I have looked online at some custom launchers (MagicLauncher, ATLauncher)  but they don't seem to fully function to my needs.  i was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on how to approach my problem.

 

what i need:

-Launcher that runs Forge with select mods

-Checks my server for mod updates, and subsequently downloads them before launch

-Can be configured prior to client download so as to minimize the need for client configuration.

 

essentially, i want a launcher that players can download from my server website, launch, and enter my server world.  I have a group of friends who want to play, but they lack the expertise or desire to personally mod their games.  additionally, i would like to be able to update my server with better, more current mods without having my player-base have to go to the website and deal with updating the client themselves.

 

If there is software out there that has this functionality, could you point me to it?  if not, does anyone know how i can accomplish this (i'm a novice programmer who could probably code the necessary software if need be)?

most of these people are used to bukkit servers where the only thing they have to do is input server info to get the benefits of SMP servers with unique content. 

 

Yes these people are probably OS inept individuals.  but you don't need to have a breadth of knowledge to play minecraft.  I'm trying to make forge modded minecraft easily accessible to people who would otherwise never get exposed. 

 

For people like you and me, this is extremely simple.  i'm trying to make it iphone simple. 

 

i'm currently looking at writing a java executable that will download and update the mods from my web server, generate a minecraft launcher profile(if forge is not installed), then launch the minecraft launcher, and self-close.  then players just have to select the forge profile i generated to play.  i think that is simple enough.

FTBLauncher and ATLauncher do exactly that.

 

oh really?  i guess i'll have to dig into ATLauncher a little more.  thanks!  that'll save me the hassle of coding some stuff.