Version 0.17 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems that you might encounter, ASAP.

• Update! (D3Config) - The following changes have been made to the D3Config module:
  • Added a checkbox on the Settings page that allows you to "ignore sim error". See Reference Guide for details.
    
    
  • Added an edit field on the Settings page that allows you to specify how many seconds the launcher should wait for the sim to enter it's input idle loop before assuming an error has occurred. This value is ignored if you also checked the "ignore sim error" box.
    
    
  • Added an edit field and a browse button to the Host Admin page that allows you to select the car file that the host will use for the server car. This field is currently applicable only to NR2K2 and NR2K3. Support will be added at a later date for NR3/NL. The Reference Guide screen shot for the Host/Admin page has not yet been updated to reflect this new field.
    
    

A few issues have come to my attention that server admins should probably be aware of. At this time (and due to a lack of curiosity about the older sims), only NR2K3 is affected, but if you are aware of similar issues surrounding other sims, by all means, send me an email and let me know. This info will also be included in the appropriate section of the Reference Guide.

• If you are creating multiple players by simply copy/pasting player folders and renaming them, make sure that you edit the [Personal Information] section each of the player.ini files so that the firstName and lastName fields reflect the correct player name. For example, if you set up a player name called "John Doe", the folder in the players directory would be "John__Doe", and the fields indicated above would look like this in the ini file:
  
        [Personal Information]
        firstName=John
        lastName=Doe
  
  This is only a concern if you do NOT use the game itself to create the player. I can guarantee that the sim will NOT host a race if the name in the file doesn't match the name indicated by the name of the folder (it will stop at the main menu screen and you will have to manually terminate the sim).

• If you switch between running the sim in full-screen and minimized modes, the first time you run the sim in the newly selected mode, it will automatically run the video configuration utility. While this doesn't hurt anything, it will cause the sim to take longer than usual to actually get to the point of hosting a race. At this point, my advice is to stick with one mode or the other, and no, this cannot be fixed by patching DeMONS - it's a sim thing.

Version 0.16 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems that you might encounter, ASAP.

• Fix! (D3Launcher) - The launcher should now correctly shutdown hosts while the sim is running for that host. This was a problem especially visible when a favored host tried to shutdown other hosts (while the sim was running)

• Update! (D3Config) - Added a new field to the Settings dialog that allows you to specify how often to poll a host's sim process to see if it's running. See Reference Guide for details and recommended settings.

Version 0.15 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems that you might encounter, ASAP.

• Fix! (D3Launcher) - The following items were fixed in D3Launcher:
  
  
  • Invite/muzzle lists were not being copied at all.
    
    
  • The minimum LPI was being set, but the setting in the player.ini file that actually turned the restriction on and off was not being set.
    
    

• Fix! (D3Config) - The invite/muzzle lists were not being saved correctly (all the names were on the same line).

Version 0.14 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems that you might encounter, ASAP. I was kinda frazzled with organizing a league roster, DeMONS, and a death in the family this week, so there's a possibility I may have missed something.

• Fix! (D3Launcher) - The following items were fixed in D3Launcher:
  
  
  • Favored hosts weren't stopping unfavored hosts.
    
    
  • The "repeat until" timing style modifier was not reliably changing to the next race in the schedule when it was time to do so.
    
    
  • Had to disable the "remember last race" feature because it was banging heads with other timing style modifiers. It may or may not make another appearance at a later date.
    
    

• Fix! (D3League) - The following items were fixed in the D3League module:
  
  
  • Sometimes, the converted web page would show "out of range" errors in the converted HTML when parsing penalty info for NR4 and NR2K2 results files.
    
    
  • It was possible that the list of available results files would not be populated.
    
    

• Update! (D3 - All Modules) - Added support for NR2K3.

• Update! (web page) - Updated the Reference Guide with a discussion of issues and gotchas for the various versions of the sim.

