NANY 2013 Release - Skyrim Character Manager

[wraith808]

NANY 2013 Entry Information

Application Name	Skyrim Character Manager
Short Description	Manage the save files for multiple characters in Skyrim
Supported OSes	Windows XP/Vista/7
Web Page	http://thinkshui.net...m-character-manager/
Setup File	Portable - Installer
Description	Skryim is another great game by Bethesda – a worthy addition to The Elder Scrolls line. There are some problems with AI, and scaling at higher levels, but all of that is minor in relation to the sense of atmosphere and immersion the story line brings. But the one area that I think they fell short on was the ability to play multiple characters. And this is a game that cries out for multiple playthroughs. Enter the Skyrim Character Manager. It’s made for one thing- to help manage the save files for multiple characters. It also holds additional information as wanted for the different characters as I do like a bit more role-playing in my role-playing games.
Features	Backed by a database that holds fluff information about each character Allows the moving of save files from active to inactive directories Allows files to be backed up Links to run Skyrim, and visit popular sites Provides interface to delete save files
Screenshots	NANY 2013 Release - Skyrim Character Manager
Installation	With .NET 4.0 installed, unzip application to location and run.
Uninstalling	Delete application install location.
Notes	Requires .NET 4.0.

Quick Whirlwind Tour of the Application (made using the Easy Screencast Recorder)

[Ath]

Looking good

[kyrathaba]

Awesome, Wrath   

[Deozaan]

I don't have Skyrim yet, but one day I will. And then I will likely use this.

[Shades]

@Deozaan:
You definitely should get it. Although it is not heavy on the (PC) requirements, that game is responsible for me overheating (and breaking of) my motherboard, because I couldn´t stop playing even through the heatwave we had here (you know, when it cools of to 35 degrees Celsius at night). I should mention that AC´s give me a headache, so I don´t have one at home.

[wraith808]

@Deozaan:

Totally agreed with Shades.  It's singlehandedly responsible for me not playing pretty much *anything* else.  I get on MMOs every once in a while (since I'm paying a subscription) and Dishonored managed to get me off of it for a week.  But other than that- it's been Skyrim, to the tune of over 350 hours.  And when you can play 300 hours, and not finish, and still manage to discover new places, people, and things in the base story- that tells you something.

[Deozaan]

@Deozaan:

Totally agreed with Shades.  It's singlehandedly responsible for me not playing pretty much *anything* else.  I get on MMOs every once in a while (since I'm paying a subscription) and Dishonored managed to get me off of it for a week.  But other than that- it's been Skyrim, to the tune of over 350 hours.  And when you can play 300 hours, and not finish, and still manage to discover new places, people, and things in the base story- that tells you something.

-wraith808 (January 02, 2013, 05:40 AM)

Oh, I know! I played Oblivion for about 100 hours and never did complete the main quest-line. I'm just waiting for Skyrim and all DLC/expansions to be in one nice pack for a low price. I will own Skyrim one day. . . But I don't really play a lot of games these days, so I don't mind waiting.

[wraith808]

Ah... I see.  Yeah, I was in the same boat- I think that the companies still haven't realized how those GOTY packages have pissed off customers because it screws the early adopters in more ways than one. (especially since it can end up that you have to pay more for an expansion later than someone does for that expansion, all the others, and the base game!)

I was waiting on Skyrim for that reason- but a really good deal hit and I got it for $20.  And its one of the few (Dishonored being another recent game that falls into that category) that I don't mind the expense because of the sheer time and enjoyment I've gotten from it.

[wraith808]

I've posted it on Skyrim Nexus - it can be found at http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/29485/

[DougalS]

I tried it but couldn't get it to work. Win7x64 system, Skyrim with SkyUI installed, and exe files renamed so Steam with launch with SkyUI enabled. After install, when I run from the desktop icon I get this error:

I couldn't run the shortcut as admin, but found the batch file in C:\Program Files (x86)\GPG\Skyrim Character Manager folder which did work when run as admin. Did setup and set the folders to the TESV,exe path and my savegame folder, but all the buttons including Add are still greyed put. Tried using the Skyrim.exe and Launcher.exe paths with same result. Uninstalled and used the portable version with same results.
What am I doing wrong?
Cheers

[wraith808]

Sorry about the problems you're having... it doesn't seem that you're doing anything wrong, so a couple of questions.

1. When you say that all of the buttons are grayed out, specifically what buttons are enabled (I'm assuming the settings button is... but what others?)
2. In the directory, check the skyrimcharactermanagerdb.vdb4 and skyrimcharactermanagerdb.vdc4 for their security settings.  They should be non-read only and full control should be allowed in the security settings.
3. Check your configuration file: it should be located in C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\ThinkShui\Forms\SkyrimCharacterManager.Shell.Shell and be called SkyrimCharacterManager.Shell.Shell.xml.  It's just an xml file, so should open in any text editor.  Make sure your directories are saved.

