[Request] Main Menu Selection

Finally got around to giving it a whirl and it works and looks great. Thank you Glocken. A damned shame nobody figured out how to whip this together long before this point.

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amazing job there @GlockenGerda
so good to have these backgrounds available again!

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I did a poorly made tutorial a long time ago on how to create a custom main menu, but unfortunately no one has created or published one to date. But the method I used at that time (copying the mainmenu.map to the /Settings/ folder) was the same I used here.

Thank you! I like the AoM main menu the most, because of the ambient lighting and the flashes in the background.

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Maybe update that thread with your mini-mod :wink:

Well, from my Point of View, if often Feels llike Statements like this must come from youngsters, which didn’t grow up with the early days of Videogaming. Back than in the 90s / early 2000’s you’ve bought a Game and that’s it. There weren’t bugfixes, there weren’t post launch content support either free or paid (DLC’s) … if you were lucky and had a favorite Game, than rarely you’ve gotten either a Expansion, or (on Console) a Re-Release with additional Content… but that’s it. Nowdays however, if a gamedev f*** up with Bugs, he can fix it, even further down, if the Game is popular enough, even certain fans are so passionated about it to fix it. And you get a lot post-launch stuff in many games in form of Updates, DLCs or Expansions, means no waiting another 2-3 Years (at minimum) for a sequel, which than might feel like an entirely different game than the entry you loved.

My Point is: Statements like this frustrates me, because for me they sound wrong, ungratefull and in some sense spoiled. If you pay Money for a Videogame, you pay basically for what you get. Not for the extra work the devs potentially spent on it, and no consumer have any right to demand anything from the Devs afterwards. Except for a working Game (and to specify that i talk about: Game is launchable / playable and that it is not [completly] bugridden), though i’ve yet to point out in that regard it sometimes matters as well, like - let’s say, if the reason for a Game not working lies on the players end a not on the Game itself. Videogames aren’t contract labor / commissional work, but Art, based on the Vision of Game-Devs. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give feedback or suggestion, but it’s up to them if they consider it, and they aren’t obliged to implement every demand a player has. And that has absolutely nothing to do with being a “fanboy”, but is common sense.

So to sum it up, i don’t hold it against people if they express their wishes and stuff, but for me it’s a pretty wonky and false argument to come with “but we payed for it”, because that’s kinda bold. You don’t pay for the extra work they put in, because it’s free post-launch Update and the devs deliever alot post-launch stuff(alot of it even community suggestion) afterwards, so i don’t see how they owe us anything or are obliged to our demands. If we would talk about specific exceptions like certain games which f** up their release and the game was a mess / maybe even missing content, than okay, i get you where you come from…*

@GlockenGerda
Oh you saved the Day again =D

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@GlockenGerda @tqFan …and whoever else might be interested.

Made a quick little utility for switching Glockens menu selections.



Download:


gd_menu_switcher.zip (525.1 KB)



How-to:


  • Just download and extract the executable from its zip. Can be placed and ran from anywhere.

  • Download both of Glocken’s zip files above here and place both the zip files in your Settings folder (in GD’s Documents folder location)

  • When you start it up it will ask you first for Steam or GOG (versions of the game). Respond appropriately and it will give you a folder selector wanting to know your install paths. For Steam it does this twice. Once for your root Steam folder and the second time for the GD install folder. GOG only needs your GD install folder.

  • It creates a small .ini file in the Documents\Settings location that it uses to keep track of your toggles and path settings. Deleting this file basically “resets” the utility, needing you to select the paths again the next time you start it.

  • Keep in mind that with the randomization feature it’s very possible to wind up with the same menu several times in a row. 3 choices isn’t the biggest pool to draw from but it works.

  • In order for the Grim Internals toggle to work you, of course, need GI installed. If the utility doesn’t detect GI this toggle will not respond to your clicks.


That’s all there is to it. Run my little utility and make changing them a snap.



Screenshots:


image

image



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Damn you guys and gals are awesome. I guess my wish is basically fulfilled now. :partying_face: I’m so glad I decided to go through with this request thread.

