📦 KUpdater – Universal Game Launcher & Updater

KUpdater is a modern, fully customizable launcher and updater originally built for KalOnline, but now adaptable to any game.

✨ Features

🖌 Custom Rendering

Entirely custom‑drawn interface (no default WinForms look) Fully configurable background images, layout offsets Support for transparent windows and anti‑aliasing for smooth visuals

🖱 UI System

IControl interface for building custom controls Includes Button, Label, ProgressBar and TextBox as reference implementations Hover and click effects with theme‑dependent graphics

⚙ Lua Integration

Create UI elements such as labels, buttons and textboxs directly from Lua Enables dynamic, script‑driven customization

🔧 Tech Stack

C# / .NET for core logic and UI rendering Lua for scripting and theme control SkiaSharp for advanced graphics

🛠️ UpdateCreator Tool

The UpdateCreator Tool (UpdateBuilder.exe) prepares update packages for distribution.

1. Place all new or modified files into the Update/ folder.
2. Run UpdateBuilder.exe.
3. Enter the PackageUrl (must be a valid http or https URL).
4. The tool generates the following files inside Upload/:
   • update.zip → compressed archive of all update files
   • update.json → metadata file containing version, URL, and SHA256 hashes
   • version.txt → current version string (default: 1.0.0)
5. Upload these files to your server.

⚙️ Updater Configuration

The Updater reads its configuration from a Lua file located in the same folder as KUpdater.exe:

Path: kUpdater/Lua/base.lua

Base = {
    Url = "http://darn.bplaced.net/KUpdater/", -- must match PackageUrl
    Language = "en", -- supported: "en", "de", ...
}

Important

The Url in base.lua must match the PackageUrl you entered in the UpdateCreator Tool. This ensures the Updater knows where to check for update.json and download update.zip.

🚀 Typical Workflow:

1. Build update package with UpdateCreator Tool.
2. Upload update.zip, update.json, and version.txt to your server.
3. Configure the Updater (base.lua) with the same Url.
4. Run KUpdater → it checks update.json, verifies hashes, and applies updates.

📜 License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. Copyright (c) 2025 Christian Schnuck

That means:

✅ You are free to use this software for any purpose. ✅ You are free to study, modify, and improve the code. ✅ You are free to share the software and your modifications with others. 🔄 If you distribute modified versions, you must also share the source code under the same license. 🙌 Attribution is required — please keep the original copyright notices and clearly mark your changes.