Hello -
I've just finished work on the installer. It tested well.
What it does:
* Determines BG1 and BG2 install paths by reading the DirectPlay keys in the registry. Allows the end user to browse for these folders instead in case the registry reading doesn't work / is wrong / whatever.
* Confirms BG1 and BG2 installation folders by looking for files specific to each installation.
* Validates the BG1 installation is full by looking for all 150ish BIFFs. This distribution is TotSC-only so it demands the presence of the TotSC BIFFs as well.
* Confirms that the BG2 installation has the latest patch installed (for EXE patching later).
* Asks user to pick an installation folder and a start menu folder for the Tutu shortcut.
* Clones BG2 installation, copying just what is needed for Tutu.
* Updates cloned BALDUR.INI so that the HD0: item references the cloned folder.
* Copies all required BG1 resources (everything referenced in CHITIN.KEY) to subdirectories of the Tutu install folder. Later, a rewritten CHITIN.KEY will be installed which references the BG1 BIFFs from the new location, thus freeing the end-user to uninstall BG1 if desired once Tutu installation is complete.
* Copies BG1's music folder into the Tutu installation.
* Decompresses the core Tutu files (OVERRIDE, SCRIPTS, DIALOG.TLK, new CHITIN.KEY, etc).
* Patches the cloned BGMain.exe to make it a Tutu BGMain.exe.
* Creates the start menu folder selected by the user and adds a Tutu shortcut to it.
In all, it is a very professional looking installation that does everything for you. The end result is identical to having installed Tutu v4 and Tutufix v15 core bug fixes (with two exceptions: the BG1 install is no longer needed, and the original BG2 installation is untouched, so there is no "reversion" that has to occur in order to play BG2 proper).
EDIT: I forgot, more differences: I also included my Friendly Arm Nobleman fix, so that he gives the pantaloons, and the pantaloons import to BG2 successfully, as well as the Wand of the Heavens fix (quickslot icon no longer corrupt).
Right now, this installer depends on ToB being installed. I'd really like to update it such that ToB is optional, but I have some questions about how to do this. Obviously the BGMain.exe will be different for non-ToB, so the binary patch program has to be sensitive to that. I'm sure a non-ToB CHITIN.KEY and DIALOG.TLK will be required -- no biggie. But here's where I am unsure: if I fill a non-ToB installation's OVERRIDE folder with the files from a ToB installation's OVERRIDE folder, will all hell break loose? Or will SoA just ignore the ToB-specific crap? If OVERRIDE has to be customized as well, things become much more difficult to accomplish within one distribution.
Finally: what use do you think such a distribution best serves? An eventual replacement to "core" Tutu as it is installed now, or just a sort of "Tutu For Dummies," perhaps including a small collection of stable, tested mod material (e.g., some tweaks from Fixpack and Tutu Tweaks, BG1 GUI, etc)?
Thoughts and answers to the ToB-optional issue are welcome.