Spring+BA installer [Updated 12-4-11]

[Hobo Joe]

***Updated for new Spring, BA, and SpringLobby versions***


It installs Spring, SpringLobby, BA, and CometCatcherRedux(To go easy on my slow slow bandwidth)

Includes IceUI, and custom hotkeys(99% sure that none of these conflict with default hotkeys, confirmation on that would be nice)

In addition to this, it comes packaged with a few non-default widgets, most of these were added based on things I've seen people new to Spring say, and a couple of them are just because I think they're widgets everyone should have:

SmoothCam
Comblast range
Fastswitch(slightly modified)
Stockpile
Transporter 2
Z selector
Smart Nanos
Unit Stats
Ghost Radar
Unit Ranges

Widgets HERE if you want more information on these.

It also makes scroll NOT backwards by default


It worked fine for me, if you want to check it for problems that would be greatly appreciated, and any suggestions are welcome.




I understand that a lot of people want to tread lightly with BA due to IP concerns, but I think we can all agree that it would be great if Spring got a little bit more publicity, so please spread this around as much as possible. And mod owners, it is in your best interest and the interest of anyone you want to play your mod to make self-contained installers. I think it would be fantastic if each active mod had a full installer.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11556897/springbasetup.msi

Enjoy.

[TheFatController]

I hope IceUI is off by default or the first time it loads they'll see both UI's or something bad will happen

[Gota]

Finnaly something worthwhile!!
Good job.
Now all It needs is a small fan website.

[Hobo Joe]

I hope IceUI is off by default or the first time it loads they'll see both UI's or something bad will happen

I disabled RedUI by default, from my testing it worked, but if someone else has double UI's let me know and I'll try to fix it.

[oksnoop2]

Did you make an installer or is this just the portable archive?

[Hobo Joe]

It's an installer. Granted, all it does is unpack the files and make a start menu entry, but it's still an installer.

[Jazcash]

This is the most awesome thing I've seen in a while.

I sir, give you precisely 4 cookies.

[Hobo Joe]

It would really be nice if someone could download this and confirm that everything is working, most specifically where IceUI and widgets are concerned. It worked for me, but who knows what could happen on a another comp and all that.


Thanks for the comments, though.

[Masure]

Could have been better if DSD was the only map in the installer.

[Beherith]

Thanks mate, this was sorely needed!

Im surprised you included fastswitch, since I though I was the only one who uses it. (for those who dont know, it switches view between your comm and your base, whichever is further, if you press a button; i have it bound to tab)

[Hobo Joe]

Thanks mate, this was sorely needed!

Im surprised you included fastswitch, since I though I was the only one who uses it. (for those who dont know, it switches view between your comm and your base, whichever is further, if you press a button; i have it bound to tab)

Yeah, I love it. I just made a very slight modification to it, because in its default state, there's no limit to how fast it switches, which means it's based on your framerate(I think...), so pressing the hotkey would snap back and forth multiple times and usually end up in the wrong place, which was extremely annoying. I just put a limit on it based on the game frame, so you can't activate it faster than every 10 game frames. Hope you don't mind. :p

[Jazcash]

Thanks mate, this was sorely needed!

Im surprised you included fastswitch, since I though I was the only one who uses it. (for those who dont know, it switches view between your comm and your base, whichever is further, if you press a button; i have it bound to tab)

I downloaded it when you first released it thinking, "That's cool! Ima use that from now on". And have never used it once apart from holding space down to make my screen jump around which made me smile.

[Hobo Joe]

Updated, spread it around folks.



Also, I'm planning on advertising Spring on SomethingAwful sometime soon, in the event that I do I will be using this installer for the primary download. However, I will put up direct links to any other mods that ask me to and give me an installer. Might sound superficial but a good thread on SA pulls a very large amount of views so it could potentially be a nice boost, and I would like to expose as much of Spring as possible.

Also I know there are some goons among us, TFC for one, who could maybe pitch in and help me make Spring look good.

[KaiserJ]

don't advertise as "spring" and provide a BA installer

edit: that post was a bit short.... unless you're going to provide the standard spring installer, it would be best just to focus on BA

IMO you would do better to advertise the engine, because SA (from what i remember) doesnt allow warez posted... as you can see from elsewhere in this forum, TA is still a viable commercial product.

chances are if you advertise the engine and a few games on it, people will download the spring installer and end up playing BA anyways

[Hobo Joe]

I will advertise multiple games, but due to lack of good installers for the rest I will still use this installer as the primary download to help ease the transition. I will put up information/screenshots and downloads on other games as well.

Also, they're pretty soft on the subject of piracy, and calling BA warez , while not entirely incorrect, is a bit of a stretch. It uses the same models and has similar gameplay but it's sufficiently different to blur the line in the eyes of most people.


I don't really have the time nor inclination (no offense moddevs :p) to make installers for all the major mods, but I highly encourage them (or their players) to make installers, for the sake of everyone, it makes everything so much easier, and is one of the big hurdles of spring/games atm, the other biggest being lack of standalone websites and no proper single player.


I want to make Spring look as good as possible and that requires showing more than just BA cause we all know it doesn't look good.

[KaiserJ]

it's not warez in the classic sense. it's intellectual property that its still used in a commercial product and redistributed in a free format. it doesn't matter what "most people" think, it matters what the copyright holder thinks. gameplay is not important in this case because its something derived from the rebalancing and adaptation to a new engine, but the models, animation scripts, and sounds are all somebody elses IP, and constitutes a massive portion of what BA -is-

in no way am i telling you not to advertise. just be aware of exactly what you are advertising.

why not put your installer on the download page with a "must own the disk for original TA" disclaimer. link to the downloads page instead of your installer directly, and then you're not in any way responsible for piracy that might occur

[Hobo Joe]

That's called a deterrent and pretty much goes against the purpose of advertising.


TA IP is dead, Atari doesn't care, I don't care, nobody cares except 10 people who are afraid Spring will get shut down. I understand what you're trying to say but honestly it's not a big deal at all. And if I get banned for posting it... who cares.

Anyway this discussion has gone here http://springrts.com/phpbb/viewtopic.ph ... &start=100

[Yuri]

gameplay is not important in this case because its something derived from the rebalancing and adaptation to a new engine, but the models, animation scripts, and sounds are all somebody elses IP, and constitutes a massive portion of what BA -is-

I'm kinda curious about this. Hypotetically, if I resample sounds and remodel models to match OTA in ~95% accuracy would it still be a problem?

Also aren't the mechanisms of gameplay bound to IP too? I mean: two sides, small and fast tanks raids, LRPCs, nukes, low-cost unit spam just for instance.

[Hobo Joe]

I'm kinda curious about this. Hypotetically, if I resample sounds and remodel models to match OTA in ~95% accuracy would it still be a problem?

Yes.

Also aren't the mechanisms of gameplay bound to IP too? I mean: two sides, small and fast tanks raids, LRPCs, nukes, low-cost unit spam just for instance.

For things that inspecific, no. Technically even if we redid all the models, textures, and sounds, and renamed everything but still kept near-OTA gameplay we could still be condemned on legal grounds, but the chances of that are miniscule and it will never happen.


And we all know Atari doesn't care about Spring at all, it's been in their face for years and several members of the community have mailed Atari multiple times getting no response. They know about us, but they don't care and they aren't going to do anything.

[Yuri]

THX for your reaction.
Literally OTA is an abandonware now, so I don't see why Atari should bother.