Topic: OP Enhancement Package v3.0 now available

[Pestalence_XC]

OP Enhancement v3.0 Readme

Installation Instructions :

Normal Installation : (Steps 1 and 2 are if you had a previous version of the Enhancement Pack installed.)

1) Completely remove any  content added to Orion Pirates since you installed the Enhancement Package.

2) Completely remove the Enhancement Package that you currently have installed using the Uninstall Steps listed below.

3) Uninstall Orion Pirates game from your PC and delete the Starfleet Command Orion Pirates game directory off of your system.

4) Disable Anti-Virus for the remainder of the steps.

5) Make sure that your drivers for your sound card and video card are the latest version. Please check with the manufacturer of your cards for the proper drivers.

6) Make sure you are running the latest version of DirectX.. At time of creation of this package, the current version is DirectX 9.0c. This version of DirectX adds stability and smooth game play.  Players not using DirectX 9.0c may cause others in game to suffer lag, drops, inability to connect during mission loads, etc. This is stated in the Microsoft DirectX FAQ page.

7) Reinstall Orion Pirates from game CD. Say no to DirectX and Gamespy Arcade installs.

8) Install the Orion Pirate Enhancement Pack v3.0 and allow it to install fully. This process will go through several separate installers by way of a black DOS window once the main installer closes. Follow all instructions listed in the DOS window for complete OP Enhancement Pack install.

**Note** - The installer contains 4 choices for the Enhancement Package Install... If you are following the install instructions in this section.. the first 2 choices in the installer will also install the Orion Pirates game patch v2552.. One choice will install the OP + with models and the other had OP + without models... Please install as space and system specs allow.

9) Re-enable your Anti-Virus. Please make sure that the OP Enhancement package install has completed first.



Express Installation : (Steps 1 and 2 are if you had a previous version of the Enhancement Pack installed.)

1) Completely remove any  content added to Orion Pirates since you installed the Enhancement Package.

2) Completely remove the Enhancement Package that you currently have installed using the Uninstall Steps listed below.

4) Disable Anti-Virus for the remainder of the steps.

5) Make sure that your drivers for your sound card and video card are the latest version. Please check with the manufacturer of your cards for the proper drivers.

6) Make sure you are running the latest version of DirectX.. At time of creation of this package, the current version is DirectX 9.0c. This version of DirectX adds stability and smooth game play.  Players not using DirectX 9.0c may cause others in game to suffer lag, drops, inability to connect during mission loads, etc. This is stated in the Microsoft DirectX FAQ page.

8) Install the Orion Pirates Enhancement Pack v3.0 and allow it to install fully. This process will go through several separate installers by way of a black DOS window once the main installer closes. Follow all instructions listed in the DOS window for complete OP Enhancement Pack install.

**Note** - The installer contains 4 choices for the Enhancement Package Install... If you are following the install instructions in this section.. the last 2 choices in the installer will not install the Orion Pirates game patch v2552 (this if for the Orion Pirates game that is already patched to v2552).. One choice will install the OP + with models and the other had OP + without models... Please install as space and system specs allow.

9) Re-enable your Anti-Virus. Please make sure that the OP Enhancement package install has completed first.



Custom Installation (for those who have custom models they do not wish to lose) :

1) Go to your Starfleet Command Orion Pirates\Assets\Models and  your Starfleet Command Orion Pirates\OPPLUS\Models directories. Copy both of the Models directories and paste them outside the Orion Pirates game directory. (you only need to copy the directory in which you have changed models out within the game)

2) Follow the instructions listed above for Normal instillation.

3) Sort through your copied Models folders on a model by model basis using Taldren Model Viewer (if you have it) and compare your model to the models installed by the Enhancement Package. Replace the models in the OP game directory with your custom models in whish you wish to use to play the game.

4) Keep a complete backup of your custom models outside the OP game directory in the event you need to uninstall the OP Enhancement Package. Usually this is done with Winzip or Winrar (to save HDD space).


Mod Chooser Usage Instructions (Please Read all instructions prior to installing the Mod)

1) Read the information of the Mod before installing.. make sure that your game is in the settings required by the Mod.. as such, after Orion Pirates install, you should have only 1 Mod installed.. Mod Chooser will have 2 choices (if you installed Orion Pirates Enhancement Package correctly).. 1 for Taldren's Original setup and the other for the OP + setup. Please check with the instructions of the Mod for which setup your game needs to be in prior to the Mod Install.

2) Mod Chooser will back up everything that the Mod Installs EXCEPT for mission scripts.. if the Mod is installing Mission Scripts, then it is highly recommended to back up your existing mission scripts into a separate directory prior to installing the Mod... the Mission Scripts will have to be manually swapped with the ones added by the Mod... Current Dynaverse Servers are using the mission scripts currently installed by Orion Pirates Enhancement Package v3, however some Mods may contain custom missions and/or older versions of scripts that are in the Enhancement Pack and to preserve the integrity of the scripts currently installed, a backup of the scripts is recommended... If you Mod is for a Dynaverse Server.. 9 times out of 10 all you will need is the Shiplist and ftrlist files, the model.siz file and the Met_NWConfig.scr (backup original script file). If a server is using Custom models, then you will need their Models install... for the easy way to install for a Dynaverse, Backup your Scripts folder, install the Server Installer which the Dynaverse operator will provide, make a backup of the scripts folder again and label it for the specific server (or compare to your original scripts), then follow the steps below, and finally uninstall the Dynaverse Installer.. Mod Chooser will now have the Dynaverse set-up for ease of switching.. all you will need to do is put in the proper back-up of Scripts for the server in which you are playing on...

