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PBEM helper application now available

 
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PBEM helper application now available - 11/20/2000 3:10:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		I made a program, which compresses and sends PBEM files automatically, and also decompresses the received files automatically into correct directories. It supports currently two programs: Steel Panthers: World At War Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord Read the documentation and download instructions here: http://www.sci.fi/~fuerte/pbem.htm WARNING: This is the first public release. This program has not been tested thoroughly. Please post all problems and questions into this forum under this topic. Enjoy!

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PBEM Helper
Post #: 1
- 11/20/2000 9:42:00 AM   
Drex

 

Posts: 2524
Joined: 9/13/2000
From: Chico,california
Status: offline 		thanks Fuerte, I'll give it a try.

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quote:

Col Saito: "Don't speak to me of rules! This is war! It is not a game of cricket!"

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 2
- 11/20/2000 10:11:00 AM   
Graf Speer

 

Posts: 99
Joined: 7/23/2000
Status: offline 		Thanks Fuerte . . . my evil brother & I will give this a try (I finally got him a full copy of SPWAW + updates and will be ready for pbem as soon as he gets back from stuffing Florida ballot boxes with satchel charges ) Albert

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The Good Nazi

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 3
- 11/20/2000 11:26:00 PM   
Pack Rat

 

Posts: 594
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: north central Pennsylvania USA
Status: offline 		For those of you that haven't taken a look at this program and you run more than one pbem at a time, do yourself a huge favor. This is one sweet looking program, it's a 5 star folks. Fuerte followed KISS to the letter (Keep It Simple, Stupid) and that is the mark of a good program. I've come close to tearing out my hair in making sure I'm sending the right files many times, I thank you very very much. Forgot Hope you have more ideas for program utilities or might be willing to run a poll. ------------------ "Sex, it's natures way of loving you" Pack Rat [This message has been edited by Pack Rat (edited November 20, 2000).]

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PR

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 4
- 11/21/2000 12:12:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		Thanks for your kind comments! There is a new version already: 1.0.62. It fixes one nasty zipping problem.

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PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 5
- 11/21/2000 12:12:00 AM   
Tankhead

 

Posts: 1352
Joined: 6/21/2000
From: Yukon Territory Canada
Status: offline 		Thanks a lot Fuerte! Nice and Sweet program, good job. Tankhead ------------------ Rick Cloutier [email]rcclout@telusplanet.net[/email] Coordinator: Tankhead's SPWAW Resources http://tankhead.home.icq.com

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Tankhead


(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 6
- 11/21/2000 3:08:00 AM   
rtr

 

Posts: 26
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: Liverpool UK
Status: offline 		Hi Great work, I have tested it sending files to myself:-) I like the warning when you are about to copy identical files. It would be great if you could include the nonsecure saves (in the save folder)in a future release as I play nearly all my PBEM games unsecured. Thanks again. Regards Rob Reid

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Later Rob Reid

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 7
- 11/21/2000 3:55:00 AM   
Lazarus

 

Posts: 31
Joined: 9/9/2000
From: Friuli (IT)
Status: offline 		Please beg my ignorance: what's the problem with different time zones? ------------------ "The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed." CLAUSEWITZ

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"The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed." CLAUSEWITZ

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 8
- 11/22/2000 12:26:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		Thanks for your comments! I'll add the SAVE directory support later (this week?), I personally use only secure PBEM. In fact I don't know if there is any problem with different time zones, but I presume that when a file is compressed into a zip file, then it has the local time, not universal time. And when the file is extracted from the zip, it still has the local time from a different time zone, which means that the modification time is incorrect for the current time zone. So if the clock is 21:00:00 in Sweden, then it is 22:00:00 in Finland. If I make a turn at 21:00:00 in Finland and send it to Sweden, my opponent receives it at 21:01:00 local time in Sweden, but the modification time is already 22:00:00, IN THE FUTURE. And when the opponent makes a turn at 21:02:00 and sends it to me, then my time is about 22:03:00 and the turn time is EARLIER than the time when I sent the file to my opponent. My program does not like this, because it checks the modification times so that you do not accidentally overwrite files with older ones. Of course there is an option to overwrite with older files, so you can still play the game. That's why I added an automatic file time conversion. When a file is received from Sweden, one hour is added to the modification time. Unfortunately I have not yet tested this in practice at all. [This message has been edited by Fuerte (edited November 21, 2000).]

