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[Pidgeot]

PyLNP is an enhanced port of LucasUP and tolyK's Lazy Newb Pack to Python, making it possible to run the program on all platforms DF runs on.

Features added include:

• Support for managing multiple Dwarf Fortress folders.
• Support for all Dwarf Fortress versions, with an user interface that adapts to match the capabilities of the version being configured.
• Support for color scheme installation and preview.
• Graphics packs are installed by patching init.txt and d_init.txt, preserving all unrelated settings.
• System for installing mods (contributed by PeridexisErrant)

For a more complete description, please see the online documentation.

The source code is available at https://github.com/Pidgeot/python-lnp under the permissive ISC license (with permission from LucasUP) - this basically allows you to do whatever you want with the code. You can install a Python interpreter and run the code directly (Linux may need a few packages from their package repository; Windows and OS X only need standard Python), or you can download pre-built binaries (for Windows, Linux and OS X 10.6+). This only includes the launcher - Dwarf Fortress, graphics packs, etc. need to be downloaded separately and placed in the LNP folder structure (for details, see the documentation, or consult an existing starter pack).

Spoiler: Screenshots (Windows version) (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Changelog (click to show/hide)

For a more detailed changelog, please refer to the revision history.

V0.14e-pre1
This is a Windows-only pre-release version. It has received very little testing, and I'm putting out a build to let others help catch new bugs, suggest changes, etc.

This version adds support for the 50.x versions of Dwarf Fortress.

V0.14d
Fix broken DFHack console on Windows
Note: This is a Windows-only release. The code is identical, it's just built with a different version of PyInstaller.

V0.14c
Prevent SystemExit-related error from being displayed on MacOS
Fix listbox background colors on systems with dark theme (by TV4Fun)

V0.14b
Create necessary mod subdirs when merging
Add support for upcoming DFHack config file locations (PACK MAINTAINERS: PyLNP.json needs updating!)

V0.14a
Fix issue reading text files when importing from older pack

V0.14
Upgrade builds to Python 3
Improvements to terminal handling on Linux
Better reporting of program crashes

V0.13b
Those twbt_* folder overrides weren't actually working. They're fixed now, my bad.

V0.13a
When installing graphics pack, use matching twbt_* folder to override files if TWBT is enabled
Transfer TwbT-specific files in data/art between graphics packs (by McArcady)

macOS-related contributions by rgov:
Enable Retina graphics on macOS
Add an error dialog if App Translocation is affecting the app

V0.13
New online documentation - help option points here now
Copy missing tilesets to data/art folder when tileset list is being read
Prefix "Current Graphics Pack" colorscheme with _ instead of space to avoid OneDrive sync issues
Pause toggle for damp and warm stone announcements
Linux: Improvements to terminal detection
Linux: Auto-select first available terminal on first run

V0.12c (Windows only)
* Fixed packaging error in the Windows binary

V0.12b
Remove PYTHONPATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH from environment when launching terminal on Linux
Support gsettings for GNOME terminal detection
Improvements to mod merging

V0.12a
Fixes to terminal spawning
Improve duplicate process detection on Linux and OS X
Clean up keybind handling
Add buttons in "Display Options" for engravings and items improvement
Fixes for importer on Linux
Tweaks to graphics pack handling when using mods

V0.12
Added importer for saves and other content from previous pack installations (by PeridexisErrant)
Add README button for DFHack
Improvements to error handling and logging
Windows: Handle a weird edge case where graphics installation might randomly fail
Linux: Completely rewritten terminal handling
OS X: Use PyInstaller 3.2 for binaries

V0.11
Manifest support for utilities
Added ability to open utility README files from the launcher
Windows: Flag builds as non-DPI aware to avoid visual glitches on various DPI settings

V0.10f
Improvements and bugfixes to Legends Processor
Fix detection of installed keybinds
Configuration is validated before starting DF (you'll get a warning if TWBT is enabled but DFHack is disabled)

V0.10e
Improved version detection by using data/index (works on 0.31 and up; earlier versions still use previous methods)
Major performance improvements when user interface is updated
Sort embark profiles, keybinds, hacks, graphics, tilesets, utilities, color schemes (by txtsd)

Changes by PeridexisErrant:
Fixes for keybind management
Fixes for hack management
Better handling of compatibility when updating saves
Improvements to Legends Processor

