Feedback on portable spring on windows.

[Super Mario]

The lobby that is included with the portable version wrote files outside the folder, counter intuitive when it comes to the idea of a portable version. If fact, why is there to begin with? I thought the purpose of downloading an game engine portable was to create games on the fly, rather than to play games on it.

Why is ZK included with the files? If someone wanted to download zk game wouldn't it be idea to go to their website and download it there? It makes no sense when you some of you guys keep harping that spring is an engine, yet you guys treat it as a game from what I had experience. If you want players to play games made by the engine wouldn't it be smarter to link to the game websites themselves?

Why did you not tell the users who's downloading the windows installer or portable version that it's 32 bit version? It's very misleading, to windows users and bit unfair that you provided a 64 bit version for Linux and not for windows users.

The mulithreading is where I'm disappointed the most, as it uses up to two cores on my computer, taxing around 25% percent, I do not recall spring to be this slow when I used to have 4 cores one time as it take advantage of all 4 of them back then (It was around 2009-2012 I think when this happen), instead
of using 2 when I have 8 cores.

Game used: tech annhilation 2.33

[smoth]

I don't have zk installed with my portable install.

what lobby is included? we need a name and version

you installed tech annihilation via their installer? Why is that not TA's problem?

[8611]

Why is ZK included with the files? If someone wanted to download zk game wouldn't it be idea to go to their website and download it there?

I assume you mean zero-k.exe in spring_98.0_portable.7z offered at http://springrts.com/wiki/Download ?

Theoretically zero-k.exe is just another lobby that can play all spring mods, just like some other lobbies.
Question is whether in practice zero-k.exe is now tailored so much to the zero-K game, that it can maybe no longer be considered a universal lobby that should be included in a universal spring installer?
I hesitate to figure out by starting it because do not want to confuse my existing install. (eg with files being written where I do not want them)

Anyone more adventurous might want to consider things as:
-In this archive, is it by default locked to zK?
-Does the "maps" tab/menu work in sensible way for non-zK mods? (If it is the same as http://zero-k.info/Maps then it is not suitable for non-zK mods: certain map types are hidden by default and the voting & comments & featured maps are all with zK in mind)
-Are menus like settings, singleplayer, mission etc recognizeable clearly enough as zK content so that eg a "zK tutorial" does not get confused with "spring tutorial."
-Does it contain too many zK specifique things? (I remember there used to be button "Tell us what you want to see in zero-K!")
-Does it contain all the function that are needed for almost every mod, but zero-k.exe might leave out because in zK it is handled different? (like maybe having no faction-selection menu because zK is 1-faction or having no color-picker because in zK teamcolors work in non-default way)

[Super Mario]

I don't have zk installed with my portable install.

It isn't that fact that zk is already installed exactly, but rather have zk.exe file on it, which make me think it's an installer at first glance.

what lobby is included? we need a name and version

spring lobby, (exact name)

you installed tech annihilation via their installer? [/quote] No I downloaded it, via spring lobby.

Why is that not TA's problem?

What?

[Super Mario]

Why is ZK included with the files? If someone wanted to download zk game wouldn't it be idea to go to their website and download it there?

I assume you mean zero-k.exe in spring_98.0_portable.7z offered at http://springrts.com/wiki/Download ?

Yes that one.

[smoth]

If the files are dl'd to your userland there is a likelyhood that you had stuff in userland already.

PERSONALLY, I agree, userland should be something disabled by the portable install. Unless portable does NOT mean 1 directory for spring.

not sure.

[raaar]

portable versions reading stuff from user directory makes testing easier, though

you can download a portable test version and run it and have the maps and games ready to use.

(and as far as i know, it can use both if you create games and maps directories within the portable directory and put stuff inside)

[smoth]

They, should, not.

Portable afaik is meant to be a self contained file. I might not want the contents of your user land polluting my game install. There are good reasons

[Silentwings]

Unless portable does NOT mean 1 directory for spring.

Portable means it will read from all dirs but only write to one dir (i.e. to the datadir specified in the Spring settings). The mode where it lives entirely inside just one dir is called isolated mode. I don't use either + note that this applies only to Spring itself, I've never tried to control where Springlobby writes too [edit: but abma knows... see http://springrts.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=32904].

[Jools]

The mode where it lives entirely inside just one dir is called isolated mode. I don't use either + note that this applies only to Spring itself, I've never tried to control where Springlobby writes too.

This thread is not about you. Nobody cares what you eat for breakfast.

gajop: user was warned for this post