A new version containing a variety of fixes for the bugs mentioned in this thread has been uploaded. Be sure to grab that one from NVNexus!


This has been sitting on my harddrive for way too long, so without further ado, I present to you the thing that I have put way too much time into:

The Load Order Sorting Tool v2
A.k.a revision 1.0.0 - A complete rewrite of the first^? load order manager to support all three games*


* Yeah, I know others have it too now, but I'm pretty sure I was first back then!


http://newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=34969 (also screenshots!)


From the readme:
LOST, the Load Order Sorting Tool, is a simple and straightforward, leightweight load order manager program for TES IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas (you do not need all for it to work), written in the Python programming language. It allows you to change the order in which the game engine loads plugins and masters to prevent conflicts between mods that may cause glitches or crashes. It emphasizes usability and a clean GUI, it's got integrated BOSS support with a GUI for those of you who use BOSS, and, it supports all three games in a single program!

Here's a more complete list of features:

• Clean and clear interface; mods are divided into two lists: active and inactive so you don't have to sift through all the mods you're not using at the moment
  
• Tabs for each game: smooth transition between managing your different load orders
  
• Greatly improved mod sorting over the 0.9.x releases: move multiple mods up and down your load order at once, move to top/bottom with a single click et cetera
  
• Speed up your sorting by using hotkeys to move mods in your load order (it's really neat in my opinion!)
  
• Better Oblivion Sorting Software integration with a graphical user interface for all you BOSS users
  
• Comes in both raw Python and EXE format, so you don't have to install any external packages if you don't want to - all you need is an OS and a game
  
• Also comes packaged in a neat installer
  
• ... and some more stuff I forgot

For more information on LOST's features, its requirements and installation, see the online http://argomirr.webs.com/py/loadorder/docs/docs.html.

Oh, and a little note on BOSS support: you'll have to http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20516 if you wish to use it!



And now I can get back to my life!

LMAO!
I love ironic stuff like this....

From the online Documentation "The installer is the easiest way to get LOST"

Definitely going to give it a try

Heh, I remember using the "first" LOST. :happy:
It was actually really nice to use as an alternative to FOMM. But hey, moving those .esp's up one at a time really took time and effort. :laugh:
Nice to you revived it and I'll be using it for sure.

Glad someone appreciates my sense of humor.


Yeah, that was major shortcoming back then, but it was my first GUI program so I hardly knew what I was doing.

The new version is a huge improvement, even if I say so myself.

Definitely is. It seems like I've run into a few problems though.

First off, after installing it, the settings.ini seemed to be damaged during installation. C and P'ing the .ini's contents, if you can call it content :laugh:, into a new file solved that.

Afterwards, I decided to test it against BOSS. What the load order was given by and what it actually did in LOST were two completely different stories. When I checked at the bottom of the load order, there were numerous mods that should of been sorted but weren't. It's almost as if LOST was running on a really, really old revision, even after updating its masterlist. But that obviously isn't the case as Underground Hideout was sorted but not Phalanx, which was released earlier.. so I'm not what is going on. If you want, I can take a picture of what BOSS spits out and what I'm actually getting in LOST.

Edit: Also, the descriptions seem to not mention any other masters aside from FalloutNV.esm.

Ah, the unavoidable pile of bugs after a fresh release.

- I can't replicate the INI damage, but it's possible something went wrong during the installation. I hope it's a one time only kinda thing.

- As for BOSS, I can't really think of anything in my code that could cause that. The only thing LOST does, actually, is run BOSS.exe with some command line arguments (very much like you would do if you used the batch files that come with BOSS) and display the log. Could it be something BOSS is doing?

- You're absolutely right about the descriptions. I made an assumption about the .esp file format that turns out to be wrong. I can't believe I hadn't noticed that! ;D

Anyway, thanks for the bug report. I try to test everything thoroughly, but it's easy to miss things.

Out of curiosity was it run on a 32 or 64 bit system, 64 bit by default installs things into "Program Files (x86)"

Yeah the .ini was a one time thing. Making a new file solved it and it's working just fine.

For the BOSS issue - I'm not sure what's going on. Would there be a difference between using the archived version of BOSS compared to the installed version of BOSS in some shape or form? I did used the installer rather than the archive when I downloaded it. That's really the only thing that comes to mind for me. Well, at least using BOSS.exe then opening up LOST to fix the rest seems to work all well and dandy, like it did in the past.



