Instructions for using modified Populous Lobby Client v1.06 by CDplayer Installation instructions ------------------------- If you already have a fully functional local lobby client running (normally from c:\poplaunch\poplaunch.htm) then you just need to download the files which have been upgraded. If you *don't* already have a local client, then you will have to install that and get it running first. The new files won't work without it. You can get a copy of the basic version (which runs the EA standard lobby routines from your hard disk) from http://www.populous3.info/launcher.htm, together with an installation and troubleshooting guide. Once you have the basic local client working, you can install the upgraded files which add in all the bells and whistles. Do this by downloading the latest version (currently 1.05) from http://www.populous3.info/launcher.htm and saving it to any suitable location. Run the exe file which will install the new files in C:\poplaunch. Close all instances of Internet Explorer, then double-click on c:\poplaunch\poplaunch.htm from Windows Explorer to run it. I recommend that you save both the basic and the extended .exe files somewhere safe so that you can reinstall if you ever need to. The new client installs new versions of the following files: c:\poplaunch\MatchMakerClient.class c:\poplaunch\RoomManager.class c:\poplaunch\PingThread.class c:\poplaunch\poplaunch.htm c:\poplaunch\images\PlayList.gif I suggest that, before installing, you rename these by adding '.old' to the end of each name. That way, you can ensure that the new files have been installed in the correct place, and you can unroll the installation by renaming them back. Using the modified client ------------------------- Once you have joined the lobby, the welcome message should include the line: 'CDplayer Client Mods v1.05 (Enter -h for help)'. If you *don't* see that line, then the files have not installed properly. This is almost certainly due to a path problem; the files having been installed to a different folder. Check other possible locations (eg c:\poplaunch\poplaunch or c:\). Move the files or reinstall them if they are in the wrong place. Chat, joining games and launching all work in the same way as the original lobby, but there are some extra features, as detailed below. These features are controlled by entering commands into the chat edit box at the bottom of the lobby screen. Commands are not case-sensitive (eg. both -p and -P will work). Any command or message which you type in which begins with a '-' will *not* be sent to anyother user in the lobby, and they will not see the system messages displayed as a result of the command. Command Summary --------------- -B ==> block last player who posted -B xyz ==> block player xyz -B xyz] ==> block player whose name starts with 'xyz' -BS ==> Save list of blocked players to disk -C ==> toggle censorship on/off -CM ==> toggle censorship between words and messages -F ==> toggle flood control on/off -H ==> command help -I ==> toggle flood control info messages on/off -IP ==> Display local IP address -L ==> list blocked players -LOG ==> log chat messages on/off -P ==> toggle ping display -S ==> list current lobby status -U ==> unblock all players -Unn ==> unblock player number nn -U xyz ==> unblock player named xyz -U xyz] ==> unblock player whose name starts with 'xyz' -V ==> View last blocked or censored message -W ==> list words which are censored Hut pings --------- There is a new display adjacent to each hut bar in the lobby which may be in one of three states. If the hut is empty, or the host position is empty, it will show '---'. If there is a host with a firewall, or with ping disabled, it will show '-?-'. Otherwise, it will show the numerical ping value from your PC to the host in that hut. This is the same value as you would see on the screen where you choose partners, if you were to join the hut and the host launched. This means that you can avoid joining games where the host has a high ping. You can toggle the ping display on and off by entering -p. Flood control ------------- Flooding is when a lobby user makes long or repeated posts (usually of nonsense) which causes the chat record to scroll off the top of the display and, in extreme cases, can crash the EA server. There is no way to prevent these messages from reaching the server, but they can be blocked from appearing on your display. No pre-programmed flood filter will prevent a determined flooder, but the filters in this client will intercept most of the common forms of flood message. You can toggle flood control on and off by entering -f. When it is on, all flood messages (including your own) are deleted without displaying. When it is off, you will see all flood messages (again, including your own). If you wish to verify that the flood control is working (or to see if people are flooding), you can toggle on flood information messages by pressing -i. When enabled, this function will display a message whenever a flood message is intercepted except that, for repeated messages, the information message is only shown for the first repeat. Blocking users -------------- Persistent flooders, or abusive lobby users can be a nuisance. There is a facility on the lobby client which will allow you to block all messages from named individual users. There are four ways in which you can block a user: 1) Enter '-b xyz' where xyz is the user's name. The user does not need to be in the lobby for this to take effect. 2) Enter '-b xyz]' where xyz are the first three letters of the user's name. The client will look through the list of users in the lobby and block the user whose name matches. If more than one user matches, none will be blocked. 