3) Install the Mod. When installing a Mod on top of Orion Pirates Enhancement Pack, Mod Chooser will allow you to assign it to a new slot provided that the Mod contains a new shiplist.

4) After installing the Mod, go into your Assets\Specs folder and check the last edited date on the shiplist.txt and ftrlist.txt files, compare the files to the shiplist.txt and ftrlist.txt files located in your Orion Pirates\MetaAssets folder.. if they differ in date and time, then copy the shiplist and ftrlist from Assets\Specs and OVERWRITE the ones in MetaAssets.

5) Double Click the Mod Chooser desktop Icon.

6) Mod Chooser will check for any altered shiplist files in the Assets\Specs folder...

.....A) If Mod Chooser asks you to save the new Mod, then procede streight to step 7.

.....B) If Mod Chooser does not ask you to save the new Mod, then follow these steps :

..........a) Close Mod Chooser and go into your Assets\Specs directory and open your shiplist.txt file with either Notepad or Excel.

..........b) In the topmost line of the shiplist, find a spot in the first sentence and add a period (.)

..........c) Save shiplist.txt and then copy the file.

..........d) Open your Orion Pirates\MetaAssets folder and paste the shiplist into this folder. Say Yes to Overwrite.

..........e) Re-launch Mod Chooser and continue with Step 7.

7) Give the Mod a new name in the box that pops up.

8) Assign the Mod to an empty slot.

9) To change Mods, Decide which mode you want to play Orion Pirates in, launch Mod Chooser, pick the mod you wish to play... the Mod you currently are using will be greyed out and unselectable.



Mod Chooser - Updating or Overwriting a currently installed Mod

1) This is to be done prior to applying an update to your current game mod.

2) Launch Mod Chooser and make sure that your game in in the Mod mode that you wish to update.

2) Go inside the SFCOP Mod Chooser folder located inside your Orion Pirates game directory

3) Open your Filedata.ini file using notepad.

4) Look under the [Names] section and find the name of the mod in which you are going to alter or update. Remember the CMod# that is assigned to the name of the Mod in which you are altering or updating.

5) Look up to find [Shiplist_Files_Sizes] and [Ftrlist_Files_Sizes]. find the CMod# listed that corresponds to the Mod that you are altering or updating. Set the values of only that CMod# to equal 0.

6) Go down this file and find the section listed as [CMod#] (where # is the same number as the Mod you are altering or updating as found in step 4) and set all values to False.

7) Close and save the Filedata.ini

8) Go inside the Bin folder and go inside the CMod folder corresponding to the Mod you wish to alter or Update as found in step 4.

9) Delete all files inside the GFs, Models, Mouse, Sounds, Specs, Strings, and Textures folders while keeping the GFs, Models, Mouse, Sounds, Specs, Strings, and Textures folders themselves. Each of these folders need to be present but empty.

10) Install your Update or make alterations to your Modded game.

11) After installing the Mod, go into your Assets\Specs folder and check the last edited date on the shiplist.txt and ftrlist.txt files, compare the files to the shiplist.txt and ftrlist.txt files located in your Orion Pirates\MetaAssets folder.. if they differ in date and time, then copy the shiplist and ftrlist from Assets\Specs and OVERWRITE the ones in MetaAssets.

12) Double Click the Mod Chooser desktop Icon.

13) Mod Chooser will check for any altered shiplist files in the Assets\Specs folder...

.....A) If Mod Chooser asks you to save the new Mod, then procede streight to step 14.

.....B) If Mod Chooser does not ask you to save the new Mod, then follow these steps :

..........a) Close Mod Chooser and go into your Assets\Specs directory and open your shiplist.txt file with either Notepad or Excel.

..........b) In the topmost line of the shiplist, find a spot in the first sentence and add a period (.)

..........c) Save shiplist.txt and then copy the file.

..........d) Open your Orion Pirates\MetaAssets folder and paste the shiplist into this folder. Say Yes to Overwrite.

..........e) Re-launch Mod Chooser and continue with Step 14.

14) Give the Mod a new name in the box that pops up.

15) Assign the Mod to an empty slot.

16) To Change Mods, Decide which mode you want to play Orion Pirates in, launch Mod Chooser, pick the mod you wish to play... the Mod you currently are using will be greyed out and unselectable.



Total Package Install Content :

SFC OP Patch v2552 Full Installer (out of Box SFC OP installation only)

SFC OP Bonus add on (Taldren Bonus install CD Content)

OP + v4.0 Shiplist installers by Firesoul

EAW to OP Conversion scripts with *.MCT single player setup files by Firesoul

Sulu Bonus EAW to OP conversion scripts by Firesoul

Complete Evil Dave OP Mission scripts by Nuclear Wessels

EEK Dynaverse mission package by Karnak including the EEK *.MCT single player campaign files

OP + and Standard Fighterlist.txt and shiplist.txt as converted by Karnak for use with the EEK mission scripts in single player (located in Assets\Specs\EEK Shiplist)

OP Patrol Scripts v4.1 and Convoy Raid mission by Tracey Greenough

Dynaverse 2 Model Pack by P81 and Atrahasis (Both high and low Resloution packs)

