How long should it take CMhelper to detect that I played my turn and copy the file to dropbox?

[Bulletpoint]

Just started my first H2H game, and using CMhelper.

When my opponent plays his turn, CMhelper immediately sees the file in dropbox and copies it to my game folder. But after I do my turn and exit the game, nothing happens.

If I then go to right click and "edit game", I can then browse to set an "outgoing" folder, and point it at the dropbox folder. Then immediately, CMhelper copies the file. But next turn, the same happens, and the "outgoing" folder reverts to blank.

Is it supposed to work like this or what am I doing wrong?

[Bud Backer]

Just started my first H2H game, and using CMhelper.

When my opponent plays his turn, CMhelper immediately sees the file in dropbox and copies it to my game folder. But after I do my turn and exit the game, nothing happens.

If I then go to right click and "edit game", I can then browse to set an "outgoing" folder, and point it at the dropbox folder. Then immediately, CMhelper copies the file. But next turn, the same happens, and the "outgoing" folder reverts to blank.

Is it supposed to work like this or what am I doing wrong?

It should be instant. It was instant, before the last two releases of CMH. I don't know what went wrong, but I had exactly that problem. I deleted the application, and reinstalled, I found the folder where it's configure info was stored and deleted that, but was never able to get it work properly. In the end I stopped using it, unfortunately, as it is very handy. 

[A Canadian Cat]

Whose turn is it has a configurable refresh rate and a command to refresh whenever you request it. By default I have it set to check every 5min.

[Bulletpoint]

My opponent suggested I install version 1.5, and it seems it's working now... fingers crossed.

[PhilM]

My opponent suggested I install version 1.5, and it seems it's working now... fingers crossed.

As you are sorted this may be a little late, but ... two things:

The latest version of CMH is 1.6.2, plus a Beta of 1.6.3. To be fully up to date, try those? Here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jvh9sx2zla2k0eq/S6LZaVAw_7

Re your OP, is there any specific reason why you need a second, "outgoing" folder? I've used many incarnations of first H2HH and now CMH, and my games work fine with just one folder, for incoming and outgoing files. I never bother to specify an outgoing folder in CMH?

(NB: not trying to do IanL out of trade for WTII )

[A Canadian Cat]

(NB: not trying to do IanL out of trade for WTII )

LOL if he is happy with CMH then that is a good thing.

[domfluff]

I'm using CM Helper 1.6.3 Beta, and it's practically instantaneous (within seconds). CM Helper does occasionally screw up when it crashes or encounters unexpected things, and it's sometimes worth uninstalling (and deleting anything under Appdata), but if you let it do it's thing it usually works perfectly.

I haven't experimented with the alternatives (since CMHelper works fine for my purposes), but there are a few other options around.

 

[Bulletpoint]

I started out by using version 1.6.2, that's the version that didn't work. When I installed 1.5, it started working as it should, with just one inbound/outbound folder (the dropbox).

[PhilM]

Just started my first H2H game, and using CMhelper.

When my opponent plays his turn, CMhelper immediately sees the file in dropbox and copies it to my game folder. But after I do my turn and exit the game, nothing happens.

If I then go to right click and "edit game", I can then browse to set an "outgoing" folder, and point it at the dropbox folder. Then immediately, CMhelper copies the file. But next turn, the same happens, and the "outgoing" folder reverts to blank.

Is it supposed to work like this or what am I doing wrong?

I started out by using version 1.6.2, that's the version that didn't work. When I installed 1.5, it started working as it should, with just one inbound/outbound folder (the dropbox).

If it's working for you then perhaps any further delving may not be worthwhile? But, because you say you can only use an out-of-date version (ie 1.5 rather than 1.6.2), I just thought I'd add that I still don't understand, really!

You said yourself in your OP that you were trying to set an "outgoing" - ie second - folder? Why?

It makes me wonder when you say in setting up the second "outgoing" folder you point at "the" - ie singular - dropbox folder. But you'd need 2 dropbox folders to do it this way, keeping 1 separate for incoming and 1 for outgoing. If you only have the one dropbox folder (for this battle ...), then you cannot tell CMH that the same folder be used twice? That's not the way it works.