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PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 9
- 11/22/2000 11:34:00 PM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		PBEM 1.0.65 is now available. Release notes: Fixed: The time zone conversion was managed already by Info-Zip routines, so my routines just doubled the time difference. I removed the unnecessary code. Funny that WinZip 8 and PKZip25 don’t understand different time zones. New: SPWAW has now support for SAVE directory as well, in addition to the normal EMAIL directory.

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PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 10
- 11/25/2000 12:54:00 AM   
rtr

 

Posts: 26
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: Liverpool UK
Status: offline 		Hi, Thanks for adding save folder support, this is one very useful program. Regards Rob Reid

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Later Rob Reid

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 11
- 11/25/2000 1:04:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		Glad you like it! There is again a new version available: 1.0.66 (24.11.2000) Fixed: Help / About / “Check the latest version” had an incorrect web address. Fixed: SMTP sending (blat.dll) displayed unnecessary warnings about missing registry settings.

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PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 12
- 11/25/2000 4:31:00 AM   
Paul Vebber


Posts: 11430
Joined: 3/29/2000
From: Portsmouth RI
Status: offline 		Thanks Fuerte! I gave this a try and its a great piece of work, highly recommended for easing pbem play! Thanks again!

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http://www.matrixgames.com/images/sig-logo-02.gif

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 13
- 11/25/2000 5:17:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		Thanks Paul! This program was born after I had played SPWAW and CMBO pbem games quite a lot, and thought that it could be much easier... I suggested adding these features to SPWAW and CMBO, but now that it is an external program, it is even better, because it can handle both, and it can send/receive turns for both games in one e-mail.

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PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 14
- 11/25/2000 5:49:00 AM   
Drex

 

Posts: 2524
Joined: 9/13/2000
From: Chico,california
Status: offline 		I liked pbem so much I sent it to two Combat Command buddies. Count on me to spread the word.

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quote:

Col Saito: "Don't speak to me of rules! This is war! It is not a game of cricket!"

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 15
- 11/27/2000 5:28:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		A new version is available: 1.0.69 (27.11.2000) Fixed: Release 1.0.68 couldn’t send via SMTP, if the From and Sender e-mail addresses were the same. Thanks to Alan Kinner for reporting this! Sorry for the inconvenience…

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PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 16
- 11/27/2000 10:55:00 AM   
Kerg


Posts: 81
Joined: 6/20/2000
From: Joliet IL
Status: offline
quote:

Originally posted by Fuerte: A new version is available: 1.0.69 (27.11.2000) Fixed: Release 1.0.68 couldn’t send via SMTP, if the From and Sender e-mail addresses were the same. Thanks to Alan Kinner for reporting this! Sorry for the inconvenience…
Does this new version fix the problem I have had with it. When I try and send out a file I get the following eror: Error 32002 Unspecified failure occurred MAPI messages. I checked my win folder and I have 2 MAPI files sitting there...???? Any help would be appreciated, I play lots of PBEM and this looks like a real time saver. Kerg

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Field Marshal Kerg, Combat Command Stats-> Games Played = 141, Points/game = 4179, <br />Average Placing = 3.4, W% = 28%, L% = 29%, D% = 44%, Total Points 589,232, Leagues Entered = 10, Top Three Finish % = 80

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 17
- 11/27/2000 12:04:00 PM   
Pack Rat

 

Posts: 594
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: north central Pennsylvania USA
Status: offline 		Howdy Kerg, I'm still smarting from my drubing in the desert, good game I only sent him SMTP files so I'm not sure. I suspect however it will work fine as this is the best version to date, no blat.dll errors, in my opinion. Save your old PBEM program in a safe place and give it a try, it won't hurt any of your current games, at least all mine have come through fine and I think I've gone through almost every version. ------------------ "More PT Drill Sargent" ;) Pack Rat

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PR

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 18
- 11/27/2000 2:21:00 PM   
Fuerte2

 

Posts: 39
Joined: 10/18/2000
Status: offline
quote:

Originally posted by Kerg: Error 32002 Unspecified failure occurred MAPI messages.
Your e-mail client is probably not MAPI compatible, or you have not enabled the MAPI support in it. What program are you using? You can use SMTP to send mail from PBEM. Check the Options menu, then send a test message, again from Options menu.

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(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 19
- 11/28/2000 2:48:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		Here is a screenshot if you are interested. The first game is with Pack Rat, you see that I am waiting for his turn. The next one is just a test game. The last to are CMBO games, I just received them, that's why they are in bold. It also prints the Play in bold so that I know what to do next.

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PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 20
- 11/28/2000 5:13:00 AM   
Mark_Ezra

 

Posts: 83
Joined: 4/6/2000
From: Trabuco Canyon, Ca....USA
Status: offline 		Sounds like a great utility and for both games! A problem though: I can't seem to get to PBEM download...get an error message. Any suggestions?

