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New Login Screen for Multiple Characters

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Would it be a lot of work to have a login screen that has all of a persons characters on it? Visual representation of each character would be nice, but even a list of names would do. Maybe make it where there is a .config or .ini file that users can put the login info for all their characters into. Then when you open the EL client all the characters in your file would show up as options to log into. Then you could just click which one you wanted, and since the login info is stored in file, it could log in.

I think it would just be a nice aesthetic change to the login procedure. 

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That way you need a whole different login ID and password (account) and in that account you could have chars etc. But also some chars are shared or used by multiple people, what happens to those chars?

 

Also, if you don't want to enter password for each char that you own/have access, you can play around with servers file and have name/password saved and also you can have different client options aswell.

 

Some games have visuals of accounts with last worn items etc but that is pretty much work for radu I'd say.

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10 minutes ago, Kaddy said:

That way you need a whole different login ID and password (account) and in that account you could have chars etc. But also some chars are shared or used by multiple people, what happens to those chars?

 

Also, if you don't want to enter password for each char that you own/have access, you can play around with servers file and have name/password saved and also you can have different client options aswell.

 

Some games have visuals of accounts with last worn items etc but that is pretty much work for radu I'd say.

I know some games have "Account" passwords and logins that you then get access to all characters on that account on a login screen. But I was trying to think of a simpler way that wouldn't require the devs to code a whole new security system for logins. I think that way would be great, but I'd be happy with the simpler method I suggested.

And there is a workaround that exists now. You can have different files set up for each character so when you open the client it has your info pre-loaded. I just think this way would be easier. One client, one file, multiple characters login info.

The way I suggest should also not affect people who share an account. they can all put the login info in their .config file and have the char listed on their login page. 

And yeah, I'd LOVE to have a visual representation with last worn items etc. But i'd be super happy with just a list of saved characters to log into on one side of the screen, and the current login form on the other side of the screen for people with just one character or for people who don't want to save login info in a file. 

 

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I wrote a small script for me that i open and then select the char it wants to open. i have under my personal el folder ~/.elc/ for each of those chars a own folder so those chars have all different window sizes, etc. one could create a front for el, where you can set up something like that.

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The way server and character data are stored now, quickly implementing a multichar menu will require players to have at least some knowledge of how and where EL stores its data.

 

And personally, I'd rather not see anything like this in the official client at this time: as moderators, we would be expected to be able to explain how to use the feature, and at least have a basic idea on how to solve problems related to it. And that on at least three different operating systems (Linux, Mac, Windows). And would such a system even be possible on Android?

It's the kind of thing that takes up a lot of time when you have to explain each step, and some steps have to be done when the character concerned is logged off.

 

Of course, an external script or add-on program that handles it outside the official EL distribution is a different story. There, the moderators can of course help, but you are basically on your own, and you should know that (cf. add-on maps like Burn's set). Another option is dropping some shortcuts on your desktop, executing the proper commands for each character. You could even create avatars from screen shots to use as an icon (depening on your OS).

 

As for the visual representation: that should be possible client side, but if you couple that with a menu for several chars, it will slow down the initial loading of the client.

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4 hours ago, revi said:

The way server and character data are stored now, quickly implementing a multichar menu will require players to have at least some knowledge of how and where EL stores its data.

 

And personally, I'd rather not see anything like this in the official client at this time: as moderators, we would be expected to be able to explain how to use the feature, and at least have a basic idea on how to solve problems related to it. And that on at least three different operating systems (Linux, Mac, Windows). And would such a system even be possible on Android?

It's the kind of thing that takes up a lot of time when you have to explain each step, and some steps have to be done when the character concerned is logged off.

 

Of course, an external script or add-on program that handles it outside the official EL distribution is a different story. There, the moderators can of course help, but you are basically on your own, and you should know that (cf. add-on maps like Burn's set). Another option is dropping some shortcuts on your desktop, executing the proper commands for each character. You could even create avatars from screen shots to use as an icon (depening on your OS).

 

As for the visual representation: that should be possible client side, but if you couple that with a menu for several chars, it will slow down the initial loading of the client.

Couldn't there just be a detailed guide post on the forum in the help section that mods could point people to? I'd be willing to write the windows version. 

 

Also, the way I'm thinking about it. The functionality could be in the client and just let people figure it out knn their own. All of the current workarounds for this issue already require some minimum amount of technical know-how. And I know I've been on both sides of the situation with trying to figure out how to do it. I had to have it explained to me in detail years ago, and I've explained it to people several times since then. 

 

What would be the difference in the current state of affairs and what I'm suggesting? Honestly to me having a more official way to do it all seems way simpler to explain than the current state. 

 

And as far as the android client goes. It's already limited in several aspects. No reason this one would be a big deal that it wasn't available. Or would only be available to people who understand how to root their phones and manipulate their file systems. 

