#2
17th Jun 2010 at 1:04 PM
Last edited by jonha : 3rd Oct 2011 at
12:10 PM.
Reason: Update 2.6
Posts: 1,115
Thanks: 37016 in 225 Posts
FAQ:
Question:
Can I start the launcher to install mods etc.?
Answer: Yes! Start the profile as usual and in the main menu select "Open Launcher".
There is also an option to start the launcher in the context menu of each profile.
Question:
Can I manage different game versions?
Answer: No. This tool can't start old game versions, as they aren't anymore on your hard drive. And managing multiple installations hasn't been considered, yet, and will be complicated.
Question:
Why does it always start with all expansions although I disabled some? Or why does it always load the default profile?
Answer: Make sure you selected the right exe file. The right file, which should be selected by default, is the TS3W.exe in the base-game game/bin directory for games with at least the Generations patch. All other .exe files are only around 29kb small fake .exe files which do nothing else but launch the main TS3W.exe, but they launch them in a way that prevents AGS3 from adjusting the profiles as necessary.
Question:
How does it work?
Answer: Adjusting the profile works by spawning the TS3W.exe in an environment which has the %userprofile% variable modified. As in general the Sims 3 profile is in the documents directory and the documents directory is in the userprofile, this way the location where Sims 3 reads and writes it's data can be adjusted. If the documents directory is not in the userprofile dir, it gets temporarily changed to %userprofile%/documents. Disabling EPs works by temporarily changing the permissions of the EP's registry keys, so the game doesn't find them while the profile is started.
Known problems:- Starting the launcher in a profile may result in temporary files getting saved in the profile folder, resulting in problems when deleting the profile again as some files are considered as system files and can't be deleted automatically. When you have problems completely deleting a profile, manually delete the AnyGameStarter3\Games\<profile name> folder using Windows Explorer for example, which should work.
Release notes:
Version 1.0
- Not published, problems with Windows Vista and 7
Version 1.1 (17. Jun 2010)
- Initial release
- Fixed problems with Windows Vista and 7
- Relocated "Add Profile" button.
- Added version info to MainWindow.
Version 1.2 (26. Jun 2010)
- Made the UI translateable
- Made translations (english, german)
- Fixed exe file selection
- Fixed EP detection (multiple exe files)
- Cleaned "add profile" UI
- Better error handling
- Better language chooser
- SKU detection
- Version info enhanced
- Various minor fixes and improvements
- Setup is now multilanguage
- Only show locales from the installed game edition
- Editing the default profile has been disabled for safety reasons. If you still need to access it, press the ctrl-key while right clicking on the icon.
Version 1.3 (30. Sep 2010)
- Added about box with translation info
- Improved browse for Mods folder
- Shows profile information (for example number of safe games, mods, folder size)
- Creating a nameless profile is no longer possible (as deleting it can corrupt all profiles)
- Allows to open launcher
- Detect crashing games and mismatching versions
- Fixed missing language error
- Fixed browse for folder
- Fixed restore after bluescreen
- Sort expansions by EP number/release date
- Defective profiles will no longer cause an error
- Context menu is now translated, too
- Better main window design
Version 2.0 (02. Jun 2011)
- Added "environment info" button to about window which copies debug information to clipboard
- Fixed browsing for executable without detection of TS3
- Added sv-SE and pt-BR translation by Henek and renanfelipemac to setup package
- New profiles use the TS3W.exe when a current game version has been detected
- All existing profiles are changed to use the new TS3W.exe when a current game version has been detected (if you manually set another executable like 3booter, you may have to change it back)
Version 2.1 (16. Jul 2011)
- Fixed some cases of missing game detection for Generations and later versions
- Simplified game detection
- Removed legacy game detection for old versions (now requires v. 1.22 / Generations)
- Added experimental game detection for Steam installations
- Fixed weird message reported by crinrict and Kyro21
- Better localization. For example Swiss-German users will now get the Germany-German translation as automatic fallback.
Version 2.2 (23. Jul 2011)
- Fixed another weird dialog box appearing when a profile can't be found
- Renaming profiles now works properly
- Added context menu entry for renaming profiles
- Added context menu entry for duplicating profiles
- Tried to fix "folder not empty" message when deleting profile. Probably doesn't work 100% but at least you get a proper dialog window in case it fails.
Version 2.3 (16. Sep 2011)
- Added warning when selected profile directory already exists
- Added warning when AGS3 will try to modify the documents directory
- Added info in profile dialog window when no expansion are found, TS3could not be found or when expansions are not selectable because of a steam installation
- Profile names are now forced to have no whitespace in front or at the end of their name as this could cause problems
- Can now drag icons for example to desktop to create quick shortcuts
- Shortcuts get a better description text
- Reduced flickering of main window
- Launching two profiles at the same time using desktop icons is no longer possible
- Better handling of windows explorer crashing while a game is running (don't try to restore the settings then)
- Various minor fixes and tweaks
Version 2.4 (18. Sep 2011)
- Fixed some issues introduced in 2.3
Version 2.5 (20. Sep 2011)
- Profile folder detection is now more strict than before
- Opening the profile folder now raises a warning if it hasn't been created properly by first launching the profile one time.
- Minor tweaks and fixes
Version 2.6 (03. Oct. 2011)
- Starting the launcher on a profile is now sufficient for profile folder detection
- Fixed problem with profile directory resetting when changing profile
- The Create-a-Pet demo is no longer detected as expansion pack
- Added Spanish translation by xXJuAnJi05Xx