ThorUI AU (Auto Update) [Interface Discussion]

[kurganxy]

For those wondering like i was how to change the color of the UI while using Thor, it took me a little while to figure it out, seeing as how ive never modified a UI before.. heres a quick guide for doing it.. you need photoshop or paintshop pro.. and the Nvidia DDS plug-in which you can get HERE .

IF USING PAINTSHOP PRO:
if your using paintshop pro instead of photoshop, follow these simple instructions found HERE .

After you install the plugin, go to "C:\Program Files\Sony\EverQuest II\UI\Default\images" and copy all the files in this folder to a new folder.. i just put mine on the desktop. you'll be altering these.. from photoshop, open a few of the image files in this folder at a time (.dds and .tga). one by one, change the hues on the images (Ctrl+U) to the color you would like, i made it blue, (make note of the Hue settings you use so you can use the same one for all the images ),and click save. now the nvidia plugin will come up..

the only thing you have to change on this new dialog box is in the pulldown menu, the one that says DXT1 RGB (NO ALPHA).. change this to 8:8:8:8 ARGB (32bit). thats it, go though all the files in the image folder. i dont know if the files in the NEWUI and OLDUI folders are used or not, but i did them as well. after youve changed your image files. just copy all the files to the C:\Program Files\Sony\EverQuest II\UI\thorui folder. and your done

[Statue]

Hiya, totally awesome UI, used it since way back and not sure how I coped before with the default (when DoF update came out and I used the default I found it to be approaching unplayable after getting so used to ThorUI)...

...anyway.. there's the praise bit, now the issue bit

I recently got some new hard drives and did a clean install of windows xp and games and such, including eq2 and eq2map and ThorUI AU... Things don't seem to be working for me so nicely now; when I open ThorUI AU, it looks all neat as it should, but once it has updated itself and closes (when it needs to close after updating its own interface), upon re-opening, it opens with errors - specifically, the central pane which shows the text "updated x number of files" etc opens and I see HTML code instructions in it, and the pane appears distorted. At the same time I hear the sound of an interface click, which is the sound I hear when popup has been blocked whilst surfing the net. This has the effect of making the advanced options panel load up incorrectly also, meaning I don't have to opportunity to select what I would like ThorUI to auto-open once I have done updating ThorUI (i.e. want it to open eq2map updater but with the ThorUI interface messed up I can't configure it to do so). I've searched through the options on some of the security software I have running in the background to see if I can loosen up some of the pop-up blocking / browser jacking options in them to allow ThorUI to do its business, but to no avail... I guess I could do a selective startup of Windows XP and then open ThorUI updater in an environment where it wouldn't be subject to all my pc defences, but doing that each time I wanted to use it might become a chore - any other users having this issue? Is there some settings somewhere I'm missing that would mean ThorUI's activity wouldn't be detected as pop-up activity or would be allowed (before you say check all my security software to find what might be blocking pop-up.... a) tried it, couldnt find anything out of the ordinary and b) I'm looking for a solution where I don't have to compromise my pc's security... or else what's the point of the security )

Any help appreciated here (when ThorUI AU was first released, it worked fine and I have the same range of security stuff as then...).

Best wishes
Statue

[MrNice]

Originally Posted by Statue

Hiya, totally awesome UI, used it since way back and not sure how I coped before with the default (when DoF update came out and I used the default I found it to be approaching unplayable after getting so used to ThorUI)...

...anyway.. there's the praise bit, now the issue bit

I recently got some new hard drives and did a clean install of windows xp and games and such, including eq2 and eq2map and ThorUI AU... Things don't seem to be working for me so nicely now; when I open ThorUI AU, it looks all neat as it should, but once it has updated itself and closes (when it needs to close after updating its own interface), upon re-opening, it opens with errors - specifically, the central pane which shows the text "updated x number of files" etc opens and I see HTML code instructions in it, and the pane appears distorted. At the same time I hear the sound of an interface click, which is the sound I hear when popup has been blocked whilst surfing the net. This has the effect of making the advanced options panel load up incorrectly also, meaning I don't have to opportunity to select what I would like ThorUI to auto-open once I have done updating ThorUI (i.e. want it to open eq2map updater but with the ThorUI interface messed up I can't configure it to do so). I've searched through the options on some of the security software I have running in the background to see if I can loosen up some of the pop-up blocking / browser jacking options in them to allow ThorUI to do its business, but to no avail... I guess I could do a selective startup of Windows XP and then open ThorUI updater in an environment where it wouldn't be subject to all my pc defences, but doing that each time I wanted to use it might become a chore - any other users having this issue? Is there some settings somewhere I'm missing that would mean ThorUI's activity wouldn't be detected as pop-up activity or would be allowed (before you say check all my security software to find what might be blocking pop-up.... a) tried it, couldnt find anything out of the ordinary and b) I'm looking for a solution where I don't have to compromise my pc's security... or else what's the point of the security )

Any help appreciated here (when ThorUI AU was first released, it worked fine and I have the same range of security stuff as then...).

