Future DCS Launcher - Please don't make it mandatory

[Vakari]

Short and sweet wish regarding the launcher mentioned in the 2024.01.12 newsletter:

I like that ED hopes to improve accessibility and the new-user experience! Having more options is great, however, please don't do it at the expense of requiring everyone to interact with a launcher before entering the game. Battle.net kills me, hah.

7 Days to Die has a good launcher. It's helpful and is made in such a way that you don't have to use it if you don't want to.

[upyr1]

I would like to know more about the launcher. A quick launch option would be nice though 

[WolfCat]

I guess the Launcher will just call the current executable when starting the game. If so, we will be able to open the game separately from the launcher.
Im so happy about this newsletter, many of my gripes are being addressed, lack of launcher being among them (Skatezilla's doesnt work for me properly), also saving game, better training, maybe GUI rework.

Edit:
havent played in more than a month, forgot the current exec authenticates, etc.

Edited January 12 by WolfCat

[Exorcet]

I can't recall ever seeing a launcher I liked.

Will have to see what this one is like, but being able to just bypass it and going into the game directly sounds like a great option. I really miss the original DCS that just started up with no account sign in or anything.

Edited January 12 by Exorcet

[SharpeXB]

Not sure why this matters one way or the other. The new features all seem like great news. 

Edited January 12 by SharpeXB

[Tank50us]

I wonder.... if this new launcher you speak of is anything like a particular ground combat sim, it may make the life of mod devs a little easier... I mean... if you think about it, downloading a list that has the launcher go out and grab mods and liveries for you would make life a little easier for many.

[Vakari]

Yeah it would be great to have with many possibilities. It could present news, sales, allow mod management, etc. I'm glad it's planned, just hoping it isn't required everty time you run the game.

Edited January 13 by Vakari

[cfrag]

If it allows Mission Editor to run in parallel to a mission, that would definitely a step in the right direction. 

[Tippis]

Just doubling up on this, because it's exemplary. Funnily enough, some of that is because it needs to bypass some of the actual game's antiquated in-game set-up and settings stuff, but the upside of this is that you don't have to load the entire client just to fiddle with those settings (in particular binds).

It also very neatly collects all the various external tools and surrounding crud in a single, easy-to-use menu (headtracking, external comms, some mission planning and mission-making tools, data export etc). Of course, that's perhaps a bit unfair of a comparison since that whole package is community-driven, as are the tools that get included in the launcher. It would be quite a different thing if ED were to place links to SRS, Tacview, DCS BIOS, Combatflite etc right in their official commercial product.

The closest we get is probably SkateZilla's update GUI, but that one is… messy, and ultimately made for a rather different purpose so that extra messiness makes a bit more sense and actually has a function.

[OzDeaDMeaT]

A simplified Skatezilla Launcher would be fantastic. Also having links to news letters, patch notes etc. But I think being able to execute the game external to the launcher would also really need to be a requirement. 

TLDR; Optional == Good

[cfrag]

Hey, and while we are dreaming - such a launcher could also provide a nice interface to discover (and download) missions (and mods) on ED's UserFiles, and notify the player of updates for installed missions. IMHO, this could be one of the important enablers to boost DCS's slumbering princess: 'multiplayer games' - especially if the launcher also shows you who of your friends are online (should they have opted in to this), and what mission they are playing.

Yeah, it's Sunday and I'm dreaming wide awake

 

[MAXsenna]

Just doubling up on this, because it's exemplary. Funnily enough, some of that is because it needs to bypass some of the actual game's antiquated in-game set-up and settings stuff, but the upside of this is that you don't have to load the entire client just to fiddle with those settings (in particular binds).
It also very neatly collects all the various external tools and surrounding crud in a single, easy-to-use menu (headtracking, external comms, some mission planning and mission-making tools, data export etc). Of course, that's perhaps a bit unfair of a comparison since that whole package is community-driven, as are the tools that get included in the launcher. It would be quite a different thing if ED were to place links to SRS, Tacview, DCS BIOS, Combatflite etc right in their official commercial product.
The closest we get is probably SkateZilla's update GUI, but that one is… messy, and ultimately made for a rather different purpose so that extra messiness makes a bit more sense and actually has a function.

Spot on! Exactly this buddy! And like @cfrag writes, the devs in Eagle Dynamics are very bright, so I take for granted that down the line, (maybe not in the first iteration), it will incorporate mods, liveries, missions, kneeboard and what not! I'm actually against a simplified Skatezilla's tool. The community has shown what can be done!
Cheers!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[OzDeaDMeaT]

People could still use Skatezilla if they want the more complex stuff available, Skatezilla is more a manager and not a launcher. Liveries, Missions, Mods etc etc, sounds even more complicated than Skatezilla's is already. Not sure we need that for a launcher that you know, launches the game.

[Tank50us]

2 minutes ago, OzDeaDMeaT said:

People could still use Skatezilla if they want the more complex stuff available, Skatezilla is more a manager and not a launcher. Liveries, Missions, Mods etc etc, sounds even more complicated than Skatezilla's is already. Not sure we need that for a launcher that you know, launches the game.