Co-OP Ace Script v4.0 as modified by Firesoul

Sector Assault v1.1 for Orion Pirates by MagnumMan

EZ-INI game set up utility by MagnumMan

ShipEdit EAW and Shipedit OP by EagleEye Softwae Group

Fests + v1.1 by Firesoul

SFC-OP mini-updater created 11-06-2004 by Firesoul

In game Model Testing Script v1.23 for single race by Firesoul

In game Model Testing Script v1.00 for all races by Firesoul

In game Model Testing Script v1.00 for bases only on all races by Firesoul

Taldren Model Viewer by Taldren

Centauri Vaughn's Fleet Pick 2.A

Centauri Vaughn's  Team Starfleet Battles 3.0 Mission Pack

Strat's Mod Chooser v6.5

Dynaverse Server IP correction *.gf file

Custom conquest campaign *.mct files for single player by Pestalence using Nuclear Wessels scripts.

Conquest campaigns now utilizing the Conquest game map and conquest MetaMap.gf file as fixed by Pestalence.

EAW to OP Custom Single Player campaign *.mct files created by Pestalence which incorporate Nuclear Wessels scripts into the EAW to OP conversion.

Any other credits are included in the additional readme.txt files installed for NW OP Missions, OP + installation, and EEK OP Missions in
the main Starfleet Command Orion Pirates Directory.



Installer Options :

Each installer contains 4 install options :

1) Install patch v2552 with OP+ v4.0 with models
2) Install patch v2552 with OP+ v4.0 without models
3) Install OP+ v4.0 with models but without patch v2552
4) Install OP+ v4.0 without models but without patch v2552



Uninstall Instructions :

To uninstall the OP Enhancement Pack, just go into your OP game directory and double click the OP_Enhancement_Uninstall.exe file. and follow the instructions listed in the pop up DOS window. It will uninstall each component one at a time to ensure that Orion Pirates will remain in it's original state, with exception of a couple of game file fixes for Single Player and for Dynaverse Connection.

Five components that the OP Enhancement Pack can not uninstall with it's uninstaller is the v2552 patch, the OP Bonus Content, Shipedit, Mod Chooser and Sector Assault. To uninstall Sector Assault and Shipedit, use Window's Add/Remove Programs. To Remove Mod Chooser and Mod Chooser created files, delete the Mod Chooser and Preset folders out of Orion Pirates game directory. To remove patch v2552, Firesoul's Mini-Updater and OP Bonus Content, Uninstall and reinstall Orion Pirates.



Personal Statement :

This package is a combination of Official game content as created by Taldren works as well as fan created material. This package was compiled by Pestalence in order to help the Starfleet Command Orion Pirates game community have an easy source for updating their game to the latest patch and bonus content and the most commonly used fan created material for Single Player, Gamespy Arcade and the Dynaverse. This package is in no way labeled as Official Content for Orion Pirates and should be considered a massive mod for the game. This package is supported solely by Pestalence and is not supported by Taldren or Interplay.  Content will be updated for this package by way of a new release of the package when content is updated by others in the community. All content is the intellectual Property of their creators, so please check for all readme files in the Orion Pirates game directory for proper credits on content. Only a certain number of campaign mct files were created by Pestalence in accordance with Single Player game mode and the metamap.gf and metamap.war game files were edited by Pestalence for proper integration into Orion Pirates Single Player game mode... All other content is property of their respective owners. There is massive ammounts of other created works available for Orion Pirates and much of it can be found at www.dynaverse.net.. this package is in no way the end all be all of enhancement s available for Orion Pirates.. This package only contains the most widely used material for access to the Dynaverse, use on Gamespy Arcade and for Single Player, however much more content is available for Orion Pirates that can be used in combination to the Enhancement Package or independantly. Please check www.dynaverse.net/forums for additional Orion Pirates content.



Changed items since v2.2 :

Added Tracey G.'s Convoy Raid script into script installer

Added Firesoul's OP + v4.0 replacing OP + v3.4

Added Firesoul's rework of Co-Op Ace script by MagnumMan. Version added is v4.0 which is replacing v3.2.1.

Added additional Mod Chooser notes to Readme.rtf file to describe how to properly update Strat's Mod Chooser v6.5 when changing or patching a mod.



DL Locations (173 MB):

Dynaverse.net Mirror:

ftp://ftp.dynaverse.net/game_files/Star_trek/starfleet_command/Starfleet_Command_OP/Updates_Enhancements/OP_Enhancement_Package_v3.0.exe


SFCx Mirror:

http://sfcx.no-ip.com/downloads/mirrors/Pestalence/OP_Enhancement_Package_v3.0.exe


Xenocorp Mirror:

ftp://ftp.xenocorp.net/game_files/Star_trek/starfleet_command/Starfleet_Command_OP/Updates_Enhancements/OP_Enhancement_Package_v3.0.exe



I hope that all of you will enjoy this new package and have fun playing.. the new instructions for mod Chooser will allow you to update and / or replace mods that Mod Chooser currently has stored..

For a quick example.. say SGO 4 server ends and GW launches.. You have no empty slots in Mod Chooser... follow the "Mod Chooser - Updating or Overwriting a currently installed Mod" of the OP Enhancement Readme.rtf file. Basically since servers are mainly using OP +v4 as a base.. to erase SGO from mod Chooser and put in GW you would put the game into OP + game mode in step 2 in that section and follow all the rest of the instructions as listed.. yes it is a small bit of work, but once done, Mod Chooser will swap game files without loss or error (That is so long as you are not adding or changing Scripts.... Mod Chooser does not back up mission scripts).



