Hi there, TL;DR I wish there were command line arguments for the launcher that would automatically log me in to a specified server, and a specified character. Many of us play multiple characters, I play 2. Today, that means I need to open the launcher separately for each one, choose their name, click Play. And since the Play button grays out after doing that, to load the 2nd character I need to close the Launcher and re-launch to select the next character. This takes a while to get into the game. I wish I could create a separate desktop icon for each character, so I can just double-click each one to open the client to that server/character directly without having to deal with the launcher. For example: launchpad.exe povar mirthe Would launch the client to the Povar server with the character Mirthe. Just as if I had selected it from the launcher's existing drop-down menu (the launcher already has this capability, but doesn't have command line args like this as far as I know). This would both make it more likely that I would play (the setup cost means if I only have a short playtime I might play another game), and more likely I might start a 3rd account because it won't be such a pain to get my crew setup when I want to play. If the launcher detects that there's a required patch, it's fine if the launcher just comes up and patches and I need to log in manually. No need for anything fancy there. Thanks for considering, Mirthe
The EQ2 method of having a list of characters in a drop down box would be good though they are different and you don't go to server select before choosing a character.
I hate when i log on and it goes to a char i havent even played in a lontime be nice if it went to the char that lasted logged off.
Using this method, you can set up instances of EQ specific to a single character. Having two shortcuts labeled \\ Toon1 and \\ Toon 2 along with their usernames entered into the target field all you would have to do now is enter their passwords and login. This really cuts down time for people who play multiple accounts or numerous instances. Having multiple shorcuts will help you manage different accounts. https://articles.eqresource.com/bypasslaunchpad.php
YES! Please add this capability. The "bypass patcher" method still requires you to type in your PW. And it just takes you to server select. That's not a huge deal, but it seems unnecessary. Just have the launcher take command line flags for the account name, server, and character. This way the user can bypass whatever they want with commands like this: launcher.exe /account=JoeBlowAct <---- Leaves you at server select launcher.exe /account=JoeBlowAct /server=ServerName <-- Logs into the server launcher.exe /account=JoeBlowAct /server=ServerName /character=Bernel <--- Logs in this char This would be great to be able to launch from the desktop straight into specific characters,.
Big QoL improvement right there! Also: Stop closing my launcher. Leave it open. I don't want to re-patch over and over as I log in multiple accounts.
Make a shortcut to eqgame.exe with the command line "patchme" without the quotes. You just have to remember to patch when necessary.
We would need a "fullscreen" command-line switch too, otherwise it will mess up the UI. (unless they actually fix the fullscreen bug, of course)
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1172:_Workflow Sadly this would break some ones workflow ....
Exclusive full screen mode is archaic. They need better windowed options, including borderless full screen windowed mode. I understand thier resources are limited, but if others can do it I can't imagine it's that difficult. Built in DPI awareness and options would be nice too. Perhaps all that is part of the UI revamp though.
Yeah, that's old news. Thanks but no thanks, don't want to type in user/pass every time I log in. Let alone remember the account login for the 14+ accounts I sometimes use but really only when I need a collectible or tradeskill thing.
I just realized that the launcher is 99% of the way to having this capability with the Autoplay toggle. You may have noticed this button when there is a patch and new files are being downloaded: If there was a command line way to toggle that button, then the launcher would automagically progress to server select. So with the launcher already having both the account name dropdown and Autoplay button, it doesn't seem like it would be too much work to add command line ways to specify those values. This would cause the launcher to run and go straight to server select. Having a command line way to also specify the server name so you end up on character select would be an awesome upgrade, but just getting to server select using these existing launcher capabilities would be great as well.
It's not true for modern Windows but I don't know if the improvements apply to DirectX 9 games like EQ. For newer games, unless using an unsupported old Windows version, there isn't much point to full screen exclusive. Either way ditching full screen exclusive in EQ sidesteps infuriating issues like "ResetDevice() = 0" crashes. That may have been fixed over the years but was common for me when alt tabbing if the refresh rate was set differently in Windows and EQ
You don't even have to remember to patch, it will tell you that you have to do so. You press one button to confirm, that runs, and you're set. To the OP's point, I really like the idea. Especially because t would mean I would never accidently click that little "reset ui to default" button by mistake.
patchme /login:youraccountnamehere currently exists, and can be used now. I think you would especially enjoy the person's idea. What they are proposing is to be able to add the server/character name in that command line.
It will tell you if the patch requires patching, but weirdness can ensure for smaller patches to fix issues with a patch. I wish I could remember an example, but for example if they made a mistake with the default UI XML.
