Alright Folks some news for ya'll on this program.
Since I first posted here, I've renamed the program to Emerald. It has grown in features since the last screen shot set I've posted as well. As of right now, it should work with out an issue as long as you have .net Framework 3.5 or greater installed on your machine. A note, this is still in a beta stage. What you saw earlier was an alpha stage. There will be bugs, I expect them but I cannot find them all if someone doesn't test it for me.
Current Feature Set- Manages Mods based on XML file given to the program
- Launches Minecraft (With a variable RAM selection AND a Debugging option)
- Has news feeds from Notch's Twitter, MCupdate.tumblr.com, Reddit/r/minecraft, and an update tumblr for the program itself
- Hopefully an easy to use interface
- Program Auto-updater. If there is an update it available it will prompt you on launch to update. (Note, The screen says the app will close if you don't update. It just a text glitch atm, and you will be fine to not update unless required
- Minecraft folder and Saves (worlds) Backup and restore.
Current version is 1.1.x build 1012. Build numbers change and trigger updates.
On to the details of how it works,Each server would have its own modpack (XML file) that contains all the various base mods required to play on said server. If the server admin updates any mods all s/he has to do is update the remote XML file and the player would get those changes when the go to launch Minecraft again.
There are Two types of minecraft updates, One is an auto verify on launch (only syncs soft files) and the other is a mod installer which performs minecraft.jar modifications. The auto verify on launch is designed mainly to prevent the annoying conflict ID patch installers for everyone as what the remote xml file is; that is what you get.
In the near future expect some more changes to the program itself, and to a website I am in the process of setting up for what this program will deal with.
If you want to try this program you can download it
here
InstallationExtract contents of zip archive to its own folder.
Thats it for the install. If you use this program, please create an account
here as that will be the home for the program and its surrounding community. Any issues that arise please post a bug report there. And I thank you for doing that.
Notes It does required Elevated UAC access (IE run as administrator). It will prompt you on launch for Admin access. This is due to how windows handles programs access to the AppData directory under Windows Vista/7. Windows XP this program needs to be run as an Administrator account.
Using And Configuring EmeraldAfter a successful launch (Be patient, it is checking for updates to the program) you will get a pop up saying missing and or invalid configuration, this is normal as nothing is configured yet.
The first thing you need to do is tell Emerald what mod pack it is using.
In the configuration tab (Wrench Image)
Click the left most browse Button and browse for your emerald directory. You will see gameiv.xml. Select that file and open it.
That should pre-populate the following fields
Web server, Web server path, Mod pack (remote xml) fileIf not enter the following values
Web Server ->
http://mc.amwdrizz.comWeb Server Path -> gameiv
Mod Pack (remote xml) File -> updater.xml
Next step is to browse for your minecraft launcher.
Click the top right most Browse button and locate either your Launcher in either exe or jar format.
And the second to final step of configuration is to locate your java bin directory
Click the next browse button (The one below the minecraft launcher browse button) and look for your java/jreX/bin directory (replace X with your java version installed). Emerald *should* auto detect the correct java directory on some systems. Typically it is found at the following locations
c:/program files/java/jre6/java/bin
Select the java.exe once you've found it and click open. The last thing you need to do now is click Save.
Thats it emerald is configured and you won't have to touch it again unless you change mod packs or I broke a file in a future update.
At this point, If you've never been on the Game IV server before Click on the Left most Minecraft Block
On this screen locate the "Update Mods" button. Click it and wait. After some time it will ask you to run Minecraft and perform a force update. Do so, as Emerald can only work with a clean jar file. After you've forced updated continue with the mod installation (this part may take some time as it modifies your jar file for you).
Once done, You have two options. You may enter your minecraft details in the provided boxes and click launch minecraft OR you can just click launch minecraft and the minecraft launcher will ask you for your details. The first method passes your login details straight to the launcher which then is verified by the launcher.
Whew, that's a wall of Text. For those of you testing the program, I congratulate you on making it this far. Others that are still too shy to try it out, It looks like a lot of work but in reality is only a handful of mouse clicks and your done.