V0.10d
Reduce UI height, mainly by moving Aquifers out of its own section and into Gameplay Options
Command-line option to override executable name used when launching Dwarf Fortress (--df-executable)
Some steps towards automating some pack maintenance tasks (see GitHub issue #89)

V0.10c
Compatibility with DF 0.42.01 (adds Visitor Cap, Invader Solider Cap and Invader Monster Cap to UI)
Allow launching of other Tkinter-using utilities packaged with PyInstaller
Minor bugfixes
Changes by PeridexisErrant:
Hacks now go to file names *_PyLNP.init, where * is one of dfhack, onLoad or onMapLoad - configured through the file value on the hack in PyLNP.json (defaults to dfhack)
Distinguish between legacy and SDL keybinds
SDL keybinds are applied as patches on vanilla keybinds (only changed entries need to be in the file)

V0.10b
Bugfixes to mod installation
Added an Options menu, moved some settings there
Added option to always show scrollbars (intended to help avoid some issues with custom Windows themes)

V0.10a
Prevent manifests from getting deleted during simplification
Better debug messages when merging mods
Command-line option for even more debug output (use -d twice)
Hide non-tileset files in art properly

V0.10
Resolution options visible in UI
Proper handling of multiline tooltips for hacks
Support for custom titles and tooltips for graphics and mods
Tilesets starting with _ are no longer displayed on UI (use this for TWBT tilesets!)
Added ability to switch DF folders from the UI (if multiple folders are found)
Enhanced updating system to be more generic
UI overhaul by James Morgensen
Linux: Improvements to xdg-terminal
Various minor bug fixes and improvements

V0.9.6
Fix color scheme comparison
Fix user interaction and progress for update downloads
Fix window size on Linux
Improve install handling of 'LNP/Tilesets/*'
Starting mods merge with graphics now optional
Improve user feedback for mod extraction
Remove graphics from mods listbox
Basic raw checker based on Lethosor's raw-lint.lua - can be invoked from command-line (--raw-lint)
Rewrite raw parser (roughly based on initial idea by rx80)
Fix broken graphics install (hopefully for good this time!)
Added minor change to message about downloading the Windows version on non-Windows platforms
Various internal changes, refactoring, etc.

V0.9.5a
Fixes hack toggling

V0.9.5
Fixes to graphics packs and mods
Minor bug fixes, internal code improvements
Linux: Fix incompatibility with bash 4.3/readline 6.3 ("/bin/sh: symbol lookup error: /bin/sh: undefined symbol: rl_signal_event_hook")

V0.9.4
Automatically create missing LNP-related folders (baselines, graphics, etc.)
Rewrite cross-thread event handling to bypass Tkinter entirely (seems to mainly have been an issue on Linux?)

V0.9.3
Improvements to merge system

V0.9.2a
Bugfix to pack simplification

V0.9.2
Better handling of invalid colors in colorschemes

Contributions by PeridexisErrant:
Fixes and refactoring of graphics and mod installation
Legends processor utility built-in

V0.9.1a (Linux/OS X only)
Linux/OSX: Prevent errors if file system encoding could not be detected by Python

V0.9.1
Fix some download queue bugs and potential crashes
Allow double-clicking to install graphics packs, key bindings, color schemes and fonts
Built-in fallback for PyLNP.json, if said file could not be loaded
xdg-terminal: Better detection of xfce
Linux: Allow custom terminal command to be configured
Linux builds: Upgraded Python to 2.7.9

Contributions by PeridexisErrant:
Improved mods system
Allow DFFD, direct download of updates
Changed highlighting of installed items
Improvements to README

V0.9
Minor bug fixes
Added a download queue system
Fix output directories for stderr.txt and stdout.txt (they go in the "base" directory, i.e. the folder containing the DF folder)
If Unicode errors occur during startup, show explanatory message
Mods tab with multi-mod merging; new reduced-raw graphics pack format, misc upgrades

V0.8b
Fix launching of already running programs
Improve compatibility of xdg-terminal script
Bugfixes for running from source

V0.8a
Fixed graphics pack installation

V0.8
Repaint color scheme preview when selecting a graphics pack (previews scheme installed by pack)
Add PRINT_MODE to list of fields patched on graphics pack install
Test for JSON file before reading; print message if it doesn't exist
Add tileset management/graphics customization UI
Various minor changes and refactoring

V0.7.1
Move display options to Graphics tab
Expose GRAZE_COEFFICIENT as an option
Remove save game update prompt if no saves will be updated
Basic graphics pack validation during loading of available packs (checks to see if specific files and folders exist in the pack)
If folder name is given as command-line argument, try to use it as DF folder
Various improvements to the underlying code (contributions by rx80)

V0.7
Support for all DF versions, with UI automatically adapting to the version being used
Add metadata system for utilities to allow for custom titles and tooltips
Removed restrictions on Dwarf Fortress folder name
Support for DFHack on Linux running i3wm (contributions by kahrkunne)
Expanded readme
Various minor bugfixes, etc.

