50 replies to this topic

[William Imm]

Hello all,

As you may have seen in the past, I have been planning to revive the BiG World Setup. I haven't given up on that, in fact, I am beginning work on it. I already have a Git repo for it (https://github.com/W...d-Setup-revival), and I'll be adding code to it once I get a implementation ready. Some of the ideas came from a PM conversation with some of the SHS members, including Lolorian, Jarno, and Leonardo Watson.

This list is still a work in progress, as I'm editing it as I am going along. Still, comments, suggestions, and extra ideas a very welcome.

Key Goals:

• Cross platform support (especially for Mac users, Linux will also be included too)
  
• Ease of use
  
• Flexible implementation
  
• Ease of coding

Implementation ideas:

The setup will be ported to the Java language. AutoIt, while it works, is not cross platform, but Java is very portable with it's code. A added benefit of coding this in Java is that it's a language I'm familiar with, and so it's easier for me to program it it than, say, C/C++.

The Front End:

One of the things that was an issue with the BiG World Setup was that it was confusing to use, and, as Leo put it, "In the beginning Dabus' BWS was very confusing because of its exuberant buttons. No one knew where to click." Leo's suggestion was to use something akin to the install.bat, by asking a single question at a time, and there is (at most) two options: the one for the answer, and maybe a few checkboxes to select optional options, which are explained in the question.

EG: When selecting what type of BiG World installation that you are going to do, I'll just put a combobox to select which time, and a checkbox to customize the installation. Simple as that.

Edited by William Imm, 29 February 2012 - 06:26 PM.

[William Imm]

Under the hood:

When downloading and extracting the mod tarballs, why not multitask a little? How 'bout using two threads - one for downloading, the other for unpacking. It's good for faster installation!!

I'm planning on using a XML schema format for both the setup and the revised linklist. It will be based on Zeracles' version for his BiG World mod downloader, only mine will have more detail, such as post-extraction commands, archive type, setup name, etc.

I'm planning make the setup basically do the downloading and extracting. When it comes time to do the installation, the setup will create a batch file (or shell script on other systems) that will automatically run each WeiDU setup in order, based on data in the XML about mod order, default components to install, etc. I feel this is better than having the Java program do this - the batch file will probably run faster than Java at that process. It will also form based on user input on components, and stuff like that.

[GammaLeak]

This sounds super-cool. I like your approach. As we've discussed, let me know how I can help whether as tester, coder, or both.

Another idea: As long as this program is doing downloads, maybe it should include locally or access online a database of all known mods? I'm envisioning the ability to sort of browse through a bunch of mods at the very beginning and add them to your "shopping cart." Part of that browsing process should be the ability to see two levels of information about the mod. First, a sort of precis or abstract, and second the entire Readme.txt if the user wants to drill down and read that. Then when you're ready to start installing the system would begin downloading the items in your "cart" and proceed (multithreaded as you suggested) from there.

[William Imm]

Thanks for the offer to help, GammaLeak. You can help by being the Mac tester, using the Windows game emulated with Wine. You can also help with Java coding - it's pretty close to C++, and if you know that, you can know this as well. I'm also going to take your idea into consideration, thanks.

[William Imm]

The revised linklist:

I think I'll probably base a lot of it on the IEMI (http://iem.rp-addict.com/), and will share a lot of the same goals/ideas. The linklist will be hosted at Spellhold, and not on the Kerzenburg [sic], mainly because of some ISPs blocking the site. (EDIT: Kerzenburg can mirror the site, but it's probally better to host the site on Spellhold, for the ISP blocking reason)

For the revised linklist, when the user has selected what they want, the site creates a XML file with the componets and selections that the user wants, and it will download a lite-version of the BWS that just has the downloading/extracting/batch forming parts.A

(from GammaLeak) The linklist will be more expanded, with a short description, and a link to the readme, if the user wants to get more info. There are also going to be info about the individual componets, mostly a short description, some warnings, and possible conflicts. I may use a "shopping cart" for the linklist. (this idea applies to both the linklist and the setup program)

Edited by William Imm, 01 March 2012 - 05:48 AM.

[prowler]

The Kerzenburg is blocked from various ISPs?

Yes. Sometimes I also have this problem

[Turambar]

The Kerzenburg is blocked from various ISPs?

Yes. Sometimes I also have this problem

I can always only access Kerzenburg through Google Translator

[William Imm]

The Kerzenburg is blocked from various ISPs?

Yes. Sometimes I also have this problem

That's why I brought it up - some people had that problem too.

By the way, do you want to help with playtesting/coding/translating the new setup? You can help with creating a Russian translation of the setup for those who want one, and if you know Java, you can help me with coding. Playtesting would especially be helpful if you would do it on a Mac with the Macintosh version of the game.

[William Imm]

I was talking to prowler, not you, Tim.

@Prowler: If you want to help translate this setup, you certainly can. Also, if you know Java, you can help with coding too. Playtesting and plain old testing would be good as well.

[prowler]

William Imm, I'm glad to help . But I have never learn Java.

Edited by prowler, 04 March 2012 - 12:33 AM.

[Sasha Al'Therin]

you may have already thought of this, but can you make it able to use custom directory names? either ask the player to enter the directory name or to recognize that BG2 is indeed in the directory where the installer is at...

one of the mega mod installer programs I tried to use wouldn't let me use it cause I had a custom directory name. told me i had to change it to BGII - SoA for it to work. If a mod can't recognize a custom directory, it's not current enough

[William Imm]

Well, yes. I can certanlly do that. Only one mod requires you to install in BGII - SoA, and that's the expert mod Ashes of Empires.

[farmerjohn]

Thank you for taking this project on.  I own both BG1 and BG2, but I don't really want to go through and individually download each file.  You mentioned that there is some custom XML data structure that you are using.  Perhaps you could upload a sample to Github so that people can start adding addresses.  I am not programmer, but I could add some links to XML.

Edited by farmerjohn, 04 March 2012 - 02:47 PM.

[shinino]

I can add links as well as anyone else, and anything that can be done to help get this going I'm all for.

[Usurper]

I'd be willing to help out. I use Ubuntu so I can help with linux-based testing if you need that.

[William Imm]

All right, here's the volunteers and the positions they have for this revival:

• prowler: Russian Translator
  
• GammaLeak: Mac w/ Wine (play)tester, coder
  
• Usurper (Vorgen on SA): Linux (play)tester

For now it looks like I'm going to be maintainer, coder, Spanish translator, and Windows + Linux (play)tester. I'd like to see more coders and translators. What would be especially helpful if someone would be a German translator. Leonardo Watson would probably be one of the more ideal people to help, and maybe Enkida would like to help as well. If some were to translate for Spanish (mine isn't really that great) or French, that would be helpful too. The more people I have, the merrier!

[GammaLeak]

I'm excited! Can't wait to see the first code checkin at github.