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  1. #1
    Zeus's Avatar
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    Lightbulb Guide: How to install FGII on OS X using WineSkin (Recommended)

    [EDIT] UPDATED 04/08/13

    Here is a short guide for Installing Fantasy Grounds II on OS X using the free software WineSkin. WineSkin effectively allows you to run Windows applications under Linux and OS X including the latest version Mountain Lion (10.8.x). As the name suggests WineSkin is built atop of the opensource package Wine. It works by creating a wrapped runtime environment that mimics a common Windows environment. No licenses including operating system (aside from OS X) are required. WineSkin simplifies Wine engine and wrapper setup enabling a great variety of Windows applications to be easily installed, operated and managed.

    Note: 10.8.x OS X (Mountain Lion) no longer incorporates the X11 package after Apple decided to drop it in favour of the independent X11 project package XQuartz; XQuartz 2.7.3 or higher is required to be installed before following the steps below. You can find all the latest releases of XQuartz here: https://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki/Releases

    Note: Not all applications at present will work with WineSkin (mainly .NET based applications are problematic) however Fantasy Grounds II works incredibly well.

    The easiest way to get the latest WineSkin release installed onto OS X is to use the main WineSkin dev site. https://wineskin.urgesoftware.com/ti...page=Downloads

    Installing WineSkin 1.7

    • Open the downloaded Wineskin Winery.app Version 1.7.zip file to unzip it
    • Drag the extracted Wineskin Winery.app app to your Applications folder
    • Delete the .zip file.
    • That's it, nice and simple.


    Installing Fantasy Grounds II

    • Launch the Wineskin Winery.app from Applications (either from the Dock or Finder)
    • Open Safari or another Web browser and download the FGWebInstall.exe from the Fantasy Grounds web site (Downloads page). Note the location of the downloaded file (on my systems its ~/Downloads)
    • In Wineskin Winery, add a Wine engine by clicking the + symbol and select from the available Wine engine releases in the new dialog, click Download and Install. I have tested FGII with both Wine 1.5.13 - 1.5.21 (latest version 1.5.25 does not work). Select 1.5.21 unless you really prefer an earlier 1.5 release.
    • Back in Wineskin Winery update the Wrapper version to Wineskin-2.5.8 (latest version)
    • Once updated, click Create New Blank Wrapper.
    • In the new dialog that opens, enter a name for the .app file we are about to create (note by default the .app file is created in ~/Applications/Wineskin/). Enter something like Fantasy Grounds II. Click OK.
    • The wrapper file is now being created; you may see a couple of dialogs complaining that Mono and Gecko are not installed, prompting you to do so. You can safely click cancel for both of these. Mono implements a .NET 2.0 framework whilst Gecko is Wine's alternative to IE. Both of these components are not required to run FGII.
    • Once completed, a dialog will appear stating the wrapper creation has finished. Click OK.
    • Close the Wineskin Winery.app
    • Navigate to ~/Applications/Wineskin/Fantasy Grounds II.app in Finder. Right Click the file and select 'Show Package Contents'.
    • Open the Wineskin.app file contained within and click the Install Software button when the dialog appears.
    • Click the 'Choose Setup Executable' button, navigate to the downloaded FGWebInstall.exe file you downloaded earlier and select it.
    • The FGII EULA should appear. Read and then Click 'I Agree' to continue
    • A second dialog window will open entitled Settings.
    • Enter your license/upgrade key information into the appropriate fields - this is not mandatory step as not entering any key information will result in an Unregistered install.
    • Make sure the 'Cross-platform compatibility mode for Linux and Mac' option is checked
    • If you have a registered account on the FGII forums/store, click the Update button. A small username/password window will appear. On successful verification, you should see a list of FGII products appear in the Products window.
    • Make sure the 'Live' option is selected under 'Mode' - this will install the latest general release of Fantasy Grounds II (currently 2.9.1)
    • Click OK, the FGII updater window will open and it should automatically begin downloading the latest updates. The initial setup will take a few mins as all the base rulesets and latest binaries are downloaded.
    • Once completed the Fantasy Grounds II Launcher window will appear.
    • Close FGII.
    • If for any reason, your licence did not take and you have an unregistered version installed. Simply click the Activate License button at the bottom of the Launcher window and re-enter your key. The update process will restart, when completed you should have a registered full/lite/ultimate version.
    • If for any reason The launcher fails to load and you are presented with a Could not load base.xml error, click No and when prompted for the path to the executable select /Program Files/Fantasy Grounds II/FantasyGrounds.exe.
    • Move the Fantasy Grounds II.app file from ~/Applications/Wineskin to /Applications (system wide Applications path)
    • Optional: You can change the Fantasy Grounds II.app icon by right clicking and choosing Get Info or by opening the Wineskin.app and selecting Advanced - both enable you to change the .app icon from the default Wineskin icon.
    • Thats it! Your good to go.


