Obsolete Install Method [EDITED]

If you're having problems with your installation of Better Than Wolves, or if you've woken up in the future and are beginning to doubt the nature of reality, here's the place to post about it.
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FlowerChild
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Obsolete Install Method [EDITED]

Post by FlowerChild »

Note that this is no longer the recommended way of installing the mod, but has been left here for posterity.

The recommended way of installing the mod is through MultiMC. Instructions for doing so can be found here.

-Dawn


This represents the "official" method of mod installation. The intent here is to have a method that doesn't rely on third party utilities and such (which I realize can make this task easier), and leave such alternate approaches to other members of the community to explain in their own separate threads.

The method below is admittedly clunky, and if you're having trouble with it I'd strongly recommend looking into the aforementioned alternative installation methods.

[****** Installation Instructions ******]

1) Navigate to your Minecraft install directory and open the file named "options.txt" in a text editor. Delete the line that reads "lang:en_us" (or whatever language is referred to after "lang:"). This prevents a crash when loading older version of the game.

2) Start the Minecraft launcher, click on the 3-line menu button to the top right to display additional options, then click "Launch Options", then "Add New". Give your configuration an appropriate name (eg. "Minecraft_1_5_2). In the "Name" box, select "release 1.5.2" in the "Version" drop down, and click "save" This will create a vanilla configuration of the version of Minecraft BTW is based upon (1.5.2).

3) Click on "News", make sure the "Play" button has your new profile selected, and play the game with this new configuration at least once to force Minecraft to download 1.5.2. Simply clicking "Play" in the launcher and waiting until the main menu is reached before quitting out is sufficient.

4) Exit the game and launcher, and make sure Minecraft is not running.

5) Navigate to your Minecraft install directory, and within it you'll find a folder called "versions". Within "versions" make a copy of the directory called "1.5.2", and rename this copy to something easy to identify like "BetterThanWolves".

6) Open your new directory, and rename both the files to match the name you used above (eg. "BetterThanWolves.jar" and "BetterThanWolves.json"), making sure to preserve the file types (.jar & .json).

7) Open the .json file with a text editor, and change the part that reads '"id": "1.5.2"' to match whatever name you've chosen (eg. '"id": "BetterThanWolves"').

8) Still in the .json file, find the section labeled "downloads" that looks something like this (specific details may vary):
Spoiler
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Code: Select all

	"downloads": {
		"client": {
			"sha1": "465378c9dc2f779ae1d6e8046ebc46fb53a57968",
			"size": 5564661,
			"url": "https://launcher.mojang.com/v1/objects/465378c9dc2f779ae1d6e8046ebc46fb53a57968/client.jar"
		},
		"server": {
			"sha1": "f9ae3f651319151ce99a0bfad6b34fa16eb6775f",
			"size": 2360903,
			"url": "https://launcher.mojang.com/v1/objects/f9ae3f651319151ce99a0bfad6b34fa16eb6775f/server.jar"
		},
		"windows_server": {
			"sha1": "49fded489aae76e012048c3c81dcc323384ef781",
			"size": 2542151,
			"url": "https://launcher.mojang.com/v1/objects/49fded489aae76e012048c3c81dcc323384ef781/windows_server.exe"
		}
	},
And delete the whole thing. This will prevent the launcher from overwriting your BetterThanWolves install with vanilla versions of Minecraft every time it is launched. There are several sections labeled "downloads" in this file, so make sure you are deleting the one most resembling the above, containing "client", "server", and "windows_server" subsections. Note that if your .json file is a mess that appears all on one line, searching online for a "json formatter" may make performing this edit a lot easier.

9) Open the .jar file (eg. BetterThanWolves.jar) with Winrar or other program.

10) Delete the META-INF folder within the .jar file.

11) Copy all the files and folders in this mod's MINECRAFT-JAR folder into your .jar file (overwriting any existing files) and then close the .jar file.

12) Start the Minecraft launcher, go into Launch Options, and add a new configuration using whatever name you like. In the "version" box, select the new version you've created (eg. "release BetterThanWolves") and save it.

13) Launch the game with this new configuration whenever you want to play BTW, and marvel and the wonderment of it all!

Note, that if you're reinstalling a new version of the mod on top of an already installed version of Better Than Wolves, the only step required is to copy the mod files into your .jar as per step 11 above.

