[This thread is more or less a 1:1 copy of a tutorial I wrote on KickAssTorrents a couple months month ago]
Greetings, fellow pirates!
During my time on TPB, I have noticed that there is, unfortunately, a dire lack of PC game repackers. The number of people who create and upload them on a frequent basis can be counted on one hand. In order to solve that problem, I thought it would be a good idea to increase the number of capable repackers by teaching people how to make them. For the sake of having a learning curve, we will start with a simple game and increase the complexity as time goes on. Now, without further ado, let's get right into it.
01. Required software
In order to repack games, you will need to install the following three freeware programs. You can download them by clicking on the links below.
Inno Setup
ISTool
regshot
02. Find a game you want to repack
As I've said earlier, we will start with a simple game, in this case, the indie game 'Bastion'. If you want to repack a game, it's important to choose a working copy from a reputable release group. I have downloaded mine from TiNYiSO.
03. First Steps
Before doing anything else, start the program regshot and press the '1st shot' button. This will create a snapshot of your current registry; I'll explain the purpose of this later on.
Once you've done that, it's time to install the game. Mount the previously downloaded .iso file with a DVD-emulator of your choice (I'm using Alcohol 120%) and follow the regular installation process, including copying and pasting the crack to the correct location (read the .nfo file for more information). Upon finishing the installation, press the '2nd shot' button and then the 'compare' button. Regshot will compare the registry snapshot from before and after the installation, effectively finding out which registry entries have been added by the game's installer. The results, which should be opened in notepad automatically, should look something like this.
Like I said, we are going to take things slowly at first, which is why we do not need to concern ourselves with complex issues like registry entries yet. The primary reason why I still want you to follow these steps is because it will help you to grow accustomed to the process of repacking games. As soon as we move on to more challenging games, we will have to make use of the information contained in the .txt file above.
04. Creating a script for the installer
If you merely want to store your games in a compressed state, downloading a file compressor like 7-Zip or Winrar would be sufficient. However, since we are repackaging games, we will have to write a script whose purpose, among other things, is to instruct the installer what it is supposed to do with the files of your chosen game. Don't worry, though, as you will see, you do not have to learn a programming language.
It's about time that we start scripting, so open up the program ISTool.
To create a new script, you can either press on 'File', then 'New', or you can simply press CTRL+N. Whichever method you use, the next step is to fill out the forms in the new window. You can see how it works in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-1lSGcRN9A
So far, so good. Now that we've created a new script, it's time to customize our installer. First, click on 'Project', then on 'Setup Options' and finally on 'Compiler...'. Alter your settings in the 'Compiler' and 'Disk Spanning' tab so that they look like this.
These settings are going to ensure that your installer is as small as possible.
Now that that's done, it's time to add the game's files to the installer. All you have to do is switching from the 'Script' to the 'Files and Dirs' tab and then dragging the installed game's files into the program. If you get the following pop-up, check the 'Add directories' box and click 'OK'.
05. Finishing touches
While the majority of our work is done at this point, there are still a couple of tweaks we can and should make. First things first, check whether or not any of your files are tagged as 'readonly'. You can find that out by switching back to the 'Script' tab, pressing CTRL+F and searching for the phrase 'Attribute: readonly'. If any instances of it are found, delete them. This will make sure that all of the game's files will be deleted when you uninstall it. After that, look up the software requirements for the game you downloaded. In the case of 'Bastion', the installer from the .iso we downloaded tells us that we need the following programs to run the game.
They are usually found in the .iso file, however, if they aren't there, you can simply download them for free on the Internet. Take all the .exe/.msi files and put them in a folder called 'Redist'. That way, people who download your game will know that they have to install these programs before they can play the game.
Last but not least, if you want to customize your installer visually, you can do so by pressing 'Project', then 'Setup Options' and finally 'Appearance...'. Here you can alter the image that is shown at the left side of your installer and the icon of the .exe itself. When all is said and done, press CTRL+F9 to start compiling your installer into an executable (.exe file).
Congratulations, you just created your first game repack! Before uploading one of your repacks, make sure that it works correctly.
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to send them to me via PM. You can find the second part of this tutorial here.
Special thanks go to http://tech.tiq.cc for inspiring me to write tutorials on this topic.