BUGLE: B*tt-Ugly Game Launcher for Exiles
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 miracles from it.
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 post about it here.
Installation
Go to the v1.3.2 release on GitHub and download the bugle-v1.3.2-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. Bear in mind that Microsoft Defender SmartScreen might stop you from running it. If that happens, do the following:
- Right-click on
bugle.exe - Select “Properties”
- Check the “Unblock” box
- Click “OK”
Source Code
If you know about programming and want to check for shenanigans before running some random stranger’s executable, or if you’re curious about what makes BUGLE tick, you can go to the GitHub repository and look at the source code. If you do decide to look at the source, bear in mind that this is the most relaxed kind of a hobby project, so don’t expect stuff that I would normally do at work (e.g. well-commented code, automated tests, etc.)
In fact, you can build BUGLE on your computer, if you have Rust installed. If you do, I recommend building it with the fltk-bundled feature. Otherwise, you’ll have to install some prerequisites that FLTK needs, and I’m not gonna go into that in this forum post.
Features
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.
- 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. If you’re hosting a server using Funcom’s Dedicated Server Launcher, you can copy the mod list from BUGLE with one click and paste it into the server launcher.
- Local mod library. If you download non-Steam mods and put them inside the
Modsdirectory in your Conan Exiles installation (or in any subdirectory nested as deep as you want), BUGLE will show them in the list of available mods and allow you to add them to your mod list without having to edit yourmodlist.txtfile yourself. - Moving installations and sharing mod lists. If you move your Conan Exiles installation from one place to another, your mod list is normally left with a bunch of entries pointing to where your mods used to be. Similarly, if another player gives you their
modlist.txtand their game isn’t installed on the same path as yours, that mod list will be full of errors. BUGLE has a feature that can look through your mod list and the list of mods you have on your system, and try to fix broken entries in your mod list if they match an installed mod. - 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.
Roadmap
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.
Known Issues
- 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.
Change Log
1.3.2 (2024-03-07)
Hotfix for a mod library bug.
Fixed
- If the
Modsdirectory is missing, BUGLE will no longer treat that as a problem with the game installation.
1.3.1 (2024-02-24)
1.3.0 (2024-01-30)
Mod manager QoL features and a few visual improvements.
Added
- You can now place mod files anywhere in the
Modsdirectory, nested as deep as you want, and BUGLE will detect them and display them in the list of available mods so you can add them to your mod list. - The list of mods in the mod manager now shows the provenance of each mod: Steam or local library.
- The mod manager now has a table that displays the details of the selected mod, such as filename, size, Steam IDs (if applicable), and similar.
- If you want to host a server using the Dedicated Server Launcher, you can now copy your mod list to clipboard to paste it into the server launcher.
- If you have a mod list with invalid entries, BUGLE can try to fix it by going through the list and trying to match the entries with the mods you have installed on your system. This can be useful if you moved your Conan Exiles installation to a different location, or if you got your mod list from a friend who has their game installed on a path different from yours.
- BUGLE now detects whether you have BattlEye installed and displays that information on its home screen. If BattlEye is not installed and your BUGLE is configured to launch the game with BattlEye enabled, BUGLE will warn you and offer to change that setting to disabled.
Changed
- The main menu buttons on the left have been shrunk to leave more space for the rest of the UI.
- BUGLE window can now be resized and maximized.
- Mod manager now has separate buttons for displaying the mod description and the mod change notes.
- The BUGLE logo on the home screen is now a smidge more colorful.
- The glyphs used by BUGLE are now all sourced or derived from Bootstrap Icons project.
Fixed
- Having a mod file that BUGLE cannot parse will no longer make BUGLE complain about a “problem with your installation of Conan Exiles”. Affected mod files will be displayed among available mods, but with an error icon and no details other than filename and size.
- Dragging BUGLE between displays with different scaling will no longer mess up the UI.
- The README no longer says that BUGLE won’t save the server name or map name in the persistent server filter.
- BUGLE should no longer mix backslashes and forward slashes in paths.
1.2.1 (2023-12-21)
Bugfix for problems with "Tot!" mods.
Fixed
- BUGLE will no longer complain about a “problem with your installation of Conan Exiles” when you have certain mods installed.
1.2.0 (2023-10-22)
More configuration options and QoL features.
Added
- BUGLE will now inform you if the game needs to be updated.
- Outdated mods can now be updated in the mod manager.
- Mods can now be activated and deactivated by double-clicking in the mod manager.
- Added an option to tell the game to try using all available CPU cores.
- You can now specify additional command line arguments to be used when launching the game.
- Added an option to disable mod mismatch checks.
Changed
- Server name and map name in the server browser filter are now persisted.
- Read-only text fields are now slightly shaded to avoid confusion.
Fixed
- When clicking the “Launch” button, the launcher will check if any mods need to be updated.
- If BUGLE cannot write its
.inifile in the same folder as the executable, it will try to create one in the appropriate user profile directory.
1.1.0 (2023-07-25)
Miscellaneous QoL features.
Added
- Display total number of connected players, in the server browser.
- Show the names of up to 10 Steam mods, in the server details.
- Show which mods need to be updated, in the mod manager.
- Offer to update outdated mods from your mod list when starting a game.
Changed
- Moved the last session information above the “Continue” button.
- Some server details are not displayed if absent.
- Server name column is now left-justified in the server browser.
Fixed
- If the last session was online, it will also be hidden by the “Hide Private Information” button.
Keep the updates coming, I’m tracking this with enthusiastic anticipation. 
