Automatic Game Update Concept....

Hey all, I'm trying to design an automatic update program for a game project my team is currently working on, and I've run into a bit of a snag. For some reason the process I have just doesn’t feel right, it more or less has that *hacked* feel. Therefore, I was hoping to get some feedback on the process described below. ************** Stage 1 * Program startup, scans for .upd files. * If found .upd file goto Stage 2. * If no .upd files are found continue. * Parse local update file (versions.dat) * Download remote update file (named_folder/remote.dat) * Check if patch.exe needs to be updated, if so goto Stage 3. * If patch.exe does not need to update continue. * (End Stage 3) * Compare versions of all files on remote list, if file is found on remote but not local, add to update list. * If number of files to download is greater than zero, continue. * If number of files to download is zero, end patching process. * (End Stage 2) * Start downloading files one by one, all files are stored as .upd files on remote server. Overwrite any .upd files that exist with the same name. * When current downloaded file is done, decompress it. * Once a file is decompressed, validate MD5. If hash is valid, delete .upd and continue. If not, goto (Stage 1 Retry) Only attempt this 3 times, then prompt user of serious downloading error and to contact Dyaus Entertainment. * Repeat until all files are finished. * Replace versions.dat with remote.dat. End patching process. Stage 2 * Prompt user to contact Dyaus Entertainment if this problem occurs frequently and patching can not be completed. * Find location of .upd file in remote.dat. * If .upd file is patch program itself, goto Stage 3. * Add '.upd' file to update list. * Compare versions of all files on remote list from there down, if file is found on remote but not local, add to update list. * Goto (End Stage 2) Stage 3 * Prompt user that patcher needs to be updated and it will automatically shutdown and restart program. * (Stage 3 Retry) * Download new patch program with .upd extension. * Decompress patch program with a temporary name. * Validate MD5. If MD5 is valid, delete .upd and continue. If not, goto (Stage 3 Retry) <-Only attempt this 3 times, then prompt user of serious downloading error and to contact us. * Close down current patcher, and delete patch.exe. * Rename temporary patch program to patch.exe and execute. * Goto (End Stage 3) ************** Ok, let me give you a quick overview - a .upd file is a custom single file compression format used to make downloading a bit quicker. Any .dat file listed above is just a simple XML list file that includes the file name, size, and MD5 hash. Anyway, like I said above I need to streamline it and make it more efficient (Hopefully). So any feedback is more than welcome Thanks! Nate S. [edited by - nstrg on March 10, 2004 1:00:44 PM]