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[Locked] Basic Guide To Making A Custom Installer (Lengthy!)

Aydrian · 2009-11-23T12:29:00-01:00

Hello everyone! I wrote this guide back in May and while the guide doesn't tell you how to make an installer for a Visual Novel everything in here also applies to them. This details exactly what I do to make the custom installers for Visual Novels. I hope this helps some of you understand, and most of all I hope you'll give it a shot. ***************************************** Hello everyone and welcome to my newest guide. I try to make my guides as simple to follow as possible because I notice that a lot of guides explain but don't tell. All of my guides are easy to follow step by step tutorials that tell you exactly what to do. I started making guides when I noticed that most people seem to believe writing a simple, easy to follow guide is beneath them. Sometimes people really do need to be walked through a process and because so many people either hate to explain it or don't want competition the others who do want to learn this stuff are missing out. I'm not that self centered. I hope you enjoy my guide and find it beneficial. Stuff You Need AdminStudio Latest InstallShield 20-30 minutes Things To Know First off, I've moved on from making Portables. It was fun but I always gotta try something new. Making installers takes a little more time setting it up, but it has fewer problems and more benefits. The major benefits are as follows: *You can pre patch and crack the game so anyone who uses your installer won't have to hunt those things down. *You can add any mods or new content to the installer you want, essentially making it better than the old release. *You can add a feature list to allow the user to install certain content that you've added, which makes it a lot easier for the person to decide what they want. *Want to make a multiple CD game fit on a DVD without problems? You can do that. Want to make a DVD sized game fit on multiple CD's without problems? You can do that too. *The compression rate is pretty good. I was able to get nearly 10gb of a game and mods down to around 4gb. I was also able to get Bioshock, a large game, to fit on a dvd5 as well. *These are not rips! The purpose of creating these custom installers is to make things easier. Essentially, you add, not subtract. Polishing Your Installer It gets more complicated from here but once you get used to it the entire thing only takes about ten minutes. This part of the guide will be punctuated by blue text containing information you might need to know. Please read them also to avoid confusion. *Ok everyone, lets get to the last parts of creating your own installer. Once the screen comes up you need to click on "Files and Folders" in the left panel. In the right panel you should see a blue folder called "INSTALLDIR". If it has a name like, for example "Far Cry 2" then it already has your install directory mapped out. You need to click on that blue folder and move it all the way to the top and drop it on "Destination Computer". This will delete the rest of the folders that were leading to the directory. For example, if the directory was C:\Program Files\Far Cry 2[INSTALLDIR] then once you move it it will just be Far Cry 2[INSTALLDIR] Here's some useful information. If you want it to install to a folder with the name of your choosing like: C:\Program Files\I PWN J00\Far Cry 2 then merely press your "Insert" key, name the folder, then move the blue folder into your new folder. Now that folder name will appear every time the game is installed. *Next, scroll down the left panel and click on "Registry". This part is pretty simple. Find the registry settings in the right panel that have to do with your game. You probably found them before when you were cleaning up your registry. Once you find that folder some registry entries should appear to the right of the right panel. This part is VERY IMPORTANT! This could break your installer if you don't do it right. If you see any registry entries to the right that point to the directory you originally installed the game then double click on them and replace the line with "[INSTALLDIR]" without the quotes. Replace them all that way. Now the installer will automatically correct those entries depending on where the user installs the game or application. Here's some more useful information. If it ever points at an exe then merely put [INSTALLDIR]\name.exe. Same thing if it ever points to a specific folder inside of the directory. *At the top of the page click on the "Project Assistant" tab. At the bottom of the new page click on "Application Information" and enter in all the info required. If you don't have your own website then enter in a fake one. *Next click on "Installation Requirements" This page is pretty obvious. You can make sure that the game or application can only be installed on certain operating systems and give it program requirements. This isn't necessary for you to make a basic installer but you might find it useful. *Next click on "Application Shortcuts". If there are shortcuts already listed then delete them. Click on "New" and click until you reach the game's directory and select the game's executable. If you're not sure what the executable is, then right click on the shortcut on your desktop, then click on properties and it will tell you the name of the executable. Once that's selected you should rename it. Next click on "Create an uninstallation shortcut" then click on the uninstall shortcut, make sure only "Create shortcut in Start Menu" is selected then click on your executable and make sure both there is an option selected both for the start menu and the desktop. *Next click on "Installation Interview" and select Yes for "Do you want users to be able to modify the install location of your application?" *We are almost done! Hang in there! *Click on the "Installation Designer" tab at the top of the page then in the left panel select "Shortcuts". This one is pretty easy to comprehend. This part will allow you to make a folder in the Start Menu where you can place all of your shortcuts. So if you want the "I PWN J00" folder to appear in the start menu, then you merely right click, make and name your new folder, then drop the shortcuts into it. This little tidbit is useful. If you want to make a Start Menu folder where all of your future games or applications will be placed, then merely make two folders. One for the executable with the game's name, and one for the name you want to use and put the executable folder into the folder of the name you want to use. I do this with the name "1M Edition" all the time. It makes it a lot easier to keep things organized. *Here we go. This is the last part and thankfully simple. At the very top of the page slect "Build" and then "Release Wizard". From there, keep clicking next until you reach "Media Type". From here you can select what it's going to fit on. If you want it to fit on multiple CD's then you can do that. It really depends on the size of your game or app and how many cd's or dvd's you want it to fit on. *After that click "Next" click "Automatic" and then "Next" again. Now this part is completely up to you, but I HIGHLY suggest you "Compress all files". A lot of games can be compressed quite well and it will increase your number of downloads if you choose to upload this. But it can also take longer. Choose which one fits you best and move on. *Click on "Create installation launcher" and move on. Skip the next screen. Here, you can password your setup. What happens is that when someone mounts your installer then it will ask for a password. This is a pretty effective way of putting your name in the installer if you want to. It tends to annoy people though. *On the next screen you can include the .net framework but I don't usually suggest it unless it's really needed. *On the next screen check "Optimize size" and "Generate Autorun.inf" and click "Next". *This is the final screen! Congratulations! Look through the text and make sure everything is how you want it and make sure "Build the Release" is checked then click "Finish".

