Steam - Linking Blockland Directories [Windows]

[Dglider]

I heard Blockland was on steam, and after transferring my key over I found I was facing a unique problem.  I wanted to launch Blockland through steam, and get all of the achievements, trading cards etc., without compromising my ability to create/modify Add-Ons and such.  In order to do this I wanted to force Steam to launch Blockland from my documents folder.

And so after a quick jaunt through the internets I found a neat little command that lets me link directories together.  Essentially making a little shortcut for steam to jump through to get to my Blockland directory.

Here's the command I used:

Code: [Select]

mklink /J "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Blockland" C:\Users\Dglider\Documents\Blockland
Here is the syntax:

Code: [Select]

C:\>mklink
Creates a symbolic link.

MKLINK [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] Link Target

        /D      Creates a directory symbolic link.  Default is a file
                symbolic link.
        /H      Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link.
        /J      Creates a Directory Junction.
        Link    specifies the new symbolic link name.
        Target  specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the new link
                refers to.
Here are my sources:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1587923
http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/1580/is-it-possible-to-install-steam-games-to-two-different-locations

And here are some step-by-step instructions on how I set it up:

This is all for Windows 7/Vista.

1.  Go to "C:\Users\[username]\Documents"
2.  Rename the Documents\Blockland folder from "Blockland" to "BlocklandTemp"
3.  Create a new folder called "Blockland".
4.  Uninstall Blockland using Steam.(make sure you save any stuff you want to keep)
5.  Open up "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common"
6.  Delete the common\Blockland folder from there.(the uninstall doesn't remove it sadly)
7.  Run cmd.exe.(as admin if possible, but that's just a good habit to get into for these things)
8.  type in

Code: [Select]

mklink /J "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Blockland" "C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Blockland"9.  Hit enter.
10.  Reinstall Blockland using steam.
11.  Go to "C:\Users\[username]\Documents" again.
12.  Delete the Documents\Blockland folder along with everything steam just installed in it.
13.  Rename "BlocklandTemp" back to "Blockland"
14.  Launch Blockland through steam.
15.  Pat yourself on the back.

Thought process...
Ok I only want to do this once(no troubleshooting for me) so I want a method that will work without complications.  Thus I need to make sure steam is using the shortcut.  So I want it to install BL using the shortcut.  I don't want steam to install over my current profile, so lets rename that and make a new folder to link to.  Alright, now I can't create the link with a folder by the same name already there, so lets uninstall BL from steam and delete the folder.  Ok link creation time.  Since Program Files has a space in it I need to put that entire address in quotations.  Hit enter, check that it works.  Yes it does, great.  Now let's reinstall Blockland through steam. And delete the installation steam just put there.  Now just rename our old Blockland folder back aaaand launch through steam.   Success! ^.^

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[Wesley Williams]

Great tutorial! Thanks for the tip :)
You still can make add-ons with the Steam folder, but it does take longer to get to the directory for the game.

[0xBRIANSMITH]

Best
Topic
Ever

[Demian]

Here's a revised version of OP's guide. It worked perfectly for me. No need to mess with folder names or installations.

1.  Install Blockland through Steam.
2.  Open up "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common"
3.  Delete the Blockland folder from there.
4.  Run cmd.exe.(as admin if possible, but that's just a good habit to get into for these things)
5.  Type in:

Code: [Select]

mklink /J "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Blockland" "C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Blockland"6.  Hit enter.
7.  Launch Blockland through Steam.

[Tokerovin]

This command is also useful for when you are dual booting and only want to use one addon or steamapps folder for two installs.

[Homfrog]

Will achievements still work if the game is not run from steamapps\Common\Blockland?

[Dglider]

Will achievements still work if the game is not run from steamapps\Common\Blockland?

Achievements will work if you launch the game through steam as a steam installation.  The actual location of the files does not matter.

I got the Full House and High Score achievements last night! ^.^

Here's a revised version of OP's guide. It worked perfectly for me. No need to mess with folder names or installations.

-snip-

Ah that's good.  I did it the way I did just to be safe.