Installation WTFs

[ConfusedBuyer]

Seriously, WTF is up with software installation these days??? It's like a bunch of stuff happens and the casual everyday lay-user has no idea what or why....

1. This thing reports itself as installing DirectX 9.0c instead of merely checking for it...I had to double-check to make sure I was still at version 11, the latest!

2. What is this eLicense thinggy?? Why does Kursk installation tell me that it needs a restart in order to finish installation and asks whether I want to restart now but then doesn't restart when I agree?? Why does the game apparently work regardless -- or is it actually working properly without this restart???

3. Why did Kursk installation tell me to check my eLicense in Control Panel, only I can't 'cause Win7 64-bit states that no file is associated, blah blah blah??? I just got my machine and would love to for once keep it "clean"...I don't like it when there's stuff on there that I can't access!

4. How come every time I start up Kursk I get the Autoupdater which tells me to check for updates, only to give me an "acess to path denied" error?? It's enough to make me want an Xbox or Playstation....

5. How come there's no uninstall option, like the readme.rtf states?

Thanks for all advice.

[ConfusedBuyer]

Okay...

At least for Nr. 4, it has to do with the User Account Control setting in Windows 7.

Thanks for the heads-up, guys! Not.

[Schrullenhaft]

You can thank Microsoft for some of the complexity of installing some programs.

1. The installer installs UPDATES to DirectX 9.0c. This does NOT affect your files/compatibility for DirectX 10/11. They are different files. TOW 2 Kursk 1943 uses DirectX 9.0c and not later DirectX versions.

2. I'm not sure about any restarts. It's possible that after installing the DirectX update that the game may want a restart to be able to load the appropriate DirectX files, but I'm not sure. eLicense is the copy-protection system used by us (Battlefront) to protect our games from illegal copying. You have to activate the license key in order for the game to run. If you have not installed any other eLicense games, then some additional files get copied and installed to your system to run eLicense.

3. Unfortunately some of the eLicense software is a bit dated. There is an eLicense control panel that rarely works with most installations. It was actually more geared towards Windows 98/Me and Windows 2000 (possibly). It rarely works in most current Windows versions. This is not really a huge problem since you can activate and unlicense games using shortcuts, but it does stuff that control panel in there, which is useless for a vast majority of users.

4. The 'autoupdater' is 1C Company's invention to update the games when a patch has been released. The patches come from 1C's servers (and not us). As you figured the 'UAC' will cause issues with it. Another way around this without disabling the UAC is to launch the game by right-clicking on the shortcut and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu. This will give the game administrative rights to write in the '\Program Files' directory and some other things. With the Theatre of War series we highly recommend the "Run as administrator" since it is necessary for the game to record progress in campaigns, etc. Turning off UAC basically does the same thing.

5. The game can be uninstalled from the 'Programs and Features' control panel. You should see a 'Theatre of War 2 Kursk 1943 (Remove Only)' listing to uninstall the game. Before doing that, remember to UNLICENSE the game first to preserve your activation. Otherwise that can disappear, especially if you make certain hardware or operating system changes to your computer. The unlicensing shortcut is in the Start Menu group for TOW 2 Kursk, in the 'Licensing' subfolder.

[ConfusedBuyer]

You can thank Microsoft for some of the complexity of installing some programs.

I've been hearing tech support folks claim that since Windows 95 days but the more I hear it the less inclined I am to believe that. Not to get into an argument because I do believe y'all are acting in good faith, more than less, but knowing how Microsoft is I wonder why it wouldn't be possible to still find some way of providing a hassle-free experience for your users. I understand this title was written before Windows 7 but something about how round-about everything is makes me think a decision was made to just let the customer deal with things....

Anyway:

1. The installer installs UPDATES to DirectX 9.0c. This does NOT affect your files/compatibility for DirectX 10/11. They are different files. TOW 2 Kursk 1943 uses DirectX 9.0c and not later DirectX versions.

Understood; thanks for the explanation. Would have thought that later versions are backwards compatible and overwrite previous versions, but I guess not.

2. I'm not sure about any restarts.

Would it be possible for you to install your own game and check this out? I'm not seeing things. The installation "wizard" definitely stated something about restarting....

It's possible that after installing the DirectX update that the game may want a restart to be able to load the appropriate DirectX files, but I'm not sure.

Problem is, it never restarts despite claiming that it needs to!

3. Unfortunately some of the eLicense software is a bit dated. There is an eLicense control panel that rarely works with most installations. It was actually more geared towards Windows 98/Me and Windows 2000 (possibly). It rarely works in most current Windows versions. This is not really a huge problem since you can activate and unlicense games using shortcuts, but it does stuff that control panel in there, which is useless for a vast majority of users.

So...I've got this eLicense software on my machine that's so outdated I can't even access it. Right. All in the name of copy protection.

I don't know, Battlefront, but this sounds like the TSA approach to "security," frisking wheelchair-bound grannies at the airport for explosives...how about not treating your customers like thieves, guilty until proven innocent?? Surely you know that only honest paying customers are the only ones inconvenienced by all this. Has copy protection ever stopped piracy??

4. The 'autoupdater' is 1C Company's invention to update the games when a patch has been released. The patches come from 1C's servers (and not us). As you figured the 'UAC' will cause issues with it. Another way around this without disabling the UAC is to launch the game by right-clicking on the shortcut and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu. This will give the game administrative rights to write in the '\Program Files' directory and some other things. With the Theatre of War series we highly recommend the "Run as administrator" since it is necessary for the game to record progress in campaigns, etc. Turning off UAC basically does the same thing.

Okay -- please put this requirement on the download screen!

5. The game can be uninstalled from the 'Programs and Features' control panel. You should see a 'Theatre of War 2 Kursk 1943 (Remove Only)' listing to uninstall the game. Before doing that, remember to UNLICENSE the game first to preserve your activation. Otherwise that can disappear, especially if you make certain hardware or operating system changes to your computer. The unlicensing shortcut is in the Start Menu group for TOW 2 Kursk, in the 'Licensing' subfolder.

IOW, the readme file is misleading. But if I didn't read it, I'd have been advised to read readme files....

Anyway, please just put this information on the download page. Is that really so hard to do?? List all the steps necessary -- run as admin, uninstall from Windows, etc.

Thanks.