V0.6
Massive refactoring work to allow transparent handling of version differences (all the way down to 40d)
Detection of legacy versions, DFHack, TWBT, with appropriate adjustments to UI
DFHack toggle
Various minor fixes
Allow more flexible placement relative to DF directory (straight in <base directory>, in <base>\PyLNP, in <base>\launchers\PyLNP...)
Add option for strict population cap
Highlight current color scheme, embark profiles and key bindings in red
Added menu item under help to show basic information about current DF install

V0.5.2
Fix Entomb Pets option
Stop making .bak files

V0.5.1 (Linux/OS X only)
Fixed launching of certain programs on OS X 10.7

V0.5
Performance improvements on launch
Add two options from Starter Pack launcher (entomb pets/artifacts)
Add print mode setting
Fix a crash when multiple DF installs were found
Add a "never" option for update checking
Provide a menu item for update frequency, if update checking is configured
Perform update check in separate thread
Prompt to re-run already running programs, rather than always launching (disappears after 20 seconds if no action taken)
Allow UI resizing
Minor code changes

V0.4
Improve accuracy of Aquifer detection
Make the volume and FPS controls actually work (whoops)
Change user agent of update checks to PyLNP (works with DFFD now)
Treat overrides.txt as optional init-file for TwbT support
Exclude readme files for colors, embarks, keybinds
stdout.txt and stderr.txt now appear in the correct folder for OS X builds
Fix error when changing population cap
Split utilities display option to separate paths and extensions
Avoid crashing if an expected field cannot be found, print warning instead
All builds now use PyInstaller
Various refactoring on GUI system
Make patching the default (and only) method for installing inits
Extract menu population to method
Do proper integer division when painting color preview (for Python 3)
Allow PyLNP.json to be stored in LNP folder

V0.3
Allow all lowercase LNP folder names
Added embark profile installation
Add hack management
Allow closing the GUI when launching DF
Remember desired update interval across update checks
Run DFHack if available on Linux/OSX
Various bug fixes

V0.2
Add *.bat to standard extensions for Windows
Add external JSON file for pack authors to customize
Add mechanism to check for updates (for pack authors)
Add ability to hide path and extension for utilities (option in JSON file)
Show name of currently installed graphics pack
Add color scheme selection (place in LNP/Colors)

V0.1
First release

Binary downloads are available - files follow the naming pattern PyLNP_<version>-<platform>. (The first release omits the version number.) For Linux, use linux-i686 for 32-bit Linux and linux-x64 for 64-bit Linux.

Once again: The downloads links above only contain the launcher itself. For current packs, see these topics:
Windows: PeridexisErrant's Starter Pack, maintained by PeridexisErrant
Linux: Unofficial Linux Lazy Newb Pack, maintained by Enay
OS X: Lazy Mac Pack, maintained by jecowa

All thoughts, bug reports and suggestions are welcome.

[fricy]

Do you know how, good your timing is? PTW! You can expect some feature requests soon.

[fricy]

Here is the first round of feature requests, sorry if it's a bit chaotic:

Dfhack shenanigans:
-Settings are stored in 3 separate files

• DF/dfhack.init - settings loaded at game launch - global features like keybinds
• DF/onLoad.init - settings loaded at game load - bugfixes mainly that need to be activated at load
• /saves/regionx/raw/onLoad.init: save specific settings loaded at game load - additional settings like multilevel, rendermax

-Ability to edit dfhack keybinds (with tooltips loaded from the dfhack.init?)
-misc. settings like mousequery
-Additional automation settings:
-turn on autolabor, seedwatch, autonestbox, etc.
-load workflow settings from template (only needed at embark!)

