How do I install two copies of CMFI/GL?

[Holman]

I've been burned before by ongoing PBEM's not working after a CM update, so this time I'll install a second copy.

However, how is that done? Is it a simple matter of choosing a different installation directory? But what does that do to the saves and mods over in the Documents\Battlefront folder? Will they show up in both installations?

Thanks for advice!

[Cpl Carrot]

Just choose another location. Any items in the docs folder will show up in both installs (so know which is which)

[GreenAsJade]

On the Mac, it's important to install to the default location - it's OK to rename afterwards.

This applies to patches as well: always have the target being named the default way.

Therefore, for two installs, install the first to the default, then rename it, then install the second to the default location, then rename it.

If you need to patch either, rename it back to the default, apply the patch, and rename it back to whatever you like afterwards.

Hope this makes sense.

GaJ

[MikeyD]

On the PC, really its as simple as copying your game folder. Then you have two Name your backup folder something different! At one point I had four different CMBNs on my hard drive.

A sticking point for CMFI, though, is the separate 'fortress Italy' folder in you documents folder with the game files. I think your two copies will share that one data folder. Scenarios. hotkeys, etc.

[Holman]

Thanks for the good answers, everyone!

I suppose it goes without saying that some mods will be incompatible.

[A Canadian Cat]

A sticking point for CMFI, though, is the separate 'fortress Italy' folder in you documents folder with the game files. I think your two copies will share that one data folder. Scenarios. hotkeys, etc.

That is going to be an issue though. I have PBEM games going on with a CMFI so i need to install CMGF in a separate dir. But if they share a doc directory both games and modes are going to conflict. Does anyone have a solution?

[A Canadian Cat]

Ah, Huston we have a problem.

I just tired to run two independant CMFI installs hoping that I could get them to use two separate directories in my documents. The original install uses directories under ..\Documents\Battlefront\Combat Mission\Fortress Italy for my games and mods. Since games and (not all) mods are incompatible between versions I need a way to have a second such directory for the CMFI - GL install. I can see no way to do this with two versions of CMFI. I cannot install GL until I know I can handle this because I have multiple PBEM games going that I would prefer not to upgrade but even if I have to upgrade it will require coordination.

Will the GL install automatically create a new directory? What is the supported way to handle this? I see no mention of it in the manual and I cannot find a setting in the game that lets me control this.

[MikeyD]

Hmmm... I suppose you could have two duplicate 'Fortress Italy' folders in Documents but only one of them properly named at a time. The one you want disabled can be named 'Fortress Italy XXX" or something similar. I can't imagine you'd be running both copies of the game at the same time so you wouldn't need both folders working at the same time.

[A Canadian Cat]

Hmmm... I suppose you could have two duplicate 'Fortress Italy' folders in Documents but only one of them properly named at a time. The one you want disabled can be named 'Fortress Italy XXX" or something similar. I can't imagine you'd be running both copies of the game at the same time so you wouldn't need both folders working at the same time.

Yuck! Yes, I could see that working as a hack but that is really not a long term solution. Wasn't this something that you guys ran into during development or testing? Having multiple versions is SOP for many of us. Isn't it for you guys too?

[sburke]

I have had up to 4 installs at a time. When you install instead of the default directory of Battlefront\Combat Mission Fortress Italy insert something else like Battlefront\Gustav Line\Combat Mission Fortress Italy. They will still use the same my documents directory for scenarios etc.

If you want to have Install specific mods stick them in a z folder in the data directory of that specific install. If they are generic across installs add them in the my documents user data mods folder.

In some ways this is more elegant than CMBN as you have an option to share compatible mods across installs instead of having to have individual copies while also retaining the ability for individual install mods.

At least that is my understanding of how it works..... Maybe I'll go give it a test drive... hmm what mod.....

Confirmed, this does work. But as MikeyD said, you can just ignore the my documents mod folder completely. Really nothing has changed other than having a common folder so you don't have to have multiple scenario copies. Not bad.

[MikeyD]

Really you can just share the same directory between copies. The older game will just grey out the module scenarios and ignore any unnecessary later mods. Mods are entirely discretionary anyway, BFC can't be responsible for what people do and don't throw into their mods folder.

Now that I think of it I've spent the past 5(?) years swapping out multiple mods folders whenever I need to work on different projects. 'ZZZ' still works for mods in the data folder. Ignore the common 'Mods' folder on Documents completely and keep your mods in each version's data folder like the good old days.

[A Canadian Cat]

Really you can just share the same directory between copies. The older game will just grey out the module scenarios and ignore any unnecessary later mods.

OK good to know. The only issue I can see here is saved gamed from the older game will show up for the new one. It just seems kind of scary. I think it would be a good thing if there was a way to have multiple installs not share a doccments directory.

