Run Oolite from USB stick?

[Kaks]

As long as you've got the right libraries on your system (something autopackage should take care of already), Oolite is fully 'stickable' in linux too: copy the entire directory tree anywhere, and it'll work!

[Sydney2K]

Just perhaps seems less "polished" for a distribution method for what is a quality game.

Thargoid, you will find a lot of quality freeware will have two types of downloads for their software, one a Windows installer for easy installation, and a zipped file for people who want more control over the installation. A few have portable installation built into their installer and some need you to install the program first to get access to the portable installer.

My thought is that the former option is the best one. We all know Oolite is a quality freeware game, in which case the idea of quality for most newbies won't be the game but the website where the game is downloaded from. The Oolite home site looks pretty spiffy to me.

[Marte]

+1 for the additional zipped distribution of Oolite. Under Windows, if I can, I always select an archived version over the installer one (and if the installer is the only choice, I usually quit... ). I simply hate installers and, for this reason, in this specific case I've downloaded only the Mac version of the game.

Well, may be my approach is a little pathologic... But +1 for the zip file.

[another_commander]

Running the Windows installer is not the only way to install Oolite, you know. Here is what you can do as an alternative if you hate installers:

1. Download the Windows installer of the game (don't quit reading yet, here comes the good part).
2. Download 7-zip, WinZip or any other (de)compression utility that supports LZMA compression.
3. Open the installer with said utility (I just right-click on it and select 7zip -> Open Archive)
4. Once the archive opens, navigate to $_OUTDIR. You will see a folder named oolite.app under it.
5. Select this folder and drag it to any location on your hard disk.
6. Navigate to that folder and run oolite.exe. Job done.

For anyone interested, all the installer does is just copy the game files to the location specified by the user and then write three registy entries, namely the location of the installation, the name of the package and the command for uninstalling, all of which are used by the uninstaller. It finally writes the shortcuts in the start menu and that's about it. It is barely intrusive, but I can certainly understand those who perfer having full control of what gets installed (I'm one of those people, too).

Hope this helps.

[Marte]

Running the Windows installer is not the only way to install Oolite, you know. Here is what you can do as an alternative if you hate installers:

1. Download the Windows installer of the game (don't quit reading yet, here comes the good part).
2. Download 7-zip, WinZip or any other (de)compression utility that supports LZMA compression.
3. Open the installer with said utility (I just right-click on it and select 7zip -> Open Archive)
4. Once the archive opens, navigate to $_OUTDIR. You will see a folder named oolite.app under it.
5. Select this folder and drag it to any location on your hard disk.
6. Navigate to that folder and run oolite.exe. Job done.

For anyone interested, all the installer does is just copy the game files to the location specified by the user and then write three registy entries, namely the location of the installation, the name of the package and the command for uninstalling, all of which are used by the uninstaller. It finally writes the shortcuts in the start menu and that's about it. It is barely intrusive, but I can certainly understand those who perfer having full control of what gets installed (I'm one of those people, too).

Hope this helps.

So, today is the day!

I usually use WinRar and sometime I've spotted that an installer is in fact an archive handled by this program... But it don't handle Oolite. By the way, 7-Zip is able to do the trick! (And, you know, I've double clicked his .MSI installer to understand this new reality; a long pace for an "installerphobic"... ).

Nice shot! You make my day!!!

EDIT: So, this way Marte is flying also on PC side... Only to find out that on my PC I have little issues with the italian keyboard layout. In fact, The game act as I have an english keyboard even if it is full italian... So, I need to think in "positional way" and don't read the keys. For example with italian key "\" (just below "ESC") I read "Comms Log". With "<" (near left shift), i cycle compass targets. "ò" and "ç" (near "L") are for manipulating MFDs...

WISINWIG!

Luckily this isn't a real problem at all. It's only a question of memory. ...And it is probably also caused by skipping installer, may be!

EDIT1: ...And, for a side note, is better to add also this observation: if someone wants to handbuild/dissect Oolite this way, is better to copy Oolite.app dir inside another directory created to host it, 'cause the game search for "AddOns" just one level outside oolite.app dir an not inside it.

[spud42]

got all excited and made a copy of my Oolite so i could play in downtime at work.Put it on the USb,
had a bit of time between calls so i got the USB out and pluged in. Start Oolite......

slight problem, i use the 64 bit at home and the netbook is 32 bit... doh