Gaming Battlelogium for Steam - So Battlefield 3 isn't shit with Steam.

chyyran

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BattlelogiumLogoInline.png


Battlelogium is a wrapper for Battlelog to allow better integration with Steam, inspired by Frohman :D's Battlelog on Steam


This is basically a copy/paste from my post on the Steam Community forums. Don't know how many people still play BF3 at the 'temp, but I thought I might as well post it here. If the staff have any problems with this, then I don't mind if you remove it.

I recently grabbed Battlefield 3 for $5, and I was pretty disappointed when it refused to work with Steam properly. I mean, I don't want to open Chrome whenever I play BF3, neither do I want to open Origin, then click on BF3, then click on a button on the Battlelog to get the Steam Overlay working. Similar to how I ended up making my Binding of Isaac Launcher, Frohman :D's launcher gave me inspiration to improve upon his idea if wrapping everything up in a neat package and adding that to Steam.

What makes Battlelogium different

Battlelogium is so called because it runs on Awesomium/Chromium rather than IE, which renders faster and has support for modern web technologies. Battlelogium supports custom CSS and Javascript to modify Battlelog's behavior and appearance.
Battlelogium is also open source, if you know C#, feel free to fork me on GitHub

Features

  • Powered by Awesomium and Chromium
  • Built with aesthetics in mind, many details have been fine-tuned to provide the best experience possible.
  • By default, removes ads on the Battlelog page
  • Written in C# with .NET 4 and WPF technologies
  • Works seamlessly with Steam, closes Origin and Battlelog's ESNHost on quit so that one doesn't stay in-game even while Battlefield 3 is closed. The Steam Overlay also shows in-game in Battlefield 3.
  • Easy installation, just unzip the contents to any directory and add to Steam.
  • Page modifications such as removing advertisements can be changed or added through custom CSS styling of the Battlelog web page
  • No need for Origin to be running while playing BF3
  • Open source and licensed under GNU GPL v3
System Requirements

  • At least 4GB of RAM
  • .NET Framework 4
  • Origin
Battlelogium takes about 150MB of RAM to run, since it's based off the RAM hungry Chromium (Google Chrome), so if you have a weaker PC, this may not be for you. You do not need Google Chrome installed, however, Battlelogium has its own copy of Chromium bundled.

Installation

  1. Battlelogium requires .NET Framework 4. This should have already been installed if you are on Windows Vista or later and have Windows Update enabled.
  2. Install Origin if you haven't done so (bleh). You can disable starting at launch, but this is not required, as Battlelogium will close Origin anyways before starting Origin again.
  3. Install the latest Battlefield 3 web plugins
  4. Unzip all the files in the package to any folder, I like to have it close to my Battlefield 3 install folder.
  5. Add Battlelogium.exe to Steam as a Non-Steam Game.
Remove Origin Requirement

A legitimate copy of Battlefield 3 is still required, and it will ask you to verify your license when you first start Battlefield 3 with this installed. Battlelog is still required for Multiplayer

Multiplayer will continue to work, and this is not detectable by Origin (in fact, Origin has to be installed and is required for this to work) nor Punkbuster, but as a disclaimer, you are responsible for anything that happens to your accounts as a result or not, of enabling this feature.

To enable it, go into Settings > Battlelogium Settings > Remove Origin Requirement. This feature is fully reversible, you can go back and use Origin at anytime. If you have this feature enabled, since Origin will not run, it won't sync your saves nor will it update. You'll have to run Battlefield 3 manually through Origin to update and sync your saves.

Unlike other methods this does not change nor inject Origin, Battlefield 3, or any other process or dll. This method leverages Origin's built-in DRM scheme (thus Origin is required and must be installed) and is not detectable and 100% reversible.

Once again, this does not allow you to play pirated copies of Battlefield 3, and will not work with pirated copies of Battlefield 3. An Origin account is required for access to Battlelog, to download the game and to verify it once the requirement to have Origin running is removed.

This feature is 100% optional and you do not need to enable it

Screenshots

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Downloads

Source Code at GitHub
Download from my website (v1.4.0.3) (17.7MB)
GitHub Mirrors
(Note: Download links have been shortened with Google to track downloads. If you prefer direct downloads, here you go)

More information about the downloads and configuration options is available at GitHub
I've tested this on Windows 7 x64 and Windows 8 x86, it works fine, but if you find any bugs, feel free to tell me, preferably with a log (run it with Command Prompt). More info on how to get a log is in the readme and GitHub

This would probably be my biggest project yet related to Steam. Hope you guys enjoy it :)

Thanks to..
Frohman :D for the original Battlelog on STEAM launcher.

ProfDoctorMrSaibot for suggestions and testing with 1.3

JJBoonie for feature suggestions and testing with 1.4

par.nofate.me for making Battlefield 3 without Origin running possible

My other works

GOGWrappers for Steam
Easily add ScummVM and DOSBOX games from GOG.com to Steam

Binding of Isaac Launcher: Revamped
A nice looking launcher for Binding of Isaac and it's DLC, Wrath of the Lamb. Inspired by ./DosBoss/'s BOIL

HawkenExhaust
Use the Steam Overlay alongside the Hawken Launcher.
 

