Suggestions

[Number Six]

This thread is for suggestions for enhancements or additional features.

 

Already planned:

• Keyboard navigation of the main launcher screen
• Single sign-on option to launch the game and automatically log into the account that the launcher is logged into
• Some method of linking additional accounts for multiboxing (probably a right-click option to launch with a secondary account)
• Basic account management like password changes from within the launcher itself
• Custom profiles for quickly switching between different graphics presets, etc
• Addon manager and updating

[Greycat]

Completely aesthetic and low priority:

Theming/skinning and/or color choice (for those who, say, want to start in villainous red or Praetorian gold from the very first click.)

Returning the color coding to the server status (right now, Excelsior is the only "medium" status server, but it's kind of hard to notice that it has two chevrons in that button instead of one.)

[Bionic_Flea]

I vaguely recall discussion of the launcher having the capability to be customized with existing player-created add-ons like Mids, VidiotMaps, and other custom stuff.  Is that what you mean by "Addon manager and updating"?

[InfamousBrad]

Any chance of showing the current WST on the news page above the announcements? Just to remind people as they're logging in?

[WanderingAries]

On 10/14/2020 at 2:55 PM, Bionic_Flea said:

I vaguely recall discussion of the launcher having the capability to be customized with existing player-created add-ons like Mids, VidiotMaps, and other custom stuff.  Is that what you mean by "Addon manager and updating"?

That would be my observation and understanding as well.

[WanderingAries]

I threw it in Manga's thread, but the Mac launcher Icon isn't updated to the new HC launcher standard. I "tried" to copy/paste the icon from the actual game apps nested inside the coh folder, but even though they show the correct icon on the finder, the Get-Info window has a generic file icon. So when you copy That and try to paste, you get the same generic icon for the desktop icon for the launcher (when you go to fix it). If it would be too hard to do that, then maybe just toss in an ICO file or image file with an invisible background we can copy/paste with.

[WanderingAries]

On 10/14/2020 at 11:32 AM, Number Six said:

This thread is for suggestions for enhancements or additional features.

 

Already planned:

• Some method of linking additional accounts for multiboxing (probably a right-click option to launch with a secondary account)
• Custom profiles for quickly switching between different graphics presets, etc
• Addon manager and updating

• What about a multi-box button next to the login button that creates a popup/separate window where you can enter in game credentials (please let them be stored!). It then has something like a checklist to the side of each account that allows you to check whichever you want to launch. Have an "add an account" button to easily add credentials. Then a button to launch ALL selected accounts in their own instances. Oh and a drop-down for which Game Install this gets sent to (if feasible).
• Similar to the first thing, throw a graphics profile button next to the MB button that triggers a popup/drop-down for choosing a profile. If you did the popup option, then you could design it similar to the MB scenario where you have an "add/delete/edit profile" button.
• You know what I might say about this one, but as long as the file structure stays the same, then whatever you decide on design wise, it won't interfere with existing tools.

[EmperorSteele]

Here's one: a button that opens up our screenshots folder 😃

[Jacke]

Is there any intention to add support for Paragon Chat and Icon as 2 more Game Profiles, as with Tequila ?  If not, that's my suggestion, primarily to take over all the functions of Tequila.

[WanderingAries]

6 hours ago, Jacke said:

Is there any intention to add support for Paragon Chat and Icon as 2 more Game Profiles, as with Tequila ?  If not, that's my suggestion, primarily to take over all the functions of Tequila.

Pretty sure the answer to that was written elsewhere, but PC is a Titan thing and Icon is basically retired, so if you want access to those, then you'd need to stick to Tequila for them until they get retired. I'd jump over to the Titan forums and ask their official status.

 

Oh wait, @GM Tahquitz, this is your territory!

[GM Tock]

Ignoring the Homecoming client for a second, this is concerning just Paragon Chat and Icon.

 

Icon is end-of-life.  There are no more updates happening for it.  It will continue to work on Issue 24 files indefinitely and offline, so as long as a Visual C runtime from the 2010s is installed, you're fine.

 

Paragon Chat doesn't need Tequila to patch, but it needs the Issue 24 files that Tequila downloads.  Once you have the issue 24 files and Paragon Chat installed, keeping a copy of the Tequila folder with Paragon Chat in it is all you need to reinstall it elsewhere.  Issue 24 doesn't get updated ever again by Tequila, so it's not really updating anything if you run Paragon Chat that way. 

 

Both apps will not work with Homecoming Launcher.  Like WanderingAries said, the easiest way to put it: if you keep Tequila around, Paragon Chat and Icon will continue to work.

[PeregrineFalcon]

Can you please make the icons larger, or at least adjust to screen size?

 

I have a 33 inch monitor and an ancient set of eyes that are going bad. The little icons that represent the servers are tiny. I'm not asking them to be changed to being the size of a quarter or anything, but right now they're roughly the size of a pin-head on my screen.

[Ura Hero]

11 hours ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

Can you please make the icons larger, or at least adjust to screen size?

