OFP Watch Client FAQ

How do I upgrade OFP Watch?

If you use OFP Watch 0.96 and above all you need to do is to click the flashing link button under the news and message window. This button will only flash when there is an updated version ready to install. The upgrade is automatic and takes a few seconds then it will restart OFP Watch.

For older versions or manual upgrade you need to download the latest version from this page. Just overwrite your old ofpwatch.exe with the new one and you are done.

If I upgrade OFP Watch, can I keep my server list?

You get to keep all your server addresses.

As long as you keep file ofpwatch.sav (and ofpwatch.dat for package definitions) the new ofpwatch.exe will be able to load and convert any old related file format.

Reverting back to an earlier version however might not work.

How do I monitor a server with OFP Watch?

From the main window click Add. You need at least to fill out the server address. All other fields are optional. Click OK and if the specified server is running, you should be able to see what’s going on from the main window.

Can I monitor multiple servers with OFP Watch?

No. OFP Watch itself can only monitor one server at the time. From OFP Watch 0.95 and on, it's only possible to have one session running per computer due to the synchronization of the addon database. A future version of OFP Watch might address this issue and make it possible.

How do I launch a single player game with OFP Watch?

Right, OFP Watch is no longer just a multiplayer tool. When adding a new server by clicking Add from the main window, you may specify single player settings. If you do, all you need is to add a description and other preferred settings like mod folders to load. Once a single player game is selected from the main window, just press Play Now.

How do I make OFP Watch run my 1.93 or 1.95 beta EXE of OFP instead of the standard EXE?

From the Add / Edit server window you may specify what executable to use for this particular server or single player setting. Click the ... browse button to select a file.

I have two or more installations of Operation Flashpoint on my harddisk. How do I get OFP Watch to launch from another location?

From the main window, click Config and you will have the option to select the working path.

How do I use OFP Watch with ASE or other OFP Launchers?

In ASE under the Filter menu, select Configure games and change the OFP/R program location to point at ofpwatch.exe instead of the flashpoint executable. When launching from ASE, OFP Watch will be brought up showing the launched server. Password and player information from ASE are retained by OFP Watch.

In theory this works with any launcher application like Game Spy as long as you can specify the executable. Just point to OFP Watch instead of OFP.

I have manually installed addons. How do I make OFP Watch re-scan my files?

Just restart OFP Watch. It will scan all the differences upon startup.

What is <Core Files>, <Unknown Addons> or <Unknown Files>?

These are default packages in OFP Watch addon manager.

Any file residing in your Operation Flashpoint folder will be referenced to by a package. Files installed manually or installed prior to OFP Watch will be assigned to these 3 packages.

<Core Files> contain all original OFP files from Operation Flashpoint, Red Hammer and Resistance including all patches (might miss a few files from localized versions). The files are identified by name and location only. If you have overwritten any original files those will be considered core as well.

<Unknown Addons> are any files residing in the AddOns or Res/AddOns folder not identified as a core file.

<Unknown Files> are any files outside AddOns or Res/AddOns not identified as core files. Here you would find missions, mods and more.

I have manually installed addons. How do I make the addons show up as a package in the addon manager or how do I add the files to an existing package?

This is nothing you have to do. But, if you want the convenience of being able to enable/disable or uninstall the package with OFP Watch you might want to add them as a package in the addon manager.

First, if OFP Watch was running while you did the manual install, restart it. This will force OFP Watch to scan the new files.

From the addon manager Select Advanced view and if the files reside under AddOns or Res/AddOns select <Unknown Addons>. If the files reside under any other folder select <Unknown Files>.

First click the File column and then click the Path column. This will sort the list by path first and name second. Now locate the files, you may hold down control/shift for multiple selection. If you want to include a complete folder, select the folder and click Select child. This will select all subfolders and sub-files.

When all the files are selected, click Bind to and select an existing package or select <new package>. Give the package a name and you are done. The Home page field is not used by OFP Watch but you may write anything you like here you can recall later by clicking Edit on the package.

