GeneralsOnlineManifestFactory: create distinct ContentManifest for GeneralsOnlineGameData data patch

[undead2146]

Problem

The Generals Online portable distribution (e.g., GeneralsOnline_portable_081326 from https://cdn.playgenerals.online/manifest.json) includes a GeneralsOnlineGameData directory containing game data patch files (such as 500_900_CommunityPatch_CoreINI.big and related balance/patch archives).

Currently, GeneralsOnlineManifestFactory only creates two manifests:

1. 60Hz Game Client (ContentType.GameClient, variant suffix 60hz)
2. QuickMatch MapPack (ContentType.MapPack, variant suffix quickmatch-maps)

During extraction, UpdateManifestsWithExtractedFiles assigns all non-map files to the GameClient manifest with InstallTarget = ContentInstallTarget.Workspace. This creates two major issues:

1. Incorrect Install Target: The Generals Online engine does not read data patch BIG files from the workspace root; it expects them in the user's Zero Hour Documents directory (%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data\GeneralsOnlineGameData\).
2. Monolithic Coupling: Bundling the data patch into the GameClient manifest prevents independent versioning, tracking, user data lifecycle management, and clean dependency resolution.

Proposed Approach

1. Update GeneralsOnlineManifestFactory to produce 3 manifests

• Update CreateManifests and CreateVariantManifestsFromOriginal to create a dedicated GeneralsOnline Data Patch manifest (ContentType.Patch, variant suffix e.g. datapatch or communitypatch-coreini).
• In UpdateManifestsWithExtractedFiles:
  • Partition files in GeneralsOnlineGameData/ (e.g., *.big, *.ini, *.bmp) into the Data Patch manifest.
  • Set InstallTarget = ContentInstallTarget.UserDataDirectory (or relative path preserved under GeneralsOnlineGameData/) for files in this manifest.
  • Exclude GeneralsOnlineGameData/ files from the GameClient workspace manifest.

2. Update GeneralsOnlineDependencyBuilder

• Add CreateDataPatchDependency / include the Data Patch manifest as an auto-installed requirement in GetDependenciesFor60Hz (alongside Zero Hour 1.04 installation and the QuickMatch MapPack).
• Ensure GetDependencies(ContentManifest) properly resolves dependencies for ContentType.Patch.

3. Update Constants & Identification

• Add DataPatchSuffix, DataPatchDisplayName, DataPatchDescription, and GeneralsOnlineGameDataSubdirectory = "GeneralsOnlineGameData" to GeneralsOnlineConstants.
• Update GeneralsOnlineManifestFactory.CanHandle to support ContentType.Patch for publisher generalsonline.

Acceptance Criteria

• GeneralsOnlineManifestFactory.CreateManifests produces three distinct manifests from portable releases: 60Hz Game Client (GameClient), QuickMatch MapPack (MapPack), and Data Patch (Patch).
• Files located in GeneralsOnlineGameData/ (e.g., 500_900_CommunityPatch_CoreINI.big) are assigned exclusively to the Data Patch manifest with InstallTarget = ContentInstallTarget.UserDataDirectory.
• GameClient manifest contains only executable, runtime DLLs, EAC files, and plugins targeting ContentInstallTarget.Workspace.
• GeneralsOnlineDependencyBuilder.GetDependenciesFor60Hz includes the Data Patch dependency as AutoInstall.
• Unit tests verify manifest generation, file partitioning, and dependency structure for all three GeneralsOnline manifests.

Related

• Deploy GeneralsOnline data patch to user data directory with backup tracking and hotswap guard #372 — Deploy GeneralsOnline data patch to user data directory with backup tracking and hotswap guard
• Allow live content hotswapping on running game profiles for non-binary content types #370 — Allow live content hotswapping on running game profiles for non-binary content types
• GeneralsOnline Easy Anti-Cheat update breaks launch: wrong executable, missing EAC install step #336 — GeneralsOnline Easy Anti-Cheat update breaks launch

[undead2146]

Closed by #373