Graphics tab
-Right now the size of the Macnewbie pack is bloated a bit, because I have to add the correct raws to every tileset in the list. It would save a some space if I could tell the launcher to use the raws from another set - for eg: Grimfortress, Taffer Vherid all use ASCII raws, CLA has one raw file difference.
-Add color scheme selector (with preview)
-Ability to select between different tileset resolution/version per graphics pack:
eg Taffer provides 16 different versions of his tileset with different walls/letters/dimension, it would be nice to if the user could select in the launcher which to install. Or to have the ability to chosse between Phoebus 16x16 and Phoebus 24x24 - this is more difficult, because the sprites will be different too, not just the tileset.
-Extra settings for new renderers:
TWBT and Rendermax need Standard Printmode, Stonesense needs 2D, so they are mutually exclusive, launcher needs to know it and provide a help/tooltip. Preview would be nice too.

• TWBT: enable multilevel, perhaps allow editing of fog
• TWBT: select secondary/tertiary tileset - should recommend from a list of text/map only tilesets, preferably same size as the main tileset
• Rendermax enable
• Stonesense enable (later overlay too, now it's not yet functional)

Powergoal: autodetect screen resolution and recommend a tileset dimension
Powergoal: preview tileset (screenshot)
Powergoal(bloat): generate preview based on selected tileset and colorscheme
Powergoal(bloat): add BRZ 2x or HQX 2x based converter to uprez tilesets (very low priority)

Autoupdate Pack - from github? dropbox? - whichever is easier to implement

Integrate Quickfort converter python script into a tab in the launcher: Powergoal
In the MacNewbie Pack I assembled a standalone drag-and-drop app with Platypus that writes .mak files into data/init/macros. It would make sense to add this functionality to the launcher instead. There are some simple edits needed for the qfconverter script: generate -mak filename and -title from the input .csv/.xls files and write it to the appropriate directory and some feedback messages when successful/unsuccessful. (The resulting macros then can be loaded in game with ctrl-L)
Powergoal(bloat): generate macro layout preview in the launcher like in the Quickfort app on windows.

Mod support: Powergoal(bloat):
-Complicates things quite a bit, because this will modify the raws, so if the user decides to change graphics pack hell will break loose. So it needs some brain storming, my initial idea is to save somewhere what edits were made to the raws in the save folder, and reapply the setting when changing graphics, maybe use .diff files to handle the edits. I'm open to ideas, and it's low priority anyway. I'm just putting here what could be integrated:

• Accelerated/Modest/Essential DF mod support
• Rubble support
• Masterwork support
• Warmist's mod manager (injects raws from dfhack)

[mifki]

Somewhat offtopic here, but a thought came to my mind to implement an in-game control center (in lua,
probably). Most of the settings, including tileset and colomaps, could be applied without restarting the game, and also of course there should be an online repository with graphics and colormaps, so that they're not carried within newbpacks each time.

[CLA]

tileset and colomaps, could be applied without restarting the game

Are you fucking shitting me? You mean I could finally edit tilesets and colors without having to restart df every goddamn time I want to see how something looks in game?

[Warmist]

Somewhat offtopic here, but a thought came to my mind to implement an in-game control center (in lua,
probably). Most of the settings, including tileset and colomaps, could be applied without restarting the game, and also of course there should be an online repository with graphics and colormaps, so that they're not carried within newbpacks each time.

Hehehe... one of my goals was integration of most tool like LNP in df. Including querying online repositories (e.g. maybe dffd has an api). Mostly because i don't like having switch my attention between different programs/restart df/etc...

[mifki]

tileset and colomaps, could be applied without restarting the game

Are you fucking shitting me? You mean I could finally edit tilesets and colors without having to restart df every goddamn time I want to see how something looks in game?

No problems at all. I was thinking more about an in-game configuration UI for players, but for modders I can just add commands to reload tilesets/colours.

[mifki]

Somewhat offtopic here, but a thought came to my mind to implement an in-game control center (in lua,
probably). Most of the settings, including tileset and colomaps, could be applied without restarting the game, and also of course there should be an online repository with graphics and colormaps, so that they're not carried within newbpacks each time.

Hehehe... one of my goals was integration of most tool like LNP in df. Including querying online repositories (e.g. maybe dffd has an api). Mostly because i don't like having switch my attention between different programs/restart df/etc...

Seems now I know what to do after I finish with twbt, if ever)

[Zaxth]

I had to register to thank you for this. So thanks a lot this really helps

[CLA]

tileset and colomaps, could be applied without restarting the game

Are you fucking shitting me? You mean I could finally edit tilesets and colors without having to restart df every goddamn time I want to see how something looks in game?