Thanks again and Have Fun.

[FireSoul]

Have you considered NSIS for installer package?

[Pestalence_XC]

I have, but I'm not good at making up a script for it.. only played a tiny bit with it... maybe you or someone could make up a script that will pack it up and auto launch the batch file and possibly remove the batch file after install completes, then I could learn the workings of it.. the help files it includes do not help for what I want it to do....

Thanks.

[FireSoul]

I have, but I'm not good at making up a script for it.. only played a tiny bit with it... maybe you or someone could make up a script that will pack it up and auto launch the batch file and possibly remove the batch file after install completes, then I could learn the workings of it.. the help files it includes do not help for what I want it to do....

Thanks.

That's the thing about NSIS. It's a scripting language. You could code what the batchfile does as part of the installer. Anyways, it's something to look at. I'll admit it's a bit of work, but the gains are phenomenal, especially on the compression side. OP+ is already as compressed as it can be, but I'm thinking missions right now. I made a quickie installer for NuclearWessels once. 40 MB of missions would compress to 20MB in a .ZIP file. However the installer's compression (LZMA) would bring that down to 4.4MB.

I'm sure that I can help you out. Is there a way for me to get the components used to create your current installer?

[Dizzy]

+ Karma to you both!

[Pestalence_XC]

well, I can make up a zip file to include the files that the installer removes when it closes and include the Install Creator configuration file for the Enhancement Package and you can look at the structure using Install Creator and configure NSIS do do the same job...

Give me a couple of days to get it together..

Thanks

Pestalence

[Bonk]

Wow, good job putting all that up to date stuff together Pestalence!

Yes I have to agree FireSoul, NSIS rocks!      Trick is, many of the components of the enhancement pack will already be compressed in their own format - which will not compress further (I tested repacking the UAW exes  as is with NSIS) - so all the raw uncompressed files are required for the best results i think...

I'm looking at "NSISizing" the UAW installer "soon" for Chris, then I'll just give him the script to study.

[KBF-Crim]

Awesome for us dial up peeps!...

One of the things that turned me off SFC3 right away where the HUGE DL's requirered to play on the coolest servers.

I'll take this opportunity to also thank Fire soul for keeping up duel compatible versions of OP+.

This is a big deal to me, as it allows me to keep current with a small DL and upgrade later when I can do an overnight DL.

And packing 700 mb of great stuff down to 63 mb makes this package usable to many more people.

Not everyone can afford broadband...and the fact that you guys keep this in mind is appreaciated very much.

 

[Pestalence_XC]

Awesome for us dial up peeps!...

One of the things that turned me off SFC3 right away where the HUGE DL's requirered to play on the coolest servers.

I'll take this opportunity to also thank Fire soul for keeping up duel compatible versions of OP+.

This is a big deal to me, as it allows me to keep current with a small DL and upgrade later when I can do an overnight DL.

And packing 700 mb of great stuff down to 63 mb makes this package usable to many more people.

Not everyone can afford broadband...and the fact that you guys keep this in mind is appreaciated very much.

 

Agreed it was my intention with OP Enhancement to try to get it as small as possible.. fully installed with all models, it would add over 1.3 GB of SFC content to the game all compressed to 173 MB .. I agree that NSIS could get it smaller, however it would still be over 110 MB considering all the models involved going from 1.3 GB to 173 MB is a great jump.. the original Enhancement Package was over 360 MB until i revised the install configuration... it has taken time but the package for DL is getting smaller and smaller with more and more content...

for Dial-up users who want to get the Enhancement Package, i would recommend getting a DL manager called GetRight which can continue your DL where is leaves off if you lose connection.. basically with GetRight, you could stop in the middle of the DL with 41% to go and come back 3, 4, 5 months later.. so long as the file is at the same DL address.. Getright can continue the DL exactly where it left off without corruption...

Hope that this helps.

[Age]

 Quote From KBF Crim.

 
One of the things that turned me off SFC3 right away where the HUGE DL's requirered to play on the coolest servers

This about the average size of SFC3 mods and they are getting smaller as well and the download time is the same I have 2 mods on my system.Sorry Pestalence about this no one would read this in D3 forum.

[FireSoul]

Just out of curiosity .. how many missions (in MBs) are in this enhancement pack?

[Pestalence_XC]

as for Scripts and Size.. the total of all NW's, Tracey G's, Elkarnak's and your EAW to OP and Model test scripts alone is 235 scripts which totals 97.2 MB

however one must consider the Mod Chooser and the first use of it where it backs up the Taldren folder which is 80.8 MB backed up.

Plus the Dynaverse 2 Models and your OP + models and also the Shipedit and the Centauri Vaughn scripts (2) and your Fests Plus and Co-Op and MagnumMan's Sector Assault.. it is the combined total of everything after a full proper install that takes approx 1.3 GB including all the individual installers located in the Installs Directory..

Just OP with the Enhancement Package installed and Mod Chooser configured for Taldren and OP + only takes up 2.1 GB on my system.. given that Stock OP takes up approx 700 MB stock out of box.. I estimate 1.3 GB installed just to the OP game itself, not counting the Shipedit...

anyhow.. hope that this helps.

[Godfather]

will this be comapatible w/UAW mod?