[**** Troubleshooting ****]

-After running newer versions of Minecraft, your options.txt file in your Minecraft directory may be left in a state that causes older versions of Minecraft to crash. If you are experiencing crashes on startup, try opening "options.txt" in a text editor and delete the line that reads "lang:en_us" (or whatever language is referred to after "lang:"). If that doesn't work, deleting options.txt entirely might do so.

-If you have not been running older versions of Minecraft in the past, you may find that you aren't getting any sound due to Mojang recently making the old sound files unavailable for download. Unfortunately, you will need to search online for solutions to this problem (it is common to all old versions of MC, not just Better Than Wolves installs), as it is currently beyond the scope of the mod to resolve it.

-For Mac Users: Note that the default file management utility on Macs tends to overwrite directories during install rather than merge them appropriately. As a result, you will either need to manually copy over the files in each subdirectory, or use a third-party utility to perform the above process. Failing to do so will likely result in the game crashing on startup.

[****** Server Installation Instructions ******]

1) Make sure minecraft is not running.
2) Open your minecraft_server.jar with Winrar or other program
3) Copy all the files and folders in this mod's MINECRAFT_SERVER-JAR folder into your minecraft_server.jar (overwriting any existing files).
4) Optionally, copy the mod's config file into the same directory that contains minecraft_server.jar.
5) Obviously, clients connecting to your server will need to have BTW installed.
....
8) Receive heaps of praise from the players on your server for installing BTW, and laugh maniacally as you ban dissenters.
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FlowerChild
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by FlowerChild »

Btw, if anyone has any commentary on the above, or runs into problems with it, please let me know here. I'm hoping that in addition to the instructions in the OP (which I'll update as needed), this can act as a central area for us to work out issues with installation.
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FlowerChild
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by FlowerChild »

I was just debugging the crash on startup with new options.txt files, and included above a workaround as the first step in the install instructions:

1) Navigate to your Minecraft install directory and open the file named "options.txt" in a text editor. Delete the line that reads "lang:en_us" (or whatever language is referred to after "lang:"). This prevents a crash when loading older version of the game.

Look like that's what the problem was. I'll try to include a workaround in the next release, but unfortunately I can't do anything about that first time the player runs 1.5.2 to download it, before the mod is actually installed.
erikdk321
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by erikdk321 »

After a break of almost 3 years I decided to install the mod once again this morning, but I have run into some problems.
As far as I know I have followed the above guidelines correctly, however, when I launch the game a new folder is installed inside the folder of my modded version of 1.5.2. Its name is 1.5.2 Modded-natives-[a bunch of numbers]. Presumably, as a result of the installation of this folder the game just launches in vanilla 1.5.2.

Any help is much appreciated :)
erikdk321
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by erikdk321 »

Just to make something clear: I installed the mod on the old launcher. If I use the new launcher the game crashes the moment I launch Minecraft 1.5.2.
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Gilberreke
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by Gilberreke »

erikdk321 wrote:Just to make something clear: I installed the mod on the old launcher. If I use the new launcher the game crashes the moment I launch Minecraft 1.5.2.
What's the crash log?

I realize you said you followed instructions to a tee, but we kinda need some information to be able to help I feel. Maybe you could take a screenshot of each step, so we can verify the steps were done correctly?
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by erikdk321 »

Just launched 1.5.2 without crashing, so not sure what was wrong before. The problem may come back, but for now it's fixed.
However, after creating the Better Than Wolves version folder by copying and modifying the 1.5.2 version, I was unable to launch the game in the modied version.
Below is a screenshot of the launch menu. I'm not familiar with the new launcher, but AFAIK my BTW version is supposed to be there...?
https://imgur.com/a/F81Tr
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FlowerChild
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by FlowerChild »

erikdk321 wrote: I'm not familiar with the new launcher
For someone who supposedly read the above instructions, you sure didn't :P

I'll change step 1 above to point explicitly towards the "preparation" section to try and make this a little more clear that the old launcher is required. I'll also remove your avatar, as there's a "no politics" rule on these forums.

EDIT: Upon further reflection, this was my bad for splitting something so crucial into a separate section of the instructions. I've merged it fully into the step by step installation instructions now, so hopefully you've saved other people being tripped up by the same thing.
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by Epsilon »

Not sure if this is helpfull, but I have been playing with the new launcher for the past week. Only problem I encountered, was I had to turn off "online verification" on my server in order to connect... but as it's just a LAN server there is no issiue...

Maybe someone knowing what's going on wants to verify this...

