Multiple Installs

You can have multiple installs no problem. It's often easier just to copy the existing SE4 directory and paste it in another folder/location.

The patch will install to the last copy that was opened/used.

(This also applies to SE5, but probably only to CD installs - not Steam etc.)

Space Empires Depot | SE:V Balance Mod

You just need to open the game - this will update your registry settings which the patch uses to figure out where your SE4 is installed.

Space Empires Depot | SE:V Balance Mod

You do not need multiple installs of the game for each mod (its rather wasteful to do that). With SE4, you should install each mod as its own folder under the root SE4 folder. Then, edit Path.txt to point to this mod folder, and load the game. Alternatively, there are mod launchers available (or the older non-.net app) which make managing mods and savegames easy.

(With SE5 support for launching mods is built in to the game, and you place each mod folder under the GameTypes folder).

SpaceEmpires.net | Space Empires Wiki

Will the copy folder idea work with SE5? I would like to keep a stock 1.66 folder for a PBW game and have another stock folder upgraded to 1.71.

Yes. The games even survive OS transitions (assuming you have a sane multi-partition policy) and copies to different computers entirely. The only gotcha with SE5 is that it needs the CD key again on a new OS/system. But making a second install on the same machine doesn't need that, of course.

SpaceEmpires.net | Space Empires Wiki

Great! Thanks.

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"Good morning, Pooh Bear," said Eeyore gloomily. "If it /is/ a good morning," he said. "Which I doubt," said he.

With a mod launcher, keeping track of different savegames is easy. Try it out for a while; I'm sure you'll do fine without needing to resort to multiple installs.

SpaceEmpires.net | Space Empires Wiki