DDNet Map Loader v2 (Portable)

A tiny helper that lets you double‑click any .map file to hot‑reload it on your local DDNet server. It also makes backups and logs what happened.

📋 Requirements

• Windows 10/11 (no admin needed)
• DDNet client/server installed and a local server you can reach

🤔 What this is (and why)

• Associates .map files with this app.
• When you double‑click a map, it will:
  • Check the map file
  • Back up your current map
  • Replace the working map and send hot_reload
  • Log to %APPDATA%\DDNet\maps\ddnet_control.log
• Great for fast map testing while you build.

🚀 How to use (Quick)

1. Check/move myServerconfig.cfg
   • Find your DDNet data folder (see below) and copy myServerconfig.cfg into it (optional but recommended).
2. Associate .map files with this EXE (recommended way)
   • Right‑click any .map file → Open with → Choose another app → More apps → Look for another app on this PC
   • Select ddnet_control.exe in this folder
   • Tick "Always use this app to open .map files" and confirm
   • Verify the .map icon changed. If not, see Troubleshooting below.
   • Advanced (optional): you can also run registry\setup_map_association_current_user.bat to register it for your user automatically, then restart Windows Explorer.
3. Double‑click any .map
   • Example: %APPDATA%\\DDNet\\maps\\mapsfortest\\anymap.map
   • The file’s icon should have the new loader icon (may show a small arrow overlay if a shortcut).
4. Check logs
   • %APPDATA%\\DDNet\\maps\\ddnet_control.log (shows validation, backup, reload status)

📁 Where to put myServerconfig.cfg

• Simple way to find your DDNet data folder:
  1. Right‑click your DDNet shortcut (on taskbar/Start/Desktop) → Open file location
  2. In the opened folder, go to the ddnet directory (where DDNet.exe lives)
  3. Open the data subfolder → copy myServerconfig.cfg here
• Common locations (examples; yours may differ):
  • Steam default: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\DDraceNetwork\ddnet\data
  • Steam (other library): <YourSteamLibrary>\steamapps\common\DDraceNetwork\ddnet\data
  • Non‑Steam/portable: the data folder next to DDNet.exe

🧰 Troubleshooting

• Console flashes and closes
  • Windows likely didn’t pass the file path. Re‑associate via Open with (step 2) or run the setup script and restart Explorer.
• App not in “Open with”
  • Use Open with → Choose another app → More apps → Look for another app on this PC → pick ddnet_control.exe → check “Always use this app”.
• Icon didn’t update
  • Restart Windows Explorer. Icon cache is stubborn on Windows.
• No hot‑reload
  • Make sure your local server is running (127.0.0.1:8303) and RCON settings are correct.
  • Check %APPDATA%\\DDNet\\maps\\ddnet_control.log for the exact reason.
• Undo the association
  • Run: registry\\remove_map_association_current_user.bat

📂 What’s inside

• ddnet_control.exe
• ddnet_loader.ico
• myServerconfig.cfg
• registry/
  • setup_map_association_current_user.bat
  • remove_map_association_current_user.bat