Is this why the second, outgoing folder data is not saved: because it's the same as the first folder used, because there is only one?

Just a guess / suggestion, which of course may be wrong.

[Bulletpoint]

 

If it's working for you then perhaps any further delving may not be worthwhile? But, because you say you can only use an out-of-date version (ie 1.5 rather than 1.6.2), I just thought I'd add that I still don't understand, really!

You said yourself in your OP that you were trying to set an "outgoing" - ie second - folder? Why?

It makes me wonder when you say in setting up the second "outgoing" folder you point at "the" - ie singular - dropbox folder. But you'd need 2 dropbox folders to do it this way, keeping 1 separate for incoming and 1 for outgoing. If you only have the one dropbox folder (for this battle ...), then you cannot tell CMH that the same folder be used twice? That's not the way it works.

Is this why the second, outgoing folder data is not saved: because it's the same as the first folder used, because there is only one?

Just a guess / suggestion, which of course may be wrong.

I only tried setting a second folder because the program didn't work with only one. I asked my opponent about it and he told me to set the second folder. So I did that, and CMhelper immediately sent the turn to him, but next turn I had to do the same thing, etc.

Now, with version 1.5, it works as designed, using only one dropbox folder for incoming and outgoing save files

[PhilM]

I only tried setting a second folder because the program didn't work with only one. I asked my opponent about it and he told me to set the second folder. So I did that, and CMhelper immediately sent the turn to him, but next turn I had to do the same thing, etc.

Now, with version 1.5, it works as designed, using only one dropbox folder for incoming and outgoing save files

OK, I like solving problems (or trying to, anyway). So, if I'm doing this just for me, and you're happy as you are and want me to pipe down, feel free to say so, and I'll stop bugging you ...

But if it's helpful, I think there are two - separate - issues:

1. CMH 1.6.2 not working properly with one folder;

2. CMH 1.6.2 not working properly with two folders.

 

1. It seems very unusual i) that 1.6.2 doesn't work per se, and ii) that on your set up 1.5 does work when 1.6.2 does not (with one folder). I can say that very rarely (1 game in 50?) CMH does get "confused" with the first 2 files (depending on which is in and which is out) of a battle, and I need to move them "manually" from the game files to dropbox or vice versa to put "example" files in place. CMH then "catches up", and works as intended from then on for that battle. I don't know why this happens, and it is not a repeatable behaviour for me. But ... this may (?) be what happened for you with 1.6.2 with one folder? If you move a few files / turns manually CMH 1.6.2 may then catch up and work?

 

2. For the two folder thing ... I have made bold a bit of your post quote above. I'm still not sure if, by saying you "set the second folder", you actually created a new folder in dropbox to use for the outgoing file stream, leaving the original dropbox folder for incoming files? If you did that, then I'm stumped at the moment. But if you didn't make a new dropbox folder for the outgoing files, and simply told CMH to use the original dropbox folder also for the second folder as well as the first, then that's what will not work. To keep the incoming and outgoing file streams separate, you need to share two dropbox folders per game with your opponent. Not doing that - if that's the case - will be why the "two folder option" would not work properly, and the details were lost, as CMH needs two distinct folder names for the first and second folders.

Any clearer / any help ???

 

 

 

[Bulletpoint]

OK, I like solving problems (or trying to, anyway). So, if I'm doing this just for me, and you're happy as you are and want me to pipe down, feel free to say so, and I'll stop bugging you ...

But if it's helpful, I think there are two - separate - issues:

1. CMH 1.6.2 not working properly with one folder;

2. CMH 1.6.2 not working properly with two folders.

1. It seems very unusual i) that 1.6.2 doesn't work per se, and ii) that on your set up 1.5 does work when 1.6.2 does not (with one folder). I can say that very rarely (1 game in 50?) CMH does get "confused" with the first 2 files (depending on which is in and which is out) of a battle, and I need to move them "manually" from the game files to dropbox or vice versa to put "example" files in place. CMH then "catches up", and works as intended from then on for that battle. I don't know why this happens, and it is not a repeatable behaviour for me. But ... this may (?) be what happened for you with 1.6.2 with one folder? If you move a few files / turns manually CMH 1.6.2 may then catch up and work?

