User Installation Instructions

[Jim B.-4]

[ We have OpenAL in beta test for the open source game, Alien Arena
(homepage: http://icculus.org/alienarena/rpa/ 
svn browse: http://svn.icculus.org/alienarena/ ).
It uses the crx engine, derived from the Quake 2 engine and runs
in Windows and Unix/Linux. So far, the testing is going well.
I have several questions, posted today under 3 separate
subjects. ]

What are good "quick start" instructions for users? Anything wrong with the
following?

- - -
For Windows:

Use OpenAL drivers supplied with your system or sound hardware. If you have
problems, make sure you have updated to the latest drivers from your system
and sound hardware manufacturers website.

If your hardware did not come with an OpenAL driver, download the OpenAL
Installer for Windows, oalinst, from
http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/Downloads/Forms/AllItems.aspx .
- - -

- - -
For Unix/Linux:

Install OpenAl using your distributions package installer. OpenAL-Soft
1.7.411 is preferred. Alternatively, download and compile the OpenAL Soft
sources, openal-soft-1.7.411 from
http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/Downloads/Forms/AllItems.aspx .
- - -

Jim Bower


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[Jason Daly]

Jim B. wrote:

> What are good "quick start" instructions for users? Anything wrong with the
> following?
>
> - - -
> For Windows:
>
> Use OpenAL drivers supplied with your system or sound hardware. If you have
> problems, make sure you have updated to the latest drivers from your system
> and sound hardware manufacturers website.
>
> If your hardware did not come with an OpenAL driver, download the OpenAL
> Installer for Windows, oalinst, from
> http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/Downloads/Forms/AllItems.aspx .
>  

As I said in my other response, it would be better for your installer to
automatically run oalinst.exe, if possible.  Creative deliberately set
up the OpenAL32.dll as a router that can choose between multiple
implementations, so there's no reason not to run oalinst on every
end-user's machine.

If there's some reason you can't do this, I'd say go ahead and tell the
user to install oalinst whether they have an OpenAL driver or not.

> - - -
>
> - - -
> For Unix/Linux:
>
> Install OpenAl using your distributions package installer. OpenAL-Soft
> 1.7.411 is preferred. Alternatively, download and compile the OpenAL Soft
> sources, openal-soft-1.7.411 from
> http://connect.creativelabs.com/openal/Downloads/Forms/AllItems.aspx .
>  

This one sounds fine to me, although I think most distributions won't
have OpenAL-Soft 1.7 yet.

--"J"

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[Garin Hiebert]

One (small) additional comment -- for the Windows installer, you can  
run it from your installer with the "/s" option and it will do a non-
interactive ("silent") install for you.  It will update an existing  
installation if an old installation is found, will leave the existing  
installation alone if it is down-rev, or do a new install if necessary.

Garin

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