Version 0.13 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems that you might encounter, ASAP.

• Update! (D3Config and D3Launcher) - I added support for NR2K3 to the point that it will support the same stuff that NR2K2 does now. Keep in mind that dialog boxes and related code will change to accomodate new stuff in NR2K3.

• Fix! (D3Launcher) - The following issues were addressed in the launcher module:
  
  
  • The launcher wasn't correctly formatting the file mask used by D3League to find the most recently written results file. This was preventing the results file from being "massaged".
    
    
  • The "repeat until" feature was not progressing to the next race in the schedule at the specified time.
    
    
  • If the "repeat until" feature was being used in conjunction with "stop at end of schedule", the schedule would stop after the first execution of the last event in the schedule instead of ruinning until the specified "repeat until" day/time .
    
    

Version 0.12 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems that you might encounter, ASAP. There is LOTS of new stuff andd fixes in this release, so don't be surprised if you run into little issues here and there. If things appear to be pretty calm after this release, I'll go back to banging on the remote admin stuff.

• Fix! (D3Config and D3Launcher) - The following fixes affected both D3Config and D3Launcher:
  
  
  • If you created a schedule, and then deleted a race, the program would insert a race at Atlanta in the deleted race's spot. This was most noticable if you deleted the first event and then ran D3Launcher.
    
    
  • Practice-only hosts (or any host that was shutdown with a warning to the connected drivers) were not correctly shutting down. I want to find out why, but in the interest of solidifying the launcher's functionality, I decided to just disable the shutdown warnings for now.
    
    
  • When you edited a host from the launcher, the program would look for each sim, and subsequently all tracks for each sim that it found installed on the system. In fact, ALL of the D3 modules do this (except for the remote admin stuff) every time they're started. The reason is that in order to allow you to load track info for adding/editing races to a schedule, the program has to know what tracks exist on the system (list boxes need to be populated, and other display items require this info).

    To make this less annoying, the act of editing a host from the launcher now causes D3Config to search only for the sim used by the host being edited, and as a result, only for tracks installed for that sim. This change will not affect the admins that are running only one version of the sim.

    This is absolutely the best I can offer regarding D3Config startup, since the track data is necessary to configure and run host schedules. Just so you know, NR3 and NL use a standard text file format that requires manual parsing, and this results in a longer start-up time for D3Config when compared to NR4, NR2K2, and NR2K3.
    
    

• Fix! (D3Config) - In the process of adding D3Remote, I broke the ability to edit a host from the launcher.

• Fix! (D3Launcher) - From version 0.08:

  DeMONS will now automatically reduce the resolution of the sim to 640x480 if the "Run Sim Minimized" option is selected. The reason is that some folks forget that the sim has to be configured for a resolution SMALLER than their desktop in order for minimizing the sim to work. This only affects NR4 and NR2K2 hosts.

  Well, that idea sucked. I deleted that code because it broke the launcher's ability to reliably launch the sim in a multi-host environment. The most visible symptom was an inability to launch favored hosts correctly.

• Update! (D3Config) - The following items have been added to the D3Config module:
  
  
  • Added a checkbox to the timing page that allows you to specify whether or not the host tracks which race in the schedule was run last. This will allow the launcher to pick up where it left off in the schedule last time you terminated the launcher module.
    
    
  • Added some testing stuff to the settings dialog.
    
    
  • Changed the Show Sims dialog so that it shows the status for all supported sims, including how many tracks were found for each sim.
    
    
  • Added a group of checkboxes that allows you to specify that DeMONS will create and utilize a track database file for one or more specific versions of the sim. By utilizing a track database for NR3 and NL, you will shorten the amount of time it takes to scan the sim for tracks (the speed gain is much less noticable for the newer sims because of the way they store information). The downside is that DeMONS will lose the ability to automagically detect newly added tracks, and make them available for your schedules.

