Jedi Knight Patch Commander
Version 3.0

Please read this entire file carefully, as well as the Patch FAQ (in the file patchfaq.html), before emailing me with any questions. I tend to ignore questions when the answer is in the readme file.

Contents

  1. Standard Disclaimer
  2. Description
  3. Features
  4. Patch Addition and Activation
  5. Quickstart Jedi Knight
  6. Patch Information
  7. GOB File Creation
  8. Credits

Information

  1. Standard Disclaimer

    This add-on utility is provided for personal use. It may be distributed freely, as long as it is not charged for. It is provided without warranty -- use it completely at your own risk. Yada yada yada.

    That said, I use it all the time and I think it's pretty cool.

  2. Description

    The Jedi Knight Patch Commander (JKPatch) will organize all of your GOB-file-based Jedi Knight patches, allowing you to activate and deactivate particular patches and launch Jedi Knight with your desired configuration.

  3. Features
  4. Patch Addition and Activation

    In addition to the instructions below, there are menu options, keyboard shortcuts, and toolbar buttons for all the features. I'm just listing the shortcuts. Take a few minutes to explore all the buttons, menu options and right-click context menus.

    To add new patches, simply drag your GOB files from Windows Explorer (or WinZIP) into the patch organizer window.

    Note: When you delete a patch from the Patch Commander window, the GOB file is physically removed from the patches directory without a backup. Make sure you have backups of any patches you remove, unless you want them gone for good!

    Double-click a patch to toggle its activation status. When a patch is activated, any conflicting patches are deactivated and the icon changes to a "NO" symbol. You can still reactivate the patch -- it'll just deactivate any conflicting patches again.

    Use the Options menu to select the desired Jedi Knight command line configuration.

    To run Jedi Knight using your selected patches, click the Jedi Knight icon in the toolbar, or hit F9.

    Happy Patching!

  5. Quickstart Jedi Knight

    To quickstart Jedi Knight using the most recently activated patches and options, execute JKPatch using the -quickstart command line option (jkpatch -quickstart). Or just use the Quickstart Jedi Knight icon in the Jedi Knight Patch Commander program group.

  6. Patch Information

    If the GOB file for a patch contains a file called patchinfo.txt (in the GOB file's "root directory"), it will be read and parsed to provide extended patch information in the program. The file format is as follows:

    Name=My Cool Patch

    Type=Weapon (or Skin, Force Power, Saber, etc.)

    Description=This is a free-form description of the patch (which should not contain any carriage returns, since that will confuse the file reader)

    Author=Michael B. Klein

    Email=michael@kbk.org

    Cat's Name=Max

    etc...

    As you can see, you can include whatever property names and values you want. The important ones (which are used specifically by JKPatch) are Name, Type, and Description.

  7. GOB File Creation

    The Jedi Knight Patch Commander will assist you in the process of making new GOB files out of existing ungobbed patches. It will also automatically create a patchinfo.txt file (described above) for the patch.

    To GOB a patch, simply select the File|Create GOB... menu option in JKPatch. Then, in the Patch Gobber window, use the File menu (or just drag and drop -- great for converting ZIPped patches) to add the required files to the new GOB. Use the grid at the top to specify the patch information. (Bonus: If you drag an existing patchinfo.txt file onto the Gobber window, it will automatically update the grid). To add new properties or delete existing ones, use the Ins and Del keys.

    VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The Gobber window uses a relatively stupid algorithm based on the file extension to decide where to put certain files. For example, all COG files will be put in the "cog\" directory inside the GOB. It gets it right most of the time. However, MAT files can go in either "mat\" or "3do\mat\" depending on what they're used for. The Gobber will default to "3do\mat\" but you can edit the directory name in the grid containing the list of files. If you're confused as to where a file should go, look at the path information in the ZIP file that the patch came in.

    Limitations:

    • You can't edit existing GOB files (without ungobbing them and starting from scratch)
    • You can't change or delete files once they've been added to the list (because the data portion of the GOB file is built as you go, and removing stuff from the middle is a huge pain). Just get it right the first time or start over <grin>.
  8. Credits

    This program was written by Michael B. Klein, during a couple of days when he had lots of other things he should have been doing. Special thanks to Rick Rogers for some technical help, DJ Scary for testing and suggestions, Dark Knight of Weegee's Workshop for the included Destruct-O-Ray patch, and to DARKJEDI.COM for information on the GOB file format.

    Thanks also to those who use the Patch Commander and have provided bug reports, insights, and suggestions for enhancements. And a big thanks to those of you who voted for Patch Commander for Best Utility in the Darkness Falls Best of 1997 awards. I'll concede first place to an enormous undertaking like JED -- second place is great, too.

    And, of course, enormous thanks to all the patch authors out there (keep 'em coming!), as well as to LucasArts Entertainment Company for a kickass game!

    This program is powered by Delphi!