Well, if it combines certain functionalities that are currently only community projects (like the various mod managers), and make it easier to get certain things working right, then I'm all for it.

[SharpeXB]

Unofficial mods no doubt cause such headaches for the Devs I can’t see why they’d put a manager for them into the launcher. Maybe a modder could make a launcher mod

Edited January 15 by SharpeXB

[Tank50us]

6 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

Unofficial mods no doubt cause such headaches for the Devs I can’t see why they’d put a manager for them into the launcher. Maybe a modder could make a launcher mod

 

yes... such a headache that they have an entire folder created for people to put mods in and the game finds them no problem. The point I, and others, are making here is that the actual mod management of the game could be handled from this launcher. All one would need to do is download a small file, point the launcher at that file, and then it will go and grab all the mods in that file for you, place them in their correct folders, and set them up. After that, if someone wishes to disable a mod, they can merely uncheck it prior to starting up, and the mod doesn't fire up at start.

That one ground combat sim does it pretty well, and even ED is starting to realize how important the modding community is to the longevity of DCS simply because they have added some excellent content that is almost standard now amongst the community (A-4, Civil Aircraft Mod, Military Aircraft Mod, SRS, The Blackhawk, Massun92´s Asset Pack, etc). But right now, for a lot of people, the existing mod managers are kinda complex to use, and if you don't get it exactly right, it falls over. If ED can develop a manager that works in the launcher, and removes the complexity, more people will be accepting of mods since installing them will be as easy as pointing the launcher at a single text file.

[MAXsenna]

People could still use Skatezilla if they want the more complex stuff available, Skatezilla is more a manager and not a launcher. Liveries, Missions, Mods etc etc, sounds even more complicated than Skatezilla's is already. Not sure we need that for a launcher that you know, launches the game.

You're not sure because you have never used a real launcher that binds it all together and simplifies everything. Once you have, you will never go back. Trust me!
Cheers!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[SharpeXB]

58 minutes ago, Tank50us said:

The point I, and others, are making here is that the actual mod management of the game could be handled from this launcher

Why? There are other apps to do this. I don’t think ED needs to be troubled with managing unofficial content. And the stuff just breaks your game and causes problems. Not worth it. 

[BIGNEWY]

folks please keep the discussion about DCS I have cleaned the posts that break our 1.15 rule. 

As for the launcher we will share more news when we are ready. 

It will most probably come with the usual launch, and repair options, but the possibilities are great for all kinds of things. 

thanks 

[Tippis]

2 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

Why?

Because it's good game and UX design and, since it's something DCS officially supports, it's something that it should… you know… officially support all the way.

2 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

don’t think ED needs to be troubled with managing unofficial content.

They already do, just not through the GUI.

[Tank50us]

5 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

And the stuff just breaks your game and causes problems. Not worth it. 

That's an easy enough thing to fix too. A simple color coded status next to the mods name that checks if it's compatible with the current version of DCS. Green means it is, Yellow means it's out of date, but still functional, and Red means it doesn't function at all. Might take... what? A few seconds for the launcher to check the mods compatibility? And as a bonus, if there's any updates (because this would be communicating with the Userfiles part of their site), the launcher can also use that time to check for updates. If there are any, it'll automatically download and install the update. All in the rough time frame it takes you to grab a soda from the fridge or something.

Yes, it's a lot of work on EDs end... but it's an awesome quality of life update we badly need, and it would simplify so much for new players.

[SharpeXB]

43 minutes ago, Tank50us said:

That's an easy enough thing to fix too. A simple color coded status next to the mods name that checks if it's compatible with the current version of DCS. Green means it is, Yellow means it's out of date, but still functional, and Red means it doesn't function at all.

Since unofficial mods aren’t tested with the game build there’s no way to know whether they’re compatible or what sort of problems they could create. The game can’t “scan” them for compatibility. It’s up to the mod creator to test and fix them to the extent that is possible. Not ED.

Edited January 16 by SharpeXB

[Tippis]

3 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

Since unofficial mods aren’t tested with the game build there’s no way to know whether they’re compatible or what sort of problems they could create.

Doesn't really matter. That's the beauty of having it in the launcher rather than in-game.

It also puts the onus on the mod maker to keep their mods up to date, and ED already know (more than anyone) when they make changes to the file structure and loading procedures in such a way that whatever was accurate for version N-1 is no longer compatible with version N.

As always, your unfamiliarity with how DCS (and software in general) works makes in imagine problems that pretty much by very definition wouldn't exist.

[Braunn]

Game launchers are kinda noob territory and makes it easier for new players that DONT know how to navigate the folders and such, but I see how it may make DCS more appealing. Even if I don't like it. 

[Wostg]

I just thought they were going to redesign the UI so the new player might have any idea what to do when they load up e.g. there are tutorials for the su-25t that are actually pretty good