New Allegiance installer

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pkk
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Post by pkk »

So since nobody is stepping up taking responsibility for the installer, I will try doing it.

Idea behind this:
New people run into problems with current installer (see helpline) and are unable to get Allegiance running on their machines. Most issues can be fixed with a adjusted installer. People are to lazy/unable to understand all system requirements.

A short list of issues:
No DirectX 9.0c (Aug 2009)
Vista/Win7 - Don't get shipped with latest version of DirectX 9 runtimes. Another thing is, people think DirectX 11 already is the latest version of DirectX and refuse to install it, because they don't know better.Windoes XP - Most people forget, that MS releases every four month a new version of DirectX 9 SDK (see Vista/Win7).No .net framework 2.0
Unlike Vista/Win7, Windows XP is shipped without .net framework 2.0 preinstalled.People think .net framework 3.0/3.5/4.0 already contains 2.0.VC2008 Runtimes
Installer contains installer, but only the English version. Not ideal for none English versions of Windows.You have to run ASGS/Allegiance with administrator rights
Allegiance was designed for Windows 9x, during that time you hadn't to deal with ACL. Modern computer security builds on ACL, so even Allegiance should support it. Even Microsoft suggest changing ACL, so the game can update itself without administrator rights. Just find a LINUX nerd running everything as root. ;)
Without write access to registry keys (only HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Microsoft Games/Allegiance and subfolders), ASGS/Allegiance is unable to save settings on registry.Without write access to Allegiance folder and subfolders, ASGS/Allegiance is unable to perform updates.

Changes for installer:
Add check of DirectX version before installing: If it's not up to date (at least August 2009) run webinstaller and quit setup.Add check of .net framework 2.0 before installing: If it's not up to date, open browser with MS download and quit setup.Add check of VC2008 runtimes before installing: If not found, open browser with MS download and quit setup.After installing change ACL of installation folder and registry, so you can run Allegiance be run with basic user rights on default windows machines.

PS:
The basic installer should not contain high-res textures by default (download size), this is why I started a new topic. ;)

EDIT:
- Link to MSDN.
Last edited by pkk on Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Escapist (Justin Emerson) @ Dec 21 2010, 02:33 PM:
The history of open-source Allegiance is paved with the bodies of dead code branches, forum flame wars, and personal vendettas. But a community remains because people still love the game.
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raumvogel
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Post by raumvogel »

Wow...fantastic idea. Thank you for stepping up. I'm sure this improvement will get us more players. :thumbsup:
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French_Touch
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Post by French_Touch »

:thumbsup:
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Orion
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Post by Orion »

pkk wrote:QUOTE (pkk @ Oct 6 2010, 12:12 PM) Add check of .net framework 2.0 before installing: If it's not up to date, open browser with MS download and quit setup.
Inno Setup: (downloads if required)
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/install/dotn...tup_instal.aspx

MSI: (embeds 2.0, but there may be away to download it on-demand, or the netfx installer may download it on its own)
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2.../17/494312.aspx
Last edited by Orion on Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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SaiSoma
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Post by SaiSoma »

tester here if you need it. i can vm xp as needed to test the installer.
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pkk
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Post by pkk »

Another feature should be preparation for FAZ BETA, until CSS will be released.

There are some issues with latest ASGS version (as far I could understand bard). This can be fixed by adding 1.1 registry keys and files to regular installer.
The Escapist (Justin Emerson) @ Dec 21 2010, 02:33 PM:
The history of open-source Allegiance is paved with the bodies of dead code branches, forum flame wars, and personal vendettas. But a community remains because people still love the game.
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DasSmiter
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Post by DasSmiter »

Some of the RT were actually planning on working with this as well, hopefully they'll see this
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Get over yourselves, don't try to win arguments on the internet where the option of a punch in the mouth is unavailable
"It is not that I cannot create anything good, but that I will not." And to prove this, he created the peacock.
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pkk
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Post by pkk »

DasSmiter wrote:QUOTE (DasSmiter @ Oct 6 2010, 10:07 PM) Some of the RT were actually planning on working with this as well, hopefully they'll see this
That is one of main problem of "working behind closed doors". Sometimes people waste time, without knowing that there is another one working on the same problem... ;)
The Escapist (Justin Emerson) @ Dec 21 2010, 02:33 PM:
The history of open-source Allegiance is paved with the bodies of dead code branches, forum flame wars, and personal vendettas. But a community remains because people still love the game.
Top
pkk
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Location: Germany, Munich

Post by pkk »

Current installer doesn't require administrative rights on start. You will get an error message writing on system drive:

The Escapist (Justin Emerson) @ Dec 21 2010, 02:33 PM:
The history of open-source Allegiance is paved with the bodies of dead code branches, forum flame wars, and personal vendettas. But a community remains because people still love the game.
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aem
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Post by aem »

Adept has recently contacted me regarding him working on a new Allegiance installer. So you two should talk.

edit: Well he is working a new installer meant to replace the current one but contain all the high res files, etc
Last edited by aem on Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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