11546
(https://preview.redd.it/gkuwox0v3ny41.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=b635bc6480d68023667b50279781ff3659d04396)
Reddit Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/aurora4x_mods/comments/g9zhta/mod_auroramod_19x_custom_colors_fonts_window/
MediaFire Link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/4o1ejlyu0bqpuvm/AuroraMod-1.9.5-7.zip/file
Update 1.9.5-7: Added configuration option to change mineral display names
Update 1.9.5-6: Fixed bug with save button turning red too quickly
Update 1.9.5-5: Notification/Auto-Update feature improvements
Update 1.9.5-4: Added font style option and a few theme tweaks
Update 1.9.5-3: Fixed save bug that prevented saving in certain circumstances
Update 1.9.5-2: Fixed culture setting bug, added button to reset font setting
Update 1.9.5-1: Config GUI now detached from Tactical Map
Update 1.9.5-0: Now based on Aurora 1.9.5, bug fixes, UI tweaks, configuration GUI
Update 1.9.4-3: More UI fixes, more UI color settings, comma decimal setting
Update 1.9.4-2: Lots of UI fixes, more shortcut keys
Update 1.9.4-1: Added experimental "fix-table-columns" config option
Update 1.9.4-0: Now based on Aurora 1.9.4
Update 1.9.3-3: Fixed ship name list being truncated in fleet window
Update 1.9.3-2: Some window sizing and font fixes
Update 1.9.3-1: Much better handling of scaling and larger fonts
Update 1.9.3-0: Now based on Aurora 1.9.3 and various UI scaling issues fixed
Update 1.9.2-0: Now based on Aurora 1.9.2
Current Features:
- Customizable theme (icons, background colors, text colors, UI scale, font, and font size)
- Window resizing
- Save notification and auto-save
- Shortcut keys (Economics and Fleet windows)
- Customizable date formats and culture settings (comma vs period)
- Game generation seed
- Custom mineral display names
- Configuration GUI
Upcoming Features:
- More color config options
- Wiki integration
- More keyboard shortcuts (Tactical map, Galatic Map, Class Design, etc)
- Theme improvements (pulled from external source, Adrinus' icon set)
Installation:
1) Extract in your Aurora 1.9.x folder
2) Fire up AuroraMod.exe
OR just use AuroraLoader
FAQ:
Q: Do I have to start a new campaign to use this mod?
A: No, you can freely switch back and forth between the mod and vanilla Aurora provided they have matching version numbers (ie: Aurora 1.9.x is compatible with AuroraMod 1.9.x-x).
Q: This mod doesn't even do anything! Lame.
A: Ensure you're starting Aurora with the provided exe (AuroraMod.exe) and you have enabled one or more features in the configuration window.
Disclaimer:
By using this mod, you forfeit the option of submitting bugs on the forum. If you encounter a bug, please attempt to reproduce on vanilla Aurora (you can use the same DB), then report your findings here. We can discuss further actions from there.
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Is there any downsides to using this? Has anyone experienced any crashes or anything or is this as stable as the regular game?
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Obviously I'm biased, but I'll give my take on it.
It's unrealistic for me to claim there will never be bugs or crashes with AuroraMod.
That being said, here is what I'm doing to reduce that likelihood:
1) No game logic or game mechanic changes
All changes are carefully thought out (and agreed upon by Steve) in order to minimize bugs/crashes.
The changes are by-and-large related to the windows/forms code. This means it's very unlikely to corrupt your game state or modify the DB in a weird way.
2) No DB changes
Not touching any SQL or DB-related code. DB compatibility is the same.
You should be able to switch back-and-forth between Aurora and AuroraMod on the same DB without issues (provided you're abiding by the DB version compatibility Steve lays out for Aurora - versioning is the same with AuroraMod)
3) All features are off by default
Designed so that running AuroraMod gives you vanilla Aurora. You enable only the features you want via the configuration window.
If you don't trust a feature, don't use it.
Since 1. 8 the mod has seemed quite stable to me and I've been using it for my own campaigns. I've seen people use it for 200+ year campaigns so far.
I added the configuration GUI in 1. 9 and that new feature introduced a few bugs, but only around the AuroraMod features themselves. Those have been addressed.
So far I've received 3 messages of people running into strange behavior. Two of them were confirmed by the user to be on them (SM-mode changes that resulted in strange DB state), and one resulted in a user seeing blank names for the population list in the Economics window - which they fixed by tinkering with the CMC checkbox option. For that last one it's unlikely that AuroraMod was at fault because the issue persisted with vanilla Aurora.
