MECCG Unofficial Expansions - Installation Failure?

[Garriath]

Howdy, all,

I've been having loads of fun playing through the MECCG Lackey version created by Chris Vos (http://www.chrisvos.com/meuk/lackey/meccg/updatelist.txt). Doing some digging around the internet, I've found out that several unofficial expansions (i.e., Firstborn, Great Wyrms) were created a few years back.  I was very excited to see that in the same folder, an "unofficial expansions" updatelist was also included (http://www.chrisvos.com/meuk/lackey/meccg/unofficial_expansions/updatelist.txt). However, I've tried running it several times, and the installation seems to be failing. The log shows that, after three download successes, it shows reads: "Download Failure: plugins/meccg/rules/MEGW_rules.pdf from http://www.chrisvos.com/meuk/lackey/meccg/rules/MEGW_rules.pdf", then saying that "AutoUpdate process completed with a few errors." Afterwards, the unofficial expansions update list appears in my plugins/meccg folder, yet the cards themselves do not appear in the program at all.

Could someone else possibly try installing the unofficial expansions update and let me know if they're able to get it to work? I'm very new to using Lackey, and could be missing something very straightforward.

Thanks very much for your time.

[Trevor]

Using http://www.chrisvos.com/meuk/lackey/meccg/updatelist.txt, all the files installed correctly for me.

I then used http://www.chrisvos.com/meuk/lackey/meccg/unofficial_expansions/updatelist.txt and http://www.chrisvos.com/meuk/lackey/meccg/rules/MEGW_rules.pdf also seemed to be a broken link for me.
But that link doesn't matter.

I have figured out the problem. This plugin is using the old plugin format, so you need to do one extra step.
The official plugin uses setlist.txt, whereas the unofficial expansions use setlist_standard+unofficial.txt.

To see the expansions, edit setlist.txt to include the new card data files.

11
AgainstShadow.txt
Balrog.txt
DarkMinions.txt
Dragons.txt
Firstborn.txt
GreatWorms.txt
LidlessEye.txt
Promo.txt
PromoGerman.txt
WhiteHand.txt
Wizards.txt

1
Standard
9
Wizards
Dragons
DarkMinions
LidlessEye
AgainstShadow
Balrog
WhiteHand
Promo
PromoGerman

Using the new plugin format, you wouldn't need to do this.

The new images appear to be not where they are supposed to. Aramacar is an unofficial card. According to the files, the image should be obtainable from http://www.chrisvos.com/meuk/lackey/meccg/sets/setimages/Firstborn/Aramacar.jpg but that webspace is password protected.

[Garriath]

Thanks a billion for checking this out and getting the cards working. It's a shame that none of the images work. I'd get in touch with Chris and see if he's still around, but I haven't been able to find an email address associated with him. I suppose my best hope is that he'll stumble upon this post sometime and explain what's up.

One last question:

If I were to find the card images online, is there some sort of tutorial for adding them in to the game? Not the sort of thing I've done before, but we all have to start somewhere, right?

Thanks again for everything.

[Trevor]

Thanks a billion for checking this out and getting the cards working. It's a shame that none of the images work. I'd get in touch with Chris and see if he's still around, but I haven't been able to find an email address associated with him. I suppose my best hope is that he'll stumble upon this post sometime and explain what's up.

One last question:

If I were to find the card images online, is there some sort of tutorial for adding them in to the game? Not the sort of thing I've done before, but we all have to start somewhere, right?

Thanks again for everything.

You could put the card images where Lackey wants them to go, which is defined by the plugin. For example, Aramacar is a card image that is missing. If you look at the card data file that lists it, it says the name of its image file, which is Aramacar.jpg. The 3rd column is the image file, and if there is no suffix listed, that means it is .jpg implicitly. And the card's set is Firstborn (as you can see from the 2nd column in the card data file. Therefore, Lackey will look for that card image at plugins/meccg/sets/setimages/Firstborn/Aramacar.jpg (among other places). If you put the card image file there, it will read it fine.

Note that you will want to make sure any card image you add is the same dimensions as the cardback.jpg image file that the plugin defines. You may need to batch resize with a program like photoshop.

[Gru]

Hi Trevor and Garriath,

I'm following your messages with great interest as I, too, am a big Lackey MECCG fan. Sadly, I'm also an total dunce when it comes modifying this program. I'd love to get the unofficial expansions included in my game, but I'm not sure exactly how to do it. I assume it involves copying the text file and slipping it into the MECCG folder (does it?) but beyond that, I'm lost.

Could either of you explain in a simple step-by-step what I need to get this up and running? I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks for your time and attention.

[Garriath]

Hey, Gru,

Good news for you. I've been able to get the cards and images for the Firstborn unofficial expansion working.

Here's how you add the cards:

1. From the "preferences" tab, paste this link: http://www.chrisvos.com/meuk/lackey/meccg/unofficial_expansions/updatelist.txt into the "install or update from URL" slot.

2. Replace your current setlist (in your meccg folder) with the following text:

11
AgainstShadow.txt
Balrog.txt
DarkMinions.txt
Dragons.txt
Firstborn.txt
GreatWorms.txt
LidlessEye.txt
Promo.txt
PromoGerman.txt
WhiteHand.txt
Wizards.txt

1
Standard
9
Wizards
Dragons
DarkMinions
LidlessEye
AgainstShadow
Balrog
WhiteHand
Promo
PromoGerman


After that, you should see the cards added into Lackey, but without images.

I've got the images working, but they come out to 10MB, which is larger than the max I can post on this site. If you PM me your email, I'll send them to you that way.

Look forward to hearing from you!

[Daelric]

The plugin updater seems to work fine now, even for images. Not all card images are available, but most seem to be.

Does anyone play this game these days? I'd love to give it a go.