Update Post Build Event that copies DLL into game directory for testing

[Brett208]

The template includes a post build event that copies the mission dll into the OP2 directory. This behavior is based off an older version of OP2 where all dlls were stored in the root game directory. Now that missions have moved to a subfolder, we may want to update this script.

@DanRStevens Do you know if we have documented anywhere what the actual behavior is for finding directories when the OPU patch is installed?

<PostBuildEvent>
  <Command>if defined Outpost2Path (xcopy /y /d "$(TargetPath)" "$(Outpost2Path)\") else (echo Outpost2Path environment variable not defined. Skipping Post Build Copy.)</Command>
</PostBuildEvent>
<PostBuildEvent>
  <Message>Copy mission DLL to game folder</Message>
</PostBuildEvent>

[DanRStevens]

Hmm, I don't know of any documentation, though I assume the patch extract location is consistent.

I'm thinking there's not much special about the env var. It's name is arbitrary. If the level DLL folder is separate from the game folder, maybe we should consider renaming the variable to indicate it should be a path to where level DLLs should be copied?

Though I think the Outpost2Path folder might also be used to launch the game for testing. Would be nice to keep it as a single env var.

I suppose we could try to detect the existence of a level subfolder, and use that when it exists, and fall back to the Outpost2Path folder otherwise.

If we start adding more logic, maybe we should extract it to a batch file and call it from the PostBuildEvent. I kind of want to keep complicated logic out of PostBuildEvent nodes, where it tends to be copied for every configuration.

[Brett208]

Ok, thanks for the quick reply. For now, maybe we just switch the environment path name and the error message to keep it simple. I thought of moving to powershell and doing something more extensive, like bringing in the map and tech file, but it is the DLL that is nice to update rapidly for quick testing.

<PostBuildEvent>
  <Command>if defined Outpost2MissionPath (xcopy /y /d "$(TargetPath)" "$(Outpost2MissionPath)\") else (echo Outpost2MissionPath environment variable not defined. Skipping Post Build Copy to move mission DLL into an Outpost 2 Map directory for testing.)</Command>
</PostBuildEvent>
<PostBuildEvent>
  <Message>Copy mission DLL to Outpost 2 Map directory for in-game testing</Message>
</PostBuildEvent>

[DanRStevens]

Another option might be to use a Target element in a Visual Studio project file. You could have sub elements for Copy and Exec, depending on if you're copying the DLL, or running the game to test the DLL.

Documentation:

• Target element (MSBuild)
• Copy task
• Exec task