My players don't want to upgrade to renewal

[iwillnot]

Good day!

I have recently started using rAthena from eAthena. I also decided to start using RagexeRE instead of Xray which was quite a big change for me. It was difficult to find a firm and bug-free client set up until I found mine. I am currently using client 20110405.

My problem is, most of my players are using an outdated Ragray client that was functional for the 20091013a client of Xray. Their problem now is that when they use the installer for my server, they have missing sprites and assets required for the new user interface.

My question are: (1) Would it be possible (or is it wise) to create a patch that includes user interface files so that my players do not need to download a heavy client like Miruku or Ragray?

(2) If so, what files must I compile to provide for my players?

(3) Are the user interface files the only things that will be missing to make the game functional? (a) Aside from the items, mobs etc. because they will definitely be missing. We intend to play RO as it were a few years ago, before Renewal. ( From my understanding, the client knows what files it will require, it is simply a matter of providing it in the data.grf.

Is it correct to say that (4) the data.grf that I have (which is updated by Miruku) will have all necessary files. Once I know exactly what files I need to provide my players, I can simply extract them from the GRF, provide a GPF file for the necessary files, and upload to my patch site to redistribute it to my players.

Hoping to hear from the community with patience and understanding.

[en_dev]

I would recommend to make an installer to you're currently using client, then let them download the full version of it. Otherwise, patch your latest grf.

I'd still go having them download full installer again since you got new stuffs and they got old ones.

[Wolfeh]

When I was a newbie to eAthena, I wanted to make a giant GRF with everything in it, from my custom data folder to the data.grf's and all that good stuff. Take it from me, it is so much easier to just use an installer like Miruku... Making a GPF with the necessary files, it will probably be a large file as there is a lot of new things with renewal, interface is just one of them. Miruku can be downloaded as a torrent, which may make your users happier as it means you get a faster download and an uninterrupted download (so if you have wireless, and your internet drops, its no biggie, you can continue downloading later without getting a corrupted file). I can understand the big change, it will probably be quite confusing and frustrating for you (it certainly was for me).

Currently the best client you can use is 20120410, its the most up to date and supported by rAthena. Just make sure to change your clientinfo.xml (in data folder) so the version is 25, change packet_db.txt (in db folder) to packet_db_ver: 25, and make sure mmo.h in src/common has #define PACKETVER 20120410 (it should be that way by default, but just in case. If its not, open with a text editor, edit, save, and recompile.) Then, with renewal, we no longer use diff patches. Use Shin's Diff Patcher to basically generate your own diff. Tutorial/guide here. If you have anything that is xray-only, get rid of it, such as hairstyles and palettes. I think you can use palettes just fine, they (pinky and whats-his-face) did something to the hairstyles which I'm not sure what they did exactly, but you can't use them in renewal. We have plenty of hairstyles to download here, and chances are the ones you had previously are available for download, there may be just a few missing.

After this, the reason they may be missing sprites is because you need to edit lua files and compile them into lubs. See Custom Items without Xray.

Edited June 25, 2012 by Wolfeh