Finally, I recommend you use one or more of the save notification features as a reminder to save the game often (or use the auto-save to force saving the game periodically)
EDIT:
With regards to downsides, other than what I mentioned above, I can't think of anything.
There is one small annoyance that people may run into though - If you start tinkering around with font sizes, you quickly realize that things start running off text areas. This can be addressed by upping the UI scale and/or enabling the "Fix Column Headers" option. This option will re-format tables/lists so that the columns are wide enough to show all text data.
The problem with that feature is that it slows down the rendering of large tables. It can get annoying when you open up a large system view or select a fleet with hundreds of ships in the Fleet window to have to wait 5-10s for the table to render properly. Personally it hasn't bothered me enough to disable it in my games yet.
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I thought all talk of modding and mods was against the rules now?
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Might want to look at the forum you're in. . .
Aurora 4x » C# Aurora » C# Approved Mods
;D
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Is there any downsides to using this? Has anyone experienced any crashes or anything or is this as stable as the regular game?
onestly i use this mod for the past two weeks (maybe three) and i don't find any crash or weird situation caused from the mod ^^
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Yes... I had to submit to trying this out as well and it felt as I was cheating on Steve for it... but the default colour scheme was so troublesome for my eyes that I could not sit in front of the game for more than about an hour at a time tops... if even that. :(
I created this colour scheme instead that is way more pleasant on on my eyes at least... I have no trouble sitting down several hours now... :)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/gx5q6j6cc0l6f1k/Screen2.PNG?raw=1)
I have had no issues with the game what so ever so far in the last week.
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Is there any downsides to using this? Has anyone experienced any crashes or anything or is this as stable as the regular game?
There really isn't but I do have a list of gotchas and things that can happen. First thing though, you can alternate between the mod and not, the regular aurora.exe will still work fine with the game. This is useful if you just want to use the seed value when generating new games if you want to be able to share it with others or play the same one again.
Here is a list of things I've found that you might have issues with. None of them really impact the game itself though, just the mod.
- Open Tactical Map. Sometimes when saving colors, especially the alt text color, the auroramod.exe will not function correctly with Open Tactical Map. It still shows the old color. What I have taken to doing is save config, close auroramod.exe, open it again, then Open Tactical Map. That seems to work.
- Fix Table Columns. This can really do a number on the game if you don't understand what is happening. Opening System Generation screen, for example, can cause a really slow repaint as it calculates through the columns. You really only need that if you use much larger font combos and UI screen resolutions. So don't use it unless you absolutely have to.
- For best results, try to stick with the default fonts and leave UI screen rez alone. Just play with the colors. If that doesn't work, then just gradually up things.
- On an earlier version than the current (prior to 1.9.5 sorry can't remember which one), I did encounter some kind of memory problem when I was playing with my own color scheme. I left the auroramod.exe rnning and just get changing colors and saving configs and re-running Open Tactical Map, closing it, opening it, etc. Eventually it stopped working. That is why I just open and close Auroramod.exe each time now. I should not if you are just firing it up to change color schemes and play, I've NEVER encountered an issue other than the Fix Table Columns noted above.
BTW, I have contributed somewhat to this mod, here is my Boomer Light theme based on Solarized Light. It will be in the next release. I'd post an image in here, but not quite sure how. This is a screenshot.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=12M6TmOmKI4ROtvdHA3NQfFDsCf5lBOIM
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Is there any downsides to using this? Has anyone experienced any crashes or anything or is this as stable as the regular game?
There really isn't but I do have a list of gotchas and things that can happen. First thing though, you can alternate between the mod and not, the regular aurora.exe will still work fine with the game. This is useful if you just want to use the seed value when generating new games if you want to be able to share it with others or play the same one again.
Here is a list of things I've found that you might have issues with. None of them really impact the game itself though, just the mod.
- Open Tactical Map. Sometimes when saving colors, especially the alt text color, the auroramod.exe will not function correctly with Open Tactical Map. It still shows the old color. What I have taken to doing is save config, close auroramod.exe, open it again, then Open Tactical Map. That seems to work.
- Fix Table Columns. This can really do a number on the game if you don't understand what is happening. Opening System Generation screen, for example, can cause a really slow repaint as it calculates through the columns. You really only need that if you use much larger font combos and UI screen resolutions. So don't use it unless you absolutely have to.