~I might even open a new topic, if this becomes necessary. But actually just wanted to throw that in.
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by FlowerChild »

Epsilon wrote:Not sure if this is helpfull, but I have been playing with the new launcher for the past week.
Is this using the installation method described above? No other steps were required in order to prevent it from overwriting the mod install with a stock 1.5.2 one?
Epsilon
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by Epsilon »

FlowerChild wrote:Is this using the installation method described above? No other steps were required in order to prevent it from overwriting the mod install with a stock 1.5.2 one?
I'm sorry, that I can't answer that as I install by my own memory of how it's done:

Find the clean 1.5.2 in the versions folder (started launcher before to get it downloaded; this step I didn't do resently as I still had one). Copy it. Change the names to "1.5.2-btw1" (foler, both files, and within the confog file).
EDIT: I also deleted the parts within the ?file as mentioned in previous guides.
Delete the "METAINF" with 7zip and drag all mod files in (in order: 'BetterItemFrames', CraftGuide, AstroLab, BTW).
Start the launcher (the new one) and create a new profile with "1.5.2-btw1" and run it. SinglePlayer no problem (creating a game and running around a bit, punching a tree worked correctly).
Run the BTWserver.jar and try to log in. Failed. opened server.properties changed to online-mode=false . restarted server. Tried to log in again. Success, no further problems encountered. Obviously running both on the same PC with internet connection. NO tests for LAN or Online.

I hope that helps you, and sorry for my writing style. Next time you get full sentences ;)

EDIT2: Launcher version is 2.0.1003, Launcher is running in German and Germany, but BTW profile starts the game in english with no problems (and I could't find an option within the launcher that handles this)
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by Gimlog »

did everything as said but did't work for me ...
tryed with multiMC and did't work to
I realy would like to play this mod ageen but can't make it running for years --" i must miss something but don't know was because did every step and more than once ...
jadedragonette
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by jadedragonette »

I tried to follow this step-by-step, but trying to find the old launcher didn't work for me (somehow I managed to miss your link, silly me as that would have saved me at least half an hour of attempting to find it on my own).

I can't guarantee that it will work for everyone, as I've only tested it on two systems (both running Windows 10 with the latest updates).

But on launcher version 2.0.1049, every step you laid out worked for me, besides running the old launcher.

There were only minor changes (related to the new launcher only).

Those being:

Steps 1 and 2. I didn't have to get the old launcher and I didn't have to modify options.txt to get this to work for me.

Step 3 was minorly edited, but in essence stayed the same. Under "launch options" I added a new launch, using default 1.5.2 - this essentially created a new Vanilla profile of version 1.5.2.

From there, I did everything exactly as you laid out. Launched it to download the version, exited the game and the launcher. Found the minecraft install directory and the versions folder. etc. etc. etc.

When I made it back to the launcher and created a new profile (as before, under launch options -> add new), the BetterThanWolves version was available just like any vanilla version would be.

Everything worked.

Well, everything but sound, which I followed another post in this forum to fix - copied everything from .minecraft/assets/virtual/legacy/sounds to resources/sounds3 located where I directed the Better Than Wolves instance to save, and all the sound was back.

The best part of it all: now I get to enjoy this mod in all its glory, without having to worry about accidentally updating the launcher and screwing everything up. Again. Because my brain likes to screw me over and would think, for whatever reason, that newer equals better - when this mod proves that 100% wrong.
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by myrrdan »

Ok, So I followed all the steps, copied the 1.5.2 folder, renamed it BTW, then renamed the json and jar files, edited the json file and added the files from minecraft on the better than wolves download into the btw.jar file.
the next step, where you create a new profile using the newly created version.. there is only the usual versions listed. all the numbers.
there is no btw version listed.
.... is there a step I've missed to create a new version??
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by VegasGoat »

myrrdan wrote:Ok, So I followed all the steps, copied the 1.5.2 folder, renamed it BTW, then renamed the json and jar files, edited the json file and added the files from minecraft on the better than wolves download into the btw.jar file.
the next step, where you create a new profile using the newly created version.. there is only the usual versions listed. all the numbers.
there is no btw version listed.
.... is there a step I've missed to create a new version??
Most likely you made a mistake on step 11 and deleted that last closing brace } that was supposed to remain, and the json file is failing to parse. Also make sure the filenames of the jar and json exactly match the folder name (upper/lower case too), as well as the id value in the json file.
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by myrrdan »

Vegas, you are awesome!!
Thats exactly what happened, I accidently deleted the } and I had a capitol letter on the folder, and not the files.
now its showing up in version :)
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Egger3rd
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by Egger3rd »

The json files that the new launcher creates have a different formatting. Makes the instructions hard to relate. I wouldn't mention it if not for my recent inability to get ahold of the old launcher through legitimate means. I believe they are phasing it out. Even the alternative downloads give you the new launcher. I found a copy that someone on the minecraft forums shared, but I don't know how trustworthy outside sources can be for this kind of stuff. I'd like to be absolutely sure when I come across a bug that it's not because of some jerk's hacked copy I downloaded.

