Is there a downside to useing launchers?

[Xim]

Personally, I use a launcher but a lot of people don't seem to use launchers and just type in the INI files (or whatever it is they do). Is this because there is a downside to using launchers? Or just simply because they don't wanna use one?

[Ceeb]

Personal preference. I use ZDL, quick and painless. I've never been a command-line kinda guy.

[Remmirath]

I'm a "Drag'n Drop" guy.

[Xaser]

If you've got a good launcher, like ZDL, I see no problem at all with ever using one. But there's a few die-hards like myself who refuse to use anything but command line. That's the only reason why, I think.

[DoomDude2009]

Speaking of zdl, I've been trying to figure out a way to load any IWAD without it loading the files present in the External Files. Let's say I want to play Evilution but if I have Memento Mori in the External Files it automatically loads it too, resulting in some nastly mixture of both wads. Is there any way to prevent this, or do I have to remove the E. Files?

[Graf Zahl]

I don't use launchers. I have never seen one that lets me configure it like I want. But launchers are just the result of Windows's poor command line support anyway so by using tools that offer a command line on their GUI it's not an issue for me.

[Nash]

If you use launchers, you'll be called a n00b!!1

j/k

BTW cmdopen is awesome. Works perfectly in Vista x64.

[Enjay]

I use ZDL. I was a real command-line diehard and used to run almost everything from the command line. However, as Windows was changed to have increasingly complicated directory names, and to make virtual directories and obfuscate exactly where the files really were by having directories rename themselves on the fly I got fed up having to try and remember or type in such nonsense and moved to ZDL. ZDL is pretty darned good IMO. It's nice and simple (I really don't like complicated Doom launchers at all - there's simply no need and they make a relatively easy task far more complicated than it needs to be) and gives easy access to the command line options in a pretty traditional way should additional options be required.

[Gez]

BTW cmdopen is awesome. Works perfectly in Vista x64.

It's also pretty redundant if you have Vista: if you hold shift when you rightclick, you get the same thing. Yes, including the "no need to navigate up a level" thing. Only stuff it lacks out-of-the-box is a separate option for "open elevated command line window here".

On-topic: I use right-click -> Open With or right-click -> Send To.

[DoomRater]

I still use my old Telefrag MapSpawn because I have quick access to my WAD list plus a command line textbox so it's easy to reconfigure things the way I need. Too bad I tried to combine the IWAD and Game engine together into a project and as a result nobody wants to use it.

[Coon]

ZDL 3.1a does it for me. It sure has a few limitations, one of them sort of annoying but other than that, it's a rock-solid, highly flexible, user-friendly, small and fast ZDoom launcher.

Since I have almost 700mb worth of official (comercially) classic Doom engine-based iwads and pwads in different folders plus an undefined amount of user wads, managing all this from the command line is as painful as it is pointless.

[ace]

I personally set up WADs and PK3s to open with any program I please upon right-clicking. I can easily edit with DB, XWE, or SLumpEd or run them in (G)ZDoom that way.

Of course, it doesn't work if I'm opening multiple WADs/PK3s with (G)ZDoom that way (causes separate instances of the program to launch), but in that case drag-n-drop suffices. I've never been too fond of launchers just as a matter of principle, though perhaps I've just gotten the wrong impression from Legacy, Doomsday, Quake2Evolved and a few others... Admittedly I've yet to try ZDL.

[Enjay]

one of them sort of annoying

As a matter of interest, what is the annoying thing?

[Coon]

one of them sort of annoying

As a matter of interest, what is the annoying thing?

You can't save iwad + pwad combinations snowberry-style. E.g HEXEN.WAD + HEXDD.WAD, tnt.wad + TNT31.WAD.

[Enjay]

You can't save iwad + pwad combinations snowberry-style. E.g HEXEN.WAD + HEXDD.WAD, tnt.wad + TNT31.WAD.

I can't say that I've ever tried, but it is possible to save configurations. Do these not do what you want? Also, I don't remember specifically how I set it up, but I have HexDD set in my IWAD list and it works just fine. I think, however, that it may simply have hexdd.wad set as the IWAD and then rely on Zdoom's native ability to use hexen.wad before it.