Best wishes
Statue

Thor UI does not do anything unusal with your PC. It uses a standard HTTP GET call on port 80 to download everything. The only thing you have to do is allow Thor UI Auto Updater access to the internet. The PopUp sound you are hearing is probably not my software but instead your firewall software asking if it's OK for my program to access the internet. It's probably popping up behind my software's screen, since I center things like most dialogs will do.

If you are using XP Service Pack 2 you need to go into control panel / firewall and make an exception to TCP/IP traffic for Thor UI Autoupdate.

The distrotions of the screen are another thing. You probably have LARGE fonts selected either in your desktop settings or in your video card driver (ATI Drivers seem to have this problem in spades...go figure..they are the WORST driver producers). Check your font settings and reset to normal.

- MrNice

[Statue]

Thanks for speedy reply

Have moved the thorUI window around, nothin appeared behind it. Have checked thru zone alarm's listings of allowed programs, thorui.exe is allowed and has full permissions. I have windows xp sp2 but the xp firewall is disabled (zone alarm auto shuts it off when it is installed, have checked connection settings to confirm windows firewall is disabled). Have tried opening thorUI with reduced security apps running - just zone alarm firewall, avg anti-virus, spyware guardian, spyware blaster, microsoft anti-spyware. Still getting the same results when opening thorui - as it opens there are two browser click noises (same as sounds u get from clicking back or forward on Internet Explorer), then text panel fills up with strangely sized html code. I've uploaded a screeny here to show what I mean:



I do indeed have ATI 5.9 drivers... now i think about it those drivers have changed since i did my reinstall of thorui, will take a look into the fonts deal... only other thing that might be relevant is that i've tuned my fonts using cleartype tuner to get the smoother looking type across all applications - will play with that also. Will post if I get any change so others that might have same issue can be updated.

Regards
Statue

[ShadowProwler420]

Originally Posted by Statue

Have tried opening thorUI with reduced security apps running - just zone alarm firewall, avg anti-virus, spyware guardian, spyware blaster, microsoft anti-spyware. Still getting the same results when opening thorui - as it opens there are two browser click noises (same as sounds u get from clicking back or forward on Internet Explorer), then text panel fills up with strangely sized html code.

I'm guessing your issues may be caused by either spyware guardian and/or spyware blaster. Try disabling one or both of them then run the ThourUI AU. I can't guarantee this will fix your issues, as I do not have either of them (got rid of spyware blaster relatively quickly after getting it since I found it fairly buggy), but I have not had any issues with the auto updater since its release (or prior to release, as I was in its Beta testing).

[Claudias]

Your body of work rocks !!!!
Just wanted to put that in.

Now to my issue...
In the EQ2 Help under "Knowledge"
I was unable to look up topics or was also unable to send a ticket.
Is this Sony related or is this UI related?

Keep up the awesome job.
We can all certainly count ourself lucky to have you so dedicated to EQ2.

[Faetyl]

Look 7 posts above yours for reply

Originally Posted by Claudias

Your body of work rocks !!!!
Just wanted to put that in.

Now to my issue...
In the EQ2 Help under "Knowledge"
I was unable to look up topics or was also unable to send a ticket.
Is this Sony related or is this UI related?

Keep up the awesome job.
We can all certainly count ourself lucky to have you so dedicated to EQ2.

[MrNice]

Originally Posted by Statue

Thanks for speedy reply

Have moved the thorUI window around, nothin appeared behind it. Have checked thru zone alarm's listings of allowed programs, thorui.exe is allowed and has full permissions. I have windows xp sp2 but the xp firewall is disabled (zone alarm auto shuts it off when it is installed, have checked connection settings to confirm windows firewall is disabled). Have tried opening thorUI with reduced security apps running - just zone alarm firewall, avg anti-virus, spyware guardian, spyware blaster, microsoft anti-spyware. Still getting the same results when opening thorui - as it opens there are two browser click noises (same as sounds u get from clicking back or forward on Internet Explorer), then text panel fills up with strangely sized html code. I've uploaded a screeny here to show what I mean:



I do indeed have ATI 5.9 drivers... now i think about it those drivers have changed since i did my reinstall of thorui, will take a look into the fonts deal... only other thing that might be relevant is that i've tuned my fonts using cleartype tuner to get the smoother looking type across all applications - will play with that also. Will post if I get any change so others that might have same issue can be updated.