Why does my OFP Watch scan finmod or other files every time at startup?

First, don't press Skip. If the scan is canceled, Auto-Addon features will be disabled it will attempt to scan at the next startup again.

Unfortunately, if you have a lot of addons and missions (finmod contains thousands of sound files) it can take several seconds for OFP Watch to count these making sure nothing changed.

If you never play on auto-addon supporting servers, rarely use the addon manager or if you handle all your addon manually you can turn Auto-Addon off. Do this by checking Disable Auto-Addon from the Config window.

I want to use Hisky or a custom sound pack, how do I make OFP Watch load them?

From the Add / Edit server window you may specify what mod folders to load for the server / single player game. If the target server supports OFP Watch Auto-Addon, you only need to activate your Hisky or sound mod here by moving them from the Available to the Active mod lost list. The rest of the required mod folders will be added automatically, otherwise add them too.

Where are the addons installed?

When you are about to install addons , from the addon manager and the @@ Server view there is a column named Default to. The path specified here is the installation root of the package, meaning files in this package are not likely to be installed above this position.

One way to see detailed information is to select a package and press Show files. This will list the individual files within the package as well as the folders they are to be installed in.

Can I control where to install addons?

Yes but with some exceptions. All files with destination to any AddOns or Mod/AddOns folder can be directed to any AddOns folder of choice. Files with destination in other folders like MPMissions, DTA, Campaigns, etc can not be directed. However, in most cases the files go to an addons folder or to a Mod/AddOns folder set by the game server admin.

At the @@ Server view you may select or edit a mod folder of your choice under the label Install mod/addon folder. If Default to says Res/AddOns and you type MYMOD and the selected packages will install to MYMOD/AddOns.

How do I set up one mod folder with all the addons for my favourite auto-addon supporting server?

Go to the @@ Server view. Mark all packages for download, even the ones already green. Make sure that Install existing files are checked. Now write the name a new mod folder or select an existing one under Install mod/addons folder. Hit Download & install. If the installation goes well and if Add auto detected mods is checked. OFP Watch will automatically select the new mod folder.

How do I set up one mod folder with all the addons for my favourite non auto-addon supporting server?

If the server does not support OFP Watch Auto-Addon then send an email to your server admin and complain. Meanwhile open your file explorer and open your Operation Flashpoint catalog (Most likely C:\Program Files\OperationFlashpoint).

Just to make sure you are at the right place, you should see the file OPERATIONFLASHPOINT and the catalogs Worlds, Campaigns and Users here among others.

Here create a new mod folder and name it anything of your choice. Open your mod folder and create a subfolder called “addons” and then open that too. Now manually unpack/copy all the required addons here.

Make sure OFP Watch is closed and start it again forcing it to scan the new files and folders. Select the server/single player setup in the list, click Edit. Move your mod folder from the Available to the Activated list, press OK and you are done.

OFP Watch created a lot of temp files, can I delete them?

You may safely delete them. OFP Watch creates temporary files with a name similar to d3add78e1eb6438e.tmp for caching addon information in between sessions but the program manage just fine without them. From version 1.00 of OFP Watch temp files are deleted regularly.

I've had OFP Watch install all the addons several times for a server but it still says I'm missing addons?

In 9 cases out of 10 this is due to the laziness of a server admin. Tell the admin to make sure the addon server re-examines all the packages. Desync happens when the admin makes changes to the packages, uploads new zip files but the addon server is not notified about this.

There are some other cases of desync that can happen due to conflicting file dates and there is always a possibility of a bug in OFP Watch or the Auto-Addon Server. Many of these cases can be resolved by rescanning the database (This have been a common problem on Karrillions server). In the config window, check Reset addon database and click OK. By doing this you will force OFP Watch to rescan all the files.

If you still have a problem. Email me your ofpwatch.dat and the IP of the addon server so I can debug it for you.