[Pestalence_XC]

Well i have a UAW Mod installer made up but it was designed for OP + v3.4.. I will have to  update the mod to latest version and make a new installer for the Enhancement Package when Chris gives me the go ahead...

Currently, you can install the Enhancement Pack version of the Mod on OP + 4.0  (cancel Mod Chooser) and use the UAW mod update that Chris has available to make it compatable with OP + v4.0 and then launch Mod Chooser.. this will give UAW that is OP + 4 compatable and will swap easily with the mod Chooser and compatible with the Enhancement Pack.

[Age]

  Would it be best if I unistall shipedit and delete the file as two of each may be taking up more room on my HD?I would assume so.

[Pestalence_XC]

You would not need to remove Shipedit unless it does not work.. basically the installer will overwrite the files.. basically it would install on top of itself... if you don't want it to, then all you need to do is just cancel the Shipedit installer when it pops up.. the rest of the installs will continue as normal.

[FireSoul]

as for Scripts and Size.. the total of all NW's, Tracey G's, Elkarnak's and your EAW to OP and Model test scripts alone is 235 scripts which totals 97.2 MB

.. 97MB of scripts, eh?  .. these would probably compress to about 50MB with ZIP and 10MB with LZMA. That might be a hypothetical savings of 40 from your download.
Coopace and such. Are they installed from the installer or from an unpacked version?


Also.. have you ever considered optional installer components?
-- Luc

[Pestalence_XC]

OK.. basically I tried to keep all the original installers from everyone...

as for Co-OP, it uses your installer.. basically OP Enhancement is a bunfh of separate installers that launch 1 at a time usig a batch file...

Fests +, the Mini-Updater (for use on Stock OP components), Mod Chooser, OP +, Co-OP, Sector Assault, and EX-INI uses the original installers that they came in, just launched in sequence for the best possible install without error...

the Scripts I put together before you made the EAW to OP installer and as such they are installed along with all the other scripts with a Scripts installer I made which also installs and sets up the MCT campaign files which are about 60 added to the game, separated for Campaign mode and Conquest mode...

Currently my Scripts installer is 26 MB by itself and still compresses 4% in the overall OP Enhancement Pack... Just as your OP + 4 with models compresses 4% more in the Enhancement Pack..

the other Installers I had to create is the installer for Atrahasis and P81's D2 models (for use in Stock game and / OP + for ships using default Fed, Rom, or Klink models) and Shipedit.. basically i made a Shipedit installer that installs the complete EAW and OP shipedit in 1 pass instead of having to put in any patches plus I have it put the shortcuts on the desktop for you..The D2 models package I rebuilt to get a smaller package and so that it will properly back up the Stock models and to automatically find Orion Pirates instead of Empires at War...

so just those 3 installers (Scripts, Shipedit, and D2 models) are the only one's that are not original files.. the only other files in the OP Enhancement is the batch files that dictate the 4 install options...

anyhow, that is about it.. all the installers are the property of their respective creators unless there was an error in the installer to begin with.. such as OP Shipedit was not contained into a full installer until now, Dynaverse 2 models did not locate OP and did not correctly back up the Stock models and did not Uninstall correctly so i rebuilt it..

Hope that this helps.

[Godfather]

use the UAW mod update that Chris has available to make it compatable with OP + v4.0 and then launch Mod Chooser.. this will give UAW that is OP + 4 compatable and will swap easily with the mod Chooser and compatible with the Enhancement Pack.

oooK...and where can i get that mod update from?

[FireSoul]

basically OP Enhancement is a bunfh of separate installers that launch 1 at a time usig a batch file...

Ok. understood.

Fests +, the Mini-Updater (for use on Stock OP components), Mod Chooser, OP +, Co-OP, Sector Assault, and EX-INI uses the original installers that they came in, just launched in sequence for the best possible install without error...

ok.

the Scripts I put together before you made the EAW to OP installer and as such they are installed along with all the other scripts with a Scripts installer I made which also installs and sets up the MCT campaign files which are about 60 added to the game, separated for Campaign mode and Conquest mode...

Want to share the part that handles the MCT files?

Currently my Scripts installer is 26 MB by itself and still compresses 4% in the overall OP Enhancement Pack... Just as your OP + 4 with models compresses 4% more in the Enhancement Pack..

I have a lot of problems believing that..  sorry, but I can't believe your installer code can make any LZMA-compressed packages 4% smaller. LZMA has been hard to beat!

the other Installers I had to create is the installer for Atrahasis and P81's D2 models (for use in Stock game and / OP + for ships using default Fed, Rom, or Klink models) and Shipedit.. basically i made a Shipedit installer that installs the complete EAW and OP shipedit in 1 pass instead of having to put in any patches plus I have it put the shortcuts on the desktop for you..The D2 models package I rebuilt to get a smaller package and so that it will properly back up the Stock models and to automatically find Orion Pirates instead of Empires at War...

so just those 3 installers (Scripts, Shipedit, and D2 models) are the only one's that are not original files.. the only other files in the OP Enhancement is the batch files that dictate the 4 install options...

Even if I can't reuse the code directly, anything here will be extremely useful. If you've already done the work here, want to share it?

anyhow, that is about it.. all the installers are the property of their respective creators unless there was an error in the installer to begin with.. such as OP Shipedit was not contained into a full installer until now, Dynaverse 2 models did not locate OP and did not correctly back up the Stock models and did not Uninstall correctly so i rebuilt it..

Hope that this helps.

Is there an uninstaller of any sort?

