How to preserve changes in .ecf config files after an update?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by JUDADIAO, Dec 23, 2021.

  1. JUDADIAO

    JUDADIAO Ensign

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2019
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    2
    I am confident there is no error/typo in my modified files because if I put them under the default folder (/contents/configuration) the game will load the config files without any issue.
     
    #21
  2. Either not ALL the config files work in the mods folder, or it is bugged.
    It isn't working as you say it should @Taelyn

    As an example test I just did,
    I copied the default EClassConfig.ecf to the mods folder. I then opened it, in the mods folder, and edited the players max health from 500 to 5000. Saved and exited.
    I then launched the game, selected the Arid planet (only change I made), and started a brand new default vanilla game.
    My character did NOT have 5000 health but had the default 500 instead.
    I then replicated this 2 more times with 2 more new games.

    I then copied that exact file and overwrote the default one in the Content/Configuration directory.
    I then started yet another brand new vanilla default game. This time my character had the correct 5000 health.

    Something isn't working here. It isn't as you say it should be, or it only works with certain config files. You need to be specific please....

    Edit
    I also exited to desktop and relaunched between EACH of my new game tests above, so that isn't the issue at all.
    Something is bugged or not all the config files work. Please test and respond.
    EClassConfig.ecf is also the ONLY config file I copied to the mods directory for my test above.

    The fact that the exact same file works in the Configuration directory proves I did NOT make an error in my single line edit.....
    Testing done in v1.7.1.1 B3639
     
    #22
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2021
    Tarc Novar likes this.
  3. Myrmidon

    Myrmidon Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2016
    Messages:
    1,734
    Likes Received:
    2,066
    I think, the default player max health value is hard-coded. Changing it in files have no effect (yet?).
     
    #23
  4. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2017
    Messages:
    6,274
    Likes Received:
    11,936
    But it did work for him in the default folder.
     
    #24
  5. Nope not hard coded. It has always worked ever since they gave us the varied ecf files. It only takes the value on new game start though from my testings in the past.
    If you change it for an already created game it mever changed the value, only new games.

    One thing is for sure though, it is NOT working at all for that file if it is in the mods folder for me. After my post above I tested modifying other parameters that I know for sure work in the EClassCofig.ecf file. That file seems to not work from the mods folder though, so something isn't correct about what Taelyn said before and some clarification would be great.

    It's definitely not as simple as copy them in and they just work. Either it isn't reading them until second game load, in which case it isn't working correctly because as I said some parameters only work on new game start. If they don't read the files on first load then they are pointless.
    If it isn't that then is is a bug causing only some ecf files to work from the mods folder.
    Either way something is broken and needs fixing.

    And since there appears to be no console messages about if the game is loading ecf files from the mods directory or not, all I can say is that it is definitely not working.
    It definitely IS working if I put the modified files into the default Configuration directory though.
    Game has a bug somewhere, and since there is no documentation on how this is supposed to work I am now at Taelyn's mercy....
     
    #25
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2021
    Tarc Novar likes this.
  6. To clarify, no I don't normally run with 5000 max health on my character.
    It was just a simple modification since it only involved adding a single 0 to a single line (2 lines if you want male and female characters to be affected).
    I chose max health specifically because I know from experience it only works on new game start.

    It was the perfect variable to use for my test since there are no console messages about if it did or did not load the file from mods directory or if there were errors.

    If I feel up to it later on I may test the other ecf files in the mods directory as well. This kind of took the wind out of my sails though since it is so evidently not working correctly.
     
    #26
  7. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 13, 2017
    Messages:
    2,819
    Likes Received:
    4,113
    Well if a custom EClassConfig.ecf can work in a custom scenario's \Content\Configuration folder, I guess it would be supposed to work also in the \Content\Mods folder. If it's not then there might be a problem, yes.

    Like I wrote in message #18 it's not possible to see if some, all or none of the items work in a specific file if some sample tests show that they work / don't work from one game start to another, with/ without game crash or messages, etc.
     
    #27
  8. That is my point. This DOES work in all the other locations. It works from the default config location, and it works from within a custom scenario.
    It most certainly is not working from the mods folder.

    Without documentation, and without any messages in the console, all we can say is that things are not working as Taelyn explained them to us.
    Perhaps a game bug has changed things. Perhaps only certain files ever worked in the first place.
    This is definitely not a case of a player making an error on editing though, so this is a vanilla issue for the devs to solve (or just explain if a necessary limitation).

    I'm not an angry ranting customer or anything like that. I was actually happy to learn about the supposed benefits of the mods folder, that until now most of us have been clueless on due to said lack of documentation. Well, I was happy until I learned it isn't working....
    I just want to get to the bottom of this and get accurate information.
     
    #28
  9. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 13, 2017
    Messages:
    2,819
    Likes Received:
    4,113
    I am just supporting your point my friend.

    Here, just did the test in one of my custom (creative) scenarios :

    NewGame_5_2021-12-29_17-40-18.png

    I could add that when running this scenario, the game closes OK one time out of two, the next time it does not close and I have to task manager kill the process. Game has been doing that sporadically lately, on various scenarios/ game starts/ loads. Can be unrelated but it only makes all testing that more painful...

