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SMILE RF

Started by Scyzer, July 11, 2015, 12:00:16 AM

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Scyzer

About 5 years ago, my hack went down a path from which there could be no return. Tons of routines were rewritten, built up from scratch, then removed and rewritten again. The result was that SMILE could no longer help me, and thus SMILE RF was born. Seraphim got pushed onto the bench, while I made the editor that could make Seraphim.
5 years later, I'm pretty confident that most bugs have been eradicated. RF has grown into something rather different to SMILE, but still serves the same purpose. There are many things RF can do that SMILE can't, though there is still a lot which hasn't been implemented yet. Over the past year or so, I've been getting tons of feedback from my testers, fixing bugs, tweaking things and adding features to get ready for a public release.

RF uses a very similar files system to SMILE; both for simplicity and so people don't freak out when they see something completely different; however it will require it's own folder seperate from SMILE. Some of the files have been moved around and regrouped.

SMILE RF is able to update itself automatically, so there will be little need to edit this topic with a changelog for each version. A list of recent changes will be shown when RF updates, however the full changelog can always be viewed here. The most recent RF build can be downloaded from here (You will need to have first downloaded the entire RF folder below).

[spoiler=Just a heads up...]
This program is NOT slightly more newbie friendly since I added warnings and alerts. While it's not exactly difficult to use, the editor has been written as if the user knows what they are doing. Grime has also written up an extensive guide on RF. An auto-backup feature has not been implemented yet, so if you are not comfortable enough with SMILE to know what you are changing, then I highly recommend you make a backup of your ROM before using RF. In fact, I highly recommend keeping backups anyway, as sometimes I make mistakes with code and in rare cases it could end up breaking something.

RF no longer requires MSINET.OCX as of version 3.0.98 (released 03/08/18). If you encounter an error due to missing MSINET.OCX, you will need to download and install it to use RF. It's a file used by older programs to handle HTTP/FTP protocols. Info can be read here. The file is also included in the .zip of RF.
[spoiler=How to install]

       
  • Download the file and place it in "\Windows\System32\". If you are running a 64Bit system, also place it in "\Windows\Syswow64\".
  • Click Start, search for "CMD", then right-click and Run As Administrator. You must run as an admin or it will not work.
  • Register the file by typing "regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\MSINET.OCX" OR "regsvr32 C:\Windows\Syswow64\MSINET.OCX", depending on where you placed the file.
[/spoiler]

RF was developed entirely within Windows 7, with further support developed on Windows 10. I can provide zero support for problems occuring on Windows 8+. If you have any problems, I'll try my best. Ultimately though, some things just do not work on newer versions of Windows. RF should work fine in older versions.
FullOfFail has pointed out that RF might run properly in compatibility mode on newer systems, however I cannot test this. If you experience any issues, try setting the compatibility mode to Win 7 first.
[/spoiler]






[spoiler=Screenshots]



Some of these are a bit out of date.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Special thanks]
Jathys - For making the original SMILE and stuff.
Grime - Tons of testing & ideas. RF wouldn't be what it is today without his extensive bug-hunting skills.
ProjectXVIII - Testing & ideas
FullOfFail - Testing & ideas
Vismund - Testing
Jefe962 - Testing (sorry XD)
Crashtour99 - Testing
Captain_Glitch - Testing
RealRed - Testing
FPZero - Testing
Black Telomeres - For introducing me to M2K2 many years ago when I started hacking
[/spoiler]

Mettyk25jigsaw

#1
Scyzer, I get a runtime error 339 window pop up, saying a file is missing or invalid, it says a component 'MSINET.OCX' or one of it's dependencies is not correctly registered...

What I read and seen of it though, looks really good. Hope this can be fixed...

Jiffy

Forgot to add me to testing, lol.
Well, it's great to see it finished and released. I'll definitely be using it more often now. :^_^:

thedopefish

I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever see a public release of this.  Cool beans.

snarfblam

Quote from: Mettyk25jigsaw on July 11, 2015, 03:37:34 AM
Scyzer, I get a runtime error 339 window pop up, saying a file is missing or invalid, it says a component 'MSINET.OCX' or one of it's dependencies is not correctly registered...
Try downloading said dependency and manually registering it using regsvr32 from the command-line. Newer versions of Windows do not come with VB6 runtimes installed.

