BUGLE is an unofficial, third-party game launcher for Funcom's videogame Conan Exiles. It aims to bring certain QOL features to players, at the expense of good looks and smooth user interface.
It's ugly as sin, and it's my hobby project that I came up with for fun and relaxation, so don't expect the stuff you would find in a more serious development project (e.g. well-commented code, automated tests, etc.)
For a list of known issues, scroll to the last section of this document. If you run into an issue that isn't there, feel free to open a GitHub issue about it, or contact me on Funcom Forums.
Go to the v1.2.0 release and download the bugle-v1.2.0-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip file. Unpack it
into a directory where you're allowed to write files. It's a good idea to put it in its own
directory, because it will write a couple of files there (bugle.ini and bugle.log).
There's no installer, you just run bugle.exe.
In no particular order, the following are the features BUGLE brings to players who decide to try it:
- Efficiency. It's quicker to start and takes up less memory than Funcom launcher.
- Server browser. Instead of starting the game, selecting online play, waiting for the server list to load up, and selecting the server you want to play, you can do it straight from the launcher itself.
- Persistent server filter. You don't have to reconfigure the filter every time you open the server browser. If you filtered the server list to look at only PVE-C server in Oceania region, the next time you open BUGLE, the filter will be in effect. The only filters BUGLE does not persist are server name and map name.
- Ping an individual server. If your ping seems to be too high or you want to see whether the number of connected players changed, you can ping the selected server again and get updated results, without having to restart the whole server browser.
- Single-player game list. For each map you have installed, you can see when was the last time you played it in single-player, the name of your character and clan, and what level your character is.
- Back up and restore single-player games. You can create backups for your single-player games, and restore them whenever you want.
- Mod list management. You can not only activate and deactivate mods, and change their order, but you can also save a mod list and open it again later. This should make it easier to switch between the mods you use in your single-player game and those on your favorite server; or you can use this to switch easily between mod lists for different servers.
- Single-player mod mismatch detection. The launcher will do its best to detect whether there are any mods missing in your list when you decide to continue your single-player game. It cannot detect if mods are in the correct order, but at least it can warn you about missing mods. It also warns you when you have mods in your list that you haven't previously used with your single-player game.
- Update outdated mods. You can see which of the installed mods require an update. If there are outdated mods in your active mod list, the launcher will offer to download the updated version when you start the game.
- Flexible BattlEye usage. Just like with Funcom launcher, you can configure BUGLE to enable or disable BattlEye. However, you can also tell BUGLE to use it "only when required". In this mode, BattlEye will be enabled only if you join a server that requires it.
- Support for TestLive. If you also have the TestLive (Public Beta) version of Conan Exiles installed, you can use the same installation of BUGLE for both. Switching between Live and TestLive is easy and quick.
There's a lot more that can be added to BUGLE, and some if it is already in my plans. Bear in mind, though, that this is my hobby, so don't expect me to add stuff quickly and tirelessly.
Here are some things that I'm planning to (try to) add to BUGLE:
- Co-op. Right now, the co-op button in the launcher informs you that this feature is "not yet implemented". The truth is that I've never even played Conan Exiles in co-op mode, ever, and I don't really have anyone to try it with. I intend to implement this, but first I'll need some help from a volunteer.
- Localization. BUGLE is currently available only in English. I need to add support for other languages.
- Support for other platforms. Right now, I'm building BUGLE only for Windows, and it works only with Steam. Ideally, I would like it to support Conan Exiles when installed from a different game store, and I would also like to offer support for Linux. However, I'll need help from volunteers to make that happen.
- Online mod mismatch detection. I would love to make BUGLE detect whether your mod list matches the server you're trying to join. Unfortunately, the information about a server's mod list is part of the protocol the game uses to let you play. There is no information on this protocol. Unlike the one used by the server browser, this one will be a much tougher nut to crack, and I'm honestly not sure whether I'll have the time, patience, or skill to do it.
For a more detailed view of what ideas I'm investigating and what features I'm planning to add, you can visit the BUGLE Roadmap Trello board.
- Mod mismatch warning if you stop using a mod. If you use a mod in your single-player or co-op game and then decide to stop using it, it will leave traces in your game database. BUGLE will detect those traces, see that the mod isn't in your mod list, and warn you about mod mismatch. You can disable mod mismatch checks if this starts bothering you.
- Switching between Live and TestLive confuses Steam. Just like with Funcom's launcher, when you run BUGLE, Steam shows you as playing Conan Exiles. When you click "Switch to TestLive" (or "Switch to Live") button in BUGLE, Steam will show you as playing both Live and TestLive versions until you exit BUGLE. This is because of how Steam determines whether you're playing the game.
- False positive virus detection. Some anti-virus software might warn you about BUGLE and try to stop you from running it. This is because this is a hobby project, which means I don't have the stuff big companies have, like an EV code signing certificate. I'll try to submit BUGLE for malware analysis so that this doesn't happen, but it's a slow process.