bbrass10
12-08-2006, 20:52
I'm a software developer with 25 years of experience and I'm interested in developing a mod installer/uninstaller that seamlessly allows alll mods to work with a single installation of the M2TW engine and possibly another for the RTW and BI engines. I realize there has been some minimal effort in this direction but for the most part modders abandon this goal with the disclaimer that their mod requires a vanilla version of the base software and is not compatible with other mods. I feel that by analyzing the problems and creating an appropriate installer/uninstaller that can be universally used by modders and end users, this problem can be solved. In order to do that, I will need to work closely with the different modding teams to see which parts of the file system are being modified by their mods, and which ones might conflict with other mods.
I'm referring to something which is as easy and reliable for the end user as "Add/Remove Programs", with the equivalent of a "System Restore" in case things go awry, and the ability to log and report unanticipated problems to the developer(s) of the installer/uninstaller, developer(s) of the mods, or the end user. It should similarly be simple to configure for the mod developers. Most likely, the installer will provide the end user with a program launcher that will perform any preparations necessary prior to launching M2TW, RTW, or BI. That way, when the shortcut is placed on the desktop, a simple command-line switch can tell the launcher which mod to launch, similar to the -mod:filename option which is so rarely used.
It may be a little late for RTW/BI, although I feel confident that such an installer/uninstaller could be developed in retrospect -- unfortunately, I think that mod development on those platforms may be coming to a halt with the release of M2TW and the advent of new graphics hardware which surpass the capabilities of those engines. In the case of M2TW, however, it would probably be a good idea to begin development immediately, concurrently with the development and release of the many forthcoming mods.
How does everyone else feel about this?
I'm referring to something which is as easy and reliable for the end user as "Add/Remove Programs", with the equivalent of a "System Restore" in case things go awry, and the ability to log and report unanticipated problems to the developer(s) of the installer/uninstaller, developer(s) of the mods, or the end user. It should similarly be simple to configure for the mod developers. Most likely, the installer will provide the end user with a program launcher that will perform any preparations necessary prior to launching M2TW, RTW, or BI. That way, when the shortcut is placed on the desktop, a simple command-line switch can tell the launcher which mod to launch, similar to the -mod:filename option which is so rarely used.
It may be a little late for RTW/BI, although I feel confident that such an installer/uninstaller could be developed in retrospect -- unfortunately, I think that mod development on those platforms may be coming to a halt with the release of M2TW and the advent of new graphics hardware which surpass the capabilities of those engines. In the case of M2TW, however, it would probably be a good idea to begin development immediately, concurrently with the development and release of the many forthcoming mods.
How does everyone else feel about this?