diff --git a/docs/BOSS Readme.html b/docs/BOSS Readme.html index 9f42d7fe..b58e0c80 100644 --- a/docs/BOSS Readme.html +++ b/docs/BOSS Readme.html @@ -162,9 +162,9 @@ Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2013 (x86). BOSS can be install
Provided that masterlist updating is enabled and that an online masterlist URL is set, BOSS checks for updates to its masterlist and downloads any that are available. If there are any syntax errors in the latest masterlist (due to human error by its maintainers), the updater rolls back one version at a time until it finds a version that works. If any other errors are encountered, updating is cancelled. -
During the sorting process, BOSS extracts information from each of the plugins installed in the game's Data folder and combines this information with any relevant metadata provided by the masterlist and userlist. It then uses the combined data to build a graph (as in graph theory, not drawing) of all the interactions between all the installed plugins. A topological sort is then carried out on the graph to produce a list of plugins in their optimal load order, according to BOSS's criteria. If a cycle is detected (eg. A depends on B depends on A), then sorting is cancelled as it becomes impossible to generate a load order that satisfies all conditions. +
During the sorting process, BOSS extracts information from each of the plugins installed in the game's Data folder and combines this information with any relevant metadata provided by the masterlist and userlist. It then uses the combined data to build a directed graph of all the interactions between all the installed plugins. A topological sort is then carried out on the graph to produce a list of plugins in their optimal load order, according to BOSS's criteria. If a cycle is detected (eg. A depends on B depends on A), then sorting is cancelled as it becomes impossible to generate a load order that satisfies all conditions.
If successful, the calculated load order is then displayed in the dialog shown above, which allows the user to edit the load order before it is applied. Multiple plugins may be selected and moved at once. Plugins which are empty (ie. only contain a header record) are displayed in grey text, and plugins that are not empty and load BSAs are displayed in blue text. If OK
button is clicked, it is then applied, and any edits made are recorded in the userlist for re-application when BOSS next sorts the game's plugins. If the Cancel
button is clicked, then the load order and any edits made are discarded.
-
BOSS then generates a report and displays it either in a new window or in your default browser, according to the value of the relevant setting. Any errors encountered during the sorting process will be displayed in this report, including those due to graph cycles, missing dependencies or installed incompatible plugins. If it is enabled, an SVG image of the graph is generated for display in the report. See the next section for more information on the report. +
BOSS then generates a report and displays it either in a new window or in your default browser, according to the value of the relevant setting. Any errors encountered during the sorting process will be displayed in this report, including those due to graph cycles, missing dependencies or installed incompatible plugins. See the next section for more information on the report.
BOSS is able to sort plugins ghosted by Wrye *ash, and can extract Bash Tags and version numbers from plugin descriptions. Provided that they have the Filter Bash Tag present in their description, BOSS can recognise filter patches and so avoid displaying unnecessary error messages for any of their masters that may be missing.
While reading very large plugins, such as the game's main master file, BOSS may appear to stop responding: this is not an issue. The time it takes for BOSS to sort your load order depends primarily on the size of the masterlist being used, the total size of the files in your load order, and the number of plugins in your load order. The first run is likely to be longer than subsequent runs as BOSS needs to download the full masterlist, rather than just the changes made by updates. In testing, it was found that sorting ~90 plugins with a total size of ~350 MB and a 5 MB masterlist takes around 15 seconds, though performance will vary with computer hardware. @@ -181,7 +181,6 @@ Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2013 (x86). BOSS can be install
Summarytab gives information on the versions of BOSS and the masterlist used, whether masterlist updating is enabled, and breaks down the numbers of each message type in the Summary and Details tabs. It also notifies you if there have been no changes in the
Detailstab since you last ran BOSS for the same game. Finally, the
Summarytab is also where any global messages supplied in the masterlist and any errors encountered during sorting are displayed.
Detailstab lists the plugins BOSS sorted in their new load order, along with any messages BOSS has provided for them. BOSS will also display the plugin's CRC value and extract its version if found in the plugin's description field. -
Graphtab displays a graph of all the interactions between the plugins in your load order. It's not very useful to the average user, but may contain information that would aid in debugging any issues encountered, and is also provided as an item of interest. Graph image generation typically takes a long time, so it is disabled by default.
In addition, there are a few filters that can be used to selectively hide items in the Details
tab. These filters are:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BOSS\BOSSDebugLog.txt.
The games list allows the customisation of which games BOSS offers support for, trivialising support for multiple copies of a game and Total Conversions. The games listed here will be displayed in the main window's Game
menu when BOSS is next run. The Add Game
, Edit Game
and Remove Game
buttons are used to edit the list. Each game has several columns, which are explained below.
| GitHub | Bethesda | Nexus | Oblivion | Skyrim | Fallout 3 | Fallout: New Vegas | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aellis-BOSS | Aellis | ✓ | ✓ | + | ||||
| egocarib | egocarib | - | ✓ | |||||
| Freso | ✓ | |||||||
| ineedbettername | - | ✓ | ||||||
| LotteryDiscountz | ✓ | |||||||
| niveuseverto | ✓ | |||||||
| noxwyll | iyumichan | ✓ | ✓ + | |||||
| PacificMorrowind | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||
| Sharlikran | ✓ | |||||||
| SilentSpike | SilentSpike69 | ✓ | ||||||
| TokcDK | Tokc.D.K. | ✓ | ✓ | - | ||||
| William Imm | ✓ | ✓ | + | |||||
| William-Imm | William Imm | WilliamImm | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| WrinklyNinja | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||
The status of the following members is currently unknown: - -
| Member | Admin | Code | Contributes To Masterlist - | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oblivion | Skyrim | Fallout 3 | Fallout: New Vegas - | |||
| PacificMorrowind | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | |
| Random007 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ||
| scrapperrm | ✓ | - | ||||
Members who have since left the project are credited below:
| Malonn | ✓ | |||||
| Peste | ✓ | |||||
| Psymon | ✓ | + | ||||
| Random007 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Red Eye | ✓ | |||||
| RiddlingLynx | ✓ | + | ||||
| scrapperrm | ✓ | |||||
| Skyline | ✓ | |||||
| Space Oden69 | ✓ | |||||
| Televator | ✓ | @@ -526,7 +516,7 @@ There are three key pieces of information that are used to accurately describe a | ||||
| Masterlist structure & syntax | Uses a custom file format. | Uses YAML 1.2, with custom condition string syntax modelled after Python's condition expressions. | ||||
| Userlist structure & syntax | Uses a custom file format, different from the masterlist format. | Uses the same format and syntax as the masterlist. | ||||
| Morrowind support | Technically supports Morrowind, though its masterlist is near-empty. | Does not support Morrowind. - | ||||
| BOSS file locations | All BOSS's files are stored in the BOSS folder first installed. | BOSS stores any files it creates (reports, masterlists, userlists, settings, graphs) in the %LOCALAPPDATA%\BOSS folder.
+ | ||||
| BOSS file locations | All BOSS's files are stored in the BOSS folder first installed. | BOSS stores any files it creates (reports, masterlists, userlists, settings) in the %LOCALAPPDATA%\BOSS folder.
| ||||
| Game selection on first run. | BOSS asks the user to select a game from a list. | BOSS selects the first game detected. | ||||
| File CRC calculation | File CRC calculation is optional. | File CRC calculation is always-on, as it no longer presents any significant additional performance impact. | ||||
| BOSS Log / Report format | The BOSS Log can either be generated as plain text or as HTML. | The BOSS Report can only be generated as HTML. |