Alice Launcher
 

I wanted to create something that would be ready for Christmas, so I came up with this:

[IMG]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/67774614/Alice%20Launcher.png[/IMG]

Basically this replaces the Alice exe. It still launches Alice, it took a while to work out the setup for doing so, but it also has configurable options, shortcuts and mods.

The "Memory to allocate" option should hopefully fix some lag issues.

[URL="http://alice.org/community/showthread.php?p=52378#post52378"]Get mods for Alice (that use this) from here[/URL]

[SIZE=4][URL="http://alice.org/community/showthread.php?p=52035#post52035"]Download it here[/URL][/SIZE]

---------------------------------------
[B]CHANGELOG[/B]
Haven't really been recording updates, but I will from now on.

[U]Minor idea of what was changed before I made this official changelog:[/U]
- pre v0.8: can't remember, didn't really record changes
- v0.8: [URL="http://alice.org/community/showthread.php?p=52084#post52084"]link
[/URL]- v0.9: under the hood changes

[U]v0.10 (3.0.0)[/U]
- many under the hood changes and fixes
- added support for [URL="http://alice.org/community/showthread.php?p=52378#post52378"]mods[/URL]
- fixed some memory leak issues
- added an option to alocate "Default" amount of memory to Alice
- fixed a major bug in preferences
- fixed some bugs that occur when Alice crashes

[U]v0.11 (4.0.0)[/U]
- rewritten the way mods are loaded and handled due to a major bug
- fixed a mod loading issue that would cause crashes

[U]v0.12 (4.0.1) [current version][/U]
- minor under the hood changes

There's an ArtyOnline icon.
Does that say anything about the ArtyOnline release-date (No pressure)?

[QUOTE=GameKid;52024]There's an ArtyOnline icon.
Does that say anything about the ArtyOnline release-date (No pressure)?[/QUOTE]Not really, sorry.

Here it is
 

I said I would post ths and a promise is a promise so here it is.

[B]Sorry, this is Windows only so far.[/B]

[U][B]Installing[/B][/U]
Run (or download to a temporary place and run) [URL="https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4gjjsmodcbo4cr/Alice%20Launcher%20Installer.exe?dl=0"]this installer[/URL].

Choose the folder that you installed Alice to (with the Alice exe and "Required" sub-folder) and click download.

[LIST][*] [SIZE=3][B]Main download[/B]: [URL="https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4gjjsmodcbo4cr/Alice%20Launcher%20Installer.exe?dl=0"][SIZE=3]Windows .exe[/SIZE][/URL] [SIZE=2][I](requires JRE 1.6)[/I][/SIZE][/SIZE][*] [SIZE=2]Alternative download: [URL="https://www.dropbox.com/s/cc1mf1mbrwy7lzw/Alice%20Launcher%20Installer.jar?dl=0"][SIZE=2]Java executable .jar[/SIZE][/URL] [I](requires JRE 1.6+)[/I][/SIZE][/LIST]

[U][B]Starting[/B][/U]

There should now be a shortcut labelled "Alice Launcher" in the folder you chose, this will start Alice launcher.
You can pin this to the taskbar or whatever.


[U][B]What doesn't work yet[/B][/U]
[LIST][*]Changing the JRE to one that doesn't have JOGL installed.[*]Allocating 2GB of RAM or higher.[*]ArtyOnline.[/LIST]
[U][B]What didn't work before, but does after updates[/B][/U]
[LIST][*]Splash screen editing on Alice 2.3 and above.[*]Mods.[/LIST]

I recommend enabling "Automatically launch Alice" option.


Updates are on their way, including fixing what doesn't work yet, [SIZE=1]making a better installer[/SIZE] (done) and adding support for Mac and Linux (dubious as to whether this will ever be implemented).

I forgot to mention why you should install this (ie. what it does).
[LIST][*][B]It has all the functions of the standard exe, so you've got nothing to lose.[/B][*]If Alice crashes then your preferences file isn't reset (like it is with the standard exe), but you can choose to reset it if you believe that is the source of the problem.[*]It better handles multiple instances of Alice; they all share preferences, instead of just one instance.[*]You can safely modify the startup splash (coming soon in Alice 2.3+), default world and preferences file.[*]You can allocate more RAM to Alice, to solve lag issues.[*]It logs process output, so can be used to solve startup errors.[*]You can select a world to open before Alice launches, therefore saving on precious fumbling around time.[*]"Auto launch Alice" can be enabled, so you can forget the Alice Launcher is even there.[*]It has a button for launching the ArtyOnline server app.[*]It has a built in auto-updater.[/LIST]And many more cool features coming soon, including - but not limited to:
[LIST][*]Running Alice as a 64 bit process[*]Mods, addons, styles and themes[*]Using the server browser to launch Alice straight into ArtyOnline games.[*]More...[/LIST]

Very cool. Do you need any testing done?

[QUOTE=x2495iiii;52037]Very cool. Do you need any testing done?[/QUOTE]Basically, just any amount of using it will be a great help, thanks. My number one concern right now is does it work for everybody?

It's a rare file, so many of my security features assume it's a virus. Fortunately, the termination isn't automatic, so it can be authorized.

It appears to work well. It ran a bit slow at first and Windows thought it didn't install properly, but I think that was due to the interference of my security, no fault of your own.

Got through the browse and download sections just fine.

The launch button works for me.

I did get a red queen when launching Alice for the third time in a row. It appeared to be one of those errors you can simply cancel and continue working, as it didn't stop Alice from launching or make the program unresponsive.

Anything else I should test? Maybe I could have a copy of the latest mods to see if those work?

[QUOTE=x2495iiii;52047]It's a rare file, so many of my security features assume it's a virus. Fortunately, the termination isn't automatic, so it can be authorized.
[B]It shouldn't be :confused:, the installer is a Windows exe that does no extracting at all. It downloads the files (a jar and an icon), puts them in the right place and creates a shorcut.[/B]

It appears to work well. It ran a bit slow at first and Windows thought it didn't install properly, but I think that was due to the interference of my security, no fault of your own.
[B]I got that "didn't install properly" thing too. I just ignored it, I'm not too sure how to fix it. I'm also not too sure why it automatically decided it needed admin privelages, it shouldn't need them.[/B]

Got through the browse and download sections just fine.

The launch button works for me.

I did get a red queen when launching Alice for the third time in a row. It appeared to be one of those errors you can simply cancel and continue working, as it didn't stop Alice from launching or make the program unresponsive.
[B]If it happens again, could you possibly send me the exact error text (from the details bit). It looks like a load of rubbish, but its actually quite useful.[/B]

Anything else I should test? Maybe I could have a copy of the latest mods to see if those work?
[B]The mod system isn't working yet, but if you could try the "Open World" tab and try messing about with the "Memory to allocate" setting with a world that maybe lags a lot, then that would be awesome and I would thak you greatly.[/B][/QUOTE]
Thankyou for helping :). Responses in bold.

Sweet :D