3) If the user to be blocked was the last to post a message, then simply entering '-b' will block him (or her). 4) When the lobby client loads for the first time, it creates a file called c:\poplaunch\popnames.txt. If you add names to this file (by editing it with, for example, Notepad), they will automatically be blocked each time the lobby loads thereafter. Names should be entered one per line. Lines beginning with '*' and blank lines are ignored, so you can subdivide it and add comments if you wish. If you wish to block a name beginning with a '*', put a space in front of it, thus ' *smarta**e'. These commmands are case-independent, so that '-B xYz' is eqivalent to '-b XyZ', both of which would block a player named 'xyz'. When you block a player, a message can be sent automatically to inform everyone in the lobby. You can yurn this feature off by entering '-BL'. Messages from blocked players are ignored, unless flood information messages are enabled (-i), in which case a message such as "('xyz' message blocked)" will appear. You can save the list of currently blocked players back to popnames.txt by entering '-bs'. Note that the client does *not* automatically save the names when you shut it down, but leaves the file unchanged. Note also that if you save the list of names in this way, it will overwrite the previous file, and any comments and blank lines will be lost. A numbered list of the currently blocked users can be displayed by entering '-l'. Blocked users can be unblocked in one of four ways: 1) Enter '-ux' (or '-uxx') where x is a one or two digit number corresponding to the number of the user in the display list (ie after pressing '-l'). Note that there must not be a space between the 'u' and the number. 2) Enter '-u xyz' to unblock the user named 'xyz' (note the space). 3) Enter '-u xyz]' to unblock all the users whose names begin with 'xyz'. 4) Delete the user's name from popwords.txt. He will be unblocked the next time you launch the lobby. Censoring offensive words or messages ------------------------- When the lobby client loads for the first time, it creates a file called c:\poplaunch\popwords.txt. Any words which appear in that file will be replaced by '***' when the 'censor words' feature is enabled. It can be toggled on and off by entering '-c'. You can edit the file (for instance, with Notepad) to add or amend the word list. Each word should be on a separate line, blank lines and lines beginning with '*' are ignored. If a second word is added to a line, then all occurrences of the first word will be replaced by the second. Thus the line 'fluffy flu**y' would cause 'fluffy' to be replaced by 'flu**y' in all messages displyed. The replacement is not limited to whole words so if, for instance, 'and' was in the file, 'and' would become '***', 'stand' would become 'st***' and 'neanderthal' would become'ne***erthal'. You can verify which words are blocked whilst in the lobby by entering '-w', but there is no way to add words to the list using the lobby command line; they have to be added directly to the file popwords.txt. If you add words whilst the lobby is displayed, they will not be recognised until the file is reloaded, either by refreshing the lobby, or by turning censoring off and back on using '-c'. Alternatively, you can censor the whole message in which the offensive word appeared. You can switch between word and message censoring modes by entering '-cm'. In message mode, the offending message will be ignored and, if info messages are enabled (-i) you will be notified. View blocked/censored message ----------------------------- Sometimes, curiosity gets the better of us and we want to see what messages the lobby is blocking or censoring. Entering '-v' will allow you to view the last blocked or censored message. Message Log ----------- You can record the chat in the lobby to a text file (C:\poplaunch\poplog.txt) on your hard disk, for reading or editing later. Start logging by entering '-log'. Entering '-log' a second time switches it off. The logging sessions are date stamped, and new sessions are added on to the end of the file, thus preserving any earlier sessions. If the file has been deleted (and the first time logging is enabled) the lobby client will make a new file. Display local IP address ------------------------ If you want to set up a game independent from the EA server (an IP game) and you want to host, you will need to give your IP number to the other players. It has always been possible to get this from the EA lobby client - you can enter '_ipaddr' in any version and it will enter the IP number in the chat box. I have just added a synonym (-ip) in the same format as the other commands and added it to the help screen, to make it easier to remember. Once the IP address appears, you can edit it to send it as a message to the users in the lobby (as any other message), or you can copy it to your clipboard and paste it into a chat program such as AIM or ICQ, or just delete it. Either way, no one will see your IP address unless you tell them. This facility does *not* allow you to see anyone elses IP, or for them to see yours. Lobby Status ------------ To keep track of all these settings, press '-s' to get a summary of the lobby status. It will list all the settings, plus the names of any users who you have blocked. Help ---- Learning all the commands takes a while (unless you wrote the program :-) but there is only one which you really need - '-H' is the help command and lists all the other commands in the chat area. poplaunch.htm features ---------------------- A number of features can be controlled by editing the first few lines of the lunch file, poplaunch.htm. If