- For best results, try to stick with the default fonts and leave UI screen rez alone. Just play with the colors. If that doesn't work, then just gradually up things.
- On an earlier version than the current (prior to 1.9.5 sorry can't remember which one), I did encounter some kind of memory problem when I was playing with my own color scheme. I left the auroramod.exe rnning and just get changing colors and saving configs and re-running Open Tactical Map, closing it, opening it, etc. Eventually it stopped working. That is why I just open and close Auroramod.exe each time now. I should not if you are just firing it up to change color schemes and play, I've NEVER encountered an issue other than the Fix Table Columns noted above.
Yes.. just leave the default font and text size as is if you don't want some minor quirks with the windows... but other than that no impact on the game what so ever.
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Yes... I had to submit to trying this out as well and it felt as I was cheating on Steve for it... but the default colour scheme was so troublesome for my eyes that I could not sit in front of the game for more than about an hour at a time tops... if even that. :(
I created this colour scheme instead that is way more pleasant on on my eyes at least... I have no trouble sitting down several hours now... :)
SNIP
I have had no issues with the game what so ever so far in the last week.
Jorgen, I really like your color scheme. Is it one of the presets? If not, what colors are you using? I'd like to try the same set-up.
Thanks.
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That looks like a modified (tweaked for newer version options) of MrCABman's theme. This is indeed a preset.
@Jorgen_CAB I'm assuming MrCABman is you :)
I can update the theme preset if you send me the changes you've made.
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That looks like a modified (tweaked for newer version options) of MrCABman's theme. This is indeed a preset.
@Jorgen_CAB I'm assuming MrCABman is you :)
I can update the theme preset if you send me the changes you've made.
Yes... my username as well...
Here is my config file...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sqe5x16cibxs34w/Aurora.mod.config?dl=0
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Just wanted to chime in and say that I've never noticed any downsides or issues with this mod, and I've been playing all of my personal games using it for the past month or so via AuroraLoader.
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Just wanted to chime in and say that I've never noticed any downsides or issues with this mod, and I've been playing all of my personal games using it for the past month or so via AuroraLoader.
What is AuroraLoader? Is it required for this?
I think I will try out the mod soon cause the blue is rough on my eyes when I turn on night mode on my computer and has been a concern of mine for a while. This has given me reason to pick up 1.9.5 again instead of just waiting for 1.1x to play my first serious campaign. Testing gets boring after a while. Might do a story for it or something.
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Just wanted to chime in and say that I've never noticed any downsides or issues with this mod, and I've been playing all of my personal games using it for the past month or so via AuroraLoader.
What is AuroraLoader? Is it required for this?
I think I will try out the mod soon cause the blue is rough on my eyes when I turn on night mode on my computer and has been a concern of mine for a while. This has given me reason to pick up 1.9.5 again instead of just waiting for 1.1x to play my first serious campaign. Testing gets boring after a while. Might do a story for it or something.
A mod manager that automatically load/update mods
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This mod is awesome, i love it thanks to all the people that made it happen.
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BTW, I have contributed somewhat to this mod, here is my Boomer Light theme based on Solarized Light. It will be in the next release. I'd post an image in here, but not quite sure how. This is a screenshot.
https://drive. google. com/open?id=12M6TmOmKI4ROtvdHA3NQfFDsCf5lBOIM
This is now available in AuroraMod 1. 9. 5-4. Thanks.
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What is AuroraLoader? Is it required for this?
AuroraLoader is not required. It just enables automatic updates and stuff like that.
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Just wanted to say thank you for this mod. My eyes send their regards :D
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So if I want to workaround my comma issue, I will type en-US in the 'number and date culture' box, right?
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So if I want to workaround my comma issue, I will type en-US in the 'number and date culture' box, right?
I haven't explicitly tested it out because I can't recreate the issue myself. But yes, I've heard people claim that 'en-US' fixes their issue.
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Request for autosave timer:
For the timer to only run when the game window is in focus. So for example if I tab out to the forum the autosave timer will stop running. Not sure how hard it is to add.
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Two immediate issues are instant RP points being hidden and part of the display options when scaling down UI.
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Request for autosave timer:
For the timer to only run when the game window is in focus. So for example if I tab out to the forum the autosave timer will stop running. Not sure how hard it is to add.
I'll see what I can do.
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Two immediate issues are instant RP points being hidden and part of the display options when scaling down UI.
The UI scaling and the font size usually have to be modified together to work as expected.