[Pestalence_XC]

OK.. as for your compressed exe... Install Creator is compressing your exe for OP + with models by 4%, the OP + Without models ~1%... the scripts in the Install Creator package is 26 MB and it's exe is compressed even further by 4% in the OP Enhancement exe...

as for Uninstaller, Install Creator creates it's own Uninstaller.. when launched, i have it launching a batch file running the uninstall programs for each module in proper sequence.. when the batch file finishes, it removes any files originally installed by OP Enhancement (not files installed by the separate installers)...

I can shoot you a copy of my Campaigns folder so you can see how it is suppose to set up once the scripts finish installing along with the batch files that swap them and also the Metamap files that got fixed...

basically it is a lot of stuff in all.. let me get a txt file going and basically zip up my install directory and give a URL.. however you can have the entire thing by installing the OP Enhancement Package to a dummy folder and then when you exit the installer and the dos window launches.. ignore it (don't close it) and go into your OP Directory and find Install*.bat file and make a copy of it to a different folder.. the * represents a letter from A-D.. each file contains a slight change to either launch the patch or to use the OP + Models or OP + No Models.. just small changes... However looking through my Batch file, i found 1 error that needs to be fixed... closing the batch file will make the OP Enhancement Installer delete the Install*.bat file.. same goes for the Scripts installer...

ican shoot you the Iip setup file for Install Creator Pro and you can see how i have the splash screen set up, the registry keys for Shipedit and so forth...

Anyhow.. give me a couple days to get a working text of what I have it doing..

[Pestalence_XC]

my Appologies.. My statement on how much OP + packed was off.. I looked at the wrong file in the log.. here is the log listing for Packed, Size and Ratio :


File:        Packed:       Size:          Ratio:

Uninstaller   28,066   76,500   64%
CoopCustomizerOP.exe   83,779   196,608   58%
Fleet Pick 2.A Uninstal.exe   30,658   98,406   69%
Fleet_Pick_2.A_Uninstal.exe   0      -
InstallA.bat   1,783   6,221   72%
InstallB.bat   1,786   6,227   72%
InstallC.bat   1,668   5,878   72%
InstallD.bat   1,672   5,884   72%
Installs\Bonus.exe   26,927   69,632   62%
Installs\coop-ace-4.0.exe   392,997   407,021   4%
Installs\Fests+_11.exe   293,575   307,353   5%
Installs\FleetPick_2.A.exe   16,005,320   16,095,855   1%
Installs\opplus_40_models.exe   64,433,467   64,428,388   0%
Installs\opplus_40_no_models.exe   267,079   281,557   6%
Installs\Scripts.exe   27,657,401   27,748,105   1%
Installs\sector-assault-1.1.exe   1,298,802   1,491,849   13%
Installs\setup-ezini.exe   2,267,616   2,460,353   8%
Installs\SFC-OP_mini-updater-20041106.exe   21,979   36,538   40%
Installs\sfcd2_hr.exe   40,193,653   40,354,561   1%
Installs\SFCOP_Chooser_V65.exe   215,325   224,057   4%
Installs\SFCOP_Patch_2500-2552.exe   19,287,590   19,475,295   1%
Installs\Shipedit.exe   7,587,409   7,680,068   2%
Installs\TaldrenModviewer\ModViewer.exe   224,110   520,275   57%
Installs\TaldrenModviewer\ModViewer.txt   1,945   4,199   54%
Installs\Team_Starfleet_Battles.exe   356,562   363,721   2%
MetaAssets\ServerProfiles\Multiplayer\WONServerSetup.old   408   825   51%
ModChooser.exe   16,964   77,824   79%
OP Enhancement Readme.rtf   190,704   602,081   69%
OP_E_Uninstall.bat   840   2,746   70%
Sector Assault Configuration for OP.lnk   524   1,002   48%

Result :
    Number of files: 29
    Total uncompressed size: 183029029 bytes
    Total compressed size: 180890609 bytes
    Install program size: 181964644 bytes

[Age]

    What is wrong with Enhancement Pack or is there?

[FireSoul]

Ok., there's many ways we can improve the size of your installer, without trying to add functionality.
1- I see that you've created a scripts.exe for yourself. That's great! .. I'm sure that if I gave it a go, it will become much smaller.
2- FleetPick *includes* shipedit, even though it's not in an automatically installable form. Maybe it needs a repack? I'm sure that fleetpick itself would be far smaller if it was split from shipedit.

Experimental work ongoing..   I've been poking around with code tidbits that allows selectable components, and to force these components off (and greyed out) if the various components are already installed.

[Pestalence_XC]

    What is wrong with Enhancement Pack or is there?

Nothing per say.. just the desktop shortcut points to the wrong location since Firesoul changed the Co-Op Ace install location.. I have just re-uploaded the package to SFCx that corrects this error.. Will upload to Xenocorp tonight to replace the files on the FTP links at Dynaverse.net and Xenocorp... I suggest if you decide to re-download the package, get the one at SFCx for the time being.

As for the first upload of the 3.0 (and for those who do not want to re-download it), just delete the desktop shortcut for Co-Op Ace and make a new one from the Co-Op Customizer exe file which is now located in the Orion Pirates game directory...

[Pestalence_XC]

Ok., there's many ways we can improve the size of your installer, without trying to add functionality.
1- I see that you've created a scripts.exe for yourself. That's great! .. I'm sure that if I gave it a go, it will become much smaller.
2- FleetPick *includes* shipedit, even though it's not in an automatically installable form. Maybe it needs a repack? I'm sure that fleetpick itself would be far smaller if it was split from shipedit.

