EuroScope Launcher

Windows launcher for the VATNZ EuroScope package. It manages a single shared AIRAC folder at the base of the EuroScope installation, checks for current VATNZ sector files, installs supported plugins, and starts EuroScope.

Install and first setup

1. Download EuroScopeLauncher-Setup.exe from this repository's GitHub Releases and run it. It installs the app and creates EuroScope Launcher shortcuts on the Desktop and Start menu.
2. Start EuroScope Launcher. It defaults to C:\Program Files (x86)\EuroScope\EuroScope.exe; browse to the executable if yours differs.
3. If a VATNZ-SKYLINE_* folder is detected, the first setup click creates an empty AIRAC folder and stops. Back up the old package, then move or copy its Settings folder and any controller-specific files you want to retain into C:\Program Files (x86)\EuroScope\AIRAC. Run setup again afterwards. The launcher never deletes the old package or replaces/updates an existing AIRAC\Settings folder.
4. Select First-time SkyLine setup. For an empty AIRAC folder it downloads the current VATNZ SkyLine package and asks whether to copy its VATNZ.prf. If you have already migrated files into AIRAC, it preserves them and installs only the current SCT2, ESE, and RWY files.
5. In EuroScope, select the SCT2 file from AIRAC before connecting.

EuroScope Launcher always requests administrator permission when it starts. This allows AIRAC and plugin updates under Program Files to work reliably. Its machine-wide setup state is stored in %ProgramData%\EuroScopeLauncher, so elevation never creates a separate profile for the account that supplied the UAC prompt.

AIRAC updates

The launcher reads the current package from VATNZ Sector Files. During initial SkyLine setup, an existing AIRAC\Settings folder is retained. After initial setup it only replaces .sct2, .ese, and .rwy files in AIRAC; it never alters .prf, plugin, settings, or other manually migrated files. euroscopelauncher-airac.txt beside AIRAC records the installed version and source.

Plugins

The versioned plugin catalog controls the available plugins. Each entry declares its GitHub release API, ZIP-asset matcher, destination, primary DLL, and post-install guidance. The launcher lists installed and latest release versions, and has explicit Install, Update, and confirmed Uninstall actions. The starter entry installs the complete OzStrips EuroScope release under AIRAC\Plugins\OzStripsEuroScope.

After installing a plugin, open Other SET → Plug-ins in EuroScope, load the displayed DLL, and enable it. For OzStrips, connect and enter .ozstrips.

Releasing

Push a v* tag to create a GitHub Release. The workflow self-contains the .NET launcher, builds EuroScopeLauncher-Setup.exe with Inno Setup, and uploads it. Configure certificate signing separately in GitHub Actions if a code-signing certificate becomes available; no certificate is stored in this repository.

Use main for releases and plain branch names such as feature-airac-update; do not use branch names containing /codex.