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Question - MQ2 Toon Desktop Shortcuts? (1 Viewer)

Joined
Mar 19, 2021
RedCents
6,814¢
Hey guys.

I use a different EQ folder for each of my toons with a different ini so they all load custom settings.
This means, in MQ2, each toon is in its own profile group.
This also means that when I start everyone up, I have to right click MQ2, scroll to each profile, select each character, and hit load.
I have to do this separately for each character.

Just curious if anyone has a shortcut for this? Is there a way, for example, to create desktop shortcuts for each profile/toon?
Anyone have a hack for this?
Thanks.
 
I do have a profile set for live, and a profile set for EMU in the same autologin ini. Though I've never ventured to see if I could do the same for different logins on a single profile. So that's an actual question as I'm not sure.
 
You may be able to create a folder on your desktop named toons. Create an eq shortcut for each toon you want to run and name it that toon. toonname1, toonname2, and so on. Add patchme -h /login:toonname once you have all the shorcuts in the folder toons, create a shortcut to your macroquest2 on your desktop. Create a batch file called startup. (may want to add a shortcut to eqbc as well and fire that off in the batchfile)
INI:
@echo off
start MacroQuest2.lnk
timeout /t 10 /nobreak
start TOONS\toonname1.lnk
timeout /t 20 /nobreak
start TOONS\toonname2.lnk
timeout /t 20 /nobreak
start TOONS\toonname3.lnk
timeout /t 20 /nobreak
start TOONS\toonname4.lnk
timeout /t 20 /nobreak
start TOONS\toonname5.lnk
timeout /t 20 /nobreak
start TOONS\toonname6.lnk

Then run the batch file.
 
Hey guys.

I use a different EQ folder for each of my toons with a different ini so they all load custom settings.
This means, in MQ2, each toon is in its own profile group.
This also means that when I start everyone up, I have to right click MQ2, scroll to each profile, select each character, and hit load.
I have to do this separately for each character.

Just curious if anyone has a shortcut for this? Is there a way, for example, to create desktop shortcuts for each profile/toon?
Anyone have a hack for this?
Thanks.

I do the same. It's a pain. I've been thinking about this somewhat. Ideally (obviously IMO), there'd be a way to call into a running MQ2 "service" with some sort of API. Provide a profile name (or even better, a list of profile names) and let it go to town. One of those things to dig into after Next is official.
 
You can if you have an everquest folder for each toon. I run seperate folders for toons and seperate groups in autologin with different paths. Or I am not understanding what exactly is trying to be accomplished here. haha
 
i think, the way cannonballdex mentioned above is kinda the same as my first example, i just direct my bat file to goto the directories needed instead of running the bat file from a folder with all the shortcuts inside it.

note, both the methods i am mentioning here will require you to set your mq2autologin to not use the password encryption. when ive spoken to more knowledgeable people here about this, they have said the password encryption is to keep people from accidently sharing their login names and passwords if htey share their mq2autologin.ini file.

1. you could make a bat file that runs the individual eqgame.exe files with patchme and /login:stationnamehere, it will launch the individual game clients, type in the stationname, then mq takes over.
example..
start c:\mq\macroquest2.exe
timeout /t 10
start c:\EQ1\eqgame.exe patchme /Login:toon1
timeout /t 5
start c:\EQ2\eqgame.exe patchme /Login:toon2

2. you could use wineq2 and one eq install (wineq2 will allow you to assign a different profile to every toon you wish to). use a bat file to launch your characters via wineq, and then MQ2 takes control of the eq instances, logs them in and all that jazz. i use wineq for a few reasons, separate ini files is a big one for me. but i might be shifting away from this if i end up running with mqnext.
example..
start c:\mq\macroquest2.exe
timeout /t 10
start WinEQ2.exe
timeout 10
start WinEQ2.exe /plugin:WinEQ2-EQ.dll "toon1"
timeout 6
start WinEQ2.exe /plugin:WinEQ2-EQ.dll "toon2"
 
You can if you have an everquest folder for each toon. I run seperate folders for toons and seperate groups in autologin with different paths. Or I am not understanding what exactly is trying to be accomplished here. haha
are you able to get 1 profile in mq2autologin to direct to more then 1 eq path? if so theres another setting to type in there i havent ran across yet.
 
i think, the way cannonballdex mentioned above is kinda the same as my first example, i just direct my bat file to goto the directories needed instead of running the bat file from a folder with all the shortcuts inside it.

note, both the methods i am mentioning here will require you to set your mq2autologin to not use the password encryption. when ive spoken to more knowledgeable people here about this, they have said the password encryption is to keep people from accidently sharing their login names and passwords if htey share their mq2autologin.ini file.