• Update! (D3Launcher) - The following changes have been made to the launcher module:
  
  
  • I made the launcher window narrower and resizable, and moved the buttons around to accomodate people who thought an 800-pixel wide launcher window was too wide. The window is as narrow as it's gonna get (about 280 pixels narrower than the original size), so don't bother asking for it to be made any narrower. The default height is large enough to show seven running hosts - probably WAY more than anyone will ever use on a typical machine.
    
    
  • I added code to allow the launcher to keep track of the last race ran for each host. The only accomodation made for differences in scheduled events is to make sure the last race run does exceed the total number of races in the host's schedule, so don't expect too much magic stuff where this feature is concerned.
    
    
  • To support the last-race-run feature, I added another button to the window that allows you to restart the schedule to the first race.
    
    
  • I added some of the remote admin stuff (D3Server communicating with D3Launcher), but D3launcher still doesn't react to messages it receives from D3Server.
    
    

• Update! (web page) - Updated the Reference Guide with a discussion of issues and gotchas for the various versions of the sim.

• Other Info - I fully intend on implementing support for hosting GPL races, but as you might guess, this is the last thing on the existing list of priorities. The dialog boxes have not been designed yet, but I've added place-holders in the program's resources in order to remind me that it still needs to be done. When the Nascar sim stuff is solid and working well, I'll add GPL support.

  Unless something really drastic (or necessary in order to complete existing features) comes up, I do not intend on making further changes to the dialog boxes which apply to the existing sims, so you can safely assume that the interface has stabilized and is "cast in stone". However, the remote admin stuff is still fairly fluid, so there may be additional changes made to the associated modules.

Version 0.11 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems you have ASAP.

• Fix! (D3Config) - In anticipation of adding a new feature (remote admin), I inadvertantly caused D3Config to not allow you to edit a host from the launcher.

• Fix! (D3Launcher) - The following items were addressed in this module:
  
  
  • The act of editing a host from within the launcher caused a memory leak in the launcher.
    
    
  • I removed a debugging message box in the program that kept the schedules from proceeding normally (without intervention).
    
    
  • I added the ability to minimize the launcher window. I've had a request to make the window narrower, and I'm considering it for later, but there were more pressing issues this time around.

• New! (D3Remote && D3Server) - I had an epiphany last weekend, and I have decided to try implementing remote admin. This will allow you to change a host and it's schedule on your local machine, and transmit the changes to a remote server machine. It also supports multiple remote machines. At this time, the plan is to have the launcher stop and re-initialize all hosts when triggered by D3Server, but that will likely change as I get into the D3Server/D3launcher communications part of this task.

  The current state of development is that I have D3Remote and D3Server talking to each other and D3RConfig sends the necessary files. I still have to make D3Server and D3Launcher communicate, but I wanted to see what everyone thought of the current implementation.

  I've made the remote admin modules a separate download just in case you don't want/need those parts.

Version 0.10 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems you have ASAP.

• Fix! (D3Config) - The following items have been addressed in the D3Config module:
  
  
  • On the Host Config/Admin tab for NR4/NR2K2, the alternative results template fle names and the selected points schedule were not being properly restored to their selected values. I also made the combobox dropdown lists larger so you can actually see that there are scrollbars available.
    
    
  • On the Host Config/Admin tab for NR3/NL, I updated the selection of results template files to match the style used on the NR4/NR2K2 version of that tab.
    
    
  • On the Host Config/Connections tab for NR4/NR2K2, the default number of TCP/IP connections has been changed to 42, and "Allow TCP/IP" is now selected by dsefault.
    
    
  • On the Race Config/Realism tab for NR4/NR2K2, the selected fixed setup file was not being saved.
    
    

• Update! (D3Launcher) - When you hit the "Close" button, a dialog box is displayed, giving you the option of shutting down any running instances of the sim. After you clicked the "Okay" button in that dialog, a new dialog box was displayed saying it could take as long as two minutes to complete the launcher shutdown procedure. I originally hard-coded a delay of two seconds to give the user a chance to read the message. That delay has been shortened to 1/4 of a second.