No problems at all. I was thinking more about an in-game configuration UI for players, but for modders I can just add commands to reload tilesets/colours.

That would be much appreciated.

[Pidgeot]

Thanks for your suggestions, fricy!

Here is the first round of feature requests, sorry if it's a bit chaotic:

Dfhack shenanigans:
<snip>

I never use DFHack myself, so I admit it hasn't been a priority.

I'd like to get the current code a bit more polished and get all of the basic stuff in there first, then I can look at extensions and stuff.

Graphics tab
-Right now the size of the Macnewbie pack is bloated a bit, because I have to add the correct raws to every tileset in the list. It would save a some space if I could tell the launcher to use the raws from another set - for eg: Grimfortress, Taffer Vherid all use ASCII raws, CLA has one raw file difference.

Ideally, graphics packs would be provided in the form of a patch, rather than a full set of raws - and then we would "unpatch" before changing graphics. This would also make it useful for installing mods and stuff, and it would be possible to use graphics packs even if they aren't updated to the latest version.

That's a long-term goal though (as a minimum, my file parser needs to be rewritten to properly support hierarchical data), and it would be nice to have something simpler before that - I'll try to come up with some kind of hook for such things.

-Add color scheme selector (with preview)

Color schemes is definitely one of the things I want to add soon (after a bit more cleanup, though).

-Ability to select between different tileset resolution/version per graphics pack:
eg Taffer provides 16 different versions of his tileset with different walls/letters/dimension, it would be nice to if the user could select in the launcher which to install. Or to have the ability to chosse between Phoebus 16x16 and Phoebus 24x24 - this is more difficult, because the sprites will be different too, not just the tileset.

This would likely be integrated with the file reuse stuff.

-Extra settings for new renderers:
TWBT and Rendermax need Standard Printmode, Stonesense needs 2D, so they are mutually exclusive, launcher needs to know it and provide a help/tooltip. Preview would be nice too.

• TWBT: enable multilevel, perhaps allow editing of fog
• TWBT: select secondary/tertiary tileset - should recommend from a list of text/map only tilesets, preferably same size as the main tileset
• Rendermax enable
• Stonesense enable (later overlay too, now it's not yet functional)

I'll have to think about ways this might be doable (preferably without too much hardcoding).

Powergoal: autodetect screen resolution and recommend a tileset dimension
Powergoal: preview tileset (screenshot)

Should be doable. I'm not entirely sure what the criteria for recommending a tileset should be, but I could at least add some calculators or something.

Powergoal(bloat): generate preview based on selected tileset and colorscheme

Honestly, that would probably be my preferred way of doing previews.

Powergoal(bloat): add BRZ 2x or HQX 2x based converter to uprez tilesets (very low priority)

Doable, but definitely low priority.

Autoupdate Pack - from github? dropbox? - whichever is easier to implement

I don't intend to distribute a complete pack myself, but I could probably add some kind of hook for the individual pack creators? I'll think about a nice way to do it.

Integrate Quickfort converter python script into a tab in the launcher: Powergoal
In the MacNewbie Pack I assembled a standalone drag-and-drop app with Platypus that writes .mak files into data/init/macros. It would make sense to add this functionality to the launcher instead. There are some simple edits needed for the qfconverter script: generate -mak filename and -title from the input .csv/.xls files and write it to the appropriate directory and some feedback messages when successful/unsuccessful. (The resulting macros then can be loaded in game with ctrl-L)
Powergoal(bloat): generate macro layout preview in the launcher like in the Quickfort app on windows.

Don't use Quickfort either, but if nothing else, some kind of frontend is probably possible.

Mod support: Powergoal(bloat):
-Complicates things quite a bit, because this will modify the raws, so if the user decides to change graphics pack hell will break loose. So it needs some brain storming, my initial idea is to save somewhere what edits were made to the raws in the save folder, and reapply the setting when changing graphics, maybe use .diff files to handle the edits. I'm open to ideas, and it's low priority anyway. I'm just putting here what could be integrated:

• Accelerated/Modest/Essential DF mod support
• Rubble support
• Masterwork support
• Warmist's mod manager (injects raws from dfhack)

Definitely more of a long-term goal, but I would like to eventually have some support for these things.

