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Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 03 Nov 2017, 01:18
by Addis
New user here. I made this account purely to ask this question, hahahah, and hit search before posting. Maybe I missed something, or maybe this is in the wrong area. Do move this if necessary!

Is there any way to play Shandalar on windowed mode? I'd love to be able to chat with friends via Discord and what not while playing this. Currently the game is either finicky with minimizing or randomly doesn't minimize at all. Also, is there a place where users can post cards that don't quite work as they should (Darksteel Sentinel's Vigilance isn't functioning so it currently taps upon attacking)? I'm sure someone is bored/interested enough to bugfix the game, hah! What is ManaLink? Is this (huh, can't link things as a new user.. type in Shandalar Download on youtube and it should be the first result, by JustAllInOneResource)the updated version everyone's running (hit show more; I'm playing the 2015 update)?

I'll totally admit, I didn't know Shandalar existed until ProJared's videos. I wish I knew about this game twenty years ago, hahahahah!

Re: Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 03 Nov 2017, 07:17
by Aswan jaguar
About windowed mode look at shandalar.ini and if it has the following see what fits your needs:
window | Open
;See also DuelArt\Duel.dat, which determines the appearance of cards.
;
;
;If set to 1, runs in a 1024x768 window without changing screen resolution.
;The deckbuilder runs in a separate window at full screen size. Duel's
;subwindows don't confine themselves to this main window, and keyboard commands
;in duel won't work unless one of the subwindows is active. Adventure Mode
;doesn't repaint properly if another window temporarily covers its window. And
;the Facemaker still forces screen resolution to 1024x768. Still, all in all,
;it's less irritating than changing screen resolution constantly.
;
;Setting this to 2 does the same with regards to Adventure Mode, the
;Deckbuilder, and the Facemaker; but Duel runs in a separate window at full
;screen resolution. This generally works better, though the artwork for
;everything but cards will be at the wrong aspect ratio.
;
;Defaults Window = 0.
Window = 0

On the top left corner of the site there is the bug tracker and there you can post bugs or request features.
SHANDALAR/PROGRAM BUGS:
1- select filter for all tickets
2- search for the card (maybe someone has already report or fixed it) so no need to report it again.
3- If the bug has not been reported then make a report describing as thorough as you can what happened and if possible attach a screen-shot, video and a .dmp log error if one is produced.
Your bug has been already fixed in later versions - which are unavailable unfortunately.
Shandalar is the adventure part of the game and Manalink has the single duels, gauntlet, challenge, draft, and other modes.There are some differences between the 2 as they are developed separately, in cards, features, game play, and engine.

Re: Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 03 Nov 2017, 21:04
by Addis
Thanks for the reply, Aswan.

I didn't see the option you mentioned. The thought of adding text into the .ini came to mind. Considering how disorganized it looks I decided it best to shoot a reply over here rather than blindly poking around. Any idea what I should do with the following? (assuming it uploads properly)

Re: Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 04 Nov 2017, 07:41
by Aswan jaguar
If it is not there then your version doesn't support it so adding just the text will not have an effect.
If you open the shandalar.ini with the windows text then yes it seems disorganized if you open it with Notepad++ and probably others that use the same technique it shows clearly as my attached text above.

Re: Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 04 Nov 2017, 17:59
by Addis
Hm. Well, that's mildly disappointing. Where can I get a more modern version?

Re: Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 05 Nov 2017, 16:08
by drool66
If you want to run discord at the same time as Shandalar, you can probably just use Windows virtual desktops. Windows Key + Ctrl + Right/Left arrows will switch between one desktop and another. You can run Discord on one and Shandalar on the other. If you launch one in the wrong desktop you can move it with Windows Key + Tab, and then drag & drop programs to the space you want. You will be working at 1024x768 on the other desktop, but it's significantly more stable than using Alt + Tab or Windows Key + D. I hope this is helpful.

Re: Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 05 Nov 2017, 19:59
by Addis
Oof. I had other questions and looked to searching the forum to see if I could answer them for myself (such as before I made this topic, when I wanted to quiet the game down). I'm even more confused now than when I started, hahahahah.

* Are there any updated versions of Shandalar out there? I'm only really interested in the adventure mode. New cards and all that are always nice but quality of life improvements (less crashing and bug fixes that are apparently already implemented in particular) are what I'm going for.
- Am I going to have to just avoid this forum for the above? Found tons of drama involving someone named Korath and a decision I personally do not agree with (but that's as far as I'll dip my toe into the topic). I'd rather not roll the dice with my antivirus by searching around google!
* I know I already asked about what Manalink is, and got an answer, but the Manalink 3.0 Installation for New Users thread threw me for a loop given that it'll (unless I'm misunderstanding) bork the adventure mode.
- Is Manalink, and the version I've got installed something I need to care about if all I want to play is the adventure mode? Heck, I don't even know what version I've got given the Default and Sounds folders within Manalink are from 2013. I'm wondering if updating Manalink will update Shandalar's adventure mode or if they're purely two different programs that have little to nothing to do with each other. Extra challenges and such are fun at all but that's not what I'm interested in Shandalar for.
* What's Magic.exe? All I learned about it through searching the forum is that a few people are having the same issue I am, where I click on it and it doesn't do anything. Fully aware of how dumb it typically is to click on .exe files you're not sure about, hahahaha; I just figured it had something to do with Manalink since Manalink.exe didn't do anything when I double clicked, and when I first tried to run Shandalar I thought that was how you started adventure mode.

