We know a lot of people, especially Developers, whether Indie or Professional teams, may have questions.
So we have compiled a good list of frequently asked questions here for you to find answers to.
If you need to know something that isn’t listed here, feel free to contact our support team either in the bottom-right corner of the website or by email here.
The Patching System
Frequently asked questions regarding the LaunchBoost Patch System.
The LaunchBoost patching system can be used by anyone.
Whether you are an indie game developer, app developer or a professional studio. Our product is suited for any type of user.
Yes, you sure can.
When we developed LaunchBoost, we already had Unity and Unreal Engine at the top of our target market.
No longer do you have to worry about how you will deploy updates to your games. We even include templates and plugins specifically for Unity and Unreal Engine.
Yes.
LaunchBoost is compatible with any software you made your game or application with. It doesn’t deal with the development tool, it deals outside of the development environment.
Whatever software or tool you are using to make your game or app with, so long as it can launch an executable, you are good to go.
Yes.
LaunchBoost is compatible with any built game or application.
We have free examples for most game engines including the likes of GameMaker, Construct, Clickteam Fusion 2.5 and many more, all available for you to view and download.
We also have example code for you to view for many programming and scripting languages like C#, C++, Java, Python, Visual Basic and more.
We currently support Windows™.
We are currently developing a Linux, MacOS and HTML5 runtime. But these are in development and there’s no eta right now.
Although they will be announced when they are ready for private testing and you can be a part of it too.
Officially, we support Windows 11 fully.
Windows 10, we support but unofficially. This is because Microsoft are no longer issuing updates to Windows 10, so there could be a bug with Windows 10 and not our runtime that is the problem and if Microsoft are not fixing any further issues, our hands are tied.
Rest assured though, we have tested our runtime on Windows 10 and for the best part, it works exactly how it should do.
We do not support Windows 8, 7 or XP. You are free to try the runtime on these operating systems but we make no guarantees.
Not at the moment.
Our system is file-by-file. It knows the difference by the checksum of the files.
When a file has been created or modified, the one installed on the user’s computer will differ from the one on the server, thus initiating patching of those file(s).
We always recommend to all of our Unreal Engine users to using the Cooking and Chunking method with their UE developments.
You should have as many smaller files as possible, as opposed to big files. This enables faster patching.
Similar to the Unreal Engine method, you should develop your game to load assets from a specified directory where your game is.
This helps with speeding up the patch process.
100,000 individual files are much faster to patch than 100,000 files packed into 12-13 files.
Unfortunately, when it comes to games, there is no complete protection.
All the methods you can try and impose so less people can access your assets, is ultimately a waste of time and energy. If people really want your assets, they will get them one way or another.
However, when it comes to keeping your game files protected as in, maintaining their integrity, LaunchBoost.io will do exactly that. It will scan every single game file to ensure it is a verbatim copy of the one on the server and if it isn’t, it will patch it so it is.
Yes, you sure can.
You can patch 1 or 1000 games by just using one patch executable, because you simply pass your API Key and License Key to the LaunchBoost executable.
However, each account is per game, so you will need a LaunchBoost account per game in order to do this.
You can create, manage and update one game per LaunchBoost.io account.
If you already have an account and want to create patches for another game, simply create a new account using a different email address and you’re good to go.
The Service
Frequently asked questions regarding the LaunchBoost Online Patching Service.
LaunchBoost owns the patching service, including the redistributable runtime executable.
You are licensed to use the runtime executable so long as you have a valid subscription with LaunchBoost.
LaunchBoost provides you with 5GB of online cloud storage for your game files to be uploaded to.
If your game exceeds 5GB, you can still use the service, but you will require your own server to host your game files on.
This can be any type of server, including
- Patch Server
- Web Hosting
- VPS (Virtual Private Server)
- VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server)
- Dedicated Server
- Amazon S3 Bucket
Your server just needs to be running as a web server.
We highly recommend checking out our already-configured, highly optimized, super-fast Patch Servers. They are already configured and setup for lightning fast connectivity and downloads worldwide. You can simply upload your files to the server and away you go.
There are a few rules you must abide to when using LaunchBoost to host your game files.
Firstly, you must ensure you rename your files as soon as possible, using the tool in your dashboard.
The reason for this is, if any stray executable files (.exe) or Batch Files (.bat) or any other special type is left without being renamed, it can be deleted by our scripts that run daily checks.
We recommend as soon as you upload your game files, running the rename tool.
If you are found to be uploading malicious content that could harm us, our servers or your users computers, you will be in violation of our TOS.
We offer a flawless service especially when it comes to patching.
When it comes to the patch system itself and your configuration, there are no restrictions at all.
When it comes to using LaunchBoost’s servers for file downloading, there is a fair usage policy. It is quite lenient, but we still have some quality limits in place to ensure one user doesn’t soak up all the resources.
However, having said that, we do offer additional patch servers for those bigger games/apps and those with bigger userbases.
Basically, if your game exceeds 2TB a month, you will be required to use an external server for the file hosting. We have automated options for you. Just contact us.
Billing
Frequently asked questions regarding LaunchBoost’s billing.
You can subscribe at a monthly rate or a yearly rate.
Yearly rates are always discounted by 2 months, so if you take out a yearly license, you effectively get 2 months free.
For the time being, we only accept Debit, Credit and Bank cards via Stripe™.
This includes Mastercard™, Visa™ and other types. Your card will be confirmed at the checkout if it is compatible with our systems.
Yes.
You are free to cancel, renew or pause your license subscription at any time with us.
Unfortunately, we do not provide refunds for LaunchBoost, unless under exceptional circumstances.
If you are unsure of the service, we welcome you to try out a month first and see how you get on.
Once you feel comfortable and are happy with the service, you can continue monthly or upgrade to yearly for a discount.
Support
Need support? We got you covered.
Sure. We have a full documentation section available for you to look over.
You can find the LaunchBoost documentation here.
We highly recommend you look through the LaunchBoost documentation for your answers first. If you don’t find it there, you can join our Discord server and get support there, if any staff are online. Other users may want to help you out.
Finally, you can contact us via email any time. We typically aim to respond within 24 hours. Please specify your license key and email address when emailing us.
You can expect on a typical work day, a response within a couple of hours, but please allow up to 24 hours in case of busy periods, weekends and bank holidays.
Yes, we have 247 support available in our Discord server for active subscribers to LaunchBoost.