2. For the two folder thing ... I have made bold a bit of your post quote above. I'm still not sure if, by saying you "set the second folder", you actually created a new folder in dropbox to use for the outgoing file stream, leaving the original dropbox folder for incoming files? If you did that, then I'm stumped at the moment. But if you didn't make a new dropbox folder for the outgoing files, and simply told CMH to use the original dropbox folder also for the second folder as well as the first, then that's what will not work. To keep the incoming and outgoing file streams separate, you need to share two dropbox folders per game with your opponent. Not doing that - if that's the case - will be why the "two folder option" would not work properly, and the details were lost, as CMH needs two distinct folder names for the first and second folders.

Any clearer / any help ???

I'm a newbie to H2H games, so for me, everything about CMhelper and the process of doing a multiplayer game was new.

However, what happened was that I set up CMhelper correctly, but it didn't work. I know it was set up correctly, because when I downloaded version 1.5 and set it up the exact same way, then it worked just fine.

When it didn't work, I didn't know what to do. My opponent told me to set the second folder, I didn't actually want to. Because I read the note saying "second folder is optional", so I assumed it wouldn't need to be set.

However, once I chose to set a second folder (but in fact selected the same single dropbox folder), then CMhelper sent the turn to my opponent. However, CMhelper is clever enough to realise that I selected the same folder as both incoming and outgoing, so it reset my choice, leaving the screen to select folders as it were: Just one folder, the dropbox one.

I guess what's happening here is the same as you noticed a couple of times. CMhelper gets confused somehow. Probably because we had in fact aborted the game once and restarted it without playing, so there might have been some files left, even though I had chosen "end game" and deleted the files.

Maybe 1.6.2 would work if I reinstalled it and then manually copied the files as you suggested. But I don't want to risk doing anything stupid while we have our game in progress. If it's not broken, don't fix it...

[PhilM]

"If it ain't broken, don't fix it ..." isn't a bad rule to work from, so it makes sense to carry on with 1.5 while it works for you on the game you have going ...

I cannot now remember what the improvements are for 1.6 over 1.5, and so don't know what you are "missing" by using 1.5; but I would still think it's worth you trying to use the later - current - version at some point. (As I said before, if 1.5 works for you I cannot see any reason why 1.6.2 wouldn't if you set them up the same way, apart from a one-off glitch.)

One last bit of info (that you may already have from CMH "help"): if CMH does get corrupted / confused, GaJ's help solution - worth doing b. before trying 1.6.2 again - is:

 

Recovering after a computer crash

Issues/Troubleshooting ››

 

Occasionally, if you have a crash of your computer, it will leave CMH in a state where it can't run anymore.

To recover from this, you need to do one of two things.  Either:

a.  Run CMH from a command prompt with the reset-state option

 DOS>  cmh.exe reset-state

 OSX>  ./cmh.app reset-state

or

 

b. Delete CMH's AppState.txt file

At the top of the log window (Options->Show Log Window) CMH tells you where the log file is stored - the AppState.txt file is in the same place.   If you can't access the log file, you will need to search your disk for AppState.txt.

Under Windows it is usually in a place like:  

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\GreenAsJade\CMHelper\

Under OSX it is usually in a place like:  

/Users/username/Library/Application Support/GreenAsJade/CMHelper/

 

 

[Baneman]

What PhilM said.

My CMH (1.6.2)  recently went wonky ( due, I think to my OS throwing a wobbly ).
Deleting the AppState.txt fixed it straight away.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Baneman

[Bulletpoint]

 

b. Delete CMH's AppState.txt file

At the top of the log window (Options->Show Log Window) CMH tells you where the log file is stored - the AppState.txt file is in the same place.   If you can't access the log file, you will need to search your disk for AppState.txt.

Under Windows it is usually in a place like:  

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\GreenAsJade\CMHelper\

Under OSX it is usually in a place like:  

/Users/username/Library/Application Support/GreenAsJade/CMHelper/

 

 

Thanks Phil, I'll remember that if CMhelper causes trouble again. But I'll just stick to 1.5 for now. Not sure what 1.6.2 brings anyway, probably it just recognises the newer games such as Black Sea (which I don't have).