Originally Posted by
bbrass10
I'm a software developer with 25 years of experience and I'm interested in developing a mod installer/uninstaller/launcher that seamlessly allows all mods to work with a single installation of the M2TW engine; I'm also thinking of writing a similar tool RTW/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/launcher that can be universally used by modders and end users, this problem can be solved. After a thorough review of the problems with installing multiple mods for RTW/BI, I feel (in retrospect) that such a tool could have been written for that environment. Because of the release of M2TW and the advent of new graphics hardware which surpass the capabilities of the RTW/BI engines, it might be a little too late to release a tool for those environments, but I have not entirely abandoned the possibility. However, for M2TW I feel it is critical that such a tool should be developed concurrently with the many different mods being developed, in order to prevent similar problems with M2TW. It would be helpful to work closely with any modding teams that are willing to consider this proposal.
I'm not proposing a mod switcher or mod manager. Those tools place the burden of managing mods on the end user. In this thread, a modder has already asked which additional files from the root directory will be required for any given mod; can the end user be expected to configure issues like that?
I'm proposing a packaging and deployment tool for modders, much like a simplified "InstallShield" tool designed specifically for M2TW. Because the packaging and deployment tool will be familiar with the file structure and architecture of M2TW, it will be a simple task for modders to configure the deployment package without worrying about those details; a simple script or .ini file, or a friendly UI, should provide the packaging and deployment tool with enough rules and information to create a compressed, redistributable file. Some of the features will include: compatability with WinZip and WinRAR; auto-installation of a program launcher designed specifically for the M2TW (and possibly RTW/BI) engines; and the option of deploying documentation files, like "readme.txt" and mod-specific icons, to directories using the mod name and version number so that they will not overwrite files by the same name that were deployed by a different mod.
To the end user, deployment will be as easy and reliable Windows' "Add/Remove Programs", with the equivalent of a "System Restore" in case things go awry; should that happen, for any unanticipated reason, the user will have the option of restoring the application to any previously working state, much like Windows' "System Restore"; algorithmically, it will work more like a Version Control System.
A mod launcher will be automatically installed or updated by the deployment package. Shortcuts on the desktop will invoke the launcher with parameters indicating which mod(s) should be launched, and the launcher will perform any necessary preparations (such as file management) prior to invoking the M2TW/RTW/BI engine with the -mod:<folder> option.
In short, it will be less work for modders to package and deploy their software; for the end-user, managing duplicate mods would be as easy as Windows' Add/Remove programs and recovering from disaster would be as simple as "System Restore", with additional support for log files that can report the nature of the problem to developers and users.
How does everyone else feel about this?
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