Mods are entirely discretionary anyway, BFC can't be responsible for what people do and don't throw into their mods folder.

Well sure but it would be nice to have support for mods that are specific to a particular version. Vin's animated text comes to mind. From the sounds of the other posts that is possibe.

I am glad to hear multiple versions have worked for you. I feel better.

[GreenAsJade]

I took my eyes off how this is working in the PC.

Can you clarify: if you name the install path differently, on the PC, for each CMFI variant, do you get separate Game Files/ directories?

Or do CMFI Game Files (Incoming Email etc) end up in the same place as CMFIGL ones?

The latter would be a mess for H2HH...

On the Mac, if you rename the install to something different, then everything is under that install - they are completely separate...

GaJ

[Cpl Carrot]

I took my eyes off how this is working in the PC.

Can you clarify: if you name the install path differently, on the PC, for each CMFI variant, do you get separate Game Files/ directories?

No

Or do CMFI Game Files (Incoming Email etc) end up in the same place as CMFIGL ones?

Correct

[GreenAsJade]

Oh man

....

[sburke]

Oh man

....

why oh man? Not sure I understand the concern here. Actually I am sure I don't understand the concern.

[GreenAsJade]

H2HH fundamentally assumes that games for a given installation are in their own folder.

It will present a strange picture when it finds all the games for all your installs (CMFI, CMFIGL, future ones) in the same Incoming Email folder...

Edit: actually, maybe it will all just work, but one thing is for sure: I have no real idea what will happen, because I hadn't thought about this scenario... so "Oh, man, I haven't thought about this"....

GaJ

[A Canadian Cat]

OK I have both CMFI and CMFI-GL installed side by each - my first try installing GL failed for some unknown reason. Uninstall / reinstall fixed things after a detour updating my graphics card drivers and the usual sad stories that you guys don't need to hear.

What happens is:

When I run CMFI it sees its PBEM files and saved game but not new saved games - OK.

When I run CMFI - GL it sees its saved games but also all the CMFI saved games and PBEM files. Note I do not mean PBEM turns that have been saved during the command phase, it shows me the PBEM files that came from my opponent - NOT OK (but not the end of the world).

What this means is the software makes it easy for me to make a mistake (I do not need help making mistakes). The time while I am winding down my four CMFI 1.01 games I am at risk in making a mistake and converting them the CMFI GL 1.1 in an unsupported manner. Yuck.

I would definitely categorize this as a bug. Please put it on your list to fix.

What I want is to be able to have multiple versions of CMFI each with their own folder for game files and mods in My Documents. That way during transitions from one version to another the software will help me to load the right turns with the right game. Note: I have three versions of CMBN on the go right now supporting various PBEM games. So, this is a real issue for some of us.

My suggestions are (even though you hate it when we tell you what to do instead of what we want;-):

• automatically have the installer create a unique name'ed folder in the my documents folder (problem is you cannot intentionally upgrade and existing install)
  
• have the choosing of the folder be a step in the installer
  
• have the folder determined by an hand editable config file
  
• have the choosing of the folder be controlled by a user editable option in the GUI
  

[Baneman]

This is a good example of why the Microsoft-enforced "everything-in-MyDocuments" thing sucks

[A Canadian Cat]

Well, yes, sort of. What they really said was - "Stop saving stuff in your install directories. We are going to lock those directories down so you cannot do that." It is up to software engineers to make decisions about how their product will handle this kind of change. Hard coding a directory it probably not a choice high on the engineering list but it could easily be seen as the quick solution.

Lest, people think that I am defending MS - don't. What this change has really done is left many people, my self included, not installing software into the "Program Files" directory any more. This has negative consequences and totally ruins what they were trying to accomplish which was prevent malware and viruses have free reign in each program's install directory.

[marka]

I just found this thread. I have CMBN/CW, patched to 2.01, on my laptop. I wanted to start a new game with someone who has patched to 2.12, and found that my (2.01) version wouldn't work. However, I have an on-going game with someone else using 2.01, so I decided to bite the bullet, and re-install a new instance of CMBN.

The re-install went without any problems at all. I have all the original CDs copied to my HDD. I just fired up the install program, specified "C:/Users/Mark/Documents/Battlefront2" as the installation directory, and everything went without a hitch. During the install of Commonwealth, and the 2.0 engine upgrade, the default directories were already set to "Battlefront2". It didn't even ask me for my license keys.

Setting up H2HH was also trivial: I selected "Add Installation", created a tab labelled "CMBN2", pointed it to the new directory, and everything has been working flawlessly.

So, now, H2HH has two tabs, one for the 2.01 version, and one for the 2.12 version of CMBN. When I start a new game, I use the appropriate tab for which version it's using, and everything works as it should.