DSLauncher - Printable Version

DSLauncher - Printable Version

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+-- Forum: The Community (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: Media Center (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=18)
+--- Thread: DSLauncher (/showthread.php?tid=43139)

Pages: 1 2 3

DSLauncher - Discovery UK - 07-03-2010

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DSLauncher
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Download
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[color=#FF9900]Download Link

Release: 0.2.5.2
Type: Beta
Status: Critical
Build: 27

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Info/Contact
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Please note that while this product has been tested and appears to be stable, it is still in the testing phase, and you may find bugs or other errors in the program. If you do experience any bugs, please report them so that we can fix them and release an update. I would ask that support questions should either be posted in this thread, or directed to me via PM or Skype (discovery-uk). I will try and check this thread as often as I can, but if you have a problem that is fairly urgent, get in touch with me on Skype and I should be around to help you resolve it.

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About/Info
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The DSLauncher is designed to run in the system tray, using about 12-15mb of RAM. It can launch Freelancer, FAM and FLMM, by simply selecting them. You can edit your Freelancer command-line options with ease, by ticking options such as "Log Chat" and "Log Time", without the hassle of remembering parameters. It provides links to the server forums, and the Wiki etc. Additional servers can also be added to the in-game browser by simply entering their details (IP/host and port) on the settings page.

DSLauncher also provides uptime monitoring for servers, and can even detect and pause updates and monitoring if your internet connection is lost (these services will be re-enabled once DSLauncher has determined your connection is active again). Current player count can be found using "Server Monitoring > Status". You can choose which servers to monitor and many more options on the settings page. The servers you select here will be the ones used for both uptime and player count monitoring services.

Many thanks go to Cannon and Kazinsal for their work with the FLKeyGen, some of which has been used (with permission) to generate accounts.

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Installation
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[Image: th_020710-1227-dsl-netfx-dl.png]

[Image: th_020710-1227-dsl-netfx-inst.png]

[Image: th_020710-2218-dsl-complete.png]

The new installation program now features the ability to check for and download the .NET 3.5 SP1 update, during the DSLauncher installation process. This is better for everyone, as there is no longer an additional 2.82mb in the installer due to .NET's bootstrapper.

If your computer doesn't have this version (or higher) of the .NET Framework installed, setup will automatically download and install it after prompting you about what's going on. The .NET installer is downloaded, and executed, requiring no user intervention until the DSLauncher installation is complete. Once the installation is complete, you can simply start DSLauncher from the desktop or the start menu. A restart is only required if setup had to install the .NET Framework on your computer.

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Update System
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[Image: th_020710-1218-dsl-update-dialog.png]

[Image: th_020710-1218-dsl-update-postponed.png]

[Image: th_020710-1213-dsl-close-update.png]

[Image: th_020710-1215-dsl-update-downloading.png]

[Image: th_020710-1214-dsl-checksum.png]

[Image: th_020710-1216-dsl-clean-update.png]

DSLauncher now has a native auto-update facility, based upon the original derived in the DSSN releases (although thank god we've moved away from the command-line interface now).

When DSLauncher detects a new update, if you do not have auto-updates enabled (check the settings page), you will see the prompt to update or wait until later. If you postpone an update, you will see the message about only being able to postpone a limited number of times. This is still in place as this program is, although stable, still in the testing phases.

During an automatic update (which include security/stability updates), you will see the update notification. This will be followed by DSLauncher launching the DSL Updater, which will download the update files, check the integrity of the downloaded package, and then update your installation. The final notification will be seen once DSLauncher has been restarted by the updater (this is automatic once the update is complete). The program will clean up after itself, and will also clean up any previous installations of DSSN, some of which left minor registry bugs (these are corrected by DSLauncher).

It is likely that there will be a couple of updates per week while DSLauncher remains in the testing phase. At the moment, updates are roughly 250kb in size, and require no or very minimal user interaction if the auto-update setting is left enabled.

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Changelog
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03/07/10 @ 01:40 AM: First release of DSLauncher, with 0.2.5.2 Beta.

DSLauncher - Discovery UK - 07-03-2010

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Menus and Folders
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[Image: th_020710-1151-dsl-monitoring.png]

[Image: th_020710-1153-dsl-communities.png]

DSLauncher operates from a notification icon in the Windows system tray (by the clock). Right clicking this notification icon will bring up a menu. From this menu, every aspect of DSLauncher is accessible. It is used to configure settings, launch programs, generate accounts, visit communities and locate your FL, FAM and FLMM installation folders. The vast majority of the options available in this menu are self-explanatory, so I won't go into a great deal of detail.

Remember that double-clicking the tray icon at any time will launch Freelancer with the current settings.