• Update! (web page) - Updated the Reference Guide with a couple of updated screen shots and appropriate field/button explanations, and brought the User's Guide into alignment with D3's new timing features.

Version 0.09 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems you have ASAP.

• Update! (D3Config) - The following items were updated in this module:
  
  
  • I found out how to almost run the NR3/NL sim in a minimized state, and have re-implemented the code that allows you to do it. It runs in a window now, but it doesn't seem to want to minimize. I'll be trying to figure out why in the coming days.
    
    
  • When creating a new NR3 or NL host, the default server port is now 17761 (the default for all other sims is 32766).

• Fix! (D3League) - The following items were fixed in this module in the main dialog (does not affect commanline operation):
  
  
  • The creation of a delimited text file was always turned on, no matter what the last setting was.
    
    
  • The selected points schedule was not being retained.
    
    
  • The selected results template file was not being retained.
    
    
  • The selected delimited text template file was not being retained.

• Update! (web page) - Updated the Reference Guide with more issues and gotchas for the various versions of the sim, as well as some updated screen shots.

Version 0.08 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems you have ASAP.

• Fix! (D3Config) - The program was not saving the "Allow AI" setting for any of the sims.

• Fix! (D3Launcher) - The program was not setting the selected connection types in OPTIONS.CFG for NR3 and NL hosts.

• Fix! (D3Launcher) - The program was not correctly setting the race number based on the contents of the ALL.CAL file for NR3 and NL hosts.

• Update! (D3Config) - Well, I looked and looked, but I could not find anywhere that mentioned NR3's ability to run in a minimized state, so for the meantime, I've removed the checkbox from the host/admin page that allows you to do this.

• Update! (D3League) - I implemented the saving of settings that you select in the dialog box.

• New! (D3Launcher) - DeMONS will now automatically reduce the resolution of the sim to 640x480 if the "Run Sim Minimized" option is selected. The reason is that some folks forget that the sim has to be configured for a resolution SMALLER than their desktop in order for minimizing the sim to work. This only affects NR4 and NR2K2 hosts. If too many people start complaining about the resolution I selected, I'll add a way for you to select it yourself.

• Update! (web page) - Updated the Reference Guide with a discussion of issues and gotchas for the various versions of the sim.

Version 0.07 is now available. As always, tread carefully, and report any problems you have ASAP.

• Update! (D3Launcher) - I verified that the launcher will in fact launch NR3 or NL, so if that's your deal, grab this version.

Version 0.05 is now available. Invite and muzzle lists still aren't implemented at the launcher, and no sim-launching tests have as yet been run against NR3 and NL. I did, however, run the launcher on NR2K2, and it seemed to work fine (but I did not run thorough tests). As always, tread carefully, and report any problems you have ASAP.

• Fix! (D3Config) - The field that allowed you to specify the number of Sierra connections was redundant, so I deleted it. The number of connections actually comes from the number of TCP/IP connections allowed.

• Fix! (D3Config) - The list of hosts in the main dialog showed 42 connections, no matter what you entered for the host.

• New! (D3Config) - Added a "Log host actions" checkbox on the admin page. This will let you see what each host is doing in a log file. See Reference Guide for details.

• New! (D3Scrub) - This module is now included with the download. It is DIFFERENT from D2Scrub and is more reliable, so stop using D2Scrub if you are currently doing so. This module is not needed by poeople that are running NR3 and NL servers, or by people that are using Win2K or WinXP.

• Update! (web page) - Updated the Reference Guide with a couple of updated screen shots and appropriate field/button explanations.

Version 0.04 is now available. This version includes D3Launcher, but be aware that you should tread lightly as I have not yet run this against an actual Nascar Racing sim (but I have run them against dummy programs that show me the various commandline and sim data file settings).