I had not done any testing with anything below 1.0 1.0 in UI scaling (I'm using the setting to blow everything up on my 4k monitor).
I just tried with 0.8 0.8 and I needed to drop the font size to 6 to get normal-looking layouts.
If you send me your config I can take a look, but I suspect there's not much I'll be able to do that won't break something else in another UI/font configuration mix.
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Request for autosave timer:
For the timer to only run when the game window is in focus. So for example if I tab out to the forum the autosave timer will stop running. Not sure how hard it is to add.
This suggestion has been implemented for all notification and auto save options in 1.9.5-5. Thanks.
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The 6 waypoints buttons are only partially visible.
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I'm not sure what you did OP, but you seem to have made amazing progress from the previous situation of steve basically declaring all mods and modders to be evil. I'm actually a little curious what was said... Did you somehow disassociate yourself with the people who were threatening to reverse-compile his game and do whatever to it?
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I keep running to a bug I only get when I play with your mod on but it might not be related however I am unable to reproduce it in the base game.
Sometimes the queue up and down buttons in the industry screen stop working when there is fighters, missiles, and buildings in production.
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Request for autosave timer:
For the timer to only run when the game window is in focus. So for example if I tab out to the forum the autosave timer will stop running. Not sure how hard it is to add.
This suggestion has been implemented for all notification and auto save options in 1. 9. 5-5. Thanks.
That's exactly what I wanted, too.
The save button changing colour over time is one of my favourite things. Especially since vanilla C# Aurora doesn't have any confirmation when a save has been done.
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The 6 waypoints buttons are only partially visible.
This is usually a problem with the UI scale + font size chosen. Unfortunately there isn't much I can do about that without potentially breaking the layout in other scale/font combinations.
If you share your settings file (or your UI scale values and your font values) I can take a look and see what I can do.
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Sometimes the queue up and down buttons in the industry screen stop working when there is fighters, missiles, and buildings in production.
If you send me your DB in a state where the bug is easily reproducible, I can take a look.
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Sometimes the queue up and down buttons in the industry screen stop working when there is fighters, missiles, and buildings in production.
If you send me your DB in a state where the bug is easily reproducible, I can take a look.
I can't reproduce that one but I found another bug. My fighter factories constantly are disappearing after a bit of playing on new games.
Attached is DB.
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I can't reproduce that one but I found another bug. My fighter factories constantly are disappearing after a bit of playing on new games.
Attached is DB.
That attached DB looks like it's a fresh game. To debug the issue I'll need a DB where the issue is ongoing so that I can reproduce locally.
If you suspect the issue is display related (text is hidden or off-screen) then the Aurora.mod.config file would also be useful.
EDIT: Alternatively, precise steps to reproduce the issue would do the trick.
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I can't reproduce that one but I found another bug. My fighter factories constantly are disappearing after a bit of playing on new games.
Attached is DB.
That attached DB looks like it's a fresh game. To debug the issue I'll need a DB where the issue is ongoing so that I can reproduce locally.
If you suspect the issue is display related (text is hidden or off-screen) then the Aurora.mod.config file would also be useful.
Check the save that starts with the word last. it was also a new game but the 40 starting fighter factories on earth are suddenly not there anymore after I saved and reloaded. Never happens to me without the mod but I can do it consistently with the mod.
The things I do every time:
Start new game with default settings.
Set training level to 5 and set up Naval leader and Earth leader.
Save game. Set up construction queue.
Save game.
Suddenly all my fighter factories (start with 40) are gone. Cannot reproduce in unmodded.
I have reproduced this 3 times.
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Gotcha. Thanks for the details. Will investigate.
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Start new game with default settings.
Set training level to 5 and set up Naval leader and Earth leader.
Save game. Set up construction queue.
Save game.
Suddenly all my fighter factories (start with 40) are gone. Cannot reproduce in unmodded.
I'm having a really hard time reproducing this. I tried with the steps above, in that order, with no other actions.
I tried various construction queue items, saving and closing the game between each step, with all AuroraMod features enabled and none enabled.
No luck yet. I'm using AuroraMod 1.9.5-6.
Any more details or steps you think could be relevant?
If anyone else can reproduce this that would be helpful.
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Start new game with default settings.
Set training level to 5 and set up Naval leader and Earth leader.
Save game. Set up construction queue.
Save game.
Suddenly all my fighter factories (start with 40) are gone. Cannot reproduce in unmodded.