Experimental work ongoing..   I've been poking around with code tidbits that allows selectable components, and to force these components off (and greyed out) if the various components are already installed.

OK.. a general breakdown of the Scripts.exe is this...

It installs 235 scripts, then it installs the 80 mct files to Campaigns and Campaigns\Extra

Campaigns is all the Storyline campaigns, including the Stock settings for EAW to OP storyline that you created.. this includes my adjusted Custom Storyline MCT files.

the Extras folder is all the conquest Campaigns and Custom Conquest as well as the EEK campaigns...

the installer also installs the fixed metamap.gf file and metamap.war files labeled metamap.old1 and metamap.old2 respectively.

The installer also installs the batch files for Scripts-Install, Scripts_Uninstall, Storyline, and Conquest

When the installer finishes, it launches the Scripts_install.bat and it creates the folder Campaigns\Original and moves the stock General mct files to Campaigns\Original and then it deletes the Metamap.gf and Metamap.war files and renames Metamap.old1 to metamap.gf and renames Metamap.old2 to Metamap.war.

after the installer finishes this, it deletes the Scripts_Install.bat

the uninstall does the reverse of this in the Bat file except it leaves the Metamap.gf and Metamap.war intact and it moves mct files putting the stock General mct files back into Campaigns folder...

the Conquest.bat and storyline.bat have desktop shortcuts created by the installer and operate exactly like the old EAW bat files, only reworked to correctly change the metamap.War into the metamap.gf file and so forth depending on if you are playing Conquesr or Storyline.. plus the are located in the main SFC OP directory where the EAW ones were located in the Campaigns\Bonus folder.

Also the Scripts_Uninstall.bat makes sure that the player is in Storyline mode prior to uninstall so that the game will operate correctly and the proper files remove during uninstall..

that is about it for the Scripts installer...

As for Alpha Centauri's script using Shipedit.. I do not know if he has a version available with Shipedit removed.. if not, i can extract the configurator and script independantly, but I do not know if he is using any registry keys to operate the configurator and if so, which ones...

[Pestalence_XC]

OK.. I have Fleet Pick sorted out with Shipedit removed.. as such, it now works correctly for Shipedit OP and all Ineed to do is build the new installer for it.. it uses my full install of Shipedit ad default now when i get it built.. but I don't think it will reduce the Enhancement size that much.. maybe 5 MB.. anyhow.. here goes nothing....

[Pestalence_XC]

OK.. the Enhancement Package redone with the rebuilt FleetPick is now 159 MB... I'll be uploading that one to SFCx now and then XC later tonight...

File Name :     Packed:      Size:      Ratio:

Uninstaller   28,066   76,500   64%
CoopCustomizerOP.exe   83,779   196,608   58%
InstallA.bat   1,783   6,221   72%
InstallB.bat   1,786   6,227   72%
InstallC.bat   1,668   5,878   72%
InstallD.bat   1,672   5,884   72%
Installs\Bonus.exe   26,927   69,632   62%
Installs\coop-ace-4.0.exe   392,997   407,021   4%
Installs\Fests+_11.exe   293,575   307,353   5%
Installs\FleetPick_2.A.exe   931,706   940,138   1%
Installs\opplus_40_models.exe   64,433,467   64,428,388   0%
Installs\opplus_40_no_models.exe   267,079   281,557   6%
Installs\Scripts.exe   27,657,401   27,748,105   1%
Installs\sector-assault-1.1.exe   1,298,802   1,491,849   13%
Installs\setup-ezini.exe   2,267,616   2,460,353   8%
Installs\SFC-OP_mini-updater-20041106.exe   21,979   36,538   40%
Installs\sfcd2_hr.exe   40,193,653   40,354,561   1%
Installs\SFCOP_Chooser_V65.exe   215,325   224,057   4%
Installs\SFCOP_Patch_2500-2552.exe   19,287,590   19,475,295   1%
Installs\Shipedit.exe   7,587,409   7,680,068   2%
Installs\TaldrenModviewer\ModViewer.exe   224,110   520,275   57%
Installs\TaldrenModviewer\ModViewer.txt   1,945   4,199   54%
Installs\Team_Starfleet_Battles.exe   356,562   363,721   2%
MetaAssets\ServerProfiles\Multiplayer\WONServerSetup.old   408   825   51%
ModChooser.exe   16,964   77,824   79%
OP Enhancement Readme.rtf   190,704   602,081   69%
OP_E_Uninstall.bat   840   2,746   70%
Sector Assault Configuration for OP.lnk   524   1,002   48%

Result :
    Number of files: 28
    Total uncompressed size: 167774906 bytes
    Total compressed size: 165786337 bytes
    Install program size: 166860094 bytes

[FireSoul]

Is there a chance you could supply me with a .ZIP file with the various non-installed components to create the scripts.exe file?

[Pestalence_XC]

Is there a chance you could supply me with a .ZIP file with the various non-installed components to create the scripts.exe file?

OK.. I'm uploading the zip file now for the entire Scripts folder that I use to build the scripts.exe file.. it has all the readme's, the el karnak shiplists, the Metamap files, the scripts, the MCT's and the batch files...