 

I have a 33 inch monitor and an ancient set of eyes that are going bad. The little icons that represent the servers are tiny. I'm not asking them to be changed to being the size of a quarter or anything, but right now they're roughly the size of a pin-head on my screen.

There is a size slider in the settings that will change the size of the launcher and everything inside of it.

[Replacement]

Can we get a way to check a server for update without restarting client?

 

I understand this occurs automatically every hour or so, and I understand I may be in a vast minority for wanting this behavior.  I play in the beta environments more than the Live environment these days, and tend to be trying to log in as soon as I see forum notification of patch notes.  Would be nice to just have an Update option in the dot menu, alongside Verify, Settings, and Uninstall.

[CrudeVileTerror]

Following-up on @Replacement; it would be stellar to have the option to disable automatic update checking entirely, and have the option for the user to choose.

Yes, naturally, a mismatch on client and server versions will prevent a player from playing, even if the game launches, but sometimes I really don't want the launcher to be phoning home constantly.  I'd much rather just tell it when it's acceptable to do so.

[WanderingAries]

6 hours ago, CrudeVileTerror said:

Following-up on @Replacement; it would be stellar to have the option to disable automatic update checking entirely, and have the option for the user to choose.

Yes, naturally, a mismatch on client and server versions will prevent a player from playing, even if the game launches, but sometimes I really don't want the launcher to be phoning home constantly.  I'd much rather just tell it when it's acceptable to do so.

The launcher has a control for each game type where you Choose to auto-update or not. Now, that won't mean that you won't get forced to do so once you try to launch the game, but it's a choice.

[CrudeVileTerror]

Thank you, @WanderingAries.  Do you happen to have a screenshot of where that setting is?

[Number Six]

On 11/4/2020 at 4:50 PM, PeregrineFalcon said:

Can you please make the icons larger, or at least adjust to screen size?

 

I have a 33 inch monitor and an ancient set of eyes that are going bad. The little icons that represent the servers are tiny. I'm not asking them to be changed to being the size of a quarter or anything, but right now they're roughly the size of a pin-head on my screen.

They should adjust to the screen size, at least to the size that Windows itself is set to scale for. What is the scaling in your display properties?

[Number Six]

7 hours ago, Replacement said:

Can we get a way to check a server for update without restarting client?

 

I understand this occurs automatically every hour or so, and I understand I may be in a vast minority for wanting this behavior.  I play in the beta environments more than the Live environment these days, and tend to be trying to log in as soon as I see forum notification of patch notes.  Would be nice to just have an Update option in the dot menu, alongside Verify, Settings, and Uninstall.

This can probably be added to the drop-down menu easily enough. The only catch is that I may have to bypass some internal logic. There's a hardcoded 5-minute lockout timer on checking for updates that the UI doesn't have access to. It's a failsafe to make sure that some unforeseen circumstance or programming error can't cause it to get stuck in an update loop.

[Number Six]

1 hour ago, WanderingAries said:

The launcher has a control for each game type where you Choose to auto-update or not. Now, that won't mean that you won't get forced to do so once you try to launch the game, but it's a choice.

In addition to the per-profile setting in the options window, there's also a -noselfupdate command line flag that suppresses the launcher's mechanism for updating itself.

 

It's really intended for temporary use for troubleshooting or extreme cases like a broken launcher update or an OS patch that causes a newer version to not work. Since it also disables updates of the bootstrap config, using it long term could leave you with a broken launcher or inability to update the game if/when new features are added to the package format. But if you're paranoid and want to make absolutely sure it doesn't reach out for updates, it's there.

 

Addendum: I'm not sure that checkbox will do exactly what @CrudeVileTerror is asking, since it disables the automatic update, but still checks to see if a newer package is available. The traffic is minimal though; it uses an HTTP HEAD with Last-Modified set, so it's just a 304 response with no content if there isn't a new version. Not like Tequila where it downloads the whole manifest xml every time.

[WanderingAries]

1 hour ago, CrudeVileTerror said:

Thank you, @WanderingAries.  Do you happen to have a screenshot of where that setting is?

From my guide, but like @Number Six said, it's only partly what you likely want.

 

[PeregrineFalcon]

1 hour ago, Number Six said:

They should adjust to the screen size, at least to the size that Windows itself is set to scale for. What is the scaling in your display properties?

Scaling: 100% (Recommended)

Display resolution: 1920 x 1080 (Recommended)

[Number Six]

On 10/24/2020 at 5:13 PM, EmperorSteele said:

Here's one: a button that opens up our screenshots folder 😃

This one is done.

[Skreamweaver]

As I entered the forum this morning, I saw a Notification by my Forum Name. One click and it took me to updates on a thread I follow. Could this notification appear next to my username in the Launcher? The Notification also suggested I enable browser-level notifications, but that's not an option for me, but having that notification instead pushed to HCLauncher would be the perfect information at the right time and place.

 

Perhaps the same two buttons with the same two icons as it has now, in the same location relative to the username? I guess, if there were a dropbox for multiple accounts, it would just update to whichever one is currently active.