Quote58

From a quick look through it there's lots of nice additions to smile here, and only a few gripes.

welcome changes:
-being able to put in the hex value for quickmet equipment, allowing for added items to be turned on/off like other equipment
-being able to shift the map tiles. This doesn't sound all that amazing, but it is incredibly useful, and will probably save me lots of time at some point.
-more information can be viewed at a time in all of the windows
-many new variables can be changed right from the editor (like, a whole lot more than smile)
-multiple editing windows can be viewed at once (such as gfx editor + room editor)

gripes:
-detached windows are annoying unless you can minimize them separately
-no minimizing at all???
-hotkeys have been changed, so getting used to pressing cntrl+e to enter quickmet will take getting used to (pretty minor complaint, but it is annoying)

Anyway, this is looking to be very useful, so thank you for making it public scyzer :grin:

JAM

Now I have feeling that all the work I did for JX is now useless. In other hand, 2 editors are better that 1. Every editor will have its own unique functions. Also, RF will work only on W7, JX is working flawlessly on older OS, like W98.

Scyzer

Quote from: Quote58 on July 11, 2015, 05:35:31 PM
-detached windows are annoying unless you can minimize them separately
-no minimizing at all???
-hotkeys have been changed, so getting used to pressing cntrl+e to enter quickmet will take getting used to (pretty minor complaint, but it is annoying)

All main windows (other than the main RF window) can be closed and reopened at any time without losing info or progress in that window. You can either hit the X in the top right, or click the window menu again in RF to uncheck it.

No window minimising. It reacted oddly because of how many seperate windows make up RF. It will probably get fixed and added back into a future update.

Hotkeys were changed to include Ctrl so BTS input can easily use A-F as well as numbers. I figured not having to type a number then hit backspace just to start with a letter was well worth whatever minor inconvenience adding Ctrl would be. It also keeps shortcuts uniform with general windows program shortcuts (Ctrl S to save for example).

Quote from: JAM on July 11, 2015, 06:52:09 PM
Now I have feeling that all the work I did for JX is now useless. In other hand, 2 editors are better that 1. Every editor will have its own unique functions. Also, RF will work only on W7, JX is working flawlessly on older OS, like W98.

I'm pretty sure RF will work fine on older systems, given that's what VB6 was designed in. It might not work on newer systems though. Also RF and JX are very different visually, so that'll probably be a major factor with what people choose to use.

Quote58

Quote from: Scyzer on July 11, 2015, 08:13:46 PM
Quote from: Quote58 on July 11, 2015, 05:35:31 PM
-detached windows are annoying unless you can minimize them separately
-no minimizing at all???
-hotkeys have been changed, so getting used to pressing cntrl+e to enter quickmet will take getting used to (pretty minor complaint, but it is annoying)

All main windows (other than the main RF window) can be closed and reopened at any time without losing info or progress in that window. You can either hit the X in the top right, or click the window menu again in RF to uncheck it.

No window minimising. It reacted oddly because of how many seperate windows make up RF. It will probably get fixed and added back into a future update.

Hotkeys were changed to include Ctrl so BTS input can easily use A-F as well as numbers. I figured not having to type a number then hit backspace just to start with a letter was well worth whatever minor inconvenience adding Ctrl would be. It also keeps shortcuts uniform with general windows program shortcuts (Ctrl S to save for example).

Ah, alright then.
With regard to the hotkeys, I agree it's a fair compromise (I always found it annoying to have to start with a number), and if it means we get cntrl+s for save then I'm all for it! (I've been waiting a long time for a save hotkey  :^_^: )

Scyzer

Quote from: Quote58 on July 11, 2015, 09:08:56 PM
Ah, alright then.
With regard to the hotkeys, I agree it's a fair compromise (I always found it annoying to have to start with a number), and if it means we get cntrl+s for save then I'm all for it! (I've been waiting a long time for a save hotkey  :^_^: )


Just check the RFHelp.txt that was included in the .zip. It contains all of the shortcuts currently in RF  :wink:

Jiffy

Quote from: Scyzer on July 11, 2015, 08:13:46 PM
I'm pretty sure RF will work fine on older systems, given that's what VB6 was designed in. It might not work on newer systems though. Also RF and JX are very different visually, so that'll probably be a major factor with what people choose to use.
Oh yeah, it works on Windows XP. Well, the older versions have, so I'm assuming that the official release will.