Regards
Statue

Ok Looks like Internet Explorer is having an hissy fit. The log window is really just a copy of old I.E. running inside of Auto Update. I use specal COM calls to insert (modify) the web page you are viewing. Evdiently your browser does not appreciate that. It must not trust the COM controls on your computer very much...which can actually happen.

Some things to do:

1 - Make sure your Windows XP is fully patched. Some changes to I.E. were screwing and needed more patching.

2 - Go into I.E. Select Tools | Options | and select the security tab.. Select the trusted sites icon and then press the "sites" button. Add http://localhost to your list of totally trusted sites. This means the browser will allow stuff like document changes when the host in your computer. You wouldn't spam yourself right?

3 - Make sure there is a c:\program files\thorui\logfile.html file on your machine. I ask the log file browser window to load that file and it's what tells the browser to display HTML correctly.

You are definiately not running a vanilla version of explorer (hence the windows controls have been overwritten - themed). You might try switching back to a standard XP install and see if you still get these issues. I personally won't use products like WindowBlinds, etc.. because they always seem to cause weird errors in the OS.

[Faetyl]

Back by popular "demand"
You now have a small, medium, and large choice of target windows.
Enjoy

[bradigar]

Originally Posted by MrNice

Ok Looks like Internet Explorer is having an hissy fit. The log window is really just a copy of old I.E. running inside of Auto Update. I use specal COM calls to insert (modify) the web page you are viewing. Evdiently your browser does not appreciate that. It must not trust the COM controls on your computer very much...which can actually happen.

I don't think that's it.
I also am having the exact same problem.
It started up on Sunday or Monday, after I deleted the ThorUI folder to reinstall some different options on the ThorUI.
I added the https://localhost as you suggested but that didn't do anything either.
BTW, I also use an ATI video card.

[bradigar]

I'm using the group window (full) fill left to right.
The percentages for group members' health and power do not update, so when the bar shows that a member has about 75% of their power left, the percentage still reads 100%.
Thanks in advance.

[Faelen]

Originally Posted by bradigar

I'm using the group window (full) fill left to right.
The percentages for group members' health and power do not update, so when the bar shows that a member has about 75% of their power left, the percentage still reads 100%.
Thanks in advance.

This is a problem/lack of support from SOE....They currently don't send the dynamic data for the health/power of group members, although it was supposed to be included in LU#13

[Skinn]

Hi,
Have to say this is the best UI around.

One question tho, plz how can i change my target box back to the nice small one that gave me arrows instead of the hideous large one i seem to have recived about 3 days ago plz?

Thx in advance

[Faetyl]

Same way you choose everything else, in the features section.
You will want to look under mainhud and change target and impliedtarget.

Originally Posted by Skinn

Hi,
Have to say this is the best UI around.

One question tho, plz how can i change my target box back to the nice small one that gave me arrows instead of the hideous large one i seem to have recived about 3 days ago plz?

Thx in advance

[xjmatt]

I love this UI so much, i have decided to name my rottweiler after it!

[msalowit]

Did the implementation of these change? There's a new executable in the old location, but it's appears to be some sort of 'ms-dos' run application, not the one prior to ThorAU... I'm curious because I can get some reallly nice gfx if I avoid default settings (6800GT is a NICE card for those who have time to tweak)

I still have my old files from before the AU upgrade (I just upgraded this am..I oved the old out of the way of course) but I'm not seeing any threads or readme's on the topic...

Thanks in advance,

Tuatha

[Faetyl]

Update:
exe stored on the server fine.
Issue appears to be with how the AU pulls the file down.
I've notified MrNice of the issue and included the file here as a work-a-round until the issue can be resolved. (see attachment)
----------------------------------------
Looks like the executable is corrupt.
I'll see if I can fix this.
Thanks for the notification.

Here's some more info:

The custom preset executable changed slightly with the last few versions of the ThorUI installer (before I went to the AU).
That allowed me to update the selection "dots" to a better location on the start button.

Your custom preset settings should still work fine if you had the latest version of the ThorUI before going to the ThorUI AU. The executable just allows you to program these.

Just be aware that the custom presets provided are already tweaked by me for all.
1st dot is high performance but tweaked to view objects far away such as "shineys" and harvest nodes.
2nd dot is balanced performance but tweaked to view objects far away such as "shineys" and harvest nodes.
3rd dot is the best of the best but tweaked to view objects far away such as "shineys" and harvest nodes.

Originally Posted by msalowit

Did the implementation of these change? There's a new executable in the old location, but it's appears to be some sort of 'ms-dos' run application, not the one prior to ThorAU... I'm curious because I can get some reallly nice gfx if I avoid default settings (6800GT is a NICE card for those who have time to tweak)

I still have my old files from before the AU upgrade (I just upgraded this am..I oved the old out of the way of course) but I'm not seeing any threads or readme's on the topic...

