THE LAUNCHER Patcher, updater, launcher for Unity. Documentation file
Index: 1.What does the Launcher do? 2.Workflow 3.How to upload a build? 4.How to configure the launcher client?
1.What does the Launcher do? The Launcher is a helper application like any patcher but with one difference; It s completely coded and designed in Unity. It basically allows the user to download your game, keeps your game updated at all times and checks file integrity. It has two main parts. The uploader and the client. The uploader works in the Unity Editor and is launched from Window menu by clicking its name. The client is delivered to the player. The Uploader, allows you to select your build, compresses the build folder and uploads it to a server you specify via FTP protocol right from the Unity Editor. The Client, allows your player to download the compressed build from the server and decompresses it while also checking the file integrity and latest version. Client requests the files via HTTP. It also launches your game through its interface.
2.Workflow Uploader Workflow After the upload is done, the client simply checks the version file first, downloads the update if needed, checks if the contents of the game folder are the same as the file list on the server and launches your game if all conditions are ok. Client Workflow
3.How to upload a build? Step 1: Open the uploader by clicking The Launcher in the Window menu. Fill in the version name. It can be whatever you wish but avoiding special characters is advised. E.g. v1.0 v2.345 build.463.219 Step 2: -Select the folder which contains your build. While building your game, create a new folder solely for the upload. That folder will be selected for compression. Step 3: -Press the Compress button.
3.How to upload a build? Step 4: Fill in the FTP details. As a general note, many servers require you to also include the public_html or www part. It may be called something else too. So please do not forget to include your public html folder too in the host. Check if the file path is correct and press the Upload button. Wait for the upload progress to complete and then the editor window closes itself automatically when it s done. Or you have the option to cancel too for any reason you might have.
4.How to configure the launcher client? With only one single inspector script, you can configure the client completely. Checking out the demo scene will provide lots of useful information on both configuration and structure of the client. Many of the fields are pretty much self-explanatory but here goes the most important ones; -HTTP Game File Location: this is where your uploader uploads the game. (See FTP Host in 3.How to upload a build - Step 4). -Version File and File List Url: Host with the file name at the end. Including these in case you may want to customize filenames as you wish. -News Text Url: This is the link which outputs a text which then is copied to the news area on the launcher. Using Unity Rich Text tags could prove useful. -Progress Fill: Image with fill type to show any progress. -Game Name: The executable name of your application. Do not include the exe or app extension. If your game name is TestGame.exe, put in TestGame.
4.How to configure the launcher client? You can localize the client easily by editing localization manager fields in the inspector. Note that log entries and debug entries are not localized... The Download button changes according to the status. (See the workflow). It can take 2 states; Download and Play. On Download, either there s a new version, brand new install or file integrity problem, thus, download starts. On Play, the game executable is launched.