    NOTE:
    • FGII will be installed (by default) inside the Applications/Fantasy Grounds II.app file (right click and click 'Show Package Contents') in drive_c/Program Files/Fantasy Grounds II/
    • The FGII App Data folder will also be created inside the Applications/Fantasy Grounds II.app (by default) in drive_c/users/<user name>/Application Data/Fantasy Grounds II/


    Enjoy!
    Last edited by Zeus; August 4th, 2013 at 11:05.
    FG Project Development
    Next Project(s)*: Starfinder v1.2 Starship Combat

    Current Project:
    Starfinder v1.1 - Character Starships
    Completed Projects: Starfinder Ruleset v1.0, Starfinder Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, Paizo Pathfinder Official Theme, D&D 5E data updates
    * All fluid by nature and therefore subject to change.

  2. #2
    Hi. I'm brand new to FG (or want to be...), but have been unable to install it on my MacBook Pro (10.7.5). I tried Winebottler and now Wineskin, following the instructions in both.

    Quote Originally Posted by DrZeuss
    Installing WineSkin 1.7

    • Open the downloaded Wineskin Winery.app Version 1.7.zip file to unzip it
    • Drag the extracted Wineskin Winery.app app to your Applications folder
    • Delete the .zip file.
    • That's it, nice and simple.


    Installing Fantasy Grounds II

    • Launch the Wineskin Winery.app from Applications (either from the Dock or Finder)
    • Open Safari or another Web browser and download the FGWebInstall.exe from the Fantasy Grounds web site (Downloads page). Note the location of the downloaded file (on my systems its ~/Downloads)
    • In Wineskin Winery, add a Wine engine by clicking the + symbol and select from the available Wine engine releases in the new dialog, click Download and Install. I have tested FGII with both Wine 1.4.1 and 1.5.13 (latest version). Select 1.5.13 unless you really prefer 1.4.1.
    Everything worked up to here. Although the most recent version is 1.5.16, I tried .13 first and only then .16. Both turned out the same:


    Quote Originally Posted by DrZeuss
    • Back in Wineskin Winery update the Wrapper version to Wineskin-2.5.8 (latest version)
    • Once updated, click Create New Blank Wrapper.
    • In the new dialog that opens, enter a name for the .app file we are about to create (note by default the .app file is created in ~/Applications/Wineskin/). Enter something like Fantasy Grounds II. Click OK.
    • The wrapper file is now being created; you may see a couple of dialogs complaining that Mono and Gecko are not installed, prompting you to do so. You can safely click cancel for both of these. Mono implements a .NET 2.0 framework whilst Gecko is Wine's alternative to IE. Both of these components are not required to run FGII.
    • Once completed, a dialog will appear stating the wrapper creation has finished. Click OK.
    • Close the Wineskin Winery.app
    • Navigate to ~/Applications/Wineskin in Finder. Right Click the file and select 'Show Package Contents'.
    • Open the Wineskin.app file contained within
    And here's where the major issue occurs. Wineskin is a folder at this stage, not an app, so there is no 'Show Package Contents' option. The file I named 'Fantasy Grounds II' is inside the folder, and if select 'Show Package Contents' for that, I can find a Wineskin app to open. Whether I do that or open Fantasy Grounds II directly, the same thing happens (with two 'Wineskin' icons in the dock - one labelled Wineskin and the other Fantasy Grounds II):

    Quote Originally Posted by DrZeuss
    • and click the Install Software button when the dialog appears.
    • Click the 'Choose Setup Executable' button, navigate to the downloaded FGWebInstall.exe file you downloaded earlier and select it.
    • The FGII EULA should appear. Read and then Click 'I Agree' to continue
    • A second dialog window will open entitled Settings.
    • Enter your license/upgrade key information into the appropriate fields - this is not mandatory step as not entering any key information will result in an Unregistered install.
    • Make sure the 'Cross-platform compatibility mode for Linux and Mac' option is checked
    • If you have a registered account on the FGII forums/store, click the Update button. A small username/password window will appear. On successful verification, you should see a list of FGII products appear in the Products window.
    • Make sure the 'Live' option is selected under 'Mode' - this will install the latest general release of Fantasy Grounds II (currently 2.9.1)
    • Click OK, the FGII updater window will open and it should automatically begin downloading the latest updates. The initial setup will take a few mins as all the base rulesets and latest binaries are downloaded.
    • Once completed the familiar Fantasy Grounds II Launcher window will appear.
    Next problem, and the most serious. Apart from the fact that I don't know what the window will look like (I'm brand new, so it's not familiar at all), instead I get:

    "Error loading data

    Could not load ruleset root file (base .xml)

    Do you want to try reloading the data?"

