PenguinPlug Readme

The online and most often updated version of this document is here: http://ste.gnux.info/pp2/readme.php

Veteran PenguinPlug users ? you can just read the changelog at the end
New PenguinPlug users ? read everything :)

Introduction

PenguinPlug is a multifunction plug-in for Starcraft. Its goal is to provide additional functions. The following options are currently available:

RWT: Replay With Text

When you save a replay, all the messages you received from players (and your own messages) will be recorded in the replay. When you view the replay, the messages will appear. It works more or less like RWA (replay with audio by JCA), except you don't need a microphone: the poor man's version :) and you can record humorous comments by your opponents, it should give a new life to some replays.

Note : the player that is saving the replay must have it running during the entire game, and each player that is watching it must have it running if they want to view the comments. If they don't have PenguinPlug, it will still be played like a normal replay for them. Of course it doesn't record the enemy privates messages.

Version 0.2.9 and higher have an integrity check that ensure that the text cant be modified easly modified. If you see the message "Integrity ok" it means it has been saved with this feature.

Unshifted Hotkey

If you have a French azerty keyboard, then you must use the "shift key" to type numbers, and it's VERY annoying for hotkeys. this plug-in allow you to use hotkey without using shift or caps lock.

unshift hotkey is off by default: type "\unshift on" to activate it and to save it in the config file automatically.

Anti-Crash / Freeze

Some bugs in starcraft allow the kids that use hack programs to crash your starcraft remotely. PenguinPlug protect against 2 different ways to crash your starcraft

Note 1: as it's released even before those hack exists, i didnt fully tested that the protection is working, but i will update it if it doesnt. Please, report if you notice it doesnt work).

Note 2: It's an Anti-crash hack. It wont prevent any "drop" hack, that mean that it wont prevent anyone to disconnect or to be disconnected. It will just ensure that your starcraft cant be crashed.

Anticheat

With the new patch 1.12, i have removed anti-cheat functions of PenguinPlug, they are useless.

Requirements

Directions

Extract PenguinPlug-...zip in your starcraft directory (the directory that contain starcraft.exe). Then double clic penguinlauncher.exe It will add a penguin trayicon in the taskbar, and you will see a message everytime you start a game. (you can also try to run starcraft.exe first and then run PenguinLauncher for WinNT/XP)

Classic disclaimers

This program is a 3rd party program, that is not endorsed by Blizzard. Be aware that by running it you may break the ELUA. However, it is NOT a cheat program, and it doesn't give any unfair gameplay advantage over a legitly playing opponent, I will never add any features that could be considered "cheating". It would be very ironic if Blizzard, after leting cheaters unpunished for months, would punish users of tools like bwscanner or PenguinPlug.

Security concerns

As long as you download the program directly from me, it has no trojans or viruses included :) It doesn't manipulate your files, except the replays when you save and open them, the files penguinplug-debug.txt and penguinplug.ini

It doesn't affect any other program except if they are named Starcraft.exe. It stays in memory as long as Starcraft is running, and stops when you stop it. Unfortunately, I cant provide any "bug free warranty", it's still a beta version, so it may possibly crash, corrupt or prevent you from loading the replay, or have other nasty unintended behavior. But I have tested it, and it seems to work quite well for me. If you notice some bugs, please inform me with detailed explanations and I will do my best to fix them in a future version.

Source code

I had planed to release the source code but it would put me in a dangerous situation in case someone reprogram it in a cheating tool. It would not make a big difference for blizzard if someone modified it, they would still consider me responsible. With 1.12 just released and full of bugs again, i dont want to disclose something that can help the evil side to create a crash-hack.

I might release it on individual requests. But you must have some positive reasons and you must have already contributed positively in the SC communauty.

Extra credits

Probably half of the code lines come from someone else, I don't have time to re-invent the wheel :)

Special thanks

All my friends on battle.net, my cousins, the [ZO] team (http://ste.gnux.info/zo), the scd guys (http://starcraftdream.com), angel.white, and all the peoples who helped to test it.

JCA, Lasgo, TravelToAiur, Entropy for making usefull and fair 3rd party program (and Blizzard for making the game - i was about to forget this one :)

If you have some ideas / comments / questions, feel free to ask me by email (ste@ste.gnux.info), or I also spend some time in http://www.starcraftdream.com forums.

Known bugs

I dont have any infos yet on bugs of this new release, but it doesnt mean they are none :)

Webpage:

The webpage http://ste.gnux.info/pp is the only one i control myself. So it's the only safe and most updated page to download PenguinPlug. (note: http://poinsart.gnux.info/pp is the same address and is valid too)

Command Line Reference

Those commands have to by typed durring the game. Most of the value you can change with them are saved automaticaly so no need to type them every game.

To type them press enter and use the "\" character and then the name of your command. for example "\help" will give you a list of those commands.

help

Show this help message about PenguinPlug

rwtplay (on/off)

Show the game text durring the replay if available (Replay With Text) PenguinPlug will still load the text at the start of the game bt it will not display it until you turn it on.

rwtrecord (on/off)

Save the replay with recorded message (Replay With Text) The replay will be saved like if PenguinPlug was not used, and there will be absolutely no text data in it, even if you only choose this at the last 10 seconds of the game

unshift (on/off) (default=off)

On azerty keyboard (french layout) it allow you to type hotkeys without pressing shift everytime. The default seting is off, so make sure you type "\unshfit on" if you want to enable it.

bwchart

Open bwchart with the replay you are currently watching You must be in a replay to use this. BWChart must be installed and associated with the .rep files.

If it doesnt work you can check this this: in bwchart, clic the "Option" button at the top of the screen and put a mark in the checkbox "File association between .rep extension and bwchart. BWChart is the great tool of JCA, he publish it on http://www.bwchart.com

webpage

Open PenguinPlug webpage with your default webbrowser: http://ste.gnux.info/pp

rwtexport

Save all the comments with times in a .txt file. Then it will open the notepad (or the program associated with .txt files) and load it. The filename and the path is exactly the same as the .rep file, you will get a file ending with ".rep.txt" You must be in a replay with text to use this command.

History

v0.3.9

Test version for the 1.12b SC patch

v0.3 - 08/12/2004

v0.2.9

v0.2 - 28/11/2004

v0.1 - 20/11/2004

first "usable version", RWT + hotkeyfr


superpenguin
ste@ste.gnux.info