Set your bug list as priority, Launching would be the top of the list for me.

word

Nekos instructions:

1) Go to your Battlefield 2142\mods\bf2142 folder. Look for shaders_client.zip and shaders_client.zip.bak. If you only have the .zip file, skip this step. If you have both files, rename the .zip file to .zip.bak2 and the .zip.bak file to .zip.
2) Go to My Documents\Battlefield 2142\mods\Firststrike and delete the cache folder inside.
3) Uninstall First Strike
4) Delete all fsbuild_XXXX files in your Battlefield 2142\mods folder
5) Install First Strike 1.4 Full
6) Use the launcher to patch your game (If you're running Vista make sure you're always running the Launcher as an Admin)
7) Go ingame and try connecting to DSGaming.net (It's the one server you can always be sure is running the latest version, so it's useful for checking if your mod works)

Is that so? I thought the "launcher" was simply a tool for easy launch and update, so that you will have the current version installed when joining a server. But anyway, if a launcher is the only way to go, how come no other mod is using one?

Well, you can go out and make an installer for every tiny patch. Make people have to download every tiny incremental installer and put that over their current build.  Or maybe even go to all the effort to make a full installer, get people to upload it to mirrors and get players to download it every time a tiny patch fixing one or two problems is released.

We are the only mod using one because we are the only mod releasing, or planning to release so much new stuff over a longer period, instead of packaging a load of it up at once, we are striving to keep the mod interesting and make it always feel new.  We are a mod who knew that Client auto updaters also requires server autoupdaters, and the only mod to have a person clever enough to make both of these.  We had a mod team who was realistic, knew there would be bugs in the public version because there simply isn't enough testers for a large scale testing session to find out about some of the things we missed, and have this as an easy way of fixing those problems once they are discovered. 

We are possibly the only mod to actually THINK of having an autopatcher. I don't recall any other mod teams for the Battlefield series talking about making and distributing an autopatcher.  I bet a few other mods will end up using exactly or a very similar system that we have in place right now.  Other mod teams never thought of or never had the ability to make a launcher, thats the only reason we are the only mod to have one.

Unless we encounter any game-breaking in-game bugs or problems, we won't release another public update until we've succesfully located and dealt with the Launcher problems.

thanks, that helps a lot

And when we suggest that you reinstall and repatch, it is the farthest thing from an insult. The simple fact is that if there is a defect in the Launcher, simply repatching a First Strike copy that has stopped working won't fix things, since the files are already corrupted. The only solution then is to reinstall First Strike so you have a clean copy to patch with.

Unless we encounter any game-breaking in-game bugs or problems, we won't release another public update until we've succesfully located and dealt with the Launcher problems.

Well, without that launcher right now, there would be quite a few really gameplay effecting bugs in 1.4 right now(take no officer beacon, various stability issues...).

Is that so? I thought the "launcher" was simply a tool for easy launch and update, so that you will have the current version installed when joining a server. But anyway, if a launcher is the only way to go, how come no other mod is using one? Woody's patcher worked fine back then - also i see no need for everyday updates, so normal installers should do.

Ingame bugs arent the problem at this point - its that quite a few people will never actually see them.
People are leaving the mod, not because it sucks in-game, but because they cant start it even after 10 reinstalls

Yeah, there might be something wrong with the launcher, infact I belive it was said in IRC that there was a few buggered lines of code that could effect the the launch of the mod causing the modified content error.  As is stated, the dude who did the launcher has just moved to Germany. We can't help that, give the bloke a bit to settle down first.

You could argue "Then why bother with the launcher if it can't be fixed yet?"  Well, without that launcher right now, there would be quite a few really gameplay effecting bugs in 1.4 right now(take no officer beacon, various stability issues...).  The launcher is bugged, but it can be fixed with a reinstall in a jiffy.  Reinstalling takes, what... 5 minutes? 10?  I'd assume people keep the installer at least a while after installing, so downloading isn't an issue.

No more content.. just fix the fixes.

im starting to agree...
From looking at the threads in client support i must assume that only like 70% of the people can manage a working install, which is not enough. Whats the point of new content if only the devs, testers and 5 lucky pubs can enjoy it?

The all-purpose tip "try a reinstall" sounds like an insult to me tbh. (Im not too dumb to install a mod, and so arent many others)
And why the hell will my install suddenly work after a reinstall? Isnt code or an install routine supposed to act the exact same way every time? Another sign for me that something is buggered.

This is not the case anymore. Now it all seems totally random. People cant possibly make that many different mistakes during an installation to generate all those different error messages and crashes.

I could imagine a flaw in the launcher (like neko assumed). Some small bug which leaves a 50-50 chance for a clean install.
We are far beyond the usual "delete your cache folder" and "make sure this and that box is unchecked" tips.
Yes, 2142 has an annoying online system which doesnt react well to modifications of any kind (besides aimbots and such) but this is the game, deal with it.

In the current state FS is like a fancy tricked out car with an engine that just wont start....

It seems theres a lot of problems with the latest update to FS.
First Strike is very fun to play, when you can play it.
To me it seems that each release is more buggy than the one before.
Thats why i stopped playing before, thought.. new release, a launcher/updater..maybe thing are good now.
Worse than ever.

I understand this is a free mod, and you guys dont get paid for it. I appreciate it very much.
I also think that if you want more people actively playing and supporting this mod, that all the little things that hamper trying to play this mod need to be fixed.
No more content.. just fix the fixes.

Would you care to specify exactly what it is that's "worse than ever"? If we don't know what the problem is, we can't try to fix it.

Are you talking about the problems a number of people have with getting the mod to run? These are a combination of people not following instructions, and admittedly possibly a bug in the updater. Unfortunately our hands are tied for now concerning the updater as our coder is currently in Germany and don't have access to fix any problems with it.

If you're talking about ingame bugs or problems, I can only say that we're doing our best to fix any and all bugs that are found. But we can only fix the bugs that we are aware of, and like Twigs said, our current testing team can only do so much. If you discover any bugs while playing, please report them in the Bug Reports forum and they will be taken care of as soon as possible. The Launcher is an enormously useful tool in this regard as we can continually put out smaller bug fixes more quickly than before, since you would have had to wait for the next big release otherwise.

So...what your saying is stop working on new content and new maps, hold work on current stuff (eg some of the maps seen in beta that were not released in 1.4) and instead fix all of the known bugs and glitches? No matter how long that takes?

Not all of them no. Not all the bugs are fixable as they are 2142 engine limitations. Not all of them hamper gameplay enough to be a priority.

Some of them do though and merit attention before new content is released.

I can't speak for the team, I'm just a lowly tester, but I know that they do their best to address all the problems. Remember, they are pushing the boundaries of the engine further than they were designed to go, so problems are inevitable. We on the testing team do our part to find as many problems before you do, however a team of 20 people will never find all the bugs, nor will we be able to replicate the massive numbers of players normally found after each new release. Just like any other piece of software, more problems become apparant following public release, either due to the numbers playing or because it is used in ways not foreseen by the designers.

People run in to problems early on becuase they dont follow installation instructions, such as setting view distance to 100%, checking the boxes correctly to find boxes etc. Personally I haven't had any problems with public FS that I couldn't fix, with it usually being a punkbuster issue, or an incorrect installation of a testing file!