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[genericuser]

So I tinkered with Construct the other day - and I discovered that it could download files and extract archives. And thus, I thought "It would actually be pretty easy to make a download manager with this!".

And so I went, and made the TIGPlayer- an application that simplifies downloading and playing games.

BE ADVISED: This is a proof-of-concept/alpha; right now it's plain, basic, and a long way off from what I want it to be. Also, the default repository is pretty stupid at the moment- there's only 3 games at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to add more, or someone else makes a better repository than I do.

Downloads - the interesting part
TIGPlayer v0.2 - The TIGPlayer. Should be the only thing you need, unless you want to host your own games.

Sample Repository - An "example" archive containing everything you need to make your own repository; 3 games, the downloads.ini file, and a README on how to add new games.

The technical details

I'm using INIs for most of the important workings. The reason? Simple to edit, and readable, too.

What it is right now:

The downloaded games are stored in games.ini, like this:

Code:

[cavestory]
title='Cave Story' //title of the game
path='doukutsu/Doukutsu.exe' //which executable to launch

To download new games, it first checks repository.ini to see which website it should download files from. After that, it downloads a file called downloads.ini, containing the downloadable games, listed like this:

Code:

[lamulana]
title='La Mulana' //title of the game
description='La-Mulana is a free-roaming platformer game designed to look, sound, and play like a classic MSX game.' //description, doesnt do anything currently
download='lamulana.zip' //which archive to download from the server
path='lamulana/lamulana.bat' //which executable to launch to play the game?

Feedback and questions are appreciated- also, if you make a larger repository, that'd be very cool

EDIT2: Fixed a repository and a few layout issues. Still getting a runtime error on exit, though. I have no idea why.

[Cokho]

This is a damn good idea!!! Go go go! I wish you'll get a lot of game soon! It could really turn in something AWESOME 

Good luck !   
                   

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

is this different from tigbox? did you know of tigbox before making this, or is this a strange independent coincidence? EDIT: wait nevermind, i saw the title (tigbox clone)

will try it out soon

[genericuser]

Paul Eres, look at the title 

This isn't very different from TIGBox in terms of functionality, no. However, the implementation makes it possible to set up your own repository pretty quickly, meaning that you don't have to wait for TIGdb to add your game(s) to the database.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

yeah, but that was also an advantage of tigbox as well -- this tool feels more 'techie' in that you need to create your own list of games or download one before it'd work. do you have plans to make it have the ability to download repositories from within the program? that would simplify things a lot, since you could just run it, see a list of games, download it, then choose a game from that list to install

[Cokho]

*jumping on the occasion* Is there is any way to get TigBox now? I think the download link is broken so... 

[genericuser]

There is a default repository - but like I said, it only has 3 games at the moment, which is why you can change the repository; if someone with a better host and more free time makes a bigger list of games, you can use their list instead of the default one.

I'll add a way to change the repository in the next version, so that you only need to copy and paste a URL to get another repository.

[MaloEspada]

Interesting idea. But what about shareware games?

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

shareware games still have free demos which can work in this as good as anything else

[genericuser]

After taking a good look on the features I want to add, I've pretty much concluded that I'll need to remake this app, most likely in Python.

Which GUI libraries do you recommend? 

[Bood_war]

Hmm, I dunno anything bout no GI's

[kavs]

If you need hosts for files for this, let me know. My site traffic eats like 200MB of my monthly 300GB, so I can host a game or ten. <o/

[BlueSweatshirt]

After taking a good look on the features I want to add, I've pretty much concluded that I'll need to remake this app, most likely in Python.

Which GUI libraries do you recommend? 

wxWidgets.

Although a lot of people dub it as complicated and just down-right 'horrible', it's a wonderful cross-platform system.

I don't know whether or not you can get it working with Python, but it's worth a shot?
 

[genericuser]

If you need hosts for files for this, let me know. My site traffic eats like 200MB of my monthly 300GB, so I can host a game or ten. <o/

That would be very nice 

I've compiled a list of 20 free games or so that I'm planning to host- can you PM me about transferring files to your server?


@Jakman4242: I'll look into that 

[BlueSweatshirt]

In case you haven't looked much, I did. Because it just interested me.

It seems it does work with Python.
I've used it a little bit, but it's even more extensive than I thought. You can even set up canvas space in the app, with which you can render OpenGL output! 



Take a look. 
http://www.wxwidgets.org/

[Triplefox]

I can confirm the wx is the one you want for Python. Tons of widgets. Not hard to use. Lua would be lighter but Lua libraries are annoying to pull together.

If you wanted to make collaboration easy, you could have the program point to a wiki page, an open-access database, or similar editable system. Each game could be a document, or you could have one big document with tons of entries.

[LazyWaffle]

This is made of awesome.

Do continue


Anyway, I think some sort of rating system would be nice. And a release date. And more game info overall. Also, I think it would be nice if the player could create folders in their downloaded games to organize them. For the game downloader, you should divide it into different genres (Platformer, FPS, Arcade, Roguelike, SHMUP, Experimental, etc), and different filters such as commercial/non-commercial. Do you think commercial games would be able to be sold through this, or would it be too much of a hassle to set up an online store?

Great start, I'm looking forward to seeing more of this.

[BlueSweatshirt]

I think an online store is a huge stretch.

From there it changes from a game downloader/launcher to a crappy Steam clone. Although I don't doubt it's success, I can see it as partly unnecessary for the scope of this project as it is.

As for dividing games into categories. Humbug. Imo, dividing games into categories only makes it harder to find a game to play.

[LazyWaffle]

I think an online store is a huge stretch.

From there it changes from a game downloader/launcher to a crappy Steam clone. Although I don't doubt it's success, I can see it as partly unnecessary for the scope of this project as it is.

As for dividing games into categories. Humbug. Imo, dividing games into categories only makes it harder to find a game to play.

It's better than having a clusterfuck of games with no organization whatsoever. It may make it easier to find a new game, but it makes it harder to find what you're looking for.

[genericuser]

I don't think I want to set up an online store with this; mostly because the piracy protection right now would be a large label saying "PLEEASE DON'T STEAL THIS".

And besides, the intent of this app is to make it easy to find and play games, like Jakman4242 said.

Genres and release dates I can probably add to it.

When I get it rewritten in Python, that is. 

Still, good to see that people are enjoying this idea/app