If you're asking me, 64 bit. I do have BOSS installed into the correct directory and LOST automatically installed in the x86 folder as well. Does LOST have to be in the normal 'Program Files' folder?

LOST is compiled with py2exe to a 32 bit executable with the Python interpreter included. The installer is set to install LOST to Program Files by default, and I guess it thinks it has to put it in Program Files (x86) on 64 bit systems. It really doesn't matter where you install it to though.

Maybe it's because I do all my programming on a 64 bit system, but I doubt it. I use a x32 version of Python and NSIS.


I've had a few bug reports now and I think I've got enough data to track down the issues now. Revision 1.0.1 will hopefully be out soon.

[EDIT]Okay, I have tracked down and fixed the issues with the masters not displaying and implemented a quick and dirty fix for the crash on start up that occurs under certain conditions. Next I'm going to look into the BOSS oddness.

Okay, good news! I have tracked down and fixed the following bugs:

- Crash on startup if plugins.txt and and present data files don't match;
- Descriptions only displaying the first master record;
- Incorrect load order being shown after running BOSS (I think I got it now, from what I've seen from my tests)

I have not been able to replicate the following bugs:

- Corruption of settings.ini after installation
- Corruption of lost.ico after installation

I will however make some changes to the installer script, that should help prevent this kind of thing.

I just have a question, not regarding only this tool but all new load sorter tools.

Why is there popping up new ones, isn't FOMM doing a good job or what? I never use the automatic load order tool in FOMM (BOSS) my self, i rather make my own load order so i am 100% sure that there is no conflict or overrides.

Well, there were several reasons I started this little project:

• I thought it would be a good programming exercise
  
• At the time, there were no load order managers for NV. LOST was the first one.
  
• I got sick of having three load order managers for a set of games that are technically similar enough to have a single load order manager
  
• ...and choice is never a bad thing, right?

By the way, I've uploaded revision 1.0.1, which should fix most of the bugs you reported. If you do encounter anything, give me a shout and I'll look into it!

Actually, from what I've tried, FOMM, at the moment, seems to be using a completely different masterlist than BOSS. For instance, New Vegas Redesigned.esm was placed just above Lings.esm and Shojo Race Vegas.esm in FOMM w/ BOSS. BOSS, on itself, before the most recent update, because I'm not at home, had New Vegas Redesigned.esm just under RBX.esm, which is literally after the DLC Pre-Order Packs on my list.

Edit: So there seems to be a slight difference. Also, when exporting FOMM load orders, you can't exactly overwrite plugins.txt or modlist.txt because it includes [X] and [] beside the mod names, which I personally like to do. In the end, it does a nice job, especially considering it doesn't send unknown mods to the bottom, but as of late, it seems to differ from BOSS for me.

Edit #2: I have great news for you Argomirr. The BOSS tool in LOST is working perfectly for me with the latest update. What shows on the BOSS interface log is the same as what it shows on LOST, even down to the order of the unknown mods. Excellent work. :foodndrink: Thanks for the update and keep on it.

I'm glad to hear it works! It turned out to be a pretty easy fix. (it was actually a very stupid mistake on my behalf)

I am having some issues, and I am not sure what is the root cause.

I have been having issues with FOMM (not your problem) and so was very please when I saw this, all I want to be able to do is control the load order of my mods and I hoped that this would let me do that and bypass my FOMM issues. Unfortunately I am also encountering the same issue with LOST.

There isn't an awful lot I can tell you but I'll tell you what I can.

OS:
Win 7 64-bit

Game causing issues:
Fallout New Vegas

Issue:
When trying to run the game, via launcher.exe, desktop short cut or from Steam I get an error saying that the launcher has stopped working.

(For what it is worth, I was able to replicate and solve the .ini issue listed above on my PC. Using windows 7, you need to run LOST as an administrator (even on the admin account) in order for it to be write to the .ini file. This allows you to save your changes happily, though you do need to restart LOST to pick up the changes. If you don't run LOST as an admin, it gives you an error saying that the file may be missing or damaged. Its not, you just need admin rights.)

Edit:

Didn't see Occam's reply when I edited this, however in order for that to make sense, I had better put my original post back here -

FOMM is working just fine for me, I use it in tandem with FNVEdit and FNVMasterUpdate