AutoHotkey Community

[bmcclure]

I finished implementing a double-click action (open Steam) for the SteamLab tray icon (was a bit tricky since the click is registered in an OnMessage event)... so double-clicking the SteamLab icon is the same as double-clicking the Steam icon.

I also implemented an early version of the 4-state icon which is working now. The tray tip gives you some useful information as to what is happening ("Patch Available" or "Patch Ready" or "Downloading" or "Processing" or the like)

I'm looking for a way to open the default Steam tray menu if you single left click on SteamLab's tray icon. Unfortunately I can't get it to open when I want or in the place on the screen I want so far, but I'm still trying
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-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

New feature in the planning and preparation phase: a Game Tweaks window which accesses a database of tweaks, fixes, useful "hacks", etc. for a growing number of games, auto-detects which ones are on your system, and offers toggling or setting of the tweaks for that game.

This will also be the start of my full Games database, which I will keep online and access directly through SteamLab. This will be a great way to keep update and patch information for games as well, granted I find the time or a good automated way to keep the patch database current

I'm also expanding the Tools area of SteamLab into categories and will eventually include Favorites and many other options. I'm trying to simply and intuitively include or allow the launching of everything game-related directly from SteamLab so that it is the single point of cohesion.
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-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

Also currently in the works:

A file-checking system most likely using CRCs which should make it fast and easy to update SteamLab to the latest version or automatically fix any problems inherent whenever SteamLab launches (ahem, just like Steam, ahem)
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-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

I just either had an ingenius moment, or I just realized I was a complete dumbass before...

I'm going to try to write SteamWin based on Steam's own GUI files. SteamWin will still support custom skins, but the way the pieces all fit together will be different so that it can use Steam's image files rather than having to include them all with SteamLab.

I will also have SteamLab check which Steam skin is active and use that one automatically.

This probably won't appear on SteamLab 0.9, but I realized today how much better of an idea it would be, and how cool it would be to actually be able to use custom Steam skins automatically.

Buttons may be an issue. I think I will need to create a function which joins Steam's button files together into several different button templates which SteamLab can do... unless I rewrite my button generation functions to support the button graphic being in several pieces.

Update: OK, maybe this will happen sooner than expected. I really want to see if I can get SteamLab to match Steam using Steam's own GUI files.

It's going to take longer than I thought though... I need to do lots of color replacement within those images and within SteamLab in order to match the colors set in Steam's resource files... This will probably be something for SteamLab 1.0.
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

And a more relevant update, actually coming in SteamLab 0.9

A re-done re-done (yes, twice) Tools section.

-The tools are now fully XML-based and I am doing a happy ritualistic dance (in my head) - thanks again to Titan for the xpath() function. I love making things more dynamic
-Tools now has its own tab in the Settings window where you can add, remove, and fully customize them all. Got an app you want SteamLab to autorun, watch (keep running), launch through the Tray, or launch via hotkey, or even lock with an encrypted password so nobody can use it while you're away? Just add it!
-Many useful default apps are included. Just push a button and any of them will be downloaded and installed (if required).

This will also allow, in future versions, for me to post XML updates online and simply merge them into your XML to get the latest list of available tools, registry keys, etc.


That being said, I also want to sincerely apologize for anybody (I only know of a couple, but still) who's been waiting for my to release the next version of SteamLab. SteamLab's usefulness, scope, functionality, and time requirements have expanded massively since I initially planned version 0.9. I have been adding so many features, so fast, that it is taking me a long time to work out all the bugs, try and keep low resource usage, and still finish fleshing out all the other areas I had planned previously (such as Backups, the Screenshot Manager, and more). I did not foresee how much the scope would have changed, but as a result I have stopped giving release dates for the time being.


I'm planning to put out version 0.9 "any day now", however that can also be interpreted as "when it's ready". As soon as I feel relatively confident that SteamLab won't be completely buggy, crash your computer, fry your motherboard, or sleep with your wife, I will release version 0.9 (and the standalone SteamWin function for those of you who have asked about using SteamWin in your own scripts). I promise!

And I am pretty sure when I do, that anyone who's shown some interest in SteamLab (but hopefully not their wives) will be very pleased.
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

I forgot to mention one additional benefit of the new custom tools interface.

If you add all your custom game tools and their respective registry keys and download locations (many are there already, but you can add an unlimited amount), then SteamLab can manage those program installations as well. If you try to run the program and it isn't installed, it is automatically downloaded and the installer is launched. When the installer is done, the program is launched.