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(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 21
- 11/28/2000 5:17:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		Here is a direct link to the download: http://www.sci.fi/~fuerte/pbem.zip Here is an alternative site: http://www.nic.fi/~fuerte/pbem.zip [This message has been edited by Fuerte (edited November 27, 2000).]

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PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 22
- 11/28/2000 8:06:00 AM   
Captn_Jack

 

Posts: 62
Joined: 10/4/2000
From: Reedsville, WV, USA
Status: offline 		I have downloaded the newest version of the program but I cannot get it to finish the install. When I run the setup, it goes to the last file, #7, then tells me files on my system need upgraded. I tell it to upgrade, it says to restart system and nothing happens when the system comes back up. It is like an endless loop. Each time I try to install, it does the same thing?? Any help would be appreciated as it looks like a program that would save a lot of time for me. CJ

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M(1)&M(9)'s...they melt in your tank...not in your hand!

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 23
- 11/28/2000 3:31:00 PM   
Fuerte2

 

Posts: 39
Joined: 10/18/2000
Status: offline 		That is the endless reboot problem in Microsoft Package & Deployment Wizard. It should have been fixed in Microsoft Visual Studio 6 Service Pack 4, but apparently it isn't. You might do the installation manually. Open the .CAB file, and copy PBEM.EXE to some new directory, and ZIP32HP.DLL, UNZIP32.DLL and BLAT.DLL to your Windows\System(32) directory. That should do it, but if your system does not have some of the other DLL/OCX files in the .CAB, just copy them to your Windows\System directory, and register them. Registering is done with: regsvr32 msmapi32.ocx Also it might help if you told what your Operating System is (Win95/98/ME/NT/2000).

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(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 24
- 11/29/2000 6:32:00 AM   
Captn_Jack

 

Posts: 62
Joined: 10/4/2000
From: Reedsville, WV, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the info. I was able to get the program installed by using the method you described. Thanks for creating this wonderful program as it helps with all the email games that I am playing. CJ

_____________________________

M(1)&M(9)'s...they melt in your tank...not in your hand!

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 25
- 12/11/2000 7:53:00 AM   
Kerg


Posts: 81
Joined: 6/20/2000
From: Joliet IL
Status: offline 		OK, can't send files with the MAPI, when I try the SMTP I don't know what to put in the input boxes, my email? Kerg

_____________________________

Field Marshal Kerg, Combat Command Stats-> Games Played = 141, Points/game = 4179, <br />Average Placing = 3.4, W% = 28%, L% = 29%, D% = 44%, Total Points 589,232, Leagues Entered = 10, Top Three Finish % = 80

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 26
- 12/11/2000 8:21:00 AM   
Captn_Jack

 

Posts: 62
Joined: 10/4/2000
From: Reedsville, WV, USA
Status: offline
quote:

Originally posted by Kerg: OK, can't send files with the MAPI, when I try the SMTP I don't know what to put in the input boxes, my email? Kerg
John, For the first box, you would enter your email address: kerg11@aol.com For the second box, you need to enter the mail server address from AOL. Mine for Earthlink is: mail.earthlink.net You should be able to get this info from AOL. Just ask their Tech Support for the SMTP email server address and enter in the box. You should be on your way! If AOL doesn't allow outside access, like via Outlook Express, set up an email account on Hotmail.com and email me. I'll tell you how to set it up there. It is worth the effort! CJ

_____________________________

M(1)&M(9)'s...they melt in your tank...not in your hand!

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 27
- 12/24/2000 12:29:00 PM   
Pack Rat

 

Posts: 594
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: north central Pennsylvania USA
Status: offline 		Thought maybe it was a good time to bump this utility up again. Great program to keep your PBEM games in order. I'm not sure what version it is at the moment. ------------------ Your mine is a terrible thing to lose. Pack Rat

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PR

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 28
- 2/1/2001 1:30:00 AM   
Fuerte

 

Posts: 314
Joined: 6/14/2000
From: Helsinki Finland
Status: offline 		For all new users: this utilitiy is still available!

_____________________________

PBEM Helper

(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 29
- 2/1/2001 2:23:00 AM   
Windo von Paene

 

Posts: 174
Joined: 5/16/2000
From: Seattle, WA
Status: offline 		About the only comment I can give on this utility, (having only been on the receiving end of it), it that getting a file SPWAW.zip, isn't particularly informative. I want to know who it's coming from, what turn it includes, and which email slot it is using...

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(in reply to Fuerte)
Post #: 30
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