Cpt.Glitch

Yea RF is a blast to use! Super glad I got to test it! It has made making my hack a lot easier.

Quietus

What's the 'Auto Generate Hack' shortcut key? :grin:

Mon732


begrimed

Publicity! I cannot thank you enough for RF. This release is a huge deal for SM hacking. Using it this last year and a half has been a dream. Expect me to pester you endlessly about its functions in detail when I start writing the megadocs. :D

RF is the shit.

personitis

Quote from: snarfblam on July 11, 2015, 09:41:29 AM
Try downloading said dependency and manually registering it using regsvr32 from the command-line. Newer versions of Windows do not come with VB6 runtimes installed.
No dice for me. RegSvr32 tells me:
QuoteThe module "C:\Windows\System32\MSINET.OCX" failed to load.

Make sure the binary is stored at the specified path or debug it to check for problems with the binary or dependent .DDL files.

The specified module could not be found.

Either I'm missing something, or RF is a bit of a stretch to get setup. Shame too cause I'd love to see what this is capable of. In any case, it may also be a good idea to update the OP for people like me who didn't catch the initial run-time error 339 message saying that MSINET.OCX is missing and not MSINFO.OCX (that file doesn't actually exist to my searching).

Vismund Cygnus

Person, if you're running 64 bit Windows try following the same steps but add msinet.ocx to syswow64 and it should work.

snarfblam

Quote from: Vismund Cygnus on July 14, 2015, 09:39:00 PM
Person, if you're running 64 bit Windows try following the same steps but add msinet.ocx to syswow64 and it should work.

Good call. When you read MS's rationale for the way they set up 32-bit support, it makes sense, but from a user's point of view, file system/registry redirection gets awfully confusing.

personitis

Quote from: Vismund Cygnus on July 14, 2015, 09:39:00 PM
Person, if you're running 64 bit Windows try following the same steps but add msinet.ocx to syswow64 and it should work.
That... makes a lot of sense. Thanks. RF booted without a fit.

JAM

I'm getting runtime error 5 after attempting to load the room. How to avoid that? If I could, then I can use RF under W98 and if it's still made on VB, it should works...

shadedmagus

I was able to start SMILE RF the first few times after I installed it, and the last time it auto-updated (to 0.62, I think), which is cool! But since I closed it the first time after the update, now when I try to open it, after a few seconds the icon will appear in the task bar, but no windows appear.

I'm running Windows 7 64-bit, if it helps.

begrimed

Shadedmagus, try pressing Shift + Esc after running RF. The main SMILE RF window might have gotten pushed off-screen. If that doesn't work, try deleting SMILE.ini from SMILE RF/files/

And to everyone else, there will be some extremely thorough RF documentation posted soon. It's almost done, I'm just double-checking everything, and then getting Scyzer to fill in a few blanks. :D It's not a how-to guide, but a breakdown of what every single option/menu/button/whatever in RF does.

Scyzer

Quote from: JAM on July 29, 2015, 12:02:02 AM
I'm getting runtime error 5 after attempting to load the room. How to avoid that? If I could, then I can use RF under W98 and if it's still made on VB, it should works...
Not sure why you'd be getting that. Usually that error is caused by integer overflows or out of bounds arrays, which shouldn't happen as it'd likely crash on all systems. I did have 2 references checked before which aren't used by Parlor, but I didn't actually use them AFAIK so I doubt they could have caused it. I just removed them and there were no problems, so I'll leave them out for the next update, and hopefully it'll work then.

begrimed

#23
Annnnd here it is! Happy hacking! This should give RF a lot of accessibility to absolute beginners now, hopefully more than previous SMILE versions.

SMILE RF guide

JAM

Finally, it's working under W98! Even v3.0.59 works without most flaws.

Good, I will use all 3 SMILEs now: regular, JX and RF on same PC.

As for v3.0.63, Tile Table editor is now causing crash and run-time error 11: division by zero.