dodbits
Custom stuff for Source Games
NSIS Basic Installer
Saturday, 02 December 2006 07:44 | | 
| 
| Hits: 346
| | Hits: 346
This Tutorial will help you make a NSIS installer package for Steam Mods. It has been made step by step for the person who has not assembled a installer package before. So for some, it will seem long but this is a beginners level version, every step must be included :)
I urge you to just run through this tutorial and make a simple one first, say a installer for a single piece of content like a cfg file (text doc in the cfg folder) just to test if you got it correct.
The steps below seem long, when you have done this a few times it can take under 2 miniutes!
Make an NSIS installer for DoD:S and CS:S custom content.
Description: A simple ... but long step by step guide to make NSIS install creator make a basic installer that automatically finds the users dod or cstrike folder.
This will work for all Steam mods with a couple of alterations. Just remember where "dod" and "cstrike" are mentioned change the addresses to your mods main game folder where folders like "resource", "scripts", "materials" are kept.
Prepare your custom content folders.
The following will build a installer to add your custom content you have already packaged in a "dod" or "cstrike" folder with all the files already placed in the correct sub folders.
So, to prepare your custom content by putting it all in a "dod" (DoD:s) or "cstrike" (CS:s) folder. It will be quicker adding one folder during this tutorial rather than a whole lot of single files.
1. The Programs and the Preparation you will need....
(A). Install NSIS A Free windows installer package...
note that later on you may decide you want a fancy installer as mentioned here. In that case install this combined package instead.
(B). Install HM NIS EDIT A Free NSIS Editor, a much better GUI to use with NSIS.
(C). Make your custom content as you would for a zip file, a lot of people place a dod or cstrike folder in their zip, do it this way for the installer, place all your custom content inside a main folder called... dod or cstrike ... make sure all the subfolders and files are in the correct place
|
IMPORTANT! The best way to keep things neat is to make a new folder and keep all your stuff for making these installers inside that one folder. This is one of those situations when the Author says "Trust me... just do it." Make a folder under "C" drive, then make sub folders for each project you do. The reason is to keep the file addresses simple, if you have to add file addresses manually later on, this will help a lot. |
The installer will grab the dod folder and place it and all of it's contents in the users correct address...
C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\Your Email Name\day of defeat source
OR
C:\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\Your Email Name\day of defeat source
That is the best part of this installer, those complicated addresses and the explanation of how to place them in the users correct folders are not required... the installer will find that address automatically :)
There is only one problem... the uninstaller will report the size of the users dod folder (in the Add/Remove screen) ... not the true size of your content. You should make the user aware of this in a readme.
2. Use the wizard in HM NIS EDIT...
|
Run the wizard in HM NIS EDIT, click on the magic wand below "File"...
Press Next >and...
Fill out the text boxes in the "Application Information" screen.
Press Next > |
 |
3. The Five sections to be filled out in the "Setup options" screen...
|
Setup icon: The icon the installer will use... this can be changed or use the default. To change you must have a working icon (.ico) compatable with NSIS and put in it's address on your local PC. Setup file: compile the installer. NOTE: It is wise to give it a unique name other than "Setup.exe". Compress: Press Next > |
 |
4. Application directory and License screen.
|
This section holds info on the place the installer is going to putthe files you made and a text page of a "License"... Application default directory: "Programs File" directory. "counter-strike source\cstrike" folder. There is more to do on this latter... but for now put in... It is allways wise to leave the, "Allow user to change the application directory" tick box as ticked. This will allow the user to use the browse button to choose for him/herself. To make it go away,delete whats in there and leave it blank. You may want to display your readme file here. If you like you can browse (...) to your readme and the wizard will place in the files address in the License File address box. The readme file has to be a .txt type file... normal old notepad will do. Press Next > |
 |
5. Application Files screen.
|
This section can add information of the files you have made. This section is very easy to fill out, it is also VERY important
Press Next > |
 |
6. Application Icons screen.
|
This section is about the Start menu it can create a program group with a uninstall icon and a web address. This can get messy for the user, it is far better not to put these in ... we all have enough things in our Windows start menu :)
For this simple Tutorial we will opt out and keep it simple...
Application Start Menu folder name: just delete the name leave it blank. Radio buttons: Unclick all ticks in the three options below that. Press Next >
|
 |
7. Execute after set up screen.
|
This next section is used to execute the program after install.
leave it blank. but it is better to include it in a zip with the install program. The user should read about your custom content before he or she starts to install. So the License page may be a better option. For this tutorial we will leave all sections here blank.
Press Next > |
 |
8. Uninstaller screen.
|
This section is for the uninstaller details, it is a good idea to include this as they often work well for "new users to the game" oh to hell with it... n00bs OK?
We do have to do some work in the script later for
the users uninstalling convenience, but for now...
Use uninstaller tick box: Make sure "Use uninstaller" is ticked. Uninstall prompt: Leave this alone. Uninstall success: Leave this alone. Uninstall icon: Leave this alone for now. We will rename it later.
Press Next > |
 |
9. Wizard Finished screen and saving the script.
|
The Wizard Finished screen pops up... Press Finish > HM NIS EDIT. Your script is in the right window pane. press "Save as..." in "File". The save box pops up place it somewhere you can find it again and give it a name. Important! The same folder you have your content in is best, the
|
 |
|
Compile and test.
It is ready to compile a script to make a installer
|
 |
We are finished ... but more options can be added!
What we have just done is make a installer script that is ready to compile, run and make a setup.exe package. It will deliver your files to the user but we can add more features if required.
If we compile and run it now it will...
- Not find the game folder, (e.g dod or cstrike) automatically... we have manually add a section in the script.
- It may create problems with uninstalling custom content for some users... we need to manually alter some information in the script, if you make more custom content the uninstaller icon will overwrite other uninstallers in the dod folder. That will be bad!
The next section deals with the final tidy up of the script in case you want to add more features. If you have already compiled it and you are happy with what you have, then you are done.
If you want more features it gets more complex. Go to the next section...