[mooxe]

JSGME

Advantages

It will work with PITF, GWTC

Disadvantages

User has to find where program is installed
User has to find where JSGME is installed to install mod
No automatically created desktop icons

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Inno Setup http://www.innosetup.com/

Advantages

Installs using the familiar method all applications install from.
Places icon on desktop and startmenu
Can uninstall using add/remove programs option in control panel

Disadvantages

Someone has to figure out how to make the installer work for PITF and GWTC


I am leaning towards Inno Setup. Its what we are using for LSA, TLD and WaR now. Our biggest disadvantage with either product is the different install folders of the Steam and Matrix versions of GWTC. Unsure if this can be overcome with Inno, it can with JSGME if the user simply knows the install folder.

[mooxe]

Looks like the /D switch is not present in GWTC and PITF. Things could be much easier if they were.

[Tejszd]

Really, they removed the /D switch???

I just can not understand their decision making. Why every couple releases does the product take a step back with features being dropped....

[dj]

What about self-installer .EXE ?  Is it do-able?  I use JSGME for PanzerCorps mods, it's a pain but once you learn it...not too bad.

[mooxe]

Well I cannot get TIK's small maps to run using /D. If the /D option worked I can get Inno Setup to work really easy, by just copy-paste-editing Bernd's scripts from the LSA/TLD/WaR installers.

A self installing EXE is possible, that's what Inno Setup will do. A self extracting ZIP file will not work as it doesn't provide a backup.

JSGME is actually not that much different from Config Manager. There's a couple different steps, but you basically need all the same skills to run either program. It could be the answer here but I think the best answer is to automate everything and make it as easy as possible.

[bernd_nowak]

Thanks Mooxe for asking. I just install Gateway to caen steam edition. I believe but will check that this also makes the needed registry entries where we could determine the installation directory. However the missing D switch would be a drawback. Can't Tejszd check if the possibility exist to "re-add" this?

I too loved the D switch. Keep me informed as will I do.

[bernd_nowak]

OK. So the registry path for Gateway to caen is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Steam App 297750 on my notebook. Can someone with steam check this path? I can imagine that the Steam App ID 297750 is a unique one so it's possible to find it and retrieve the InstallLocation string, in this case it's C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Close Combat - Gateway to Caen

It's no voodoo stuff to check this on a 32/64 bit OS. And if someone can give me the Unistall location for non steam installations we could read it too. So we would have the location of the CCE.exe. Are you sure that the /D switch is not working?

[bernd_nowak]

Now I'm a bit surprised. CCE.EXE is the main exe. But there's a way to launch it which I'm not able to see at the moment because everytime it opens the autostart menu. Grrr .... anyone knows a bit about it?

[TheImperatorKnight]

I haven't tested it, but I think if you install all your CC games into one "Close Combat Games" folder, JSGME can be installed in that folder and used to install every mod for every game in the series.

[bernd_nowak]

The /D switch was a great help for mods in previous re-releases. You could create a mod by creating a mod directory in your CC directory and only place those files in it which are different from the original. Starting CC by using /D ModDirectory would then allow you to play the "modded" version. So you always had a un-modded CC.

I checked Gateway To Caen Steam version and it's interesting how autorun.exe and cce.exe are tied together as well as steam is tied to this. Calling only CCE.exe would start autorun.exe, the more or less generic autostart menu. Renaming autorun.exe creates a steam error that autorun.exe is missing.
Copying cce.exe to autorun.exe (with a backup of the original autorun.exe) would then allow me to start CC Gateway To Caen directly either by using CCE.exe or autostart.exe. Weird.

But it still seems to ignore command line switches. Hmmmm.

JSGME has a lot value but I find it harder then to download a mod.exe file and simply hit more or less several times enter and the mod is installed as well that I have a desktop shortcut :)

JSGME 2.6 seems to be the latest release. Do I need to install it? Where can I download it?

[DAK_Legion]

I created a installer of north korea incursion for Panther in the Fog with LSA auto installer by bernd_nowak and work fine;)

THANK BERND!!!

[mooxe]

Maybe the /D switch works in PITF? Bernd's installer uses the /D switch.... hmm..

Where can we download that mod? I don't think its linked anywhere.

[platoon_michael]

The /D Switch was very nice except one couldn't play the Mod H2H through GameRanger.

[dj]

[Tejszd]

Got home from being away a couple days and was able to test the Matrix version of GtC using the /D switch.

I copied a battle, renamed it to "Test", placed it in the following directory; /mod_test/data/battle and then started the game with /D mod_test which resulted in only the renamed battle being displayed.

So that is good news, at least for those who downloaded the Matrix version of the game.

[mooxe]

Well.. I am not even sure that's a good thing. If it works for the Matrix version but not Steam then we are still at square one.

[platoon_michael]

I cant help but to wonder why were not discussing this at the Matrix Forums?

We know they don't respond here.

[mooxe]

Ok I have TIK's SmallMapsMod working with a Matrix install utilizing the /D switch. Drops an icon on the desktop and puts an entry into the Control Panel Add/Remove programs list. No user input required other than verifying the location of the GWTC folder.

I was using the TLD mod installer to do this. All I really need now are some GWTC graphics to replace the TLD graphics in the installer application.

I have an idea to make it work on Steam. I suspect that CCE.exe calls the launching app and Steam via 'hooking.' If hooking is in the registry it can be disabled... who knows.... I have to redownload 1.4Gb of GWTC again though, that will take some time. Like Bernd mentioned, it may still ignore the /D option.

[mooxe]

As far as I can tell the autorun.exe (the useless launch menu) strips out any exe arguments. Steam is forced to load it for some reason.

[mooxe]

I am going to go ahead and start making plugins for the PITF and GTC mods out there currently. Bel & Dak, if you would like to email me any version numbers please do. Otherwise we can start at 1.0 for all these mods. Let me know.

PITF mods should work multiplayer. GTC mods will not work with Steam.