Folks:

Spanish Air War is finally in testing and heading towards completion. And I'm turning my mind (well, one corner of it) towards install and plane management options. But I want your advice as to what will be most convenient for you. This will depend on how you use EAW, and how you have it set up on your system.

1. Installing: We could have an automated installation (using a manager), or a manual one, or both. What do you prefer? We could have it broken into small chunks of 5mb or less, or as one big package. Which would you prefer?

2. We have a number of different plane-sets, which you can switch between by uninstalling/uninstalling them between games. We can handle these several different ways:

a) By simple batch files (I have these done already, as a low-tech option)

b)By an existing manager such as 'Theme Manager' (we have tested this already, and have it as an option)

c) By a purpose-built manager

d) By a choice between the above

The problem here is simple. Some of you use managers of different kinds. Some use OAW. Some use ECAP and manually move files about. Some probably use nothing. Any new manager will have to sit alongside your existing one, and will require another install. (The batch files could be used *within* your current setup.)

So your views on this are important.

Thanks!

hiya catseyes!
i personaly would prefer seperate files such as skins-campaign-fm-terrain, etc... this would offer the opportunity for people to download and set it up any way they want,using what they want with fewer concerns and subesequent hoards of questions that always follow when having to use batch file converters and the like. a small discussion appeared a week or so ago about the size of the downloads and how were were lagging behind other sims who were offering 10 megs or so. i use dial-up and do not have a problem with files larger than 5mb. i have a download manager that allows me to pause and restart... but i realize that many do not. it is just my opinion and i hope it helps!
Guns

Yes this is a hard question.

I have to second GunsUp that separate category downloads might be best, for download size, file update checking. Then this does allow the user to setup himself. Which I think is OK IMHO. At least perhaps until everything is perfectly polished.

Optional idea: I would like to see a date stamp with the file download so I can easily figure out if I have the most up-to-date file. I don't know how much trouble that would be.

Thanks for the hard work!

S!

Hi Enoff,

Date stamps, eh? I've got no idea. But will look into it...

If you use installshield to create a windows installer file, it should be possible to create a core setup, and then a number of variant additions. I did this in the 65MB Dunkirk installer to deal with the various additional bits and peices that not everyone might have wanted (french speech files etc).

To vary the setups the user simply goes back to the installer and makes another choice. Installshield then uninstalls the current variant and installs the new choice.

Might be worth checking out.

Moggy DCM

Hello,

the installer option which Moggy is talking about seems to be the best way, specialy for newbes.

If someone wanna use the campaign in cooperation with a other manager, he need some PC-experience or have to wait till someone pack the campaign for his mamager(OAW/SnM/Stab), i think the addon-makers shouldnt worry about it, you had already enough work.

If you dont will offer the campaign in a selfinstaller like Moggy told, i would vote to pack the 2(or more?) different FM´s into F-SCW1 and F-SCW2 folders, the fitting Skinpack´s into S-SCW1 and S-SCW2 folders, the rest of the campaign into a M-SCW folder. In this way the users simply can use the campain with OAW, but also with SnM where the foldername dont make problems.

Then the users can combine SCW with Andys and other EAW-exes, can switch easy between the different SCW planesets and can use the other OAW-features.

Only my 2 cents.

Sorry didn't mean to make it sound so technical. I just meant the date the file was posted. But if you make a full installer this wouldn't be necessary.

Please also include the possiblity for installing manually.

Peregrine

I would be most happy to make an OAW Setup version for you.
It will let you switch between planesets, substitute planes in slots, whatever you want it to do!

Jel

Hi CatsEyes As you know,OAW is my main EAW tool,I cant imagine doing these things(including beta-testing) any other way Just my two cents worth!best regards........S!......Shreck