If you want to try it out, I recommend that you backup your sim folder before doing so. All targetted Nascar Racing sims are currently suppported (execpt for NR2K3 of course), so flail at it as much as you dare. If something doesn't seem right, let me know (no matter how trivial). Lastly, become familiar with the contents of the Reference Guide. You should be able to get a good feel for how I *intended* the program to work.

• Update! (D3Config) - I had a major brain storm where timing styles were concerned, and as a result, major modifications were made to the Timing page on the host configuration dialog. This also required a minor change to the race configuration pages. Refer to the Reference Guide for details on these changes.

• Update! (D3Config) - I renamed the "General" tab to be "Connections", and swapped it's position around with the "Admin" tab, so that the Admin tab is the first page you see.

• Update! (D3Launcher) - Implemented new control code for calculating race start times based on new Timing page fields.

• Update! (Reference Guide) - I updated the reference guide to take the new Timing page fields into account, and to update affected dialog box screen shots.

I don't have a new version yet, but I wanted to let you know what I was working on so that nobody feels like I've dropped off the face of the earth.

• Fix! (D3Config) - Last week, I found out that the max possible session times for practice was 90 minutes, and for warmup is just 60 minutes for NR2K2. I changed the default race and the race dialog boxes for that sim.

• Fix! (D3Config) - I forgot to display any validation error message that might be generated by the host/timing tab.

• New! (D3Launcher) - Added the Skip Event button (and supporting code).

• New! (D3Launcher) - Basic list updating should be working. I had forgotten how much crap was going on behind the scenes in the launcher while each schedule is running. Adding the new stuff (the Start Event button, and the Skip Event button) reminded me of just how delicate the balance is with multiple threads running where the host list is concerned. I've spent the last week tweaking here and tweaking there, just to get those damn flags to update correctly.

• Update! (web page) - Updated the reference guide to reflect changes made to the launcher dialog, and to better explain some of the nuances where the display of flags and host interaction are concerned.

• Update! (D3Config) - Implemented the Host Recap dialog.

• Update! (D3Config) - Implemented the Delete Host functionality on the main configuration dialog.

• Update! (D3Config) - Added the Start Fresh button and implemented the associated functionality on the main configuration dialog.

• Update! (D3Config) - Implemented the Add Special functionality on the NR3/NL schedule configuration dialog.

• New! (D3League) - Started the module (as a place holder to remind me it's still gotta be done).

• Update! (web page) - Updated the Reference Guide and the User's Guide to reflect minor changes in main configuration dialog and host recap dialog.

• Update! (D3Config) - Added sim ID and host name to various dialog title bars where applicable.

• Update! (web page) - Updated the Reference Guide with a couple of updated screen shots and appropriate field/button explanations, and the User's Guide was changed to reflect changes to the host Timing tab.

• New! (D3Launcher) - The module now compiles, and the host list correctly shows the races. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be testing the launching of indvidual sims. I'll be starting with NR2K2, and moving to the older sims in order of most recently released.

• New! (D3Config) - Added a "Clone Host" button to the main config module dialog (suggested by Paul E - GREAT idea!).

• Update! (D3Config) - Added verification that the player ini file for a NR4/NR2K2 host actually exists before letting the user click OK.

• New! (D3Launcher) - Started re-coding this module.

DeMONS/3 version 0.01 was sent out to my super-dedicated beta tester. It contains only the D3Config module at this point. Changes (from D2) and notices are listed below.

• New! (DeMONS/3) - There have been a number of changes, the most significant of which is support for NR3 and NL. I realize that the number of people actually runnning these versions of the sim is relatively small, but they still need software like DeMONS, and I have been reluctant to continue supportint D1. Since we're going to be getting a new version of the sim in February, I figured it would be a good time to add support for older sims as well.

  I've also removed the now useless nanny server stuff, as well as all remote admin stuff. None of this was working anyway, and it just complicated the dialog boxes.