Please when you DL this.. take note of the way the batch files work and try to get NSIS to impliment the install and Uninstall of the batch files.. the Conquest and Storyline Batch files get shortcuts on the desktop stating OP Conquest Mode and OP Storyline Mode respectively... the way the files lay out when you unzip it is exactly where they go and the Metamap files get renamed as per the Scripts_Install.bat file. Also note which mct files get moved in the Install andUninstall.. especially the way the Scripts_Uninstall.bat works to check if it is in storyline mode prior to uninstall....

sorry to be picky, but I wanted to keep this set-up to make the game easier to use and also to fix the Metamap.gf file and the Metamap.war file since the Taldren version caused bugs concerning Monster Political settings.. which is what I fixed in them.. They are not suppose to uninstall in order for the casual player to be able to keep the fixed files even if they decide to uninstall the OP Enhancement pack to promote smoother game play in single player...

anyhow, again I apologize.. i treat this package like you treat OP +.. even though hardly any material in OP Enhancement is my work per say.. just taking the time to make sure that all stock items are preserved and that it installs in the correct manner is what I have invested so far... Anyhow, if you need my Scripts.iip file for Install Creator I can shoot it to you here on the boards.. you may just need to have Install Creator point to the folder you unzipped to... but i don't see what you would need it for.. P.S., the Scripts_Install.bat file deletes after the installer finishes...

Hope that this helps..

This will be a 43 MB file so will take me a bit to get it uploaded.. I have OP Enhancement in progress currently with the Scripts Zip in a different FTP Program uploading to a different site.. the bandwidth I have is causing hings to be very slow, so I'll post back when it is available.

[FireSoul]

I'm assuming that you'll PM me the URL for the .ZIP once it's up. I'm probably not going to download it tonight because of the time. However, I did some prelim work on this:  it looks like a NSIS-based scripts.exe, using the LZMA compression, shrinks down to 9MB.

I've looked around and there's really no need for me to replace the entire package. Its system works well. I mean, I *could* but why bother any further...   .. well.. I do have one advantage: I know how to make my thing check to see if some of the components are already installed, automatically. I can make it skip the installation of those components if they are already present.

Anyways.. one step at a time.  The 2 packages that have attracted my attention are the Scripts.exe and the D2 Mod pack. I'm sure I can do something with those to improve their size. My intention is to up and hand you the installer creation packages with the NSIS files in place. You just need to fetch NSIS from http://nsis.sourceforge.net to create the packages: a right-click, compile.. and it does its thing.



-- Luc

[Pestalence_XC]

I have NSIS on my system already.. I just need a complete script doing what I need it to do as a guide for future builds...

the D2 Models Package does need reworking.. Install Creator has problems compressing BMP files... it takes forever and I know they don't compress to their fullest extent...

anyhow.. Thanks for the help..

[FireSoul]

Installs\sfcd2_hr.exe   40,193,653   40,354,561   1%

A quick test of the compression with the D2 Hires Pack shows me that LZMA can compress it to 37MB. Only marginal savings there.
Between a revamped scripts.exe and D2 Hires pack, that's 18+3 = 21 MB of savings. I don't know if the D2 Hires pack is worth the effort to redo, but the Scripts? Definitely.

[Pestalence_XC]

Agreed on the scripts.. and maybe the Shipedit pack I rebuilt... however it has registry key entries... If you could take the Eagleeye Software folder with Shipedit EAW / OP installed completely (with any un-necessary install files removed but patches in place) and build the installer with the proper registry keys, then that may save some more room.. it took 15 MB out of the Fleet Pick installer.. maybe you can get it down to 4 or 5 MB.... I have the Shipedit EAW and OP Icons as shortcuts on the desktop...

[Godfather]

I have reinstalled OP w/the enhancement package,didnt installl the mod chooseer,installed everything else..when i install the uaw mod,i get a crc error during installation..did i install incorrectly?

[Age]

   I redownloaded it and it was 108.38 mb as opposed to what is posted did you make it smaller?

[Pestalence_XC]

   I redownloaded it and it was 108.38 mb as opposed to what is posted did you make it smaller?

Age the package is not completely uploaded.. I aborted upload for the moment until I can figure out NSIS now that Firesoul sent me some scripts to start with..

[Pestalence_XC]

OK.. after using NSIS on the Scripts package, the OP Enhancement Package v3.0 is now 141 MB.. I am currently uploading it to SFCx and then I'll upload to XC.. It should be available at SFCx tomorrow about 8 AM.. I'll unsticky this post and put a new one up in it's place with the readme, which I also updated to include Mod Removal from Mod Chooser..

Anyhow, just thought I would let everyone know... Please wait for the new thread to get the OP Enhancement v3.0...

Thanks.

[Pestalence_XC]

OK, I just tried to NSIS the entire package and it came out to 141 MB as well...

Soo, i guess i will stick with Install Creator for making the final package and NSIS for the internal components depending on what it is..Install Creator allows me to make the Custom Interface for background image and totally configurable installer face for font and colors with easy to use UI to select colors and fonts and to edit the layout... Plus it allows me to put custom Icons and so forth.. Anyhow, I guess that 141 MB is the smallest this pack will go.. but the good thing is that it has been cut down by 32 MB in size.. from 173 MB to 141 is a pretty good jump....

Thanks Firesoul for your help... the file you did needed a little work, but it never would have been done without you providing me a guide file.. I'll memorize it now.. that is how I learn.. a working item and then edit it until I memorize the language...

Thanks again.