    There's a Yes and a No box, but it only does anything if I click No. At this point I get a 'Choose executable' window saying, "The program's executable file currently set in Wineskin is not found" and I have to choose between three files in ~/Program Files/Fantasy Grounds II/. Either ~/FantasyGrounds.exe/, ~/FantasyGroundsUpdater.exe/ or ~/UpdaterEngine.exe/.

    If I choose the former (which seems the most reasonable), I get sent back to:

    • and click the Install Software button when the dialog appears.
    • Click the 'Choose Setup Executable' button, navigate to the downloaded FGWebInstall.exe file you downloaded earlier and select it.


    At which point the Updater window reappears, but doesn't start automatically: I have the three buttons Settings, Update and Close at the bottom. Settings takes me to the Settings box again. Update runs through the updates quickly, checking that they're all there and finishes with "Update check complete". Hitting Close shuts down the Fantasy Grounds II icon and the Wineskin one puts up a window saying, "Oops! No new executables found! Maybe the insaller failed? If you tried to install anywhere other than C: drive..." etc. As far as I know I did.

    Help?
    Last edited by Ovid; November 4th, 2012 at 00:40.

  3. #3
    Zeus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ovid
    Hi. I'm brand new to FG (or want to be...), but have been unable to install it on my MacBook Pro (10.7.5). I tried Winebottler and now Wineskin, following the instructions in both.

    Everything worked up to here. Although the most recent version is 1.5.16, I tried .13 first and only then .16. Both turned out the same:
    I have tested with Wine 1.5.16, all works fine for me.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ovid
    And here's where the major issue occurs. Wineskin is a folder at this stage, not an app, so there is no 'Show Package Contents' option. The file I named 'Fantasy Grounds II' is inside the folder, and if select 'Show Package Contents' for that, I can find a Wineskin app to open. Whether I do that or open Fantasy Grounds II directly, the same thing happens (with two 'Wineskin' icons in the dock - one labelled Wineskin and the other Fantasy Grounds II):
    OK, I will amend the guide to clearly state the full path "~/Applications/Wineskin/Fantasy Grounds II.app". Thanks for pointing it out.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ovid
    Next problem, and the most serious. Apart from the fact that I don't know what the window will look like (I'm brand new, so it's not familiar at all), instead I get:

    "Error loading data

    Could not load ruleset root file (base .xml)

    Do you want to try reloading the data?"

    There's a Yes and a No box, but it only does anything if I click No. At this point I get a 'Choose executable' window saying, "The program's executable file currently set in Wineskin is not found" and I have to choose between three files in ~/Program Files/Fantasy Grounds II/. Either ~/FantasyGrounds.exe/, ~/FantasyGroundsUpdater.exe/ or ~/UpdaterEngine.exe/.

    If I choose the former (which seems the most reasonable), I get sent back to:

    • and click the Install Software button when the dialog appears.
    • Click the 'Choose Setup Executable' button, navigate to the downloaded FGWebInstall.exe file you downloaded earlier and select it.


    At which point the Updater window reappears, but doesn't start automatically: I have the three buttons Settings, Update and Close at the bottom. Settings takes me to the Settings box again. Update runs through the updates quickly, checking that they're all there and finishes with "Update check complete". Hitting Close shuts down the Fantasy Grounds II icon and the Wineskin one puts up a window saying, "Oops! No new executables found! Maybe the insaller failed? If you tried to install anywhere other than C: drive..." etc. As far as I know I did.

    Help?
    Ignore the cannot find base.xml error. Select No.

    When the new dialog opens; the options the dialog should offer should be:

    • /Program Files/Fantasy Grounds II/FantasyGrounds.exe
    • /Program Files/Fantasy Grounds II/FantasyGroundsUpdater.exe
    • /Program Files/Fantasy Grounds II/UpdaterEngine.exe


    Note there should be no leading ~ character in the path.

