Help page for new/returning players on how to install

(vvskye) #1

Hey,

I’m a long time player of ET since around 05 or 06. What with all the PB and serverlist problems recently etc, I’ve been getting worried that new players will not be able to play ET and also existing or returning players will be put off by all the hassle it has become to install ET and actually just get on a server and get playing. My main worry is eventually the player base will diminish, especially since as a new player whos found out about ET via google or whatever and has just downloaded a vanilla 2.55 install file, they will be very put off by an empty server list and PB error messages even if the serverlist is eventually fixed xD. I really think this is one of the best games out there and I’m probably not the only one, I think it’d be pretty sad if the player base started to shrink. I’ve written a help page for new and returning players on how to install ET pain free and what to do about servers, if you know any friends or whoever who you want to introduce to ET, you can direct them there, since atm there doesn’t seem to be a focussed page on the web for how to get ET up and running in 2012. Also I definitely think server hosts and everybody should try and make a collaborative effort to get everyone onto 2.60b. :cool:

The webpage is https://sites.google.com/site/wolfetcb/getting-started. I you have any suggestions post in this thread and Ill check back here every so often. I’m aiming to make the ultimate newbie-friendly site so new people will continue to download and play ET for the foreseeable future without being mystified by problems like the current ones :stuck_out_tongue:

happy fragging!! :slight_smile:

(rorgoroth) #2

Your Linux section could really do with some work.
I do have an ET 2.60b standalone I re-packaged with SDL fix for people not using OSS4, updated PB, readme with instructions for PB, etkey + link, various info, useful script and settings, etc etc.

I’m not entirely sure of it’s legality to post it here, or your site though (if you wanted it there).
If you feel brave though let me know, I’ll update it with the master server fix and it’s site then I’ll throw it up on multiupload or something rather then have it drain from my dropbox at slow as **** speeds.

Also you should split the page up like:
Installation - Windows - Linux - Mac
Then move on to finding servers, etc etc. Only the installs are different, the rest is the same for all so it should be in a logical order.

(vvskye) #3

Thanks for the feedback, I’ve reordered the page and streamlined it a bit, its definitely still a work in progress. I don’t use linux anymore :penguin:, but if I remember there was some sort of sound problem that was a bitch to sort out when I installed it on my ubuntu, is that what you mean by your OSS4 fix? Hopefully I’m not breaking any legality/copyright stuff since I’m not actually hosting any files or images on my google account, just linking to them (though what with megavideo maybe that isn’t even allowed anymore…), if I could put link to your installer on the page that would be great :).

I’m also going to research how to install it on a macintosh (which I’ve never used) but time is a bit tight at the moment with work and stuff so I might only be able to work on the website every few days, so if anyone has any experience on how to get ET running with all the current problems on a mac please share your secrets!! My main motivation for this page is so that in future it will be as painless as possible for anyone to get the game up and running, whether new or experienced, as all the relevant info/files can be found from one page.

(rorgoroth) #4

No problem, it’s looking good!

Yes indeed, the game itself is OSS/OSS4 compatible (I use OSS4 myself) but playing with ALSA which is kernel default, or pulseaudio (by choice or through KDE4/Gnome3) you have issues and it can be messy to get it working and results are very varied - So I include nullkey’s et-sdl script which isn’t a perfect solution but it works 100%.

You shouldn’t be breaking any law, I’m not sure about my re-package of it since it includes the pk3 files, but then again I can’t see much problem with it being a decade old and dead on install with official installer, most people would extract + noexec the run file anyway - I just save them that step :wink:

You can use my db link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/45656686/WET_Linux86_SDL_2-60b_05-02-2012.7z
MD5:9da41b95cc20ad7dca56ccb23d88ff02
Feel free to upload it somewhere else if you like, I only have 40kb/s upload and it took me ~3 hours to get it up in my db earlier.
It’s not so much an installer but it’s all described simple and helped a few people able to play game.

I don’t have any experience installing on mac either unfortunately, someone here using one hopefully will see this though and be able to share their wisdom!

Edit: My package should be fine, I have a copy of the EULA in there and I had a read through properly and found in section 4:
“I copy the Software and distribute such copies as standalone copies on physical media or in electronic format of the Software free of charge for non-commercial purposes and not in connection with any other material. [/I]”

(vvskye) #5

Cool, I am downloading it now. Are there bandwidth restrictions on your dropbox so I should not directly link to it? How about a torrent perhaps (I could seed I think if my internet doesn’t block it)? I will write it up on the site later :slight_smile:

(rorgoroth) #6

I don’t believe there is any restrictions on dropbox unless a file is being downloaded by thousands of people per day, the only problem is dropbox downloads are fairly slow - ultimately it needs to be mirror’d by people with the resources available or uploaded to some ‘file sharing’ websites that don’t add limits to non-paying users (I think mediafire or multiupload are the best bets atm).

(vvskye) #7

Sorry for the long time in between when I said I would update the page and now! I have finally updated the page and put your dropbox link there, Psykorgasm, hopefully this will be only temporary as I will look to mirror the file. Also I have posted some of your helpfile directly onto the page, tell me if you are not OK with this and I will remove it immediately. Is it still necessary to run ./pbsetup.run to attempt to update PB as detailed in the helpfile or are these steps redundant so people just need to copy and paste over the pb2 folder?

I will be able to do much more work in late March as I am a bit busy at the moment, but I will keep checking back to this thread for suggestions and noting them.

(rorgoroth) #8

Hey no problem, sure you can put any/all contents of the helpfile up if you like, as for pbsetup… I have a bad habit about leaving things behind.

What I shall do is edit the helpfile and strip some of my old notes, I also made a new backup with etpro, etpub, etc on so I shall include those, the other major mods not so, nq is at beta 6, silent… I have no idea when they plan the next update or if work is going on, same for jaymod but no point having to update the whole archive every time something gets an update.
I shall get one with that later and upload it tonight, I’ll drop you off a new link in the morning!

Also new theme on the site, I like it!

Also Also! If anyone reads this and can create a new/update for http://etui.kashu.fr/ that would be very helpful I think!

(rorgoroth) #9

Okay, here is the new version:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/45656686/WET_Linux86_SDL_2-60b_27-02-2012.7z
MD5: 8ff200a68af1d7b1a9e9880021024b43

It’s down to just 3 steps now and some other very little details here and there.