Edited by revi
revi: combined two posts

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If it is part of the official client, it needs to be supported. Just a "detailed guide post" won't be sufficient, knowing how good people are at reading. A case in point is the sound installation: that is an optional add-on, with instructions on how to install it. There are still some that get it wrong. If you add the multi-user start-up, it's there straight away, with no instructions on how to use it. And 90+% of the players will not look in forums to figure out how it works. (aliases, user menus...)

 

About android: the more differences you get between the different versions, the more complicated maintenance becomes. It's just not good to allow the two clients to drift apart more than imposed by the OS.

 

As I said, I see no problem in having such functionality through an external program/script. As it doesn't touch the client code, nor interacts with the server, it's not against EL rules (in my opinion).

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19 hours ago, Kaddy said:

But also some chars are shared or used by multiple people, what happens to those chars?

 

This is not, and never would be, a consideration in game design.

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Personally I would love to see a drop down menu with all your characters names in the log in screen, and we might as well go all the way with a remember password check box. No one uses my laptop but me. Neither my kids or wife will touch it. Nor do I care if they did. I don't save pw's on my computer at all, but for EL I wouldn't mind.

 

This would have to be part of a 1.95.(something) DL. I am not techy enough to do it. I am very thankful of you techy types!

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On 06/02/2019 at 4:35 AM, RipTide said:

Personally I would love to see a drop down menu with all your characters names in the log in screen, and we might as well go all the way with a remember password check box. No one uses my laptop but me. Neither my kids or wife will touch it. Nor do I care if they did. I don't save pw's on my computer at all, but for EL I wouldn't mind.

 

This would have to be part of a 1.95.(something) DL. I am not techy enough to do it. I am very thankful of you techy types!

 

I've been thinking about adding exactly this functionality for ages.  It would not allow you to select separate configurations/servers  but most files are tagged with the player name.  For server and configuration (data location) selection, you currently need an external launcher.  The Linux packages I produce do have a separate launcher but that does not work on other platforms.  On Linux, you can also select configurations by right-clicking the game icon.  For me RipTides suggestion allows for simple selection of characters using the same server/configuration and an easy way to save passwords. It would also be compatible with the existing separate configuration/server features.

 

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2 hours ago, bluap said:

 

I've been thinking about adding exactly this functionality for ages.  It would not allow you to select separate configurations/servers  but most files are tagged with the player name.  For server and configuration (data location) selection, you currently need an external launcher.  The Linux packages I produce do have a separate launcher but that does not work on other platforms.  On Linux, you can also select configurations by right-clicking the game icon.  For me RipTides suggestion allows for simple selection of characters using the same server/configuration and an easy way to save passwords. It would also be compatible with the existing separate configuration/server features.

 

 

:) one thing that just came to my mind, ofc you've probably thought of it already, a remove or hide name check box or something like that. Not for char sellers, but for someone who might make a test char or if they decide they don't want to play that char anymore.  Just keeps things neat and tidy.

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I think this would be a very nice convenience and would like to see it implemented if bluap has the time and inclination.  :)

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I had not thought about hiding or removing names but that's a good idea; keep them coming!  I'll have a look at implementing this.  Would something like this work for you Affliction?

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8 hours ago, bluap said:

I had not thought about hiding or removing names but that's a good idea; keep them coming!  I'll have a look at implementing this.  Would something like this work for you Affliction?

That sounds awesome!

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While we're at it... why not display a quick overview of each character's stats when you select them? Just a simple (heh) list of p/c/r/w/i/v and all skill levels would suffice if possible.

Edited by Diealot

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18 hours ago, Diealot said:

While we're at it... why not display a quick overview of each character's stats when you select them? Just a simple (heh) list of p/c/r/w/i/v and all skill levels would suffice if possible.

Currently the Client keeps none of that data, so that would require a shole new subsystem to keep track of the most recent information per Character.

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20 hours ago, Diealot said:

While we're at it... why not display a quick overview of each character's stats when you select them? Just a simple (heh) list of p/c/r/w/i/v and all skill levels would suffice if possible.

Like learner said, that data is not currently kept in the client, and there are at least 2 good reasons for the server not to provide that data in this situation:

1 - you wouldn't get the data for characters with privacy ON anyway (making the feature useless for over half the characters), or else

2 - you would be able to get data on any character in existence, just by entering the name : at this point, the server can't know you are allowed access to the character.

I suppose you want to see the stats before logging the character in (after, you have them available anyway)

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On 11.02.2019 at 5:12 PM, revi said:

Like learner said, that data is not currently kept in the client, and there are at least 2 good reasons for the server not to provide that data in this situation:

1 - you wouldn't get the data for characters with privacy ON anyway (making the feature useless for over half the characters), or else

2 - you would be able to get data on any character in existence, just by entering the name : at this point, the server can't know you are allowed access to the character.