PityOnU

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Wow, 150MB of RAM for the equivalent of a plugin! Yeesh. Cool though, I suppose.

On a more serious note, why on Earth did EA make it such a huge deal to install and use Battlefield 3? All I want to do is play your game online with other people. To do that now, I would need to install:

1. Your game store client that I need running on my system like I need a hole in the head
2. Custom plugins for my browser that are probably riddled with security flaws so that I can set up matches online (didn't that used to be coded as part of the game?)
3. Oh yeah, the actual game

I was very excited for this game, but I had to pass it up because of EA's ridiculously stupid requirements to play it, and I will continue to do so until they change that. My system does more than just run your game! Stop acting like your software is the only thing I ever use on my workstation!
 

chyyran

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Wow, 150MB of RAM for the equivalent of a plugin! Yeesh. Cool though, I suppose.

On a more serious note, why on Earth did EA make it such a huge deal to install and use Battlefield 3? All I want to do is play your game online with other people. To do that now, I would need to install:

1. Your game store client that I need running on my system like I need a hole in the head
2. Custom plugins for my browser that are probably riddled with security flaws so that I can set up matches online (didn't that used to be coded as part of the game?)
3. Oh yeah, the actual game

I was very excited for this game, but I had to pass it up because of EA's ridiculously stupid requirements to play it, and I will continue to do so until they change that. My system does more than just run your game! Stop acting like your software is the only thing I ever use on my workstation!


Yeah, in the beginning, I tried to make it pretty "lightweight", then I realized Chromium is anything but. If you open up task manager if you have Google Chrome open, you'll find that like each tag has a process that has about 150MB of RAM tied to it, and this is pretty much the same thing :/ So I stopped caring about that and just focused on making it as pretty as I could.

But, anyways, I hate putting up with that stuff too, but I couldn't pass up $5 for it, and I was going to get my $5 worth. Origin, Battlelog, sucks in general. Why can't we just get the normal menu that consoles got?
 

Satangel

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I was very sad to see all the required software that came with BF3. It's especially a hindrance when it's been a long time since you've played BF3 and you want to get into it again. My PC can hardly run this beautiful game, and it literally took 45 minutes before I was actually playing! Origin needed to update BF3 (Origin is cool, but it should have been Steam, really. Steam is soooooooooooo much better and they should have complete PC game domination. Origin can fuck off). The browser plugin needed to update. And the first 2 servers I tried just wouldn't connect, it was the third server that let me play, finally!

But Battlelog works well, it's a REALLY cool concept IMHO, and it just feels completely next-gen. Very cool to adjust your loadout and check out all kinds of statistics, when you're at school or during work. Just very cool stuff, and I don't mind it being there. It does take a whole lot of resources, and it slows down everything.

I might test this wrapper, I'm a Firefox user but it doesn't seem to be a problem. I have 4GB of (slow) RAM, I'll try it anyway.
 

chyyran

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I'll test this later today. You could had some screenshots (it wouldnt hurt anyone :) )
Woh it's great, finnaly found a great alternative to my browser. You could add a option to disable fullsecreen


I had some screens in the Steam thread, but I added them to OP. There's not much to show though.
 

dicamarques

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Steam is skinnable, you can find skins here. I'm using PixelVision by Pulseh in the screenshots.
I saw the option to change skins on the options but never cba to look about that.
Anyway, can you add a option to enable/disable fullscreen? I like to minimize the game and go do other stuff while loading a new map and waiting for something else
 

chyyran

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I saw the option to change skins on the options but never cba to look about that.
Anyway, can you add a option to enable/disable fullscreen? I like to minimize the game and go do other stuff while loading a new map and waiting for something else

You can just Alt-Tab out of it, like any other game, though, it stays on top until a certain amount of seconds pass to hide Origin's startup, and keep Battlelogium on top. You can disable that behaviour by changing waitTimeToHideOrigin in config.properties to 0
 

chyyran

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New, major update:

Also, I recommend you update as soon as possible. Battlelog will be going through a maintenance that may break Battlelogium, and this new version allows me to notify you of updates, allowing me to push out hotfixes as soon as I can.

Changelog said:
User Experience

  • Now supports going directly to campaign with Steam Overlay support.
  • Will ask if you want to go to campaign if a connection to
  • Battlelog is unable to be estalblished.
  • Uses Origin's /StartClientMinimized commandline parameter instead of timers to keep Origin in the background
  • Added a windowed mode
  • Added a borderless window mode
  • Added the ability to force rendering using software (CPU) renderer to disable Steam Overlay in Battlelogium
  • Added the ability to clear the cache
  • Changed cache location to Battlelogium's start directory
  • Added a user friendly settings editor
  • Changed configuration format to an easier to use INI-type format
  • Added update notifications
  • Shortened the default playbar buttons, i.e "Play Campaign" to simply "Campaign"
  • Added minimize and close buttons to Battlelog
  • Removed "for Steam" in the splash screen.
  • Automatically restart Origin if it's already running before Battlelogium starts
  • Remove quitting by escape key
  • Will now prompt before quitting using the quit button.

