tutorial

Tutorial of mmarch: How to make a .exe MMMerge Update Patch

This tutorial shows how to make a .exe Update Patch for MMMerge (Might and Magic 878 Merge Mod) with mmarch and NSIS.

(You can go to MMMerge Update Patch Project to download the made patch)

Two-version diff patch

Step 1: Preparation

Download and install the latest (Version 3) NSIS.

You have MMMerge Version 2019-09-22 and Version 2020-03-29 in mmmerge-2019-09-22/ and mmmerge-2020-03-29/ folders respectively, you want to make a .exe patch setup file that can update the former version to the later version.

Copy mmarch.exe to the folder.

Win + R to open "Run", then type in cmd and tap Enter to open "Windows Command Prompt".

cd <DIRECTORY> (e.g. cd C:\Users\Chen\Desktop\mm) and tap Enter, to go to your working directory (folder).

Step 2: Script file and patch generation

Step 2.1.

Use command

mmarch compare mmmerge-2019-09-22 mmmerge-2020-03-29 nsis nsis_folder/script.nsi files

to generate diff and NSIS script files in nsis_folder/.

Step 2.2.

Use Windows File Explorer GUI, OR use command

copy mmarch.exe nsis_folder

to copy mmarch.exe to nsis_folder/ folder.

Step 2.3.

Use MakeNSISW GUI as the screenshot shows

OR use command

"C:\Program Files (x86)\NSIS\makensis" nsis_folder/script.nsi

to compile nsis_folder/script.nsi to patch.exe with NSIS.

Full command line screenshot:

Three-or-more-version diff patch

Step 1: Preparation

You have MMMerge Version 2019-09-22, 2019-10-08, 2020-03-17 and 2020-03-29 in their respective folders, you want to make a .exe patch setup file that can update any of the three old versions to the latest version.

(Same as in Step 1 of "Two-version diff patch") You have installed NSIS, copied mmarch.exe to the folder, opened "Windows Command Prompt" and now you are on your working directory.

Step 2: Script file and patch generation

Step 2.1.

mmarch compare mmmerge-2019-09-22 mmmerge-2019-10-08 filesonly diff_folder_temp
mmarch compare mmmerge-2019-10-08 mmmerge-2020-03-17 filesonly diff_folder_temp
mmarch compare mmmerge-2020-03-17 mmmerge-2020-03-29 filesonly diff_folder_temp

These commands will:

• generate diff files "from mmmerge-2019-09-22 to mmmerge-2019-10-08" in the folder diff_folder_temp/
• generate diff files "from mmmerge-2019-10-08 to mmmerge-2020-03-17" again in diff_folder_temp/
• generate diff files "from mmmerge-2020-03-17 to mmmerge-2020-03-29" again in diff_folder_temp/

If DIFF_FOLDER contains previous diff files (such as diff_folder_temp/ above), mmarch compare OLD NEW filesonly DIFF_FOLDER will perform a merger of old diff files and new diff files by cleaning up old diff files. It's OK to do VER1 -> VER2 then VER2 -> VER3, or VER1 -> VER3 then VER2 -> VER3. But VER1 -> VER2 then VER1 -> VER3 will cause problem.

Step 2.2.

Use command

mmarch diff-files-to-nsis diff_folder_temp nsis_folder/script.nsi files

to generate NSIS script script.nsi in nsis_folder/ folder, from diff files in diff_folder_temp/ folder.

Step 2.3.

(Same as in Step 2.2 of "Two-version diff patch") Copy mmarch.exe to nsis_folder/ folder.

Step 2.4.

(Same as in Step 2.3 of "Two-version diff patch") Compile nsis_folder/script.nsi to patch.exe with NSIS.

Full command line screenshot:

Patch Usage and More

Put patch.exe installation file into your game folder, then double click to run it. Your game will be patched automatically.

In order to make more complex installation file, you can modify the .nsi script file before compiling it to .exe.

You may also generate a Windows Batch file patch instead of an NSIS .exe installation file.

Developers using Git may need diff-add-keep command.

mmarch compare and all related commands and features (incl. NSIS/batch script generation) work totally even if your folders do not contain any MM archive files at all. Therefore, you can use mmarch as a general file comparison and diff generation tool.

Visit mmarch's Home Page for the full documentation.