Here's hoping I'm not rubbing anyone the wrong way here. This is not only the first forum I've posted on in the last eight or so years, but I'm having so much fun with Shandalar that it's the first time I've had serious interest in Magic since Defenders of Kamigawa was brand new (2003ish? THERE ARE SO MANY NEW CARDS)! Going into these dungeons, having rapid fire (and at some times nerve wracking) duels with decently tough AI (playing on Wizard), and pulling hair out because my last white amulet broke has been one of the most enjoyable gaming experience I've had in quite a while, hahahah. I'm just looking for anything that could make this even better. The next person that uses Power Struggle and Manabarbs is getting a Disenchant to the eye. >_>

Edit to avoid double posting: Is there somewhere I can find a complete listing of the cards in my game? I wanted to make a spreadsheet for all the cards in Shandalar (not the ones in Manalink, which greatly limits the Deck Builder's use to me) so I could actually plan out cards to get rather than pacing between towns flailing while other towns get invaded. I was going to just write down all the names from the art folder and look cards up from there but I can only stomach so much tedium at the moment. The last nerd project I did like this was with Persona 3 FES.

Re: Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 06 Nov 2017, 00:03
by drool66
* Are there any updated versions of Shandalar out there? I'm only really interested in the adventure mode. New cards and all that are always nice but quality of life improvements (less crashing and bug fixes that are apparently already implemented in particular) are what I'm going for.
- Am I going to have to just avoid this forum for the above? Found tons of drama involving someone named Korath and a decision I personally do not agree with (but that's as far as I'll dip my toe into the topic). I'd rather not roll the dice with my antivirus by searching around google!
Suffice to say after the events you mention, all current versions of Shandalar were taken down. None should be available, probably including the one you have.

* I know I already asked about what Manalink is, and got an answer, but the Manalink 3.0 Installation for New Users thread threw me for a loop given that it'll (unless I'm misunderstanding) bork the adventure mode.
- Is Manalink, and the version I've got installed something I need to care about if all I want to play is the adventure mode? Heck, I don't even know what version I've got given the Default and Sounds folders within Manalink are from 2013. I'm wondering if updating Manalink will update Shandalar's adventure mode or if they're purely two different programs that have little to nothing to do with each other. Extra challenges and such are fun at all but that's not what I'm interested in Shandalar for.
* What's Magic.exe? All I learned about it through searching the forum is that a few people are having the same issue I am, where I click on it and it doesn't do anything. Fully aware of how dumb it typically is to click on .exe files you're not sure about, hahahaha; I just figured it had something to do with Manalink since Manalink.exe didn't do anything when I double clicked, and when I first tried to run Shandalar I thought that was how you started adventure mode.
Manalink is the duel mode and Shandalar is the adventure mode, as Aswan said. If you want to have both, you will have to have two completely separate installations. Installing one over the other will probably break both. You run Magic.exe in a Manalink installation; you run Shandalar.exe in a Shandalar installation. If all you want is the adventure mode, you can ignore anything having to do with Manalink 2.0, 3.0 or otherwise.

Here's hoping I'm not rubbing anyone the wrong way here.
You're not; questions are encouraged, so long as you've searched for your answer beforehand, which you said you have.

Edit to avoid double posting: Is there somewhere I can find a complete listing of the cards in my game? I wanted to make a spreadsheet for all the cards in Shandalar (not the ones in Manalink, which greatly limits the Deck Builder's use to me) so I could actually plan out cards to get rather than pacing between towns flailing while other towns get invaded. I was going to just write down all the names from the art folder and look cards up from there but I can only stomach so much tedium at the moment. The last nerd project I did like this was with Persona 3 FES.
You can see them using a "-d" command line switch in a Shandalar.exe shortcut. If you're unfamiliar with this you can either Google a solution or feel free to PM me. If you want to generate a list of cards, there is a more involved process for that - you can also PM me if you want steps for that. I wouldn't necessarily trust the art folder - it's possible that many images are for cards in Manalink but not Shandalar.

Re: Windowed Mode? & Other Questions

PostPosted: 08 Nov 2017, 02:58
by Addis
Ah, well, here's hoping nobody tries to take them down. Shandalar's a great game that I wish more people would play and some idiotic drama shouldn't block people from enjoying it.

Thanks a ton for the answers! I'll keep an eye out for any updated/fixed versions of Adventure mode (there's currently at least one buggy card that completely blocks Blue from being useful to me, haha). No idea if I'll ever post or even look at this forum again considering the limitations with updates (the drama).