Installing more than 1 copy/version of OpenXcom at the same time.

[The Martian]

(Question) Is it possible to have different instances of OpenXcom installed to several folders without them conflicting?

I'm hoping to install a copy of OpenXcom for each Mod cocktail that I'll be setting up.

Normally I'd just toggle the Mods on/off in the ingame menu however the user I'm configuring OpenXcom for may have trouble with that so I'm hoping that having several pre-configured versions of OpenXcom with different Mods already setup is the solution.

For example one folder could be setup to run the excellent Final Mod Pack where as the other could have Area 51 loaded up.

Code: [Select]

./OpenXcomFMP/openxcom.exe
./OpenXcomA51/openxcom.exe

From what I remember OpenXcom just runs directly from the folder it is unpacked to and doesn't install any additional files... so I think this will work.

[BlackStaff]

That's exactly what I have!
4 different folders for 4 different packs.
I preferred this configuration to the "all in one folder" configuration!

[The Martian]

Thank you BlackStaff! ^_^

I'll begin the install process with confidence.


Additionally, for those who want to save (A small amount) of harddrive space the method posted in this thread may also work: Separate shortcuts for UFO and TFTD.

You can create copies of the options.cfg file for different sets of mods as that's where the list of mods you have active are saved. Then you can run

Code: [Select]

openxcom.exe -config "/path/to/folder/containing/the/config/file"

to run different configuration files. Note that you need to put the file in a separate folder, as the game assumes the path passed to it is a directory containing the file, not the file itself.

[The Martian]

Be aware: That although this multi-folder method should work on Windows it appears that if you install more than one version of OpenXcom on Linux they all use the same shared folder for Mod files.
(At least on Linux Mint they do.)

Specifically:

Code: [Select]

/home/NAME/.local/share/openxcom/mods

Fortunately I'll be installing to a Windows machine for where I need the multi-folder approach, so this isn't an issue for me.

I just figured it was better to point it out in case a Linux user searched this topic in the future.


For Linux ohartenstein23's method of passing the location of a different options.cfg file to the OpenXcom.AppImage may be the best way to go. I haven't tried it on Linux myself yet so I can't confirm its viability on that OS.

[N7Kopper]

If you're installing to a disk with the NTFS filesystem, you can also use symbolic links - this will let you have one version of OXC(E) to update, one unified mod folder, but multiple different settings files.

Or, you could, you know, use batch files to load different settings files with different mods enabled. That might be easier.