Integrating game patches with installs?
 

Is there a way to integrate a patch (eg 1.0-1.1) to the directory of an extracted CD or some way to have the patch executed at the end of the install so when the game installs, it's the latest version?

Preferably, I would like to make it possible to have the cracked .exe of the game copied aswell (which i know how to do, replace the file on the cd...) for the latest patch if that is possible with the patch functioning correctly, but overall, if the crack part doesn't work, I just want to find a way to integrate a patch into the install..

Thanks,
Junkmonk.

It would be hard to make a generic solotion.

It would be best to make a new installer, that includes it all

yeah grumpy seems to be quite good at that, im sure hell come by this thread sooner or later

It depends on which installer the game uses.

Installshield seems to be the only installer that allows you to add extra files to it. You would have to extract all the files from the patch and find out what groups they belong to in the installer, and then inject them into the same groups in the game using Winpack or I6comp.

If the patch uses Installshield too, it may be easier to extract the patch files and replace the files in the patch with the cracked one/s, then all you need do is run the setup for the patch after the game has installed!

It's not as easy as you think, and to be honest, it can be a pain in the arse!

I think Barry has covered this perfectly. I would definately have to agree with his quote above. ;)

How do I do this without installing into the game directory?

That depends on what type of installer the patch uses. Some installers have had programs written specifically to extract the contents like:

I5COMP & I6COMP for Installshield
INNOUNP 0.15 for Inno Setup
WUN 0.90A for Wise Installer

Installshield and Inno Setup are probably the only 2 installers you could add files too, Inno would need to be recompiled using the script extracted using Innounp.

Belive me, it's more trouble than it's worth! Ask Grumpy :)

In this specific case, I'm trying to integrate the SW Battlefront 1.2 ENG 170meg patch to a DVD with all the extracted isos compiled, when I right click on the update file "Battlefront1_2_Eng.exe" then go to properties, then version for description it says: Self-extracting Update
don't know if this is important but File version is: 1.0.2.0
and copyright is 2004 lucas arts
What should I use to extract this without installing to the SWBF directory?

Extracted ISO's? You don't need to extract ANY iso's if you have the original discs, hope they're not downloaded iso's!

Adding another solution, would be to apply the patch to your installed game and make an installation with Inno Setup and ISTool. Requires a tad bit more time I guess, but it works most of the time, and it does not need to mess with InstallShield and the like.