    The first option above is the correct one to select. When you are returned to Wineskin.app, simply select Quit. You should be able to now execute the FantasyGrounds II.app you created in ~/Applications/Wineskin/. Launch the FantasyGrounds II.app file and when the FGII Launcher appears click the check for updates button to force an update.
    FG Project Development
    Next Project(s)*: Starfinder v1.2 Starship Combat

    Current Project:
    Starfinder v1.1 - Character Starships
    Completed Projects: Starfinder Ruleset v1.0, Starfinder Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, Paizo Pathfinder Official Theme, D&D 5E data updates
    * All fluid by nature and therefore subject to change.

  4. #4
    Thanks for this - it seems to be working.

    I now have a couple of new files on my desktop: "Fantasy Grounds.desktop" and "Fantasy Grounds.lnk". Can I junk these or at least move them?

  5. #5
    Zeus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ovid
    Thanks for this - it seems to be working.

    I now have a couple of new files on my desktop: "Fantasy Grounds.desktop" and "Fantasy Grounds.lnk". Can I junk these or at least move them?
    Yes you can junk/delete them.
    FG Project Development
    Next Project(s)*: Starfinder v1.2 Starship Combat

    Current Project:
    Starfinder v1.1 - Character Starships
    Completed Projects: Starfinder Ruleset v1.0, Starfinder Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, Paizo Pathfinder Official Theme, D&D 5E data updates
    * All fluid by nature and therefore subject to change.

  6. #6

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    I headed over here to see if anyone had any advice on some of the issues I have been experiencing running FGII with XQuarz / WineBottler lately. I saw this thread straight away and though might was well see how WineSkin compares before trolling the forums.

    Simple install, and FGII runs smoothly without any of the issues I had with my previous setup.

    Thanks DrZuess for your excellent How To, and bringing WineSkin to my attention. I would certainly recommend it to any Mac users running FGII.

  7. #7
    Zeus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GMTroll
    I headed over here to see if anyone had any advice on some of the issues I have been experiencing running FGII with XQuarz / WineBottler lately. I saw this thread straight away and though might was well see how WineSkin compares before trolling the forums.

    Simple install, and FGII runs smoothly without any of the issues I had with my previous setup.

    Thanks DrZuess for your excellent How To, and bringing WineSkin to my attention. I would certainly recommend it to any Mac users running FGII.
    Your welcome.
    FG Project Development
    Next Project(s)*: Starfinder v1.2 Starship Combat

    Current Project:
    Starfinder v1.1 - Character Starships
    Completed Projects: Starfinder Ruleset v1.0, Starfinder Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, Paizo Pathfinder Official Theme, D&D 5E data updates
    * All fluid by nature and therefore subject to change.

  8. #8

    Don't forget characterconverter.exe!

    Unless I'm missing something about Wineskin, you'll still have problems running character converter which is a .Net application. I had the same problem a couple of days ago but managed to get it working by installing the Mono for Windows winehack (mono210) under the .wine prefix. You can do this by opening the wine menu (find the winebottle icon in your status bar when Wine.app is running) and selecting change prefix and then winehacks.

    Using this method generates an error every time you launch the program about the App Data path missing from the registry. I believe you can safely ignore it as long as you just export to an xml file that you then upload using FG proper. At least it imported a Hero Labs Pathfinder druid almost perfectly.

  9. #9
    Zeus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vexander
    Unless I'm missing something about Wineskin, you'll still have problems running character converter which is a .Net application. I had the same problem a couple of days ago but managed to get it working by installing the Mono for Windows winehack (mono210) under the .wine prefix. You can do this by opening the wine menu (find the winebottle icon in your status bar when Wine.app is running) and selecting change prefix and then winehacks.

    Using this method generates an error every time you launch the program about the App Data path missing from the registry. I believe you can safely ignore it as long as you just export to an xml file that you then upload using FG proper. At least it imported a Hero Labs Pathfinder druid almost perfectly.
    Yes, WineSkin effectively still uses Wine which is constrained in its .NET support, therefore any .NET 3.0/4.0 apps will not work. Most .NET 1.0/2.0 apps work though if you install the .NET 2.0 SP2 framework.

    I find Mono support to be patchy - some apps work with it some don't.
    FG Project Development
    Next Project(s)*: Starfinder v1.2 Starship Combat

    Current Project:
    Starfinder v1.1 - Character Starships
    Completed Projects: Starfinder Ruleset v1.0, Starfinder Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, Paizo Pathfinder Official Theme, D&D 5E data updates
    * All fluid by nature and therefore subject to change.

  10. #10
    The character converter was specifically written to use .Net 2.0 or older APIs, in order to be supported by Mono.

    Cheers,
    JPG

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