SE 4: Disabling Splash Screens?

[Fyron]

Personally, I'd recommend my mod launcher over Matryx'. It features a number of improvements, such as:

- Acts as a normal window. This means you can resize and move it around.
- Double clicking on a mod name is equivalent to hitting Launch SE4 button.
- Double clicking on a savegame name is equivalent to hitting Load Game button. You can also hit enter to run the savegame when the cursor is in the player number or password boxes.
- You can specify an alternate mod path. This is useful if you prefer to keep all of your mods in a Mods folder.
- You can process turns as host directly from the interface, without changing the player number and password every time you want to play the turn, then process it manually.
- You do not have to run the launcher from the SE4 folder. If you do not, it will check the default installation locations. If this fails, it will provide a prompt to specify a location.
- Savegames are listed in a tree view, categorized by mod folder name.
- When you select a savegame, the date last played will be displayed in the status bar.

Fyron's Mod Launcher download link.

[Arralen]

Fyron's Mod Launcher

The program requires the .NET Framework 2.0.

[Suicide Junkie]

Using SE4 v1.91 works great to avoid the splash screens.

You only need deluxe to process turns, and only if the mod includes anti-missile missiles.

[Fyron]

Arralen said:
The program requires the .NET Framework 2.0.

Right, it use modern technology, rather than shoddy c++ com32 api programming from a decade ago.

[capnq]

I have never understood why people are so annoyed at those splash screens. Strategy First added a whopping two clicks to starting a game that takes dozens of clicks per turn, and at least a couple hundred per play session (in solo). How can people who think that two clicks is an intolerable slowdown even play 4X games?

[Suicide Junkie]

Negative. Value. Added.

On purpose, no less.
Shrapnel wouldn't have done that to us.

[Captain Kwok]

So it wasn't Shrapnel Games that added a splash screen to Star Fury?

[Suicide Junkie]

There is a difference between having a splash screen the whole time, and adding one (well two) after a long while.

Removing a feature is far more noticable.

The least it could do is load the modfiles in the background instead of doing nothing at all until you click or it times out.
It is a pity that so many programs don't start right away when you click go. Just get a move on, show the logos in a nonintrusive way that dosen't slow things down, I say. Take pride in your work, but not on my time.

I know this is out of proportion, but its a pet peeve of mine.
So, I stick with 1.91 as an upgrade from 1.94+ where possible.

[Will]

Imperator Fyron said:

Right, it use modern technology, rather than shoddy c++ com32 api programming from a decade ago.

Nothing wrong with using C++ Win32/COM. It was, and still is, useful. In fact, you can do all the features you listed for your modlauncher with that "decade old" technology. As a bonus, it doesn't require users to download a 280MB VM framework (and that's just the x86 version! IA-64 is more than double that), it will just run with the *.exe. Takes less memory, too.

"Modern Technology" ain't always all it's cracked up to be.

[Suicide Junkie]

When adding a custom icon to your .exe doubles the size of the download, you know you're doing good.