Demoplay?

How do I get the Mac client to play back demos? The Wiki isn't helpful and there's only one topic I found on this sub-forum that contained a link to a topic with instructions... except said topic has since been purged, making it useless. So, how do I go about playing them back?

I hate to double post, but... is there anyone who knows how to do this that can help me?

A couple issues ago someone posted a short guide on how to do that, but sadly it's disappeared. Hopefully that person will step up so I don't have to re-test how to do it myself (I don't play back demos very often).

Best bet, Twilight, is to swing down a bit in the forums to the Multi-Media section and check there - someone may have already posted something about viewing demo files on a Mac. If not, post there and one of the regulars will be able to help you (I don't have a Mac so I'm not sure my advice would be valid).

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

From the beta forums, I remember you could get them to run via the Terminal, and maybe from editing the Plist right inside the App Bundle. Unfortunately, it appears that they've finally removed our access to the old boards :-/ Can't get the command for ya.

Here's the guide on how to do it in Windows. My guess is that you can add the -demoplay {demoname} to the plist where you would set -renderthread,etc.

Something to seed the knowledgeable-types, maybe?

I was the one who figured it out, and yes, it's from launch from the Terminal, using -demoplay {demoname} to the thing to run. But I don't remember what you type in the terminal to launch the client.

Ah, thanks. Just need to figure out how to launch the game client from Terminal then.

I'm going to release a newer version of the CoH for Mac guide eventually that'll have info on playing back demorecords (as soon as I test a reliable method for it), the use of /reloadgfx, download locations, and other information that wasn't included in the initial version because it was written during open beta and certain things hadn't been discovered yet.

To be included in the upcoming v2 Mac Guide:

Playing Back Demorecords on a Mac

To play back Demorecord files, you will first need to learn the name of the file you wish to play back. This can be accomplished with the steps shown in the Retrieving Screenshots and Demorecords section above.

Once you have done that, you will get a crash course in using the MacOS X command line:

1. Open Terminal located in Applications > Utilities.
2. Type one of the two following commands:

If your City of Heroes data files are located in City Of Heroes.app > Contents > Resources > transgaming > Program Files > City of Heroes:

/Applications/City\ of\ Heroes.app/Contents/MacOS/cider -- cohupdater.exe -demoplay c:/Program\ Files/City\ of\ Heroes/client_demos/*demofile*.cohdemo -disable2d

If your City of Heroes data files are located in City Of Heroes.app > Contents > Resources > transgaming > coh:

/Applications/City\ of\ Heroes.app/Contents/MacOS/cider -- cohupdater.exe -demoplay c:/coh/client_demos/*demofile*.cohdemo -disable2d

NOTE: Make sure to replace *demofile* with the actual name of the Demorecord file you wish to play back.

You will see the Updater open, and then City of Heroes on top of it. It will seem like it's loading for a while, and then your Demorecord should play back. If you see a screen with night time clouds, that means City of Heroes wasn't able to find the file you specified.

NOTE: If your City of Heroes application is located somewhere other than Applications, replace that part of the command line appropriately.

NOTE: The -disable2d command line option turns off heal/damage text and chat text. It was added because there's a bug currently where all log text (like "You are flying!") is spoken on-screen. If you choose to have text display, you will have to edit the Demorecord file. Do so carefully, and back up first!