    Edit : #comments at the top of config files and besides various parameters help a lot. I have seen more and more of these added in the recent updates, and I wish even more are added to cover more content, limits, possible bugs, warnings at the top of the config file, etc. This is also true for other files we can modify, like the sectors and planets templates. A few words in there can save a lot of wasted time on the forums and in blind testing... :)

    .
     
    #29
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2021
    krazzykid2006 likes this.
  10. Myrmidon

    Myrmidon Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2016
    Messages:
    1,734
    Likes Received:
    2,066
    Somebody show us that it works as described. Upload the edited .ecf file and share it with us along with a screenshot that shows the max health is something higher than the default 500.
     
    #30
  11. EClassConfig.ecf
    Line 32 for male toon, and line 84 for female toon.
    Start a new save after editing it. 100% vanilla default survival besides this one change below.
    Code:
      MaxHealth: 314159
    Pi for fun ;)
    High enough for ya?
    Again, doesn't work if in the mods folder.
    [​IMG]
    I believe I have met all your criteria.

    Edit
    I killed my character after starting the new save to show I could actually reach that max health. I did this because it would have taken me a year and a half to heal fully (I tried for about 5 minutes), and killing your character starts you at full health.
    Yes, the health is fully working. Every. Bit. Of. It.
    lol
     

    Attached Files:

    #31
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 30, 2021
    Myrmidon likes this.
  12. Myrmidon

    Myrmidon Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2016
    Messages:
    1,734
    Likes Received:
    2,066

    This seems to me like a new change. I remember I did try to do the same earlier this year to no avail.

    While numbers like your are "unnatural", can help for testing purposes where one needs to test things without turning on godmode. Also It can help to give scenario creators new ideas. One thing that comes to my mind now is whether or not, somehow we can have values on ecf files that last for a specific condition. Example player uses a health buff that increases total health from 500 to 600 temporarily or per condition of until death or time interval. Actually I am asking for temporal value preservation, if one understands what I am trying to describe. As things are now, the answer is no?

    Thank you :)
     
    #32
  13. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2017
    Messages:
    6,274
    Likes Received:
    11,936
    It might be possible via dialog but it wouldn't change the player's maximum health, only their current health, but I am unsure if it would work or not and it wouldn't be timed.
     
    #33
  14. Myrmidon

    Myrmidon Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2016
    Messages:
    1,734
    Likes Received:
    2,066
    That is an interesting thing to test. Thank you. I suppose other attributes can be altered like this, i.e. radiation resistance , removal of diseases and other afflictions etc. But not from the mods folder.
     
    #34
  15. I assure you it isn't new. We have been able to modify this exactly as I have shown for as long as we have had access to the EClassConfig.ecf file.
    It has always worked and has just always required to be edited before starting a new save.

    It was one of the very first things I tested when they gave us access to all the ecf files. Definitely not new.
    The only part of this that is new and unknown to me is the mods folder, and it isn't functioning as explained/expected.
     
    #35
  16. Myrmidon

    Myrmidon Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2016
    Messages:
    1,734
    Likes Received:
    2,066
    This detail makes the difference on my tests. Again, thank you.

    Is this a bug or intended?
     
    #36
  17. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2017
    Messages:
    6,274
    Likes Received:
    11,936
    These are the only things we have access to:

    Other States that can be used (w. examples)
    Player.Stamina = 100 // Check for player stats
    Player.Health -= 1 // Check for player stats
    Player.Oxygen = 30 // Check for player stats
    Player.Food += 1 // Check for player stats
    Player.Credit += 1.1 // player credits on his bank account (NOT the moneycard!)
    Player.Origin = 0 // For player origins. Requires the ID of the Origin as set in the sectors.yaml
    Player.ExperiencePoints = 11// Sets or gets the player's XP
    Player.Level // Gets the current level of the player (you can only change the level by changing the ExperiencePoints)
    Player.UpgradePoints = 88 // Sets or gets the player's Upgrade/UnlockPoints

    Most likely though it won't let you go above the current max health.
     
    #37
  18. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 13, 2017
    Messages:
    2,819
    Likes Received:
    4,113
    ... with the "dialog" mechanic. But we have access to all status effects and can mod them as we like, just not with dialogs.

    I'm sure you saw the example I posted yesterday so you know it can be done, but not with dialogues.

    But be it dialogs or any other type of mod, these require either a custom scenario or modding the main "Content" files because nothing works in the Mods folder.
     
    #38
  19. That's what we have been trying to figure out ever since the first reply in this thread.

    From what Taelyn said it should work but isn't.
    It's starting to look like we aren't going to get replies any time soon though, so I'll likely just file a bug report in the next couple days when I get a chance.

    I was hoping for a dev to reply before I filed a bug report, because without documentation it's hard for us players to say what is and isn't intended.
     
    #39
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 30, 2021
  20. Taelyn

    Taelyn Administrator Staff Member Community Manager

    • Developer
    • Administrator
    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2021
    Messages:
    871
    Likes Received:
    1,370
    Sorry were closed for the Holidays so i dont answer streight away.
    Code:
    - Modders can now put changed configuration files for the default scenario (.ecf files in Content/Configuration) in Content/Mods => no more need to touch the originals which will be overwritten with each update
    So it works for every Config File, I will look at it once we start to work again next week.
     
    #40

Share This Page