Software:MultiEx Commander

From HandWiki
MultiEx Commander
Developer(s)Mike Zuurman
Jeremy Walton
Ben Moench
Initial releasev1.07, (August 16, 1999) [1]
Stable release
4.5.1 [2] / August 4, 2013; 10 years ago (2013-08-04)
Preview release
None / None
Written inVisual Basic
Operating systemWindows
TypeFile manager
LicenseShareware (Windows)
Websitemultiex.xentax.com

MultiEx Commander is a game resource archive manager for Windows published by the Xentax Foundation. Some features include a built-in MexScript (AKA BMS) interpreter, file extractor and importer, stand alone mod creator EasyMod.

This application is currently written by Mike Zuurman in Visual Basic.[3] The first versions of the program were written in Borland Turbo C in 1998 and 1999 as user interface for a command line DOS archiving tool, called multiex, that was created in 1997.[4] The program is extensible by programmers via a plugin-API.[5] The first multiex release was built around MexScript, a custom script written specifically to enable programmers to process (game) archives by simply typing a few lines of script. All the low-level events would be carried out by the main program. MexScript (or BMS as it is also called, after Binary MultiEx Script[6]) is still a prominent feature of the tool, as the user can write scripts via the built-in script window.[7] It also enables the use of QuickBMS scripts, a later third party produced improvement (or "forking") of the original MexScript.[8]

Additionally, MultiEx Commander can create stand-alone mods for games via the EasyMod creator. Custom changes made to certain game archives (such as sounds, or textures) are stored as a stand-alone program, enabling users to distribute their mods without others needing MultiEx Commander.

The Windows version is donateware: users can download it after they donate a certain amount to the Xentax Foundation (currently $10). After that, they can download it and use it indefinitely.[9]

History

In 1997 the command line MexScript based game archive extraction and importation tool multiex.exe for DOS was programmed using Turbo C. From 1998 through 2001 MultiEx Commander was created as a GUI for multiex.exe with new versions.[10] One can still see the last DOS version (2.3) in action in this video, a version that was released on February 23, 2001.[11] In that same year, the first Windows version was released (3.0b) along with a number of updates to higher versions,[12][13] a task Mike Zuurman first discussed with fellow programmers.[14] During the years that followed, new versions came out[15][16] up until version 3.9.68, of which source code was uploaded to SourceForge on October 9, 2003.[17][18] A brief Open Source development period started, including a major update to version 4.0 on June 29, 2004.[19] This period ended when version 4.2 was completed[20] in August 2005. The current version is 4.5.1,[21] that has "approval" of Duke Nukem (as acted by original Duke Nukem voice actor Jon St. John).[22] As MultiEx Commander was pirated on, and cracks and registration numbers released, it is currently an on-line only tool.[23]

Press

The gaming press have received MultiEx Commander with positive articles in hard-copy magazines, such as PC Action, PC Games Hardware and PC Gameplay.[24] PC Gameplay (a leading Belgian game magazine at the time) stated "MultiEx Commander makes modding possible for everyone",[25] while PC Extreme called it "the ultimate game modding utility".[26] In September 2012, a book was released about MultiEx Commander.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "readme.txt". 1999-08-19. Archived from the original on 2012-04-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20120412093455/http://www.gamers.org/pub/idgames2/newstuff/mcmex1_9.txt. Retrieved 2012-06-15. 
  2. ↑ "MultiEx Commander". xentax.com. 2013-08-04. http://multiex.xentax.com. Retrieved 2013-12-24. 
  3. ↑ http://sourceforge.net/projects/mexcom/
  4. ↑ http://www.xentax.com/downloads/multiex/MexComManual.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.moddb.com/downloads/multiex-commander-dpc-plugin
  6. ↑ http://forum.xentax.com/viewtopic.php?t=399
  7. ↑ http://www.xentax.com/downloads/multiex/MexComManual.pdf
  8. ↑ http://aluigi.altervista.org/quickbms.htm
  9. ↑ http://multiex.xentax.com/
  10. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20000117034404/http://www.xs4all.nl/~michael/multiex.html
  11. ↑ http://www.bluesnews.com/s/22620/editing-stuff-new-multiex
  12. ↑ http://www.bluesnews.com/s/24069/editing-stuff
  13. ↑ http://www.gamesurge.com/archive/may2001.shtml
  14. ↑ http://www.gamedev.net/topic/8629-please-some-feedback-would-be-welcome/
  15. ↑ http://silentx1.tripod.com/gamersresource/id11.html
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20131003142945/http://planetquake.gamespy.com/fullstory.php?id=76805. Retrieved 2012-06-16. 
  17. ↑ http://sourceforge.net/news/?group_id=91699
  18. ↑ http://mandrivausers.org/index.php?/topic/8562-multiex-commander-and-openmex/
  19. ↑ http://tweakers.net/meuktracker/6602/multiex-commander-400b.html
  20. ↑ http://www.dvhardware.net/software/2356
  21. ↑ http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&boardid=1&threadid=144331
  22. ↑ http://www.xentax.com/audio/jsj_xentax_md1.mp3
  23. ↑ http://www.xentax.com/downloads/multiex/MexComManual.pdf
  24. ↑ http://www.xentax.com/?page_id=183
  25. ↑ http://www.xentax.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pggameplay_multiexcommander_oct2006_eh_s.jpg
  26. ↑ http://www.xentax.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/cover_pcextreme_s_large.jpg
  27. ↑ https://www.amazon.de/Multiex-Commander-Aaron-Philippe-Toll/dp/6201754512

External links



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