Server Monitor > Status is the option to use if you would like to view the current status of the servers you are monitoring. Downtime notifications will be shown without you having to check manually.

The Options/Help item contains everything you will use to setup, configure and keep DSLauncher up-to-date. You may manually choose to update at any time, for example, if you see a forum post regarding a new version that fixes a bug you're having.

The "Rescan Folders" option causes DSLauncher to check where you have installed items like FL, FAM and FLMM. If you have more than one installation of Freelancer, or DSLauncher does not detect your Freelancer installation properly, then you must use the "Custom FL Folder" option to tell DSLauncher where it is installed. Folders will be automatically rescanned everytime DSLauncher is reinstalled or updated, to make sure that you are kept up-to-date. You can manually update your installation folders at any time by using the "Rescan Folders" option.

For information on the Settings page, please see the Settings section, as the options available here are rather extensive. Similarly, the "About" page just contains some basic information about DSLauncher - an example screenshot can be found in the first post in this thread.

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Monitoring, Communities and Apps
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[Image: th_020710-1201-dsl-fam-strt.png]

The monitoring of servers can be started and stopped at any time using the Server Monitoring > Stop item. Once monitoring is stopped, this option will read "Start" instead, so as to save space. This will stop both downtime and player count monitoring from working.

When communities/forums or the wiki option is launched, you will see a message similar to the one above. It will open using your default browser, in a new tab (if supported by the browser). If no default browser is found, it will resort to using Internet Explorer.

When an application such as FAM or FLMM is started, a message similar to the one above will be seen. This is strictly informative, and although the application may not appear immediately, it means that it is being started by DSLauncher.

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Settings
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[Image: th_020710-1158-dsl-settings.png]

DSLauncher's Settings page is probably the most complicated part of the entire utility. Choosing your Freelancer options is as simple as checking off those you want to use, and unchecking those you don't want to use. In future, DSLauncher will include the ability to update your desktop shortcut for Freelancer automatically whenever you save changes to it in DSLauncher.

The FLServer Options section is a very simple one - simply pick the port you wish to start FLServer on before running it from the main menu (Freelancer > Launch FLServer). Similarly, the Update Options and Startup Options sections should be mostly self-explanatory. They define whether DSLauncher updates automatically, or prompts you to read a quick changelog, and then choose to update or postpone, and whether you want to automatically start DSLauncher when Windows starts.

The Monitor Servers section is currently fairly limited due to the utility being in testing stage, but once a proper release is made, hopefully there will be an option to allow for monitoring of custom servers. But for the time being, simply check which of the servers in the selection you wish to monitor. I intend to add a few more Discovery servers in the next release, but for this release, I've stuck with the same options that the old DSSN client presented with.

The Additional Servers section is probably the most difficult to master. It provides a simpler way of adding servers to your Freelancer shortcut, without messing around editing files. To add a server, you simply enter the IP or hostname in the relevant box, and then pick the port number that FLServer is running on - for example, discogc.game-host.org on port 2303 would add the Event Server to your in-game browser. Ensure you click "Add Server" when done, as the "Save" button will not save the additional server options. To remove a server, expand the drop-down list in that section, and then choose the server you wish to remove, and finally click the "Remove Server" button.

DSLauncher - Nathan - 07-03-2010

During the Beta test it was like so easy to open FL now AND! Change the options of No Hud Etc now since manually doing it was a pain in the ass.

Overall great Job Josh. Enjoyed the test.

DSLauncher - Akura - 07-03-2010

This is really useful...

And uses an unnoticable amount of memory running in the background.

Awesome work.

DSLauncher - Death.RunningVerminator - 07-03-2010

Awesome.

Just one minor thing..

It said it was updating, then about 5 minutes later it said update failed... Is this me, or the program?

DSLauncher - Discovery UK - 07-03-2010

' Wrote:Awesome.

Just one minor thing..

It said it was updating, then about 5 minutes later it said update failed... Is this me, or the program?

I'm not quite sure why it would've been updating already - I haven't released any new versions since the 0.2.5.2 beta that is linked above.

If you happen to notice it again, please take a screenshot or type out the message so I can see what's going on.

Thanks.

DSLauncher - hribek - 07-03-2010

Why is it using over ten megabytes of RAM?

DSLauncher - NixOlympica - 07-03-2010

24,5 MB here

DSLauncher - Akura - 07-03-2010

Mine is less that a MB.

Dunno what's up with yours :/

DSLauncher - Alex. - 07-03-2010

Using 25.232MB of RAM here. Which is odd, maybe it's something to do with the older betas I had installed previously?

It was turned on earlier while my internet was down...