Code
  • Refactored much of the original code
  • Delegates are used more frequently, replacing one or 2 lined
  • event handlers.
  • Utilities has been moved into their own classes
  • Created a Configuration API to separate settings from UI code.
  • Removed useless wrapper functions in BattlelogiumMain() constructor
  • Removed most docstrings. They clutter the code that was pretty self-explanatory anyways.
  • MessageBoxes use a custom class using WPF to enable verbs instead of "OK" and "Cancel"
  • Logging reflects the method calls the code makes more accurately
  • Refactored adding playbar buttons into a resuable method
  • Created a rudimentary hacky API to create dialogs in Battlelog DOM. It's not the best code, but it's what I can make do with Battlelog's ugly mess of a web page.
  • Changed some method names to be more clear.
  • Sorted out code #regions

Download Here (12.2MB)
I'll test this later today. You could had some screenshots (it wouldnt hurt anyone :) )
Woh it's great, finnaly found a great alternative to my browser. You could add a option to disable fullsecreen


Try version 1.3, you won't be disappointed.
 

chyyran

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Battlelogium 1.4.0.1* is a major release, it comes with many User Interface changes, such as a new loading screen as well as a new feature to enable running Battlefield 3 without Origin running in the background., thanks to par.nofate.me For more info on that, see this

A legitimate copy of Battlefield 3 is still required. Multiplayer will continue to work, and this is not detectable by Origin nor Punkbuster, but as a disclaimer, you are responsible for anything that happens to your accounts as a result or not, of enabling this feature. To enable it, go into Settings > Battlelogium Settings > Remove Origin Requirement. This feature is fully reversible, you can go back and use Origin at anytime. If you have this feature enabled, since Origin will not run, it won't sync your saves nor will it update. You'll have to run Battlefield 3 manually through Origin to update and sync your saves.

This release also comes with a UI cleanup. Many of the buttons on the play bar have been moved elsewhere or removed entirely. The settings is now accessible on the navbar, and the "Settings" link under your profile button as well. The quit button has been included into the 3 Reload, Minimize and Close buttons at the top. Hotkeys have been added for convenient access. See the changelog for details.

The full changelog is as follows
Changelog said:
Release 1.4.0.1

User Experience
  • Added an option in the settings menu in which the requirement for Origin to be running while playing Battlefield 3 can be removed
  • If `handleOrigin` is false and the Origin requirement was removed, going directly to campaign will not require logging into Origin
  • Removed the "Quit" button on the play bar in favour of the faux window chrome buttons on the top menubar of Battlelog
  • Moved the "Settings" button on to the secondary Battlelog nav bar
  • Settings can also be accessed through the "Settings" link under the profile dropdown menu on the top menubar.
  • Added an option to access Battlelog profile settings in the Battlelogium settings dialog
  • Added an Alt+Enter functionality to toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode
  • Added F5 to reload the page
  • Battlelog dialogs created by Battlelogium now use the new overlay and fade in and out over 400 ms.
  • New loading background
  • Added a version indicator on the bottom left of the loading screen
  • Removed the flashing "LOADING" text when loading
  • Added a Battlelog style flashing blue blink to replace "LOADING" text
  • Removed BF4 Pre-Order and purchase ads
  • There is no longer a need to mark output. Simply submit battlelogium.log
  • Added hotkeys to start game modes quickly
    • Alt+C to start Campaign Mode
    • Alt+P to start Co-Op Mode
    • Alt+Q to start Quick Match
    • Alt+S to go to the Server Browser
    • Alt+H to go back to Battlelog Home

Code
  • Upgraded to Awesomium 1.7.2
  • The Battlelog dialog API now has a C# wrapper for easy manipulation in C# code.
  • Ported the dialog API to jQuery for shorter and more readable code
  • Added "ParManager" to handle `bf3.par` file
  • Refactored Origin handling to `ManagedOrigin.cs`
  • Added `SetWindowed()` and `SetFullScreen()` to set between fullscreen and windowed mode
  • Added css and icons for faux window chrome buttons
  • Utilities.Log() now writes to a file for logging.
  • Reverted all event handlers to standard conventions
  • Various bug fixes

Download from my website

Screenshots
The new Battlelog homepage
The new loading screen

Thanks to JJBoonie for feature suggestions and testing
*Previously 1.4.0.0 was the release, but I had to fix a last minute bug.
 

chyyran

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The new version is sweet! But I have a request/suggestion, can you add the BetterBattlelog? http://getbblog.com/ It has a neat features that I like to use (like the server radar to mark as red the servers that have Ping limit). If you could add it would be great.


There are already some BBLog features in there, like extended player stats ;) Features from BBLog have to be handpicked and added to the javascript from BBLog's source and anything that uses any type of plugin API or localStorage won't work with Battlelogium.
 

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