Thanks in advance,

Tuatha

[kpoland]

I apologize if someone said something about this already, but I use the inventory with the paper doll, and the information to the right. Forgive me, I forget exactly what its called. Anyway, every time I log out and log back in, it reverts to the Inventory view with my stats on top of the paper doll, and its moved over to the right a bit, so when I change it to the "stats on the right" view, it goes off the right side of the screen.

Does anyone else have this problem? Whether I lock the window or not, it still moves and switches views every time I log out.

[Faetyl]

That sounds like jaxel's inventory mod.
If you don't find what you're looking for here you can try his forum for that mod.
http://www.eq2interface.com/download...fo.php?id=3708
and the support page here:
http://www.eq2interface.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=2840

Most window mods that include special funtionality won't save their settings when you log.
Only SOE features have a place in your character window placement file so they may be saved.
I'm just guessing so don't take my word as fact, but I would guess it's not possible to save the settings at logout.

Originally Posted by kpoland

I apologize if someone said something about this already, but I use the inventory with the paper doll, and the information to the right. Forgive me, I forget exactly what its called. Anyway, every time I log out and log back in, it reverts to the Inventory view with my stats on top of the paper doll, and its moved over to the right a bit, so when I change it to the "stats on the right" view, it goes off the right side of the screen.

Does anyone else have this problem? Whether I lock the window or not, it still moves and switches views every time I log out.

[Faetyl]

SOE decided to remove some images without notification.
I believe i've resolved all issues caused by this but please feel free to inform me if you see anything out of the ordinary... aka missing images with a white box in their place...

Thanks,

[msalowit]

Originally Posted by Faetyl

Update:
....and included the file here as a work-a-round until the issue can be resolved. (see attachment)

Excellent, thanks... attachement unpacked nicely. Incidentally, what are the different "styles" used for? Different UI's?

Originally Posted by Faetyl

Just be aware that the custom presets provided are already tweaked by me for all.
1st dot is high performance but tweaked to view objects far away such as "shineys" and harvest nodes.
2nd dot is balanced performance but tweaked to view objects far away such as "shineys" and harvest nodes.
3rd dot is the best of the best but tweaked to view objects far away such as "shineys" and harvest nodes.

Okay, so... (since I haven't tried them yet) I'll experiment with them, but if I wish to tweak more... (I know, I know, some people are never happy! hahaha) I presume I can do so without them getting overwritten.. seems to be the predominant theme of the threads (Good motto: "You nuke, we don't!")

Thanks for the early morning answers... I just love this UI. It makes it SOOOO much easier to play.

Tuatha

[Skinn]

Thx for the prompt reply.
I found that and changed the setting.

Excuse my naivete with all this, the target box that i have usually had with your set up is the nice smallish one which, if a mob had any ^^ arrows, it showed up in the mobs name. The current one (altho smaller) still seems to be the crude winged brackets and i cant say i am keen on it
is there a way i can get that ^^ one back or is it a file name i dont know?

Once again Thx in advance.

[lady1]

Hi iam useing ThorUI after patch today getting these errors, anyone else? and any fix for it Thanks


Lady1

Couldn't load eq2ui_listboxrow_template2.xml
:: Could not access resource eq2ui_mainhud_popup.xml
:: Failed to load data from included resource: eq2ui_mainhud_popup.xml
:: Could not access resource eq2ui_mainhud_memorized.xml
:: Failed to load data from included resource: eq2ui_mainhud_memorized.xml
:: Could not access resource eq2ui_MainHUD_Memorized.xml

[Faetyl]

SOE messed up their own UI
ThorUI doesn't modify any of those files.
They should fix it soon.

Originally Posted by lady1

Hi iam useing ThorUI after patch today getting these errors, anyone else? and any fix for it Thanks


Lady1

Couldn't load eq2ui_listboxrow_template2.xml
:: Could not access resource eq2ui_mainhud_popup.xml
:: Failed to load data from included resource: eq2ui_mainhud_popup.xml
:: Could not access resource eq2ui_mainhud_memorized.xml
:: Failed to load data from included resource: eq2ui_mainhud_memorized.xml
:: Could not access resource eq2ui_MainHUD_Memorized.xml

[Faetyl]

You change between targeting modes "v0 and v1" with the button on my start button mod.
That will get rid of the wings.

Originally Posted by Skinn

Thx for the prompt reply.
I found that and changed the setting.

Excuse my naivete with all this, the target box that i have usually had with your set up is the nice smallish one which, if a mob had any ^^ arrows, it showed up in the mobs name. The current one (altho smaller) still seems to be the crude winged brackets and i cant say i am keen on it
is there a way i can get that ^^ one back or is it a file name i dont know?

Once again Thx in advance.