So if you ever move to a different computer, just take your SteamLab config files with you, and it'll be able to get all your tools for you (including Steam itself obviously, so you can install SteamLab first)

The files to keep to copy your installation to another PC:
- cfg/config.ini (program settings)
- cfg/games.xml (games database)
- cfg/tools.xml (tools database)
- cfg/hotkeys.ini (program hotkeys)
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

To keep the tradition of SteamLab balooning out to something MUCH bigger than I initially planned alive, I am introducing an online component to SteamLab which will hopefully debut in version 0.9.

I'll make further announcements soon, but there is a domain name with an accompanying PHP/MySQL/AJAX driven web interface. SteamLab will also use an interface to access the data in order to receive automatic updates to the games database, tools database, new program versions, and more.

This will allow for a ton of future possibilities including:
- No need to update SteamLab to get the latest games, tools, and tweaks changes. Enable automatic syncing!
- When new SteamLab versions are made available, you will be asked if you'd like to auto-update.
- Allowing users to upload data for games not in the online database
- Keeping a wiki style (or not) game tweaks database on the web that SteamLab can use to customize games


No worries, you will be able to disable all Online functionality in SteamLab and use it as a fully stand-alone client, updating it with new releases manually and not receiving updates to your databases. I know some users do not want features like this, so I will definitely allow you to turn them off.

Overall, though, SteamLab is now "connected" and that opens up a huge range of new possibilities. Look for more soon.
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[Jero3n]

Wow, that sounds really great!

[bmcclure]

I'm having a blast getting back into some PHP/MySQL development after a little break from that for a year or so.

And this being my first major Ajax project, I'm really happy with the way the site is turning out.

Overall it fits in with the themes of Steam, SteamLab, and steampowered.com very well and I'm even adding pages such as a news page which combined all of Steam's news with my news and perhaps some other news sources for Steam and PC-gaming related news.

Everything on the site will be fully customizable on the end user side, and the entire experience takes place within a single HTML file thanks to AJAX.

I should have a preliminary site up within a couple of days and I'll then work on the SteamLab integration part of it which I've got lots of cool ideas for.
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

Now that I at least have something posted so you don't just get an error message, I don't feel the need to be so secretive about the details...

You can check the development progress, if you'd like, at:
http://steam-lab.com

Currently I am focused on getting the interface to behave just right. Obviously this is not yet the case, but it's definitely getting there. In such an early stage of development, I am frequently posting untested code on the site to see if it works.

When I actually have something ready, I'll split off a development version of the site that I can test with. For now, what you see on that domain is my current test copy (most of the work I'm doing is on unlinked Javascript and PHP files at this point).

Stay tuned...
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

Rather than implement an advanced full-screen game detection for SteamLab 0.9 (I still plan to for 1.0), I'm going to implement the actual function which "disables" most of SteamLab and allow it to be toggled via a menu or hotkey.

This will be called "Game Mode" and will disable all timers, backups, scheduled tasks, advanced SteamWin functions, etc. to preserve the maximum amount of system resources for the game (since you won't be using SteamLab while you're gaming).


Also, an update on steam-lab.com, I've got a complete framework and template system in place. I'm tweaking the MySQL database and CSS design of the site, and implementing the back-end API for SteamLab to connect to in order to receive updates. The beta framework for this will be in place for the 0.9 release.
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[bmcclure]

A PHP-based framework for updating SteamLab's XML file is now in place.

Starting in SteamLab 0.9, you will be able to (manually or automatically) update your XML files with the latest information from steam-lab.com.

This is done by the following process:

1. Post your games.xml and/or tools.xml file to the PHP script located on steam-lab.com

2. The script will traverse the XML, updating any fields in the XML that have changed in the database and adding any new patch information

3. The script will output the new XML information, which SteamLab picks up and replaces the old information with.

Security details:
1. The script simply takes input, processes it, and produces output. The only information I will ever actually store on the server from this process are statistics (and currently not even that)

2. Personal information such as paths, CD keys, and settings from either XML file is NEVER even processed by this script, so there is no need to worry that anyone else is getting your information. The script only updates common fields such as title (to fix case and punctuation), Exe name, version information (for auto-patching in SteamLab), etc.


This feature is very exciting, and it brings SteamLab online once and for all!
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[Jero3n]

And is the standardized steamwin function nearly finished?
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Watch my css video!

[bmcclure]

I still plan to release it simultaneously with SteamLab 0.9. It's taken more than I originally planned to completely separate the SteamWin functions from SteamLab, but it's coming.

I might be able to have it done sooner, but it won't be immediately none-the-less. Sorry to disappoint; I'll hurry!
_________________
-Ben

SteamLab
SteamLab Wiki

[Broken] - My industrial music [on GarageBand]

[Fry]

Heres my report of SteamLab