Uninstalling the Game... and where to post details of it?

Odd one this, but I've realised there doesn't seem to be a specific forum location for non-Developer level backers to post about issues regarding the game as software, that doesn't fall into specific player experienced content like housing or PvP etc... so into General forum this thread goes for now!

It's a simple issue, but can have drastic consequences; if you uninstall Shroud via Windows Control Panel (at least under Win7 64bit) it asks if you want to remove Temporary Content. If you say yes, it deletes the entire Portalarium folder without sending it to the Recycle Bin, which means all your screenshots taken via the in game mechanism (F11 key by default) are removed too, as well as any keybindings etc you may have set up.

I did it because I am going to experiment with Steam for the next release, and fortunately I had all my screenshots hosted online at OneDrive. Ideally then the game should have an uninstaller that knows to keep player generated content, or at least saves the screenshots somewhere other than the root Portalarium folder.

Not a very interesting thread to read I know; but I couldn't see where else to post it, sorry!

(Addendum: Steam offers two launch modes when first started, the game and "Borderless Fullscreen Mode". When launched into the latter as the first choice, it goes to the new intro movie, but for me it was actually windowed and 1/4 or so desktop resolution. Launching the movie from the title screen is correctly scaled. )

 

It is exactly what it should do imho. Maybe it should make better warning of the user, but I hate programs that are hard to uninstall completely. For example, there can be issue with user settings and uninstall should remove those settings as well. So when you are attempting to reinstall the game, you can start with completely new installation.

Backing up of screenshots/settings should be up to user imo. As I said, maybe the warning of the user could be better.

 

You're going to trust the average user to know exactly which files to back up, even with the power of Google behind them? But the advantage of leaving behind all the user settings after an uninstall is that they don't have to know; the programmers themselves leave the right files behind for you. Just move the entire folder elsewhere and there's your back up. Or delete it entirely if you want to clean the last bits off. We're not talking about registry settings and unusual drivers (Ultima 7!) let alone rootkits (Sony!) but just screenshots and usually a disguised text file (.cfg) which won't harm your computer if left there.

Many games already do it this way, and I repeat, I'd already backed up my screenshots elsewhere to cloud hosting; It's a simple report that as the game currently stands, it deletes it's entire root folder, not just the game, so everything goes... including anything else that you might have put in there, like Mods; which as the game will be supporting later is going to be a major oversight.

 

I am highlighting this part. I have not tested it, but it should not say Temporary Content, but rather User Settings or User Content, it usually does in other programs and you have option to keep your settings (and screenshots...) if you say No.

As I said before, when I uninstall things I want option to delete everything and not hunt for files all over the place that were left behind.

 

I'm having a problem uninstalling the game prior to setting up the game on Steam. When I try to uninstall, I get 2 error boxes pop up and the uninstall doesn't finish. The 2 errors say:
1- Called runscript when not marked in progress
2- Called installfinalize when no install in progress

I would really like to use Steam and don't want 2 clients on my machine. Can anyone help me with this problem?

 

Not sure if you saw my reply in the R11 post, but I wrote:
Double check that your date/time is set correctly.
Make sure you have admin rights to uninstall, or you can try forcing admin by right-clicking Uninstall on the start menu and choose “Run as administrator”.

There's been one other instance of another user reporting this, but during the Install:
https://shroudoftheavatar.com/forum...does-not-work-in-windows-8-1.5827/#post-99347

There weren't any replies to that thread, so it's unclear if the user ever resolved his issue or it just magically went away.

 

Thanks for replying. On the Start menu, of the many right click choices, there is no option to uninstall the game. I've went through the install folder and could not find an uninstall program anywhere, maybe it's in a different place?. The only way I can do it is through the Control Panel which brings up the 2 errors. I was thinking that I had to patch the game first before it would let me uninstall but after going through the entire patching process, it still didn't work. So, that's where I am at this point. Any suggestions? P.S. My date and time are set correctly.

 

You'd need to send in a detailed log file of the uninstall to BurningToad. Open a command prompt with admin rights by clicking on your Start Menu, search for "cmd', right-click on that and choose to run as administrator.

A command prompt window should open up and by default you're probably in C:\Windows\System32. Type the following:

msiexec /I{3847B969-6797-4746-A062-74912E3FC779} /L*V "sota.log"

Note: that guid "3847B969-6797-4746-A062-74912E3FC779" might be different on your system. To confirm, open Explorer and navigate to: C:\Windows\Installer. In the Explorer search box, type "launcher" and Explorer will search for that file. It should find an occurrence of "Launcher_1.exe". Right-click on that entry and choose "Open in File Location". The Explorer bar will now show something like "C:\Windows\Installer\{guid}", where guid=3847B969-6797-4746-A062-74912E3FC779 or similar. If that guid is different than mine, just replace it when you type the command in the command window.

If the install fails again, zip up the sota.log file and send it to support@portalarium.com. Or leave a link to the log file on your dropbox or google drive or wherever with your bug report.

 

After following your instructions and running the command prompt, the command box said: "This action is only for products that are currently installed", which is odd considering that I can play the game with no problems. I did find 1 sota.log file which I am sending to support, hopefully something can be done. Thanks.

 

If that was the correct guid, then it appears you have a corrupt installation. Does the "Shroud of the Avatar" entry still appear in Control Panel Programs & Features? Note that Steam also adds an entry but it should be called "Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues".

If the control panel entry is gone (for the standalone version), you can simply delete the SotA files located here:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Portalarium\Shroud of the Avatar

If you're unable to remove the control panel entry, you can try the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility, described here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.08.utilityspotlight.aspx

Unfortunately, the tool (MSICUU2.EXE) is no longer available from Microsoft, but you can still find it available for download on some sites, like:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Secure-cleaning/Windows-Installer-CleanUp-Utility.shtml

 

Let me know if it's safe to just delete the folder and leave the registry entries. Thanks.

 

Yeah, you can delete the folder. The registry entries should be left alone, as it is likely also used by the Steam version.