So far I've had no luck using the new launcher. The old launcher has worked fine for me in the recent past, but the new one just doesn't add the profiles like it should. Back to using that user download I guess. Just seems shitty to me that the old stuff is being cemented over.
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by ElectroBot »

Egger3rd wrote:So far I've had no luck using the new launcher. The old launcher has worked fine for me in the recent past, but the new one just doesn't add the profiles like it should. Back to using that user download I guess. Just seems shitty to me that the old stuff is being cemented over.
Have you tried this? - viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9544
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Egger3rd
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by Egger3rd »

ElectroBot wrote: Have you tried this? - viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9544
I have not. Thank you for pointing that out.
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by AllenWL »

I had no idea where to post this, and I couldn't find the answer when I was looking for it, so I'm putting this here.
If there was something that explains this, and I've missed it, I apologize in advance.

If I play a more recent version of minecraft, will that mess something up and force me to re-install BTW from scratch before I play it?
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by hawk »

You can have multiple MC versions and/or differently modded of the same MC version on a single install as long as the version folders are named differently. Basically, if you followed the instructions in the OP, your BTW install is safe. Assuming you use the Mojang launcher, switching between the new and old is only a slight pain.

That said, you probably want to keep the installs completely separate as otherwise they share a the same save folder. Accidentally opening your BTW save in a later (or un-modded) version is a good way to have a bad day.


I defer to Gil's comments below. I did this recently for a short period without issue but he's way more savvy than me about these sorts of things.
Last edited by hawk on Fri Aug 17, 2018 3:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Gilberreke
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by Gilberreke »

AllenWL wrote:I had no idea where to post this, and I couldn't find the answer when I was looking for it, so I'm putting this here.
If there was something that explains this, and I've missed it, I apologize in advance.

If I play a more recent version of minecraft, will that mess something up and force me to re-install BTW from scratch before I play it?
It might mess up yes. There's a bug, but I don't recall if it's fixed or not, where a modern version will generate a new type of options file that breaks BTW. You don't have to reinstall however, you can just delete the options.txt file whenever going back to BTW IIRC. Make world backups just to be on the safe side, or switch to a launcher that might better support these use cases (they do come with a host of problems with BTW themselves, you might have to ask for help).
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AllenWL
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by AllenWL »

Gilberreke wrote:
AllenWL wrote:I had no idea where to post this, and I couldn't find the answer when I was looking for it, so I'm putting this here.
If there was something that explains this, and I've missed it, I apologize in advance.

If I play a more recent version of minecraft, will that mess something up and force me to re-install BTW from scratch before I play it?
It might mess up yes. There's a bug, but I don't recall if it's fixed or not, where a modern version will generate a new type of options file that breaks BTW. You don't have to reinstall however, you can just delete the options.txt file whenever going back to BTW IIRC. Make world backups just to be on the safe side, or switch to a launcher that might better support these use cases (they do come with a host of problems with BTW themselves, you might have to ask for help).
Would re-doing this step

2) Navigate to your Minecraft install directory and open the file named "options.txt" in a text editor. Delete the line that reads "lang:en_us" (or whatever language is referred to after "lang:"). This prevents a crash when loading older version of the game.

Help with the options.txt problem, or should I just erase the entire file when playing BTW?
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by Gilberreke »

AllenWL wrote: 2) Navigate to your Minecraft install directory and open the file named "options.txt" in a text editor. Delete the line that reads "lang:en_us" (or whatever language is referred to after "lang:"). This prevents a crash when loading older version of the game.
Ah, that does look like a fix for the problem. That wasn't there last I checked. Yes, rerunning that step probably works.
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Re: Official Better Than Wolves Installation Thread

Post by FlowerChild »

Just updated the OP to use the new launcher instead of the old. I used ElectroBot's install guide as a reference while working on this and testing the process, so major thanks to him for writing this up.

It unfortunately still leaves issues with the sound, and Mojang seems to now be stuffing the entire .json file into a single line of text which makes editing it even more problematic, but I've added some notes to try to steer people in the right direction towards resolving those.

Anyways, please let me know if anyone spots problems with the method as described.
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