I'm having a really hard time reproducing this. I tried with the steps above, in that order, with no other actions.
I tried various construction queue items, saving and closing the game between each step, with all AuroraMod features enabled and none enabled.
No luck yet. I'm using AuroraMod 1.9.5-6.
Any more details or steps you think could be relevant?
If anyone else can reproduce this that would be helpful.
I think I might of changed the starting research points to 100 000 and set auto research tech (just 1 check box). I will also try to think what else I do at the start of a regular game that might affect it.
I will try to reproduce myself and test to see if I can reproduce on vanilla after. I was able to get it to happen once today and twice last night.
Also just realized I am running version -3
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OK I was able to reproduce with those two extra steps (100k tech points and auto assign tech). However this also happens with vanilla Aurora. Seems the fighter factories aren't part of the starting setup with those two options during the create game process.
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The savegame buttons background gradually turning more red the further you have gone without saving is pure genius level UI design! :) Excellent work!
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Thanks for making this mod. Been looking forward to changing the color scheme.
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OK I was able to reproduce with those two extra steps (100k tech points and auto assign tech). However this also happens with vanilla Aurora. Seems the fighter factories aren't part of the starting setup with those two options during the create game process.
Hmmm I must of missed 1 of the two extra stepped when I tested in Vanilla.
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The 6 waypoints buttons are only partially visible.
This is usually a problem with the UI scale + font size chosen. Unfortunately there isn't much I can do about that without potentially breaking the layout in other scale/font combinations.
If you share your settings file (or your UI scale values and your font values) I can take a look and see what I can do.
This was using one of the preset, I think it is MrCABman preset, although I'm not fully sure. This is why I'm reporting it, a preset should not have known issue, although I understand it might be time consuming for you to double check all presets. But there are windows more 'sensitive' than other to font change, like the waypoints button, or the movement panel: you should check that the 15 checkboxes indicating what you want to list (planets, waypoints, lifepod) can be seen. If not, the font chosen is not appropriate.
And I can confirm with 99% certainty that your code correctly change comma to dot as numerical separator :D
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Thank you for the mod. My eyes will survive now.
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This was using one of the preset, I think it is MrCABman preset, although I'm not fully sure. This is why I'm reporting it, a preset should not have known issue, although I understand it might be time consuming for you to double check all presets. But there are windows more 'sensitive' than other to font change, like the waypoints button, or the movement panel: you should check that the 15 checkboxes indicating what you want to list (planets, waypoints, lifepod) can be seen. If not, the font chosen is not appropriate.
Yes that's true. I think the problem is the preset themes aren't tied to the UI scale setting. In a future update I will make it so when you select a preset theme, it also makes accompanying UI scale changes. I'll also add a warning to the user that changing the scale may break layout with the selected font and font size.
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I have uploaded AuroraMod v1.9.5-7, which adds the option to change the default display of the 11 minerals in-game. This should only be a display change and shouldn't cause any bugs. I've been the only tester so far so please post any issues/bugs you encounter on this thread, Discord, or Reddit (any place other than an official Steve-monitored channel).
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Events Window is not affected by modded mineral names.
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Events Window is not affected by modded mineral names.
The old entries are not, but new ones are.
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Events Window is not affected by modded mineral names.
The old entries are not, but new ones are.
Sorry for inaccurate report. It seems that the only event type inaffected was "Mineral Exhausted".
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Sorry for inaccurate report. It seems that the only event type inaffected was "Mineral Exhausted".
This has been fixed for the next release. Thanks.
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In case you wanted to use them, I made an entire icon set from scratch for aurora: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=10809.0
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In case you wanted to use them, I made an entire icon set from scratch for aurora: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=10809.0
Added to the upcoming features list. Thanks.
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So, how drastic are the changes between 1.9 and 1.10 from your end? Are we looking at days or weeks for a 1.10 AuroraMod?
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So, how drastic are the changes between 1.9 and 1.10 from your end? Are we looking at days or weeks for a 1.10 AuroraMod?
Due to the obfuscation, the upgrade process gets slightly more difficult every major release. I suspect I'll have it ready late tonight or tomorrow night with the caveat that some Aurora changes may have slipped past the AuroraMod feature set (eg: new buttons not being affected by theming/scaling, or table changes not having the "fix-column-header" logic, etc). Of course I'll do my own local testing and I'll fix those issues as I see them or as the community reports them.
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AuroraMod-1.10.0-0 is now available in it's own topic: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=11546