Package your game into a single exe file

[MiniGrief]

This is something I'm surprised hasn't been posted here before, or at least some variant of this. Either way, this is a way to package all your game files into a single exe file. This can be used as a method to hide your files, but it's just that. Hiding. This is NOT encryption and should not be used with the interpretation that it is. You can right click the packaged exe and open it in Winrar to see all your files. But it stops the average person from fiddling with the files if you don't want them to.

 

Note: Some anti-viruses detect these packaged files as suspicious and mark them as viruses, but these are typically brands that few people commonly use. VirusTotal Scan

 

Required software:

Winrar

Your game

 

Step 1:

Spoiler

Call your game client exe and pdb something like your games name or just client. Highlight all the files, then right click and select "Add to archive..."

 

Step 2:

Spoiler

All of the Winrar settings will be just pictures, unless they require your own input, which I will say in text. Highlighted areas mean that is something you should change.

 

1. Leave the name of the archive to after the other 3 settings are changed.

 

2.

 

3. Use the name of your games client exe here.

 

4. 

 

5.

 

6. This is only required if you want to use your own icon for the exe file.

 

7. Once these setting are done, you can just ok everything and it should package your game up into a single exe file.

 

[Skaveron]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think this will work if you're planning on using an auto-updater / downloader of sorts?

[jcsnider]

It will not play nice with auto updaters.

[GeoCry]

Is there a way to do this with the current auto updater or is there another method to update?

[PixelFox]

I mean it is possible with a auto updater,

but that autoupdater will have to package the stuff after its done downloading updates.

or download a new packaged EXE in its entirety every time.

 

I don't know how hard it is to write in code.

 

 

But hey, I learn't something new today.

 

[panda]

2 hours ago, PixelFox said:

I mean it is possible with a auto updater,

but that autoupdater will have to package the stuff after its done downloading updates.

or download a new packaged EXE in its entirety every time.

 

I don't know how hard it is to write in code.

 

 

But hey, I learn't something new today.

 

It really doesn't work with the auto updater (since that needs to be the thing run first, not an extractor) and redownloading the entire package is extremely inefficient.

tl;dr: Self-extracting archives are probably not the way to go. There's a reason games have installers.

 

[MiniGrief]

This is meant to be more of a method of hiding your files so that people can't mess with them as easily. But anyway, this does work with jc's launcher/updater.

 

Obviously, this is not a very good permanent solution, but it should work as a temporary security for those who don't want people fiddling with files.

 

5 hours ago, PixelFox said:

or download a new packaged EXE in its entirety every time.

Yes, this is probably the biggest drawback of it. I'd only recommend using it on a game you are mostly finished with and will rarely update anymore. Or if you would still update it, the updates would have to be big changes and not just update for every little thing.

 

Edit:

Forgot to mention that the launcher I was using was downloading the packaged exe and was not packaged into a single exe by itself. I don't know how it would work if you tried to use a packaged launcher, but I'd assume badly.

Edited February 13, 2018 by MiniGrief