[haloboy100]

Well, some forums have a board just for new users...

[Mobius]

And/or specific threads...GW is one such site.

[Agent_Koopa]

Right now, Turey's (excellent) installer and the FSO launcher are both clearly intended for advanced users. The Installer, or perhaps a new one, since Turey has expressed distaste for going back to it, needs to clearly lay out what is necessary to play the game. What the end-user is used to is not a list of options, but a series of simple choices. Pick what applies to you, that sort of thing. For less computer-savvy users, what is important is simplicity over flexibility.

Give them a choice: do I have FreeSpace 2 already installed? If so, click here for FSO. If not, click here for FS2 + Open. Do I have a decent graphics card? If so, download MediaVPs, a package that provides better-quality graphics (recommended for most users). If not, don't bother. If you can, auto-detect OpenAL. If not, then give them a choice, with the default setting "download", because if you have OpenAL, chances are you'll know. Then, list the top five or so user-created campaigns and mods, just like we already have, with a brief summary and description, like we already have. Check a box for each, and make it clear that to select a mod you must run the FSO launcher.

Then, the Launcher. At the end of the Installer, explain that the FSO launcher modifies important settings for the game. Explain that it handles the mod selection and other advanced options. The mod selection page itself is probably fine the way it is. Perhaps the Launcher itself could explain its function on the main tab, in simple terms.

These are just suggestions. I know that they'd take a lot of work to implement, just for the sake of a dribble of new users. But right now, the installation process is actively turning people away. It's the least we can do just to make installation a bit easier, even if they don't like the game.

[Mobius]

Ipse Dixit for you!

[colecampbell666]

And also, add a preconfigured launcher6.ini to take the guess work out of setting most of it up.

[Goober5000]

I don't want either the Launcher or the Installer to turn into Windows Vista.

[Stormkeeper]

... True, that. On a slightly related note, is FSO Vista compatible?

[FreeSpaceFreak]

I've heard that it isn't.

Anyway, Agent_Koopa has a good idea there. Now we just need someone who wants to make an installer

[Mongoose]

It's completely Vista-compatible, so whomever you heard it from was wrong.

[Fenrir]

I`m on Vista 64-bit and I`ve had zero compatabiliy issues.

[colecampbell666]

It isn't Vista per se, it seems to be the drivers/software/hardware installed on Vista that's the problem.

So yes, in most cases, FSO works in Vista.

[Mongoose]

I know that most hardware manufacturers had trouble getting compatible drivers out when Vista was first released, but I was under the impression that most of that has been taken care of by now.

[colecampbell666]

That was found to be the Vista problem a lot earlier, and most average users don't update drivers.

[Colonol Dekker]

The Vista problem is that fact it asks me to confirm every frickin action. From granting firewall access to . . . .creating a folder i hate that.

[Fenrir]

There are ways to disable those annoying windows. Google is your friend.

[jr2]

I don't want either the Launcher or the Installer to turn into Windows Vista.

ATM, they are equivalent to Linux (yes, Linux has a user-friendly interface, but heaven help you if it fails).  User friendliness??  Grack, to **** with the n00bies!  /grumpy old man

There are ways to disable those annoying windows. Google is your friend.

You need to disable UAC... google "disable vista UAC"

[tinfoil]

for the installer why not just create some NSIS thing to dump all the files where you want them

[Turey]

for the installer why not just create some NSIS thing to dump all the files where you want them

 

And now we come full circle: setup.nsi

For those of you who weren't around/don't remember, the Installer was originally coded in NSIS for a couple months before I re-wrote it in Java. Linked above is the last version of the Installer in NSIS. There's no way it works as-is anymore, but with some minor tweaking, it should be salvageable. Certainly better than starting from scratch.

It doesn't include retail, but this one did.

[tinfoil]

stop laughing at me

all i was saying is that if noobs could download an installer and let it sit for however long until it installed the thing they would probably be more motivated to play it. also if there was automatically a launcher.exe shortcut on the desktop and a readme right beside it it would make things a lot more straightforward

[Jeff Vader]

stop laughing at me

if noobs could download an installer and let it sit for however long until it installed the thing they would probably be more motivated to play it. also if there was automatically a launcher.exe shortcut on the desktop and a readme right beside it it would make things a lot more straightforward

Well, isn't that what the Installer does? Run it, select the components you want to get (select all if you don't know what to do), wait. When it's ready, there is a readme, or at least that's what I've understood.

You can't go much more straightforward without making the Installer so that it merely says (Click Next to install), followed by confusion when you have no idea what it might do. The Installer is clear enough for people who are worthy of FreeSpace_Open. Meaning people who are willing to out even the slightest of effort on getting a high-quality game that has an active fanbase and that is continuously being developed to meet modern requirements. If a person doesn't want to take the time to do things right or learn something new, **** them. They can go and buy yet another Call of Duty and that way be sure that they can succeed with installing that game.