[fricy]

Ideally, graphics packs would be provided in the form of a patch, rather than a full set of raws - and then we would "unpatch" before changing graphics. This would also make it useful for installing mods and stuff, and it would be possible to use graphics packs even if they aren't updated to the latest version.
That's a long-term goal though (as a minimum, my file parser needs to be rewritten to properly support hierarchical data), and it would be nice to have something simpler before that - I'll try to come up with some kind of hook for such things.

Sounds good, perhaps Rubble could be used for this instead of writing a new parser, but I might be mistaken. Take a look, and ignore if I'm talking nonsense.

-Extra settings for new renderers:
TWBT and Rendermax need Standard Printmode, Stonesense needs 2D, so they are mutually exclusive, launcher needs to know it and provide a help/tooltip. Preview would be nice too.

I'll have to think about ways this might be doable (preferably without too much hardcoding).

Preferably no hardcoding, in fact it belongs to the dfhack suggestions, just graphics related and mentioned it separately because I consider it higher priority than the keybinds and whatever. For starters provide a way to add strings to /saves/regionX/raw/onLoad.init, and the rest can wait.

Powergoal: autodetect screen resolution and recommend a tileset dimension
Powergoal: preview tileset (screenshot)

Should be doable. I'm not entirely sure what the criteria for recommending a tileset should be, but I could at least add some calculators or something.

Dead simple with "legacy" graphics: horizontal resolution/80 = ideal tileset. So if user has 1920x1080: recommend 24x24 tileset, or what's closest. TWBT will change it, but we need mifiki's input for that, and I need to get some information how retina mac displays work, because I have no idea.

Powergoal(bloat): generate preview based on selected tileset and colorscheme

Honestly, that would probably be my preferred way of doing previews.

Cool!

Autoupdate Pack - from github? dropbox? - whichever is easier to implement

I don't intend to distribute a complete pack myself, but I could probably add some kind of hook for the individual pack creators? I'll think about a nice way to do it.

I thought about it, and github (or another version control system) would be preferable. In fact the more I think about it the more I like  the idea of not making users download 100 mega for a tileset fix or a simple script update. So let's say this is another priority feature.

Don't use Quickfort either, but if nothing else, some kind of frontend is probably possible.

Nothing fancy is needed, just a file-open dialog (+ drag-and-drop target), and a a minimal editing of the qfconverter to generate readable filenames, because right now it outputs gibersih. Slight correction: the filename needs to be: spreadsheet name + unique id because DF won't reload the same macro if the content changed but the name did not... Plus adding a way to delete macros would be useful too.
Target is linux/osx, windows already has quickfort.

Another problem I've been thinking about is handling the changes of graphics packs and (some dfhack features) on a per-save basis. What I mean is not to batch process the whole save directory, but let the user choose which save to update. It's not a problem yet, but will be if mod support comes into the picture.

[splinterz]

really nice work here.

you can use another method to load the dfhack options as described here. it's a lot easier than worrying about updating an onload.init for every save.

for the tileset update to the d_init, you can split the file and replace the graphic section when you change tilesets/colors, as opposed to keeping track of every track/tree tag.

[PeridexisErrant]

This looks great!  I'd love to see this become the standard, both because having a properly cross-platform launcher is awesome and because I can actually do some coding in python.  PTW with interest.

Loading graphics packs from a diff is an excellent idea.  Besides saving space, it's a solid step toward a mod loader using the same mechanism.  It would probably only support small to moderate raw-only mods, but this would include everything from Accelerated DF to Modest Mod and a host of minor tweaks.  It should even be able to check compatibility, and only load non-conflicting mods. 

For updates:  I haven't done much with the idea of updating by a diff, as there's a lot that could go wrong with deleting something important if the parsing goes wrong.  However the latest windows launcher does include an update notification tool; it just checks the DFFD version page (~70B) and if the version string is different notifies the user.  You could potentially extend something similar to auto-download the new pack from a configurable address and then push all data to the new pack.  To reduce the odds of losing user data, I offer the idea of a top-level folder "User Generated Content" - designed to copy to a new pack. 

Regarding DFHack stuff:  I would leave *any* development on this from until we have a stable version of 40_xx and DFHack for that version has matured, as it's bound to change significantly.  This goes double for graphics stuff; recent TwbT screenshots include an isometric view, I've got stonesense for 34.11 running with printmode:standard, and so on. 

Quickfort:  I agree that improvements would be nice, but I think that should be a separate project (even if it's done by the same people and reuses code). 

[palu]

For mod loading, you might want to check out this.