1. you could make a bat file that runs the individual eqgame.exe files with patchme and /login:stationnamehere, it will launch the individual game clients, type in the stationname, then mq takes over.
example..
start c:\mq\macroquest2.exe
timeout /t 10
start c:\EQ1\eqgame.exe patchme /Login:toon1
timeout /t 5
start c:\EQ2\eqgame.exe patchme /Login:toon2

2. you could use wineq2 and one eq install (wineq2 will allow you to assign a different profile to every toon you wish to). use a bat file to launch your characters via wineq, and then MQ2 takes control of the eq instances, logs them in and all that jazz. i use wineq for a few reasons, separate ini files is a big one for me. but i might be shifting away from this if i end up running with mqnext.
example..
start c:\mq\macroquest2.exe
timeout /t 10
start WinEQ2.exe
timeout 10
start WinEQ2.exe /plugin:WinEQ2-EQ.dll "toon1"
timeout 6
start WinEQ2.exe /plugin:WinEQ2-EQ.dll "toon2"
This sounds promising. I'll give it a try.
 
note, both the methods i am mentioning here will require you to set your mq2autologin to not use the password encryption. when ive spoken to more knowledgeable people here about this, they have said the password encryption is to keep people from accidently sharing their login names and passwords if htey share their mq2autologin.ini file.

For me that's a no-go. I like my passwords encrypted.
 
For me that's a no-go. I like my passwords encrypted.
If you synchronize that file to the cloud, it protects you from someone hacking your account and getting your passwords (although if someone was able to hack your Dropbox account you probably have bigger issues). Or if you accidentally sent the file to someone else. But anyone who has access to your computer can decrypt the file. It's also stored unencrypted in memory regardless of what file format you use. I'm not saying not to use it, just that the level of protection it provides is only external to your computer.
 
If you synchronize that file to the cloud, it protects you from someone hacking your account and getting your passwords (although if someone was able to hack your Dropbox account you probably have bigger issues). Or if you accidentally sent the file to someone else. But anyone who has access to your computer can decrypt the file. It's also stored unencrypted in memory regardless of what file format you use. I'm not saying not to use it, just that the level of protection it provides is only external to your computer.

Yeah. I'm familiar with how it works. But if someone has access to my system directly, I'm screwed anyway. I just don't like the compromise I'd be forced to make (getting rid of encryption) in order to work around a limitation of the profile system portion of auto login. For example, if it supported individual paths for each character within the profile, signing in all of them at "once" would be a breeze.
 
The solution from @kaen01 in Discord chat. Sweet, simple, and functional!

Just create a bat file.

This is for 3 toons, each with their own everquest folder, and each with their own profile in MQ2:.
Just replace the windows paths, profile names, server shortnames, and character names.

INI:
@Echo OFF

cd /d C:\Games\Next

start MacroQuest.exe

cd /d C:\Games\EQToon1
start eqgame.exe patchme /login:profile1_server:toon1
timeout 10

cd /d C:\Games\EqToon2
start eqgame.exe patchme /login:profile2_server:toon2
timeout 10

cd /d C:\Games\EQToon3
start eqgame.exe patchme /login:profile3_server:toon3
 
for the batfile, you dont technically have to switch to the folder, but i found personally that makes a nicer more readable setup, than having a long path infront of the eqgame.exe.

start C:\Games\EQToon3\eqgame.exe patchme /login:profile3_server:toon3

i dont know, for me it just made more visual sense.
 
If you do it that way you probably want something like start “Toon3” /D “C:\Games\EQToon3” eqgame.exe patchme /login:thething

The difference in the two is the working directory (and I added in quotations for the title of the window)
 
Bash:
@Echo OFF

REM Launching mq next, change the path to where you have your install
start "MacroQuest" /D "D:\MQNext" MacroQuest.exe

REM If you want to Launch EQBCS.exe now, remove rem from the line below, and match the path to your mq next install
REM start "EQBCS" /D "D:\MQNext" EQBCS.exe

REM Start each autologin profile using this syntax:
REM start "windowname" /D "path-to-Everquest" eqgame.exe patchme /login:profile_server:toon
REM Example: start "Kaen" /D "d:\everquest" eqgame.exe patchme /login:wartoons_vox:kaen
REM can have multiple profiles pointing to multiple folders,just add more start lines
REM followed by a timeout 15

start "toon1" /D "d:\EQMain" eqgame.exe patchme /login:profile_server:toon1
timeout 15

start "toon2" /D "d:\EQmini1" eqgame.exe patchme /login:profile_server:toon
timeout 15

start "toon3" /D "d:\eqmini2" eqgame.exe patchme /login:profile_server:toon
timeout 15

something like this?
 
Question - MQ2 Toon Desktop Shortcuts?

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