Installer?

[Pidgeot]

Hello! Even though I've only recently found out about Lemma Soft (Thanks to Underdogs), I can without a doubt say "Keep up the good work."

There's only one thing I'm curious about - seeing as how these Windows programs, why not use a free install system for Windows, such as NSIS? Using that, you can compress Shoujo Attack all the way down to 6.72MB (LZMA compression). And no, that's not a typo - 6.72, not 16.72. Not to mention that you could easily create shortcuts, uninstaller, etc., only adding a few KB to the final installer size. ToL1 goes down to 3.10MB.

I believe you were asking for a way to compress Shoujo Attack more, so I would think this is pretty much the perfect option. If needed, I'd be more than happy to create the installer scripts - 2-3KB in size.

[Blue Lemma]

Thanks for the compliment I had considered using installers before, but decided not to because they make the games get more tangled up in windows (possible registry gunk, etc.) But you bring up a good point - I never really thought about the compression benefits. So I think I'll start doing the installer thing in the future Thanks for pointing this out!

Does anyone here know about Inno Setup? I heard that one's really good and has won numerous awards. NSIS isn't as familiar to me.

[Pidgeot]

I've heard about it, but I haven't got much experience with it. They don't seem too different - though NSIS appears to give MUCH more value compared to the installer overhead. (Shoujo Attack was 0.2MB bigger when compiled with Inno Setup, and both NSIS and Inno Setup are pretty much capable of doing the same things)

[BlackSpider]

I used InnoSetup for the TownHeat demo. I don't even touch the Windows registry though. I only copy all installation files to the Town Heat sub-directory located in the Program Files directory and add shortcuts to the start menu. It's really easy to use. It took me just a few minutes to understansd how this works. I can send you the TownHeat InnoSetup script (just a few KB) as an example or even write scripts for Tol1 and Shoujo Attack if you want . BTW InnoSetup uses LZMA compression too.

[Pidgeot]

Installer Comparison, LZMA:
Shoujo Attack Installer made with NSIS ("Classic" UI), including uninstaller, shortcuts, and entry in Add/Remove Programs - 6.73MB
Same as above, but with Modern UI and option to launch game once install is complete (essentially the same as Inno Setup) - 6.76MB
Same as above, but made with Inno Setup and the accompanying scripting wizard - 6.96MB

NSIS could also be used for downloading add-ons, etc. - for example, you could make sound and music optional for ToL2, and allow the user to download and install those at the same time as the game (using seperate, silent installers). The download plugin is included in the base installer overhead (<40KB), so only the command to download takes extra space.

Anyway, just my two cents as to why NSIS is better than Inno Setup.

[Jerails]

...Darn, and I was thiiiis close *almost pinches index and thumb together* to asking if this was a sales pitch.

Anyway, yeah, I think using these installer thingamawhatchamacallems (Take note of my computer illiteracy...) is a very good idea, especially for people who have anything below cable or DSL.

[LiX]

Yes I use NSIS too with HM NIS Edit, its good.

[tsg1zzn]

Use WinRar. Shoujo Attack compressed by WinRar with best compression, create solid archive and multimedia compression: 8,30 mb. And 7-zip compresses even better, but it's quite non-standard.

[Ezzetabi]

I made some tests.

Rar, best, solid, sfx: 7.24 Mb
7Zip, ultra, solid, sfx: 6.85 Mb
Zip (via 7-zip), deflate: 17,8 Mb


About installers I think they are evil. No installers is much better than installers.
Installers even for the smallest application will alter the registry, mess up your Start Menu, ect... Avoid them!

[Pidgeot]

All registry and Start Menu modifications are optional in NSIS, even if you include an uninstaller. The only thing NSIS installers automatically do is read various system variables to detect your Program Files folder, your System directory, etc.

At its simplest, NSIS is nothing more than a SFX engine. All shortcuts, uninstallers and registry writes need to be specified explicitly - unlike Inno Setup, which will force your uninstaller into the Add/Remove programs menu.