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I knew you would do it, you like them switchers and selectors :wink:

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Who doesn’t love choices and automation of choices? :wink:

Makes switching between them so much nicer and less work. Press a button once. Bam! Done :smile:

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Update:



Updated my Menu Switcher above to be more “friendly” to other applications (such as GrimUI etc) that might also use similar folder structures in the same location.

Before when switching it would delete the old (entire folder structure) and then extract the new back into its place. Now it just deletes the files for each version upon switching while leaving the directory structure itself intact and should no longer need to worry about it disrupting anything else you might be using.

“Updating” is easy. Just delete the old version and download the new and carry on as before. Gravy train.



200


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thanks for the topic, and thanks a lot Powbam and GlockenGerda for the solution !

I bought AOM and FG at the same time, so I have never enjoyed the AOM menu (my favorite) … it will change now :hugs::kissing:

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No prob… working on a little “randomization” and game launching action for the switcher (at the prompting of @StrUktO). Might have it done here in the coming hours.



image


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haha, glad to have ‘contributed’
really nice to have this feature!

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Update:



Alright… next update. Randomization is in and…


image


…as a bonus I tossed in a Grim Internals toggle. Get it at my “main” download post above.

Now when you start it up it will ask you first for Steam or GOG (versions of the game). Respond appropriately and it will give you a folder selector wanting to know your install paths. For Steam it does this twice. Once for your root Steam folder and the second time for the GD install folder. GOG only needs your GD install folder.

It creates a small .ini file in the Documents\Settings location that it uses to keep track of your toggles and path settings. Deleting this file basically “resets” the utility, needing you to select the paths again the next time you start it.

Keep in mind that with the randomization feature it’s very possible to wind up with the same menu several times in a row. 3 choices isn’t the biggest pool to draw from but it works.

In order for the Grim Internals toggle to work you, of course, need GI installed. If the utility doesn’t detect GI this toggle will not respond to your clicks.

Enjoy.



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Ah, I was hoping you would create something like this. :innocent:

Just one question: Isn’t it possible to include the menu switcher into your other tool GD Switcher? Just for simplicity.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your dedicated work!

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lol I was hoping someone wouldn’t ask me that. Lost my original source for that version of Switcher so yeah. Who knows, I might just expand on this one at some point and build it up to do the other stuff it does.

Not sure if this is it but I have
GD Switcher.ahk.txt (56.1 KB)
GD Switcher, GUI.ahk.txt (34.7 KB)

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Ah yes that’s not the same version as my “main” Switcher. Tho I can use what I did there tho :wink: I was already thinking about it.

Looks like it’s still working just fine too lol

I would probably rework some of that tho. Probably my use of .txt files to keep track of settings changes. I’ve since moved onto the joys of using a single .ini file for that now. Other than that tho I am now impressed looking at how nicely I did that in AHK. Had put it out of my mind a bit since I did it.

For anyone interested in using it right now I converted it to an executable here if you want to try it out:

GD Switcher.zip (526.7 KB)




Just an FYI for any that do use it: it’s not quite the same as my above menu switcher. This actually disables the expansions - as well as lets you apply settings like x64 and DX9 as shown above.

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Just discovered an issue with my Menu Switcher above and fixed and updated it.

I had been using Glocken’s original upload yet and never redownloaded them so the file/folder structure the tool was looking for was a bit different as a result and causing some slight issues. That’s my bad.

If you use it you will want to download it and then to “reset” things properly just delete these 4 folders…

…and rerun the tool and you should be good to go.

Note: only delete those folders IF this is the only “mod” you use that puts files here. If any other tool you use (like GrimUI for instance) lives here then don’t do that. You could probably also just start up the new Menu Switcher version, push the button for “Default (FG)” and then back to whatever menu version you want to reset it as well.

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Please gentlemen of CRATE, put the option to choose between the three menu screens, I have always liked the screen of the original game, much darker than the screen of the second expansion of Forgotten Gods