Launcher

Overview

The launcher is a script which allows the user to easily start any game included in the projects. Each game has a launcher folder, and within this folder is a batch file with the same name as the game's zip file.

Process

Initial Launch

The file in the game's launch folder primarily reads data into variables to pass on to the universal launcher. The current folder of the launcher and the launcher's name are both read into memory. These are important, as they relate directly to the folder the decompressed game resides in as well as the name of the game in for checking the dosbox index.

Launch.bat

At this point the game's launch file calls Launch.bat, which resides .\eXo\util\
(note: this is the name of the file for eXoDOS. Each project uses it's own universal launcher, also found in this folder)

Language Check

The first step is to check for the presence of any lang files. lang files are written to the dosbox folder to note which language packs have been installed. If one is detected, the launcher checks for the presence of this game in each of the various possible language folders.

Installation

The second step is to ensure the game is installed. If no language choice is presented, then this is the standard included eXoDOS version it checks for. If any language was chosen above, it checks to ensure that particular version has been installed. In the event the game has not been installed yet, the universal launcher will pass to the game's Installer. Upon competition, control is passed back to the universal launcher and the process continues.

Game Launch

The name of the game is now checked against 2 indexes. The first index, dosbox.txt, resides in the util folder. This file is a complete list of ever game in the project, along with the version of DOSBox that has been chosen for it. The chosen version is not random.