Moo2 Mouse Helper (adds Mousewheel and Thumb button support)

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Kornstalx
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Moo2 Mouse Helper (adds Mousewheel and Thumb button support)

Postby Kornstalx » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:35 pm

Here's a little app I wrote for myself to make navigating around Moo2 screens a bit easier. I got the idea for it recently while playing a huge game and was irked at not being able to use the mousewheel to scroll colony lists.

This app sits in your taskbar, and uses a simple mousehook to simulate keystrokes to the game window. It does not modify the game resources in any way. Tested on WinXP/Vista/Win7.
Features:

-- Enables the mousewheel to scroll most game menus

-- Enables the mousewheel to zoom in and out the galaxy map

-- Clicking middle mouse will autosave, then end your turn (great habit to prevent 'timewarps' in multiplayer)

-- Added functionality for mouse thumb buttons, if your mouse has them. Thumb button 1 will cancel out of any screen (same as hitting ESC), and Thumb button 2 will cycle through your fleets
DOWNLOAD Moo2 Mouse v1.0


NOTE:
This helper app is designed to work with DOSBox games of Moo2 *only*

BUGS:
None, although some menus in Moo2, such as the Planets Screen, scroll backwards (Wheel down scrolls up). This is a coded feature of Moo2 that cannot be changed. Also, if you are using 3rd party mouse software, such as Logitech Setpoint, the thumb buttons may not be recognized if you have customized your mouse keys.


Enjoy:)
For myself, this really helps streamline managing massive colony/fleet lists.


-Kornstalx
Last edited by Kornstalx on Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Riftwalker
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Postby Riftwalker » Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:10 am

Nice application. Just gave it a try and it's nice to be able to mouse-wheel through the colony list.

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Cabman
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Postby Cabman » Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:45 am

Nice tool. But i don't like the "save and turn" idea.
Reason: when you load the autosave your opponent will see your fleet's move. "Save" action seems to be better.
About the scrolling colonies in "colony" screen: how about scroll 10 colonies with one move?
Good job.

adubtech
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Joined:Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:30 am

automation

Postby adubtech » Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:43 am

Using d-fend reloaded, can I tie execution of this exe to running the game profile? Using 'helper programs' seems to be trying to run this program inside of the virtual dos system.

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Inquisitor
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Re: Moo2 Mouse Helper (adds Mousewheel and Thumb button support)

Postby Inquisitor » Tue Apr 05, 2016 11:35 am

I just tried downloading and it fails. :'( oh noes... I'd really like to try this out - anybody still have it? Thanks in advance!

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Kornstalx
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Re: Moo2 Mouse Helper (adds Mousewheel and Thumb button support)

Postby Kornstalx » Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:48 pm

I just tried downloading and it fails. :'( oh noes... I'd really like to try this out - anybody still have it? Thanks in advance!
Bit of a necro, but I've rehosted this. Recently got back into Moo2 with the WONDERFUL work the 1.5x authors are doing.

DOWNLOAD

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Rocco
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Re: Moo2 Mouse Helper (adds Mousewheel and Thumb button support)

Postby Rocco » Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:55 pm

great that you have put it back up
will check it out
edit: send me a pm if you can share the source for it

Alex
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Re: Moo2 Mouse Helper (adds Mousewheel and Thumb button support)

Postby Alex » Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:45 am

Hello Kornstalx!

I am one of the 1.50 patch team. I want to create our own launcher for the game. It should be a simple dialog allowing to select a Mod and maybe some other things like network server, mouse options, resolution, etc. I also want to include mouse scrolling using your method for which I would need AHK. So the question is: is it possible to write the launcher using AHK only? Specifically:

1. Can AHK do simple GUI with combo boxes and buttons?
2. Can AHK bundle contain user files (other than main script)?
3. Can AHK do operations on files, like creating config files on the fly?

I understand you know AHK very well and that AHK can be a shortcut for us (I have next to zero GUI experience). It goes without saying that we'll acknowledge your contribution if anything of this ever works out.

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Kornstalx
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Re: Moo2 Mouse Helper (adds Mousewheel and Thumb button support)

Postby Kornstalx » Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:19 am

Hey there! Let me start off by saying thank you to you guys (again!) for all the work you've done on this patch. It's absolutely incredible! So much customization via variables, and I have yet to find a single gameplay bug (just a cosmetic typo). Thanks to you guys, Steam is telling me I've played 61 hours of Moo2 in the past two weeks... much to the chagrin of the Missus.
1. Can AHK do simple GUI with combo boxes and buttons?
2. Can AHK bundle contain user files (other than main script)?
3. Can AHK do operations on files, like creating config files on the fly?
AHK is essentially a scriptable extension of C++ with thousands of functions already built in, and is based off Microsoft ScriptIt, which is a legacy tool specifically designed for automating software installations.
  • 1) Yes, pretty much any GUI you could dream of.

    2) The main script is usually compiled into a single exe, but this exe can interact with anything. Using something like ResHack you can embed images/icons/audio into the exe itself, or just have it bundled with containers like cabs/zips to work with.

    3) It can read/write or manipulate anything, and has all the comparative functions of any other modern language. It can parse files, make edits, search for strings, work with logical ints/floats/objects, create and modify configs, even search or modify the registry. In a windows environment, it can also take advantage of system .dlls. It's extremely versatile.
It's also really easy to pick up and a hell of a lot more user friendly for simple programs than other real languages I've dabbled with. Then again I'm not a programmer for a living -- just a heavy game modder. The only limitation I can think of that you guys might care about is I have no idea about the mac or nix compatibility.

I also would absolutely love to help you guys, but I no longer have the unlimited manhours for modding that I enjoyed 10 years ago. PM me or give me an idea of what exactly you're trying to accomplish with an installer package, and I'll see what I can do. FYI there are other installer kits out there that I've used before (it's sort of amateurish to use, but something like ClickTeam) simply because it was fast and easy to get out the door.


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