OpenRA

Hey guys, Quick question.. Is there a way to set OpenRA to always load the mod/game selector screen on startup (instead of the last game you played) like it does the first time you ever run iOpenRA? Eg a shortcut to the exe with an extra dash command? Or a setting in options or an ini file?

Blake00 wrote: ↑Hey guys, Quick question.. Is there a way to set OpenRA to always load the mod/game selector screen on startup (instead of the last game you played) like it does the first time you ever run iOpenRA? Eg a shortcut to the exe with an extra dash command? Or a setting in options or an ini file?

I'm pretty sure that the mod chooser is now a thing of the past. The next release (due soon) will separate these into individual icons to launch mods.

anjew wrote: ↑

Blake00 wrote: ↑Hey guys, Quick question.. Is there a way to set OpenRA to always load the mod/game selector screen on startup (instead of the last game you played) like it does the first time you ever run iOpenRA? Eg a shortcut to the exe with an extra dash command? Or a setting in options or an ini file?

I'm pretty sure that the mod chooser is now a thing of the past. The next release (due soon) will separate these into individual icons to launch mods.

I don't really like this.. IMO this is the opposite direction they should be going. I understand that it is motivated as a means for better support for mods or something etc and that is all great... So keep all the changes you made to support that on the backend, but on the front end, I wish you could just open up OpenRA and have access to all the different Mods in one interface instead of the Clunky way it is all separated now.

In fact I would strongly recommend looking into a way to more seamlessly switch between mods. It takes an awful lot of time (and I'm running i7 16gb Ram SSD 1070 etc) to switch between mods when you see a game available in a different Mod then you are running. Once you click to join the game, your spot has already been taken and the game is full after the IMO excessively loading it takes to simply join a game from a different mod.

It would be better if OpenRA was one giant environment and if you load up a game it will be with the Red Alert ruleset, open a TD game its the TD ruleset, open a custom mod and its the custom mods ruleset etc. without having to close down and launch a different mod. This is the way that custom maps work now so it seems like it should be possible.. Just my opinion.

avalach21 wrote: ↑In fact I would strongly recommend looking into a way to more seamlessly switch between mods. It takes an awful lot of time (and I'm running i7 16gb Ram SSD 1070 etc) to switch between mods when you see a game available in a different Mod then you are running. Once you click to join the game, your spot has already been taken and the game is full after the IMO excessively loading it takes to simply join a game from a different mod.

What is the problem? It's literally one extra click compared to joining a server on the same mod. The behavior in release-20171014 is the same as 0421/0527:

Ah yes I forgot that's getting ditched in the next release. I'm setting up a computer for an old sick uncle who's not particularly computer savvy but likes a bit of gaming. Gonna put this old PC up in the post to him soon (probably before this new release when they change everything). I know he's not even gonna notice the mod chooser buried in the menu to access the other games so was hoping to force it on startup so he knows he's getting 3 games in 1.

Thought there might be shortcut command to force the mod chooser.

Or if there's a shortcut command to access each mod in the current version then I could create 3 shortcuts for him.

Shortcuts for every mod will be created when installing the new release

BTW, the "next" release came out a few days ago.

lol!! I had just left this page open in my browser since I first posted the thread so I hadn't been to the news page for a few days. Getting it now.. Thanks!

Sleipnir wrote: ↑

avalach21 wrote: ↑In fact I would strongly recommend looking into a way to more seamlessly switch between mods. It takes an awful lot of time (and I'm running i7 16gb Ram SSD 1070 etc) to switch between mods when you see a game available in a different Mod then you are running. Once you click to join the game, your spot has already been taken and the game is full after the IMO excessively loading it takes to simply join a game from a different mod.

What is the problem? It's literally one extra click compared to joining a server on the same mod. The behavior in release-20171014 is the same as 0421/0527:

Haha it's just one click but maybe like 15-20 seconds of loadingggg and my machine is fast. And that's only for multiplayer.. let's say I'm playing some single player missions or skirmish or whatever.. then I have to exit the game, go hunt around for the other shortcut, load up the game... It's not the end of the world but just feels like a clunky step back. I think OpenRA should be the overall brand and experience and it should become more seamless as time goes on, not more clunky and separated.. just my opinion.

Maybe you could even have a mod launcher with a "market place" where custom mods could be hosted for browsing and easily downloaded/update/uninstalled from (almost like the way steam works).

In my multiplayer game list now it's getting a bit crazy with all the different versions and playtests i've installed. It would be convenient if I could manage them all from a mod launcher/"marketplace" interface. At this point I don't really need the playtests so it would be nice to get rid of the old one (not even sure if Windows Programs and Features list can handle multiple different playtest versions properly).

Also would be cool if you could be able to expand and collapse the different mods/versions in your multiplayer game list, so for example if you are looking particularly for TD games you can collapse your RA release and RA Playtest games so they dont clog up your list.

Just some ideas :-) hope i don't come off as whiny

avalach21 wrote: ↑ Maybe you could even have a mod launcher with a "market place" where custom mods could be hosted for browsing and easily downloaded/update/uninstalled from (almost like the way steam works).

Yeah, I also like the idea of an "external mod chooser". Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be well received by the others... (And doing it would require a lot of work after all, I suppose.)

avalach21 wrote: ↑ Maybe you could even have a mod launcher with a "market place" where custom mods could be hosted for browsing and easily downloaded/update/uninstalled from (almost like the way steam works).

How about, while keeping the current structure, we could add a link inside OpenRA to a web list of unofficial mods ? Or even better : list them inside the game (maybe being able to sort them by criterias), just like game servers are listed.

That makes me also think : there could be the same thing for maps / mod maps. Most popular / played maps could then be advertised ingame.

FRenzy wrote: ↑That makes me also think : there could be the same thing for maps / mod maps. Most popular / played maps could then be advertised ingame.

That is #3357. We have been waiting for over four years for somebody to be interested enough to implement this.

I was about to post an issue, then stumbled upon that exact thing.
Would be awesome indeed !

avalach21 wrote: ↑-snip-

Usually the multiple versions in the server lists means that's how many versions you actually have installed on the machine.

Also you can open multiple copies of OpenRA. I usually have one in TD and one in RA open at the same time

anjew wrote: ↑

avalach21 wrote: ↑-snip-

Usually the multiple versions in the server lists means that's how many versions you actually have installed on the machine.

Also you can open multiple copies of OpenRA. I usually have one in TD and one in RA open at the same time

^^ yes that is true. I'm sure I have old playtests installed but it would be convenient if OpenRA was built to keep track of them for me in an interface that would allow me to install and uninstall playtests and different mods (and maps) from within the application.

Also yes, you can run 2 instances of it at the same time.. which is definitely the way to go sometimes but again that is a bit clunky.. makes me think about how when I am hosting a game, I will load up another instance of OpenRA to see if there are other games being populated that I am missing out on.. Would be convenient if you could browse the games list while inside of another game lobby rather than having to minimize and load up another instance of the game... adjust the music volume or pause it so that you dont annoyingly hear 2 tracks playing at once.. etc etc.

I understand there are work arounds but I think it would enhance the experience to not need to rely on what are IMO clunky work arounds that come with their own undesirable side effects.

I realize this all requires work and I have downloaded the source code and tried to sift through it to get some kind of understanding of it. I am not a master coder but if I had some time I wouldn't mind trying to make some of these non gameplay related enhancements to the OpenRA experience.