I suppose you want to see the stats before logging the character in (after, you have them available anyway)

 

Maybe a remember me option? Once you logged on a char, it can save stats upon closing up client so if one has no access anymore, they can only see the stats of last login, not recent. That would solve the privacy issue aswell. 

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On 2/9/2019 at 2:28 PM, bluap said:

I had not thought about hiding or removing names but that's a good idea; keep them coming!  I'll have a look at implementing this.  Would something like this work for you Affliction?

 

Instead of a delete, lets make it hide or maybe both. Then maybe a box with show hidden names. Someone might want that test char again.

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10 hours ago, RipTide said:

 

Instead of a delete, lets make it hide or maybe both. Then maybe a box with show hidden names. Someone might want that test char again.

Both, I'd say: the ones really having a use for this might also be the ones buying the namechanges. And the char name doesn't exist anymore after a namechange.

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I've completed a first version of this feature.  Its turned off by default an can be enabled on the server tab of the settings window.

 

The Login, New Character and Settings buttons all behave as before.

 

The login screen has a new button, I've reused the buddy icon.  The "open/close..." text is shown when you mouse over the button with the feature enabled.  Mouse over with the feature disabled and you get a different message with help on how to enable the feature.

password_manager_01.jpg.25e079352cc4a41bb2dba0d4f0044c60.jpg

 

You click the button to open a window with the list of characters to select from.  The image is not showing valid characters....

password_manager_02.jpg.15d52839480c9ebb20bcd2500ddba953.jpg

Left clicking a character name, sets the login fields and logs you in immediately. Right clicking just fills in the login fields.  Both actions close the window.

 

If you check the "show passwords" button, then the window shows your passwords for each character.

password_manager_03.jpg.9408914db82adab4a09d08e95e8b812f.jpg

 

The list of character names starts empty.  With the feature enabled, any successful login is saved (if not already in the list) and is then available from the list for next time.  An existing user name will be updated if the password is different from that saved.  If you use the #change_pass command within he game, the new password will be saved for next time. If you create a new character, and login, the login details are also saved.

 

I have not yet added the show/hide feature.  I have not yet added the feature to show character stats.  These are still options to add.

 

I'm not sure if the "show password" button, is really needed.

 

The login details are stored in a file in your configuration directory, the same location as the el.ini file.  The logins are stored in the file passmngr_logins and the passwords are encrypted with a simple xor cipher.  The key for this is generated when you first run with the feature enabled and is saved in another file called passmngr_key.  This gives some protection to the passwords but not much.  I was not sure this was needed either but it was fun to implement.

 

Please give this a try.   You can build a new client containing this feature from the latest git.  Or download builds for windows and Linux here:

Windows: https://twinmoons.org.uk/el/git/el.exe

I'd recommend my Flatpak build for Linux users, you will need the dev version, or the Snap (Edge version) from the Snap Store.

Otherwise.....

Linux 32 bit static: https://twinmoons.org.uk/el/git/el.i686.linux.bin.static

Linux 64 bit static: https://twinmoons.org.uk/el/git/el.x86_64.linux.bin.static

 

Let me know your thoughts......

 

 

 

Edited by bluap

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This is great!  The one thing I don't care for is that after the first time I log in, every subsequent time I open the client, it auto-fills my name and password even before I click on the new button.  I was expecting it to be blank until I either right click or left click on the name in the Select Login window.

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I am using Windows 10. Trying to install I get:

The code execution cannot proceed because of libcal3d-12.dl was not found. Reinstalling….

 

It has about 2 or 3 more pop ups with The code execution... with different items.

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39 minutes ago, Aislinn said:

This is great!  The one thing I don't care for is that after the first time I log in, every subsequent time I open the client, it auto-fills my name and password even before I click on the new button.  I was expecting it to be blank until I either right click or left click on the name in the Select Login window.

I quite like that, perhaps it could be made an option.

 

13 minutes ago, RipTide said:

I am using Windows 10. Trying to install I get:

The code execution cannot proceed because of libcal3d-12.dl was not found. Reinstalling….

 

It has about 2 or 3 more pop ups with The code execution... with different items.

Are you copying the new el.exe file into the same directory as your existing install (you can rename the old or the new file to keep the old)?  Did you install the game from the standard download or are you using one from somewhere else? Perhaps one of Sir_Odie's builds?

 

Thanks for trying it both!

Edited by bluap

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24 minutes ago, bluap said:

Are you copying the new el.exe file into the same directory as your existing install (you can rename the old or the new file to keep the old)?  Did you install the game from the standard download or are you using one from somewhere else? Perhaps one of Sir_Odie's builds?

 

 

I dl from this " Windows: https://twinmoons.org.uk/el/git/el.exe "  Then in my dl file, I double clicked to install.

 

I was thinking I might have to uninstall, then reinstall with that, but I don't know for sure.

Edited by RipTide

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