MicroDEFCON 1.37MB Mod

[xander]

Hey, your download link is dead, and when I tried the tutorial to make my own "floppy defcon" it doesn't work anymore.. I think the instructions were for version 1.42 and perhaps in 1.43 it was disallowed? I followed the tutorial instructions step by step but when I extract and repack the main.dat (without even altering any of the contents) and try to play the game it always crash giving a cryptic error message.

Hrm... checking the dates on this topic, it was last active almost four years ago. LordSturm has not posted in a good while, either. I don't see why you are surprised that the links are dead. This topic is dead. Also, I don't see any instructions for a tutorial on microCon in this thread... perhaps you could link to what you are talking about? In general, any tutorial that asks you to repackage the data files is doing it wrong, hence, when you try to repackage the data files, you are doing it wrong.

xander

[Barbarossa]

Hey, your download link is dead, and when I tried the tutorial to make my own "floppy defcon" it doesn't work anymore.. I think the instructions were for version 1.42 and perhaps in 1.43 it was disallowed? I followed the tutorial instructions step by step but when I extract and repack the main.dat (without even altering any of the contents) and try to play the game it always crash giving a cryptic error message.

Hrm... checking the dates on this topic, it was last active almost four years ago. LordSturm has not posted in a good while, either. I don't see why you are surprised that the links are dead. This topic is dead. Also, I don't see any instructions for a tutorial on microCon in this thread... perhaps you could link to what you are talking about? In general, any tutorial that asks you to repackage the data files is doing it wrong, hence, when you try to repackage the data files, you are doing it wrong.

xander

http://www.neothermic.com/defcon/flopcon.html

http://backupurl.com/86ml12

[xander]

A link to the same tutorial... twice. You should note that the tutorial is clearly a total hack job, intended as more of a proof-of-concept than a functional activity. Defcon seems to be somewhat sensitive to the way in which things are packaged---changing the compression settings may have an effect, as will naming main.dat incorrectly (i.e. calling it main.rar).

Of course, this begs the question: why do you need Defcon to fit on a floppy? As per the advice given in the tutorial, get a flash drive, and use that.

xander

[Barbarossa]

A link to the same tutorial... twice. You should note that the tutorial is clearly a total hack job, intended as more of a proof-of-concept than a functional activity. Defcon seems to be somewhat sensitive to the way in which things are packaged---changing the compression settings may have an effect, as will naming main.dat incorrectly (i.e. calling it main.rar).

Of course, this begs the question: why do you need Defcon to fit on a floppy? As per the advice given in the tutorial, get a flash drive, and use that.

xander

Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed again? I linked to the tutorial at your request. I provided a backup link because like you said these topics are nearly four years old and links becoming dead are not an unreasonable event (which you so eagerly pointed out in that typical sarcastic bitter tone of yours) Total "hack job" or not, the tutorial indeed had provided every indication of leading me to believe that if I followed the instructions correctly it should work in a practical manner and not just as a proof-of-concept. And the reasons I want to get a Defcon that fits to a certain size (irrespective of the actual use of floppies) is simply none of your concern whatsoever.

[Jordy...]

I'm eagerly anticipating what follows... If you don't get a answer, I'll assume you broke my record of getting xander to ignore you. GL, HF ;p.

[xander]

FloppyCon was a tech demo/proof of concept. It worked with very early versions of Defcon, and, to the best of my knowledge, no one has attempted to check it since then. At the time that NeoThermic first discussed FloppyCon, it was primarily to demonstrate a cool hack, not to create a practical means for shrinking Defcon down (I would note that, in his tutorial, he mentions alternatives, such as flash drives). If you had bothered to read the other old threads, you probably would have figured that out. Of course, it would have been helpful for you to have been here at the time, which demonstrates another reason not to bump old threads---you don't know the context.

As to getting a smaller Defcon, why do you need it? I can see two reasons:

1. You have space constraints, and need Defcon to be smaller. While I can't believe that this is really the case, if it is true, there are better ways, which we may be able to help you with.
2. You are trying to repeat NeoThermic's experiment, in which case you are, in fact, attempting this hack job. You are not actually concerned with getting Defcon on a floppy, you just want to make it as small as possible for the sake of making it as small as possible. In this case, as I said above, Defcon is sensitive to compression settings and file extensions. You should make sure that you are archiving everything correctly, and you should note that, even if you do everything right, it still may not work. That is the danger of attempting to repeat 4 year old experiments after the technology has changed.

So, you see, there are legitimate reasons my one my want to know why you want to get Defcon down to less than a floppy disk's worth of space.

xander

[Montyphy]

Hey, your download link is dead, and when I tried the tutorial to make my own "floppy defcon" it doesn't work anymore.. I think the instructions were for version 1.42 and perhaps in 1.43 it was disallowed? I followed the tutorial instructions step by step but when I extract and repack the main.dat (without even altering any of the contents) and try to play the game it always crash giving a cryptic error message.

Without providing the "cryptic" error message, crash log, your attempted version of Flopcon, and the exact steps you carried out there is no way we could even begin to help you solve your problem. If you want help please be as explicit as possible, no matter how trivial it may seem, as we aren't mind readers and only know what you tell us. The more you tell us, the less we have to quiz, interrogate, question and troubleshoot, and thus the quicker your problem can be resolved, if it is even resolvable.

It should be pointed out that this is something Introversion is unlikely to have disabled/disallowed but it's possible that the patches post-Flopcon, that fixed bugs such as land subs, may mean Defcon will be less tolerate of you tampering with some of the graphics (in particular, sailable.bmp). Also, due to the number of code changes in the form of bug fixes and added features (such as the whiteboard and support for additional languages) it is very likely that Defcon will no longer fit on a floppy disk.

I linked to the tutorial at your request. I provided a backup link because like you said these topics are nearly four years old and links becoming dead are not an unreasonable event (which you so eagerly pointed out in that typical sarcastic bitter tone of yours)

To be fair, you quoted his entire post and simply replied by giving two links with no information. It's helpful if you construct your posts so they respond to the particular point you're attempting to address, i.e. chop and slice quotes in much the same way I have in this post. It is also often helpful to state what you are linking to, and why, so the person clicking it knows what to expect, particularly prudent in regards to your second link. For example you could have done:

Also, I don't see any instructions for a tutorial on microCon in this thread... perhaps you could link to what you are talking about?

I'm referring to this: http://www.neothermic.com/defcon/flopcon.html

and should this link die off in the future, here's a backup: http://backupurl.com/86ml12

While not relevant to this thread but since I'm on the topic of chopping and splicing, it's generally frowned upon to double post on any forum, so rather than creating a new post for each post you wish to respond to it is generally recommended to chop and splice people's posts (again, much as I am doing now) in a single post so as to minimise quote spam and maximise readability. I only say this to encourage you to consider how readable your posts are to others and any aggressive tone was not intended.

And the reasons I want to get a Defcon that fits to a certain size (irrespective of the actual use of floppies) is simply none of your concern whatsoever.

While of no concern, it could prove very useful because we could then potentially provide further helpful information or alternatives.