25 replies to this topic

[TELEFORCE]

I got this when starting MWO up at 8:25 AM EDT this morning. It's a pop-up notice apparently created by the patcher:

Quote

Please note:

The current MechWarrior Online Patcher will be phased out in the coming months as we transition to a brand-new MWO Portal application. The Portal can do everything the current Patcher can do, with the added bonus of greater stability and support for launching all MechWarrior Online game releases, such as the primary MWO client, our Public Test, and our special Tournament build.

Switching to the MWO Portal is easy! All you need to do is install the application (available at https://mwomercs.com/game/download) and simply use the new Portal to run the game instead. There's no need to uninstall or modify your existing MechWarrior Online installation; your pre-existing install should work fine.

When this Patcher is phased out it will no longer function; at that time you will be required to use the new MWO Portal in order to update and run MechWarrior Online. At this point we're asking you to transition to the new Portal as early as possible, in the off chance that you experience any issues with the Portal.

Since when did this become a thing? I don't recall seeing any official announcement about it.

Edited by TELEFORCE, 26 May 2017 - 04:26 AM.

[Zoeff]

It was briefly mentioned in the patch notes of a few patches back and in a tweet by AlexG, though after that not much of a peep about it after that. I've been using it ever since, it's actually what the tournament build used during the 2016 MWOWC.

[James The Fox Dixon]

This is a much needed improvement and better then the old launcher. I love it. Thanks PGI!

[Scyther]

When I was setting up the Portal for PTS2, it installed the test server okay. However when I clicked on it to update/patch my current MWO install (I figured might as well switch over to it), it would not detect my current install and instead wanted to download the full 16-gig install and put it in a new directory.

I tried various options to get it to recognize my current install but none worked. So I just used the portal for test server, and the usual launcher for playing.

Hopefully before they make it mandatory, they will make it actually work.

Edit: Just checked it now, with the updated version. First, click 'Install newer version? Yes', then the Portal update bar sits there empty for almost 2 minutes without any visible change. Just as I was about to cancel it because it looked stalled, it brought up the 'Allow this application to make changes?' dialog. This will vary by computer and activity of course, but some sort of indication that the install is working and not hung would be useful.

Second, reply to James below:
I have the portal, and it has both servers listed (though PTS is greyed out). The issue is that it doesn't update my currently installed game, it still wants to download some 16.7 gigs and install a new one. The normal launcher of course just patches my existing install.

Also, on my Win10 machine (64-bit, 8 Gigs), the Portal takes almost twice as long to load as the current launcher, and uses 2.5 times as much memory (46 mb for Portal, 18mb for current launcher). Is your post meant to be sarcastic?

Edited by MadBadger, 26 May 2017 - 04:50 AM.

[James The Fox Dixon]

MadBadger, on 26 May 2017 - 04:38 AM, said:

When I was setting up the Portal for PTS2, it installed the test server okay. However when I clicked on it to update/patch my current MWO install (I figured might as well switch over to it), it would not detect my current install and instead wanted to download the full 16-gig install and put it in a new directory.

I tried various options to get it to recognize my current install but none worked. So I just used the portal for test server, and the usual launcher for playing.

Hopefully before they make it mandatory, they will make it actually work.

I'm installing it now and it has both the normal and test server listed. I can tell that it's faster and doesn't use as much memory as the old one.

[James The Fox Dixon]

MadBadger, on 26 May 2017 - 04:38 AM, said:

Second, reply to James below:
I have the portal, and it has both servers listed (though PTS is greyed out). The issue is that it doesn't update my currently installed game, it still wants to download some 16.7 gigs and install a new one. The normal launcher of course just patches my existing install.

Also, on my Win10 machine (64-bit, 8 Gigs), the Portal takes almost twice as long to load as the current launcher, and uses 2.5 times as much memory (46 mb for Portal, 18mb for current launcher). Is your post meant to be sarcastic?

I had to delete my install for the Steam version, but I'm sure I could have migrated it over to the new install location.

Nope, I'm not being sarcastic. I'm on a Core2Duo E8400 3.0 Ghz machine with 4 gigs of RAM. It loads faster for me and uses less memory on Windows 7. It might be a Windows 10 thing that is causing it to use that much memory.

[Vellron2005]

Does this mean the game client will be more stable too?

If we never installed the PTS, do we get it now automatically?

What's the Tournament build?

[cazidin]

If we're updating the MW:O launch portal can we also saved our login info? That's a fairly basic feature.

[Kalimaster]

IT'S A TRAP

[D V Devnull]

Here's another question... What happens to your Local Saved Profile Data?

~D. V. "Why all these unanswered questions?!?" Devnull

[Felicitatem Parco]

I have been using it for weeks now... Is this new to some folks? This is how I access all the Skill tree PTS sessions.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 26 May 2017 - 07:37 AM.

[FireStoat]

I took a cursory look at what the old patcher did when I first started playing a long while back and then I also took a look at what the Portal patcher was up to when Phase 1 of the skill tree was offered on test. The Portal consumes more resources and has a somewhat higher packet exchange volume which led me to a rough speculation (not conclusion).

It's acting in a similar manner to Blizzard's updated patcher for games that takes a closer look to see if you're using something to cheat with as well as datamining what additional processes you are running in the background. That info of course is collected for commercial purposes and is nothing new for gaming companies to do with their products, especially free to play format games. Riot Games with League of Legends most certainly does this with their client and has done so for years.

As usual, just expect that your computer is being looked at more closely now and only open the things you really need to have running while the game is being used.

[- World Eater -]

So the launcher prompted me to download something this morning. I assume this is it?

Anyways, when I was waiting for an FW match, the game started flashing my desktop like crazy. It's never happened before :/

[Tier5 Kerensky]

Neither on me it does detect the installed game. I hope that thing gets fixed.

[Felicitatem Parco]

ThoseWhoFearTomorrow, on 26 May 2017 - 07:50 AM, said:

So the launcher prompted me to download something this morning. I assume this is it?

Anyways, when I was waiting for an FW match, the game started flashing my desktop like crazy. It's never happened before :/

I have been using the new launcher/patcher for a while now, and was prompted to download it AGAIN last night. I think it just got patched...

[Appogee]

Prosperity Park, on 26 May 2017 - 07:36 AM, said:

I have been using it for weeks now... Is this new to some folks? This is how I access all the Skill tree PTS sessions.

Me too.

When I logged in this morning it said it needed to update itself.

But there are were announcements or anything about a patch. Made me wonder if it was a virus.

[- World Eater -]

Prosperity Park, on 26 May 2017 - 09:23 AM, said:

I have been using the new launcher/patcher for a while now, and was prompted to download it AGAIN last night. I think it just got patched...

Ahhh, yeah I've been using the new one so I was confused when it prompted me to download it again (I did).

[Kotzi]

Just shinier and more space for adds.

[Wildstreak]

I found out about the Portal when I tried joining a PTS.
Installed it but it was a separate install.
Then due to issues with the client, I had to uninstall and clean out everything.
Decided to install Portal only and have used that ever since.

Only issue I have with Portal is every time I start it, the first window keeps appearing in random spots on my screen some putting parts of the window off screen and I have to reposition it.

[Tier5 Kerensky]

Appogee, on 26 May 2017 - 09:37 AM, said:

Me too.

When I logged in this morning it said it needed to update itself.

But there are were announcements or anything about a patch. Made me wonder if it was a virus.

It was an update of the portal, not update of the game.

In for example WoT the launcher updates are fairly common. No idea why though.