you open the file with a text editor (eg Notepad), you will see a section at the top which is seperated off by asterisks. Settings in this section allow you to control the initial status of the lobby. Instructions are given by comments in the file itself, and no knowledge of javascript or HTML is needed. Some parameters require a number, others some text, others a value of true or false. Just change the existing values to give the setup you want. The following parameters can be changed: Default player name (that is, the name which is pre-entered on the launch screen) Default player grade Lobby window height (in pixels) Lobby window width Path where the launcher has been installed (see section below before changing!) Center the lobby (whether the lobby should be centred or left-justified in the browser window) Flood control on/off Flood info on/off Word censor on/off Hut pings on/off Whether or not to send a message to the lobby when you block someone Chat logging on/off Using a different installation folder ------------------------------------- If you need to install the lobby client on a folder other than C:\poplaunch it can be done, but you do so at your own risk, and I certainly don't recommend it! The two things which I know which need to be changed are: 1) Change the path in the user settings section of poplaunch.htm. Note that it is given in the form 'c:\\poplaunch' i.e. all backslash characters have to be doubled. (This is because that character has a special meaning in JavaScript.) 2) Edit the poplaunch.reg file using Notepad, change 'C:\\poplaunch\\' to the new path and then run it. Again note the double backslashes, and that the path must end with '\\'. Do not change anything else. .reg files directly edit the registry when they are run. Make sure you back the registry up first, just in case. If you don't know how to do that, then you probably shouldn't be messing with it. Note that running poplaunch.reg overwrites any previous entry, so if you set it up to run from a new folder, the c:\poplaunch folder won't work. Version History --------------- v1.00 26/12/2002 * Basic flood control of repeated messages only (-F). * Flood info messages. * Able to block players by entering their names, or block a single player by using -B. * Players can be unblocked, but only all at once. * Help screen (-H). v1.05 beta1 5/1/2003 * Extended flood control to include single messages which are very long, repetitive or otherwise suspect. * Flood info messages can be switched off ('-I'). * Players can now be blocked by entering their full name or part name. * More than one user can be blocked using '-B'. * Blocked users can now be lited using '-L'. * Blocked user names can be saved to a file, which can be edited offline, and which is loaded automatically when the lobby is launched. * Blocked users can be unblocked by name, part-name or number. * Listing blocked players gives a numbered list. * Word censoring added, using words from a text file. * Lobby status display added ('-S'). * Help display extended ('-H'). * Fixed word-wrap bug in EA lobby which lost the ends of long single-line messages. * Fixed faulty player list update bug in EA lobby when the host leaves a room (thanks to XS for that one). * Moved the lobby variables to control the default name and grade in poplaunch.htm into a single user area, together with the variables for applet height and width. * Enabled the lobby applet to resize gracefully to allow larger applet display. v1.05 beta2 9/1/2003 * The user editable section at the top of poplaunch.htm now allows you to choose whether tha lobby should be centred on the page, and which features should be switched on automatically on startup. * Numerical display of ping values by each hut (courtesy of <<--xs-->>). * Block commands now checked against the lobby user list, to ensure correct matches. * Fixed another EA lobby bug, by switching off the ping check (ealtest.exe) during games, thus hopefully improving response time slightly. You can now reinstall ealtest.exe if you removed it earlier.( This fix again courtesy of <<--xs-->>). * Various bug fixes in the new code. v1.05 final xx/1/2003 * All the new lobby functions can now be configured from the user settings section inside poplaunch.htm * Added chat logging. * Added '-v' command to view last blocked or censored message * Fixed a bug which interpreted the system message '<<<<<<<< PLAY >>>>>>>>>' as a flood. * Fixed a censor bug which sometimes stopped it from working. * Further refined the flood protection algorithms. * Freed up the flood control so that, when it is switched off, even repeated blank messages are displayed. * When a player is blocked, a chat message can be automatically generated and sent to the server so that everyone knows. * Tidied up the coding. v1.06 2/2/03 * Added IP lookup command * Fixed bug in posting web addresses in chat * Lowered the ping display when it appears under hut bars (partially obscured before) Acknowledgements ---------------- Many thanks to <<--xs-->> and Shakey Jake for figuring out how to launch the matchmaker client locally and for extracting all the files. Also to <<--xs-->> for sharing his hut ping code, and for spotting and solving the ealtest bug. All rights to the files in this pack belong to Electronic Arts except in respect of the modifications which we have made. You should satisfy yourself that you will not be infringing their copyright, or any agreements which you have entered into, before you install or run this software. This software is provided free of charge on an 'as is' basis, without warranty, and with no liability on my part for any damages caused by the use of the software in any way. CDplayer --------