Installation - The-Balthazar/BrewLAN GitHub Wiki

To install, first locate the game directory for Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance. Default locations are:

  • %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Steam\SteamApps\common\supreme commander forged alliance\
  • %ProgramFiles(x86)%\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander - Forged Alliance\

If using Steam, in your library you can: Right-click on the game > Properties... > Local Files > Browse...

Via zip file

This is the recommended way for most players.

Make sure to remove any old versions of BrewLAN files first, download the latest release or the current development version, then merge the contents of the /maps/, /mods/, and /gamedata/ folders with that of the game directory's. If you downloaded the development version those folders will be within an additional folder that you don't want. If you have a fresh install, there may not be a pre-existing mods folder. Make one, or take one.

Alternatively, or if you're trying to use them with FAF, the /mods/ and /maps/ folders can be installed into your documents folder. The /gamedata/ folder can only be installed in the main directory, and is not needed for FAF. The documents folder location for the English language version of the game is:

  • %UserProfile%\My Documents\My Games\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander Forged Alliance\

Via Git Bash

This is only recommended for players who wish to receive experimental updates regularly and "know computers" to some degree.

  1. Install Git Bash or another Git client of your choice (skip if you already have).
  2. In Windows Explorer, copy the game directory's entire address.
  3. Open Git Bash (or your preferred Git client).
  4. Enter the following commands, one line at a time (in Git Bash, shift+insert is the default shortcut for pasting): 
    cd "copypasted game directory address"
git init
git remote add origin https://github.com/The-Balthazar/BrewLAN.git
git fetch origin
git branch -u origin/master
git pull

Notes

  • The cd command requires the double quotes around the game directory address unless there are no spaces in the address.
  • git fetch origin has a tendency to take a few minutes.
  • If git pull complains about file conflicts, you will have to either deal with them in some way (perhaps rename/move them, which essentially backs them up) before retrying or run git pull -f (if you don't care what files you overwrite during the installation process).

Setup of semi-automated updates (optional)

Git Bash can be configured to automatically update BrewLAN whenever you launch Git Bash.

  1. In Git Bash, enter touch ~/.bashrc
  2. In Windows Explorer, navigate to Git Bash's home directory (by default, you can enter %userprofile% in the address bar; if you customized its home directory during the installation and forgot where it is, you can enter cd ~; pwd in Git Bash to see).
  3. Open .bashrc with a text editor (you may have to check the "Hidden items" box in the "View" menu of Windows Explorer).
  4. Add the following lines and save the file: 
    cd "copypasted game directory address"
git pull

When you launch Git Bash, pay attention to the output so that you know whether or not it updated successfully. Upon file conflicts, you'll have to deal with them before retrying git pull just like in the installation step.

Of course, if you already know how to use a text editor in the terminal, something like vim ~/.bashrc would suffice for steps 1–3.

Verification

If you did everything correctly, assuming installation entirely in the game directory rather than split between your documents and the directory, your game install should look like:

  • Supreme Commander Forged Alliance
    • bin
      • ForgedAlliance.exe or SupremeCommander.exe on steam
      • ... (a bunch of .dll files and other files)
    • gamedata
      • BrewLAN.scd
      • One out of:
        • BrewLAN-StrategicIconsOverhaul-LARGE.scd
        • BrewLAN-StrategicIconsOverhaul-SMALL.scd
        • BrewLAN-StrategicIconsOverhaul-SMALL-classic.scd
      • cityscapes.scd
      • cratedrop.scd
      • crystalhill.scd
      • tead.scd
      • lua.scd
      • units.scd
      • ... (a bunch of other .scd files)
    • maps
      • BREW_REEF
      • BREW_DEV
      • SCMP_001
      • ... (a bunch of other folders containing scenario data)
    • mods
      • BrewLAN
      • BrewLAN_Gameplay
      • BrewLAN_Plenae
      • BrewLAN_RNG
      • BrewLAN_Units
      • ... (and other mod folders).
    • ... ('movies', 'sounds' and other folders)

If your installation looks like /mods/brewlan/mods/brewlan/ or /mods/mods/ then there is an issue.