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Acia

15 years ago

First off + rep for this great guide. :)

Ok, now to the point. ;) After few hours (I made many stupid mistakes:P) I finally managed to make my own installer of Utawarerumono and I came here to thank you for this guide and ask few questions.

The problem is Adminstudio: are you using legal or cracked. If cracked could you tell me from where you downloaded it? I couldn't find the cracked version at the net and I using trial version atm.

The secound problem is: After installing game from my installer, at deskop appears its shortcut , but when I click on it game don't start and I get the message that the program cant find the UTSOUND.SFS file - which is responsible for chara voices(but the file is in directory) The strange thing is that when I click on the executable of that shortcut game starts without problem. Where is the problem?

Thanks in advance. :)

Aydrian

15 years ago

Acia wrote...

First off + rep for this great guide. :)

Ok, now to the point. ;) After few hours (I made stupid many mistakes:P) I finally managed to make my own installer of Utawarerumono and I came here to thank you for this guide and ask few questions.

The problem is Adminstudio: are you using legal or cracked. If cracked could you tell me from where you downloaded it? I couldn't find the cracked version at the net and I using trial version atm.

The secound problem is: After installing game from my installer, at deskop appears its shortcut , but when I click on it game don't start and I get the message that the program cant find the UTSOUND.SFS file - which is responsible for chara voices(but the file is in directory) The strange thing is that when I click on the executable of that shortcut game starts without problem. Where is the problem?

Thanks in advance. :)

I'm not exactly sure what the problem is. Are you sure you created band new shortcuts when building the installer? During the grabbing process, it'll often pick up the old shortcuts and include them in the installer. You need to delete the old shortcuts and give them new ones.

And I use an illegal version of Adminstudio. I can tell you where but I doubt this website takes kindly to its members being directed elsewhere, so I'll send you a PM.

Acia

15 years ago

Aydrian wrote...

I think the way I created the shortcuts was wrong, because I couldn't find "New" button mentioned by you. The way i created them was:

Spoiler:

Aydrian wrote...

And I use an illegal version of Adminstudio. I can tell you where but I doubt this website takes kindly to its members being directed elsewhere, so I'll send you a PM.

Thanks :)

Aydrian

15 years ago

Shit, I'm sorry I forgot all about this. XD I've been hella busy.

Anyway, the NEW button should be there:
Forum Image: http://i46.tinypic.com/mc7tza.png

Acia

15 years ago

Aydrian wrote...

Shit, I'm sorry I forgot all about this. XD I've been hella busy.

No problem. ;)

Aydrian wrote...

Anyway, the NEW button should be there:

Spoiler:

Thanks, found it and now is working fine. :D

darykk168

15 years ago

Anyone know how I can get an adminstudio full version I only have the trial and its 21 days only =(

MakerOfEden

15 years ago

I'd like to know too if theres a adminstudio that not a free trial or has a crack :D

Freezing

15 years ago

Woah I think I'm interested in this one too. Can you send me a pm to where you downloaded it as well? Thanks :D

Miroku74

15 years ago

yeah321 wrote...

Aydrian-sensei teaching his skills!
Reads...my computer knowledge failed, too complicated @@...

I haven't tried using this guide yet, but my advice would be one step at a time: if you have trouble, try figuring out what you did wrong in the current step and you'll eventually get it right. :)

.... but Day-amn! Those programs cost a bundle! $2,500 just for AdminStudio Standard alone? I may need to stick to ripping my game discs and 7zipping it all...

ubergeneral

14 years ago

where would I go to get admin studio and the latest install shield?

amorim

14 years ago

Anti-bug post

Shinjisama

14 years ago

and I thought this thread was gone.

ubergeneral wrote...

where would I go to get admin studio and the latest install shield?

they're not free software.
so either you find one with a cracked version or you buy it.

ren vateru

14 years ago

only one word I should say to you, you're the SUPER GENIUS!!!!
I never though there something like this...

by the way there something I want ask (maybe it kind lame though)
do I still need change regional and language option to play clannad(costum installer), and Sengoku Rance(Custom Installer)?

amorim

14 years ago

ren vateru wrote...

by the way there something I want ask (maybe it kind lame though)
do I still need change regional and language option to play clannad(costum installer), and Sengoku Rance(Custom Installer)?

Yes. The custom installers don't change the game locale so if you don't want to take the risk of having problems it's better to change your system locale to japanese.

ren vateru

14 years ago

Thanks amorim

+rep

Cypher-kun

13 years ago

interesting i have tried to used thinapp in virtual machines to make portables but they just didn't work i think making a installer is more convinient tough..thanks for the post i will try it..

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