Assault Andy Administrator
I make other people create vaporware
Registered 29/07/2002
Points 5686
6th October, 2005 at 02:25:08 -
With zips you are in control, you know where every file is. And extracting files into the wrong places is easily overcome by using AppDrive$+AppDir$ like Crystal said.
"its a little bit sad to hear the comments here. you get people working flat out months, even years on a big click game only to not bother playing the game because instead of 5 or so clicks draggin it into a new folder you press Next a few times.
what a pathetic state of mind. i gotta say."
Jimmi: I think the comments here are refering to small games, not the large ones like Eternal Daughter. What they mean is these small little games that people put on the DC that really shouldn't NEED an installer, all they do is create some folders and install the DLL file.
I think people should just be more aware of the need to run a game instantly. Arcade games can get away with coming in a single executable exe file, so avoid installerising them.
Installers can cause things to be installed everywhere. It can cause problems. The biggest problem is when installers do CNCS32.DLL and CNCS232.DLL and kill the nice new version. Version checking is a biggie. Also people just don't know how to do visually appealing installers. Small games, yes, should be zipped though.
In my experience making installers in MMF is childsplay. You zip the game contents and build a program that will extract the zip file to a certain location.
You then build the zip file into the application. Voila. No DLLs or zip files, just a single exe (and a pretty nice lookin' one too).
The main use is to enable you to make the installer use the same interface and colour scheme as the game. It looks sweeter.
Installers are ok. Personally, I find installing a game actually easier than bothering to find a place to put it, then deleting it later on. HOWEVER, it's not the same case when you don't want to delete the game.
I think that game developer peoples should just include an installer version as well as a non-installer copy of their game, and see which one people click on more .
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Assault Andy Administrator
I make other people create vaporware
Registered 29/07/2002
Points 5686
17th October, 2005 at 07:39:51 -
It might have something to do with the fact that you only link to the setupfile on your website, apart from if the reader clicks "Read More" on the games page link.
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