[HOWTO] Sared's Guide to Keeping It All In Sync

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Sared Kilvan
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[HOWTO] Sared's Guide to Keeping It All In Sync

Post by Sared Kilvan »

Or "How to get dem files errywhere"

Abstract: by creating junction points within the NTFS file system, the JEDI folder in your GameData directory can be redirected to a different folder. This means that several different copies of the game on the same and different computers can all read and access the same collection of PK3's that is being synchronized through the cloud.

Disclaimer: this is not the optimal solution for software multi-clients, and is best suited to support hardware multi-clients; however it is resilient for both implementations. I will try to explore software multi-clients in the near future.

For the purposes of this write-up I'll be using OneDrive, but the same concept can be applied using Google Drive, DropBox, or most any other cloud storage application. Additionally, the same concept of folder junctions can be done on both Mac and Linux operating systems (just search for 'symbolic links')

This guide is written specifically for RPMod cloud synchronization using:
-Microsoft Windows (supported versions)
-Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy with RPMod installed
-Junction.exe (publicly available Windows Sysinternals tool)
-Cloud sync service of your choice (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)


Step 1 setup cloud storage and sync

If you already have a Microsoft account you can use that to sign into the OneDrive client built into Windows 10. It will create a directory within your user profile (C:\Users\%YOURPROFILE%\OneDrive) and begin syncing files copied there.

There are lots of great cloud storage options out there. DropBox, Pcloud, and many others offer great services both free and paid. Please feel free reach out to the community and we'll help you figure out what will work best for your system/budget.

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Step 2 identify folders

There are two directories that we are concerned with, the GameData\JEDI folder, and it's new partner in your cloud-synced directory. You will need the full folder paths for both in order to run the junction command.

By default your OneDrive folder will be in your user profile directory: C:\Users\%YOURPROFILE%\OneDrive (unless you have specified something else).

Unless you specified a custom path during setup, your JEDI folder may be found in:
Steam default: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Jedi Academy\GameData
GOG default: C:\GOG Games\LucasArts\Star Wars Jedi Academy\GameData
Brandless (disk ISO or other installer): C:\Program Files (x86)\LucasArts\Star Wars Jedi Academy\GameData



Step 3 Move PK3's

Your assets need to move to their new home. Create a folder inside your Onedrive directory called 'JEDIsync' or something similar that you'll remember and move the contents of your GameData\JEDI folder into there.

Depending on the speed of your connection and the amount of data, it may take a little bit for this initial sync to take place.


Once you've moved the files, make sure to delete the now-vacant JEDI directory in your GameData folder.

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Step 4 download junction.exe and unzip to folder

The 'dark magic' of this process is using Junction in order to create symbolic links between directories.
You'll need to download Junction from this link: https://download.sysinternals.com/files/Junction.zip
You can also read the documentation for Junction here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysint ... s/junction

You will need to unzip this folder into a folder that you can find easily, because you'll be running the commands from the directory you put the executables into. I like to create a 'disks' folder in the root of my C: drive to install/run programs like this from.



Step 5 setup junction/symlink

You should have junction.exe and junction64.exe unzipped into a folder (for this example I'm using c:\disks).

Open up your command prompt by holding the Start/Windows key and tapping R, type CMD and press enter.

By default it should launch into your user profile directory. Move into the folder that junction.exe is in by typing

Code: Select all

cd c:\disks
From this folder you can run the junction command.
Remember that the FIRST directory is where you are creating the junction (in your GameData folder), and the SECOND is the target directory (where your JEDI files 'actually' reside). You'll plug in your file paths including double quotations.

Code: Select all

junction.exe "c:\junction\directory" "c:\junction\target"
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If you did not delete the old and empty JEDI folder at the end of step 3 you'll get an error. If you were successful you'll now see the symbolic link represented by what resembles a folder shortcut icon.

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Step 6 repeat process on other computers and clients

The first computer client you do this with will result in your files being uploaded to the cloud. Every computer you repeat this process will have their GameData\JEDI folder replaced by the PK3's from that initial sync.

If you are using software multi-clienting (separate installations of JKA+RPMod on the same computer), you can redirect the GameData/JEDI asset folders from those directories in a similar fashion.



Conclusion

This is a unique solution that addresses a unique set of challenges like using separate installations of JKA or even separate computers. There are other ways to do what I've outlined here, but this has had the most reliability and consistency in my personal use-case for many years.

I hope that you've found this tutorial useful, and I appreciate that you've read this far. Please feel free to respond with suggestions on making this guide as readable and accessible as possible. Thanks y'all!

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Iffo Rav'i
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Re: [HOWTO] Sared's Guide to Keeping It All In Sync

Post by Iffo Rav'i »

Finally taken the time today to sit and set this up properly after doing some initial tests and playing about.

Works a treat! can highly recommend!
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