If the add button is disabled, then either a) the database couldn't be accessed, which it appears from the error, or b) your directories weren't saved- but if you didn't get an error saving those settings, then I think it's more than likely a.

Thoughts?

[wraith808]

Ok... I know what the problem is.  I put the database file into the executable directory.  I should have put it in the appdata directory as with the configuration file, or at the very least put a configuration in there in case someone needed to move it.  I'll fix that in another release, but in the meantime, you can (a) change the security on the db file, or (b) put the installation somewhere other than the program files directory.  Sorry about the inconvenience; I plan to have another release out this week with that and the ability to specify the executable to run (as I didn't know some people ran other executables other than the skyrim one to launch it).

Thanks!

[DougalS]

Thanks for the responses, took me a while to get back to this.

I gave Users full control of skyrimcharactermanagerdb.vdb4 amd skyrimcharactermanagerdb.vdc4, but I got another error regarding permissions to another file (.vdb4lck), so I gave Users full control of the whole Skyrim Character Manager folder. Now the app runs without admin, but I still have grey buttons, despite entering the Skyrim exe path, my save game and backup paths:

I checked C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\ThinkShui\Forms\SkyrimCharacterManager.Shell.Shell and SkyrimCharacterManager.Shell.Shell.xml, it exists, and has the same paths as I specified in the GUI settings. I tried the paths both quoted and unquoted with no difference.

Fixed:
I then noticed that I had entered the full path to the executable, not the folder the executable is in. I changed the Skyrim Executable Path to the folder path instead of the executable path and now the Add button is active.

On a hunch, I also moved the vdb4 and vbc4 files to the C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\ThinkShui\Forms\SkyrimCharacterManager.Shell.Shell folder, and set that path in ThinkShuiEditableObject.Unity.config value for <property name="DatabaseName", removed the Users full control permission from the program folder, and everything seems to be working nicely.

Cheers

[wraith808]

Yes... that would do it!  I'm glad you seem to know a bit about unity and the config file and were able to find that... that's exactly what my fix is going to entail, so you tested the viability for me!  Thanks for your help!

[DougalS]

Nope, not a clue what unity even is. I just searched for the DB file name and that file popped. Seemed obvious to try using a full path spec to somewhere with permissions. But glad I could help. You might want to rename the "Skyrim executable path" text box to "Skyrim executable folder path", or just strip any filename entered, this would have saved me some time.
And just out of curiosity, what's with all the double shell.shell names everywhere?
Cheers

[wraith808]

I do plan to make the folder and executable separate, to allow people to run SKSE and such; I've never used them, so didn't know that people launched different executables.  The double shell names have to do with the way that C# naming conventions work - the namespace is SkyrimCharacterManager.Shell and the class name is Shell.  So when I fully qualify it, it shows up as SkyrimCharacterManager.Shell.Shell.  Think of a namespace as a container that segregates bits of code, and the class itself as the object that actually does the work.

[DougalS]

Doesn't really matter the executable, as they are renamed anyway. I use SKSE, whose exe is called skse_loader.exe, however to make it work in Steam, you rename the TESV.exe to Skyrim.exe, then rename skse_loader.exe to TESV.exe. Then Steam will call the SKSE exe which in turn loads the old TESV exe. The name of the chained exe is in the Data\SKSE\skse.ini file (RuntimeName=Skyrim.exe). So as far as any third party apps like your's, it is still TESV.exe that should be called.

My comment was that your settings dialog requires the executable folder path (eg "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim") not the executable path (eg "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\TESV.exe") as implied by the text label, or else it does't work.

Cheers

[wraith808]

Doesn't really matter the executable, as they are renamed anyway. I use SKSE, whose exe is called skse_loader.exe, however to make it work in Steam, you rename the TESV.exe to Skyrim.exe, then rename skse_loader.exe to TESV.exe. Then Steam will call the SKSE exe which in turn loads the old TESV exe. The name of the chained exe is in the Data\SKSE\skse.ini file (RuntimeName=Skyrim.exe). So as far as any third party apps like your's, it is still TESV.exe that should be called.

My comment was that your settings dialog requires the executable folder path (eg "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim") not the executable path (eg "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\TESV.exe") as implied by the text label, or else it does't work.

Cheers

-DougalS (January 14, 2013, 12:23 AM)

Ah... I see your point.  And not all people rename their executable.  Some just run it, as I've seen on another forum.  But I'll revisit that in the next version, hopefully this week.

Thanks!

[DougalS]

You could kill 2 birds with one stone by getting the executable full path; strip filename to get folder for whatever you use the current folder value for, and the name for the executable to launch.
Cheers